The Shangyin Academy had a Merit Grove, where no one was allowed to enter without proper etiquette. Only the esteemed scholars of Jishang were permitted. Xu Fengnian had studied the academy’s geographical maps thoroughly and was quite familiar with the way. He had expected to face obstacles along the way, perhaps even some trouble, but when he entered the grove, the world was silent except for the falling snow. His footsteps left small pits in the snow, quickly covered by the continuous flakes. Earlier, he had visited the Lotus Lake Pavilion where his second sister lived and studied, sitting there briefly, yet no one had come forward to interfere.
Xu Fengnian walked into the grove where the merits of ancestors and sages were recorded. The stone tablets varied in size, and most of the inscriptions were epitaphs, though the graves were often not located behind the tablets. The grove was like a unique version of history, pages of it standing quietly at the rear of the Shangyin Academy.
Xu Fengnian squatted before a particularly small stone tablet, brushing away the snow with his sleeve. The epitaph bore the elegance of the jade brush script from the Qin Dynasty. Xu Fengnian looked up at the falling snowflakes and chose a relatively large stone tablet nearby, leaning against it to sit. He didn’t know how long had passed when he opened his eyes and saw a small figure in a straw raincoat approaching, carrying a bamboo basket covered with cloth. She struggled along, and when she passed by Xu Fengnian, she was about to squat down when she seemed to see a pair of black eyes floating in the air, which startled her into falling on her bottom. Xu Fengnian stood up, shaking off the snow from his body with an apologetic look, and reached out to help the little girl with twin pigtails up. He had thought she would just walk past, but he hadn’t expected her to stop right at this stone tablet, giving her quite a scare. The girl with twin pigtails patted her chest, glaring at the white-haired nuisance who had appeared out of nowhere. Upon questioning, Xu Fengnian learned that it was no coincidence; the girl surnamed Ouyang was originally from Longgang. The inscription behind her was a memorial written by her father. Xu Weixiong often wept when reading it. Xu Fengnian had thought it would be a piece of writing with extraordinary elegance, but after reading it, he realized it was like a letter from home, filled with the mundane chatter of daily life. At first, he felt nothing special, thinking it was simple and plain, and after reading it once, he had forgotten it.
Now, having reached adulthood and experienced upheaval, as he helped the girl brush the snow off, he looked back at the memorial and found himself pursing his lips, not wanting her to see his face. She was still in the carefree days of her youth, born after her ancestors had passed away, so she naturally didn’t feel much pain. Growing up in the academy, she was carefree and cheerful. After putting down the basket, she chattered on, and Xu Fengnian learned that today was her grandfather’s memorial day. This place was indeed a grave, but her parents were away, so they had instructed her to come here today to pay her respects. However, the unexpected snowfall made the journey very hard for the little girl, and all the way she had cursed the heavens countless times.
The little girl, finally finding someone to talk to, whispered softly to the grave, “The most respected Mr. Xu once said that my father’s memorial was written from the heart, without a single word intended to flatter the grave, making it a truly excellent piece. I don’t quite understand these things, but I think my father’s writing was simple and tranquil, just like his teaching, always unable to convey grand truths. After so many years in the academy, he hasn’t produced many outstanding students. If it hadn’t been for Mr. Xu’s kind words, our family would have struggled to make ends meet a few years back. The box my mother used for her dowry is getting emptier and emptier. When I was little, I could sneak on all sorts of hairpins and jade hairpins when my parents weren’t around. I can’t do that anymore.”
Xu Fengnian smiled gently and said, “You’re still a child now.”
The little girl with twin pigtails gave him a sidelong glance and said, “You sometimes have a sharp tongue, as if you’ve eaten green snakes, centipedes, and scorpions, making even our academy’s young master Qi so angry he could spit blood. But you’re also tongue-tied. How can you speak to a girl like that? I think you must have been scolded by Fish Sister again, right?”
Squatting, Xu Fengnian tucked his hands into his sleeves across his chest and smiled, “I’ve eaten green snakes and centipedes, have you eaten a crow?”
The clever little girl raised her fist, pretending to be fierce, “You’re the one with a crow’s mouth!”
Xu Fengnian laughed, his eyes narrowing, making them appear long and lively, and his handsome face radiated warmth. It was hard to imagine this was the same person who had once been the top spoiled brat of Beiliang, known for his sinister and violent nature. The path of cultivation in the public realm is the most effective way to hone one’s insight and cultivation. While others strive to enter the bureaucratic quagmire, Xu Fengnian had already witnessed the bizarre spectacles within it. The little girl beside him, though acting like a female knight and a child leader, wore thin clothes, and the straw raincoat she wore was too large and tattered. Her family’s situation was clearly not as good as her peers by the Buddha’s Palm Lake. In five or six years, when the children understand the subtleties of the world, they might be bullied by their childhood playmates who were once innocent. Although the Shangyin Academy has always been a sanctuary for scholarly pursuits, since the A Hundred Schools of Thought Contend (hundred schools of thought contend), there must be disputes. For example, during the great chaos of the Spring and Autumn period, the school of military strategy was particularly prosperous. Even those who were merely pretenders could be snatched up by the various states of the Spring and Autumn period as heroes capable of turning the tide. However, during this wave of blind competition, several states did indeed find some hidden gems. Today, with the world at peace, the scene of scholars saving the nation has long since faded from its former glory. The scholars and students of Jishang have mostly remained hidden, inevitably entangled in the daily grind of life. Liu Wenbao recommended more than a dozen people, but they were few and far between, mostly feeling depressed and unfulfilled, wasting away their years.
