Chapter 9: Virtue, Appearance, and Achievement

  He arrived at the bedroom arranged by Chen Deng - generally speaking, when visiting someone else's home, shouldn't there be some small talk before sitting down? But this Mr. Chen Yuanlong was different, after greeting Chen's family members at the entrance of the villa, he didn't even say a word about being tired from traveling and needing to rest, and just followed the servant to find his bedroom, as if he had arrived at an inn for the first time rather than a friend's home.

  He went to the door and took a look. The gate was closed in broad daylight, and he suspected that Chen Deng was tired and had already gone to bed - although scholars shouldn't sleep during the day, even if the other party was just leaning against him and taking a nap, it wouldn't be convenient for him to disturb him. Taking another look, the weather was quite cold, but the window was propped open, looking like it was for lighting, not for sleeping. So he plucked up his courage, coughed outside the door, and said with his hands clasped together: "Xu Ming is Xu Yun, I have something to ask Chen Ling."

  "With a 'creak', the door was pulled open by Chen Deng's servant, who bowed and said: "My master is packing his bags, may I ask if you have any urgent business? If not, please come back later." Xun pretended to say that he had urgent business, so the servant stepped aside and raised his hands: "In that case, please enter.""

  I'm at my home, the house is not big, you don't even want to come to the door to welcome me. Xu Qi said it's true, this guy really doesn't understand the etiquette of treating guests. Xun Yi muttered to himself as he stepped into the house and saw Chen Deng sitting by the window, opening several packages and rummaging through some books.

  Xun Chao bowed to him, Chen Deng put down the bamboo slips in his hand and returned a courtesy, expressionless: "I am the head of Dongyang, not the county magistrate."

  In the Han Dynasty, counties were divided into large and small ones. The head of a large county was called "Ling", while the head of a small county was called "Chang". However, it was common in informal settings to refer to the deputy as the chief, omitting the word "deputy". So, at that time, it was normal to call the county magistrate "certain Ling", but Chen Deng didn't follow this convention and even made a point of correcting it.

  Look at Chen Deng's expression, he was clearly saying: "If you have something to say, say it, if you have fart, let it out quickly, I'm busy." Zuo Si didn't care, since he had entered the door, of course, he would follow the rules, so he didn't want to speak first. Until the servant brought a mat and spread it in front of Chen Deng, took off his shoes and sat down, then he took a deep breath and began to plan how to get close to him.

  "I had previously heard of Mr. Chen's great reputation from Kong Wenju in Beihai, so I came to pay my respects..."

  Chen Deng's eyes flickered slightly as he stared at Shi Xun and asked, "Kong Beihai actually knows that I, Chen Deng, exist in this world? What did he say?" Shi Xun couldn't help but laugh to himself, thinking, "This is going to be good!"

  Historical records show that Chen Deng claimed to have the utmost respect for several people, including Kong Rong. Kong Rong became famous at a young age, and stories about him giving pears to others or visiting famous scholar Li Ru were dug up by his later followers, but when he was 16 years old, he dared to harbor Zhang Yan, and after the incident was exposed, he, along with his older brother Kong Bo and their mother, all competed to take responsibility and face death. This earned him a great reputation among scholars. Therefore, Kong Rong's name was known throughout the land, while Chen Deng at that time couldn't even claim to be famous in Xuzhou.

  Of course, there is another Liu Bei who also asks "Does Kong Beihai know that I exist in this world?" However, at that time, Liu Bei was just an "old revolutionary" (a veteran soldier), and although he had become a 2,000-dan official due to circumstances, his reputation among the scholars was not as good as Chen Deng's. To put it this way, if Kong Rong is compared to a phoenix, then Liu Bei is a crow, and Chen Deng is a small peacock. Although there are differences in their ranks, whether you tell the crow or the small peacock that the phoenix thinks highly of them, both will be overjoyed.

  Actually, Kong Rong never mentioned Chen Deng to Zixuan, but that's not important. Anyway, it's impossible for Chen Deng to rush to Beihai to ask Kong Rong for verification in a short time, and even if he did later, Kong Rong would probably nod along with the conversation, saying "yes, yes, I praised you" - although Kong Rong is also proud at heart, his humble appearance is very convincing, which is completely different from Chen Deng.

  So Xun casually fabricated a story, saying: "Kong Wenzheng said: 'Chen Yuanlong is a famous scholar of Xu Fang, like a hidden dragon in the abyss, one day flying to heaven, his future prospects are boundless, unfortunately...'"

  This short paragraph is also very nuanced. First, he directly addresses Kong Rong's courtesy name, rather than his official title - whether it be "National Counselor", "Duke" or using "Beihai" as a substitute - this shows that he and Kong Rong are on an equal footing in their relationship. Of course, he didn't dare to call him that to his face, but theoretically speaking, after Zhang Chang's rescue, didn't Kong Rong take his hand and Taishi Ci's hand everywhere, saying "These are all my young friends"? That is to say, he acknowledged that Zixu was his friend. Between friends, it is natural to address each other by courtesy name.

