FIMA Ch48.1: Book Copying

Xie Changyue heard the familiar voice and looked up: “Husband.”

Seeing Xie Changyue’s smiling face, Gu Siyuan couldn’t help but feel cheerful and extended his hand towards him: “Let’s go home.”

“Mm.” Xie Changyue nodded emphatically.

He grabbed Gu Siyuan’s large hand and was about to stand up, but suddenly remembered something and quickly bent down to wipe away the words written on the ground with a stone.

He couldn’t let anyone step on his husband’s name.

Gu Siyuan looked at the ground filled with “Gu Yang.” This is what it feels like to be wholeheartedly loved by someone.

After Xie Changyue stood up, Gu Siyuan took out an oiled paper package from his basket and handed it over: “For you.”

Xie Changyue saw the packaging and knew immediately that it contained pastries.

He grinned, showing his neat little white teeth: “Husband, you brought this for me specially!”

Gu Siyuan lightly coughed and, as usual, maintained a cool expression: “Just happened to pass by Bao Xiang Zhai.”

“I knew it!” Xie Changyue’s voice was bright and clear.

Hehe, if his husband didn’t miss and think about him after going to the county, how would he have thought to bring him pastries?

Back when he was at the Marquis Mansion, the Shen family was well-off, and Second Master Shen went out every day, but he rarely thought to bring anything back for his wife…

Xie Changyue carried the pastries in one hand and tightly held his husband’s arm with the other.

“Husband, didn’t you say the academy dismisses at You hour (5-7 PM)? Why are you back so early? Did you miss me and walk faster?”

Gu Siyuan lightly coughed but did not refute.

“I knew it. I missed my husband at home too.” Xie Changyue laughed excitedly, his clear and proud voice spreading in the gentle breeze.

The two walked home hand in hand, their shadows stretched long by the evening sunset, almost merging into one.

After entering the house, Xie Changyue let go of Gu Siyuan and proudly showed off the pastries his husband had brought to Gu Qingqing and Mu Xia, only to have most of them taken away.

In the end, he could only carry the much lighter, oiled paper package, pouting as he went to hide it in his room.

Gu Siyuan pinched his face: “I’ll bring you more tomorrow.”

Xie Changyue shook his head: “No need.”

He knew pastries weren’t cheap, and now they weren’t at the Bo Mansion anymore; how could they eat them every day?

Gu Siyuan looked down and thought: Books need to be read, and money needs to be earned.

The next day, Gu Siyuan got up even earlier than the day before.

When he woke up, Xie Changyue was still sleeping soundly in his arms, his face flushed.

As usual, he jogged to the county, but this time he didn’t go to the academy immediately. Instead, he stopped at the entrance of a store selling the four treasures of the study. It had the best reputation on Book Market Street and was a place the original body often visited.

“Is it… Gu Langjun?” The bookstore manager, Song, saw him, paused for a moment, and then asked.

Gu Siyuan was tall, handsome, and stood a head above the crowd, making a lasting impression. Moreover, the manager, who did business by welcoming and sending off customers, had a better memory than most.

However, in his impression, this Langjun used to be somewhat gloomy and silent, not with such an impressive aura.

Gu Siyuan cupped his hands in greeting, “Greetings, Shopkeeper Song.”

Shopkeeper Song returned to his usual smiling demeanor, “What does the gentleman need today?”

Gu Siyuan got straight to the point, “I need to buy some paper. Also, I would like to ask if you have any book copying work available?”

Shopkeeper Song paused.

Copying books was a way for poor students to supplement their income. It seemed simple, but it was actually quite mentally taxing. The work could not contain errors or corrections, and each character must be neatly and properly written.

After ten years of hard study, time for reading and learning was already insufficient. Unless forced by circumstances, few scholars were willing to take on this kind of work.

He scrutinized Gu Siyuan for a few moments, then straightened his expression and pulled out a sheet of paper, “The gentleman needs to write a few characters for me to see.”

