Those Who Seek the Way: The Secret Strife Between Great Houses and Humble Families

The next day, the students gathered together.

The lectures were held in a separate courtyard of the Meng Residence.

The courtyard is quite large and has clearly been renovated. The courtyard is empty, with rows of tables and chairs, and traces of the artificial hill and stone platform that were removed can still be faintly seen.

Without a doubt, the Meng Residence went to great lengths and incurred considerable expenses for this lecture.

Qiu Yan's seat was located at the very back of the courtyard, perched on the steps, sheltered by the eaves. From this vantage point, one could see the entire courtyard in its entirety. (Novel chapters updated fastest)

Early in the morning, the servants of the Meng Residence were busy at work. The arrival of the students filled the villa with life and intellectual Literary Thought.

However, Literary Thought's thoughts were not on writing articles or classical texts, but rather on discussing news related to Qiu Yan.

Unlike other Grand Confucian, Qiu Yan's birth was quite legendary. As his reputation grew and he accomplished more, news about him gradually spread.

This change in his reputation directly affected how others perceived him.

Initially, he gained some fame in Qingchang County because of his disaster relief efforts and porridge distribution. Later, Ma Yang gave him some guidance. At this time, Qiu Yan's academic reputation was not particularly good, and when others mentioned him, it was always because of other things.

Following this, he was invited to Wuxin City, where he experienced various events. After the turmoil at the literary gathering, he finally began to show his talent, outshining the famous scholars of Jiannan, Fang Ziyan and Gu Yanzhi. He even clashed with the influential Marshfolk Prince Geluolan, but did not suffer any losses. This incident aroused the interest of Qi Xin and others, descendants of generals in the city, in him, marking the beginning of his network of connections.

After this period, Qiu Yan's literary reputation began to rise, but it remained limited to a certain scope. However, it is worth mentioning that his poem "Pity the Farmers" at a literary gathering gradually made him famous among farmers. The conflict with the Marshfolk was also related to the military, and the poems copied at the literary gathering also spread his reputation for calligraphy.

At this time, Qiu Yan was just a promising talent who could amaze and attract attention, but he was not taken seriously and was mostly the subject of casual conversation.

This situation only changed after the Provincial Examination. His military strategy not only propelled him to the top of the list but also made his name known to the emperor, with many ripple effects. He truly entered the inner circle of the government. However, his fame was still limited to Jiannan. Even if people talked about him, they were mostly from Jiannan. Outside of that area, almost no one knew about him.

To gain fame, one needs to ride the wave of opportunity; if one lacks the momentum, one must let time allow one to accumulate experience.

However, Qiu Yan personally created its power.

His journey north to the Eastern Capital, his study at the Literary Pavilion, his farming and reading in the Lin Zhong, and his Nine Paintings Speak of Antiquity have undoubtedly elevated his reputation to a new level. Given time, his fame will spread with the flow of people. In time, he may very well rival the likes of He Shuchang and Qi Jiulian.

However, before things could escalate further, Qiu Yan went west to the Imperial City and used the provincial Metropolitan Examination to greatly advance his reputation. From then on, he became famous in the Imperial City and was even known as the top scholar. His subsequent palace Palace Examination and discussion of the Nine Rhymes further elevated his reputation to a peak. If it weren't for his shallow foundation and young age, he would have been called Grand Confucian and Grandmaster long ago.

Of course, in the eyes of many people, it was only a matter of time before this title was given out. It would take at most a decade or so, or as little as a few years, before Qiu Yan would be able to secure his status as Grandmaster. After all, his Thought-Convergent Order was not a secret at the time.

However, even those who had high hopes for Qiu Yan did not expect that, in just over half a year, Qiu Yan would greatly shorten the time it would take to solidify his title by doing something on the Grasslands.

Nowadays, mentioning Qiu Yan immediately creates a peculiar situation: many people have different impressions of Qiu Yan and various opinions about his achievements.

The reason for this is that Qiu Yan's reputation, status, and People's Prestige have risen far too quickly.

Initially, people thought he was a master of calligraphy and painting, but later it was rumored that he had considerable knowledge of High Antiquity.

Today I thought Qiu Yan was just highly learned, but tomorrow I'll find out he's already the top scholar in the imperial examination.

When I first heard this name, I only knew that he was favored by the emperor and was in charge of the Military Pavilion. After a while, I saw his name again in the battle report, accompanied by a great victory!

All of this is enough to demonstrate how rapidly he rose to power and how fiercely he came to be. He quickly became the focus of attention throughout the world, and many other deeds of his were gradually unearthed.

Humans, when faced with things that everyone knows, will either believe them wholeheartedly or doubt them. The many students gathered here today, in order to showcase their own thoughts, inevitably have a desire to deviate from the crowd. In this conversation, they did not choose things that Qiu Yan knew all over the world, but rather some small and trivial matters. On the one hand, they wanted to show their broad knowledge, and on the other hand, they wanted to deduce Qiu Yan's personality from these details.

Moreover, among the students who gathered there were not only the participants of last night's banquet, but also many students from poor families who were not qualified to attend the banquet. Unlike the students from scholarly families or wealthy families, they were unwilling to miss any opportunity and arrived early. They first recited their lessons in the morning light, and then discussed the knowledge taught by Qiu Yan Keneng with others, and talked about Qiu Yan's past.

