My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 66 Yao Guangxiao

Arriving at Song Lian's door, intending to present a visiting card, they found Song Lian's second son, Song Sui, waiting to greet them at the door.

Ma Yu couldn't help but secretly admire Song Lian's manners.

His eldest son lived in his hometown, while his second son, Song Sui, lived with him in the capital.

Don't underestimate this second young master Song. Despite his youth, he has already made a name for himself with his calligraphy and poetry.

In the original world, he was hailed as the foremost calligrapher of the early Ming Dynasty and the greatest master of small seal script in the Ming Dynasty.

He is a true genius.

Unfortunately, he was betrayed and killed by his nephew, Song Shen.

Song Lian sent him to the door to greet Ma Yu, which shows how much he valued Ma Yu.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two went together to the main hall to meet Song Lian.

Song Sui must have had something urgent to attend to, because he left after bringing him here.

Song Lian explained, "This child is so obsessed with calligraphy that he's almost fanatical. Please forgive him, Young Master Ma."

Ma Yu felt that these words sounded a bit like showing off, but she could understand it.

Who wouldn't want to show off such an outstanding child?

He naturally wouldn't be tactless, so he followed up with a few compliments.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Ma Yu spoke first, her voice full of apology:

"Besides visiting you, sir, there is something else I would like to apologize for."

Song Lian asked curiously, "Oh?"

Ma Yu said, "There were actually several ways to write the character '仁' in ancient times."

“The current ‘two people’ and the ‘body and mind’ I mentioned are both part of it.”

"I have concealed much from you before, please forgive me, sir."

Song Lian nodded and said, "So that's what it is. I already knew about it."

"Although I have not studied the evolution of writing, I do know about Qin Shi Huang's policy of standardizing the written language."

"During the pre-Qin period, the world was divided into many parts, and each country had its own way of writing many characters. It is normal for the character '仁' to have multiple ways of writing it."

"So what you said about 'body and mind' is not wrong."

"Moreover, the way the words are written is not important; the meaning they convey is what matters most."

"Since the character 'body and mind' existed in the pre-Qin period, it means that the character 'benevolence' at that time had the meaning of self-cultivation."

"That's what's ultimately important."

"It would be of great help to me if you could tell me this."

"I am only grateful and would never dare to have any dissatisfaction."

Ma Yu said admiringly, "Sir, you are truly a gentleman. I am ashamed and full of respect."

Song Lian humbly replied, "Your elders were truly gentlemen; it's a pity we never had the chance to meet them."

The two then used the word "benevolence" as a starting point to discuss their understanding of Confucianism.

Song Lian, from the perspective that 'benevolence' is a personal realm, shared his new understanding of Confucianism, mainly the Analects.

Finally, Song Lian added, "I still couldn't quite understand what the Master meant when he said that at seventy one could follow one's heart's desires without transgressing the rules."

"Since a gentleman should restrain himself and return to propriety, why indulge himself because of his age?"

"Only now do I understand the profound meaning of these words."

"When one reaches a state where every word and deed is benevolent, there is naturally no need to adhere to conventions."

“Every word and deed is in accordance with the Way, so how could it be considered transgression?”

Ma Yu could only listen, filled with nothing but admiration.

In terms of pure scholarship, Song Lian truly deserves to be called the foremost scholar of the early Ming Dynasty.

Of course, he didn't come here today to listen to Song Lian's lecture, nor to flatter him.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he pretended to suddenly realize something and said:
"No wonder Confucius gave different answers when different people asked him about benevolence."

"No wonder my elders once said that there are a thousand different Confuciuses in the eyes of a thousand people."

Song Lian's eyes lit up: "A thousand people have a thousand different views of Confucius? That's an excellent point."

Confucius had reached the realm of benevolence, while we ordinary people can only glimpse a part of it.

"Everyone sees him differently."

"For your elders to say such a thing shows that they are already close to being benevolent."

Seeing that the time was ripe, Ma Yu pretended to hesitate and said:
"But my elders once said that Confucianism today is drifting further and further away from Confucius."

Song Lian paused for a moment, then his expression turned serious:

"Why?"

Ma Yu thought for a moment and said, "Confucius's teachings are for self-cultivation. The various moral standards he proposed are for self-discipline."

"Do your best and then influence others through your actions."

"But modern Confucianists are used to using Confucius's ideas to demand and criticize others."

"He himself had three wives and four concubines and was extremely wealthy, yet he accused the common people of being greedy and unchaste."

"My elders described this with eight words: be strict with others, be lenient with yourself."

Song Lian's expression grew even more serious: "There are many Confucian scholars in the world, and it is inevitable that there will be some bad apples."

"However, most people can stay true to themselves... Your elders are generalizing from a few cases."

