When Xiao Xin recited eight sections in one go, Mr. Su finally called for a stop.
He looked thoughtful and asked directly, "Have you memorized all four books?"
The Four Books are presented together, and there is a specific order for their study, as established by Zhu Xi when he annotated them. First, the Great Learning and the Analects, then the Mencius and the Doctrine of the Mean. Among them, the Mencius has the most words and the widest range of interpretations. If you can memorize this book, you generally won't have any problems with the other three.
Xiao Xin replied, "Yes."
What about the Five Classics?
Xiao Xin's voice was lower and hoarse: "This junior has neglected his studies for a long time and has not yet finished reading the Book of Rites."
Mr. Su confirmed with him: "Do you have the other four classics?"
Xiao Xin should be the one.
Mr. Su smiled and shook his head first: "What you did is not reading, it was just rote memorization." Then he casually said, "You are not arrogant, and no one in the world can compete with you in ability."
Xiao Xin paused for a moment, then continued, "As long as you do not boast, no one in the world can compete with you for merit."
“Li, Li also”.
"The sun and moon shine brightly in the sky, and all grains and plants flourish on the earth. Double brightness illuminates the righteous, thus transforming the world. Gentle and beautiful—"
Before he could finish speaking, Mr. Su quickened his pace: "Heaven's way is to extend its blessings to all who are below, and to bring light to all."
"The way of Earth is lowly yet ascends. The way of Heaven diminishes the proud and augments the humble; the way of Earth transforms the proud into the humble."
Mr. Su interrupted again: "There are thorns in the garden, and their fruit is edible."
“My heart is filled with sorrow, so I travel to the country for this purpose. Those who do not understand me say that I, a scholar, am without ambition.”
"Ha ha!"
Mr. Su laughed, shaking his head as he laughed.
"I've never seen anyone like you before. Your explanations of principles are a mess, but you can recite them perfectly. Has your Mr. You achieved any official rank?" He suddenly changed the subject and asked.
Xiao Xin had gradually gotten used to his style and replied, "Mr. You passed the imperial examination at the county level."
“No wonder.” Mr. Su nodded. “The punctuation he taught you was all correct, so it wasn’t entirely misleading.”
—The so-called punctuation is the act of breaking down sentences. There are no punctuation marks in classical Chinese. Without a teacher to guide you, it is difficult to distinguish the beginning and end of a sentence, let alone interpret its meaning.
Since this was not a question, Xiao Xin remained silent.
He resisted the urge to turn his head.
There was no sound behind him for a long time... He had no idea what she was thinking.
But at least I didn't hear any footsteps, so she didn't leave.
Xiao Xin calmed down a bit and focused his attention back.
Mr. Su pondered for a moment, then came up with another question, “You said you were wasting your life before, when did you begin to realize that you had become naive?”
“Last year,” Xiao Xin added, “last September.”
Mr. Su asked in surprise, "Did you start memorizing the books around this time?"
Xiao Xin finally hesitated for a moment: "--I've read some before."
Mr. Su immediately laughed: "Don't try to fool me. Your enlightenment is nothing but rote memorization. It's obvious how much you'll waste your time. You're just talking without thinking. What kind of studying is that?"
Xiao Xin was speechless and expressionless.
He did indeed have the will—otherwise, he couldn't have memorized it out of thin air in just a few months—but it was truly all talk and no action, and Mr. Su's assessment was spot on.
"What a pity," Mr. Su sighed.
Xiao Xin's heart sank.
At the same time, a strong sense of resentment and regret welled up inside him. If only he had realized this sooner, if only he had worked a little harder—
...
Xu Rong snapped out of her daze and looked at Mr. Su.
Is this a rejection?
Even if a great Confucian scholar like Mr. Su, whose wisdom has reached the realm of enlightenment, is kind and easy-going, his will must be firm, and once he has spoken, it is difficult for him to change his mind.
She let out a slow, suppressed sigh.
Xiao Xin had done his best, she knew.
However, this "force" was not what she had expected, so she could only return empty-handed.
