Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 23: Wen Zong Xue Sheng
"Brother Liu, why are you here? Are you here to attend the Nanxi Literary Gathering as well?"

Liu Bi smiled and said, "I came here with my grandfather, but I'm not honored enough to receive an invitation to the literary gathering."

"Brother Cong also came here with an elder, but I haven't heard that the elder in Rongguo Mansion is also a scholar."

Liu Bi was being polite. Everyone in the capital city of Shenjing knew that twenty years ago, the Rong and Ning mansions produced a man named Jia Jing who was a double-professional Jinshi. It seemed that the rare literary and artistic spirit of the Jia family had been exhausted.

Just ten years ago, a scholar named Jia Zhu appeared, but he died a few years later. Since then, the Jia family has not produced a single scholar who has been admitted to school.

I have never heard of any achievements made by the children of the Jia family in literary affairs in recent years, so it is naturally unlikely that any member of the Jia family would be invited to the Nanxi Literary Society.

Liu Bi's idea should be the same as the ideas of other people present, but Liu Bi was curious about who brought Jia Cong here.

"Isn't this Brother Liu? I wonder if your ancestor, Mr. Jing'an, is here. Let me and other juniors go and pay a visit to him."

A plump young scholar looked at Liu Bi with admiration on his face. Behind him were several other people, all of whom had respectful and solemn expressions.

Jia Cong certainly understood that the reason these people looked up to him was not because of Liu Bi, this young man.

But it was because of Liu Bi’s grandfather, a man named Mr. Jing’an.

Mr. Jing'an, Jia Cong's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he remembered the biographies of celebrities that Tanchun had sent him, part of which recorded the general outlines of the famous people of the time.

When mentioning the contemporary literary giant Liu Yanxiu, also known as Jing'an, it could be this person, Liu Bi is actually this person's grandson.

This Liu Yanxiu lived a legendary life all his life.

It is said that he was precociously intelligent. He could write poems at the age of eleven, entered school at the age of thirteen, won the title of Shandong provincial champion at the age of nineteen, and won the first place in the imperial examination in the Yongxi period of the Zhou Dynasty at the age of twenty-one.

His academic record was so perfect that it was enviable. Even now, more than forty years later, it is still talked about by scholars in the Great Zhou.

After Liu Yanxiu entered the officialdom, he served as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy and was later transferred to the Ministry of Justice. Because of his integrity, he offended high-ranking officials and was whipped and demoted to a small county as a postmaster.

At that time, everyone thought that this top scholar had fallen from grace and would never be able to make a comeback.

Liu Yanxiu stayed in that deserted post station for seven years. In order to relieve his frustration, he focused on studying, reading scriptures, and almost lost himself in the state of self-forgetfulness.

He had the talent of a top scholar to begin with, and after seven years of hard work and study, his talent and knowledge improved by leaps and bounds. Over the years, he produced numerous poems, articles, and classic discussions, showing his high talent.

These articles were circulated throughout the country and caused a sensation in the scholarly community. Admiring students came from far and wide to the remote post station to seek advice, which was a spectacular sight.

When the court learned that his fame had spread, they transferred him back to the capital to serve as an official, but he declined the offer and only wanted to be the county magistrate in the small county where he lived.

For the next ten years, he concentrated on serving as an official in the local area. He was promoted step by step due to his outstanding political achievements. At the age of forty, he was appointed Minister of Rites. Before he was fifty, he was promoted to assistant minister of the Cabinet, the highest position among officials.

But ten years ago, affected by the incident of the deposed crown prince, he asked to retire and lived in seclusion in Luocang Mountain at the west gate of Shenjing, reading books and ignoring worldly affairs.

During the ten years he taught his sons, nephews and grandchildren, six of them became Jinshi (Jinshi degree), not to mention those who passed the imperial examinations to become scholars and juren (Juren degree).

This incident caused a sensation in the court and the country, and many scholars and students wanted to become his disciples. However, Mr. Jing'an loved peace and quiet, and had not accepted a single outer disciple in the past ten years.

Even so, he was still a literary saint admired by everyone in the world of the Great Zhou.

At that time, Jia Cong found these historical biographies of characters novel and interesting. Now that this person appeared before him, he still felt a little dazed.

