Chapter 40. Fusu really pulled off a big stunt this time. ...
As mentioned before, people in the Song Dynasty loved child prodigies.
Or rather, no dynasty failed to admire child prodigies. Gan Luo became prime minister at twelve, and Luo Binwang composed a poem about geese at seven. Similar stories abound.
But ever since Huang Chao severed the roots of powerful clans, and since the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination has become the most convenient path to officialdom, the veneration of child prodigies has become increasingly utilitarian and extreme. A child prodigy who can do addition and subtraction of hundreds at the age of three is nothing special; a child prodigy who can recite the "Great Learning" from the Book of Rites at the age of three? You'd have to go and see for yourself.
No, Fusu had just finished reciting his lessons when his fame spread throughout the Imperial Academy in a single day, and the very next day he flew into the homes of the Wang and Xie families like a swallow before a hall. Even Yan Jidao was summoned by Yan Shu: "Jidao, you were once classmates with Zhao Zongshi. Have you ever met or heard of this little prodigy from the Prince of Pu's family?"
Yan Jidao: "..."
Not only have I seen it, but you have too.
As one of the very few people who knew the truth, Yan Jidao used all his acting skills since he was seven years old to barely prevent any clues from being revealed.
He subtly expressed his doubt: "Who is this? Brother Zongshi has never mentioned him to us before?"
I'd like to ask who it is too.
Yan Shu thought to himself.
This child prodigy seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. He first composed two poems, then outshone Zhang Xiuyuan, stealing the limelight completely. Yet, very few people had actually seen him. This made Yan Shu's heart ache like it was being scratched by cat claws.
Who could blame them when this boy's deeds were announced, and the people of Bianjing commented that he "far surpasses even Yan Shu in his prime"? As the one being compared and belittled, Yan Shu, who had served as a peaceful prime minister for decades, was not concerned about the title of a child prodigy, but he became increasingly curious about who this person really was.
He specifically inquired with his son-in-law, Fu Bi, but was given a vague answer. He then asked his second son, who was somewhat related to him, but to no avail.
Yan Shu echoed Fan Zhongyan's sentiment: "When did Bianjing (Kaifeng) produce so many child prodigies?"
My former boss was a follower of Taoism, and he was inevitably a bit superstitious: "Could it be that a prosperous era is about to arrive, and that's why the God of Literature is descending to earth?"
Yan Jidao wiped his sweat: Because it's all the same person, haha.
He remembered that he had originally planned to confront his father and refuse to be a study companion. His Highness Prince Cheng had initially been very supportive, but secretly stopped him the night before he was to leave. At the time, Yan Jidao was puzzled, but the next day news came that "Prince Cheng is ill" and "Zishan Hall has suspended classes," giving him a huge windfall.
It's so nice to stay home every day, enjoying flowers and music, without having to stare at each other like idiots with Mr. Sima!
As soon as Yan Jidao uttered this remark, he met Yan Shu's meaningful and urging gaze.
Yan Jidao: "?"
Seeing that his son hadn't gotten the hint, Yan Shu bluntly said, "Jidao, do you know that this little prodigy Zhao can read and write at the age of three? He's no ordinary person. His future is limitless."
My son, you are a famous child prodigy in Bianjing.
Should we not follow suit immediately, or should we at least make a gesture?
Yan Jidao suddenly realized, his eyes darting around: "Yes, people say he has the looks of my father back then."
Father, even your legends back then can't compare to his.
Please don't try to drag me into this.
Yan Shu: "..."
Yan Shu: "…………"
Yan Shu was speechless for a long time before storming off, leaving Yan Jidao alone, covering his mouth and chuckling to himself. After laughing enough, he opened the door to his study, which he hadn't visited in a long time, and dusted off the cover of the Analects.
His Highness Prince Cheng is indeed His Highness Prince Cheng! It's only been a few days, yet he's already making a name for himself at the Imperial Academy. As his former study companion, Yan Jidao naturally doesn't want to fall behind. It's time for him to pick up the classics again; after all, his father has been very good to him, and he can't very well disappoint him, can he?
