Chapter 96: Xu Guangqi

At the break of dawn the next day, with frost and cold air still drifting through the atmosphere, Zhang Yunxiu rose early, dressed, and left the Xu Mansion.

According to the arrangements made by the Xu Family, the group would first go to pay their respects at the grave of Xu Jie in five days' time.

Afterward, the two families would sit together to discuss the marriage.

Since it was still early and Zhang Yunxiu could not sit idle, he called for Han San and headed straight for the home of Xu Guangqi.

Xu Guangqi, courtesy name Zixian, was a man from Shanghai County.

He was a late Ming dynasty scientist, agronomist, politician, and one of the pioneers of cultural exchange between China and the West.

However, it seemed he had not yet met Matteo Ricci and remained a scholar studying the classics and striving for success in the Imperial Examination.

Shanghai County was not far from Huating County.

Both places fell under the jurisdiction of what would later be known as Modu; Huating was located in the southwest of Modu, while Shanghai County was situated to the east.

Boarding a carriage, Zhang Yunxiu was jostled along the way, finally arriving at the edge of Xu Guangqi's home that afternoon.

It was a two-courtyard residence with low walls, and a jujube tree, shaped like a canopy, extended out from within.

Outside the red-lacquered gate, disguised Embroidered Uniform Guards were already keeping watch.

Seeing Han San and Zhang Yunxiu arrive, a small officer in black boots hurried up, cupped his hands in a salute, and said, "Young Master, Thousand-Household, the person you are looking for is inside."

"You didn't give him any trouble, did you?" Zhang Yunxiu asked.

"No, we only dared to watch, we didn't dare to disturb him," the small officer in black boots shook his head repeatedly.

"That is good."

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and gestured for Han San to walk inside, but suddenly feeling something was amiss, he hesitated, "If we just walk in empty-handed like this, wouldn't it be a bit presumptuous and rude to him?"

"Then Young Master, wait here, I will go and call him out for you!"

"Forget it, I had better go myself."

As Zhang Yunxiu spoke, he ordered Han San to go buy some gifts. Han San led a few men away with a nod, and before long, returned carrying bags and packages.

With the gifts in hand, Zhang Yunxiu felt much more confident; he hitched up his robes and strode toward the tightly closed gate.

He knocked lightly twice, and suddenly a flurry of footsteps came from within. With a "creak," a man dressed as a servant poked half his head out and asked nervously, "You... who are you looking for?"

"We are looking for your master, Xu Guangqi," Zhang Yunxiu replied with a smile.

"What do you want with him?"

The servant rolled his eyes and asked timidly. Before Zhang Yunxiu could finish, Han San, standing to the side, glared and shouted, "Is that for you to ask? Go and report it at once! If you delay, watch out, or I'll open a soy sauce shop on your head!"

The servant knew these men were not to be trifled with and dared not be negligent, so he told them to wait while he went inside to report.

Han San wanted to continue making trouble, but seeing the look on Zhang Yunxiu's face and knowing that Xu Guangqi's status was important, he shrank his head back and waited patiently on the spot.

As the servant stepped into the back courtyard, Xu Guangqi, dressed in a sky-blue Daoist robe, was brewing tea and admiring flowers with his wife in a small pavilion.

He appeared to be about twenty-one or twenty-two years old, with fair skin, a slender build, and distinct facial features.

"Husband, there have been many unfamiliar people around our home lately," Madam Xu said, taking a small sip of tea, unable to help herself.

"Let them be. If they want to watch, let them watch; it just so happens we can enjoy some peace," Xu Guangqi smiled, lifted the hot water to pour into the teacup, and let the fragrance of the tea drift into his nostrils.

Blowing gently on the steam, Xu Guangqi lifted the cup and drank it in one gulp.

"Ah, good tea."

Seeing her husband so calm and composed, Madam Xu could not help but smile and chide, "I am here feeling anxious and terrified all day long, yet you are so relaxed."

"What else can be done?" Xu Guangqi's mouth twisted in a bitter smile as he murmured, "What can a scholar as small as a mustard seed like me do?"

Hearing the despondency in her husband's words, Madam Xu quickly straightened her expression and urged, "Husband, you are only in your early twenties; there is plenty of time for the Imperial Examination and success, one must not be in such a rush."

"I know," Xu Guangqi gave his wife a grateful smile, "I have decided, if I do not pass the next examination, it will mean my learning is not yet sufficient, and I will temporarily set aside the Imperial Examination."

"Then what will you do?" Madam Xu blinked her almond-shaped eyes and asked nervously.

"Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles. Staying in one place for too long is like a frog in a well, thinking that what it sees is the whole sky."

As Xu Guangqi spoke, a hurried sound came from outside the small pavilion.

The couple turned their heads together to see their only servant.

"Master, Madam, two young men have come from outside, saying they wish to pay a visit to you, Master," the servant panted, exhaling white mist, and advised, "I see that the visitors are not here with good intentions; it would be better for you to avoid them for a while, Master."

"Look, the people concerned have arrived," Xu Guangqi smiled at his wife, stood up, and waved his hand, replying, "Those who come with ill intent are not good, and those who are good do not come with ill intent. Since they have come to our door, we must see them regardless."

Having said that, he told the servant to invite them in.

He then went to change into clothes suitable for receiving guests.

Before long, Zhang Yunxiu was led to a small hall where Xu Guangqi was already waiting. As the two met, Xu Guangqi looked Zhang Yunxiu up and down, thinking to himself: What a fine young man!

And that lean man beside him, full of bloodlust—clearly not a good sort.

How did the two of them get mixed up together?

