Chapter 282: Li Xiaonan’s Bottom Line
Mr. Dongxi’s literary gathering was prepared very quickly. The invitation for Li Xiaonan to lecture on Investigation of Things was delivered by Mr. Dongxi’s disciple Wu Jie and Lu Zhangyi, a scion of the Lu family preparing for exams in the Capital City. Wan Jing went out to receive the invitation and returned shortly to reply to the two: her young lady had accepted and would definitely arrive on time for the literary gathering.
As the two turned out of the alley entrance, Lu Zhangyi, thinking of the matters concerning Hanshan Temple mentioned in his sisters’ letters, couldn’t help but laugh, “This Miss Li is truly… not very polite.”
“Teacher says she is uncarved jade,” Wu Jie replied with a smile.
“Whether she’s uncarved jade or not, she’s definitely uncarved. That Young Lord…” Lu Zhangyi coughed lightly and looked at Wu Jie.
Wu Jie looked understanding and smiled, “Well, everyone has their own destiny.”
“Indeed,” Lu Zhangyi chuckled.
After walking a few steps, Wu Jie smiled and said, “There’s another matter. Those Hanlin Academy Scholars renowned for Investigation of Things have sent word that they will also be coming, and many from the Imperial Academy will be attending as well.”
Lu Zhangyi raised his eyebrows in surprise, “Did that Young Lord arrange it? Does this Miss Li truly have such capability?”
“Miss Li lectured once in Hangcheng,” Wu Jie said with a half-smile.
“She only lectured on two topics in total; the rest was all fanfare. According to my third uncle, that wasn’t lecturing, it was more like performing tricks. This Young Lord… tsk, truly, this is the Capital City, not Hangzhou City!” Lu Zhangyi didn’t know what to say.
“With Teacher here, it won’t be to the point where she can’t handle it,” Wu Jie said with a smile.
“Alas! Poor Mr. Dongxi,” Lu Zhangyi sighed.
……………………
After returning from the Zhang Family’s courtyard, Li Xiaonan focused on preparing for the lecture on Investigation of Things. To be safe, Li Xiaonan prepared three sets of lecture notes, from easy to difficult. She planned to start with the most difficult set. If too many people didn’t understand, she would switch to the medium-difficulty set, and if they still didn’t understand…
Li Xiaonan looked at the simplest set of lecture notes. If she could only lecture on this simplest one, then her popular science mission would truly be a long and arduous journey.
For the day of the lecture, her clothes would be a silver-gray skirt paired with a sky-blue half-sleeved top. According to Yu Ting, this would make Li Xiaonan appear particularly learned.
These clothes were carefully chosen by Wan Jing. For this, Wan Jing had visited four or five ready-made clothing shops.
On the day of the lecture, Wan Jing wore moon white, and Yu Ting, dressed as a stewardess, followed Li Xiaonan with the lecture notes. A Wu drove the carriage, and they arrived at Fu Yin Hall a quarter of an hour early.
The Dragon Boat Festival literary gathering for the scholars of Jiangnan was usually held in rotation at several guild halls in Jiangnan. However, this year’s literary gathering, initiated by Mr. Dongxi, was attended by almost all the scholars from Jiangnan who could make it. Coupled with over a dozen Hanlin Academy Scholars and dozens of Imperial Academy students, any guild hall would have been too small. Thus, the literary gathering was arranged at Fu Yin Hall, next to Yingxiang Pond.
Although Li Xiaonan arrived a quarter of an hour early, she wasn’t considered early. Fu Yin Hall was already filled with scholars gathered in small groups.
As Li Xiaonan walked, she carefully observed her surroundings. Wan Jing followed closely behind Li Xiaonan. Before entering, Wan Jing introduced, “The words ‘Fu Yin Hall’ were written by the founding ancestor of Prince Rui’s Mansion.” After entering, Wan Jing fell silent; it was her first time in Fu Yin Hall as well.
Yu Ting followed closely behind Wan Jing. Walking among the crowd, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.
Mr. Dongxi stood under the corridor of the main hall, looking down at Li Xiaonan as she walked and observed.
Wu Jie moved forward from Mr. Dongxi’s side to greet Li Xiaonan but was stopped by Mr. Dongxi’s outstretched hand.
Li Xiaonan looked at the spacious courtyard filled with scholars in small groups. The scholars in the courtyard were all looking at her, but not as directly as she looked at them. They would talk, twirl their folding fans, and pretend to glance over casually.
As they neared the main hall, Wan Jing became a little anxious. She stepped forward and whispered, “Why is no one paying attention to us?”
