radicalducati Chapter 8 Sheng Hong's Reminder
Chapter 8 Sheng Hong's Reminder
Wang You followed Sheng Changbai to the main hall of the Sheng family, where he saw a middle-aged man with a refined appearance sitting at the head of the table, drinking tea.
Seeing Sheng Changbai lead a young man in, Sheng Hong put down his teacup and smiled, "This must be You-ge'er, right?"
He had never met Wang You. Although Song Dynasty officials usually had a leisurely life, they were not allowed to leave their posts for too long.
Therefore, when Madam Wang returned to her parents' home, she always went back on her own.
"Wang You greets his uncle!" Wang You bowed and said.
"No need for such formalities."
Sheng Hong waved his hand, gesturing for Wang You to sit down, and smiled, "How is your mother-in-law's health?"
"My grandmother is in good health, but she often talks about my uncle," Wang You replied.
Upon hearing this, Sheng Hong felt a pang of sadness and said, "It was my fault. I haven't been able to visit my mother-in-law often, which has caused her worry."
Looking at Sheng Hong's genuine emotions, Wang You was momentarily at a loss for words to describe him.
Saying he's inherently cold-hearted doesn't seem quite right.
Although he treated his children differently, he was generally a good person to them.
Yes, it's really good.
He didn't think that way just because Sheng Hong was his uncle.
In his past life, he actually disliked Sheng Hong quite a bit.
But after being reborn and truly integrating into this era, understanding the values and ideas of people in this era, he felt that Sheng Hong could definitely be considered a fairly qualified father.
In feudal society where one wife and multiple concubines were common, most people had many children.
In this situation, it's simply unrealistic to expect everyone to be treated equally.
Although Sheng Hong was somewhat biased, it was only human nature.
As for his attitude towards his concubines, this was actually quite common in ancient times.
Arranged marriages lack an emotional foundation, while concubines are a choice one can make.
Su Shi once traded his pregnant concubine for a horse, yet he was not morally impaired by the act.
Wang You recalled Minglan's assessment of Sheng Hong: "Not very reliable, but usable enough."
The only thing that can be criticized about Sheng Hong is probably his attitude towards Old Madam Sheng.
While Old Mrs. Wang had been kind to him, she was still more so than Old Mrs. Sheng.
After the incident of Madam Kang poisoning Old Madam Sheng came to light, Old Madam Wang played the emotional card, and Sheng Hong immediately wavered.
This shows that Sheng Hong felt even more grateful to Old Mrs. Wang.
Sheng Hong asked about Wang Min's recent situation before saying, "My mother-in-law wrote to me a few days ago, saying that you are going to participate in this prodigy exam and asked me to give you a few pointers."
There are significant differences between the imperial examination and the prodigy test, so I don't have much advice to give on answering the questions, lest I mislead you.
If you are fortunate enough to reach the final imperial examination, when the emperor personally examines you, remember not to be too reserved. Maintain the proper respect and just be natural.
"Thank you for your guidance, Uncle!" Wang You stood up and thanked him.
Sheng Hong pressed his hand down and said, "The imperial examination's palace test places more emphasis on talent, while the prodigy examination's palace test places more emphasis on the person."
As long as one behaves appropriately and with grace, the emperor will be pleased and will naturally be generous with rewards.
Wang You, however, understood the unspoken meaning in Sheng Hong's words.
The prodigy exam was more like a whim or a pastime for the government.
It's like when an official watches a mahjong match or a football game, and in his delight, he rewards the person with an official position.
Prodigies are all quite young, and no matter how intelligent they are, their knowledge and experience are ultimately limited.
The court is not lacking in well-read, learned, and talented individuals.
The scholars of the Hanlin Academy can all be considered great Confucian scholars of their time.
No matter how well these child prodigies perform, can their knowledge possibly surpass that of these people?
In the initial screening, those who lacked sufficient knowledge were eliminated.
Those who ultimately made it to the palace examination were all quite learned among their peers, but not so much so that they would catch the emperor's eye.
Therefore, talent alone is not enough to stand out.
Only by demonstrating excellence in other areas can one attract the attention of the authorities.