Confucius said: "The ministers assist the dukes, and the Son of Heaven is solemn and awe-inspiring..."
"If allowing the Eight-Row Dance to be performed in the courtyard is tolerable, what is intolerable?"
"By being mindful of the end of life and remembering our ancestors, the people's virtue will return to its original purity."
"..."
A few seconds later, Yan Jidao collapsed onto the table, unable to get up again: "Alas, perhaps I should just let it go."
He was more of an artist than a moralist. While he had a photographic memory, he didn't really like Confucian classics and found them jarring.
"Or perhaps we could ask His Highness Prince Cheng if there's anything that would allow me to make a name for myself. The letter can be sent to... Su Dalang!"
-
A day in the cave is equivalent to a thousand years in the world.
This statement was especially true for Fusu. That day, after receiving Mei Yaochen's generous "Shengzhai Set Meal" gift package, he immediately summoned Su Shi, intending to drag him into the mess. The latter was also taken aback by the massive package, which reached his calves. However, having already made his bold statement and uttered his harsh words, the two had no choice but to grit their teeth and open the package.
Dormitory, study, dining hall, dormitory.
Dormitory, study, dining hall, dormitory.
His life revolved around a monotonous routine, almost identical to Fusu's senior year of high school in his previous life. This directly resulted in his letters to the palace becoming dull, barely filling a single page.
Fusu chewed on his pen, racking his brains but unable to think of anything else to write. So he simply copied down the questions he had encountered while reading and reciting the classics, asking the Emperor and Empress to give him extra tutoring after class.
The only good news was that Mr. Wang had toned down his behavior considerably and hadn't caused any more trouble. Whether it was Fan Chunren or Mei Yaochen who had spoken to him privately, in any case, he never called on Fusu to answer questions again and simply continued lecturing as usual.
The Great Learning became one of the Four Books during the Southern Song Dynasty, but before the rise of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty, it was just a short chapter in the Book of Rites.
The four characters "格物致知" (investigating things to acquire knowledge), which later generations have debated endlessly and come up with in countless ways, were not explained in great detail in Mr. Wang's account.
This daze gave Fusu a kind of illusion.
If he were to expound out all the Neo-Confucian ideas of later generations, he could become a Neo-Confucian scholar!
Fusu is actually quite strange. If interpreted literally, someone who can achieve "investigating things to attain knowledge" would either become a biologist or a realist painter. However, none of the Neo-Confucian masters since the Song Dynasty have crossed that line; instead, they all became Confucian thinkers.
The closest to the original meaning of "investigating things to acquire knowledge" is actually Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica". It not only records the properties and pharmacology of each medicinal material in detail, but also provides illustrations that are as realistic as possible!
In his first life, Fusu would never have believed that he would one day speak ill of Confucianism. But after being educated in his second life, he was able to see more clearly the shortcomings and helplessness of Confucianism.
Buddhism and Taoism are currently flourishing, making it essential for Confucianism to develop its own theories and compete with them. However, once a path dependency is formed, there will be no turning back in terms of theoretical direction…
As Fusu pondered, a calm expression unconsciously appeared on his face, contrasting with his chubby, round face, making him even more endearing. At least, Su Shi watched with interest for a while before calling out, "Hey, time to eat! If you don't leave soon, all the food will be gone!"
"...Huh? Oh, okay."
Fusu suddenly came to his senses and said helplessly, "What does it matter whether we grab all the food in the dining hall or not?"
"They all taste terrible, right?"
Su Shi automatically completed the second half of Fusu's sentence and then retorted, "It's different. Things that are stolen are always the most delicious and taste a little better than usual... Well, only a little bit."
Fu Su coldly retorted, "Anyway, none of them can compare to the food your Dongjun eats."
Upon hearing this, Su Shi was immediately speechless, as if struck by an arrow to the knee. As a cat lover personally certified by Fusu, he spent every spare penny he had on his cat, Dongjun.
Even the hard-earned money from setting up a stall, after being split equally, amounted to a string of one and a half copper coins. Su Shi only kept a little for himself, exchanging the rest for dried small fish, feeding Dongjun until its fur was shiny and glossy.
