[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-assuming-the-langya-surname":3,"chapter-assuming-the-langya-surname-assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-17":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The False Clan of Langya",{"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},2273813,4442,"Chapter 17","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-17",17,"\u003Cp>“Young Master, this servant is foolish! I spoke wrongly! Please spare my life!” The subordinate knelt on the ground, banging his head repeatedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang certainly could not kill him, but since he had previously declared “Whoever insults his mother shall die,” to immediately relent upon the man’s apology would seem weak—he needed a way to save face and step down gracefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But where was that ladder?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to convention, Du San should have stepped forward to mediate and plead for his subordinate, but he suspected Wang Yang’s true identity, so he remained silent, watching coldly to see how Wang Yang would resolve this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black-haired man was also at a loss: if he had no daughter, he might have gritted his teeth and let the killing happen—but Wuwu was so young; if he were sentenced to execution, who would care for her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other three subordinates dared not speak a word; all fell silent, as if the air itself had frozen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little Wuwu glanced at the trembling man kneeling on the ground, then at Wang Yang’s icy expression, then at Du San’s impassive observation, and finally at her father’s raised blade, still unmoved—her big eyes darted, then she rushed forward, wrapping her arms around her father’s arm and cried: “Father, don’t kill him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she turned her small head toward Wang Yang: “Young Master, you’re so beautiful—you wouldn’t kill anyone!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang frowned slightly: “What does being beautiful have to do with not killing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little Wuwu replied with innocent sincerity: “Beautiful people are good! Good people don’t kill! Bad people kill—and bad people are ugly!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You clever little rascal! You remind me of myself when I was young!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang seized the opening, immediately playing along with a loud laugh: “Good, good, good! Since I look like a good man, I won’t kill this fellow. Black Han, put away your knife.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black Han finally exhaled, sheathing his blade with deliberate force, producing a sharp, resonant hum. The subordinates all tensed. The man who had just escaped death bowed his head repeatedly in gratitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du San bowed his hands: “Young Master, I don’t know your background, but we have no grudge against you, nor did I intend to offend you. Debt must be repaid—that is natural law. No matter where you take this, no one can dispute it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s just money? How big a deal is that? How much does he owe you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thirteen thousand two hundred cash.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black Han gasped in shock: “That’s not true! He doesn’t owe that much!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There wasn’t that much before, but you never paid—interest accrues at one percent monthly, clearly written in the contract. You can calculate it yourself; I wouldn’t cheat you out of such a small sum,” Du San sneered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black Han felt a chill run through him, but Wang Yang shrugged indifferently: “It’s just this much? Wait three days—I’ll bring you the money then.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He can’t pay now—how can he pay in three days?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He can’t, but I can. My people will arrive in three days. At the hour of You, three days from now, come here for the money.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wang Young Master...” Black Han was moved to tears—this sum was no small matter; even if he sold himself, he could never repay it. And as a soldier, he had no right to sell himself into slavery even if he wanted to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du San’s hawk-like eyes fixed on Wang Yang: “But why should I wait three days?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang yawned lazily: “Are the words ‘Wang Clan of Langya’ not enough for you to wait three days?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You... you’re from the Wang Clan of Langya?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he had long suspected this man came from a high-born scholarly family, hearing him say “Wang Clan of Langya” outright still startled Du San.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang smiled but said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At such moments, one must let others praise him—self-praise lowers one’s stature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black Han stepped forward dutifully and introduced: “This is Young Master Wang of the Wang Clan of Langya—his uncle holds the post of Attendant in the Imperial Secretariat!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Attendant in the Imperial Secretariat?” Du San’s eyes narrowed, fixed on Wang Yang’s face, searching for the faintest flicker of expression: “There is only one Wang Clan of Langya in Jingzhou—living in the old Ding family mansion on Shoukang Lane—Wang Tai, age thirty-nine. You are far too young to be thirty-nine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang half-closed his eyes, patting his thigh, and chanted:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Beat the drum, clang! Leap and wield the spear! We build earthworks, fortify Cao—yet I alone march south.