Chapter Twelve: Reading Books Has Sisters

  The next morning, I woke up early, and the dawn was just beginning to show. The birds' chirping sounded especially pleasant. A ray of morning light shone on Xu Qian's face, and the soft yellow light didn't feel uncomfortable at all. After washing up, Xu Qian found himself with nothing to do.

  Got it!

  He suddenly realized that his current goal seemed to be reading books. The former Xu Qian read books out of interest, but the current Xu Qian was motivated by utilitarian thoughts.

  By my ear, the teachings of my father echoed: after reading books, you can become a master, after reading books, you will no longer be a humble servant, with honors and achievements, you can stand firm in this world.

  Xu Qian took a deep breath and dispelled his unnecessary thoughts. His gaze fell on a wooden box.

  The wooden box was left by Xu Qian, with many books inside, but the top was already covered in dust. Xu Qian opened the box and took out a few handwritten books, which emitted a musty smell. He couldn't help but wrinkle his brow: "I'm afraid that after a few more days, these books will all be moldy and rotten. Fortunately, fortunately, they can still be used with difficulty for now."

  He picked up a handwritten copy of the Analects, flipped through it casually, and the memories in his mind burst forth like a flood breaking through the dam, surging forth in his brain...

  These dusty memories appeared clearly in Xu Qian's mind under the guidance of the words in the book.

  "The Master said: 'Is it not a pleasure, having learned something to try it out at once?... Have friends come from afar...... The Master said: 'Those who are filial and fraternal but dislike offending their superiors are few indeed. Those who do not dislike offending their superiors but do not like to create disorder are non-existent.'"

  The content of the book, Xu Qian can recite fluently, Xu Qian couldn't help but be amazed, secretly admiring the solid foundation of that former bookworm. This guy not only has the Four Books and Five Classics memorized, but also the annotations of Cheng Zhu's two saints can be recited fluently. Xu Qian felt fortunate in his heart, if he hadn't inherited the memory, he didn't know when he would have finished reading this book. With such a solid foundation, as long as he was lucky, it shouldn't be difficult to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar.

  Xu Qian again flipped through all the books in the book box, and unexpectedly found a handwritten copy of "Ba Gu Ji Yi" at the bottom of the box. The book recorded many eight-part essays that could be used for reference. He carefully picked up the book and roughly read it once, getting a general impression, and couldn't help but have some fanciful thoughts.

  What is known as the eight-legged essay, in fact, refers to writing articles based on the Four Books. The topics of the eight-legged essays all originate from the Four Books. If one cannot thoroughly understand the Four Books, ordinary people may not even be able to comprehend the topic.

  As for how to write the eight-legged essay, although there are rules, there are also some mysteries inside. To put it bluntly, it's actually about excerpting sentences from the Four Books and letting you elaborate on them. The format is one aspect that restricts test-takers, while the content of the elaboration is similar to later generations' argumentative essays. Of course, the premise is that you must elaborate according to Zhu Xi's ideas; otherwise, if you suddenly get excited and write out a theory that completely contradicts Zhu Xi's thoughts, then forget it, you're done for.

  The Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism was also extremely important. Although various thoughts were prevalent during this era, the only officially recognized authority was this one. If you couldn't grasp the ideas of these two academic tyrants, it would be like doing useless work. The interpretations of the Four Books also originated from Cheng-Zhu. For example, there's a question in the Four Books that asks what 1+1 equals. Zhu Xi said it equals 3, so it must be 3 and absolutely cannot be 2. If you wrote 2, then you're a real fool.

  After some thought, the general idea is clear. Xu Qian read through several eight-legged essays repeatedly and had an epiphany in his heart. He felt that his foundation was solid, and he could try to imitate and learn from them. With spare time, he would write a few eight-legged essays to practice his skills. As the saying goes, "practice makes perfect." Although the first few attempts may not be worth mentioning, slowly but surely, he would grasp the essence of it. Moreover, his knowledge base was far superior to that of scholars in this era, so it's possible for him to produce good articles.

  Just as he was indulging in flights of fancy, it seemed like there was some commotion outside. Xu Qian heard his father seemingly receiving guests and so put down his book to head to the main hall.

  A familiar carriage had stopped in the courtyard, and Xu Qian knew who had arrived.

  Miss Zhao's father is now released through Mr. Wang's connections, and he must have remembered the deed of sale that was signed at that time.

  He hastily entered the hall and saw Xu Chang sitting in the first place, having a pleasant conversation with a stout merchant. Miss Zhao stood beside the merchant with a cold face. When she saw Xu Qian coming, her clear eyes only swept across Xu Qian's face slightly before turning away.

  Xu Qian didn't bother to argue with her, and seeing Xu Chang chatting enthusiastically with the merchant, he didn't want to disturb them, so he casually pulled over a stool and sat down beside them.

  "Xu brother is indeed a few years older than me, calling him elder brother is not bad at all, haha. You and I are also considered to be familiar with each other after going through thick and thin. To be honest, when I was in prison, I also hated Xu brother before, but that's all in the past, haha... it's just a fleeting cloud, everything was just a misunderstanding."

  This merchant was very talkative, his mouth was as smooth as if it had been greased with honey, and in a short time they were already addressing each other as brothers.

