Do you know that my grandfather was entitled to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple?

Chapter 7 Passing Down Poetry and Literature

"This is for the child."

Madam Feng stopped Madam Wang, who was trying to object, and said to Sheng Changbai and the others, "Quickly accept it."

Sheng Changbai looked at Madam Wang a few days later, and only after seeing her nod did he thank her and accept the gift.

Hua Lan and Sheng Changbai were fine; they accepted the gifts and wore perfectly appropriate smiles.

Rulan, on the other hand, was all smiles as she examined the hairpin with a delighted expression.

Her naive and unsophisticated appearance made Madam Wang glance at her repeatedly.

It wasn't that Rulan was unsophisticated; rather, she was still young, and many of the pieces of jewelry were not suitable for someone her age.

After the younger generation exchanged greetings and introductions, Madam Feng said, "Sister-in-law, please take me to pay my respects to the old lady. My mother-in-law and the old lady have not seen each other for many years and miss them dearly. She specifically asked me to give her my regards."

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang naturally did not refuse. She first sent someone to inform Shou'an Hall, and then led Madam Feng and Wang You to Shou'an Hall.

On the way, Rulan kept glancing at the mountain king that Wang You was holding in his arms.

"You like it?" Wang You asked with a smile.

"Mm." Rulan nodded.

The tiger-like creature has a chubby and adorable appearance, which is quite appealing to girls of this age.

Rulan also had some close female friends, who were all daughters of officials in Yangzhou, some of whom also kept cats.

She liked it and wanted to keep one, but Madam Wang disagreed.

Madam Wang was worried that the cat would run around, which would be bad if it disturbed Sheng Changbai's studies or frightened Old Madam Sheng.

"I'm tired of carrying it, cousin, can you carry it for me for a bit?" Wang You said with a smile, handing Shan Jun over.

When we meet Old Madam Sheng, we will definitely have to pay our respects, and the cat will have to be handed over to the accompanying maid.

It wouldn't be bad to let Rulan be a free tool.

Rulan, unaware of Wang You's thoughts, handed the wooden box containing the hairpin to her maid, carefully accepting the gift from the mountain spirit.

Meow~

The mountain lord barked angrily at Wang You, but did not retaliate.

Upon arriving at Shou'an Hall, Wang You saw an elderly woman with gray hair sitting inside, her hands wrapped in prayer beads, dressed simply, which seemed quite out of place with the surrounding rich and elegant atmosphere.

"Mother, my sister-in-law and nephew from my maternal family have come to pay their respects to you," said Madam Wang with a smile.

"Greetings, Madam. May you be well." Madam Feng bowed respectfully.

"It's just a coming-of-age ceremony for a junior, yet it's troubled Madam Feng to make the trip."

A smile appeared on Old Madam Sheng's thin face as she said, "Please have a seat."

"Thank you, Grandma Xie."

After Madam Feng took her seat, she beckoned and said, "You'er, quickly greet the old lady."

"Wang You greets Old Madam Sheng. May the Old Madam be well!"

Wang You clasped his hands together and bowed deeply.

No need for formalities.

Grandma Sheng looked Wang You up and down and said with a smile, "This must be your second son, right? He's already famous at such a young age. I've even heard people in Yangzhou mention that there's a child prodigy named Wang from Shouzhou."

"Grandma, please don't praise him too much, or he'll get all cocky," Madam Feng said with a smile.

"The boy is promising; he deserves praise."

Grandma Sheng looked at Wang You and said, "Sit down and talk."

A maid immediately brought a stool and placed it next to Madam Feng. Wang You thanked her and sat down.

Hua Lan stood beside Old Madam Sheng, while Sheng Changbai and Ru Lan stood behind Madam Wang.

In such situations, the younger generation has no right to speak. If Wang You weren't a guest, he would have to stand like Hua Lan and the others.

Grandma Sheng inquired about Grandma Wang's recent situation and exchanged pleasantries with Madam Feng for a while.

