Green Mountain-Chapter 653 - 510: Hanlin Academy Scholar

Chen Ji stepped out of the Xuanwu Gate, and instantly the world in his eyes came alive.

The smell of cow dung seldom encountered in the inner city was now mingled with the fresh scent of grass in the outer city, invigorating Chen Ji.

He no longer worried about his appearance, rolling up his sleeves just as he did on Anxi Street in Luocheng City, lifting a corner of his clothes and fastening it into his belt, becoming much tidier and quicker.

At this moment, Chen Ji no longer seemed like a nobleman but rather like an apprentice from the Taiping Medical Hall on Anxi Street.

He walked forward with interest; it was early summer, and officials in the inner city were still dressed properly, while the men of the outer city had already donned white vests that exposed their arms, holding large rush fans and sitting by the roadside shouting and hawking their wares.

Chen Ji sidestepped a vendor carrying a load, heading towards the Glass Factory.

The Glass Factory used to be the Ning Dynasty's official kiln factory, but due to the disturbance caused by smoke and fire, the kilns were relocated to spacious areas in the south of the city. The original Glass Factory was thus transformed into a book market, a gathering place for literati and scholars to search for books.

It was said that nine out of ten Ning Dynasty storybooks originated here, and if they hadn't been pursued and praised by the literati and scholars at this place, they would not be considered good stories.

Chen Ji walked into the narrow alley of the Glass Factory, flanked by blue-gray bricks and tiles. The white steam from the steamed bun stalls at the street corner mixed with the sharp tang of bean juice and entwined with the ancient scent of ink and paper wafting from the bookshops.

At this moment, in a bookshop, a scholar in a gray cloth robe with a southern accent pleaded with the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, three silver coins; I truly can't afford more. Just consider it making a friend. If fortune smiles on me and I attain high honors, I will surely repay generously..."

The shopkeeper's eyes almost rolled to the ceiling: "You achieve high honors? All the scholars who come here say the same thing, but how many truly succeed? Take a good look; this is an Academic Administrator's commentary written five years ago. Are you buying a book? What you're buying is fame. Not one coin less will be accepted!"

This scholar showed difficulty on his face but was unwilling to put down the book he held.

Chen Ji no longer watched and shifted his gaze towards the alley.

In front of each bookshop stood a panel listing the names of books available for sale inside, and surprisingly, each shop had different lists. No wonder you have to "search for books"; sometimes spending a whole day here might not turn up what you want.

The narrow alley of the Glass Factory bustled with people, both officials and humble folks, engaging in spirited discussions. The literary atmosphere here seemed more abundant than that of the inner city.

Chen Ji didn't go to the Baoxiang Bookstore. Instead, he spotted a panel that listed "Four Books with Chapter Notes Volume One" and immediately stepped inside.

He took the volume of Four Books with Chapter Notes from the wooden shelf. The shopkeeper, seated cross-legged with a purple clay teapot in his hand, shot him a sidelong glance: "Don't leaf through if you're not buying."

Chen Ji smiled and gently opened the pages: "How can one buy without flipping through?"

Previously, in Luocheng City, he discovered hidden messages within paper on his first night at Lord Zhou's residence, and later he found evidence against the Liu Family by anomalies in the Four Books with Chapter Notes. It was common for the Military Intelligence Department to relay information through bookshops; whether Si Caoding continued this method after arriving in the Imperial Capital was unknown.

However, in this book he held, neither using the Reverse Cut Technique nor hiding words revealed anything.

Chen Ji set the book down and picked up another, book after book, all to no avail.

The shopkeeper impatiently said, "Are you buying or not?"

Chen Ji put the book down, thought for a moment, and said: "There are too many misprints and errors in your books."

The shopkeeper's eyes widened: "You'd better not talk nonsense. My books are all properly derived, proofread word by word. They're not like those from Wenchang Bookstore with dubious provenance."

Chen Ji noted down Wenchang Bookstore and said with a smile, "My apologies, I made a mistake."

He exited and continued deeper into the Glass Factory, where he saw the Meihua Ferry Crossing ruffian dozing against a wall under the eaves corner; it was then he remembered he still received more than a thousand Peace Money from the Glass Factory every month.

With this thought, even the slightly worn eave beast on the roof became elegant and refined.

Chen Ji arrived at the entrance of Baoxiang Bookstore and noticed the panel that listed "Analects Annotated by San Yang San Ren," "Doctrine of the Mean Annotated by San Yang San Ren," which were different from other shops; Baoxiang Bookstore contained only books by San Yang San Ren.

He stepped inside the threshold, where an elderly man with gray hair sat behind the counter writing furiously, as waves of the scent of ink wafted from the backyard.

Chen Ji asked with a smile: "Shopkeeper, who is San Yang San Ren, and why are all the books in this shop his?"

The old man seemed to be writing at a crucial part and was deeply focused, muttering to himself. Disturbed by Chen Ji, he impatiently raised his head: "Let me ask you, what does the word '克' mean in '克己复礼为仁'?"

Chen Ji smiled and replied: "I'm not versed in classical meanings."

"Ignorant!" The old man returned to his writing: "'克己复礼为仁,' this '克' is not about constraint but victory..."

Chen Ji understood roughly. The old man believed the word "克" in that context is not about restraint but overcoming or conquering selfish desire.

He didn't urge the man and quietly waited for him to finish writing the passage.

