Chapter 72

Wang Xizhi once served as General of the Right Army, so he was also called Wang Youjun.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, aristocratic families attached great importance to family taboos, which are the names of fathers and grandfathers. Not only is it inconvenient to call one's own father or grandfather's name directly, but it is also not good to mention the names of other people's fathers or grandfathers in front of them, otherwise, it might be seen as an offense.

Originally, the scope of family taboos was very narrow, limited to the names of fathers and grandfathers, but for the sake of respect, there were also examples of extending to ancestors.

Therefore, Yan Youcheng used the official title as a substitute, and Wang Yang previously wrote to Xie Xinghan for Fatty Le, calling Xie An "Xie Taifu" instead of calling him by his name directly. The principle is the same.

Wang Yang said: "Ashamed, my ancestors were famous throughout the world, but my branch of the family fell early. Speaking of it, I am truly ashamed of my ancestors, so let's not mention it."

I've already spoken of sad things; you shouldn't ask anymore.

Xie Xinghan's cherry lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, but she held back and didn't speak.

Yan Youcheng had long known that Wang Yang's family had fallen.

Because most of the noble branches of the Wang clan of Langya were concentrated in the capital, Jiankang. Even if these descendants wanted to take the path of classical studies, they wouldn't enter a local Commandery School, but would go directly to the Imperial Academy. This Wang Yang studying at the Jingzhou Commandery School was obviously from a side branch in the local area, but he didn't expect this person to be a descendant of Wang Xizhi!

But how did a descendant of Wang Xizhi run here?

Yan Youcheng was still a bit curious, but Wang Yang had already said this much, so asking again would be a bit offensive, so he comforted him: "In our families of clothing and caps, rises and falls are common. With Brother Wang's talent, you will definitely be able to revitalize the family business."

Xie Xinghan said from the side: "It sounds like you know his talent."

"Brother Wang is naturally talented, otherwise how could Xie Xie Niangzi Si invite Brother Wang to participate in the pure conversation? I heard that Princess Changcheng wanted to have a pure conversation with you, but you never agreed. I'm afraid you look down on the Princess's scholarship."

"I didn't say that." Xie Xinghan picked up the teacup, her eyebrows drooping, and in the tranquility, there was a difficult-to-describe noble air.

"Then I'll just say it. Xie Xie Niangzi Si is a talented woman of the time, holding high standards. How many people can enter Xie Xie Niangzi Si's eyes? Speaking of which, even I almost lost to Xie Xie Niangzi Si."

Xie Xinghan put down the teacup and said quietly: "Remove the word 'almost'."

Yan Youcheng said anxiously: "It was almost! I had a headache that day—"

"Hmm, two consecutive headaches."

"You don't know if you don't have a headache! I specifically looked for a doctor and even used medicine. If it weren't for the headache, how could I not continue to talk? I have memorized Zhong Hui's 'Four Books Theory' since I was a child, and I have commented on Ji Kang's 'Theory of Sound Having No Sorrow or Joy' several times. Why say 'the heart has prosperity and decline, and sound also has prosperity and decline'..."

Then the whole hall echoed with Yan Youcheng's endless voice.

Wang Yang thought, this brother is really good at talking, but listening to his words, there is indeed something to it.

Xie Xinghan was drinking tea calmly, with an attitude of turning a deaf ear.

Chen Qingshan felt annoyed listening, and her breathing became slightly heavier.

Wang Yang turned his head and whispered: "Or I'll find you a seat, and you can sit down."

Chen Qingshan shook her head. Since she promised to be a guard, she had to fulfill her duty.

Seeing Yu Yi smiled, not speaking, just acting as a spectator.

"... That time I talked with the three brothers of the Jiyang Jiang clan, how many rounds did we go back and forth? No one would admit defeat! In the end, I decided with one word! One sentence! Just one sentence! It settled the universe. Guess which one?"

"Which one?"

Yan Youcheng was talking with great interest when a voice suddenly came from not far away. Yan Youcheng was overjoyed and stood up: "Brother Wenshen is here!"

A handsome and noble-looking young man walked over, with fair skin, purple clothes, and a jade belt, followed by four attendants.

This was the last person to participate in today's pure conversation.

A first-class aristocratic family of the Southern Dynasty, the son of the Liu clan of Hedong, the beloved son of the old Duke Liu, and the younger brother of Liu Tan, the Libationer of the Wang Guan School—Seeing Liu Cheng, Liu Wenshen.