He clutched his chest and lamented dramatically, "Alas, I'm just hoping my dad will pass the imperial examination soon so the family can be better off and I can get some more pocket money."
Fusu calculated with his fingers: "The spring examination will have to wait until next year."
The implication is that you shouldn't even think about it in the short term.
"Besides, even if you have extra money, you'll spend it on Dongjun, right?"
"What about the food committee? When will it be established? I'd love to eat better... Hey, look, they're already recruiting!"
The destination Su Shi pointed to was none other than the main entrance of the dining hall. It was already surrounded by a large crowd, and amidst the throng, a notice could be vaguely seen hanging on the wall.
Fusu and Su Shi exchanged a glance and immediately stepped forward.
"Make way!"
"Excuse me, could you please move aside?"
Two incredibly childish voices rang out, causing the onlookers to instinctively make way. The two men moved to the front like Moses parting the sea, only to discover that what was surrounded was not just a notice, but also a person sitting down.
"Senior Brother Fan?"
Fan Chunren's eyes lit up, and he greeted the two little ones, instantly attracting everyone's attention: "Young Master Su, Young Master Zhao. Have you had lunch yet?"
Then, mysteriously, he asked, "The prison is about to establish a dietary improvement committee. Would you like to participate?"
We had already discussed this with them beforehand. Why ask them again in public?
Fusu felt the gazes focused on him and immediately understood. He blinked and asked curiously, "Participate in what? What committee? Senior Brother Fan, what exactly are you doing?"
Despite the large crowd gathered outside the dining hall, very few dared to ask questions. Some were only casual acquaintances of Fan Chunren, while others were too shy to speak up for fear of being laughed at... Having Fusu, a three-year-old child, act as a scapegoat to ask questions and clear up everyone's doubts was just right.
"This isn't some special allowance from the government for the Imperial Academy, but the students say the dining hall is still unsatisfactory. So someone suggested a solution: the Diet Improvement Committee..."
Fan Chunren seized the opportunity and, under the intense gaze of everyone, repeated the contents of the plan in this manner.
Fusu didn't find it refreshing at all, since it was basically all his writing. But as a shill, he had to maintain basic professionalism, so he grinned exaggeratedly, exclaimed "Wow!" and blinked his starry eyes, saying, "So, in other words, we students of the supervisory school will be able to improve the quality of the cafeteria food through this committee?"
That's a divine assist, Zhao Xiaolang.
Fan Chunren: "Yes! Young man, do you want to sign up for this committee? You might be the one to decide what to eat in the dining hall from now on."
Fusu: "I'll participate!"
Su Shi also realized what was going on: "I want to participate too!"
Fan Chunren turned around, took out two pieces of paper, and said with a smile, "Then please sign up."
He then asked, "Is there anyone else?"
“I might as well give it a try.” Another familiar face of Fusu appeared in the crowd. Who else could it be but Zeng Gong? He also had an expression of being encouraged and excited on the spot, without any trace of acting.
I didn't realize you were all such great actors!
Fusu couldn't help but secretly complain.
In addition to name and age, the registration form also explained the committee's operating logic: it is responsible for collecting feedback from students in the supervising school on the dishes, conducting performance evaluations of the person in charge of each dish, establishing a reward and punishment mechanism, and after operating for a period of time, launching the most popular menu...
Finally, I asked a question: Do you have any suggestions for the above mechanism? Please feel free to speak your mind.
Fusu: "..."
Isn't everything written above his advice? Why are you asking him?
Fusu, unusually, felt a bit speechless. He stretched out a little finger and scratched his face, making a thoughtful expression.
"What's wrong? Are you having trouble writing?" Fan Chunren suddenly asked.
Fusu said seriously, “Senior brother, do you think it would be too much to ask of people if I wrote ‘recruit the vendors from the Xiangguo Temple night market to work in the dining hall’?”
But this was his most sincere feeling after visiting the night market.
Fan Chunren: "..."
