[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-assuming-the-langya-surname":3,"chapter-assuming-the-langya-surname-assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-54":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},2273850,4442,"Chapter 54","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-54",54,"\u003Cp>Wang Yang feigned disinterest: “Forget it. If I win, you’ll just find fault and get angry, dredging up old grudges—it’s too exhausting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to shut Xie Xinghan’s mouth this time, so if she ever brought up past grievances again, he could say it was because she resented losing the debate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop wasting time! I’ll debate you. But if you lose, you’ll be my servant for ten days—fetch tea, pour water, obey my orders, endure labor and abuse without complaint!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Childish...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let’s make it more practical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang said: “Fine. But if you lose, you copy one book for me—three hundred copies in six days. Can you do it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan raised an eyebrow: “How many scrolls? How many characters?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not much—just one scroll, over four thousand characters.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan dismissed it: “Easy. I’ll hire ten copyists, each copying five copies a day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The content must not leak out within six days,” Wang Yang added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine. I’ll confine them to my mansion until the sixth day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s great to be rich and powerful!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang couldn’t help sighing inwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he had the means to hire people, he wouldn’t have to resort to gambling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xie Girl, if you lose, you’ll return to me Guo Xiang’s handwritten Commentary on the Zhuangzi,” Zong Ce added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan smiled faintly: “Agreed. But if I win, you give me that copy of the Laozi Daodejing Commentary with Wang Bi’s seal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce panicked: “If you win, you already get Wang Younger Brother as your servant!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang: →_→\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So you don’t want to give up a single thing!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan said: “That’s my bet with him—it’s separate from you, Uncle Zong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce looked from Xie Xinghan to Wang Yang, deeply torn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On one hand, Wang Yang’s “Deep Emotion in Zhuangzi” was brilliant—if presented in a debate, it would surely crush Xie Xinghan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But on the other hand, debate isn’t just about stating a thesis—it involves rebuttals and counter-rebuttals. Zong Ce had come too hastily and didn’t know Wang Yang’s debating skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he hesitated, Wang Yang casually said: “Just one scroll of the Daodejing? Fine, stake it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce was displeased by Wang Yang’s casual tone: “Just one scroll of the Daodejing?! Wang Younger Brother, do you know what dynasty that copy is from—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It doesn’t matter what dynasty—it’s a copy she can’t win.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce’s eyes widened. He saw Wang Yang’s dark brows, bright eyes, tall frame, and calm expression. A light breeze stirred his white robe, enhancing his lofty aura. His mind warmed with sudden confidence: “I believe you. I’m betting!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan glanced at Wang Yang, her expression cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But internally: How badly I want to punch him...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sunlight spilled down; thin clouds drifted slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan and Wang Yang sat facing each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan’s gaze was sharp, fixed on Wang Yang; Wang Yang smiled back calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The debate had not yet begun, but the atmosphere was already tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce rushed in: “Wang Younger Brother has the ‘Deep Emotion in Zhuangzi.’ Let him take the role of host and present his argument first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When a debate involves only two people, one is host, the other guest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The host states the thesis first; then the guest refutes it; the host replies. This is the standard procedure of Qingtan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce secured the host role for Wang Yang because he had full confidence in his “Deep Emotion in Zhuangzi”—he wanted Wang Yang to strike first and catch Xie Xinghan off guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan let out a light laugh:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s the point of using prepared arguments? He claims ‘Deep Emotion in Zhuangzi’? Then let me propose ‘The Lustful Man’s Lust.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was meant as sarcasm toward Wang Yang, with the final six words deliberately emphasized—but Wang Yang immediately replied:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Miss Xie, you’re wrong. I believe Dengtuzi was not lustful. Marrying a wife and having children is natural human conduct—how can that be called lust? Song Yu’s ‘Ode to Dengtuzi’s Lust’ was prejudiced, ignorant of context, and unjustly slandered Dengtuzi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wang Yang said “unjustly slandered,” he mimicked her tone, stressing the words heavily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ode to Dengtuzi’s Lust” is Song Yu’s famous work, describing how Dengtuzi slandered Song Yu to King Chu for being lustful. Song Yu claimed that a beautiful girl next door, so stunning she could topple nations, climbed his wall to spy on him for three years, yet he never responded. Meanwhile, Dengtuzi’s wife was hideously ugly, yet he fathered five children with her! Song Yu then asked: “Which of us, Your Majesty, is truly lustful?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since then, Dengtuzi became synonymous with lust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan’s slender white fingers tapped lightly on her teacup:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“His wife had disheveled hair, crooked ears, protruding teeth, hunched gait, and suffered from scabies and hemorrhoids. Yet Dengtuzi delighted in her and fathered five children—isn’t that lust?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not rejecting an ugly wife proves he is not lustful. Marriage and procreation are natural. If having five children counts as lust, then Yao had ten sons, Shun had nine—does that mean, Miss Xie, you consider Yao and Shun lustful rulers?” Wang Yang countered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan paused slightly. She had merely quoted Song Yu’s text casually, never expecting Wang Yang to seize the opportunity and press the issue relentlessly, turning it into a full Qingtan topic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She refused to yield, retorting:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not rejecting an ugly wife isn’t because he lacks lust—it’s because his lust has reached a point of no discrimination. Procreation isn’t lust, but indulging without restraint and fathering five children proves lust.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang found it amusing: Xie Xinghan sat upright like a pine, her delicate face stern, speaking nonsense with righteous certainty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Indulging without restraint? Do you even know what ‘indulging without restraint’ means?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan’s cheeks flushed slightly, a flicker of fluster—but she quickly regained composure and replied calmly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Confucius said: ‘Excess is as bad as deficiency.’ He also said: ‘Regulate it with propriety.’ ‘Indulging without restraint’ means ‘uncontrolled’; ‘uncontrolled’ means ‘excessive’; excess is ‘lust.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan didn’t get sidetracked—she held tightly to her point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang immediately seized her words and challenged:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who says marrying one ugly wife and having five children is uncontrolled?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I do,” Xie Xinghan answered confidently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang stared: “On what grounds do you define it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because I proposed the thesis that Dengtuzi is ‘lustful,’ the definition of lust is mine. I say it’s uncontrolled—it is uncontrolled.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan lifted her teacup, sipped lightly, and sat back with serene composure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This bordered on sophistry—but for now, it was hard to refute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce watched Wang Yang anxiously, fearing he’d be speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang decided to set a trap for this sharp-tongued beauty:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I follow your definition of ‘lust,’ then am I also lustful?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan didn’t bother answering—she lowered her lashes slightly, her expression clear: “You think?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang continued to lure: “Then according to you, ‘lust’ isn’t even a negative term.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan sneered: “Of course it’s negative.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang spoke slowly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gaozi said: ‘Food and sex are human nature.’ The Book of Rites says: ‘Eating and sex are the greatest human desires.’ The Book of Changes takes Qian and Kun as its foundation; the Book of Songs opens with the song of the Osprey. The sages never shied from speaking of them—where is the negativity?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He cited four classics in one breath, pressing hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, Wang Yang had successfully opened a second battlefield in the debate—and began his encirclement.\u003C\u002Fp>",1236,"2026-06-19T23:36:03.373Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5804ee42715fd5815d36423064fd1e126271f0669579a3fd829906140c2eca56","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-55","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-53",62,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-false-clan-of-langya-cover.jpg"]