  Xu Chang also smiled and said: "You call me brother, so Xu Mou will not be polite. From now on, we are brothers. You come to my humble abode, no matter what, you have to eat a meal first before leaving, Qian'er..." Xu Chang's eyes glanced at Xu Qian and then said: "Later, you go buy a few catties of wine, I want to drink with Zhao brother."

  "Yes, yes." Xu Chang hastily replied.

  Again, after chatting for a while, the merchant furrowed his brow and said, "To be honest with you, Brother Xu, this time I came here, I really have something to ask of you." When he said this, Xu Qian couldn't help but glance at Miss Zhao, who naturally responded with a cold attitude.

  Xu Chang showed a mysterious expression and said: "We are one family, why should we speak of two households? Whatever you want to say, just say it."

  The merchant said with a serious expression: "My young daughter is ignorant and doesn't understand things. On that day, I was imprisoned, but she came to find my virtuous nephew to plead for me. I don't know what misunderstanding occurred, and she actually wrote a contract selling herself! Alas... this foolish girl... I have come here to ask for the return of the contract. However, Brother Xu can rest assured that Zhao is also a reasonable person. As long as your esteemed son is willing to hand over the contract, the Zhao family will offer fifty taels of silver and a beautiful maid as a token of respect."

  The merchant's face has already shown a confident look, he and Xu Chang have established a relationship, now he is willing to take out so many benefits in exchange for the sale contract, this matter is likely to be ninety percent sure.

  It was Miss Zhao, although her face was cold, but her eyes also flashed a hint of joy. She had been too impulsive at the time and had fallen for Xu's trick. Now that her father was out of prison, she naturally refused to come and serve as a slave in the Xu family. The biggest problem now was that deed of sale, once it was obtained, one worry would be resolved.

  Xu Chang smiled and asked Xu Qian: "Qian'er, is this really the case?"

  Xu Qian said: "It's true."

  "Oh." Xu Chang nodded calmly and then asked: "Is it in black and white?"

  Xu Qian said: "There is black ink on white paper, all written clearly."

  "In that case." Xu Chang said to the merchant without hesitation: "Then please forgive Zhao, the silver is not something I look down on, as for the beautiful maid... Hehe... That's also useless.Since she is your daughter who sold herself, there is a contract, then obediently enter my Xu family's door."

  Xu Chang's attitude changed suddenly, it was really astonishing. Who would have thought that the person who just called others "brother" and "younger brother" had become a demon in an instant?

  "But..." said the merchant incredulously.

  Xu Chang interrupted him, saying: "There's no 'however', since you've signed the contract selling your daughter to me, she is now a member of the Xu family. If you want to buy her back, unfortunately, my family doesn't sell. I'll be blunt with you, considering our past friendship, you can take your daughter home for now, but within today, she must pack her bags and come over to pay respects as a new member of the Xu family. Otherwise, we'll have to settle this at the county yamen, where they'll make it clear what crime it is to abduct and sell private slaves - I'm sure you're aware of that."

  The words made the merchant almost faint with rage. He sprang up and shouted: "You Xu, are you trying to kick a man when he's down?"

  Xu Chang sat steadily in his chair, narrowing his eyes into a slit, and said: "A person with the surname Xu wouldn't kick someone when they're down, or else he wouldn't have made it this far, would he?"

  "What a ridiculous thing!" The merchant rolled up his sleeves, looking like he was going to fight to the death. Miss Zhao panicked and tried to persuade him to stop, but in the end, the father-daughter duo stormed off with a flick of their sleeves.

  The scene just now was like a dream to Xu Qian, it seemed that the two were about to put their shoulders together, but who knew that as soon as they involved interests, the old man immediately turned his face and didn't recognize people, it's really breathtaking.

  "Isn't it that Father has taken a liking to Miss Zhao and had some wicked thoughts?" Xu Qian suddenly had a terrible idea, looked at the old man and said in a rather unconfident tone: "Why doesn't Father want the silver?"

  Xu Chang said coldly: "Money can be earned, but can a daughter be earned just by saying so?"

  Xu Qian thought to himself, "This is the end, it's all over. He must have had ulterior motives." He hastily said, "Father, aren't you thinking of finding me a stepmother?"

  Xu Chang was taken aback for a moment, then glared at Xu Qian and said: "You rascal, do I still need to find you a stepmother? All the sisters in the kiln of Qiantang County are your stepmothers, why add another one? In the past, I hadn't seen Miss Zhao before, nor had I thought about it. But today, seeing that Miss Zhao is elegant and beautiful, I'm thinking for your sake. Think about it, if you become a scholar in the future, won't you need to have a wife by your side? But what if you don't pass the imperial examination? You're neither literate nor martially skilled, where will I find a daughter-in-law for you? So let's take Miss Zhao in first, and when you really can't pass the exam, we'll just let you two get married. This is called killing two birds with one stone, being prepared for any situation."

  Xu Qian couldn't help but nod in admiration, still the old master thinks far and deep. As a patriarch, one must have dignity, and having a jade-like daughter-in-law is essential to save face; if not, then marrying her off as a wife would be a good option, and even the dowry could be saved, after all, she's still a Xu family member.

  However, Xu Qian still felt uncomfortable, especially when Xu Chang said that every woman in the county was his stepmother, what a tragedy, how did he end up with such a father.

  "What if Miss Zhao runs away?" Xu Qian couldn't help but ask.

  Xu Chang sneered and said, "You can't escape. The imperial court's treatment of escaped slaves is the most severe. If they dare to run, they will have a lot of suffering ahead."