Chapter 31 The Ancient Scholar Used as Cannon Fodder (Part 31) Chu Nanfeng...
Chu Nanfeng and Lin You often chatted, and she would inadvertently reveal some modern slang, which, though only superficial, still had many aspects that could be learned from.
This information wasn't very important, nor was it covered by any confidentiality agreement, but it allowed Chu Nanfeng to find alternative solutions and easily resolve many problems.
"Will they promote you and give you a good compliment when you're tired of working, so you'll work even harder and be devoted to them for life?"
Lin You said softly, "Even after he died, he had to continue working for his son, working overtime day and night. Although his salary increased, he didn't even have time to spend money on entertainment."
Chu Nanfeng fell silent after hearing what she said. After a while, he continued writing his petition, saying as he wrote, "Sister, we have a day off the day after tomorrow. Let's go to Wuyin Temple outside the city to offer incense."
He figured Lin You must be working overtime with him every day and not have time to go out, which was why she was acting this way. He decided to take her out for a walk.
Although Lin You can go out and have fun on her own, she has been accompanying Chu Nanfeng recently because she is worried about him being bullied by the senior employees.
As expected, Chu Nanfeng heard the system notification tone again when it was almost half past midnight.
[Ding! Emperor's favorability +2, 20 points gained.]
[Ding! Congratulations! You have gained 30 points of Emperor's Favorability and have been rewarded with a Chess Skill Book.]
[Ding! Main quest: Within three months, play one game of Go with the Emperor and gain 5 points of favor with him. Success rewards 30 points; failure has no penalty.]
"Wow, we've already completed half of our favorability rating!" Lin You, who was satisfied with a passing score of 60, couldn't help but cheer. Then, at Chu Nanfeng's request, she learned the chess manual skill book.
Chu Nanfeng, who planned to get a perfect score, shook his head and chuckled. He didn't tell her his plans after all, wanting to give her a surprise later.
Inside the palace, the emperor, while looking at the memorials delivered by fast horse, remarked to the head eunuch serving him, "With Minister Chu's help, I've had a lot more free time these past two months."
He had to worry about everything, big and small, across the country, and he had to consider the overall situation in every matter. For many years, the emperor had not gone to bed at 9:00 PM.
"That's because Your Majesty has a discerning eye, able to pick out Lord Chu from so many people." Zhang Defu bent down, replaced the refreshing tea in his hand with jujube seed tea for the emperor, and then stepped aside to gently fan himself.
On his day off, Chu Nanfeng got up very early. Before his boss dragged him back to work overtime, he took Lin You, his mother, and his sister to Wuyin Temple in the suburbs to relax.
They didn't even eat breakfast at home, but bought steamed buns and soy milk from a roadside vendor.
It's early summer now, the weather isn't too hot, the sun is shining, and the vegetation is lush, making it a perfect time to go out and have fun.
Xie Zi'an didn't come to play with him today because he hadn't finished the homework he was assigned last time, which made Chu Nanfeng happy to have a quiet day.
Even though he was working at the Hanlin Academy, he didn't give up his pastry business. After all, the salary he received at the Hanlin Academy was hardly enough to support a family in the capital.
At his request, the restaurant owner kept his identity well hidden. Two taels of silver a day was enough for his family to live comfortably in the capital.
With the help of the young waiter preparing the ingredients, Chu Nanfeng only needed to get up half an hour earlier, which didn't take up much of his time.
Having money brings improvements to every aspect of life. As the youngest child in the family, Chu Qing's living standards improved significantly.
Today she was wearing a pale yellow brocade jacket with a light green pleated skirt, and with Lin You as her advisor, a few light ribbons hung from the hairpins in her hair.
Coupled with her gentle and scholarly demeanor, although she is still young, she already has the air of a well-bred young lady.
Chu's mother's clothes were rather plain, but the material was of good quality, and she looked somewhat like someone from an official family.
Wuyin Temple was a popular place of worship, and naturally, it also emphasized the separation of men and women. After Chu Qing's mother offered incense, they went to the place where the female guests rested and chatted with a lady of similar age.
Humans are social animals. Having been in the capital for so long, Chu's mother had finally met someone she could chat with. So she asked the maid who was with her to tell her son that she wanted to try the vegetarian food at the temple with her new acquaintance and wouldn't be going back that morning.
They arrived early, originally planning to go back early, then have lunch at a nice restaurant outside the city and while away the afternoon there, but now they've left Chu Nanfeng behind.