Gu Siyuan naturally knew the shopkeeper was testing his skills. Without holding back, he picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began writing quickly. Despite his speed, each character was neat and properly formed. In just a moment, he had filled half a page.

Shopkeeper Song was extremely shocked.

“The gentleman’s handwriting, even if not worth its weight in gold, is still rare to see. Isn’t copying books a waste of such talent?”

Gu Siyuan smiled lightly, “Gold may come in the future, but for now, earning some cash is more urgent.”

From his words, Shopkeeper Song sensed immense confidence and pride. He said no more and turned to take a beautifully bound book from the shelf.

“This is the newly arrived ‘Complete Collection of Classics,’ a total of nine volumes. Each volume is worth ten taels of silver. If you finish copying one volume, I will pay you two taels of silver.”

Gu Siyuan glanced at the ‘Complete Collection of Classics’ and couldn’t help but laugh.

This was essentially the ancient equivalent of intensive test preparation materials and model exam essays.

The Four Books and Five Classics were vast and profound. Memorizing and understanding them all was extremely challenging.

Hence, someone compiled the most critical chapters, annotated and explained by famous scholars, and turned them into fixed high-scoring writing templates.

Usually, students would select their desired templates, practice writing with them repeatedly, and when it came time for exams, they would simply match the themes to the templates.

A famous scholar once harshly criticized this trend, calling it a rootless study, a castle in the air.

However, this method was undeniably convenient and efficient. Although it was difficult to achieve high rankings, it was a clever strategy compared to those who mindlessly memorized through hardship.

As a result, this collection had become increasingly expensive.

Gu Siyuan left a deposit and took the precious ‘Complete Collection of Classics’ with him to the academy.

The classroom was as it had been on previous days, with only a few figures inside, all shaking their heads and reciting books.

Gu Siyuan put down his book basket and took the policy essay he had written last night to Mr. Chen’s room.

The door was wide open. Besides Mr. Chen, there were a middle-aged man and a young man inside. Judging by the gifts placed beside the middle-aged man, he must have brought the young man to seek apprenticeship.

Mr. Chen’s young servant was brewing tea. At Mr. Chen’s signal, he even poured a cup for Gu Siyuan.

Mr. Chen stroked his beard and said to the middle-aged man, “Lord Wang, this is my most outstanding student.”

Hearing this, both men turned their attention to him.

The middle-aged man scrutinized Gu Siyuan, seeing his dignified appearance and stern demeanor, and his unflinching reaction to praise or scrutiny. He nodded deeply, “If Brother Chen holds him in such high regard, he must indeed be extraordinary.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Siyuan slightly bowed his head, remaining silent.

Mr. Chen then returned to discussing the young man’s education with the middle-aged man.

From their conversation, Gu Siyuan learned that the middle-aged man was not the young man’s father but his thirteenth uncle. Being the thirteenth in the family hierarchy, it was indeed a large family.

After a while, the middle-aged man made a few more polite remarks and, feeling rather troubled, scolded the young man briefly before mentioning that he had urgent family matters to attend to and needed to leave.

Mr. Chen, along with Gu Siyuan, got up to see him out of the academy but was politely declined and returned to the courtyard.

After returning, Mr. Chen introduced the young man to Gu Siyuan, “Gu Yang, this is your new classmate. His surname is Wang, and his given name is Xu. Like you, he will also be taking the imperial examination next February.”

Surname Wang?

Gu Siyuan thought of the imposing middle-aged man and how Mr. Chen had been very courteous to him.

In Wuqing County, Yong’an Town, there was indeed a famous Wang family, a large clan known for their scholarly traditions, producing Hanlin scholars, ministers, and high-ranking officials.

In this generation, there was even a Wang family daughter who was favored in the palace, not only being granted the title of noble consort but also giving birth to one of the emperor’s three adult princes.

