On the second day, Wang Yu learned that Mr. Lan was willing to see him, so after finishing his shift, he and Song Boyan went straight to the Lan Mansion.
Song Boyan: "I talked to the teacher yesterday, and he told you to go talk to him in person. But he didn't seem happy when he mentioned books, so don't get your hopes up."
Wang Yu nodded when he heard this. The emperor had already told him about this matter, but no matter what, he still had to meet the person.
The doorman knew Song Boyan and let them in directly.
When the weather is good, Mr. Lan likes to go fishing in the backyard garden. There is a large pond in the garden with some fish and a pavilion.
Mr. Lan also liked to teach Song Boyan there, so Song Boyan took Wang Yu directly to the garden. When they entered the garden, they saw that the man was in the pavilion, but he was not fishing today. He was playing chess alone.
Song Boyan and Wang Yu stepped forward to greet each other. Lan Yuanqing waved his hand and asked them to sit down. Wang Yu glanced at the unfinished chessboard on the stone table. He didn't know how to play Go, so he didn't understand it. He just didn't expect Mr. Lan to ask him.
"Does Lord Wang know how to play chess?"
Hearing the other party call him Lord Wang, he immediately felt uncomfortable, so he bowed and said, "Sir, you are too polite. Just call me Xiuzhi. I am not very good at playing Go."
Lan Yuanqing raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected this guy to say something so natural even though he couldn't play chess. He wanted to say something, but then he remembered that Wang Yu and Song Boyan were both from farming families and didn't have the opportunity or time to learn this. So he said, "Ziheng, play a game with me."
Song Boyan obediently sat opposite. At this time, the servant brought three cups of tea. Wang Yu drank tea and watched the two of them chatting with each other.
Wang Yu really didn't understand this. He knew about Go and had seen people play it, but he himself didn't have a deep understanding of the game.
The two of them played chess one after another, and the speed of the game was not slow. The white pieces surrounded the black pieces, and the black pieces surrounded the white pieces. They went back and forth for more than half an hour. Finally, Song Boyan put down the chess pieces in his hand and said, "Teacher, I lost."
Wang Yu looked at the chess pieces on the board, not quite understanding why he lost, when he heard Lan Yuanqing say, "Ziheng is making rapid progress. You've only been playing chess for a year, and you're only two or three pieces behind me. In another year, you'll surpass me."
Then he added: "In less than a year you will surpass me."
In fact, when Lan Yuanqing said this, he was also shocked by Song Boyan's learning speed. He had only been in contact with Go for a year and had reached this level, which was very rare.
He was chosen as the disciple in the beginning because of his good academic knowledge. Unexpectedly, he was so talented. Whether it was Go or other things, he learned several times faster than others. He was truly a prodigy. Even he felt inferior to him. At least he couldn't do that at Song Boyan's age.
Hearing the old man praising Song Boyan, Wang Yu also gave him a thumbs up and said, "Great!"
Lan Yuanqing turned to look at Wang Yu and asked, "What did you feel after watching us play chess just now?"
Although Wang Yu doesn't know how to play Go, he still said, "Mr. Wang's strategic planning and calmness during the game are truly admirable."
Lan Yuanqing knew that what he said was a compliment, but it was indeed true. Playing chess requires the wisdom and strategy to control the overall situation and think three steps ahead.
Then he said, "Ziheng said you wanted my collection of books?"
After saying this, there was no expression of joy or anger on his face.
Wang Yu quickly shook his head. "No, the emperor told me that your collection of books is all in the Hanlin Academy. I want your annotations to the Four Books and Five Classics."
“Why do you want annotations for my articles?”
Lan Yuanqing already knew roughly what Wang Yu wanted his article annotations to be used for through Song Boyan, but he still wanted to see how he would respond.
Wang Yu thought for a moment and said, "There's a saying that goes like this: reading in youth is like peeping at the moon through a crack; reading in middle age is like looking at the moon in the courtyard; reading in old age is like playing with the moon on a stage. Everyone has different understandings and perceptions of a book at different stages of life. It's like a thousand faces for a thousand people."
Wang Yu took a breath and continued, "So, Mr. Lan, you hold the highest position in the hearts of scholars throughout the world. Therefore, your annotations to articles are very important to scholars. They are no less valuable than the works of famous scholars in history, and they can be spread and passed down to future generations."
Lan Yuanqing was somewhat surprised by Wang Yu's words, comparing him to the great scholars in history. "I have Ziheng as my disciple, and my writings can be passed down."
"Confucius said: 'There is no distinction in teaching,' which is why he had 3,000 disciples. Let's not talk about Confucius himself, even his disciples have gone down in history for their writings. If Mr. Lan is willing to publish his annotations to his writings for readers all over the world to read, then Mr. Lan would have more than 3,000 disciples."
Lan Yuanqing knew that Wang Yu was making excuses, but he also agreed in his heart. Aristocratic families like them valued reputation the most, and being remembered for generations through articles and books was of course what they wanted. So after Song Boyan told him, he didn't plan to make things too difficult for Wang Yu. He just wanted to see how far he could go.
"Why would you do this? It's a hassle and won't do you any good."
Wang Yu thought that if this thing was done well, how could it not be beneficial? He could leave his name behind by publishing the book. Although the content of the book was not his, he wrote the book. You get fame and I get fame too, it's a win-win situation. However, he couldn't say this for the time being. After all, his original intention was for the readers of the world.
"Mr. Lan knows that I come from a farming family. I've known since I was a child that studying isn't easy. I couldn't afford to buy many books, so I mostly copied them or borrowed them. Furthermore, we had very few books and teachers. Compared to students from aristocratic families, students from farming families were already at a disadvantage at the starting line. So, I want to do what I can to help them."
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