When Fei Qian woke up from his drunken stupor, the sun was already high in the sky.
One of the good things about the Eastern Han Dynasty was that as long as there were no major events, you could sleep until you naturally woke up. There were no sounds of car horns, electric drills, alarm clocks, or the noisy, nonsensical music from shops. Instead, there were only the occasional crowing of roosters and barking of dogs. It was truly a blessing for those who loved to laze around in spring, feel lethargic in autumn, or take naps in summer.
Uncle Fu had already prepared breakfast and promptly served it as soon as Fei Qian finished washing up. He stood by happily, watching Fei Qian eat, thinking to himself with joy, "Our young master has really made something of himself. He's been accepted as a disciple by two of the greatest scholars of our time. The old master must be smiling in heaven..."
After Fei Qian finished eating, Uncle Fu cleared the dishes away.
Feeling drowsy after his meal, Fei Qian yawned and thought to himself, "I seem to be getting more and more accustomed to this kind of life. This wretched feudal society has corrupted me, a righteous and promising young man, to the point where I just stretch out my hand for clothes and open my mouth for food... Seeing Uncle Fu busy all the time, maybe I should buy a maid or servant to help out... That might be nice..."
Just as Fei Qian was lost in his random thoughts, Uncle Fu came in again, holding two letters. Fei Qian saw that one was from Fei Min and the other was from Cui Hou.
Cui Hou's letter mentioned that since the day the two emperors were stranded on Beimang Mountain, his father, Cui Yi, had fallen ill and had not recovered. He had been taking care of his father during this time, so he couldn't attend Fei Qian's disciple ceremony. He expressed his deep apologies and mentioned that the estate had recently harvested some fresh fruits, which he would send over later. He hoped Fei Qian wouldn't disdain the humble gift. He also mentioned that he hoped Fei Qian could visit Cui Manor when he had time, and they would warmly welcome him.
Cui Yi is sick? Probably angered by Min Gong...
Cui Hou's letter was quite standard, but Fei Min's letter was more intriguing.
Originally, Fei Qian had promised Fei Min that he would leave Luoyang after resolving the matters with the Cui family. All the books in his home, except for the remnants of "Qi Lun," were to be "temporarily stored" at Fei Min's house. But now, things had changed so quickly. In just a few days, Fei Qian had gone from being an unknown reserve court official to becoming the envy of many as a disciple of two great scholars. Although Fei Min hadn't attended the disciple ceremony in person yesterday, he had sent his house steward to deliver congratulations and gifts.
Fei Min's letter didn't mention a single word about the books. Instead, it congratulated Fei Qian on becoming a disciple of Cai Yong and Liu Hong, expressing the joy of an elder seeing a younger generation achieve success and encouraging him to strive for even greater heights. At the end, Fei Min mentioned that Fei Qian was not young anymore and should consider the issue of family inheritance. He also said that Fei Qian should visit when he had time, as he wanted to introduce him to some people...
Fei Qian pondered for a while. Is this a setup for matchmaking? Considering family inheritance and introducing people to me, is Fei Min planning to introduce some cousins or something?
Actually, Fei Qian guessed correctly. Fei Min had originally intended to keep the books left by Fei Qian's father for himself. But he never expected that Fei Qian would quickly connect with Cai Yong and Liu Hong, two heavyweight scholars. Although these two men didn't hold high official positions, they were titans in the academic world, with countless students and connections. It would be inappropriate to take Fei Qian's books now.
But Fei Min wasn't willing to give up entirely. So he decided to use the classic aristocratic tactic—marriage. By marrying a suitable girl from the Fei family to Fei Qian, the two families would become one. Fei Qian's books would then belong to Fei Min's family, and Fei Qian's teachers would also be Fei Min's family's teachers...
Oh dear, what should I do? Fei Qian felt a headache coming on. Can't I just have a few peaceful days? Why does everyone keep scheming and plotting without getting tired?
The key is, are there any famous women in the Fei family? I've never heard of any... If there were someone like Da Qiao or Xiao Qiao, I might reluctantly agree...
Just as Fei Qian was lost in his wild thoughts, Uncle Fu reminded him, "Young master, it's getting late. Don't miss the time to thank your teachers."—Young master, stop daydreaming. Others only need to thank one teacher, but you have to thank two. Hurry up...
Fei Qian realized, yes, according to etiquette, today was the day to express gratitude to his teachers. He quickly got up to change clothes and asked, "Right, hurry, Uncle Fu, are the gifts for the teachers ready?"
"They were prepared yesterday, young master..."
***************
When Fei Qian left Liu Hong's house, he felt a bit embarrassed.
As a young man, it was somewhat inappropriate to have kept his elderly teacher Liu Hong waiting for so long.
Fortunately, Liu Hong knew that Fei Qian had drunk too much the previous day and didn't blame him. Instead, he offered warm words of encouragement. Liu Hong also mentioned that he had already handed over his court position and would soon be leaving for Shanyang County to take up his new post. He wouldn't be able to personally teach Fei Qian for the time being, but he had already prepared the books Fei Qian needed to study and the assignments he needed to complete...
Then, when Fei Qian saw the thick stack of books, he couldn't help but blurt out, "Why so many!"—The consequence, of course, was predictable. Liu Hong scolded him harshly, and only after Fei Qian meekly acknowledged his mistake and showed genuine remorse did Liu Hong let him off.
It seems that whether in ancient times or modern times, teachers never think they've assigned too much homework...
But then again, ancient teachers truly treated each disciple like their own child. Take Liu Hong, for example. He gave away so many books without a second thought. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, books were extremely rare and valuable. You couldn't necessarily buy them even if you had the money. The idea of bookstores or libraries where you could freely browse and buy books was unimaginable.
If we were to calculate the value of the books Liu Hong gave to Fei Qian based on the market price of a hundred gold coins per scroll, the total value would exceed three thousand gold coins. Moreover, some of the books Liu Hong gave were rare and unique editions, making their value truly incalculable.
An elderly man who had only met Fei Qian a few times, sensing that Fei Qian had potential in mathematics, was willing to selflessly pass on his knowledge and generously give away his treasured books. His only hope was that Fei Qian would carry on his legacy and further the study of mathematics.
On his way to Cai Yong's residence, Fei Qian couldn't help but marvel at how different this was from modern teachers, who only care about money, don't know how to teach according to each student's abilities, and constantly pressure parents to buy all sorts of useful and useless reference books. Liu Hong was thousands of times better.
When Fei Qian arrived at Cai Yong's residence, he learned that Cai Yong had gone to court for a grand assembly and hadn't returned yet. However, Cai Yong had left instructions that if Fei Qian came, he should wait inside.