He then looked at Sheng Changbai and said, "Brother Bai, don't stay here so long, take Brother You out for a walk."

"yes!"

Sheng Changbai cupped his hands in acceptance and looked at Wang You, saying, "Cousin, please."

After bowing, Wang You followed Sheng Changbai and Rulan out of the main hall.

"It's getting late, how about we just stay home for a while? Tomorrow I'll take my cousin around Yangzhou," Sheng Changbai said with a smile.

"It's not a good time to go out, so as not to worry the elders."

Wang You nodded and asked, "Why haven't I seen my uncle?"

"Father went to work today, and Mother has already sent someone to inform him. He should be back soon," Sheng Changbai said.

The two chatted casually, which made Rulan, who was petting the cat behind them, exclaim that she was bored.

"Big brother, where are we going?"

"I'll take my cousin to my study," Sheng Changbai said.

The Sheng family mansion isn't very big, there's really nothing worth visiting.

Just as they were talking about Wang You's participation in the prodigy exam, Sheng Changbai invited Wang You to sit in his study.

"Then you and my cousin go ahead, I'll go for a stroll in the garden," Rulan said.

"Um."

Sheng Changbai knew that Rulan was a restless person, so he nodded and agreed.

And so, the three parted ways, and Wang You followed Sheng Changbai to his study.

There are only two bookshelves in the study, filled with various books.

Judging from the worn covers of these books, Sheng Changbai frequently read them; they were not just for show.

Wang You, seeing the map of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun hanging on the wall, exclaimed in surprise, "Cousin, you also have expertise in border affairs?"

A geomantic map is actually a map, but it is not an ordinary map; rather, it is a military map.

The map clearly marks the city and roads, as well as mountains, rivers, and forests.

However, Wang You immediately recognized that this geomantic map was from the founding of the dynasty, not the present one.

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were lost before the establishment of the Song Dynasty.

Emperor Taizong's northern expedition not only failed to recover lost territory, but also resulted in the loss of some of his original lands.

The current border between the Song and Liao dynasties was redefined during the Treaty of Chanyuan.

The map hanging in Sheng Changbai's study, however, was from an earlier period.

That's normal, though, since border maps are top secret these days and can't be circulated among the general public.

"I wouldn't call it research; it's just that it sometimes comes up in the imperial examinations, so I look at it when I have nothing else to do," Sheng Changbai said with a smile.

"Oh." Wang You nodded slightly without asking any further questions.

Because of the connection between civil and military affairs, the questions in the imperial examinations sometimes had a certain relationship with military matters.

"Cousin, the collection of books in my study certainly can't compare to that of the Wang family, but reading more of it will help you gain insights into other areas," Sheng Changbai said with a smile.

"Um."

Wang You rummaged through the bookshelf and picked up a copy of "Mencius" to read.

The ancients often said that poetry and books are passed down through generations. Poetry refers to the poems and articles written by ancestors, which contain their moral values ​​and beliefs.

And "books" does not simply refer to ordinary books, but rather to the annotations made by our ancestors in books.

These are the truly priceless treasures.

The Sheng family had produced at least one third-place scholar and one Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), and the book naturally contains annotations from several generations.

If we're talking about books, the Wang family has almost everything the Sheng family has.

The Wang family even has many rare and unique copies of books.

Sheng Changbai's point about drawing inferences from one instance to another was to have Wang You look at the annotations.

The copy of Mencius that Wang You is holding is not a printed copy, but a handwritten annotated version.

A commentary edition is a text that interprets Mencius sentence by sentence and elaborates on the author's own insights.

Seeing that Wang You was engrossed in reading, Sheng Changbai also picked up a book and started reading.

"Young Master!"

After an unknown amount of time, the voice of Sheng Changbai's pageboy calling out came from outside.

"The lord has returned. Please, young master and cousin, proceed to the main hall."

"understood."

Sheng Changbai replied and looked at Wang You, saying, "Cousin, Father is back. Let's go over there."