"It's okay, don't worry, I'm here with you." Lin You looked at Chu Nanfeng, who seemed a little confused, and tried to comfort him with a smile.
"Sister, I'm not a child anymore." Chu Nanfeng was both amused and exasperated by her coaxing tone.
It's certainly a good thing that my mother can find friends she can chat with. Anyway, the purpose is to take them out to relax, so it doesn't matter where they play.
Wuyin Temple is located on a not-so-high mountain, and the surrounding scenery is quite nice. Chu Nanfeng was bored, so he just wandered around.
A passing young monk, seeing his refined demeanor, pointed him to a place, saying that he might be interested there.
When Chu Nanfeng arrived, he discovered that this was actually a place where literati left their writings. It was an entire mountain wall, smooth and flat, covered with many sheets of paper.
In Lin You's opinion, it's just a public message board, or a wishing wall in modern times.
Beside the cliff face, two scholars were working on a model, discussing in hushed tones. Lin You vaguely heard them talking about which great Confucian scholar had seen whose poems on the wall, taken a liking to their talent, and accepted them as his disciples.
After much deliberation, the two each wrote a poem and carefully posted it on the wall. The tall, thin scholar, seeing that Chu Nanfeng had brought nothing with him, kindly lent him his brush and ink.
Chu Nanfeng had only intended to look at it, but since the pen and ink had already been handed to him, he couldn't refuse their kindness, so he wrote a poem.
Seeing that he had casually pasted the poem on the corner of the wall, another slightly older scholar specially chose a more conspicuous spot for him and pasted it again.
The two glanced at Chu Nanfeng's poem and calligraphy, offered sincere praise, and then left together.
Such an open-minded personality piqued Chu Nanfeng's interest in the two men's poems. He looked them over and found them to be exquisite and far superior to his own.
He read through the poems and then looked at the other comments. Some of them were plain and uneventful, some were cynical and misanthropic, some talked about romance and nature, and some talked about ideals and aspirations.
Just a few dozen slips of paper reveal the full spectrum of human life.
"People really do need to go out and see the world to realize that there are always things beyond our reach. I guess I've just been too naive," Chu Nanfeng sighed.
Just then, a voice suddenly spoke up: "It is good to know that the sky is high and the earth is vast, but it is also not good to underestimate oneself."
The speaker was an elderly man with gray hair and a long beard, who looked somewhat like a sage.
"I've heard from others that a talented young master has come here. Was that you who wrote the poem just now? Where did you post it? Let me see it too."
The old man spoke very seriously for the first two sentences, but then he rushed to the message board and immediately saw the poem written by Chu Nanfeng, which was still fresh in ink, posted in the middle.
I just don't know how this old gentleman was so sure that he wrote the poem himself, even though the poems by the other two people had only been posted recently.
"Although the word choice is slightly lacking, it is full of spirit and perfectly natural. The characters also have a sense of style. Not bad, truly not bad!" The old man stroked his beard and praised repeatedly.
He pointed out the poem's shortcomings in a single sentence, showing that he was also a senior and highly skilled person. Chu Nanfeng quickly cupped his hands and said, "I am a humble scholar with limited knowledge. You are too kind, sir."
To everyone's surprise, the old man became displeased, puffing out his beard and glaring at him, saying, "What do you mean by being unlearned? You have the talent of a top scholar! Since you call me 'sir,' why not become my disciple and study diligently with me? You'll definitely become a top scholar in three years."
Not only Lin You, but even Chu Nanfeng was dumbfounded. Wasn't this guy a little too familiar?
The old man actually used the poem he wrote to give a lesson, explaining it from simple to complex, with every word a gem. He was definitely qualified to be Chu Nanfeng's teacher.
Lin You was stunned for a while before she suddenly remembered something. She looked up the plot summary and couldn't help but remind him, "Chu Nanfeng, he should have been your teacher, but he was ruined by that Han guy."
The old man's surname was Li. He was a famous Confucian scholar of the time. He had five talented disciples, all of whom passed the imperial examination and became Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest level of the imperial examination). One of them even became the second-highest scorer in the first class.
Li Daru's lifelong wish was to take on a brilliant and exceptional disciple as his last student, and he was determined to train one of them to become the top scholar in the imperial examination.
Lin You couldn't go into too much detail because of the rules, but Chu Nanfeng understood what she meant.