“We arrived early,” Li Xiaonan replied casually. She was observing the people standing under the corridor; almost all of them stood alone and had beards, indicating they were likely Hanlin Academy Scholars.
“Indeed,” Wan Jing said, relieved.
Li Xiaonan paused briefly at the bottom of the steps to the main hall. The sunlight outside was too bright, and she couldn’t see what was inside the main hall. She decided to go in first.
Li Xiaonan stepped onto the steps and, just as she reached the corridor, Mr. Dongxi stepped forward, his face stern. “You are Miss Li, aren’t you? They call you Xiaonan?”
“Yes. And you are?” Li Xiaonan replied with a smile, curtsying slightly.
“I expected Miss Li, from a rural background, to have rough manners. But I didn’t expect Miss Li to be so utterly devoid of etiquette,” Mr. Dongxi said, his hands behind his back, his tone severe.
After a moment of bewilderment, Li Xiaonan instinctively took half a step back and looked at Mr. Dongxi.
This must be Mr. Dongxi. He was giving her a show of dominance first.
“This is not the Kunshan countryside. This is a place of scholarly attire and etiquette! Miss Li, from the moment you entered, you’ve been looking around, swaying left and right, with no sense of decorum!”
Mr. Dongxi continued his reprimand.
“Doesn’t Miss Li know that this place is no longer what it was, and this time is no longer the past?! How can you be so presumptuous and reckless! Has no one taught you the proper etiquette and rules?”
Li Xiaonan looked at Dongxi, hesitating whether to accept the lesson or retort. Dongxi continued, “Looking at you, you still don’t know what you did wrong, do you? Fine, I will teach you a thing or two right here. Listen carefully!
“Firstly: Miss Li, you know why you’ve come to the Capital City. You should respect your status. Whenever you go out, you should wear a veil hat properly. How can you be so completely uncovered?”
Li Xiaonan looked at Wan Jing. In the Capital City, it was the rule for noble ladies not to wear veil hats, a fact Wan Jing had told her.
Wan Jing’s eyes widened, and she looked from Li Xiaonan to Dongxi.
Dongxi had already moved on to the second point.
“Secondly: Upon arriving outside this gate, you should have had someone announce your arrival and waited to be led in through a side entrance. How could you just barge in like this?
“Thirdly! Since you’ve barged in and seen all these scholars in the courtyard, you should have lowered your eyes and hurried in. Instead, you swayed your steps, looking left and right. Truly absurd!”
Li Xiaonan glanced sideways at a few scholars stroking their beards and nodding. She swallowed, realizing she had been careless and fallen into Dongxi’s trap! Fine, she’d admit her foolishness and apologize.
“Teacher’s reprimand is correct,” Li Xiaonan swallowed her pride.
“This is merely absurdity in terms of etiquette. I heard your two elder sisters blocked all the women in the city at Hanshan Temple to push their own business? Disgraceful!”
Li Xiaonan’s eyebrows shot up.
“Just for a few taels of silver profit, you did something so shameless. Do you know this could lead you to an abyss from which there is no return?”
Li Xiaonan slowly took a breath and turned her head to ask Wan Jing in a low voice, “Has the Young Lord arrived?”
“Let me see,” Wan Jing cautiously looked at the surrounding pavilions.
On the east corner tower, Gu Yan saw Wan Jing looking around aimlessly and gestured to Shi Gun, “That girl is looking for you. Send someone to ask.”
“Yes,” Shi Gun replied and waved to a servant.
Wan Jing saw the servant and subtly shook her head, signaling that everything was fine, and whispered, “He’s here.”
Li Xiaonan held her breath and, seizing an opportunity when Mr. Dongxi paused for breath, suddenly asked, “Sir, what is your surname?”
Mr. Dongxi was so taken aback by Li Xiaonan’s abrupt question that he couldn’t react.
“This is…” Wu Jie hurriedly stepped forward to introduce, but was interrupted by Li Xiaonan, “I didn’t ask you, shut up! Sir, may I ask your surname?”
“Absurd!” Mr. Dongxi was truly angry now.
“I don’t know you, sir. Is it absurd to ask your surname? Is your surname not to be asked?” Li Xiaonan retorted unceremoniously.
“Sir…” Wu Jie tried to intervene again but was interrupted by Li Xiaonan once more, “I didn’t ask you. Sir, do you not know your own surname, or is your surname not to be spoken?”
“My sobriquet is Dongxi!”
