Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 71 [Hearing the Dao in the Morning] [Dew at Dawn] Insightful observation like fire!

Jiangzhou Prefecture.

The Duke of Xue's Mansion.

A crescent moon hangs over the east wall outside the window, its faint light filtering through the carved window lattice, casting sparse shadows of the paulownia trees in the courtyard.

Jiang Xingzhou settled down in the small courtyard of the mansion, living with the Xue brothers, Xue Fu and Xue Gui, so that they could exchange ideas and learn from each other.

He lightly flicked his sleeve and took out his writing brush, ink, paper, inkstone, blue robe, and books one by one from the wicker box.

The books were neatly stacked on the desk.

With freshly ground ink and a dim lamp, he dipped his brush in ink and wrote the two characters "[Quiet Mind]" on a piece of plain paper, which he then hung in front of the wall.

Jiang Xingzhou prepared to shut himself in and study for the prefectural examination.

Apart from literary gatherings and poetry banquets that I must attend, I avoid venturing into bustling city streets to avoid distracting myself.

After being fed to its fill, a pure gold-colored mayfly lay on the table.

The little insect seemed to be sentient, fluttering its wings and landing beside the page of the Analects of Confucius, listening to Jiang Xingzhou recite the classic text.

Its elytra trembled slightly, fluttering gently in rhythm with his recitation, as if it were listening intently.

When I heard Jiang Xingzhou recite the line, "If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening."

"sand--!"

It excitedly flapped its thin, cicada-wing-like elytra, and instantly the three ancient seal characters "[朝闻道]" appeared on the elytra, shimmering with golden light, activating its talent.

In an instant, the room was filled with light, as if a clear sound lingered in the air.

Jiang Xingzhou felt his mind clear and his obscure passages melted away like ice and snow.

Bronze bamboo slips, displaying a string of information.

[Jiang Xingzhou, through careful reading of the Analects, Book 4, "Li Ren," has gained 100 points in Daoist cultivation.]
[Ding! The golden-grade mayfly has activated 'Morning Enlightenment,' increasing enlightenment efficiency by 50% and granting an additional 50 points of cultivation.]
Jiang Xingzhou paused slightly in the hand holding the book.

One hundred and fifty points of cultivation transformed into a tiny golden light, which flowed into his brow.

The mayfly had folded its wings and landed on the inkstone, its golden wings reflecting the ancient seal script, making it look like a living ancient seal.

The cultivation of Taoism in the Great Zhou Dynasty is based on "Taoist practice".

Everyone knows that a little bit of Taoist practice is roughly equivalent to an hour of hard study by a student in a private school.

Based on this calculation, it would take an ordinary student five years of hard study to accumulate 10,000 points of Taoist cultivation.

However, this cannot be generalized.

Some scholars, even after a lifetime of studying, manage to accumulate only a few points. Others, however, possess extraordinary talent and achieve enlightenment in half a day, surpassing the efforts of others over ten months.

After obtaining the title of Junior Scholar, one's accumulated spiritual cultivation can increase tenfold. What used to require a whole day of arduous study can now be mastered in just an hour.

As for the scholars who passed the county-level exam, they were a hundred times better than those who entered the county-level exam; they truly "read as if guided by a god."

"Brother Jiang, this mayfly is truly a rare treasure!"

Xue Fu stared at the mayfly-like golden shadow, his expression filled with envy.

That's a golden, top-grade mayfly, the finest among literary insects, rumored to help scholars gain sudden enlightenment and enhance their spiritual cultivation.

The rare literary treasure that so many scholars dream of but may never even get a glimpse of is now fluttering on Jiang Xingzhou's desk.

From the jade cage in front of Xue Fu's desk, the clear chirping of crickets could be heard, and a red-eyed cricket flapped its wings.

His cricket is also a mid-grade gold cricket, but it is still two grades inferior to others.

"Alas, Father is trying to kill us!"

"They hate that we haven't studied enough, so they're punishing us by making us memorize these dozens of classic texts before the prefectural exam!"

Xue Gui sighed and took out a bluish-green grasshopper from the cricket jar in his sleeve, carefully placing it next to the pile of books.

On the table, dozens of classic books, including the Analects and the Spring and Autumn Annals, were piled up several feet high.

When they lived in their old house in Jiangyin, had they ever worked this hard?
Now that they have arrived in Jiangzhou Prefecture, their father has issued an order requiring them to memorize these dozens of classic texts before the prefectural examination.

"Uncle is right, you haven't read enough books. You should study harder!"

"If I don't pass the prefectural examination this time, I'll have to go back and suffer for another three years," Jiang Xingzhou said with a smile.

Confucius said

"之乎者也"

The Xue brothers thought it made sense; if they didn't pass the imperial examination this time, it would be a tough time. They could only obediently wear long faces, their heads swaying from side to side with the rhythm of the chanting, looking like two wilted eggplants.

