Chapter 28: This Is Called Three Hundred Selected Poems

Returning to the small courtyard, Ye Wuji stepped inside, only to immediately back out. He scanned his surroundings in detail, and only after confirming it was indeed his own home did he walk back in.

The windows had all been replaced with new ones, and the walls had been freshly whitewashed. The courtyard was paved with brand-new tiles and was swept spotless. There were even newly purchased flowers and plants, arranged neatly throughout the yard.

Stepping into the main room, he was even more astonished. The interior had been paved with blue bricks. Beyond the solid wood furniture purchased by Shen Wanshan, there were now long writing desks and tea tables. The air was filled with the curling smoke of incense, leaving Ye Wuji absolutely intoxicated. He then visited the side chambers, which followed the same layout.

Ye Wuji felt deeply comforted; amidst the mundane bustle of life, he had found the added happiness of a true home. Right then, he swore to himself: he would study hard so that his son could live a life of complete ease.

"Father, how does it feel?" Ye Xiu’s voice drifted in from outside.

"It’s completely transformed; even my mood has improved significantly."

"Then why aren't you surprised?" Ye Xiu asked, full of curiosity.

"It’s all because of that poem of yours; it was simply too astonishing," Ye Wuji sighed heavily.

"No," Ye Xiu quickly corrected, "that is *your* poem."

"But I always feel..." Ye Wuji scratched his head, "that I have no connection to the Mountain God."

"Father, that *is* your connection."

Ye Xiu led Ye Wuji into the main room and took a poetry collection from the shelf. "Copy these out and memorize them. They will all come in handy in the future."

"This is..." Ye Wuji took the collection, the cover clearly inscribed with: *The Shou-Zheng Poetry Collection*.

Shou-Zheng was Ye Wuji’s courtesy name; many people published poetry collections using their courtesy names rather than their given names. Ye Xiu’s plan was simple: build a reputation for his father, to help him make a name for himself. His own dream was to lie flat—to be a playboy who spent money like water, eating, drinking, and idling away his days. In his view, a young child being too much in the spotlight brought no benefits and only invited trouble.

"Life is like our first meeting, why do we mourn the autumn wind's toll on the painted fan?"
"When will the bright moon appear? I hold my wine and ask the blue sky..."
"In spring, one sleeps, unaware of dawn, hearing the chirping birds everywhere..."
"Leaving Baidi in the morning amidst the colorful clouds, a thousand miles to Jiangling returned in a single day..."
"A lonely stranger in a foreign land, I miss my kin all the more on every festive day..."
"Fine wine in luminous cups, the pipa calls to drink, urging us to mount our horses..."
"Clouds recall her garments, flowers recall her face, the spring breeze brushes the railing, the dew glows rich..."

*Holy cow! Holy cow! Holy cow!*

That mad-dog-like celestial being had returned. Any one of these poems, taken at random, was a blockbuster that would shake the entire nation.

"The Dagan literary scene has been in decline for three hundred years; it needs someone with extraordinary talent to save it." Ye Wuji wept, slapping his thighs hard. "You just say the word, and I’ll pull some strings. I can make you famous throughout the entire Dagan Empire in no time!"

"Father, the Mountain God said this is called *Three Hundred Tang Poems*, and he told me to give it to someone destined for it," Ye Xiu began to talk nonsense with a straight face. "As the saying goes, 'charity begins at home.' Since you have the talent for photographic memory, these three hundred poems will be enough for you to use for the rest of your life. I think you won't even need to make a move—there will be people who help you build your fame."

***

At the Shen Estate, the entire compound was laid out in the shape of the Chinese character for "Joy." It contained six large courtyards, housing twenty smaller ones. It faced the street on three sides and was enclosed by solid blue brick walls over ten meters high. Between the main courtyard and the side courtyard stood a large brick-carved Earth God shrine, adorned with carvings of stone mountains and deer holding spiritual fungi in their mouths. The shrine walls featured paulownia and pine trees, with six pairs of deer joined together, symbolizing harmony and prosperity.

