Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 305 The Sage of Classical Texts
West Prefecture.

Because Old Madam Sheng was not young, she was inevitably somewhat tired after her emotional outburst. Therefore, the three of them parted ways after exchanging a few words.

Minglan looked down at her grandmother resting in Shou'an Hall, while Sheng Changquan also returned to his own courtyard.

The old house in Youyang is the ancestral home of the second branch of the Sheng family, and it was also a residence personally built by the late Mr. Sheng Xu.

Unlike the prices in Bianjing, materials and labor were quite cheap in Youyang. In addition, Old Master Sheng was at the height of his success at that time, so this old mansion in the West Mansion was built in a very grand manner.

Even now, after Shengwei has become prosperous, the newly built East Mansion is far superior to it.

The ancestral home of the second branch of the family is considered to be one of the top five luxury homes in Youyang County!
The reason it is said to be in the top five is because the Sheng family's rise to power was not long enough, and it did not have the deep foundation of those local wealthy families that had been passed down for hundreds of years.

After all, how could the efforts of two generations of the Sheng family compare to the efforts of five or six generations of other families?

Putting aside everything else, just considering the size of their respective residences and the quality of their surrounding locations, there are definitely significant differences.

At the very least, the mansions of those other families were located in the center of the county town, while the Sheng family's mansions were located in a slightly more remote area, on the edge of the town.

Speaking of which, if it weren't for the fact that Old Master Sheng Xu was the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination and Old Madam Sheng was the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Yongyi, this old house might not have achieved such a high ranking!
On the other hand, perhaps it was to express his wish for many children and grandchildren that Mr. Shengxu specially built many separate courtyards when he renovated this old house, seemingly to make it convenient for his descendants to live in their own homes.

Therefore, Sheng Changquan moved into the courtyard where he had always lived—Wenzongxuan.

The name Wen Zongxuan was not acquired by Sheng Changquan, but was originally from the old house itself, or rather, it was left by Grandpa Sheng Xu.

The three Sheng brothers named their respective courtyards in the old house Wenshengxuan, Wenxingxuan, and Wenzongxuan.

Sheng Changquan didn't know the specific meaning, but it was clear that his grandfather hoped his descendants would make great strides in literature and achieve brilliance.

……

All was quiet, and night was gradually falling.

After returning to Wenzongxuan, Sheng Changquan did not rest, but instead went to a room first.

That room, however, contained the things he had retrieved from the Tiger Might Escort Agency.

"Ah~"

Sheng Changquan pushed open the door and entered the room. Looking at the pile of boxes and cages in front of him, he sighed slightly.

"All the gains of these six years are here..."

As he murmured this in a low voice, Sheng Changquan felt a pang of indescribable unease.

It seemed like a mix of melancholy and contentment.

The complex feelings involved are difficult to describe.

half an hour.

"Oh right, I still need to find that 'Wen Dao Box'!"

Sheng Changquan didn't linger in sadness for long. After only half a cup of tea's time, he suddenly came to his senses, muttering a name that no one could understand, and began to move his hands.

Judging from his actions, it seems he is looking for the "literary box" he mentioned.

"Oh!"

With a series of loud noises, Sheng Changquan finally found his target among the many boxes and cages in front of him—a huge purple box.

"Huh? Found it!"

Sheng Changquan let out an excited whisper, and then directly brought the purple box to his front.

"Bang!"

As the box landed, Sheng Changquan finally let out a soft breath.

"Thank goodness, I thought the 'literary box' had fallen!"

After muttering something to himself, Sheng Changquan turned to look at the "Literature Box".

The box was quite large, about three or four cubic meters in size, and was a deep purple all over, like a piece of fine crystal. It was understated and profound, with an indescribable sense of nobility.

In fact, if someone looks closely, they will find that the wood on this box has not undergone much processing, nor has it been coated with any protective oil. The effect it displays is entirely due to the natural properties of the wood itself.

Moreover, the patterns covering the box are all naturally formed, without any human intervention.

Even a slight sniff reveals a faint scent of sandalwood, giving it a dignified and luxurious feel.

This is top-grade sandalwood and agarwood, a rare wood that takes a hundred years to grow to an inch. It can protect books from oxidation to the greatest extent and can also repel mosquito bites, making it a magical item for preserving books.