Chen Ji suddenly heard the sound of clerks talking in the backyard. He leaned over to take a look and saw four clerks abandoning their engraving work, chatting idly: "We're going to be doomed by this bookworm Chen Dong! Chief Steward Chen has already sent words; all the shopkeepers are heading to Fuyou Street to apologize, yet he refuses to go and writes those unsellable annotations. What's the point?"

"Shush, aren't you afraid the shopkeeper will hear?"

"Afraid of what? It's meant for him to hear. Haven't you heard? Our new landlord is the ruthless Wu Xiangjun. The seven second shopkeepers at Chen Family Salt Shop opposed him, and now they're all missing, their life or death unknown. Their families have searched for over a month without any clue, and the authorities won't handle it. The new landlord just returned from killing hundreds in Changping, and Chen Dong dares oppose him. Being left with an intact corpse would be lucky. If we continue following Chen Dong, who knows what trouble awaits. I don't want to do this anymore, planning to head back to Lu State tonight."

Chen Ji was dumbfounded. He looked at the old man, the words of the clerks coming through clearly, yet the old man seemed oblivious.

But the problem is, when did he ever kill hundreds in Changping?

Chen Ji said to the old man, "Shopkeeper..."

The old man impatiently interrupted, "Don't bother me! This old man wishes to meet his end today. There are still many annotations left undone, time is running out!"

Chen Ji: "..."

Only at this moment did he realize the kind of reputation he had in the Imperial Capital now.

He walked to the backyard, ignoring the surprised looks from the clerks, observing the engraving plates in the backyard by himself. He brushed his fingers over the carving plates, a whole wooden board engraved with small script... The Ning Dynasty had movable type printing, but it wasn't widely used.

During his schooling, the textbooks exaggerated the role of movable type printing, as though it replaced engraved printing from its inception. Actually, engraved printing remained more practical and continued to be used for hundreds of years.

There were three reasons: firstly, wooden movable types were easily damaged, while movable types made of brass didn't print clearly enough. At that time, the Ning people didn't yet know to add tin and lead into brass, with eight parts copper, one part tin, and one part lead, yielding lower melting points and clear prints.

The second reason was that the Ning Dynasty wasn't in the habit of using ink, and printing was brushed rather than pressed.

The third reason was that book content was generally fixed; engraving was cumbersome, but once engraved, the plates were usable for several years. The engraved wooden plates became assets of the bookstore.

Chen Ji contemplated, engraving was good, but what he wanted required movable type, because movable type printing was faster.

A clerk sized him for a while, pointing at him with a carving knife: "Who are you, coming into the backyard uninvited?"

Chen Ji smiled: "I'm just looking around, no need for a knife."

The clerk urged: "Out, out! Get out quickly!"

Chen Ji turned back to the main hall, returning to the counter.

At that moment, a joyful voice came from outside: "Chen Ji, what are you doing at Baoxiang Bookstore?"

Before Chen Ji could turn around, he saw the old man behind the counter flinch his wrist, letting a drop of ink fall onto the Xuan paper. The old man slowly raised his head, gazing at him with a look of despair: "It's too late..."

A clang came from the backyard, a clerk's carving knife fell to the ground.

Chen Ji turned around and saw Qi Zhaoning leading Qi Zhenzhu at the door, accompanied by Lin Chaojing, while Qi Zhaoyun, who was inseparable from Qi Zhaoning, was nowhere to be seen.

Qi Zhaoning, initially delighted, suddenly pulled a scowl remembering the recent event at the Imperial Music Bureau: "You, not skilled in Canonical Study, come to the Liuli Factory to hunt for books?"

Lin Chaojing laughed beside: "I imagine Brother Chen Ji is seeking some tales of fight and adventure for distraction, though Baoxiang Bookstore contains none of these, only the shopkeeper's absurdity. Back then during the Imperial Examination, he opposed the Academic Administrator with obstinacy, resulting in his scholar title being revoked, wasting his prospects with these annotations."

The shopkeeper Chen Dong's face turned red: "Fie on you! The word 'study' in 'Study and practice timely' refers to emulating enlightened predecessors, studying the great principles of being human, cannot be misinterpreted as learning rites, music, archery, charioteering, writing, and mathematics. This old man's denouncing such as petty is righteous! Why revoke my acclaim?"

Lin Chaojing's face turned stern: "I'm a Hanlin Academy Scholar, and just this statement could convict you."

Chen Ji refused to meddle in Confucian disputes, he bowed to Qi Zhaoning: "Third Miss Qi, this Baoxiang Bookstore is my family business. It's my first time overseeing it since taking over."

Qi Zhaoning's gaze flickered, then she abruptly spoke: "Chen Ji, our Dynasty boasts many distinguished general scholars, having learned much upon studying the Canons hence assuring advances and retreats are properly measured. You cannot neglect Canonical Studies; it's wise to consult more with Lin Hanlin. Every three years over three hundred scholars are appointed, yet few become scholars."

The late Emperor once said: "Throughout history, emperors kept talents in libraries to nurture them. Our dynasty nurtures only via the scholar pathway, aside from the graduated scholars."

Hanlin Academy Scholars, close attendants of the Emperor, are reserved for ministers.

Qi Zhaoning stared closely at Chen Ji, eager to see his reaction to her praises for Lin Chaojing.

However, Chen Ji only kept a calm face, bowing: "I will certainly consult Lin Hanlin more."

Qi Zhaoning's expression soured more as she turned to leave: "Let's go, to Wenyuan Bookstore. This Baoxiang Bookstore seems dilapidated and nearing closure!"