At this moment, the Shen Estate was ablaze with lights, outshining even the bright moon. The servants and guards held clubs, patrolling the grounds in shifts. The maids were busy adding oil to the lamps.

Shen Wanshan, accompanied by his daughter, paid his respects to the ancestors at the family shrine, leaving his daughter full of confusion, though she ultimately didn't dare to ask why.

When they arrived at the study, Liu Hanqing had been waiting for some time.

"Dean Liu, are you here on account of my son-in-law?" Shen Wanshan sipped his tea.

"..." Liu Hanqing felt a surge of disdain—that wasn't how you talked when you were breaking off the engagement! But outwardly, he remained as calm and breezy as ever. "Master Shen, I will be direct. The prefectural printing office is overwhelmed; we were hoping Master Shen could lend a hand."

"Dean Liu, rest assured. I will use the best woodblocks, the finest paper, and the best ink... I guarantee that *Lin Jiang Xian* will be the talk of every corner of Jinling City within three days."

"Then, on behalf of the Jinling Academy, I thank you, Master Shen."

Liu Hanqing then pulled out a school registration form and placed it in front of Shen Wanshan. "This is a student registration for Jinling Academy. Professor Wang has granted special approval; your son can enroll at any time."

"Then I shall not decline. On behalf of my son, I thank Professor Wang and you, Dean Liu. We shall be troubling you from now on." Shen Wanshan carefully put the registration away.

Jinling Academy was an official state institution within the national system. Its recruitment scope was the same as the Imperial College, prioritizing the children of civil officials, military generals, and holders of the Juren and Xiucai degrees. In the social hierarchy of scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant, merchants were held in low regard and were always ranked last. Thus, one could not enter Jinling Academy simply by having money.

As the richest man in Jinling, the best Shen Wanshan could usually do was hire private tutors or arrange for his child to attend private academies. It could be said that this was a great favor Wang Yuanhui had bestowed upon him before leaving, and also a hint for Shen Wanshan to provide more support to Jinling Academy in the future.

Realizing the implications, Shen Wanshan laughed. "Dean Liu, I recently acquired a batch of classics. How about I donate some money to the academy to build a library?"

"Oh, that simply cannot be, that simply cannot be!" Liu Hanqing hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.

"Dean Liu, this would count as an achievement in your political career, would it not?" Shen Wanshan said with deep meaning.

"Then... then I shall accept with gratitude. I toast you with tea in place of wine, Master Shen."

Liu Hanqing suddenly realized—to be promoted, one needed achievements. So far, apart from the Imperial College, local academies had no such thing as a library. If Jinling Academy built the largest library, it would be a concrete political achievement. Ye Wuji’s *Lin Jiang Xian* had indirectly facilitated Liu Hanqing's promotion.

But there was one person who was having a difficult time.

At Linggu Temple, the fundraising had ended. The high monks sat in a circle and began to divide the loot... no, to count the money and reflect on the great merits of the donors.

Shen Wanshan, unsurprisingly, had become the top donor. Second was Qian Gui, though it was a pity that the old fellow would never be able to participate in fundraising again.

"Abbot, we have raised a total of 160,000 taels. It is enough for us to build the Hall of Boundless Merit."

"All expenditures must be made public; make the ledgers look beautiful. Only when they feel their money was well-spent will they donate more next time. Also, place Master Shen's name at the very top, and make the font larger... hmm?"

As Abbot Yan Gong was giving instructions, he suddenly spotted the oversized red envelope from Ye Wuji.

"Our Dagan literary scene is in decline; I fear Ye Wuji is the one who will make it rise again."

"Today, Donor Ye truly stunned me. Let us see how much he donated."

But the moment he opened the envelope, Abbot Yan Gong immediately violated the commandment against slander: *What the hell, Ye Wuji is bullying me too much!*