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All were baffled; no one present had read the Book of Odes and did not know what Wang Yang was reciting, but they could tell it was poetry. Yet the tone was strange, unlike ordinary speech.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du San frowned: “What is your meaning?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang ignored him and continued: “Following Sun Zizhong, we pacified Chen and Song. Yet they do not let me return—my heart is heavy with sorrow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du San, well-traveled and well-read, recognized Wang Yang’s tone as heavy-nasal and elongated, resembling northern dialects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where shall I dwell? Where shall I rest? Where has my horse perished? Where shall I seek it? Beneath the forest.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang grew more animated; amid the resonant, clanging sounds, the listeners gradually discerned the rhythm of poetry. Just as they prepared to follow further, the recitation abruptly ceased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone in the room stared at Wang Yang. Wang Yang looked at Du San: “Understood?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du San was bewildered: “Understood... what?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang’s expression turned haughty: “This is ‘Luo Sheng Yong’—the orthodox pronunciation of the Central Plains! Since the Five Barbarians disrupted China and the gentry fled south, few can still speak this tone. Though southern scholarly families abound, they can only utter ‘Wu dialect’! But for me, this is my ancestral heritage—what difficulty is there?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Southern scholarly families were divided into two groups: one, the northern aristocratic clans who migrated south after the Five Barbarians disrupted China; since they settled in the south, they were called “Qiao surnames.” The Wang Clan of Langya and the Xie Clan of Chenjun were representative Qiao surnames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other group were native families who had lived in the south since the Eastern Wu era; they were called “Wu surnames.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the scholarly class, there was always a hierarchy: Qiao surnames looked down on Wu surnames—not only on their bloodline, culture, and scholarship, but even on their accent. Thus, despite generations of intermingling, some northern clans still insisted on learning northern pronunciation, refusing assimilation into Wu dialect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet over time, the blending of northern and southern speech was inevitable. Under this trend, “Luo Sheng Yong” became a distinctive “skill.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Luo Sheng Yong” referred to the standard elegant pronunciation used by Luoyang students to chant Confucian classics before the Eastern Jin. Most scholar-offspring could not speak it; only those from orthodox families with inherited scholarly traditions could cultivate sons who mastered “Luo Sheng Yong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang had never been steeped in aristocratic scholarly tradition, but he had received modern academic training. Professor Chen Yinke, in “On the Qieyun from Historical Evidence,” noted that the Sui Dynasty rhyme dictionary Qieyun represented the phonological system of Luoyang’s pre-southward migration pronunciation. “Luoyang old pronunciation” referred precisely to the sound of “Luo Sheng Yong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Wang Yang’s “Luo Sheng Yong” relied on the yet-unwritten Qieyun—though imperfect, it was close enough to the standard Luoyang tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, the era was distant, northern pronunciation had become corrupted, and “Luo Sheng Yong” was already rare in its purity. Second, Du San was neither a phonology expert nor a scion of a Qiao surname clan—how could he distinguish “Luo Sheng Yong”?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he had heard northern speech and knew of the Qiao surnames’ reverence for “orthodox central pronunciation,” so Wang Yang’s “recitation” still stunned him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To suddenly recite poetry in the midst of negotiation, as if the entire room were empty—truly, that was the bearing of a great scholarly clan!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Note: Using “Luo Sheng Yong” to intimidate was not Wang Yang’s invention. When Huan Wen set a banquet of death, surrounding it with armed troops to intimidate court officials, Xie An publicly recited “Luo Sheng Yong,” and Huan Wen, awed by his detachment, ordered the troops withdrawn. (Shishuo Xinyu: Elegance and Composure) The Nan Qi Shu passage cited by the author—where bandits planned to kill Zhang Rong and eat him, but Zhang Rong recited “Luo Sheng Yong,” and the bandits, astonished, spared him—is another example.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A rumor claims “Five Barbarians Disrupted China” is a later term, but it existed early: during Liu Song, He Chang said: “Since the Five Barbarians disrupted China, the people have suffered calamity; countless have died unjustly.” (Guang Hongming Ji: Response to Emperor Wen of Song’s Praise of Buddhism) The terms “Five Barbarians” and “Disrupted China” are even older, especially “Five Barbarians,” a standard concept in medieval usage.\u003C\u002Fp>",1470,"2026-06-19T23:36:03.373Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","86b223e7a00bdb83ce6d1baae8e1203142d8bc452219fbac4d2bdae7ffcf88e9","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-18","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-16",62,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-false-clan-of-langya-cover.jpg"]