With such a famous teacher as his grandfather, it is no wonder that Liu Bi passed the imperial examination at the age of 20. In the eyes of ordinary people, he was definitely a early success in the imperial examination, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he was a genius.

But in their Liu family, he is just an ordinary person. Liu Bi saw the expression on Jia Cong's face and smiled proudly. No matter who knew that his grandfather was Liu Jing'an, they would have this expression. He had been used to it since he was a child.

But when he turned around and saw the plump young scholar, his face froze and he said calmly: "It turns out to be Brother Jinrong. Grandfather's carriage has just arrived. The old man has caught a slight cold these days. It won't be too late to meet you all after we enter the villa."

Dozens of carriages had gathered under the archway, with at least forty or fifty people. If they all came to pay their respects, the old man would be exhausted to death.

Jia Cong was watching from the side. Liu Bi should have been accustomed to this kind of scene and was somewhat familiar with dealing with it. However, he was a little cold towards the slightly fat scholar for some reason.

The barely perceptible flattery and passion on the slightly plump scholar's face faded away, and he stepped back helplessly.

A young man of medium build behind him stared at Jia Cong for a long time, with a mocking look in his eyes.

These people came to pay their respects to the contemporary Emperor Wenzong. They saw his grandson, so it would be a shame to just come over and exchange greetings, as this would be a breach of etiquette among scholars.

It is not necessary for an old man to watch them line up and bow in this snowy place.

Just when Liu Bi wanted to ask Jia Cong again, which elder brought him here.

At this time, several people came down the stone steps behind the archway. The leader was a man in his twenties. He wore a purple gold crown inlaid with jewels on his head and a robe with a dragon pattern of four claws sitting on sea water. His face was as white as jade and his eyes were like bright stars.

Jia Cong also recognized the two people following behind him.

The middle-aged scholar was Zhou Changyan, who went to his house to deliver a letter to him. The other man, who was wearing a blue-woven robe with gold-decorated flying fish patterns and a black gauze crown, was Wang Dong, who gave Jia Cong a New Year's Eve gift.

The one with five claws is a dragon robe, and the one with four claws is a prince's python robe. Jia Cong guessed that the man in the lead must be Prince Jiashun.

The young man in the dragon robe walked to a simple carriage pulled by two horses, smiled and bowed to the carriage.

He said, "I am honored that Mr. Jing'an has come to Shuyun Villa. I hope you can forgive me for being late in meeting me."

A warm laugh came from the carriage. The curtain opened and a white-haired old man walked down from the carriage with a staggering gait.

"Your Highness is too polite. I am old now and my legs and feet are not as convenient as before. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Prince Jiashun said he dared not. Although Liu Jing'an had not accepted any disciples for ten years, Prince Jiashun had always been known for his eagerness to learn, and his status was also noble.

He had even greater respect for Liu Jing'an. In the past few years, he had gone to Luocang Mountain several times to seek advice, and each time Liu Jing'an received him well, and he was considered to have a good relationship with this talented prince.

Prince Jiashun even lived in Luocang Mountain for a period of time, so he could ask Liu Jing'an for advice from time to time, and the two of them actually had a semi-teacher-student relationship.

Prince Jiashun ordered his attendants to bring a sedan chair surrounded by warm curtains, and was about to take Liu Jing'an to Shuyun Villa on the mountainside.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was heard not far away, and an imposing four-horse carriage came towards us.

The emperor's carriage is drawn by five horses, and the prince's carriage is drawn by four horses.

But the person who came was not a prince. Jia Cong saw two exquisite triangular flags on the carriage, and Taoist talismans were embroidered on the flags.

The curtains surrounding the carriage were an eye-catching bright yellow, patterned with the Eight Diagrams and the Yin-Yang Fish, and fluttered in the cold mountain wind.

Following behind the carriage was a young Taoist priest with red lips and white teeth, a thin back and slim waist, a long sword on his back, and a fine horse riding a horse, following closely behind the carriage.

This four-horse carriage has obvious Taoist marks. The person in the carriage should not be a prince, but his status must be as noble as that of a king or a noble.

(End of this chapter)