White-robed Minister

Chapter 126, page 0124: [Fan Zhongyan's Grandson-in-Law]

Xu Lai recited the "Song Dynasty Criminal Code" in his study for a while before remembering that he still needed to reply to Yu Zhongxun and Pianpian.

He had already read their letters that afternoon.

In his letter, Yu Zhongxun said that Yu Jing's posthumous manuscripts had been compiled and he planned to compile them into a book for woodblock printing, tentatively named "Wuxi Collection".

We plan to have Zhou Yuan, the transport judge of Guangxi, write the preface for this book.

Yu Zhongxun also told Xu Lai that Yu Jing had recommended Zhou Yuan five times. He told Xu Lai that if he needed Zhou Yuan's help in the future, he should just ask.

How extensive is Zhou Yuan's network of connections?

It is said that when he returned to his hometown of Quzhou, he built a pavilion called Cuixian Pavilion in front of the City God Temple.

Zhou Yuan wrote to his friends, inviting them to compose poems for the pavilion. Those invited included: Ouyang Xiu, Su Shunqin, Mei Yaochen, Cai Xiang, Zeng Gong, Huangfu Cheng, Wang Anshi, Wang Anguo, Fan Zhen, Han Jiang, and Shao Bi.

A dilapidated pavilion, where dozens of people inscribed poems.

Xu Lai didn't take the letter seriously after reading it; he had never heard of Zhou Yuan before.

Taking it seriously is pointless.

Because starting with the Puyi Incident, those still alive on this list of poets gradually began to split and become hostile. If they lived until the Xining Reforms, they would have been divided into two factions, the old and the new, fighting tooth and nail.

Those who are political enemies in the court now and in the future were actually all friends back then.

Xu Lai picked up his pen and wrote back to Yu Zhongxun, briefly introducing his work and thanking Yu Zhongxun for sending servants to help him. He omitted the matter of the prefectural magistrate.

Then he wrote back to Pianpian, only talking about some trivial matters of life and the interesting stories he had heard in Yingtian Prefecture.

"My lord, have some midnight snack." Yu'er brought in a bowl of wontons.

Xu Lai was still writing a reply, saying, "Thank you."

Yu'er put down the wontons but didn't leave immediately. Instead, she looked at the messy desk and said, "Young master, could you please hire a junior scribe to help tidy up the study and the writing materials?"

"There's no need for that right now," Xu Lai said.

Yu'er added, "Actually, I can do it too. But I'm afraid of messing up the study, so I don't dare to act rashly. My lord, could you set some rules about which books I can touch and which I can't?"

Xu Lai laughed and said, "I only have these two or three books, why would I need to organize them? All the books I read before are kept at my old home."

Yu'er smiled and stood to the side without saying anything more.

Xu Lai finally finished writing his reply and casually asked, "How old are you?"

"Sixteen (by Chinese reckoning)." Yu'er was very happy; Xu Sanlang had finally taken the initiative to chat with her.

Xu Lai then asked, "Have you been with Pianpian since you were little?"

"Yes, I started living with Sixth Sister when I was five years old," Yu'er said. "I also have the surname Yu, and I'm from the same clan as Sixth Sister. One year there was a severe drought, and my family had nothing to eat, so my parents sold me to the Yu family. At that time, my husband was an official in Guangxi, and it was my mother who bought me."

"Actually, even without a signed contract, I can go home anytime. The old lady also said that if I ever get married, she will arrange a dowry for me."

"I see, you are Pianpian's cousin," Xu Lai said.

Yu'er couldn't help but ask, "My lord, won't you ask my maiden name?"

Xu Lai retorted, "Is that even a question?"

"Yes, that's fine," Yu'er said. "My maiden name is Yu Keyu, which was given to me by the old lady. If you, my lord, become the top scholar in the imperial examination, you will surely know the origin of my name."

Xu Lai thought about it carefully: "I really don't know."

"Oh dear, the Book of Songs," Yu'er reminded her.

Xu Lai smiled and said, "I haven't studied the Book of Changes or the Book of Poetry yet. When I'm less busy with official duties, I'll study the Book of Poetry and find the origin of your name."

"My lord is so clever, he'll definitely find it right away." Yu'er picked up the folding fan on the desk and stood beside Xu Lai, gently fanning him.

This broken folding fan was a defective product left over from a gift in Guangzhou.

Xu Sanlang is quite stingy; he's been using defective products ever since.

Yu'er made conversation: "Compared to last time, my lord has grown taller and his skin is fairer."