Of course, the truly prominent members of the Wang family resided in the capital, while those staying at the ancestral residence in Yong’an Town were ordinary clansmen benefiting from the family name, mainly managing ancestral worship and other affairs. To common folks, they were still a formidable presence.

Gu Siyuan knew so much about the Wang family because, in the original story, the rebellion led by Prince Wu, which resulted in the death of his deeply loving cousin Gu Zhen, was initiated by the fifth prince, the son of the Wang family consort.

Thinking this through, Gu Siyuan remained expressionless and said, “Greetings, Brother Wang.”

The young man, Wang Xu, looked somewhat rebellious but was well-mannered. He replied politely, “Greetings, Brother Gu.”

After exchanging greetings, Mr. Chen had both of them sit aside and wait.

He took Gu Siyuan’s policy essay and placed it aside without looking at it immediately. Instead, he asked Gu Siyuan to recite a few classic texts and then tested him on the explanations he had taught the previous day.

Despite the sudden questioning, Gu Siyuan remained calm, answering word for word without much thought. His speech was smooth and clear.

Mr. Chen nodded repeatedly, recognizing that this was truly knowledgeable and insightful learning. He then asked a few more obscure and difficult passages.

Gu Siyuan, still unhurried, responded fluently.

Listening to this, Wang Xu couldn’t help but glance at him.

With his rebellious nature, Wang Xu naturally possessed some skills, being known for his photographic memory since childhood and having read almost all of the Four Books and Five Classics.

However, at this moment, the person in front of him not only excelled in memory but was also more thorough and adept at drawing analogies from one area to another.

A rare spark of competitiveness arose in his eyes.

Mr. Chen naturally noticed Wang Xu’s gaze and was quite satisfied, nodding with his hand and stroking his beard.

After testing his recitation and annotation skills, Mr. Chen finally picked up the policy essay and started reading.

After reading the first sentence, Mr. Chen took a deep breath, looked up at Gu Siyuan’s calm and stern face, and then silently continued reading.

After a while, he gently put down the paper and said with a serious expression, “Your perspective is very high, and your insights are unconventional, but it’s still a bit immature. The writing needs to be more polished and cohesive…”

Upon hearing this, Wang Xu couldn’t help but glance at Gu Siyuan again.

Hmph, what kind of criticism is this?

Such vague deficiencies are almost equivalent to having no deficiencies.

If the previous recitation only proved Gu Siyuan’s good memory, Mr. Chen’s evaluation of his policy essay now truly made Wang Xu start to take this stern-faced classmate seriously.

Mr. Chen then asked Gu Siyuan why he had chosen this particular approach to the topic.

Gu Siyuan’s tone remained calm, but his explanation was far more profound and broad than what was written on the paper.

It was clear that he had deliberately held back while writing.

After all, such sharp and profound policy essays would be particularly favored by some examiners but might cause others to think twice.

So, to play it safe, Gu Siyuan had toned it down a bit.

Mr. Chen was astonished. It was rare to find a student so young yet so mature and steady, capable of such remarkable restraint and foresight.

This was a difference in natural vision and ability; he was born to see further and think more broadly than others.

Mr. Chen thought to himself: With such talent, he should have been well-known early on. How could he remain so obscure?

But then, thinking further, he realized that perhaps Gu Siyuan’s previous teachers also cherished his talent, fearing that being praised too highly and becoming too famous at a young age would harm him. So, they deliberately suppressed him for a few years, allowing his brilliance to shine through only now as he neared adulthood.

Nodding to himself, Mr. Chen found this reasoning plausible. Seeing the young man in front of him, calm and composed at seventeen or eighteen years old, it was evident that his training had been highly effective.

Mr. Chen then wrote down a few words and handed them to Gu Siyuan, “This is today’s essay topic. Come back at the same time tomorrow for me to check.”

Gu Siyuan bowed, “Thank you, sir.”

Mr. Chen shook his head while stroking his beard, “You may go now.”

It seemed he had no intention of returning the policy essay.