"Alright, it seems I should write something else." Fu Su put away his mischievous thoughts and wrote in the suggestion column: "I hope the dining hall's menu can be adjusted according to the four seasons."
"Senior, I've handed in my paper."
Fusu shook the paper, trying to dry the ink, and looked back, only to be startled by the length of the queue: "There are so many people!"
He thought his acting was too exaggerated to be enough to entice anyone.
"yes……"
After Su Shi finished filling out the form, he leaned closer with a wistful yet sarcastic tone: "It seems I'm not the only one with a lot of complaints about the dining hall."
Fan Chunren also said, "This is something we have neglected."
"By the way," Fusu suddenly asked, "how should the members of the committee be selected? Could you perhaps offer some insights, senior brother?"
This part was not covered in the plan. Fusu only mentioned that the chairman must be a son of an official. He was quite curious about how Fan Chunren and the decision-makers behind him made this decision.
"What, you want your senior to leak the exam questions?"
"I've already handed in my paper!"
Fan Chunren watched the two little ones bicker with a smile, and after they stopped, he said, "Naturally, we should first look at their character, then their knowledge, and then supplement it with the suggestions filled in on the application form, taking into account all aspects."
He added, "This part will be discussed and decided by the Chancellor and the other gentlemen."
Fusu breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
He was initially worried that someone like Zhang Jifu might infiltrate the committee—one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. But after hearing Fan Chunren say that character was the top priority and that the division commanders were collectively overseeing the process, he no longer needed to worry.
On the contrary, Fusu even began to feel a sense of anticipation, believing that by this standard, the selected students would undoubtedly be the most elite group from the Imperial Academy. Wouldn't some of them be historical figures he knew?
...There really is.
The next day, as soon as Fusu came out of the study, he was stopped by an unfamiliar senior brother: "The Grand Master has something to discuss with you two."
Su Shi was also stopped at the same time.
They roughly guessed what had happened and followed their senior brother to an empty room. The room was already filled with people: Fan Chunren, Zeng Gong, Li Guanlan, several unfamiliar faces, and…
Su Shi exclaimed, "What?! You're here too!" Cheng Yi's face had already darkened upon seeing Su Shi. After hearing his words, it darkened even more: "I never expected you to appear here either."
Fusu immediately remembered that the two of them had a real fight, on the day he... crawled through the dog hole.
Cheng Yi was extremely displeased with Su Shi's actions of crawling through a dog hole and arbitrarily bringing people into the Imperial Academy, and immediately demanded that Mei Yaochen punish Su Shi. Even after discovering that Zhang Jifu, the instigator, had been expelled, Cheng Yi showed no intention of changing his mind.
So what if we're used as firearms?
His dislike for Su Shi stemmed from reason and from the heart!
Cheng Hao immediately looked at Fan Chunren, his meaning quite clear: Why is Su Shi here?
Fan Chunren: "Cough."
He seemed a little flustered, not expecting there would be a segment to mediate conflicts between students: "Well, we're all classmates..."
"Cheng really doesn't want to associate with people who crawl through dog holes!"
"I also find it very puzzling that someone as upright as Brother Fan would uphold the imperial decree and be imprisoned, yet openly violate the prison rules against those two?"
Fan Chunren sighed, “I know that Junior Brother Cheng’s father is a Doctor in the prison. You were born and raised in the prison, so this place is of great significance to you. You must take good care of it. But the two young men are very intelligent and are not ordinary people. Young Master Su even debated with the Western Xia. He is a meritorious official for the country.”
Upon hearing the last sentence, Cheng Hao's expression softened slightly, but he remained stubbornly silent.
Su Shi made a face and muttered under his breath, "What a hypocrite."
One is a future philosopher, the other a future connoisseur of life. Their personalities and values are completely incompatible; it's perfectly normal for them to dislike each other. Even if Fusu remained uninvolved, there was no guarantee of a successful reconciliation, let alone the fact that he was also the target of the attack.
Fan Chunren persuaded him several more times before Cheng Hao was slightly moved: "Then I will listen to Senior Brother Fan's words. As for Su Xiaolang, that's fine... but what about this Zhao Xiaolang? He is only three years old. What is he doing here?"
