"Recently, you have gained a rough understanding of the meanings in the classics and their passages. This is indeed the foundation of further study. Yet the path of learning does not end at memorization and recitation; what matters is comprehending principles and putting them into practice...
Having read the books of sages and worthies, you should constantly examine yourselves: How does one cultivate oneself? How does one establish one's character? How does one extend oneself to others?
Today's lesson on 'Loyalty and Forgiveness' is not merely about explaining characters and parsing sentences. You must also perceive the heart within..."
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the carved window, dust dancing in the shafts of light. Ink dripped from brush tips, spreading over white paper, while the old gentleman's voice as he paced and recited made everyone drowsy.
Wen Shiyun idly wagged his wolf-hair brush.
What Jiangnan grand scholar, what retired Nine Minister—no matter how lofty his status, his lectures were all the same damn thing.
He glanced at the sundial in the courtyard. Class was nowhere near ending.
His gaze drifted outside, then suddenly stopped on the girl by the window. She was a tall girl, diligently bent over her desk as she copied notes. She wore a cotton-white training outfit, her waist cinched tight. Sitting in the spring sunlight, the fine hairs on her face glimmered gold. Her ponytail was tied high, her hair jet-black, and her chest rose slightly, like the tips of little hills.
Perhaps because she was a girl, He Hanyu attended the same batch of clan school despite being several years older than them. With her mother's permission and instructions, she lectured him all day long, escorted him to and from school every day, and made skipping class impossible. She was a living little informant, even more