While Xu Guangqi was pondering, Zhang Yunxiu cupped his hands and smiled apologetically first: "Brother Xu, please forgive my presumptuous intrusion. I am truly sorry; these meager gifts are a small token of my apology."

"Heh, what intrusion is there to speak of? I am but a free spirit," Xu Guangqi waved his hand and stared at Zhang Yunxiu, "It is you, Young Master, who carries an air of nobility, and the brother beside you is no ordinary person either. I imagine you are not the idle sort like me."

However, he was not afraid, because he truly had nothing worth anyone else coveting.

Zhang Yunxiu knew this was a bit presumptuous, but he smiled brazenly anyway: "I was just passing through this area and heard there was a child prodigy and scholar here, so I came to pay a visit."

Passing through?

Aren't the people outside my house all arranged by you?

You call this passing through?

Xu Guangqi curled his lips. Though dissatisfied in his heart, he smiled modestly, "Where, where? What kind of prodigy am I? Just a poor, sour scholar relying on some ancestral property to barely get by."

Hearing this, Zhang Yunxiu scanned the room and indeed saw that the furnishings were meager.

"Great scholars talk and laugh together, and no uneducated men come and go. Brother Xu is well-versed in poetry and books, and your belly is full of Practical Learning. If you can pass the Imperial Examination one day, you will surely be a pillar of the nation."

"Passing the Imperial Examination—easier said than done. Some people pass as a scholar at twenty, and remain just a scholar until they die," Xu Guangqi shook his head with a bitter smile.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yunxiu remembered that although Xu Guangqi was a scientist who had gathered the expertise of many masters.

However, his path in the Imperial Examination was not smooth; he became a provincial graduate at thirty-six and only passed the metropolitan examination to become a presented scholar at forty-four.

In order to attain official rank, he spent a full twenty-plus years.

Of course, during this period he read a vast amount of "miscellaneous books," which, from the perspective of mainstream consciousness at the time, only had one evaluation: "Useless for advancing through the Imperial Examination."

The content of the original Imperial Examination was mainly Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.

Later, by the mid-Ming Dynasty, the Lu-Wang School of Mind gained great development, and a large number of Scholars and officials became proponents of the Lu-Wang School of Mind.

Therefore, the Lu-Wang School of Mind also became a part of the Imperial Examination.

Xu Guangqi, however, was not interested; Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was too rigid, and he could not bring himself to be a bookworm. The Lu-Wang School of Mind advocated sudden enlightenment, which was too ethereal and not sufficiently focused on Practical Learning.

"Brother Xu need not be discouraged; reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles, talents of Practical Learning naturally face many hardships." After a moment of silence, Zhang Yunxiu comforted him, "If Brother Xu does not mind, would you be willing to temporarily set aside the Imperial Examination and travel those ten thousand miles with me?"

A sharp light shot from Xu Guangqi's eyes, and he asked directly, "Who is the young master?"

"Heh, you ask who our young master is?" Han San laughed, pointing at Zhang Yunxiu as he proudly introduced him, "Let me tell you, our young master is the son of the current Senior Grand Secretary, the Emperor's study companion! Director of the Seal Office, and newly appointed presented scholar, Zhang Yunxiu!"

At this, Xu Guangqi was greatly shocked.

He had not expected Zhang Yunxiu to have such a background.

"Brother Xu need not listen to his nonsense; you and I can address each other as brothers," Zhang Yunxiu said with a smile, comforting him.

Xu Guangqi's attitude became respectful, and he explicitly called out "Young Master Zhang"; Zhang Yunxiu knew that, unknowingly, a deep barrier had formed between the two.

Without further ado, Zhang Yunxiu got straight to the point: "I must leave Songjiang Prefecture in half a month at the latest; would Brother Xu be willing to accompany me to the capital then?"

"This..."

Xu Guangqi hesitated slightly, and Zhang Yunxiu continued to entice him, "After Brother Xu arrives in the capital, your family's support will be covered by me."

"That is even more impossible." Xu Guangqi waved his hands repeatedly.

"Why?"

"Although I, Xu, am not from a wealthy family, I have hands and feet; how could I rely on others to support me?"

Zhang Yunxiu secretly laughed that this man was still a stubborn bone, so he proposed again: "Then how about this, it just so happens that my fourth brother's son, Zhang Zhongrun, is at the age for enlightenment; Brother Xu, your learning is accomplished, so I, Zhang, will thicken my skin and ask you to provide his enlightenment."

"The young master comes from a family of great learning; I, a mere licentiate, fear I would mislead the child."

"You sour licentiate, what are you babbling about for so long? Our young master has lowered himself to this extent, don't be ungrateful!" Han San gritted his teeth, pointing at the tip of Xu Guangqi's nose as he cursed, "If you don't go, I'll tie you up and take you!"

"Shut your mouth!" Zhang Yunxiu glared at Han San, who shrank his head and stepped back; only then did Zhang Yunxiu turn to look at Xu Guangqi, smiling as he apologized, "I am sorry, it is my lack of discipline, but I am truly sincere in asking you to provide enlightenment for my nephew."

"I, Xu, have shallow talent and little learning; I fear I am unworthy of such a great responsibility." Xu Guangqi still refused to budge.

"Brother Xu, tell me, do you have some concerns?" Zhang Yunxiu was anxious and said excitedly, "Rest assured, as long as you are willing to teach, that brat will definitely study well."

Xu Guangqi did not answer, only sitting there with his eyes closed.

Han San was full of resentment, clenched his fists, and stepped forward; Zhang Yunxiu glared at him fiercely, then cupped his hands toward Xu Guangqi and said, "In ancient times, Liu Xuande visited the thatched cottage three times; you rest first, I will come again tomorrow."

(End of chapter)