Whose fault is it? Xu Rong's heart sank uncontrollably—it's all her fault!
Taking shortcuts by force will result in a car crash and a face full of smears.
My face hurts.
She had to endure the pain. Xiao Xin hadn't intended to deceive her; it was just that she was ignorant and incompetent, yet she had foolishly made empty promises to him, repeatedly silencing him. Now, the promise had crumbled.
“This is all your father’s fault,” Mr. Su said quietly from his seated position.
Xiao Xin suddenly looked up.
Xu Rongye: "...?"
What does this mean? Is Mr. Su trying to shift the blame?
He shifted the blame to Lord Xiao.
Mr. Su ignored their astonishment and shook his head, saying, "It's a pity that such a talented person like you has been wasted by your father. He would have transferred two or three parts of his love for his youngest son to you. If you had put in four or five more efforts, you would at least have a set of robes to wear by now."
The lanshan was worn by scholars, and in official circles it specifically referred to a scholar who had passed the county-level imperial examination.
If Mr. Su had simply said that Xiao Xin had passed the Xiucai exam, it wouldn't have been anything special. The problem was that his wording was so light and easy that it was frightening—saying things like "two or three points" or "four or five points," implying that Xiao Xin passing the Xiucai exam was as easy as taking candy from a baby!
Xiao Xin was a little bewildered: "I—this junior has no talent, I just memorized a few books by rote—"
“Rote memorization isn’t a bad thing; being able to recite is a skill in itself,” Mr. Su said with a smile. “Has no one ever told you that you have a good memory? What about Mr. You? A student like you shouldn’t be overlooked by him.”
Xiao Xin said, "In the past—" He paused, "there was."
Mr. Su seemed oblivious to people's expressions, or perhaps he simply chose not to, pressing further: "And then what happened?"
“My elder brother and I are close in age and entered school one after the other,” Xiao Xin said calmly. “I was born to a concubine, and later my aunt begged me not to cause trouble.”
That was a memory from many years ago, he himself couldn't remember—no, of course he remembered, he had a good memory, it was innate, even though he started home school a year later, he could memorize the same book faster than Xiao Lun.
He soon suffered because of this.
With tears streaming down her face, Mrs. Wei begged him not to be successful or to strive for a bright future, but only that he grow up safely.
He didn't understand why, and he was indignant because he was clearly no worse than others.
He refused to listen to Weiss. He would endure hardship if he wanted to, but why did he say he didn't know the books he knew? He insisted on standing out—until he realized that no one would even give him a second glance.
Xiao Lun had Madam Xiao, and Xiao Yi had Lord Xiao—even though he couldn't even walk at the time, he only had Aunt Wei who advised him to give up.
Well then... never mind.
Xiao Xin put on a smile.
Mr. Su chuckled: "Regretful?"
Xiao Xin replied, "Hmm."
His chin was still raised.
Mr. Su stroked his chin: "It's never too late to look for the dog after seeing the rabbit."
Xiao Xin subconsciously replied, "It's better to mend the fence after the sheep are lost—"
He suddenly froze.
Thump.
"ah."
Xu Rong gasped. The two sentences were so simple that even she could understand them, so she kicked the threshold.
Xiao Xin turned his head subconsciously.
Xu Rong was initially a little embarrassed, but upon seeing his reddened eyes, she felt at ease—no one should laugh at anyone else. Seeing that he seemed about to come closer, she immediately gestured sternly to stop him.
What kind of time is this? How could you let things fall apart like this?
Xiao Xin pursed his lips, turned back, and bowed, saying, "Does this mean you are willing to accept this junior as your disciple?"
Mr. Su nodded first and said, "I have had many students in my life, but none like you. You are quite interesting. I would like to see how far you can go."
Xiao Xin was shocked: "Junior—"
"Don't rush," Mr. Su said, changing the subject. "I have another condition."
Xiao Xin replied without hesitation, "Please give your instructions, sir."
