“Can you really do it?” Tang, the owner of the store, widened his eyes. He said that not only was “The Western Chamber” highly regarded in literature, but even in terms of sales, it was unlikely that any popular novel could surpass it for decades.
“We can sign a contract. If I can’t do it, I’ll compensate you. How about that?”
“Good!” Tang, the store owner, said happily.
Fang Yun said, “As far as I know, if a book is priced at ten wen, the Imperial Academy and the court take four wen, and the author, bookstore, and bookshop each take two wen. If I want to open a bookstore, I don’t know how long it will take to reach the level of Xuanting. Not only will my literary reputation be slowed down, but it may even delay my own literary position. So, I will choose to cooperate with your store. However, can we adjust the percentage of the split?”
“I can make the decision. We’ll give you half, and you’ll get two and a half.” Tang, the store owner said.
Fang Yun laughed, “Tang, you didn’t say anything clever. This book will undoubtedly sell well, and the percentage you give to each bookstore will be reduced from two-fifths to one and a half. It’s equivalent to your own percentage remaining the same. I don’t ask for much, just two and eight. How about that?”
Tang, the store owner, lowered his head, seemingly calculating carefully. After a long time, he looked up and said, “Okay! That’s settled. I’ll contact the general manager immediately to finalize the details of the contract. I’ll come back to you tomorrow. If any other bookstore comes to you, I hope you can abide by the gentleman’s agreement.”
“Of course, unless you, Xuanting, give up first, I won’t discuss any matters about popular novels with any other bookstore.”
“Fang Shuangjia is a straightforward person. Goodbye!”
Not long after Tang, the store owner left, a servant from Li Wenying’s mansion came with a Dangyao pen, accompanied by two strong servants and a Presented Scholar named The Savage Cow.
Fang Yun sensed that someone was staring at him. He subconsciously looked up and saw a huge eagle demon flying in the sky. The eagle demon cried out and flew away.
“No wonder he’s a Grand Academician. He even sends two barbarians to deliver something. His private soldiers alone could probably wipe out a county.” Fang Yun thought to himself.
After the servant handed Fang Yun the brocade box containing the Dangyao pen, he also handed him two small boxes, saying that they contained two pieces of Tianhuang stone for him to use as a seal. Finally, he said that Li Wenying wanted Fang Yun to carry the Dangyao pen with him, especially in the city.
Fang Yun didn’t understand Li Wenying’s intentions, but he knew he wouldn’t harm him. Otherwise, his Courage to Write would definitely be in trouble.
After the people in the house finished counting the things bestowed by the Empress Dowager, they started a fire to cook.
Jiang Pozzi and Fang Dan Niu were more excited than Yang Yuhuan, and kept talking about the Empress Dowager’s reward and praising Fang Yun. Jiang Pozzi volunteered to make a cloth bag to wrap the imperial decree and said that it was the Shangfang sword.Yang Yuhuan took a thin slice of Dragon Palace Blood Ginseng, washed it and soaked it in water. She took out half of the water used to soak the ginseng and made a small pot of porridge for Fang Yun.
After the porridge was done, the whole room was filled with a slightly fishy fragrance, making people feel comfortable just by smelling it.
Yang Yuhuan put the porridge in front of Fang Yun and said, “The person who gave me the gift told me that ordinary people cannot eat Dragon Palace Blood Ginseng directly. They can only soak it in water and drink it for about ten days before they can eat it bit by bit. This thing is eaten by dragons after all. A small dragon is ten zhang long, which is too much for our human race to handle.”
“You are weak, so we’ll split it.” Fang Yun said.
Yang Yuhuan hurriedly declined, “You are a Child Scholar, you can handle it. I’m afraid my body can’t handle such a strong supplement.”
“Okay, then you can drink it later after a few days.”
The servant girl watched Fang Yun’s porridge eagerly and licked her lips with her small pink tongue.
Fang Yun saw her greedy look and asked with a smile, “Do you want to drink it?”
The servant girl struggled with her eyes for a while, then shook her head firmly and pointed at Fang Yun with her furry little white paws.
“You want me to drink it?” Fang Yun asked.
The servant girl nodded and put her paws to her mouth, making eating motions. Then she raised her arms and stood up with her legs straight, her white fox fur standing up and looking even bigger.
“You want me to eat it myself, so that I can become stronger?” Fang Yun asked.
The servant girl nodded vigorously.
Fang Yun smiled and touched the servant girl’s head, saying, “It seems that you are a kind-hearted little fox.”
The servant girl immediately grinned and jumped happily.
After eating, Fang Yun returned to the room and picked up the Demon-Slaying Pen to examine it carefully.
It was an ordinary small regular script brush, with a light brown handle and a gray-white brush head. The handle of the brush was clearly made of ordinary bamboo, but it felt like jade in his hand, and it weighed a full catty.
Fang Yun took a deep breath, dipped the brush in ink, and found that because the brush was too heavy, writing was a bit awkward. However, he decided to practice calligraphy with the Demon-Slaying Pen since he might have to use the Treasures of Literature Pen frequently in the future.
Unfortunately, he was still a Child Scholar and could not use paper to discuss military strategy to unleash the power of the Demon-Slaying Pen.
