ctnovel 014 Li Yu Reading
014 Li Yu Reading
Wang Daru was truly courageous in acting as a matchmaker for God and forcing marriages.
Li Yu repeatedly praised him, and had no choice but to admit defeat.
Wang Zhang smiled demurely.
The blueprints for the [Mysterious Grade] are naturally treasures. However, Wang Zhang couldn't obtain the snake bones and rocks needed for the [Mysterious Grade], so he couldn't build it, and that's why they've been kept until now.
Although the specific function of this [Jade Maiden Mountain Temple] is unknown, as it is a [Mysterious Item], it must have its preciousness.
The [Mysterious Grade] snake bones needed for construction will be provided by the Free Corpse-Eating Python. However, the [Mysterious Grade] mountain rocks are currently unavailable.
Rocks, rocks, are you suggesting he go all over the mountains to find and dig for rocks?
After breakfast, Li Yu was led to his study by his servant. Xiong Ba took his leave to help Li Yu collect the bones of the Corpse-Eating Python, and then went to acquire [unknown] items.
The first hurdle for modern people reading ancient books is traditional Chinese characters and punctuation.
Li Yu already had a foundation in classical Chinese studies, and he had recently had many exchanges with Xiong Ba, so this first hurdle shouldn't be too difficult for him.
The study contained a vast collection of books, some bound in bamboo slips, some made of silk, and some transcribed on Caihou paper, filling boxes and chests to the brim, piled up like small mountains.
The five medical classics from before have been moved back here. They are placed next to a pile of bamboo slips, like a welcoming pavilion at the foot of a mountain.
Besides books, the study also contained some bronze vessels, calligraphy rubbings, ancient paintings, inkstones, and seals. However, none of them were of high quality, so Li Yu didn't pay much attention to them.
There were so many books that Li Yu was overwhelmed and didn't know where to begin, when his servant handed him a bundle of silk.
Li Yu spread out a small booklet of about a thousand characters on his desk.
Titled "Six Strategies," it is actually just a catalog of the books in the study.
The "Six Strategies" consists of six sections: the Six Arts, the Philosophers, Poetry and Prose, Military Treatises, Divination and Numerology, and Medical Techniques, corresponding to the six sections of the study: A, B, C, D, E, and X.
Li Yu was very interested in the "Bing Shu Lue" (Military Treatise), so he first went to browse through the "Ding Bu" (Part D) collection of books.
This category of books is not large, consisting of only a few volumes such as "Su Shu", "Wei Liao Zi", and "Wu Sun Zi Bing Fa".
Li Yu first selected "Farewell to Chengzi and Hope for the Army".
This book is said to have been written by Bie Chengzi during the Warring States period. It consists of three volumes, but the royal family only possesses one of them.
Li Yu didn't know who Bie Chengzi was. He only knew that a single book, consisting of a mere forty-eight bamboo slips, had left him dizzy and disoriented from reading.
This book, though titled a military treatise, is actually deeply connected to the Yin-Yang school, which "acts in accordance with the times, applies punishments and virtues, follows the fighting, utilizes the five elements, and uses ghosts and gods as aids."
The contents are mostly about divination, astrology, dream interpretation, sacrifices, prayers, curses, and strange witchcraft.
Li Yu was completely baffled and still didn't quite understand.
The minister had long since left his study to attend to other matters. Wang Zhang, feeling much better now that his chronic illness had disappeared, went to a banquet with his friends from his hometown.
Li Yu couldn't find anyone to ask for advice, so he could only bury himself in his studies.
Half an hour passed, and he had finished reading the bamboo slips, but his [Intelligence Experience] was only 5 points. At this rate, he would have to stay in the Wang family study for ten days to half a month to reach level 20 in [Intelligence].
Forget it!
Li Yu put down "Looking at the Army's Spirit" and went to read other books.
The *Wei Liao Zi* is clumsy and incoherent, and the *Su Shu* is completely incomprehensible...
Alright, I'm not going to read any more military books.
Li Yu went to the section on the Six Arts and went to look up the Analects.
He thought to himself, "I've studied and memorized the Analects, so it shouldn't be too difficult for me to read."
However, when he stood in front of the books and boxes in the first section, he was speechless.
In modern society, the Analects is a single book, but in the Han Dynasty, it was a series of books.
What is the Analects?
Confucius "transmitted but did not create." The Analects was not written by him, but rather "Confucius's responses to his disciples and contemporaries, as well as the words of his disciples that they heard from him."
When Confucius was alive, his disciples each kept their own records. After Confucius' death, his disciples compiled and edited these records, which became known as the Analects.
The Analects consists of twelve schools and two hundred and twenty-nine chapters.
The Analects (Confucius' Wall, two Zi Zhang), Qi, Lu, Qi Shuo, Lu Xiahou Shuo, Lu Anchanghou Shuo, Lu Wang Jun Shuo, Yan Shuo, Yi Zou, Kongzi Jiayu, Kongzi Sanchao, Kongzi Tufa.
The Wang family study naturally didn't have that many books; it only contained sixty-seven chapters from three schools: "Zi Zhang," "Qi," and "Yi Qin."
However, whenever Wang Zhang and his ancestors gained something from their studies, or made notes, annotations, explanations, or commentaries for their descendants, they would compile these into separate books.
Over time, the number of bamboo slips from the Wang family far exceeded that of the three families' editions of the Analects.
Li Yu read "Zi Zhang," "Qi," and "Yi Qin" in a hurry, which took him half an hour.