The grasshopper's antennae trembled slightly, and its elytra emitted a clear, melodious chirping sound as Xue Gui recited the poem.

After its eloquent explanation, those difficult-to-understand classical texts suddenly became as smooth as flowing water.

With the help of this literary talent of being able to recite texts backwards, Xue Gui was able to memorize classics much faster.

A golden light emanated from his Taoist practice.

Xue Gui lightly tapped his fingertip, and more than ten dazzling golden rays disappeared into his fingertip like stars, making him feel extremely happy.

Data was constantly being updated within Jiang Xingzhou's bronze bamboo slips.

[Xue Gui recites the Analects, Book 2, Chapter 2, "The Way of Governance," gaining +15 points in Taoist practice!]
[Xue Gui's Gold-Grade Low-Rank Insect: Grasshopper, activates the 'Memorize Backwards' talent, granting a 20% increase in memorization and significantly enhancing memory.]
[Xue Fu recites the Spring and Autumn Annals, gaining +25 points in Taoist cultivation!]
[Xue Fu's Golden-Grade Mid-Rank Insect: Red-Eyed Cricket (Grasshopper), activates the 'Insightful Insight' talent, allowing one to perceive the true meaning of a text, with a 20% increase in keen observation and insight into subtle details.]
The three insects vibrated their elytra, their chirping echoing throughout the study.

As dawn broke, that golden shadow of a mayfly flew into the courtyard.

Mayflies fluttered their thin wings, lingering among the dew-kissed orchids.

As the sun rises, it flies back to the bamboo tube with the morning dew it has collected, where a single, glistening drop of [morning and evening dew] condenses beside its nest.

Jiang Xingzhou had already prepared a jade bottle to collect a single drop of "Morning and Evening Dew" that it expelled.

This dew takes ten days to form a single dose, and consuming it can [accelerate literary skills] by about 30%. It is a rare and precious spiritual dew.

This effect can be stacked with the effect of the "Rapid Writing Technique" in the "Rapid Writing Manual".

The rapid writing technique in "Jijiuzhang" can only be used by young students, while "Chaoxi Lu" can be taken by any scholar, making it naturally extremely precious.

Thus, Jiang Xingzhou and the Xue brothers secluded themselves in the small courtyard of the Duke of Xue's mansion to study diligently, finding it quite leisurely.

As the insects flapped their wings, the three men accumulated golden light, their skills increasing rapidly, as if they were making rapid progress every day.

However, about half a month later, as Grain Rain approached,
Of the five counties under Jiangzhou Prefecture, in addition to the students from Jiangyin County who arrived early, the students from Jiyang County, Liangfeng County, Kunshan County, and Taicang County also arrived in the prefectural city by boat to participate in the Grain Rain Poetry Gathering.

In addition, two thousand students from the five counties of Jiangzhou Prefecture took the exam.

The perch from Jiyang, the tea and tobacco from Liangfeng, the Wu dialect from Kunshan, and the brocade sails from Taicang all poured into the prefectural city along with the multi-storied ships.

Literary gatherings and poetry banquets of all sizes suddenly increased in Jiangzhou Prefecture. Overnight, invitations of all colors flew in like swallows in the rain, creating an extremely lively atmosphere.

However, the level of these literary gatherings and poetry banquets varied depending on the social status of the attendees and the size of the event.

Large literary gatherings can be held with hundreds of people, while smaller gatherings of dozens can be held as poetry banquets.

"Brothers Xue, would you like to join me for the poetry banquet at Zuixianlou?"

In the backyard of the Duke of Xue's mansion, several young scholars from prominent families lay on the courtyard wall, calling out in hushed tones.

Xue Gui was copying a book when he heard the calls of the young men from prominent families outside the courtyard. His hand holding the pen paused, and the ink splattered on the Xuan paper, leaving a coin-sized stain.

My heart was itching with desire, and I could no longer calm down.

The past two weeks of hard study had left him quite exhausted, and he wanted to relax with a party.

"Brother Liu, who is hosting this poetry banquet?"

Xue Gui put down his wolf-hair brush, strolled to the courtyard wall, and asked the familiar young men, "If it's just an ordinary poetry banquet, it's too low-class, there's no need to go. Why not practice a few more pages of calligraphy?"

"Brother Xue, when did you become so diligent in your studies?"

The boys outside the wall burst into laughter upon hearing this.

The leader unfurled a gold-flecked folding fan and announced, "Brother Zhao Zilu of the Zhao family, one of the ten great families of the prefecture, has generously spent five thousand taels of silver to book the entire Zhaixing Pavilion of Zuixianlou and invites princes and students of the fifth rank or above from various counties to a banquet."

I heard they even specially invited a descendant of the imperial chef to cook, and his specialty, 'slow-cooked snow frog,' is the most nourishing for the mind and spirit!

"I have specially invited the Xue brothers, as well as Brother Jiang, the top scholar from Jiangyin, to attend the poetry banquet!"

(End of this chapter)