Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 3 Xue Mansion Private School
Xue Family Private School.

The blue bricks and gray tiles were covered with snow, and icicles hung from the eaves like swords, gleaming with a cold light in the morning light.

The stone steps in front of the hall are covered with moss, and the gnarled plum branches pierce through the chill of early spring.

In the central hall of the school, an ebony plaque hangs high. The two characters "Wen Dao" (文道, meaning "the Way of Literature") are written with vigorous strokes. On the white walls to the left and right, the ink traces of Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu, and Cai Xiang are so powerful that they penetrate the three-foot-long sheet of raw Xuan paper, like dragons and snakes in motion.

In the most conspicuous place, hangs a scroll of "Ode to Yinshan County," its edges yellowed and curled, yet it was written by the venerable Master Pei Jingyi himself.

This old scholar, who once lectured the Crown Prince and was a leading figure in Jiangzhou's literary circles, managed the Xue family school for over thirty years. Even the sunlight filtering through the windows seemed to carry a touch of the school's scholarly atmosphere.

From 3:45 AM
The area in front of the vermilion gate of Xuefu Private School became lively, with a constant stream of carriages and horses, and the snow was covered with tire tracks and footprints of varying depths.

Not only did young men from prominent families arrive in brocade robes riding in painted carriages, their carriages and horses magnificent, surrounded by servants, but the procession was also quite impressive.

Even more remarkable are the impoverished students who, carrying their books and dressed in coarse linen, walk across the city.

Whether they were scions of noble families or students from humble backgrounds, they all held their breath and crossed the ebony threshold of the academy. It should be known that under the tutelage of the venerable Master Pei Jingyi, this prestigious Xue family private school in Jiangzhou had produced five Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) and a dozen or more Juren (successful candidates in the provincial imperial examinations).

Students flocked to the Xue family's private school, a top-tier institution, hoping to find a place to study.

"Clouds against rain, snow against wind, sunset against clear sky!"

"A three-foot sword, a six-pound bow, facing the Jiangdong region from the north!"

The sound of students reciting their lessons filled the hall, rising and falling in waves.

Dozens of elegantly dressed, noble-looking students, with five-colored sashes around their wrists and silk boots on their feet, sat either at a rosewood table or stood by a carved window, wearing blue collars and wide sleeves, holding various books in their hands.

In a secluded corner by the door, Gu Zhimian, a poor student, dressed in a blue robe and plain shoes, his ear tips red from the cold, was deep in thought, his knuckles white from gripping the Analects scroll tightly.

Before the rosewood desk and screen by the east window sat Han Yugui, the grandson of the former Vice Minister of Revenue. He had a handsome face and a calm expression.

Meanwhile, by the north window, a young man in brocade robes and white silk, Li Yunxiao, the third son of the Li family, the magistrate of Jiangyin County, leaned against a rosewood table, looking languid and bored, while the books on the table moved without any wind.

He kept a glassy-colored bookworm, called a "moth," with eight pairs of transparent wings on its back, in his sleeve. The moth was diligently turning the pages for its lazy master.

Amidst the clamor,
Jiang Xingzhou brushed the snowflakes off his shoulders, stepped over the ebony threshold of the vermilion-lacquered bronze door with its animal-shaped rings, and glanced at his classmates inside the hall.

"Greetings, Brother Jiang!"

"I hope you are well, Brother Gu!"

Following his previous memories, he entered the spacious hall of the private school and greeted his classmate from a poor family, Gu Zhimian, with familiarity.

He thought about it for a moment.

Instead of taking a seat, he went to a charcoal brazier in the corner of the school, added some glowing red bamboo charcoal, placed a bronze animal-shaped incense burner on it, and brewed a pot of plum blossom tea, the aroma of which rose gently.

Then, the steaming hot tea was respectfully placed on Master Pei's lectern.

After doing this,

Jiang Xingzhou then sat down on the green prayer mat in the hall, his expression calm.

"A sycophant!"

Li Yunxiao, standing by the north window, glanced at Jiang Xingzhou and pursed his lips in disdain. However, he didn't provoke Jiang Xingzhou and continued to lazily play with his bookworm.

The morning light streamed into the classroom through the window.
Jiang Xingzhou sat on the green cushion, his back straight, intently turning the pages of the book.

At that moment, a series of crisp notification sounds rang in his mind, almost unstoppable.

[Han Yugui recited the entire Thousand Character Classic once and gained some insights, increasing his cultivation level by 2 points!]

[Gu Zhimian forcibly attempted to study the Analects beyond his level. The result was tedious and frustrating, causing him considerable distress. One point of cultivation has been deducted!]

[Li Yunxiao, the bookworm reads the Thousand Character Classic to him. The book has been devoured three times. The crystalline sac on the bookworm's abdomen is swollen and can release a single crystal of scripture. If consumed, it will allow the host to automatically recite the text backwards. Cultivation +5]

Jiang Xingzhou recited the entire "Primer of Prosody" once, his thoughts flowed freely, and his cultivation level increased by 10 points!