"[System]: Congratulations to the player for reading through 'Zi Zhang', 'Qi' and 'Yi Qin' and gaining 26 points of intelligence experience."
1 hour 26 o'clock.
Li Yu was completely exasperated by the low efficiency and couldn't help but sigh.
At this moment, a pretty young maid, about fifteen or sixteen years old, entered the room carrying a plate of fruit.
Although the maids of noble families were servants, they were dignified, polite, and well-mannered.
They should be literate and knowledgeable in classical texts, right?
Li Yu's heart stirred, and he bowed to the maid. The maid was startled and quickly stepped aside, then returned the bow, saying, "I dare not accept your courtesy, sir."
"Miss, I'd like to ask you a question," Li Yu said, scratching his head. "I want to study and get into a better school. Where should I start?"
The maid was taken aback by the question. Although she had learned some characters from Lady Huaiji, she had no idea about the principles of reading.
Li Yu realized he had put someone in a difficult position and quickly apologized. The maidservant hurriedly returned the greeting.
As Li Yu turned back to his book, the little maid pouted and left.
As soon as she stepped out, the little maid lifted the hem of her skirt and ran towards the inner courtyard. She had just rushed through the doorway when a small hand grabbed her collar.
"Little sparrow, why are you running?"
The speaker was a naive, charming, and adorable young girl.
At the age of fifteen, she was full of youthful vigor, with a pretty oval face still showing a touch of baby fat.
The girl let go of her hand, and the little sparrow, without even bothering to straighten its clothes, chirped, "Young lady, young lady, that carp can't read! Haha, it even asked me how to study and get into a good school!"
She rambled on and on, and the young woman, finding it all a jumbled mess, said, "Wait, wait! Didn't I tell you to go see that [Echoing Insect]? Why are you talking to him about studying?"
The little sparrow was stunned: "Eh? I forgot!"
The young lady was speechless, so she reached out her slender hand and tapped her forehead.
The little sparrow covered its head and ran away.
The two of them wrestled for a while before stopping, both with flushed faces and their clothes soaked with sweat.
The young lady said, "Sister Ma said that later generations do not study the classics. That young master Li is not illiterate, but simply ignorant of the classics."
Little Sparrow nodded as if she understood, then suddenly said, "Young lady, may I take another look at the study?"
She had seen the young master Li who killed the python. He was handsome, but his short hair, as if he had been shaved, was quite strange.
As for that "echoing insect," I heard from the people outside the house that it is "quite interesting," but I don't know what makes it so interesting.
Little Sparrow really wants to see it.
The young woman hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. Little Sparrow was about to leave, but she grabbed her again: "Tell him he can start with *Cangjie*, *Boxue*, *Fanjiang*, *Jijiu*...
The little sparrow nodded and turned to leave. But before it even passed through the cave entrance, it suddenly returned with a pained expression.
When the young lady asked why, the little sparrow replied, "I don't remember."
The young lady rolled her eyes and repeated to her: "Cangjie, Boxue, Fanjiang, Jijiu, Yuanshang, Xunzuan, Biezi."
After saying that, he made her carry it on her back.
The little sparrow counted on her fingers, but stopped after only reaching the third finger, and looked at the young lady with a silly grin. This made the young lady tap her on the head again.
Despite repeated attempts, Little Sparrow still couldn't remember it all. However, she was quick-witted; she went back to her room and found a brush, ink, and a bamboo slip, asking the young lady to write it down.
The young woman resisted the urge to knock her forehead again and wrote a few delicate characters on the bamboo slip.
The little sparrow went off excitedly.
Before long, she walked back somewhat annoyed: "That carp is so unreasonable. I only glanced at the little insect a few times, and it chased me back." With that, she handed the young lady the bamboo slip.
Following her delicate handwriting were three characters, still wet with ink: "What is a gu?"
Sending and receiving letters, asking for advice in writing, is like exchanging letters. It also carries a sense of being a teacher, imparting knowledge and resolving doubts.
The young woman found it a novel experience, so she wrote the words "wine vessel" on the bamboo slips and sent Little Sparrow to deliver it.
"Song Yannian, Zheng Zifang, Wei Yishou, Shi Buchang, what is the meaning of this?"
Another bamboo slip arrived, carrying yet another request for advice. The young woman's brush moved swiftly, and once she had finished writing on this slip, she took another.
"Wu Chenglu..."
"..."
One bamboo slip after another was exchanged, and the little sparrow's legs were aching from running around, but the young lady was still in high spirits.
The little sparrow refused to accept it.
The "echoing insect" was indeed fun, but the carp wouldn't let her poke it with a twig, so why should she help him deliver the bamboo slips?
The young woman chuckled and said, "If you don't want to see me off, then so be it."
The little sparrow, however, had a sudden glint in its eye and asked the young lady, "Would you like to see that [echoing insect]?"
The young lady did want to see, but she didn't want to fall into Xiao Que'er's trap, so she shook her head and said she didn't want to.
The little sparrow was dumbfounded. She circled around the young lady again, repeatedly praising how cute the little insect was, but was always rejected.
Finally, he resorted to shamelessness, pestering the young woman until she had no choice but to write on the bamboo slip, "I have heard that you have a strange insect, and I am filled with curiosity. I wish to have a day to see it, and I hope you will grant my request."
Before long, the little sparrow returned happily, carrying a jade bottle in its hand.
The young woman didn't look at the insects in the jade bottle first, but instead took the bamboo slips.
Above, written in a flamboyant style, are two words: "Agree".
There's also a "(｡◝ᴗ◜｡)" after the word.