Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

When the library was completed, although Li Xingzhi did not publicize it much, it stood out like a crane among chickens in the midst of the common single-story black-tiled white-walled buildings. It was very eye-catching, and not long after construction began, many curious people came to see it.

Normally, building such a large pavilion would attract attention, but under Governor Liu's lenient policies and the fact that the ugly county magistrate was afraid of being beaten, none of his underlings dared to cause trouble.

The day after the pavilion was completed, the city's leaders had already figured out the situation. Perhaps knowing the key points, no one came over. Only Magistrate Cui, because of his friendship with Li Xingzhi, sent a calligraphy piece. Meanwhile, the "clever" ugly magistrate was watching the show from the sidelines. After all, the completion of this library was a great thing for scholars, but not so good for many aristocratic families.

At least, those impoverished places won't have to beg those powerful and wealthy families for help, which undoubtedly reduces the ways for these people to expand their influence.

The appearance of the library spread quickly among the impoverished scholars of Tanzhou City. As for the powerful and wealthy families, apart from a few who sneered, most paid no attention. After all, only a minority understood the significance of it, and even if they did, they wouldn't be foolish enough to stand out. In their view, "humility" and "moderation" were the only way for a family to pass on its legacy.

Li Xingzhi learned of Ouyang Xun's concerns yesterday, and he was also afraid something might happen. Today, he specially ordered two strong servants to act as doormen in the library. Sure enough, a few came up to provoke him, but they were just some small-time hooligans who came to test the waters. The servants knocked the hooligans to the ground with a few punches and kicks and then ignored them.

Zhao Chen was a poor boy. His parents were farmers. In order to make him successful, they sent him to work as a page in a wealthy family when he was young. Unfortunately, after a few years, he thought he had offended the young master of that family and was beaten and driven away.

He loved reading, and he did even the most menial jobs to have access to books. Even so, over the years, he had only seen a handful of books, most of which were available for purchase elsewhere. Other books, even if locked away in the attic and eaten by insects, would never be given to poor children. This was the unspoken rule among aristocratic families. Of course, if you could achieve a certain status and were willing to pay the price, that would be a different story.

Even though Zhao Chen loathed the behavior of those wealthy and powerful families, he had no choice but to lower his noble scholar's head! What is enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens? What is biding one's time and suffering for one's future?

Even if he achieves fame and success in the future, he will still have to be grateful to these people whom he despises from the bottom of his heart. He understands this very well, but he cannot change any of these things. All he can ask for is that one day he will no longer have to bend over and stoop in front of other people's carriages!

He dared not have any other extravagant hopes!

The unborn Li Bai and Du Fu, though their poems were widely known, did not know how to cultivate their relationships or curry favor with powerful families. And what was the result?

Zhao Chen heard yesterday evening that a kind-hearted person had built a library in Guiyuanfang in the southwest of the city. Anyone who loves books can go there, and there are many books there, including many rare and unique classics.

This morning, just after the rooster crowed three times, he got up and couldn't wait to head to Guiyuanfang.

By this time, Guiyuanfang and Jimingxiang were already quite crowded. The narrow alleys were now even more congested. These people all shared some common characteristics—their clothes were tattered, their figures were thin, and their faces were pale. In the darkness and cold before the light of day, they were all shivering.

Zhao Chen was also a bit cold, but since he had just come out of the house, he was much better off than the others.

He looked at the building in front of him. It was only two stories high, but it was very tall and long, making it look quite majestic!

On either side of the door hung two long wooden boards. The right one read: "No Trespassing!" and the left one read: "Thieves, Keep Out!" Above them hung three dazzling golden characters: "Library."

This couplet seems to have no connection with the three characters "藏书阁" (Library Pavilion) above, yet it seems to contain a hidden mystery, which Zhao Chen cannot understand.

Not long after, as the first rays of sunlight appeared, the doors of the library were opened, and Zhao Chen walked into the library among the people.

Many people had already come; they had registered and only needed to give their names to enter. Zhao Chen, however, needed to sign a contract and fill in some information in a grid before he could enter.

Zhao Chen was quite cautious about the contract. He examined it carefully; it contained only instructions to protect and cherish books. He smiled wryly to himself, then neatly wrote his name on the small piece of paper. As for the form, it was insignificant; its contents could be easily verified with the authorities. Therefore, no one had any objections.

Zhao Chen handed in the form, his eyes already fixed on the stairs leading up to the top. He was already quite impatient! He thought he could go up now, but someone else pulled him over to look at a passage called "Rules for Reading in the Library." He glanced at it briefly, not memorizing anything else, except for the hierarchy and points for "readers" in the library, which would affect his future life.

He was so excited by the reader perks that he trembled slightly.

Once you "register" here, you can freely browse the books already available on the market and enter "Hanmei Hall".

If you complete 15 days of reading, spending at least two hours reading each day, you can become a "die-hard" reader, at which point you will have the right to read some rare and valuable books.

If you complete a full year, you can become a "Bronze" reader, which grants you higher reading privileges. You can enter the "Youlan Hall" to read books, where snacks are provided free of charge, and paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones are also provided in limited quantities. Most importantly, you can also borrow books.

As for the silver medal, needless to say, but that's not something he can hope for right now.

Although some of the words in these "rules" are really strange, it doesn't prevent Zhao Chen from understanding them.

After seeing all those "rules," he was finally allowed to go upstairs. The upstairs area was quite spacious, and there were several tall, burly men standing nearby, watching over the place. Through the window lattice, he could also see the dark rooftops of other houses.

Zhao Chen looked around and found that most of the pavilion was covered by screens. The screens were not particularly exquisite, but the words and poems on them made him dumbfounded!

Actually, this screen is an enlarged version of the one in Li Xingzhi's room. Li Xingzhi only commissioned it at Ouyang Xun's insistence. However, the calligraphy on this screen is far superior to the original; it's much more grand and impressive, a small achievement of Li Xingzhi's recent work!

He turned his gaze back to the bookshelf. There were quite a few books on it, but upon closer inspection, he found that most of them were duplicates, with no more than a dozen of each kind. He only glanced at them briefly and realized that they were all things he already knew by heart. He was extremely disappointed and was about to pick up a book at random when he suddenly noticed another sizable shelf opposite him. There weren't many books on it, and it seemed that quite a few had already been taken.

He walked over, picked up one of the last few books at random, and flipped through it. It was a collection of commentaries by ancient philosophers and scholars on the books on the previous shelf. As he read, his hands trembled.

All these years, what have I been doing, toiling away in this lowly profession? Was it all for those few books I already know by heart? No, it was all for the guidance of masters and great scholars! What I had always dreamed of was now laid out before me—how could I not be excited!

His hands were trembling so much he could barely hold the book!

Zhao Chen flipped through this book and looked at that book. If he could, he would like to take them all. Unfortunately, there was a big man watching him intently from the side.

As he hesitated, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and grabbed the books in front of him. Zhao Chen reflexively pulled the books to his chest.

Then he saw a man who looked just like him, awkwardly stretching out his hand, while a burly man next to him stared with eyes as wide as copper bells, as if he wanted to devour him.

Zhao Chen felt as if a wild beast was about to pounce on him as the big man stared at him. He clutched the book to his chest even tighter, as if he was ready to fight to the death.

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Third update complete!

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