After all, he had been retired and living in seclusion for too long, far from the world, for decades. When he suddenly saw such a promising talent, he was still excited.

Old Master Yang sighed.

It's a pity, she's a woman.

“Li Bao is half right.” Grandpa Yang opened the book and pointed to the sentence for Li Li to see. “Look, the word ‘Mo’ doesn’t mean ‘cannot’, but rather ‘no’.”

Lili breathed a sigh of relief, shifting her gaze from the shelf of books to where Grandpa Yang was pointing.

He nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"No?" Lili tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Then... I don't compete, so no one competes with me?"

“That’s right.” Old Master Yang nodded approvingly. “Precisely because he doesn’t compete with others, no one in the world can compete with him.”

Madam Yang had not seen such a gleam in Old Master Yang's eyes for a long time; it was the look of appreciation for talent when one sees a gem in the rough, a genuine and heartfelt cherishing.

For more than twenty years, apart from the occasional discussions on politics and classics with Wan Niang's husband, Old Master Yang had never been so happy.

For a moment, Madam Yang felt both surprised and gratified.

Where did Wan Niang find such a clever child?

Shen Jialuo was stunned. What was all this about blue, green, purple, and red? What was all this about fighting or not fighting? He couldn't understand a single word.

Although Shen Jialuo couldn't understand, the fact that his sister could make the Emperor so happy showed that she was very capable!

My sister is amazing, she's truly amazing.

Father said that Emperor Taizu was a man of great talent. Since Emperor Taizu praised my sister, my sister must also be a man of great talent.

My sister is amazing!

But we agreed to wander the fields together, so how did my sister become so amazing without me even noticing?

These words and phrases give him a headache just hearing them; only his third brother, who studies them with their father every day, can understand them.

How come Pear Pear can do that too?

Now look what's happened, he's all alone and all he does is throw a tantrum!

Lili genuinely didn't know that sentence, so when she saw the annotations next to the text in the book, she carefully read them for quite a while.

However, she did notice that the handwriting was a mix of new and old, densely packed, with varying degrees of ink density.

The pages were yellowed, but still flat, with only the slight curl at the corners suggesting that the book had been frequently read.

Lili remembered what her mother had said last night: Old Master Yang loved reading but didn't take the imperial examinations.

When Lili asked why, Mrs. Yang said that perhaps it was because Old Master Yang felt he was too old to travel.

But if you randomly pick out any book from this shelf, you'll find it's like this.

Are all these books frequently read, with new notes added each time they are read?

Despite frequent reading, the books are not worn out, which shows how much Mr. Yang cherishes them.

The owner of this book clearly adores it.

Why would someone who loves books like this not take the imperial examinations?

Sigh, there's a story behind this!

That temperament, that knowledge.

She didn't believe that her great-grandfather simply loved reading!

Moreover, after observing my maternal grandparents and great-grandmother, it's clear that none of them are simple people.

Only her simple-minded mother wouldn't think too deeply about it.

Oh, and her cheapskate father too.

Lili looked at Grandpa Yang with admiration. The old man's face showed signs of vicissitude and the passage of time, but he did not look sick at all.

In ancient times, living to sixty was considered a very long life.

It is truly rare for someone of Mr. and Mrs. Yang's age to be free of serious illness.

"Great-grandfather is so amazing!" Pear's face flushed slightly, her eyes wide open, filled with stars, revealing her excitement.

The little hands clapped excitedly, seemingly happy to have grasped the correct meaning of the sentence.

“Great-grandfather is amazing, even more amazing than father!” Lili said earnestly.

The little dumpling looked so serious, as if she was simply stating what she believed to be a fact. Grandpa Yang was so amused by the little dumpling's appearance that his mouth stretched wide open.

He's happy.

He had tried to teach Shen Jialuo to read and write poetry before, but the boy would feel uncomfortable as soon as he saw a book, and would try to slip away after reading at most three words.

Even if you forcibly drag him back, he'll throw a tantrum, crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide.

No matter how he taught him, it was no use. He was once a Grand Tutor, serving two emperors and the late emperor's teacher, yet he was defeated by such a little rascal as Shen Jialuo.

He studied his whole life, but now he can't even teach his grandson to recognize two characters!

He was only somewhat satisfied because his grandson-in-law was a promising young man.

Now look what's happened, we have such a clever little grandson!

Although girls cannot take the imperial examinations, it doesn't mean they can't learn. She's already this smart at two years old; what will she be like in the future?

He taught her all his knowledge, so that she could become a female teacher when she grew up.

As Grandpa Yang thought about it, he became happier and happier.

"Was your great-grandfather really more powerful than your father?" Old Master Yang asked, with a hint of coaxing.

Madam Yang was stunned. Since Yang Sizong retired to his hometown with his young son, she had never seen him so happy.

They even started teasing the children!

Lili nodded emphatically again: "Yes! Father said that Great-Grandfather is a very talented person, so amazing!"

Then, Lili showed a troubled expression.

Grandpa Yang noticed and asked, "What's wrong?"

Lili shook her head: "Lili was just thinking, my great-grandfather is so amazing, I think he's much more amazing than that so-called prefect! Why didn't my great-grandfather become a prefect?"

Grandpa Yang was taken aback.

After retiring to his hometown, he lived a secluded life for many years and had basically lost contact with people from the past, but that did not mean he did not know who the current prefect was.

Zhou Wukui was a collateral descendant of the Zhou family in the capital.

"The officialdom is as deep as the sea. Why would your great-grandfather, at his age, want to get involved in such a mess?" Old Master Yang waved his hand with a smile.

Madam Yang glanced at him nervously.

Seeing that he still used the same excuse to refuse, I felt extremely conflicted.

Since the incident twenty-five years ago, Yang Sizong had become completely disillusioned with the imperial family. In order to save his life, he had no choice but to leave the capital and retire to his hometown.

He became an ordinary farmer in Nanlin County, only saying to others that he loved reading.

Afterwards, people occasionally marveled at his amazing talent, but when he never took the imperial examinations, he always used this as an excuse to decline.

Life is unpredictable, and the most ruthless of all is the imperial family.

I'd rather be a carefree person for the rest of my life.

Even if it's just for the sake of ensuring the safety of future generations.

"Is that so? You can't take the imperial examinations if you're too old?" Lili exclaimed in sudden realization. "Oh, but that prefect is really wicked. Not only did he try to raise taxes without permission, but Lili was also kidnapped last time!"

After saying that, Lili turned to Shen Jialuo and asked, "Guoguo, is that the right word?"

"Huh?" Shen Jialuo snapped out of her daze and quickly nodded. "Yes, that's the word, it's kidnapping!"

Grandpa Yang and Grandma Yang exchanged a surprised glance, then their expressions turned serious.