Chapter 577: The Reading Pavilion Opens
No one in the capital had ever heard of Dongliu Jushi.
However, the calligraphy of this Dongliu Hermit is quite good; it is vigorous and powerful, penetrating to the core, and possesses a solemn and grand beauty.
"Thank you all for taking the time to come and support us!" Cheng Zhao said loudly as he stood on the steps. "Today is the first day the Reading Pavilion welcomes visitors. Everyone can enter and read books for free, but please remember that every book in the Reading Pavilion is hard-earned, so please cherish it..."
After he finished speaking, he stepped aside to make way for the door, and the scholars standing at the bottom of the steps entered in an orderly manner.
Their main purpose in coming here was to see what was so special about this reading pavilion that it would attract the Empress to donate books.
Another reason they wanted to know was whether any of the books donated by so many ladies from prominent families and scholars were ones they wanted to read, and whether it was worth getting those ridiculous membership cards here.
After entering through the main gate, there is a spacious courtyard filled with desks and chairs. Behind it is a wall with three characters written on it: "Merit Wall".
This wall of merit is densely packed with people's names and can be roughly divided into three parts. The first part is the wall of merit for women from aristocratic families, the second part is the wall of merit for men who are scholars, and the third part is the wall of merit for ordinary people. Anyone who has contributed to the establishment of the reading pavilion will have their name written on it.
A woman's given name would not be written out openly. These ladies from noble families would either keep their own title or courtesy name, while ordinary women from the lower classes would add their husband's surname and be referred to as "Ms. So-and-so".
A large crowd gathered around to see who was first and second in line.
"Yan Zhu-jun, one thousand copies."
The fact that this name was listed first immediately sparked a lot of discussion.
"Who is this Miss Yan? I've never heard of her before."
"You really are ignorant. There's only one family in the capital with the surname Yan, whose courtesy name is Zhujun. Isn't that the current Empress?"
"Oh my god, it turns out the Queen really donated books."
"In addition, Madam Gongya donated eight hundred books, which is Madam Lin. The Lin family is a family of scholars, and there should be many books among these eight hundred books that we have never seen before."
"Let's go, let's go check out the library, otherwise it'll all be taken by someone else."
People came and went in waves.
Some people even come specifically to the merit wall to find their names.
"I only donated one book, and it was written on the merit wall. The people of Sui'an are truly honest with me."
“Look, my grandmother donated twenty books, and my grandmother’s name is on them.”
"If I had known, I would have donated a few books too. This merit wall is right at the entrance, and everyone can see it. It's a great opportunity to make a name for myself."
"..."
The reading room had only been open for an hour when it attracted more and more people.
Another reason why most people visit the reading room is that it has a women's reading area.
In an era when a woman's virtue lay in her lack of talent, only women from wealthy families would learn to read in order to manage the household accounts. However, the books they read were mostly classics like "Women's Virtues," "Women's Admonitions," and "Husband's Guidance." Girls from ordinary families didn't even have the opportunity to read books.
Cheng Wanwan specifically asked Shopkeeper Yu to open a wing in the backyard. On the bookshelf were books that women could also read, such as geography, history, biographies, anecdotes, women's work, and clothing...
In the afternoon, a group of young ladies from prominent families arrived as arranged.
Some members of their family also donated books, partly to see if the names of their elders were on the merit wall, and partly to see if the reading room had any books that were truly suitable for them.
Entering through the main gate, one would find the place where scholars engaged in lively discussions. Men would walk east to borrow books, while women would walk west, passing through the hanging flower gate to reach the side rooms where the books were stored.
Unfortunately, these young ladies from prominent families arrived too late. There were already quite a few people in the room, and only a handful of books remained on the bookshelf.
However, there is a book catalog next to the bookshelf, so even though I can't borrow any books right now, I can at least see what books are available here.
"There's even a secret history of Empress Xiaojia in this book. It must have been donated by Her Majesty the Empress."
"This is a book from the imperial court, recounting the deeds of the first empress of the founding of the dynasty. How could Her Majesty the Empress so casually donate it for the common people to judge?"
"The public is very curious about Empress Xiaojia, and all sorts of rumors have emerged. After this book is circulated, it should give people a more comprehensive understanding of Empress Xiaojia, which is a good thing from a certain perspective."
"There's also an introduction to imperial cuisine, but I don't know if the cooking process is described in detail."
"I must say, the variety of books is quite complete, which is very suitable for us women to read to pass the time and broaden our horizons. No wonder the Empress also participated in the construction of the reading pavilion. This is indeed a good thing to make a name for oneself."
"This reading pavilion was founded by Lord Cheng, the third-ranked scholar in this imperial examination. On the day of the palace examination, I took a glimpse of the third-ranked scholar from afar. He was extremely handsome, even more so than the four young masters of our capital."
"With this reading room, Lord Cheng is likely to rise rapidly in rank."
"Miss Situ is so lucky."
"..."
Upon hearing these words, a woman dressed in a pale yellow dress pursed her lips and gripped her handkerchief tightly with her fingers.
This woman is the second daughter of the He family, born out of wedlock. She is seventeen years old this year. She has been waiting to get married until the results of this year's imperial examination are announced before making any plans.
Unexpectedly, this year's top scholar is the young master of the Fu family, the eldest son of the Fu family, and it is impossible for him to marry a concubine's daughter.
The second-place scholar in this imperial examination is the young master of the Xie family, who has a pre-arranged marriage with the He family. It is impossible for him to break his promise and marry into the He family.
That leaves only the third-ranked scholar.
The father had already asked someone to inquire about the third-ranked scholar. Originally, there was no engagement, but after inquiring with the He family, he suddenly became engaged to the Situ family.
If it weren't for the Situ family interfering, she would now be the enviable wife of a third-ranked scholar.
It wasn't that she particularly wanted to marry Cheng Zhao, a man from a poor family; rather, as her father had said, Cheng Zhao was simply too outstanding. He had entered the Hanlin Academy at the tender age of twenty, and his future looked incredibly bright and promising…
The young ladies beside her saw through her thoughts. Although they looked down on the concubine's daughter, the He family was a second-rank family, and they couldn't afford to offend them, so they naturally fawned over the second young lady of the He family.
"Lord Situ is only a fifth-rank official. I really can't understand why Lord Cheng would agree to a marriage alliance with the Situ family."
"Miss He is of a higher status than Miss Situ, comes from a better family, and is more beautiful. I really don't know why this is the case."
"Some women from humble backgrounds will resort to underhanded methods to marry their sweethearts, such as falling into lakes, having secret meetings, or faking it..."
"Could it be that Miss Situ used some underhanded tactics? She's truly malicious..."
As the group of young women were talking and preparing to leave, Situ Man walked over and they met at the entrance.
Today is the first day of the Reading Pavilion's opening, and she brought a few people with her to help welcome guests, afraid of neglecting these young ladies from noble families.
"Miss He, Miss Zhou, Miss Li..." Situ Man said with a smile, "There are quite a few people here today, so the library may not have enough books. If any of you ladies would like to borrow a book, please register at the front. Once the books are available, I will send someone to your residence to inform you."
Miss He's close friend smiled and said, "Miss Situ really does have the air of a top scholar's wife."
Situ Man sensed a hint of sarcasm in her words, and she straightened her expression and said, "Miss Li, what do you mean by that? Why don't you just say it outright?"
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