[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty":3,"chapter-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-54":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Literary Genius in the Song Dynasty",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2336437,4568,"Chapter 54: The Young Lady","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-54",54,"\u003Cp>After ordering their drinks, Ji Yun led Lu Beigu to the table and introduced him to the man there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is my classmate from the state academy, Han Ziyu, from the Han clan of Luzhou.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Han clan of Luzhou?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu was baffled. This wasn’t Tang Dynasty, where you had to memorize a roster of heroes before stepping out—how was he supposed to know who some “clan” was?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Ji Yun’s demeanor suggested this “Han clan of Luzhou” was quite renowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very least, far more illustrious than the Zhou family—after all, Ji Yun had ignored Zhou Mingyuan and his father entirely, yet showed considerable respect to these two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, the Han clan was indeed prominent in Luzhou, owning vast estates and enterprises, bearing the air of old-time magnates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason such powerful families in Luzhou weren’t crushed by the authorities was that this place differed from the prefectures within the Sichuan Basin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Lu Beigu had seen on his way to Chengdu, Luzhou had not only Han people but also a large number of Liao tribes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Liao tribes of Luzhou were scattered into clans bearing surnames like Luo, Hu, and Gou, forming dozens of tribes, each farming in their own villages; yet due to their customs being vastly different from the Han’s, armed clashes between the two groups were frequent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the late Tang and Five Dynasties, no one had the energy to govern this region, so to stand against these Liao tribes, powerful Han families naturally emerged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the saying went, “The Han clan produces scholars, the Xian clan produces warriors.” Over centuries of Han-Liao conflict since the early Tang, the Han and Xian families had come to hold unquestioned special status in the region.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Han clan was the only Han family in Luzhou that could be mentioned in the same breath as the Xian clan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, back to the present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Ziyu was barely in his twenties, his face fair, his features radiating the refined air of lifelong privilege.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is Lu Beigu, whom I’ve mentioned to you before.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Ji Yun’s introduction, Han Ziyu gave a slight nod, his gaze sweeping over Lu Beigu, then said: “I’ve long heard of your reputation, Young Master Lu. Ji Yun often speaks of your ‘Heavenly River,’ praising its literary brilliance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since he didn’t know who the man was, Lu Beigu could only offer polite words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your praise is too generous—I am unworthy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside Han Ziyu sat a young woman, much younger, dressed in a pale blue ruqun, her hair adorned only with a single white magnolia blossom, appearing ethereal and refined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Probably siblings?” Lu Beigu thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His reasoning was simple: reverse deduction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this age, Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao, like him, were preparing for the imperial exams; Zhu Xi was still far from being born, so Neo-Confucianism had yet to rise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, in Great Song society, women—even beyond public festivals—could go out under certain conditions, not yet confined to the “never leave the inner chambers” standard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For married women, if they needed to go out, they typically wore a veil hat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The veil hat, originating in the Yonghui era of the early Tang, was a tall-crowned, wide-brimmed straw hat with a thin, translucent veil hanging around the brim, meant to maintain distance from the opposite sex and prevent private exchanges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scholar-official class strictly enforced this; urban women sometimes followed suit, but rural peasant women certainly did not—you couldn’t expect laborers who worked the fields or climbed mountains to wear a hat that would make them sweat buckets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For unmarried girls who had not yet reached their coming-of-age ceremony, the Confucian restraints were relatively lax: as long as they were accompanied by a male relative—father, grandfather, or brother—they could appear in public without veils.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given her young age, she was almost certainly his sister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is my younger sister, San Niang,” Han Ziyu introduced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Great Song society, although a girl could go out in public if accompanied, her name was not revealed to strangers—only her childhood name or birth order could be used.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Greetings, Young Master Lu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young woman rose, hands folded before her abdomen, bowed her head and knelt slightly, performing a wanfu bow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Greetings, San Niang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu returned the bow, thus formally acknowledging Han San Niang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The drinks hadn’t arrived yet; they couldn’t just sit in silence, so Lu Beigu asked: “Do you both come every year to witness the Buddha Bathing Festival at Fawang Temple?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Indeed,” Han Ziyu replied. “The festival is grand—we come every year to pray for blessings.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And you, Young Master Lu? Do you come every year? Are you from Hejiang?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu answered frankly: “No, I’m from Gulin. I study at the Hejiang County Academy. To be honest, I’ve never seen the Buddha Bathing Festival at Fawang Temple—I’ve only heard of it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Lu Beigu’s attire was plain, his speech was sincere and free of flattery, and Han Ziyu internally nodded in approval.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for talent, that remained to be seen—but as for bearing, Ji Yun had not wasted their time introducing them to some nobody.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah,” said Han Ziyu, “then you mustn’t miss the Buddha Bathing Festival. The daytime procession begins at dawn, and after noon, the temple holds a Chan gathering of refined monks—this year, many esteemed monks from other Sichuan temples are said to be coming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given his family’s standing, he was naturally a guest of honor at the temple, and spoke of these matters with casual certainty, not boasting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But any gathering held in the temple after such a festival—no doubt had entry requirements; it wouldn’t be open to just anyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Ji Yun added: “Han Brother is a ‘Great Dānyuè’ of Fawang Temple—not the same as my status as a ‘Merit Donor’—so you’ll certainly be invited to the Chan gathering.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The term “Great Dānyuè,” in Great Song society, referred specifically to patrons who donated vast sums of wealth or land to Buddhist temples; the temple would engrave their names on merit steles to honor their virtue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who donated greatly were called “Dānyuè”; those who donated substantially but not as much were called “Merit Donors.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu nodded. Clearly, this man’s family was exceptionally wealthy—likely richer than the Ji family, the great book merchants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the old man brought over a bowl of perilla drink, then placed a small plate beside it, holding a tea cake: the tea buds tightly curled, the entire cake gleaming a deep green in the coarse ceramic dish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu studied it closely—it seemed much like modern compressed tea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man held up a small green stone mallet and a fine sieve and asked: “Would the guest care to try preparing tea by hand?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know how.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu answered honestly, then turned to Ji Yun: “Do you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How would I? I know how to drink it!” Ji Yun exclaimed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll do it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Han San Niang took over. She rolled up her sleeves, revealing a pale arm, placed the tea cake on mulberry paper, and gently crushed it with the mallet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she began boiling water, whisking the tea with a bamboo whisk until froth like snow formed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly, the tea’s fragrance unfurled along the fine ripples on the water’s surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1222,"2026-06-20T21:44:14.864Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","31375160d4dc31dedc22cb24aa24bcbfd8997bd59609215e4cc0663eb317d6f5","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-55","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-53",56,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-cover.jpg"]