“Have you heard of it?” Li Xiaonan turned to ask Wan Jing. Wan Jing blinked and, after a moment, understood and immediately shook her head.
“And you? Have you heard of it?” Li Xiaonan turned to ask Yu Ting again. Yu Ting was a clever person. Since Wan Jing had shaken her head, she naturally shook hers immediately as well.
“I haven’t heard of it either,” Li Xiaonan said to Dongxi, then turned to face the scholars in the courtyard. “I don’t want to explain these accusations made by this gentleman, who doesn’t even dare to say his surname, to him. However, you are all reasonable people, so I will explain a thing or two to you all.
“The first point this gentleman made is that I have come to Jianle City for an arranged meeting and engagement. I should consider myself a noble lady of Jianle City now. How noble ladies of Jianle City go out, I believe you all know much better than I do.”
“Miss Li…” Wu Jie stepped forward.
“Have you not learned to shut up, or do you not want me to speak?” Li Xiaonan interrupted Wu Jie again and turned to Yu Ting, “Go call A Wu in. If he talks too much, have A Wu slap his mouth.”
“Alright!” Yu Ting’s “Alright” was exceptionally crisp.
“Secondly, where is that invitation?”
Wan Jing immediately pulled out the invitation and handed it to Li Xiaonan. Li Xiaonan gestured to everyone, “Show them.”
“This gentleman sent the invitation asking me to lecture on the knowledge of Investigation of Things. I’d like to ask this gentleman, before you sent the invitation, did you know I was a young lady? Didn’t you arrange for one or two nannies to wait at the door?”
“Even if you didn’t arrange it, you’ve been standing here all along. From the moment I entered that door, you saw me, right? You watched me walk in, bewildered and ignorant, walk up these steps, and you just stood here silently, waiting. Why? Just so this gentleman would have a reason to scold me, right?”
Dongxi’s expression soured. “Miss Li’s sharp tongue…”
“I haven’t finished yet,” Li Xiaonan replied to Dongxi unceremoniously. “You accuse my elder sisters of pushing their own business for a few taels of silver profit, of being shameless. Our four siblings lost our parents. It was our three elder sisters who worked like oxen and horses, plowing fields, spinning thread, and weaving cloth, to support our elder brother to become a Xiucai Scholar and to allow me to study and write.
“I read an article by Prime Minister Wang, which said that his academic achievements were entirely due to his wife’s farming and silkworm raising, working day and night to earn money. For a few extra copper coins, she made sachets and sold them on the street. Because of this, the court even commended Prime Minister Wang’s wife, right?”
“Both are supporting scholars. Prime Minister Wang’s wife is of noble character, so why are my two elder sisters base and shameless? Is it because my elder sisters only supported one Xiucai Scholar and not a Prime Minister?”
“If we are to judge right from wrong based on rank, then, sir, what merit do you have? What earth-shattering achievements have you made? Where do you get the audacity to call my elder sisters base?”
“A’nan!” Gu Yan’s voice, filled with laughter, cut through the crowd. He walked to the bottom of the steps and tapped his folding fan, signaling Li Xiaonan to come down.
Watching Li Xiaonan descend the steps, Gu Yan tapped Mr. Dongxi with his folding fan. “This Mr. Dongxi wants to take you as a disciple.”
Dongxi’s face turned green, and he glared at Zhou Shennian, who averted his gaze.
“If he takes me as a disciple, what can he teach me? A teacher’s duty is to impart the Way, impart knowledge, and resolve doubts. Which of these does he possess?”
Li Xiaonan didn’t know what Gu Yan was planning. It had come to this point. With him bringing up the idea of taking a disciple, she absolutely could not bow and become his student. So, she could only continue to be contemptuous.
“Then let’s see what he possesses. Let’s call it a day for today and pick another date. We’ll properly see what knowledge Mr. Dongxi can impart to you. Let’s disperse for today,” Gu Yan waved his folding fan and gestured to Li Xiaonan, and they left Fu Yin Hall together.
After exiting the door, Gu Yan leaned down slightly and asked in a low voice, “Wan Jing was looking around everywhere just now. Is everything alright?”
“She was just looking to see if you had arrived,” Li Xiaonan replied in a low voice.
“Oh?”
“If you were here, I dared to argue with him,” Li Xiaonan explained.
Gu Yan raised his eyebrows.
“If you weren’t here, he might have hit me,” Li Xiaonan answered Gu Yan’s raised eyebrows.
Gu Yan chuckled and watched Li Xiaonan get into the carriage, then instructed Shi Gun to escort her back with a few people.