The little girl with twin pigtails lifted the basket and asked, “Are you coming with me?”
Xu Fengnian shook his head, “I’m about to leave the academy.”
She frowned, her delicate eyebrows already showing the Prototype of willow leaves. She looked down at the bamboo basket. A poor child grows up early. The food for the ancestral offerings in the basket couldn’t be wasted. However, her appetite was small, and although it doesn’t spoil easily in winter, it still loses its freshness after being heated repeatedly, and of course, she felt that walking back this one or two miles alone was really boring. Having someone to talk to on the way back was better than walking alone in loneliness. Xu Fengnian smiled, “If you don’t mind me tagging along for a free meal, I’ll go with you.”
The little girl with twin pigtails snapped her fingers with the air of a great general and still used her playful catchphrase, “Granted.”
On the way back in the wind and snow, the little girl wore a pair of Barbaric Brocade boots that were of good quality and craftsmanship, but they hadn’t been replaced for many years, and the satin surface had worn out and couldn’t withstand the wind and rain. From home to this Moral Grove, they were almost soaked through. The little girl was regretting her haste in the kitchen earlier and forgetting to change her shoes when she left, feeling both heartache and guilty. However, thinking of the upcoming New Year, her mother had promised to buy her a new pair of shoes in the first month, which gave her some anticipation. Xu Fengnian took the bamboo basket and let her walk behind him. Finding a big live person in the cold stone forest had made the little girl very cheerful, and she had no qualms about speaking freely to someone she had just met. She introduced herself and even shared some old stories, saying that her grandfather was a clean and upright great scholar of the old Northern Han Dynasty, known for his excellent writings. However, on the eve of the country’s fall, he had spoken up for a general surnamed Xu in the imperial court, which led to his dismissal and almost cost him his head. When he came to the academy to teach the principles of kingship and righteousness, he was also marginalized. Her father inherited the family’s scholarly tradition but was also poor.
The little girl was not afraid to reveal her shortcomings. Xu Fengnian followed her to the two-courtyard house where she lived with several Jishang scholars. Most of the other scholars’ homes had a festive air with their window paper, but only her home had a grapevine trellis. In winter, there was no greenery, only vines left, making it even more desolate. However, the little girl was content with poverty, probably following her parents’ nature. As she passed under the grape trellis, she looked up and smiled, saying, “You came at the wrong time. It’s better in summer when you can pick two or three bunches, put them in the Buddha’s Palm Lake for an hour, and they taste better than the peaches of the heavenly immortals. But at night, they attract mosquitoes. When the family cools off, my father always makes me fan him to keep the mosquitoes away, and I’m not very willing to do it.”
There were two rooms inside and a small kitchen partitioned in the narrow corridor outside. The little girl with twin pigtails changed her boots, lit the stove, placed her soaked boots by the fire, and then went to warm up the food, letting Xu Fengnian make himself comfortable. He picked up a small stool and sat at the door, catching a glimpse of the corner of the little girl’s “bedroom” with a small table and cabinet, simple and clean.
As dusk approached, the snow-covered ground made it brighter than usual. The other families in the courtyard had their doors tightly closed to block out the wind and snow. Xu Fengnian was observing when he heard a creaking sound, and the door opposite opened, and out ran the young child who had been knocked down by the little girl with twin pigtails by the lake earlier. He had red lips and white teeth, and when he grew up, he would probably be a handsome scholar with a refined demeanor. The little boy didn’t hold a grudge. He had planned to go to the neighboring house after dinner to find his childhood friend, even if they didn’t speak, and even if there was a risk of being beaten by her, it was worth seeing her a few times. But when the child saw the stranger who had angered the young master Qi in the pavilion, he felt some fear, standing at the door, unsure whether to go in or out. A middle-aged man, holding an ancient scroll and quietly reciting, somehow appeared at the door. Following his son’s gaze, he saw Xu Fengnian sitting on the small stool. After a moment’s thought, he held the book in one hand behind his back, elegantly stepped over the threshold, and approached Ouyang’s door, smiling, “Little Muyu, do you have a guest at home?”
While speaking politely, the refined man nodded with a smile to Xu Fengnian, who also stood up and greeted him with proper etiquette, saying, “Greetings, Master of Jishang.”