  Is Xun addressing Kong Rong with his courtesy name, indirectly elevating his own status - aren't you, Chen Deng, very respectful of Kong Rong? So for Kong Rong's friend, shouldn't you be a bit more polite? At the same time, Is Xun fabricated Kong Rong's words, pretending that Kong Rong also addressed Chen Deng with his courtesy name. Generally, seniors would address juniors by their courtesy names as a sign of respect and closeness when face-to-face, but only use their given names when referring to them in conversation. If they used the courtesy name in the latter situation, it meant they held that person in high regard, with a hint of reverence. How about it? I'm right, aren't I? Kong Rong thinks highly of you! As for me, who brought this message, shouldn't you show some due respect?

  Finally, Xun deliberately left a suspense, waiting for Chen Deng to ask, so that the initiative of speaking was thoroughly in his own hands, and would not be - "Is that all? This is not a big deal, I'm busy, please go."

  As expected, as soon as the words "alas" came out of his mouth, Chen Deng unconsciously leaned forward slightly and asked him, "What's to be regretted?" Zixuan smiled faintly and continued to fabricate: "Alas, with a proud and rugged bone structure, it's hard to avoid being ridiculed by the common folk."

  Chen Deng gazed up at the sky and clasped his hands together in respect. He sighed and said, "Kong Beihai truly understands me."

  Xun took the opportunity to change the subject: "Since Kong Wenju holds Mr. Chen in such high esteem, I have come to pay my respects and seek his guidance - I've heard that Mr. Chen was able to comfort the widows and orphans in Dongyang, encourage farming and weaving, and fill the granaries to capacity, so Tao Shi jun wants to appoint him as the Director of Agriculture. As for me, I am ignorant of agriculture and do not know what is most important for farmers."

  This is his real way of getting close to him. Because he thought, Chen Deng, although he has no children and is arrogant, but after all, he has been in the officialdom for so many years, under Tao Qian, Liu Bei, Lü Bu or Cao Cao, he was quite valued, and will not be a guy who doesn't understand social interactions at all - if it's really that kind of person, I'm afraid there is no ability to be an official, can only follow Guan Ning to run deep into the mountains and seclusion. Xu Shu has a reputation for being empty, so Chen Deng deliberately made things difficult for him, if he himself lowered his posture and went to ask him questions, shouldn't he refuse people from afar?

  In general, a proud person must like to show off and be a mentor. Okay, I'll come to you like a student asking a teacher for guidance, maybe you'll be willing to have a good talk with me.

  Actually, Chen Deng wasn't a good teacher, but suddenly there was someone who could discuss with Kong Rong as an equal, and came to ask for his advice. He happened to ask about the things that Chen Deng was most proud of, so he couldn't help but show off a bit. As they say, "you don't hit a smiling face", you're not like Xu Si, who comes over with the aura of a famous scholar, expecting me to treat him as an equal, and still has the nerve to pout and expect me to speak first - of course, at this time Xu Si was still eating his fill in the Yanzhou government office, probably hadn't even met Chen Deng yet.

  So Chen Deng listened to Shi Xun's inquiry and handed over a bamboo volume from his side, saying: "The key points of farming are all in this book." Shi Xun took it and glanced at the title - "Fan Shengzhi Shu", thinking that he had heard of this book but hadn't read it himself.

  Fan Shengzhi was a famous agronomist in the late Western Han Dynasty, who summarized the "Qitian Fa" ... Okay, about this person, I knew these from before, as for what is called "Qitian Fa", he didn't have any concept at all.

  He opened the bamboo scroll to read it, and in his heart he was drumming: "I asked you a question, and you directly gave me this book. What does that mean? Do you want me to leave and study by myself? No way, I haven't finished speaking yet, how can I retreat?" Thinking of this, he raised his head: "'Knowledge gained from books is shallow, only through personal experience can one gain a deeper understanding.' As the year-end approaches, the state government has also closed its offices. Why don't you, Mr. Chen, temporarily stay at my place until after the New Year? If there are any doubts about this book, it's also convenient for me to ask for your guidance morning and evening."

  Chen Deng stroked his beard, thought for a moment, nodded and said: "Alright. That's settled then."

  He took advantage of the situation and suddenly changed the subject, asking: "I wonder how Mr. Chen views women? Someone said: 'A woman without talent is virtuous', can this be true?"

  Chen Deng shook his head and said: "What are you talking about? Those with talent have insight, those with insight can understand virtue. It is rare for someone without talent to understand virtue."

  Xunzi asked: "In the 'Book of Rites', it only talks about women's virtues, words, appearance and merits, but not their talents."

  "Where there is talent, there is virtue; where there is talent, there is expression."

  "So it seems that Mr. Chen doesn't dislike women who like poetry and books after all?"

  Chen Deng didn't understand what the other person was trying to say, but since he had already started talking, he just went along with the topic: "The classics can illuminate virtue, poetry can delight the emotions, and history can provide success. If Cao's wife is not well-versed in the classics and history, she cannot be a teacher for noble people. As long as she doesn't overdo it to the point of neglecting her domestic duties, that's fine." This means that as long as the woman doesn't get too carried away with reading books and neglects her needlework, that's okay.

  "Indeed," said Xun, unable to help but smile again. "Mr. Chen's insight is truly beyond the ordinary. I happen to know of a young woman who excels in virtue, appearance, speech, and talent, yet because she delights in reading poetry and books, she has been rejected by mediocre scholars and has nowhere to turn. Does Mr. Chen have any interest?"