[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-assuming-the-langya-surname":3,"chapter-assuming-the-langya-surname-assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-55":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},2273851,4442,"Chapter 55: Star Embrace","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-55",55,"\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan now realized she had been led to this topic by Wang Yang, yet she remained calm and composed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Zuo Zhuan says: ‘Now taking Xia Ji is to covet her beauty. Coveting beauty is lust; lust is a great punishment.’ To covet beauty is to be lustful; to be lustful is a great sin and punishment!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang immediately seized the flaw in Xie Xinghan’s words:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not so. The Huainan Wang’s commentary on the Li Sao states: ‘The Guofeng is lustful but not licentious; the Xiaoya laments and criticizes but does not rebel.’ Thus, being lustful is not necessarily licentious.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce pounded his thigh, excitedly exclaiming:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan, stung, paused before saying:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Mencius, Liang Huiwang Part II, says: ‘I have a flaw—I am lustful.’ To be lustful is a disease, a sickness!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang smiled faintly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Mencius, Wanzhang Part I, says: ‘To desire beauty is human nature,’ and ‘Knowing beauty, one is drawn to the young and lovely.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan’s tone grew sharp:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Book of Rites, Fangji, says: ‘Thus the gentleman keeps distance from beauty, to set an example for the people.’ If beauty may be desired, why keep distance from it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang replied calmly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What the superior man desires, the inferior will emulate. King Chu favored slender waists, and many palace maidens starved to death. A slender waist is not wrong—but King Chu should not have favored it—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, his gaze inadvertently fell upon Xie Xinghan’s slender, waist-length figure; her face darkened, and she was about to lash out, but Wang Yang quickly averted his eyes and continued:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Beauty itself is not wrong, but the gentleman fears the people will imitate excessively, so he keeps distance from it outwardly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan clenched her teeth and spat: “I have never seen one who loves virtue as much as beauty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Confucius said that—but he never said beauty is bad.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan seized the opening and retorted: “If beauty is good, why did the Master say, ‘In youth, when blood and qi are not yet settled, guard against lust’?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The next line is: ‘In adulthood, when blood and qi are strong, guard against fighting.’ Is fighting bad then?” Wang Yang said quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan answered at once:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course it is bad! The Master said: ‘Those who fight tigers and ford rivers without regret—I will not associate with them!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang frowned seriously:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did Confucius write the Spring and Autumn Annals, causing traitors and rebels to fear? Was that not fighting?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When Confucius served as acting prime minister of Lu, he executed Shaozheng Mao in seven days—was that not fighting?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Confucius said: ‘To let a state perish without knowing it is ignorance; to know and not oppose it is disloyalty; to let it perish and not die for it is cowardice.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that not fighting?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When the state is on the brink of collapse, what else can one do but fight?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When justice is trampled underfoot, what else can one do but fight?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When the people are humiliated, what else can one do but fight?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When one must fight, even if a million stand against me, I go forward!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When one must desire beauty, even if one’s wife is ugly, one bears no resentment!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce was sipping fragrant tea; hearing Wang Yang’s impassioned speech, he spat out his tea at the last line—thinking: Wang’s younger brother is truly formidable; he can turn a joke into this level of argument—no one else could!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan’s delicate nose flared slightly, her soft fingers twisting in her sleeves, unable to find a rebuttal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce chuckled: “Xie girl, you’ve lost this round.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan’s lovely face tightened; she felt Wang Yang was deceptively cunning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had seized her casual remark to launch a sudden attack, catching her off guard; then he set trap after trap, guiding the topic, using her anger at his lewdness and her mockery of his lust to lure her into exposing flaws, and finally struck the decisive blow—reaffirming his original point. Every link was perfectly chained, every move meticulously planned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though she resented it, she was a lady of noble birth; within a few blinks, she admitted defeat, her expression relaxing slightly as she nodded:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master Wang, your mind is deep, your tongue flows like lotus blossoms—I have lost this round...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xinghan? Your name is Xie Xinghan? Which two characters?” Wang Yang asked curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A lady’s private name was rarely revealed; even the youths in Jingzhou who adored Xie Xinghan mostly did not know her true name, calling her only “Miss Xie the Fourth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan did not know why, but her composure slipped, and she accidentally revealed her own name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet she was no petty girl; having spoken, there was no need to hide it, and she said softly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The star of the sky, the ‘han’ of ‘to embrace.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang nodded: “Shadows seem to shimmer with dawn stars; light resembles dew embracing autumn. A fine name.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan’s star-like eyes narrowed: “You said you didn’t understand poetry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cough, cough.” Wang Yang cleared his throat awkwardly. “A little. A little doesn’t count as knowing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then these two lines—were they written by someone else?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, by someone else.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce called out: “Wait! Xie girl, if you’ve lost, then the wager—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan’s expression turned cold: “I will pay you the wager, of course—but this debate was too frivolous, not a proper scholarly discourse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked at Wang Yang, her exquisite face backlit; the curve from her chin to her jade neck glowed with radiant beauty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master Wang, do you have the courage to face me in another round? This time, we discuss true metaphysics.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang gazed at Xie Xinghan, her white-green gauze dress making her seem like a quiet fairy seated across from him, and asked: “If you lose again, what then?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan tilted her head slightly and countered: “What do you want?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, a servant from the Xie household arrived to report that a servant from the Prefectural Academy had delivered a note to Young Master Wang. Wang Yang took the note, glanced at it, and hurriedly said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have urgent business—I must take my leave. I’ll send someone to deliver that scroll for you to copy within six days—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan said: “Three hundred copies. I will keep my word.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce asked: “Where are you off to, Wang younger brother? I was going to take you to West Shazhou to visit friends...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m meeting an old acquaintance. Next time—next time we’ll gather again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Wang Yang left, Zong Ce urged:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Girl, hand over the Zhuangzi Commentary—I won’t stay to bother you anymore.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan ordered: “Xiao Ning, fetch the book for Uncle Zong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Xiao Ning left, Xie Xinghan poured tea for Zong Ce, and asked casually: “Uncle Zong, how did you come to know Wang Yang?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, what a coincidence—this morning Liu Zhao brought him to me to register his household—I told him I didn’t—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce suddenly realized something and fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Register his household?” Xie Xinghan asked coolly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Register his household? Did I say register his household? Hahaha! You misheard! I said ‘mixing paste’! You don’t know—I’ve been preparing several herbs to blend into a paste for medicine, so I call it ‘mixing paste’!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce laughed it off, forcing a few chuckles, and changed the subject:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master Wang gave a profound discourse on Zhuangzi’s sentiments at my place—it stunned both me and Liu Zhao. Let me tell you about it—you’ve never heard anything like it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Xinghan’s star-like eyes flickered several times; she smiled and said: “Very well.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1273,"2026-06-19T23:36:03.373Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","324bde79d93875e7f1f9d52832ccfd9c31c2522797bdc19ce882960f0dcfa6be","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-56","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-54",62,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-false-clan-of-langya-cover.jpg"]