Several times, Wei Zhun seemed about to speak, only to stop himself. In the end, he said nothing and merely stood respectfully in silence.
Wang Rong looked at Wei Zhun and smiled.
"You think my praise exceeds his merits, don't you?"
Wei Zhun hastily denied it, saying he would not dare, then respectfully cupped his hands.
"If you have reached such a judgment, sir, you must have your reasons."
As though he had seen straight through Wei Zhun's thoughts, Wang Rong smiled.
"You still don't believe me."
Wei Zhun hesitated briefly, then spoke frankly.
"Wang Yang's scholarship is certainly excellent, but to say he has mastered the Five Classics, that he was born knowing them, is truly hard to believe...
You also called him 'refined, polished, broad, and penetrating,' saying he lacked the 'glibness and flightiness' of an eighteen-year-old. I could believe 'broad and penetrating,' but not necessarily 'refined and polished.'
Du Wenqian used four words to describe Wang Yang's Pointing Out Flaws in the Modern- and Ancient-Script Book of Documents: 'flaunting talent, parading erudition.' His judgment is not entirely without reason.
Doesn't that word 'parading' itself prove his glibness and flightiness?"
Wang Rong burst out laughing.
"With Wang Yang's talent, what need has he to parade it? And why would he bother!
A thousand trees cover a mountain in spring, ten thousand flowers bloom at once. Wang Yang strolls among them and merely plucks one at random, yet people call it showing off. They do not realize that all the spring blossoms filling their sight belong to him.
It is like a wealthy girl powdering her face with ground pearls and scattering the excess. A poor girl sees it and indignantly accuses her of flaunting her wealth. Yet the wealthy girl never meant to display her extravagance; the poor