Chapter 4: The Eldest Son of a Noble Family (Three)

  After a beautiful dream, Zhou Wenbo woke up, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

  However, outside it was still pitch black, and you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

  He didn't know why he slept soundly and woke up to find it was still dark, maybe because the winter nights were long, or maybe because he had been bedridden for a while, Zhou Wenbo could only make guesses.

  Not wanting to wake the two girls sleeping outside, Zhou Wenbo knew they had a lot on their plates during the day. However, with no sleepiness at all, Zhou Wenbo didn't know what to do for a while.

  As if a flash of insight, Zhou Wenbo thought of what he could do during this time period. He immediately got up, faced the direction of the origin, closed his mouth and eyes, and adjusted his breathing carefully.

  Zhou Wenbo was young and didn't pay attention to his body, often staying up all night playing games, overeating and oversleeping, not exercising. As a result, he became weak and frail at a young age, but later realized the problem and started regular exercise.

  Although he had lost some weight and maintained his figure, he was always drowsy and his mental acuity was far from what it used to be. With some regret, he coincidentally met a Taoist friend online.

  He then obtained the initial static repair method of Taoism, breathing method and purification, quiet mind, and concentration method. After several years of persistent practice, although there were no other gains, his brain gradually recovered its clarity and sensitivity, and his reaction speed and imagination also improved, which is also one of the reasons why he became a network history great god.

  In the quiet and soundless night sky, breathing in the unpolluted cool air, Zhou Wenbo found himself entering a meditative state at a speed far surpassing his past experiences, excluding distracting thoughts, with his heart and spirit united.

  Just as a faint white light appeared on the horizon and the red sun jumped out of the flat ground, Zhou Wenbo woke up from his meditation.

  The way that can be told is not the eternal Way.

  The Tao is called the Mysterious, the Mysterious of the mysterious, the door of all subtleties.

  Indescribably wonderful.

  Although he only had a superficial understanding of Taoist thought, he seemed to have grasped something, and although there were no unexpected surprises such as achieving immortality or enlightenment, this refreshing feeling left him extremely satisfied.

  It's as if suddenly transferred from a smoke-filled room to the great outdoors, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

  In the following days, Zhou Wenbo basically maintained this simple rhythm of life, going to Lü Old Lady's place for three meals a day. The old lady occasionally asked about his homework, but didn't say much either. As for the ladies and young misses of Dage's household, they strictly adhered to the rules of not speaking while eating or sleeping, and hardly ever communicated with Zhou Wenbo.

  It wasn't until Red Dress reminded her: "The day after tomorrow is when we go pay our respects to Master."

  Zhou Wenbo suddenly remembered his teacher who had taught him a profession.

  Since settling in Luoyang three years ago, Zhou Wenbo has been studying under the great Confucian scholar Lin He, arranged by Zhou Deyan. Lin He was the youngest son of Lin Xiansi, a great Confucian scholar of the late Tang Dynasty, with profound family learning and a reputation that shook both capitals.

  The Tang Dynasty's imperial examination system had been abandoned since the late Tang period, when war and disaster struck. Furthermore, since Li Cunxu conquered the Later Liang three years ago and unified North China, he has not sought to expand his territory, instead indulging in luxury and trusting eunuchs, making it almost impossible for people to advance through legitimate means, resulting in a large number of talented individuals joining local warlords and powerful families.

  To get an official position, one must either fawn on eunuchs, curry favor with the emperor's attendants, or be recommended by a high-ranking imperial favorite. In fact, this was also the path arranged for Zhou Wenbo by Zhou Dejian: when he came of age and reached adulthood, there would naturally be people close to him who would recommend him for promotion to the imperial court.

  As the current Zhao Guo Gong and Shu Mi Shi, with 100,000 troops directly under his command, he can be considered the number one person under the emperor. Zhou De Yan naturally has confidence in arranging a good future for his youngest son.

  After all, he is an old son, and Zhou Wenbo has been clever since childhood, reading poetry and books. Zhou Deyan still loves this young son very much. Although as a concubine's child, he cannot inherit the title of Zhao Guo Gong, but the Prime Minister will try to arrange a suitable position for his own descendants.

  Although he was under Lin He's tutelage for less than three years, young Zhou Wenbo was extremely respectful and admiring of this gentleman. Even now, looking back from a transcender's perspective, it is undeniable that Mr. Lin was indeed a towering talent, and it would not be impossible for him to one day become a high-ranking official or even one of the Three Dukes.

  Because the emperor reused eunuchs and favored jesters, this Mr. Lin was naturally a good material that had not met a skilled craftsman, a fine steed that had not met a Bo Le, a sleeping dragon who had not met an Emperor Xiang, so he personally tilled the land on the banks of the Luo River, took in three or five disciples, and enjoyed the pleasure of seclusion.

  Zhou Deyan met Lin He under a coincidence and highly appreciated his great talent, wanting to recruit him as an aide and recommend him to the imperial court. If it were an ordinary literati who received the appreciation of the powerful and prestigious Chief Minister, he would naturally climb up the ranks smoothly. However, this Mr. Lin declined the offer firmly, which made Zhou Deyan quite surprised.

  Although he was unable to recruit Lin He under his command, Zhou De-yuan still valued Lin's talent and proposed that his youngest son, Zhou Wen-bo, be apprenticed to Lin. Lin finally stopped objecting and accepted this son of a duke as a student.

  However, Zhou Wenbo, although he is the son of the Zhao State Duke, has no spoiled and arrogant mannerisms. He is intelligent and eager to learn, and his relationship with several of his fellow disciples is quite harmonious. As a result, over the past two years or so, the relationship between master and disciple has become increasingly close.

  Every ten days, Zhou Wenbo would go to Master Lin's place and stay for three days before returning home for seven days. This time, he accidentally fell into the water and got sick. Old Lady Lü had already sent a servant to inform his family and asked for leave once. The next day was the day he was supposed to go back to Master Lin's place to study again.

  At this time, Zhou Wenbo suddenly remembered that the last time he asked for leave, Lin Shi had assigned homework, "Kuang Xue Jie" had not yet started writing, so he could only drill into the study room, thinking hard and trying to complete his homework.

  In the Tang Dynasty, the literary giant Han Yu wrote "On the Importance of Learning", which emphasized the problems of material selection and utilization. Zhou Wenbo secretly pondered this article, probably also carrying the teacher's sighs about great talents not meeting a wise lord.

  However, this Zhou Wenbo is not the same as that Zhou Wenbo. As a historical web novel master known to many book lovers as Yu Laoshi (Teacher Yu), he naturally has some fresh insights and perspectives on this issue. When combined with Zhou Wenbo, who is well-versed in literature, they immediately started writing with divine inspiration, and hundreds of words flowed onto the paper, completing an ancient-style essay in no time.

  After finishing, he repeatedly reviewed it and did not find any errors or omissions in the text meaning. Zhou Wenbo was satisfied and hung his wolf hair brush on the brush holder. In recent days, he had nothing to do and practiced calligraphy several times, integrating the understanding of the two souls about calligraphy. Within a short period of time, compared with the "Plum Blossom" he copied last time, there has been great progress, and it is not inferior to the high-quality ink treasure collected by his old teacher when he was learning characters.