This way of addressing was conventional and safe, as people from all walks of life often joked that even the janitors of the academy could be respectfully called “Master” when they went outside. The little girl with twin pigtails, nicknamed Little Muyu, peeked out from the kitchen with a smile and said, “Uncle Qin, hello.”
After a few polite greetings, Master Qin turned and left, closing the door with a slightly loud sound. Only then did Little Muyu humph and say, “That guy is practically Qi Shence’s personal hanger-on. They exchange poems every few days. He does have some learning, but not a shred of integrity. He’s made quite a bit from writing over the years and keeps coming to our house saying he’s going to move away. He says it’s better to have neighbors nearby, how reluctant he is to leave, but every time he talks about it, he always ends up mentioning how close his private residence is to Master Wang’s mansion, showing off his wealth to my parents.”
Xu Fengnian took the bowl and ate slowly, looking up at the little girl standing there eating and smiling, “You have to see the good in others.”
The little girl rolled her eyes and said, “You always have so many big Reason.”
Xu Fengnian suddenly changed the topic with a mischievous smile, “However, the practice of exchanging poems is now mostly done by literati and courtesans, except for farewells to friends. I wonder who between your Uncle Qin and Master Qi is the one paying for the other.”
Little Muyu blushed at what she heard, but her eyes sparkled with genuine joy, and she laughed, “You’re really mean.”
After finishing the meal, the little girl, not very ladylike, patted her round belly and let out a loud belch. Xu Fengnian took the bowls and chopsticks and was about to go to the kitchen when Little Muyu looked at him in shock, as if he were a ghost or a monster. Xu Fengnian, holding the bowls and chopsticks with both hands, smiled and said, “Only a gentleman stays away from the kitchen. Do you think I look like one?”
The little girl looked at him with a pained expression and said, “Sister Fish met you, truly a bad choice.”
Xu Fengnian smiled and said, “Yes.”
Slowly washing the bowls and chopsticks, Xu Fengnian used his sleeve as a towel to dry his hands. The little girl sat by the fireplace, resting her chin on her hand, lost in thought. Xu Fengnian still sat on that small stool. The little girl glanced at the continuous snowfall outside the door, sighed in Helpless, and said, “If it hadn’t snowed, I could have counted the stars tonight. I can count to over a thousand. Isn’t that impressive?”
Xu Fengnian nodded with a smile and said, “Impressive.”
Little Muyu pouted and said, “You don’t mean it.”
Xu Fengnian followed her gaze outside the door, and they both fell silent. After a long time, he softly said, “When I was little, I heard the adults say that the night sky was like a big lantern filled with fireflies.”
The little girl laughed and said, “In the summer, I always catch and kill every firefly I see.”
Xu Fengnian glanced at the mischievous little girl with twin pigtails and said, “Whoever marries you will be in for a rough time.”
The little girl rested her chin on her hand, sighing poetically, “Who says that’s not true.”
In the twilight, a thin old man slowly entered the courtyard, wearing a green robe and hemp shoes, with a piece of Fatty Jade Pendant hanging from his waist. Among the thousands in the academy, the little girl with twin pigtails prided herself on her photographic memory but still didn’t recognize this old man. Xu Fengnian, however, did. He was a notorious bad chess player who considered himself a top master. Years ago, he had fought Xu Xiao at Qingliang Mountain, evenly matched, and was good at Take back a move (regretting moves), which gave Xu Fengnian a huge headache while watching. However, this old man was actually the teacher of the second sister and the undisputed number one expert in the world on the debate between Wang Ba (kingship and hegemony).
As the little girl looked on in surprise, the old man sat down casually and shamelessly asked, “Little girl, do you have any food left?”
Although the little girl was fiery, she had actually been brought up with very good manners. She stood up and smiled, saying, “Old master, we have some.”
Xu Fengnian reached out and quietly took the old man’s jade pendant from his waist, handing it to the little girl. “It’s a piece of cheap white jade scrap. Consider it payment for the meal from me and the old master.”
The old man’s expression remained calm as he nodded with a smile, not giving the little girl a chance to refuse, “If you don’t take it, I won’t eat.”
The little girl shook her head vigorously, saying seriously, “Can’t we just not be so Cheesy?”
Xu Fengnian and Master Wang exchanged a smile. Xu Fengnian didn’t return the jade pendant to Master Wang. After the little girl went to the kitchen to prepare the food, Master Wang calmly asked, “I have six hundred people. Would Beiliang dare to take them in?”
Xu Fengnian thought for a moment, “There are only those who starve to death; I’ve never heard of anyone dying from overeating.”
Master Wang shook his head solemnly, “Not necessarily.”
Xu Fengnian smiled and said, “Those who eventually make it to Beiliang, whether half of them or not, won’t be able to overwhelm Beiliang.”
Master Wang nodded, saying, “That’s true.”
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