Ma Yu feigned doubt and said, "But it is also a fact that Confucian scholars today are accustomed to using the ideas of Confucius and Mencius to demand things of others."

Song Lian explained: "Confucianism teaches and educates the masses according to the way of the sages. Since it is education, it must have standards."

"The thoughts of Confucius and Mencius are the standard."

"Didn't you also say that Confucius and Mencius are the foundation?"

Ma Yu nodded, and then said:
"The Analects is a book that teaches people to become gentlemen; it is a tool left to us by Confucius."

"But modern Confucianism treats tools as the only truth, demanding that people's words and deeds must conform to its meaning."

"Isn't this taking us further and further away from the true path?"

Upon hearing this, Song Lian's expression changed drastically. He said that saying the Analects was a tool was simply treasonous.

However, he could not retaliate.

Because Ma Yu's word choice was very precise, it was a tool left by Confucius for future generations.

Who dares to say otherwise?
In addition, they had just been discussing that benevolence is a state of mind.

Books are naturally the path to that realm.

If he criticizes Ma Yu because of this, wouldn't that be a slap in his own face?

At this point, he finally realized that he had unknowingly fallen into Ma Yu's rhetoric trap again.

The key issue is that he still doesn't understand what Ma Yu is trying to say.

However, having reached this point, there was no need to ramble on any longer; he asked directly:
"So what do you think we should do?"

Ma Yu did not answer, but continued:

"Sir, you may know that many literati and scholars love plum trees and pine trees. In order to make it easier to appreciate and play with them, they will plant the trees in flower pots and place them indoors."

Song Lian immediately became alert. Although they had only communicated twice, he already understood Ma Yu's rhetoric.

Once Ma Yu starts talking about seemingly unrelated things, she's definitely about to unleash her ultimate weapon.

Ma Yu ignored his changing expression and continued speaking to herself:

"Of course, not all trees are worth collecting; take plum trees as an example."

"Beauty lies in curves, for straight lines lack grace; beauty lies in leaning, for upright lines lack beauty; beauty lies in sparseness, for denseness lacks elegance."

"But how many naturally growing plum trees meet the requirements?"

"Thus, plum growers came into being, and they modified the plum trees according to the requirements of literati and scholars."

"The general method is to cut off the main branches, nurture the side branches, prune the dense branches, kill the young branches, weed out the straight branches, and suppress its vitality."

"Only in this way can goods be sold at high prices."

At this point, Ma Yu fixed his gaze on Song Lian and asked:
What does Mr. Song think of this method?

Song Lian's mind went blank for a moment, and his face turned ashen.

“Absurd! We scholars educate the masses with the way of the sages, how can you slander us…” Ma Yu just looked at him quietly, but felt extremely disappointed.

Although he knew it would be difficult to persuade Song Lian, in his imagination...

Even if a learned Confucian scholar like Song Lian disagreed with his own views, he would use reason to convince himself.

I prepared several sets of arguments for this meeting, hoping to persuade him.

Even if they ultimately fail to persuade Song Lian, it's simply a matter of differing perspectives, and they should each preserve their dignity.

To everyone's surprise, Song Lian went into a hysterical state.

There was no intention to communicate at all; they simply used righteous indignation to pressure people.

Yes, I was too naive.

Song Lian is the foremost figure in the literary world and the greatest Confucian scholar of our time.

Can Confucianism escape responsibility for its current state?
I was still too deeply influenced by "Preface to Sending Ma Sheng of Dongyang Off", and I had a preconceived notion that he was a wise and insightful person, unlike the rigid and conservative Confucian scholar.

Little did he know, he was probably the most steadfast defender of this system.

If we want to reform, we can't rely on these old scholars; their thinking is already entrenched.

We can only rely on young people.

Since that's the case, there's no need to say anything more.

After figuring this out, Ma Yu calmed down and stood up to bow to the emotionally distraught Song Lian, saying:

"I suppose you have no interest in talking with me, sir, so I will not linger any longer."

"I must take my leave now, and I hope you will forgive any disrespect I may have shown."

After saying that, she ignored him and turned away without hesitation.

After walking quite a distance outside the gate, he looked back at the red characters "Song Mansion" on the gate and suddenly laughed.

Although the attempt to persuade Song Lian failed, other gains were made.

This trip was like a demystification, and it also dispelled my wishful thinking about taking shortcuts.

From now on, let's take it one step at a time and move forward steadily.

However, despite this, Ma Yu was indeed very worried.

It is impossible to completely overthrow Confucianism in this era.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang disliked Confucianism, it wasn't because he had any objection to Confucian thought, but rather because he was dissatisfied with the Confucian scholars' lack of obedience.