"call!"

Sheng Changquan exhaled his last breath, then took out a brass key from his pocket, aimed it at the keyhole on the wooden box, and gently turned it.

"Crack!"

The yellow lock came off naturally, rendering the box's protective measures useless.

"Oh!"

Sheng Changquan first moved the candlestick on the table not far away closer to himself so that the candlelight would be brighter, and then reached out and pulled up the lid of the box, opening the box directly.

"Shh!"

Inside the room, there seemed to be a flash of white light!
The box was suddenly opened.

However, upon opening it, there were no rare treasures inside; it contained only a large pile of ordinary books.

These scrolls were the size of ordinary books, one after another, stacked together, neatly arranging the chest without a single gap.

Upon seeing these books, Sheng Changquan smiled.

"Hehe, thank goodness I didn't lose it!"

Sheng Changquan muttered to himself, bent down and took out a book from the top of the box, opened it and read it, saying to himself, "In the past six years, I have followed my teacher all over the country, visited countless famous scholars and sages, and in the end, all I have gained is this box full of books!"

"This is truly unbelievable!"

As mentioned earlier, during Sheng Changquan's studies abroad, in addition to teaching him how to conduct himself in society and how to be an official and pursue his studies, Mr. Zhuang Ru also took him to visit many other people in his spare time.

Among them were old friends of Mr. Zhuang, as well as local wealthy families with excellent reputations. Thanks to Mr. Zhuang's reputation, Sheng Changquan was able to browse through many books and classics in their mansions, which helped him improve his writing skills and knowledge.

However, at this time, books have always represented the foundation of each family, and the profound words of sages on them are even more precious treasures.

Although the people Mr. Zhuang visited would allow Sheng Changquan to browse through their family library for his sake, they rarely offered him paper and pen to copy or excerpt anything.

Moreover, copying books also requires a considerable amount of time, and Sheng Changquan certainly didn't have that much time.

Therefore, he could only try to read through the books he had never read before, and then force himself to memorize them. With the help of his photographic memory, he managed to firmly memorize the knowledge so that he could copy it down later to make up for his own shortcomings.

Generally speaking, families with book collections tend to keep a secret, meaning they keep their most precious books separate. Therefore, the books that Sheng Changquan read were relatively common classics.

Therefore, the books he had recorded over the years amounted to nothing more than this large chest. After all, the Sheng family itself had a collection of books, and he had also seen the collections of the Zhuang family, the Duke of Qi's mansion, the Marquis of Ningyuan's mansion, and the Yu family...

These prestigious families possessed a considerable number of books.

"Humph!"

Looking at the book in his hand, Sheng Changquan let out a soft snort.

"These people!"

He looked at the box of books in front of him with some disdain, and curled his lip: "Staying stuck in the old ways, no wonder the power of discourse in this world is in the hands of these powerful families."

Although it is true that great talents can emerge from humble backgrounds, the vast majority of successful people come from families with a strong financial foundation. That is why he said such things.

However, Sheng Changquan clearly forgot one thing: his own family, the Sheng family, was also classified into the class he despised.

"But, this is fine!"

Thinking of his goals and the path he would take in the future, Sheng Changquan couldn't help but smile and think to himself, "Since the common people are trapped by the blockade of literary and Taoist families and have no books to read, if I were to write a classic in the future, wouldn't I be able to become a literary and Taoist patriarch in one leap?"

With memories of his past life as a foundation, coupled with numerous advantages in this life, Sheng Changquan is confident that he can write a classic work.

Putting aside other things, the Mencius, a book by our ancestor, is a good choice.

"hey-hey……"

Thinking of this, Sheng Changquan secretly rejoiced, completely unaware of how much ability it would take to reach that point.

To become a sage of literature and philosophy, one needs not only a discipline or philosophy that can overwhelm all other schools of thought, but also supreme power to suppress others.

At the same time, this person must possess unparalleled personal charisma and be able to gain the trust and support of the vast majority of people.

We still need...

……

These countless conditions, or rather difficulties, are the biggest problem that hinders the literary sage!
In truth, there are virtuous people in this world, but no saints.

Although we often talk about ancient sages and saints, they were ultimately just sages, not saints.