Fusu was stunned: "Huh???"
I thought they were only targeting Su Shi, how come they suddenly turned their attention to me?
Oh yeah, I climbed through the dog hole that day too!
Moreover, if what Fan Chunren said is true, and the Imperial Academy was very important to Cheng Yi, then his slap in the face to Zhang Jifu, and the series of dramatic sequels, did they also have a negative impact on the reputation of the Imperial Academy in a certain sense?
—Then blame Zhang Jifu, don't blame me.
Fusu muttered to himself.
He was completely forced into it that day, okay?
Fan Chunren: "This..."
He wanted to say a few words in defense of Fusu, but then he was speechless.
Age is Fusu's Achilles' heel. Even if he can compose poetry and recite texts, people will only praise his intelligence. But his ability to handle affairs and interpersonal relationships is questionable. Can a three-year-old child handle the work of a committee effectively?
Cheng Yi pressed his advantage, saying, "Since Brother Fan has entrusted me with the position of chairman of this association, I will dare to say that I am truly incapable of handling this task of coaxing children."
“But I remember you have a younger brother,” Fusu said.
“My brother wouldn’t crawl through a dog hole,” Cheng Yi replied.
"Uh, is the psychological trauma from crawling through a dog hole really that great?"
Why is it that everyone from the emperor to the prime minister, and even his senior brother, loves to bring this up? Fusu was very puzzled by this.
Cheng Yi seemed to be choked, or perhaps he felt that it was impossible to talk about ice with a summer insect. He sneered and stopped arguing with the child.
His arrogant demeanor even made the usually mild-mannered Fusu a little more furious.
Impressions of Neo-Confucianism - 1-1-1.
"Brother Cheng, why don't you explain in detail where and how I used it? Are you trying to fool me?"
Cheng Hao: "The truth will be clear when the time comes. Why waste words today?"
Fusu gritted his teeth in anger and was about to press for answers when the classroom door suddenly swung open, and a middle-aged man who looked like a scholar walked in.
The tense atmosphere vanished without a trace, and Fan Chunren, Zeng Gong, Cheng Yi, and others bowed respectfully, saying, "Chancellor Yang."
Fusu also suppressed his temper and followed suit, saying, "Good job, Chief Minister Yang."
This was the first time he had met the Chancellor since enrolling in the academy. Did Chancellor Yang know his true identity? Did Emperor Renzong discuss this with anyone privately?
Yang Anguo, the chief instructor, looked around the classroom, waved his hand, and signaled to the others not to be overly polite.
Then, he walked straight toward Cheng Yi: "Brother Cheng, I heard your father say that ever since I entrusted you with the position of chairman of this committee, you have attached great importance to it, and you have been unable to sleep at night, determined not to give up until it is done well."
Cheng Yi, his previous arrogance gone, replied with utmost respect: "Yes."
"So, that's why you don't want this young Zhao involved, worried that he's too young and might neglect his duties, ruining your important plans, isn't that right?"
Cheng Hao looked as if he had found a kindred spirit: "Just as the Grand Master said!"
He clearly thought Yang Anguo was there to support him, and perhaps even to support his next move.
But Yang Anguo waved his hand and said in a low voice, "What if I told you that this committee itself was originally the idea of Zhao Xiaolang, whom you look down on?"
In the vast classroom, you could suddenly hear a pin drop.
Everyone looked at each other, thinking they had misheard.
But seeing Yang Anguo's calm yet resolute expression, and Fusu's slightly upturned lips, they realized they hadn't misheard. What the Imperial Secretary Yang said was true!
Cheng Hao's face turned deathly pale in an instant: "...What?"
Fan Chunren, Zeng Gong, and Li Guanlan: "Huh???"
Su Shi: "Hahahaha, young man, look at Cheng Hao's expression, it's hilarious... What? Eh???"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Fusu: I don't pretend easily, but when I do, I go all out. [Sunglasses][Sunglasses][Sunglasses]
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