This has already been proven in his previous life; in the end, he will still choose Confucianism to govern the country.

If Ma Yu dared to propose completely abandoning Confucianism, he would be the first to disagree.

Since we can't abandon it, we can only modify it.

But he did not believe he could accomplish this important task.

After all, he's good at talking big, but when it comes to actually doing something, he's far from capable.

Therefore, a collaborator is needed.

Today, Song Lian proved with his actions that the old folks are unreliable, so we can only start with the young people.

Training yourself is one aspect, but it's best to find young people who have already mastered the skills, as this can save a lot of time.

A two-pronged approach is more efficient.

But those who have already mastered their skills have teachers and mentors, and such people are equally difficult to persuade.

For example, Fang Xiaoru's age was quite suitable.

But he was Song Lian's disciple, and Song Lian's single sentence of "betraying his master and ancestors" could render all his efforts futile.

Moreover, Fang Xiaoru was able to propose implementing the well-field system, which shows that he was also the kind of person who had become foolish from studying too much, so it would be too difficult to persuade him.

Xie Jin? I wonder if he was born yet.

Moreover, he was not a perfect person; he was arrogant and conceited when he was young.

He later became a high-ranking official and was also adept at forming cliques.

In the second year of the Yongle reign, he served as the chief examiner, and as a result, the top seven candidates in that imperial examination were all from Ji'an.

Yes, you heard that right.

The top seven are all from the same place.

And Xie Jin happened to be from Ji'an, isn't that a coincidence?

It was only because Zhu Laosi cared about his reputation that he tolerated him for a few more years before finding another excuse to kill him.

If it were Zhu Yuanzhang, he could have sent his entire clan away on the spot.

The other young writers he knew either had their own shortcomings or were hesitant to collaborate with him.

After thinking it over and over, I still couldn't find a suitable one.

Sigh, where can you find someone who is highly knowledgeable, doesn't blindly believe in Confucian authority, and can ignore the pressures of society?

Must we train them ourselves?

Just as he was agonizing over this, Wu Zhuo's voice rang out:
"Young master, the Empress summons you to the palace."

Ma Yu was not surprised. She collected her scattered thoughts and said:
"Oh, it's you. You've been transferred to Aunt's side?"

Wu Zhuo said happily, "Not long ago, I was transferred to serve Your Highness."

At this point, he said gratefully, "Thank you for your promotion, young master."

Previously, when he served Zhu Yuanzhang, he was just a low-level errand boy.

After joining Empress Ma's side, he was promoted and given an official rank, a real leap in status.

He naturally knew why he had been promoted, so he was very grateful to Ma Yu.

Ma Yu quickly replied, "Don't say such things carelessly. It's His Majesty's high regard for you and the Empress's support that has brought you here."

"Now that you're in a different position, countless eyes are watching you, so you'd better watch your words."

Wu Zhuo lightly slapped himself: "Look at my mouth, it only causes you trouble."

Ma Yu said solemnly, "Remember my words: be kind to others, and you will be kind to yourself."

"If you have suffered injustice and experienced the pain of being bullied in the past, don't inflict that pain on others."

"If you've been caught in the rain, then if you can, you should hold an umbrella for someone else."

Wu Zhuo said respectfully, "Thank you for your guidance, young master. Just you wait and see, I, Wu Zhuo, will never be the villain."

The two then chatted as they walked toward the palace.

Ma Yu was not surprised at all that Empress Ma had sent someone to summon him to the palace.

He guessed that Wu Zhuo would be waiting for him halfway through the journey as soon as he entered the Song residence.

The purpose is to understand the details of the matter as soon as possible.

However, we still need to consider how to explain this to Empress Ma later.

After all, this matter is actually quite complicated.

When I went to see Song Lian earlier, he didn't reveal his true purpose.

Although she had a preconceived fondness for Song Lian, how could she easily reveal such a significant matter?

So Ma Yu only made a brief probe, and when she sensed something was wrong, she left decisively.

Fortunately, he was careful, otherwise things would have gotten really out of hand.

Upon arriving at Kunning Palace, just as they reached the entrance, they saw Zhu Di and Xu Miaoyun walking out side by side.

This time, Zhu Di wasn't shy at all and took the initiative to go up and greet him.

Xu Miaoyun was also poised and confident, showing no stage fright whatsoever.

That's normal, though; the two kids probably aren't even aware of that aspect themselves.

Ma Yu greeted them and watched them walk away, a smile playing on her lips.

No wonder this young couple has such a good relationship...

Wait, Zhu Laosi?

Just then, a flash of inspiration struck, and a name popped into my mind.

Yao Guangxiao.

How could I have forgotten about him?

(End of this chapter)