"When you go to Bianjing this time, your mother-in-law will probably ask you to visit Ouyang Jingyin. If he offers to take you as his student, remember not to agree immediately," Sheng Hong reminded him.
"Is the Ouyang Jingyin that my uncle mentioned Ouyang Xiu, the Grand Academician of the Dragon Pavilion?" Wang You asked.
"good."
Sheng Hong nodded and said, "Prefect Ouyang was transferred to the capital last year to serve as the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture in Kaifeng."
"Could it be that the Wang family has a past relationship with Scholar Ouyang?" Wang You asked in surprise. "How come I've never heard my grandmother or father mention this?"
"It can't be said that we had a long-standing relationship. When my father-in-law was serving as the Vice Minister of Rites, he was also the chief examiner for the imperial examinations. Although Ouyang Xiu failed the exams, my father-in-law admired him quite a bit and had given him some pointers."
Although he was never formally accepted as a student, Ouyang Xiu frequently visited his father-in-law with the courtesy due to a student. "Sheng Hong said.
Wang You never expected that his grandfather had this connection with Ouyang Xiu.
Ouyang Xiu was a Grand Academician of the Dragon Pavilion, a prestigious position, but he enjoyed high prestige among scholars.
For example, when Su Shi and his son went to the capital to take the imperial examination, they visited Ouyang Xiu.
Ouyang Xiu greatly admired Su Shi's writing and recommended him to many officials in the court.
This allowed Su Shi to become famous in Bianjing (Kaifeng) before the imperial examinations even began.
So much so that whenever an article was published, it caused a shortage of paper in Bianjing (Kaifeng).
Given this relationship, it was normal for his grandmother to ask him to visit Ouyang Xiu.
Why did Sheng Hong specifically remind him not to become Ouyang Xiu's disciple?
Wang You wanted to ask, but since Sheng Hong didn't explain the reason, he was obviously unwilling to say so.
Therefore, he had no choice but to suppress his curiosity.
…………
When Wang You and his mother arrived in Yangzhou, it was three days before Hua Lan's coming-of-age ceremony.
The following afternoon, led by Sheng Changbai, Wang You first toured Yangzhou City, and then went to Daming Temple outside the city.
Daming Temple is an ancient temple with a history of over a thousand years. The eminent Tang Dynasty monk Jianzhen was ordained at Daming Temple and set off from here on his journey to the East.
In addition, Pingyuan Tower, which was built under the supervision of Ouyang Xiu when he was the prefect of Yangzhou, is located in the temple.
Therefore, Daming Temple is not only a popular place of worship, but also a must-visit place for literati and scholars when they travel to Yangzhou.
After getting off the carriage, we saw a Buddhist pagoda in the distance.
Through Sheng Changbai's introduction, Wang Youcai learned that this was the Qiling Pagoda, one of the thirty Buddhist pagodas built throughout the country by order of Emperor Wen of Sui to celebrate his birthday. Daming Temple was once renamed Qiling Temple.
However, the Xiling Pagoda, which was built during the Sui Dynasty, was destroyed by fire at the end of the Tang Dynasty. The one in front of us was rebuilt later by monks through donations.
There were indeed many scholars in Daming Temple. These scholars, in groups of three or five, discussed poetry and literature as they toured Daming Temple.
"The Emperor first recalled Prime Minister Fu to the capital to resume his post, then last year he recalled Academician Ouyang to the capital, and this year even Prime Minister Han has been reinstated. Clearly, he intends to restart the reforms."
"Indeed, it seems the day when Lord Fan returns to his position as prime minister is not far off."
"To be the first to worry about the world's troubles and the last to enjoy its pleasures—with just this saying, Fan Zhongyan can serve as a model for all scholars."
"If His Majesty truly intends to restart reforms, why have we not heard of Fan Zhongyan's reinstatement even though Scholar Ouyang and Chancellor Han have already been transferred back to the capital?"
The arguing of several scholars drew Wang You's attention.
Sheng Changbai overheard their discussion and, seeing Wang You linger, whispered a reminder: "Ziqian, don't get involved in this kind of thing lightly."