Chapter 15: Visiting to Request a Meeting

As Teacher Liu flipped through the book excitedly, he suddenly paused—something wasn’t right…

The ink looked freshly written, with some parts still slightly damp. The Imperial Chancellor was far away in the capital—no matter how fast a courier might be, a book couldn’t be delivered in just a few months. This book shouldn’t be like this.

His face twisted as he demanded, “Speak! Where did this come from?”

Sun the xiucai was startled by his expression and replied in a small voice, “Bought it at Su Family Bookstore.”

“What! It was bought at a bookstore?” Teacher Liu couldn’t believe his ears. “How much? Do they still have more? Take me there now!”

Sun the xiucai grew even more timid. “Two taels of silver…”

“How much???”

“Two taels of silver…”

Sun the xiucai looked like he was on the verge of tears. See? Everyone had the same reaction—even Teacher Liu wasn’t immune.

He cautiously said, “I’m not sure if they still have any, but this copy is my birthday gift to you for your sixtieth, Teacher. Please, take it.”

Ugh, he didn’t really want to give it up, and it hurt a little.

But he had finally found something the teacher liked—how could he not give it?

If this had been before, Teacher Liu definitely wouldn’t have accepted it.

There was no reason for a student to give gifts—not even for a sixtieth birthday.

But he was utterly captivated by the book and, gritting his teeth, decided to accept it just this once. “Alright then. I’ll count this as a sign of your filial piety. But I can’t just take your book for nothing—I’ll give you ten taels of silver later, and that will settle the matter.”

He was about to leave with the book to study it further, but suddenly turned back. “Almost forgot—take me to that bookstore. I want to see if they have any more.”

At that moment, the assistant at Su Family Bookstore was getting a scolding of epic proportions from the shopkeeper.

He couldn’t understand—really couldn’t understand—how someone could be such a fool.

The book had been placed in the display case marked “not for sale,” and yet the assistant gave it away without even asking. Was he trying to prove how competent he was or something?

Didn’t he even stop to think?

So what if it was the Thousand Character Classic—who said it couldn’t be sold at a higher price?

Such narrow-mindedness—he had been planning to use that book to build a reputation for the store!

It could’ve easily sold for dozens of taels. But now it was gone. He couldn’t ask for it back, could he? That would hurt the store’s reputation.

He was furious—absolutely livid!

The shopkeeper couldn’t help but beat his chest in frustration.

“This is the place,” Sun the xiucai said respectfully, leading Teacher Liu inside.

The assistant’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Sun—as if he’d spotted a savior.

“Shopkeeper! It’s him—he’s the one who bought the book!”

With that shout, Sun the xiucai realized the book must’ve been mistakenly sold that morning.

But he had already gifted it to Teacher Liu and didn’t want to return it. Just as he was about to defend himself, the shopkeeper shot the assistant a glare. “Get out of my sight. Just looking at you makes me angry.”

Then he turned to them with a much friendlier expression. “You’ve come about the book, haven’t you? Since it was our store’s mistake, we’ll take responsibility. Please, keep the book.”

All for the sake of a good reputation—he was really suffering.

Teacher Liu breathed a sigh of relief. So that’s what it was—no wonder it was so cheap. It had been a mistake.

Curious, he asked, “How did you come by a book handwritten by the Imperial Chancellor? Do you have more? I’d like to buy one!”

His tone was fast and eager.

The shopkeeper shook his head. “You must be joking. The Imperial Chancellor wouldn’t have the leisure to copy books. We commissioned someone to imitate his style.”

“Tsk—” Teacher Liu still found it hard to believe. Someone could really replicate that handwriting so perfectly?

But he had no choice but to accept it. After all, why would the Imperial Chancellor go around copying books—especially the Thousand Character Classic…

“Do you have any more books copied by him?”

The shopkeeper shook his head regretfully. “No, that was the only one—and you already bought it.”

A trace of disappointment rose in Teacher Liu’s heart. So there weren’t any more…

Then he asked nervously, “I’m Teacher Liu of Qingcheng Academy—would it be possible for you to introduce me to this remarkable person?”

After all, there were very few people who could mimic handwriting to this degree—actually, he had never seen anyone like that before—and he was eager to meet such a person.

Someone with that level of skill must be around his age. If they could even become close friends and drink together, wouldn’t that be wonderful?

At first, the shopkeeper was unwilling to make the introduction. It might displease Young Master Shen. But he couldn’t resist when Liu Fuzi revealed his identity.

Qingcheng Academy was highly regarded in the county, not to mention Liu Fuzi’s own reputation—he was unquestionably one of the top figures in the region.

The shopkeeper recalled that Shen Xiuyan had mentioned switching academies. If he introduced him now, it might actually become a favor.

Cunning as ever, the shopkeeper nodded. “Alright, for your sake, I’ll give it a try. If all goes well, I’ll send someone to notify you at the academy.”

“Good, good.” Liu Fuzi was thrilled not to be rejected.

After seeing him off, the shopkeeper quickly sent someone to inform the young miss.

After all, he didn’t know where Young Master Shen lived.

Su Mingyue was delighted when she heard about it. Liu Fuzi was renowned throughout the county for his scholarship—if even he admired Shen Lang’s handwriting, it meant Shen Lang was destined for great things!

“Meet him, we absolutely must meet. Have Cui Cui bring them over tomorrow.”

“Um… Miss, shouldn’t we ask Young Master Shen first?” The shopkeeper was worried that acting on their own might anger their golden goose.

He still wanted to rely on Shen Lang to make money in the future.

“No need. Would he dare not listen to me?” Su Mingyue waved her hand dismissively.

The old Su Mingyue might not have made such a bold decision, but the new Su Mingyue was different.

She knew Shen Lang liked her—really liked her. That gave her confidence. For something this minor, she could absolutely take the lead.

“Alright then…”

The shopkeeper was speechless. People in love were truly scary. Where did all that confidence come from?

The next day, he sent someone to Qingcheng Academy to inform Liu Fuzi.

He had expected the teacher to come after class, but Liu Fuzi rushed back with the shop’s errand boy in a frenzy.

He looked as if he were afraid Shen Xiuyan might run off.

When they arrived at the Shen Family village, Shen Xiuyan was holding a pen in his mouth and sighing.

To think that he, a former national top scorer in the imperial exams, would one day struggle to understand something—it was truly tragic.

He was a pro at memorization. With his intelligence, a book a day was no problem. But memorizing without understanding still gave him a headache.

At this moment, he regretted not learning more from his grandfather. Why had he thought classical Chinese was useless back then…

Now he truly felt the pain of having too few books when the time came to use them.

Clearly, he still needed to go out and find a teacher. No matter how smart he was, he couldn’t tackle the exams alone.

From the original owner’s memory, the academy he had attended before wasn’t great—mainly because it was cheap.

Now that he’d earned some money from copying books and would later get a share from sugar production, switching to a better, more expensive school was well within reach.

“Sigh…”

“Ah…”

“Ha…”

Passing by his room, his mother and younger brother exchanged puzzled looks. Zhou Shi asked first, “What’s wrong with your brother? He keeps sighing.”

Shen Yuanming shook his head. “I don’t know either.”

“Forget it, let’s not bother him. Your brother is meant for great things. It’s normal if we can’t understand.” Then Zhou Shi suddenly lit up with a wide smile, “Your uncle sent word—he’ll be coming tomorrow.”

“Really? Uncle’s coming?” Shen Yuanming was thrilled.

That uncle had helped their family a lot after their father died. Without him, they might have starved. So they had always been close.

Hearing he was coming, Shen Yuanming couldn’t contain his excitement.