Given this connection, Chu Nanfeng was naturally willing to acknowledge this teacher, but it was impossible for him to become the top scholar in the imperial examination; it was impossible for him in this lifetime.
Chu Nanfeng bowed respectfully, saying, "It is my honor to receive your kindness, sir. However, I am afraid I will not be able to become the top scholar."
"Good apprentice, be confident. Your master will definitely teach you everything I have learned in my life." This address of "Master" made Li Daru overjoyed, and he pulled him to show off to his friends.
Chu Nanfeng obediently followed, and when they reached a section of the road that was not easy to walk on, he even reached out to help him. Li Daru was even more satisfied with this little apprentice.
The two walked on and, after passing through a bamboo grove, they unexpectedly entered the backyard of the temple. There they saw a white-bearded monk watering vegetables. This was Mingxin, the abbot of Wuyin Temple, whom Li Daru had mentioned as his friend.
Li Daru shouted smugly to the monk, "Mingxin, let me show you my newly accepted disciple. Don't let his young age fool you, he's definitely a top scholar. Come on, that one..."
Chu Nanfeng, being very perceptive, stepped forward, performed a junior's bow, and respectfully said, "I am Chu Nanfeng, and I greet Abbot Mingxin."
Although Monk Mingxin rarely went out, he wasn't oblivious to what was happening around him. He gave Chu Nanfeng a very strange look, and Chu Nanfeng pursed his lips and gave him a gentle smile.
Seeing his friend standing there oblivious to worldly affairs, still smug and self-satisfied, Monk Mingxin couldn't help but step forward, pat him on the shoulder, and say with sympathy:
"You're probably not destined to raise a top scholar in your lifetime."
Li Daru was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, "With your shoddy, deceptive skills? Give me a break! My disciple is exceptionally talented and knowledgeable. How could he not be the top scholar in the imperial examination!"
He chatted with Chu Nanfeng all the way, becoming more and more satisfied with the conversation, and had already made arrangements for Chu Nanfeng's reading plan in his mind.
As for Chu Nanfeng, the person in question, he cleverly helped the host fetch water to water the vegetables, pretending that he hadn't heard anything.
"Chu Nanfeng, our master is kind of cute." Lin You couldn't help with the work, so she just stayed where she was, listening to the two old men's verbal sparring.
Looking at the playful old man Li Daru, she added, "He just seems a bit irritable. Do you think he'll beat you with his cane after he finds out the truth?"
Hearing the commotion over there, Chu Nanfeng couldn't help but walk three meters further away, then innocently said, "What does this have to do with me? I don't know anything about it."
He had already stated when he became an apprentice that he would not be able to become the top scholar in the imperial examination.
Meanwhile, the two old men had already started a bet on whether Chu Nanfeng could become the top scholar in the imperial examination.
If one passes the exam, the monk Mingxin will personally cook a vegetarian meal.
If he fails the exam, Li Daru will personally copy a copy of the Heart Sutra for him.
The two old men didn't place a big bet, but they were full of bravado. Li Daru confidently stood tall with his hands behind his back and said, "Three years from now, I'll bring my apprentice over. I'll have to cook a lot of fancy dishes then."
The monk Mingxin stroked his beard and said meaningfully, "I estimate we'll know the outcome in less than three years."
Li Daru snorted angrily and called back his young apprentice who had been helping. "That vegetable garden is where monks meditate and seek enlightenment. Don't help them, lest you ruin the master's cultivation."
"Yes, I will listen to you, sir." Seeing him pretending to be obedient, the monk Mingxin glanced at him again.
On the mountain where Wuyin Temple is located, there is a clear spring. The temple residents mostly drink water drawn from there, and the tea brewed with this water tastes especially good.
Li Daru entered the room without any hesitation, brought out the monk's fine tea, and even directed his young apprentice to move a tea set.
Chu Nanfeng rolled up his sleeves, took the stove to boil water, and began to prepare tea with smooth and effortless movements. He was clearly an expert, and Li Daru nodded in praise repeatedly.
When he tasted the tea, he found it to be even more mellow than the tea he brewed himself, and he praised it repeatedly, saying that he had struck gold.
"Good apprentice, how good are you at chess?" Li Daru looked at Monk Mingxin and raised an eyebrow. His little apprentice was so smart, he must be good at chess.
Chu Nanfeng replied that it was alright, but was then pressed down at the table and forced to play chess with Monk Mingxin.
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