Xu Lai stood up and said, "If you eat well, you'll naturally grow faster. My growth has already settled, and I haven't changed much in the past six months."

"You rest first, I'm going to take a shower."

"I'll get you a change of clothes, my lord," Yu'er quickly followed.

While Xu Lai was taking a shower, she stood guard outside the door, getting bitten several times by annoying mosquitoes.

Xu Sanlang had no idea that after taking a shower, he was only wearing pants and shirtless, heading back to his bedroom when he bumped right into Yu'er.

Yu'er blushed and turned her head away, and Xu Lai quickly put his shirt on her.

The term "shirt" already existed in the Northern Song Dynasty; it refers to a type of narrow-sleeved inner garment.

Xu Lai covered his body not out of shyness, but because he felt he wasn't manly enough. In the past two years, he had focused on growing taller and neglected exercise due to his constant studying. As a result, he had little muscle in his chest and arms, and for a while, his ribs even protruded.

Only after the handover of his work was completed did he begin to maintain his exercise routine, working out every morning and evening.

Yu'er followed Xu Lai back to the bedroom, but after thinking about it, she ultimately decided not to go in.

When she left Shaozhou, Madam Lin's personal maid gave her a set of comic books. The kind that would make any girl blush, mainly teaching techniques for serving a man without losing one's virginity.

Before his legal wife gave birth, it was inconvenient for her to get pregnant.

Yu'er's cheeks flushed, and she lowered her head to say, "The mosquito net is down, there are no mosquitoes inside."

"You should get some rest too." Xu Lai reached out and closed the door.

Yu'er stood outside the door for a moment, and only left after the lights inside were turned off. She then lay on her bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Bu Chao, however, couldn't stay idle. Xu Lai told him to rest for two days, and he went out for a stroll the next day.

Then I discovered something embarrassing—

Forget about asking the locals for information, he even had difficulty understanding what they were saying; he had to guess the pronunciation of at least half of their words.

Sigh, that new magistrate of Qingyuan County has to rely on a translator to communicate with the local officials.

-

Bu Chao, quite annoyed, returned to the inner door of the magistrate's office and went to talk to Chen Dequan: "How do you understand the locals?"

"I've been learning the pronunciation of the book since I was a child," Chen Dequan replied.

Bu Chao is actually a little dissatisfied with his current status.

At this moment, that slight dissatisfaction had vanished without a trace.

He discovered that after leaving Guangdong, he was not even as good as a doorman, who at least could talk to the locals.

Bu Chao went back into the house to get the "Hundred Family Surnames" and said in a flattering tone, "Uncle Chen, could you please teach me to read the 'Hundred Family Surnames' in a proper reading voice?"

Chen Dequan was bored working as a doorman, so he immediately took on the role of a teacher.

Why learn the "Hundred Family Surnames" first, instead of the "Thousand Character Classic"?

Because this thing is more practical; it can quickly help you recognize how to write various surnames.

What beginners should really learn are books like "Essentials for Elementary Learning" and "Four-Character Miscellaneous Characters." These can quickly introduce basic literacy skills and contain a large number of simplified characters (common characters).

Unfortunately, Xu Lai didn't understand these things, so he skipped the initial learning stage.

For several days in a row, Bu Chao did not go out.

In the morning, he followed Chen Dequan to read "The Hundred Family Surnames," and in the afternoon, he went to chat with the cook and the cleaning ladies—a daily practice of conversation.

It wasn't until his day off that Bu Chao, as a close attendant, accompanied Xu Lai to the banquet.

Gong Dingchen hosted a banquet at Junpu.

A "junpu" was an attached garden of a prefectural or state government office; such gardens were common in Song Dynasty government offices. For example, the Xiyuan Garden in Guangzhou was the garden of the military governor's office.

The newly arrived Tongpan of Yingtian Prefecture has completed the handover of his duties, and Gong Dingchen has gathered his subordinates together for a get-together.

The officials attending the banquet included the prefect, the vice-prefect, the assistant prefect, the registrar, the military advisor, the judge, the six officials, and so on.

Gong Dingchen also recruited courtesans.

Bringing courtesans to the county garden to liven up the banquet atmosphere is completely different from the nature of Shi Xun bringing them to the inner quarters.

This was a public banquet, which had to be held on statutory holidays, and the courtesans were only allowed to accompany the drinks, not to serve the emperor. If an official had sexual relations with a courtesan, he was guilty of "embezzlement." If he wasn't impeached, all was well; but if he was, he would certainly be in trouble.

