Chapter 454: Talent: Confucian Gentleman!

"Madam, I believe your child will certainly be cultivated into a Confucian gentleman!"

Wei Yuan flattered her with a line—kind words cost nothing—then pretended curiosity: "Why don't you first let your child read this 'Gentleman's Sayings' and see whether he likes it!"

He doesn't know whether Wang Ping'an can become a gentleman; after all, with the Prime Minister's Daughter involved, Wang Ping'an is certainly—cannot say certainly, but at least a ninety‑percent probability—won't live to adulthood.

How could he possibly be cultivated into a Confucian gentleman? Moreover, given the Wang Family's tradition, even if Wang Ping'an manages to reach adulthood, he still certainly cannot be cultivated into a Confucian gentleman.

He indeed hasn't had much interaction with the Wang Family.

Although in recent years, with Wang Ruhai's rise, he has displayed great prowess on the golden road of the imperial examinations, especially this year's journey to the capital for the exams, everyone can see that Wang Ruhai has a high chance of making the honor roll, and it's unclear how many people are using this opportunity to befriend the Wang Family.

They simply wait for Wang Ruhai to make the honor roll so they can reap benefits from it.

If Wang Ruhai hadn't married and had children as soon as he reached adulthood, those wealthy families courting the Wang Family might have offered their own daughters or granddaughters to Wang Ruhai, showing how much they value him.

However.

He, however, didn't pay much attention to Wang Ruhai, even if Wang Ruhai made the honor roll—what of it? Back then he himself had also made the honor roll; at that time he was splendid, yet still useless, with no court position and his family gave him no regard, so he wasted half his life in the small Qingyang County.

Moreover.

Compared with other contemporaneous jinshi of the same name, this small Qingyang County magistrate of his was barely decent, and many jinshi fared worse than him.

Even if Wang Ruhai truly makes the honor roll, with no court posts, he would likely be sent to the Hanlin Academy for a few years of training and then dispatched to a random position, which would still amount to a wasted life.

Who could have known.

Wang Ruhai turned out to be even stronger than he imagined; he actually became a High School Top Scholar.

The gap between a Top Scholar and an ordinary jinshi who makes the honor roll cannot be called a world of difference, but there are still many distinctions; even after Daxia has been founded for many years, some Top Scholars have fared poorly, yet even the worst of them cannot be compared with a small Qingyang County magistrate like him.

At that time.

When he first received the news, he didn't believe it; after all, given Wang Ruhai's situation, how could he be unaware? Coming from an ordinary family, he only had some talent in studies, enabling him to cut through the imperial examination path.

But because of his background, he lacked resources for cultivation, so everything depended on himself; making the honor roll, for someone like Wang Ping'an, can be said to have pushed his talent to the limit.

High School Top Scholar?

It's something he never even dared to imagine!

Although Wang Ruhai is quite handsome, otherwise he couldn't have been noticed by the Prime Minister's Daughter, but a Top Scholar must be not only good‑looking but also possess real talent and knowledge, surpassing countless jinshi of the same exam.

He finds it hard to believe that Wang Ruhai, a mere farmer's son, could achieve this.

Consider Wei Yuan, who hails from the Wei family of Qingpu Prefecture; the Wei family is renowned for its literary lineage, and it's unknown how many high officials have emerged from it.

From a young age he displayed a genius for study, guided by countless famous teachers, which allowed him to cut through the imperial examinations until he made the honor roll. Yet he placed toward the back of the list, with those above him being Daxia's top aristocratic youths.

He checked again and again, confirming without doubt, and thus had to believe this: that Wang Ruhai, a mere farmer's son, became a High School Top Scholar. Shocked, he was eager to find an opportunity to draw closer to the Wang Family.

If Wang Ruhai were just an ordinary honor‑roll jinshi, he wouldn't care much, but Wang Ruhai achieving the High School Top Scholar makes him worth noting.

He never expected…

When he prepared a gift and was about to visit the Wang Family, another shocking piece of news arrived: the High School Top Scholar Wang Ruhai had divorced his first wife, leaving him baffled—how could Wang Ruhai do such a foolish thing? Wasn't he afraid of ruining his reputation and harming his future official career?

Daxia is not monogamous!

Wang Ruhai being a High School Top Scholar proves he is certainly not a fool, but a first‑rate genius; he couldn't have overlooked this angle. Even if he disliked his first wife, he would have thought of a way to handle it.

Take him, for example: even if he despised his own yellow‑faced wife, wouldn't she just become a decorative arch, blocking him from taking a dozen concubines?

It doesn't hinder at all!

Only after hearing about Wang Ruhai divorcing his first wife, and shortly thereafter learning that the Prime Minister's Daughter had taken an interest in him and was preparing to set a wedding date, did he finally understand why Wang Ruhai would do such a foolish act.

If it were him—no, not even him—anyone faced with such a situation, ninety‑nine point nine‑nine‑nine percent would act like Wang Ruhai; perhaps one or two would be different, but those outliers would not be admired, rather they'd be secretly called brainless.

The Prime Minister's Residence is not something one can just climb into at will; let alone marrying the Prime Minister's Daughter—marrying her is like taking a highway to the heavens.

When he learned that Wang Ruhai was a High School Top Scholar, Wang Ruhai seemed worthy of befriending in his eyes, but upon learning that Wang Ruhai would marry the Prime Minister's Daughter…

This novel you…

Make friends?

If possible, he would gladly be a lackey under Wang Ruhai!

Deep down, he envies Wang Ruhai for being able to climb into the Prime Minister's Residence, but Wang Ruhai divorcing his first wife without a legitimate reason completely contradicts Confucian propriety.

A family that can produce someone like Wang Ruhai could never nurture a Confucian gentleman, let alone this child, who is Wang Ruhai's offspring.

He is of Wang Ruhai's bloodline!

Eighty to ninety percent of it is not good; even ten or a hundred copies of 'Gentleman's Sayings' cannot cultivate this child into a Confucian gentleman.

Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and mice give birth to offspring that dig holes!

He has believed this principle since childhood, which is why he never interacted with scholars born of ordinary families.

He thought that way, but Wei Yuan showed no hint of it on his face; instead, he saw Liu Dongzhu listening to him, flipping through 'Gentleman's Sayings' for Wang Ping'an, praising aloud:

"Madam, see how your child likes this 'Gentleman's Sayings'; I believe that when he grows up, having been cultivated by this book from childhood, he will become a Confucian gentleman whose name will be recorded in history!"

"Ding! After you study 'Gentleman's Sayings' carefully, congratulations, you have earned the reward: Talent: Confucian Gentleman 【Entry Level】!"

A mechanically cold voice rang in his mind, and Wang Ping'an's large black eyes couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.

He originally thought that after carefully reading this 'Gentleman's Sayings' he would acquire a skill, never expecting it would be a talent.

(End of Chapter)