“It’s easy for me to take you in, but it’s hard to explain to your father.” Mr. Su stroked his chin again. “I don’t think he’s an easy person to deal with. He might come to question me, or try to intimidate me, or he might not have to do anything at all, just prevent you from becoming his disciple. Have you thought about how to deal with that?”
Xiao Xin did not respond immediately. He hadn't thought it through. He had come today specifically to take advantage of the time difference and snatch the teacher away. He himself wasn't prepared, let alone Lord Xiao.
But he could not back down any longer, and said coldly, "Sir, there is no need to worry. I will take care of everything and come back later. I will not bring any trouble to you."
This time, Mr. Su did not press further, and said, "Alright. Consider this my first lesson for you. If you pass, you will be my student from now on."
Xiao Xin responded in a deep voice. Today had been full of twists and turns, but the goal had finally been achieved—leaving aside Lord Xiao, he felt much more relaxed and turned to look at Xu Rong.
He finally dared to look at her.
Xu Rong didn't look at him, but looked at Mr. Su with a hesitant expression.
Mr. Su noticed and said with amusement, "You have something to ask me? Go ahead and ask."
Xu Rong walked into the hall, bowed, and asked, "May I ask, sir, why have you not accepted the Fourth Young Master?"
This is very important. Knowing this inside story will allow us to better handle Lord Xiao's situation when we get back.
"The second young master's younger brother—" Mr. Su said, "I cannot teach him."
Xu Rong was surprised.
She remembered that in Xiao Shan's retelling, Mr. You from the family school also said the same thing. Given Mr. You's character, there was a high possibility that he would flatter Lord Xiao, but Mr. Su obviously wouldn't. Besides, if that were the case, Xiao Yi wouldn't have fallen ill.
“I don’t get along with that young master,” Mr. Su said without keeping him in suspense. “He is more suited to studying under Mr. You in your household. Mr. You is skilled in this subject, and the young master will find it more comfortable to study with him. Coming here would only make things difficult for both of us, so it’s better to avoid it.”
I see.
Xiao Yi needs to be fawned over, but Mr. Su is a proper teacher with his own dignity as a teacher. How could he do such a thing? If he were an ordinary family's child, Mr. Su might be able to straighten him out, but he is the beloved son of a marquis, so he cannot be too lenient or too harsh. Mr. Su is too lazy to cause this trouble, so he chose to refuse.
Xu Rong understood and said, "Thank you for clearing up my doubts, sir."
After asking their questions, they prepared to leave. Mr. Su didn't say much and calmly got up to return to his study.
"I--"
Once outside the courtyard gate, Xiao Xin immediately spoke, but then paused and asked instead, "Did your foot hurt from kicking?"
Xu Rong said, "Just a little bit."
A smile played on her lips as she said, "Second Young Master, congratulations."
Xiao Xin looked at her face, then considered her tone before saying, "Mm."
Xu Rong sensed his keen observation—it was quite obvious. After thinking for a moment, she took the initiative to say, "Second Young Master, I had a misunderstanding about you before, but it's all in the past now, so there's no need to bring it up again."
Xiao Xin said in a low voice, "Aren't you angry? I should have made things clear to you earlier."
Xu Rong said, "It's not your fault. Even if you told me, I'm afraid I might not understand." Just now, Xiao Xin and Mr. Su were talking for so long, and the only sentence she understood was, how is that supposed to be explained?
“But now I understand.” She walked forward with her hands behind her back, laughing happily, “Second Young Master, it turns out you’re not the hard-working type, you’re the naturally gifted type!”
With the certification of the renowned scholar Mr. Su, it is absolutely genuine and trustworthy; there's no way you can be wrong this time.
She knew it! What had blinded her? How could things be so dark under the lamplight? It turned out that his clever appearance was not wrong, and her judgment was not wrong either. The problem was his family, which was dragging her down.
She walked lightly and leisurely, like a spring breeze beside him. Xiao Xin wanted to say that it wasn't that exaggerated, and that Mr. Su just wanted to see his future prospects, but the words stuck in his throat.
Doesn't he like hearing her say that?
What he likes.
...
As a result, his steps became lighter.
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