Jiang Xingzhou closed his eyes and focused his mind, examining the bronze bamboo slips.

But then, a ten-foot-long light screen appeared in his mind's eye on the bronze bamboo slips, with dozens of lines of seal script hanging upside down like a galaxy, rapidly refreshing a series of data streams.

He was surprised to find that the panel could not only display his own cultivation status, but also automatically refresh the cultivation data stream of the people around him!
"These bronze bamboo slips have such wonderful uses!"

A hint of unexpected joy flashed in Jiang Xingzhou's eyes. "Gu Zhimian, reading the Analects beyond his level, is completely baffled; his understanding is not increasing but decreasing."

However, Li Yunxiao's "literary worm reading"? What exactly is this "literary worm"?

He was secretly puzzled, and his gaze involuntarily drifted toward Li Yunxiao by the north window.

Li Yunxiao remained languidly leaning against the rosewood table, eyes closed in rest. A glassy bookworm frantically turned the pages, gnawing at the words.

Jiang Xingzhou withdrew his puzzled gaze and silently calculated the range of the panel.

It is precisely within the field of vision of this elementary school that the cultivation status data of all the students here can be detected; beyond that, it is not possible.

Furthermore, the bronze bamboo slips only contain data on the cultivation of students who were initially enrolled in the imperial examinations; there is no data on students who were enrolled in the lowest level of the imperial examinations or those who were enrolled in the lowest level of the imperial examinations.

Is it only limited to investigating scholars of the same or lower rank?
Jiang Xingzhou pondered for a while, and gradually understood.

"Su!"

Master Pei, with his hair tied up in a hempen cap and his temples white, entered the private school hall carrying a ruler and sat upright in the hall. His Confucian authority instantly enveloped the school.

In an instant, all the纨绔 (sons of wealthy and powerful families) in the hall hurriedly sat up straight, showing no trace of arrogance.

Master Pei, with his keen eyes, swept over the students in the hall and saw the emerald green tea soup in the celadon cup on the stage steaming. He then picked up the cup and took a sip.

Not too cold, not too hot, just right.

He gave Jiang Xingzhou a meaningful look.

This student's skill in brewing tea with snow is becoming increasingly refined.

[Ding! Master Pei's favorability +1, currently 81/100!]

Jiang Xingzhou smiled slightly upon hearing the notification tone.

This confirms his little guess: the favorability rating of the characters here can also be artificially inflated!
Master Pei put down his tea, glanced coldly at the students in the hall, and said:
"When the Great Zhou Dynasty was founded, the ancestral emperor discussed the Dao with the Duke of Xue."

The founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty asked the Grand Chancellor: What is the supreme Dao?

Grand Chancellor Xue Guogong said: All things in heaven and earth will eventually decay; mountains may crumble, seas may dry up. Only literature transcends eternity and remains immortal; this is the supreme way.

The sparks that flew out when the ancient Suiren drilled wood landed in Cangjie's palm and became the first character for "fire".

Fuxi observed a dragon-horse carrying a diagram and created the "Hexagrams".

Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs and wrote the "Compendium of Materia Medica".

Xuanyuan cast the bronze tripod, inscribing the characters of the world.

Lao Tzu's oxcart, traveling through various states, rolled over the eerie fog outside Hangu Pass, leaving behind the "Tao Te Ching".

Sima Qian was subjected to castration, yet he still wrote the Records of the Grand Historian!
From the wine jug that Taibai threw out, the "Song of the Sword Qi of Mount Shu" flew out!
These ancient texts of civilization, which have endured for millennia, are the true seeds of supreme enlightenment.

Therefore, it is said that literature can convey the Way!

"From the pre-Qin period to the Zhou Dynasty, our sages summarized eleven tribulations in the cultivation of literature and the Way—"

The young scholar breaks through the "barriers of ignorance," the scholar opens the "seven orifices of literary mind," the successful candidate cuts through the "inner demons and cocoons," and the advanced candidate crosses the "thunderous bones of questioning the heart."

In the cultivation of literature and Tao, each tribulation must be overcome step by step to lay a solid foundation.

The worst thing is to be impatient for quick success and instant benefits, and to aim too high.

The hall fell silent as the students listened intently, holding their breath, afraid of missing anything.

Only the bronze kettle in the corner of the wall emitted a soft "glug" sound as the snow water steamed.

"The young scholar must break through the 'barriers of ignorance.' The key to breaking through these barriers lies in 'words'—analyzing and breaking down characters!"
Today, I will test your academic abilities!

Master Pei took a sheet of specially made folded paper from the stage, unfolded it, and saw that it contained the character "cloud".

Master Pei glanced at the expectant crowd in the hall, but his gaze fell on Jiang Xingzhou, who sat at the very front of the hall, and said.

"Xingzhou, you shall now analyze and interpret the characters for the students, and demonstrate the literary technique of the character 'cloud'!"

(End of this chapter)