The main reason is that literature and morality are flourishing in this world, with a hundred schools of thought contending and various doctrines becoming popular, and people vying to learn them.

However, while all schools of thought are excellent, none can dominate the others. Each school has its strengths and weaknesses, but there is no clear leader or follower. Thus, there is no clear leader among the many schools, and while wise men may emerge, no saints appear.

Even though Confucianism is currently the dominant ideology in the imperial court, its followers are each pursuing their own agendas based on the ideas of the many Confucian sages, and each has their own disputes, with none willing to concede to the others.

Even Qiu Chuji, the founder of Confucianism, was not hailed as a saint by the public, but only as an ancestor, hence the title "Ancestor of Confucianism".

This is because sainthood is a state of being, while ancestorhood is a position; the two cannot be compared.

The reason why Master Qiu could not be considered a sage is that not all of his teachings were accepted by people.

……

"Forget it, let's take this 'Literature Box' back first!"

Sheng Changquan had not yet realized how difficult it would be to achieve his goal. Right now, he was only thinking about bringing back the books he had accumulated over the past six years to enrich his family's collection and enhance the Sheng family's heritage.

After all, he was also a member of the Sheng family, and their fates were intertwined.

Perhaps, in the future, he will need to rely on the power of his family to achieve his goals.

"Well, let's do it!"

Sheng Changquan shoved the scroll back into his hands, then closed the wooden lid of the box, locked it with a brass lock, and finally grabbed the handles on both sides of the box and pulled hard!

"Hey!"

A soft drink!
Sheng Changquan immediately lifted the heavy "literary box".

Judging from his appearance, it seemed he intended to take it back to his bedroom and carefully store it away.

However, this is also the truth.

After all, such literary treasures are truly invaluable and should not be easily squandered.

So, under the astonished gazes of the many servants in the West Mansion, Sheng Changquan leisurely carried the wooden box back to his main house.

"Oh!"

A soft sound!
Sheng Changquan looked around and finally put the "literary box" into a small compartment behind his bed. It was originally a place to store some miscellaneous items, but after Sheng Changquan's modification, it served as a secret room.

Because this compartment is the innermost part and is close to Sheng Changquan's bed, it is extremely safe given Sheng Changquan's strength.

"Haha, all done!"

After Sheng Changquan placed the "Wen Dao Box" into the small compartment, he clapped his hands and laughed.

"Now, we're just waiting to take it with us when we leave next month!"

He looked with satisfaction at the treasure he had carefully placed, then turned and walked to his bedside.

However, he went there not to rest, but to pick up the wooden box on the bed.

This wooden box was none other than the weapon case containing his halberd and longsword.

"Boom!"

Sheng Changquan opened the wooden box and revealed the two divine weapons inside.

However, since the halberd was too long and difficult to wield in the room, he ignored it and instead drew out another weapon, the purple sword.

The Purple Sword is no ordinary sword. It is five feet two-tenths feet long and nine-tenths of an inch wide. Its blade is flexible and can bend or straighten at will, making it a rare soft sword.

A soft sword is different from an ordinary longsword. To wield it requires extremely high skill. If one is not skilled enough, nine times out of ten one will injure oneself before harming others, or even cripple oneself.

An ordinary longsword can be used to slash, thrust, and block, but a soft sword is different. Without innate intent, how can it be so flexible?

The term "soft sword" refers to the word "soft," meaning it can be bent into a box and straightened again when stretched. Its exceptional toughness is precisely its characteristic.

When bent with force, it becomes like a hook; when released, it makes a resounding sound; and when straightened again, it becomes like a string. This can be described as the harmony of Yin and Yang, containing the essence of the Great Dao.

Yin represents softness, which can be bent into a handful, while Yang represents strength, which is forged through countless trials and perfected by the purest Yang fire. Yin and Yang embrace life, and together they create all things.

Sheng Changquan's purple sword, however, is the king of soft swords.

This sword was made from celestial iron, forged by heavenly fire, and crafted by three generations of master swordsmiths through countless forging processes.

According to its previous owner, on the day this sword was born, the sun and moon were upside down, and gold and silver appeared together, with unpredictable phenomena. It was a divine weapon bestowed by heaven!

Many thanks to the generous reward from the expert, Ren Shen!

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(End of this chapter)