He first saluted Seeing Yu Yi, greeted Xie Xinghan, chatted with Wang Yang for a few words, and finally smiled and asked Yan Youcheng: "Ankang, continue, which sentence settled the universe?"

Natural and decent, with pride contained but not revealed—this was Wang Yang's first impression of Seeing Liu Cheng.

Unlike Yan Youcheng, Seeing Liu Cheng didn't ask a single word about Wang Yang's personal information, not even the slightest intention to probe sideways.

Speaking of which, Seeing Liu Cheng and Yan Youcheng were both friendly to him, at least on the surface. The rich n-generations who looked down on people and provoked them without brains upon meeting were just imaginations in novels; they were not many in reality.

Moreover, these two were true aristocratic families, and their conversation had a sense of proportion. Even someone as talkative as Yan Youcheng was measured when comforting Wang Yang, and would not make people feel uncomfortable.

Yan Youcheng waved his hand: "You're here, how dare I show off in front of you? Settling the universe also depends on the object. With you, the eldest son of the Liu family, sitting here, I can't settle the universe. Let's agree first, you must be slow when you open your mouth during the pure conversation, otherwise we will have nothing to talk about."

"Nonsense, with Xie Xie Niangzi Si and Brother Wang here, how can I be the only one to perform? Even if I deal with you, Ankang, I might not be able to get my wish. I heard that you have gained a lot of insights from reading 'Wandering Free and Easy' recently, claiming to have discovered the true meaning that predecessors haven't seen..."

As soon as this topic was mentioned, Yan Youcheng couldn't stop again, talking eloquently:

"I read 'Wandering Free and Easy' ten times at night, repeatedly pondering the words. In the eleventh time, I suddenly understood. What is the central theme of 'Wandering Free and Easy'? It's not wandering, it's not 'no waiting,' and it's not 'wandering without limit,' but a word 'Big'—"

Seeing Liu Cheng interrupted: "Alright, alright, if we listen to you finish, the pure conversation will have to be changed to tomorrow! You keep your words first and save them for the pure conversation."

Wang Yang was shocked. He didn't read much of "Zhuangzi," but after reading for his doctorate, he realized that the theme of "Wandering Free and Easy" was the word "Big." At the time, he thought it was a new discovery. Later, after reading the "Zhuangzi Yin" by the great scholar Lin Yunming in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, he knew that he had long said that "Wandering Free and Easy" used the word "Big" as the eye of the whole article.

Yan Youcheng was born in the Southern Qi Dynasty, no more than twenty years old, and had not seen later research, but he discovered this alone, more than a thousand years earlier than Lin Yunming, which is very rare!

Yan Youcheng was not angry when interrupted, and said refreshingly: "Okay!" He looked at Seeing Yu Yi: "Master Yu, why don't we start now? After talking, I have to ask you for a cup of wine."

"Good." Seeing Yu Yi beckoned: "Bring the deer tail fan."

The full name of the deer tail is the deer tail fan.

The deer is a kind of deer. The "Book of Zhou" says: "King Wu hunted birds and beasts, sixteen deer." This is the animal.

It is said that when the deer comes out, the herd follows, with the direction of its tail as the standard.

The deer tail fan is a long-handled fan decorated with deer tail hair. At the beginning, Wei and Jin scholars liked to hold the deer tail fan and talk, taking the meaning of the deer leading the herd to show elegance. This trend gradually flourished and later became a must-have item for pure conversation in the Six Dynasties.

The person who establishes the argument holds the deer tail and is the master; the others are guests. If the guest succeeds in questioning, they take the deer tail. If the master establishes a new argument, they can also take it back.

Simply put, pure conversation is the battle for the deer tail.

Therefore, Xie Xinghan was defeated by Wang Yang and was always somewhat unconvinced, saying that it was not a formal pure conversation. Firstly, the topic was not the study of the three mysteries, and secondly, she hadn't had time to establish an argument with the deer tail before being caught by Wang Yang and questioned. In today's words, it was a bit "not talking about martial arts."

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Note: The pure conversation skills of Yan Youcheng, Xie Xinghan, Seeing Liu Cheng, and Wang Yang have all been weakened by me. According to the original plan, they would have to debate for a few more rounds, but to avoid making this section too long and making everyone read it too cumbersomely, I had to simplify it.