"I've heard people mention that Qiu Xiuzhuan's scholarship is embodied in the two words 'Knowledge and Action.' Some of his insights used to circulate in the streets of Eastern Capital, compiled by Confucian scholars who had consulted him in the past, and they are of considerable value."

"I've heard a little about it, and I even had someone copy down that article he wrote at the Eastern Capital Literary Pavilion in Dongdu, which was so insightful and thought-provoking."

"This is also an opportunity. It is said that Qiu Xiuzhuan is not only Grandmaster of Military School strategy, but also has a unique style of Confucianism. He was praised by the Two Chens and is said to have synthesized the Great Cheng of Ma Xiang and the Two Chens brothers, opening up a new path and showing signs of establishing a school of thought. If we can seize this opportunity and understand a thing or two in advance, we may be able to rise up with the tide!"

"These kinds of things are a matter of chance, but we should still give it a try."

"Speaking of which, do you really think that today's lecture will allow us to grasp the essence of his teachings? If he wants to establish a new doctrine, isn't it only close associates and disciples who can learn its true meaning?"

As the conversation progressed, the topic shifted to speculation about how much Qiu Yan could impart. With the matter now at stake, no one was indifferent to this question.

"I heard that when you were young, you lived with your parents in poverty. You studied by the light of a hole you made in the wall every day. You must have come from a poor family, so you must know how difficult it is for us to study. You won't be so proud of your own humble background." These words were spoken by a student from a poor family.

However, a richly dressed young man laughed and said, "That's not necessarily true. You can see the difference between officials from noble families and those from humble backgrounds just by looking at their ways of being officials. Officials from aristocratic families have deep-rooted knowledge and are not easily tempted by money. They often achieve great things. On the other hand, officials from humble backgrounds, who have been poor since childhood, seize every opportunity to amass wealth as soon as they gain power..."

The man was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

"What do you mean by that? Is it a veiled criticism of the compilers?" The one who interrupted him was a handsome young man, dressed in a faded Confucian robe, his appearance neat and tidy, giving him a refreshing look.

"So it's Zhang Shun," the richly dressed young man looked up at the source of the voice, a smile spreading across his face. "Don't label me. I'm just stating the facts, not alluding to the compilers. I just want to remind you not to have unrealistic fantasies. How much a person can achieve is predetermined at birth."

These words immediately enraged many students from poor families. One of them said, "Hu Ye, don't be so arrogant. How dare you talk so shamelessly about your background? Who in Daizhou City doesn't know about your ancestors' business? They made their fortune by profiting from the national crisis, doing business with no capital. If it weren't for the right opportunity, how could they have turned their lives around? Now you look down on us respectable families?"

"An honest family?" The richly dressed young man Hu Ye, scoffed. "A poor family, perhaps? So what if they're law-abiding? Are they better than us? You say my ancestors did business without capital? So what? That takes guts. They seized the opportunity, demonstrated their ability, and built their fortune through their own hard work. We, their descendants, are proud of them! If you have anyone to blame, blame your ancestors for lacking that vision and guts!"

"How arrogant!"

These words immediately drew disdain from the crowd. Many were ashamed to associate with someone like Hu Ye, but there were also students from wealthy families who, while disagreeing with Hu Ye's words, were unwilling to mingle with those from humble backgrounds and lower their own status.

As a result, the atmosphere in the courtyard gradually became tense, with a sense of impending conflict.

However, some people managed to remain calm, including the servant who cleared the dishes at the Meng Clan's dinner party yesterday.

The servant sat alone in a corner, looking somewhat weary, his eyes bloodshot, a few ink stains remaining on his face, sweat dripping from his forehead, and breathing softly. He had just rushed over.

Unlike the others, the servant was completely focused, his eyes fixed on the innermost seat, waiting for Qiu Yan to arrive.

Finally, after seeing Qiu An take the lead in tidying up, the servant had a sudden thought, collected his thoughts, and waited attentively.

"It's coming."

Sure enough, a few breaths later, Qiu Yan, accompanied by Meng Bufan, walked out of the backyard and into the courtyard.

Upon seeing this scene, everyone in the courtyard immediately stopped talking and focused their attention on it, but the heavy atmosphere lingered for a while.

Meng Bufan also noticed the change in atmosphere. Having lived in the city for a long time and being a descendant of the Aristocratic Clan, he was well aware of the class antagonism. He didn't say anything, but simply said to Qiu Yan, "When you're lecturing, don't worry about all that. It's already a blessing that these people can listen to even a little."

Qiu Yan listened without comment, his gaze sweeping over the students in the academy. His eyes fell upon the various pillars of Literary Thought, differing in thickness, color, and height, faintly visible above their heads. A thought stirred within him.

"This lecture can be seen as the formal beginning of the dissemination of the Humanistic Divine Path..."

Thinking this, he walked towards his seat on the steps. (To be continued...)

P. S.: Thanks to "Wan Xia Xia La" for the donation!

Thanks to "Someone Died Between My Legs" for the monthly vote!