"Greetings, Magistrate Zhuang!" Xu Lai greeted him with a bow.

Zhuang Gongyue smiled and returned the greeting: "I have long admired your name, Scholar Zhuang. Your farewell poem has already spread throughout the capital: A floating duckweed returns to the vast sea; where in life do we not meet again?"

"I am ashamed. The line 'Life is full of unexpected encounters' is adapted from a poem by Yan Yuanxian," Xu said.

Zhuang Gongyue said, "It is perfectly normal to adapt poems and lyrics, but it is rare to be able to create a new artistic conception."

The newly appointed prefect, Zhuang Gongyue, was the sixth-ranked scholar in the imperial examination of the fourth year of the Jiayou era. His family background was relatively ordinary, but he was chosen as a son-in-law by someone who had passed the examination, and ended up becoming the grandson-in-law of Fan Zhongyan!

After exchanging pleasantries, the two returned to their seats.

Their subordinates also stepped forward to pay their respects.

Several court entertainers arrived; only the singers were women, the rest were male musicians.

Xu Lai guessed that today's banquet was probably paid for with official funds.

The thought of this made Xu Lai feel uneasy.

Damn it, I donate my allowance to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs just so people can have fun and be merry?

However, donating to welfare institutions is also not good. In the Song Dynasty, most of the people receiving minimum living allowances in official welfare institutions were people with connections.

It would be better to donate the money to schools.

Not long after the banquet began, Xu Lai asked, "Why haven't I seen any documents regarding the allocation of funds to Yingtian Prefectural School in the signing hall?"

Gong Dingchen laughed heartily.

Li Shiyuan, the military registrar, explained: "Xu, the judge, was unaware that the Yingtian Prefectural School had long been converted into the Nanjing Imperial Academy, which now receives annual funding directly from the imperial court."

Xu Lai was even more puzzled: "The Imperial Academy only admits the sons of the powerful and wealthy, while the prefectural schools admit the sons of commoners. If the Yingtian Prefectural School is transformed into the Imperial Academy, what kind of students will it admit?"

"Ugh!"

Zhuang Gongyue sighed.

Originally called Yingtianfu Academy, it was where Fan Zhongyan personally lectured, making it a "cradle of talent" during the Qingli Reforms. Several top scholars (Zhuangyuan) emerged there, along with a large number of ordinary Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations).

Later it was renamed Yingtian Prefectural School, and it still produced many Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations).

Until it was renamed the Nanjing Imperial Academy, which enrolled a large number of sons of powerful and wealthy families, it suddenly became unsustainable.

As Fan Zhongyan's grandson-in-law, how could Zhuang Gongyue not be moved by this situation?

Gong Dingchen said, "The Nanjing Imperial Academy is both an Imperial Academy and a prefectural school. It accepts all kinds of students."

"It wasn't separated like the Imperial Academy and the National University?" Xu Lai asked again.

Gong Dingchen shook his head: "No."

Xu Lai finally understood why Zhuang Gongyue sighed.

A top-tier school in the country was ruined by the children of the powerful and wealthy.

Xu Lai planned to investigate the situation further and submit a memorial to the court to emulate the system of the Imperial Academy and the Imperial University, separating the Nanjing Imperial Academy from the Yingtian Prefectural School.

Then he donated all of his illicit income, which he couldn't refuse, to Yingtian Academy for the education of children who were not from powerful or wealthy families.

Gong Dingchen greeted him, "Xingzhi, let's not talk about so much at today's banquet. Who in Tokyo doesn't know your poetic talent? You should show it off when you get to Nanjing."

He then pointed with a smile to the courtesan singing: "This lady Liang Yinyin is a famous talented woman in Yingtian Prefecture. I specially invited her to sing with you."

Liang Yinyin looked at Xu Lai with curiosity. She not only knew that Xu Lai was the top scholar in the imperial examination, but she had also heard of Xu Lai's poems.

Xu Lai smiled but didn't say anything.

He had no interest in courtesans; he would rather go back and memorize more articles from the "Song Dynasty Criminal Code" than waste his energy on such charades.

This thing is for looking at, not for eating. Eating it would be a crime of "embezzlement" and could lead to impeachment by political enemies!

(The ten-year-old girl in the previous chapter is from the *Zizhi Tongjian Changbian* and the *History of the Song Dynasty*. She is Zhu E, who is listed first in the *Biographies of Exemplary Women* in the *History of the Song Dynasty*.)

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