Chapter 286 – The Three Character Classic, Who is Wang Yinglin? (Part 1)
Feng Jin always believed himself to be a refined scion of a noble family, well-mannered and unlikely to act rudely under normal circumstances.
Until he met Jiang Pengji.
Coughing and blushing, he awkwardly adjusted his posture, tidying up the messy “crime scene” before him, his expression slightly embarrassed.
“Lan Ting, Mr. Yuanjing is a revered Teacher. How could you say something like that…”
At this point, Feng Jin truly found himself at a loss for words, unable to find the right vocabulary.
Jiang Pengji rolled her eyes and said, “It’s just a playful banter, merely a different way of expressing things. I’m not maliciously defaming him. Why are you being so uptight? Maybe even Mr. Yuanjing would agree with my words if he heard them.”
Feng Jin sighed in an unusually mature manner; he couldn’t out-argue this person before him, no matter the twisted reasoning.
“Mr. Yuanjing is broad-minded and surely wouldn’t bother arguing with a junior like you,” Feng Jin stated.
Due to a serious hand injury, his right hand would be out of commission for a while. Unluckily, he missed this opportunity for assessment. As a result, he had been quite idle lately. Jiang Pengji made it a point to bring him over for a game of chess or some casual chatting to keep him from overthinking.
Whether coming from humble beginnings or noble lineage, everyone labored for years, aiming for that one moment of ascension, right?
Although Feng Jin didn’t show it on his face, he certainly didn’t feel as easygoing in his heart.
He knew very well her good intentions.
“What are you doing?”
After a round of chess, Jiang Pengji instructed Ta Xue to set up a table in the courtyard, where a large stack of neatly cut bamboo paper lay quietly.
“Copying, since I’m idle anyway. Playing chess with you is no fun; your mind isn’t even on the game.”
Jiang Pengji sat kneeling on a bamboo stool while Ta Xue subtly rolled up her sleeves to help her grind ink.
Hearing Jiang Pengji expose his wandering thoughts, Feng Jin felt a hint of embarrassment wash over him, quickly refocusing himself to change the subject.
“Copying? Is that the task Uncle Liu left for you?”
Uncle Liu, also known as Liu Zhi, had gone to the examination site early to prepare as the head examiner. To avoid any conflicts of interest, he wouldn’t return until the evaluations were completed.
Going by Feng Jin’s assumption, with how much Liu Zhi valued Jiang Pengji, it was only normal for him to assign her some homework.
However, Jiang Pengji replied, “No, I’m copying Mr. Cheng’s books.”
Mr. Cheng was referring to Cheng Cheng.
She had previously made a “deal” with Cheng Cheng where she provided high-quality bamboo paper in exchange for him to transcribe his collection of books for her. Unfortunately, Cheng Cheng had way too many, over ten thousand volumes! It would take at least a year or two to finish.
Though Jiang Pengji could wait that long, she found herself with free time now and could definitely do better.
The more she immersed herself in this era, the more she saw, and her understanding deepened.
Certainly, there were many aspects from ancient times that she found displeasing—backward technology, rampant illiteracy, barbaric customs, gender discrimination… But undeniably, this era had its bright spots, like the accumulated wisdom of the ancients.
As she flipped through several military strategy texts, she discovered many concepts that resonated with what she had learned before. Some seemed superficial at first glance, yet their essence was strikingly similar, considering her own era was separated from this ancient one by at least twenty thousand years!
Gradually, Jiang Pengji reined in her dismissive attitude. She changed her approach, treating her studies seriously now.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone through such trouble to wrangle the books from Cheng Cheng earlier.
“Human nature is initially good; nature is similar, but habits create differences; if not taught, nature will change…” Feng Jin sat nearby, observing her pen write those words down. Reflecting on them, he realized he had no familiar recollection of them, yet the phrases were concise and profound, hinting at deep wisdom, which piqued his interest. He couldn’t help but ask, “Who wrote this? The language is simple, easy to remember, rather intriguing.”
With Feng Jin’s question, a flurry of comments flew across the virtual screen.
【Old Driver Alliance】: Young Master Feng Jin, that’s from “The Three Character Classic,” an ancient educational text of Huaguo.
【Musician Zhuge Qinmo】: “The Three Character Classic,” authored by Wang Yinglin of the Song Dynasty. You probably don’t even know who Wang Yinglin is.
【Fluffy Bag】: Checked on Baidu, the author of “The Three Character Classic” is Wang Yinglin.
【Farmer Spring Water Slightly Suspicious】: Wang Yinglin of the Song Dynasty. But the world Young Master Feng Jin is in probably doesn’t even have the Song Dynasty, right?
In fact, according to some grand masters’ analyses, the time frame in which the streamer currently resided didn’t seem far off from the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties period.
In addition to answers, comments like “… Not teaching is the father’s fault; lax teaching is the teacher’s negligence…” scrolled by.
The content was chaotic and diverse. If it weren’t for Jiang Pengji’s stellar memory, she might have gotten dizzy trying to keep up.
As Jiang Pengji caught Feng Jin’s question, she lowered her gaze and, while he wasn’t paying attention, glanced at the comments, jotting down notes to continue writing.
“I don’t know; the authorship of these texts is undocumented. I just found it interesting and copied it down.”
Today’s stream had a rather unusual vibe, lively like a festival.
When Jiang Pengji expressed her desire to transcribe some suitable educational texts and asked for suggestions, the entire live chat erupted. Though they might not be familiar with ancient classics, they knew Baidu could certainly help them appear wise in front of the streamer!
Thus, Jiang Pengji wrote the words “The Three Character Classic” in large letters on the first page, while on the author’s line, she simply wrote “Anonymous.”
The reason she didn’t write down the original author’s name was that she didn’t want anyone investigating who the legendary Wang Yinglin was.
So, how would she know who Wang Yinglin was?
Feng Jin didn’t find Jiang Pengji’s answer strange. Those huge boxes of books from Cheng Cheng were simply too numerous. He had seen them from afar; the books were organized neatly, showcasing the owner’s diligence, but many ancient texts were incomplete, let alone determining the authorship!
“… In ancient times, Meng’s mother chose a suitable place to live… This is about Meng’s mother moving three times?”
Feng Jin stared intently, noting that the concise phrases contained many familiar anecdotes.
Every scholar knew the story of Meng’s mother moving three times, but to summarize it in just six words was unheard of.
Subtly, Feng Jin sensed an unusual feeling flit through him, but it vanished all too quickly, leaving him unable to grasp that sensation.
Jiang Pengji frowned, complaining, “You’re distracting me.”
Feng Jin’s brows drooped, remaining silent, and obediently sat to the side.
Perfect! It was much quieter now.
Jiang Pengji resumed copying. The audience in the live stream kindly helped her find various annotated versions, but they weren’t simply copy-pasting from a single webpage, resulting in a chaotic jumble of content. She had to edit out several elements, wasting multiple sheets of bamboo paper.
While some viewers enthusiastically assisted Jiang Pengji, others were busy making snarky comments.
【Farmer Spring Water Slightly Suspicious】: I thought the streamer could break the mold and avoid plagiarism, but it seems you still followed the formula!