Fang Yun thought to himself as he wrote, “After today’s events, Liu Zicheng will definitely use other means to attack me. I must be careful and not leave the city until I master the art of paper strategy. As long as I am within the Holy Temple’s range, he will not dare to kill me. I will also try to keep a low profile during the enrollment on the tenth of this month, otherwise he will definitely use it against me.””Now my foundation in the prefecture city is still weak, without strong support. When I become an Imperial Scholar before reaching sainthood, even if you, Liu Zicheng, don’t come to me, I will take the initiative to find you and solve this big problem!”
After practicing calligraphy, Fang Yun picked up a book called “An Explanation of Classics and Interpretations,” which teaches child scholars how to write classics for the Imperial Scholar exam.
Fang Yun found a classic topic called “Seek and You Shall Find” and, without using the miraculous book, used the method taught by the county magistrate Cai He to write a piece, and then evaluated it using the method in the book.
Fang Yun analyzed it carefully.
“The level of my classic should not be lower than Grade D, at least Grade C, and possibly Grade B. The shortcomings of my classic are that the depth is not enough, and I did not fully explain Mencius’s sentence and the power of breaking the topic is not enough. But the advantage is that, as a modern person who has received a lot of information, my level in ‘intention’ and ‘enumeration’ is beyond that of an ordinary Imperial Scholar, and intention is precisely one of the important aspects of classics and strategies.”
“In simple terms, classics first explain the topic, then use their own examples or viewpoints to verify the previous explanation, then quote some famous scholars’ viewpoints to corroborate, and finally conclude. The meaning of the topic ‘Seek and You Shall Find’ is that you can get it by seeking and working hard. I used three types of people: innocent children, reckless young people, and wise old people to demonstrate, and then used the words of the Half-Sage that I learned a few days ago to prove my point, with no problem in the basic structure.”
“Next, I need to exercise my ability to break the topic, learn to use the sharpest language at the beginning to impress the examiner, then attract the examiner with novel intentions, and then understand the examiner’s philosophy to write the All-Saints quotes that the examiner likes.”
“However, even if I have to cater to the examiner, I cannot violate my own beliefs! I am writing classics for my Path of the Saints, not for the imperial examinations!”
Fang Yun thought of this and immediately felt a slight tremor in his literary palace. His talent became more condensed, more effective than studying for three days straight.
Fang Yun became even more confident in his choice.
Fang Yun continued to read the book “An Explanation of Classics and Interpretations” and spent three hours before figuring out some tricks.
“The author of this ‘An Explanation of Classics and Interpretations’ was originally an ordinary Imperial Scholar in the Jing Kingdom, who knows the pattern of classics very well and has been a great help to me. However, his thinking is too rigid, he focuses too much on ‘techniques,’ and when it comes to ‘art,’ he falls short, not to mention ‘the Way.’””The structure and techniques of an article on Confucian classics are all skills, while how to make the topic profound and the idea novel is the realm of art. As for the Dao, it is a thought that can only be compared with All the Saints. I dare not hope to achieve it at present. Based on my deduction, mastering the skills can enable one to pass the Talented Scholar examination, while to become a Presented Scholar, one must have their own art. As for the Imperial Scholar, both the skills and art must be practiced to perfection.”
“As for the Dao, only Hanlin Scholars can touch its threshold. No wonder the imperial examinations only go up to the Imperial Scholar level, because the Dao cannot be distinguished by exams.”
“I understand. ‘Skills’ can be clearly explained, but ‘Dao’ and ‘art’ are difficult to learn through a fixed pattern, which is why I discovered the flaws in this book. To truly learn the art and Dao, others cannot teach it, and there is no shortcut.”
“Read more. Read extensively the Confucian classics of famous scholars, even if their works are not suitable for the imperial examinations. Their articles are like seeds, which may be useless at ordinary times, but will surely take root and sprout to form inspiration at critical moments.”
“Think more. Think about what makes others’ Confucian classics good, think about your own shortcomings and how to improve them, and think about how to strengthen your strengths.”
“Write more. Reading and thinking are only ‘taking in,’ not ‘giving out.’ Only by constantly writing can one master how to express their own ideas and thoughts correctly and achieve a smooth flow.”
Fang Yun did not hesitate to put this book into his collection of rare books. Even if he were to read it again, he would only skim through it instead of reading it carefully.
Fang Yun continued to browse through other related books on Confucian classics. With experience, he no longer read word by word, but skipped through them.
The moonlight at the beginning of the month was dim, and the room was pitch black without any lights or candles. However, it did not affect Fang Yun’s reading at all.
Soon, Fang Yun came across a work by the great scholar Zhu Hongzhi, which mentioned the same concepts of reading, thinking, and writing. He felt like he had found a treasure and immediately decided to buy Zhu Hongzhi’s collection of works tomorrow.
“No wonder he is a great scholar. He not only writes well, but also teaches others. His Confucian classics are a model with a strict structure, clear organization, and novel ideas. It is like he is teaching us directly. This book, ‘Starry Sky Collection,’ is a must-read for exam candidates. It’s a pity that other candidates may not be able to read it as quickly as I can or may not have the luck to come across it, or may not understand its meaning. If one can understand this book and combine it with other knowledge, passing the Talented Scholar examination would be a piece of cake.”
Fang Yun solemnly put the “Starry Sky Collection” into his collection of rare books and then closed his eyes to read it repeatedly.
When he opened his eyes, it was already four o’clock in the morning, and the sky was just getting light.”The Dragon Palace Blood Ginseng is truly a good thing. I am still full of energy. If I can continuously consume it, sleeping only two hours a day would be enough! With this, my chances of becoming a Talented Scholar this year will greatly increase.”
Fang Yun left his desk and went to bed.