Chen Jifang

Summer was deepening. A single day after leaving Chen State, I arrived at my destination.

Yingchuan — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠famous since ancient times for the sheer number of remarkable people it produced. And within Yingchuan, Xu County (the place that would one day be known as Xuchang), where counting the talents pouring out of it would break your fingers.

Why had I come here? To answer that, I first need to explain what happened a few days earlier.

A few days prior, at Liu Eun's temporary administrative office set up in the Burak County government compound.

"That someone as lowly as myself would be recommended… I hardly know where to put myself…"

Together with Liu Eun and Yuan Huan, I met Yang Xi, who had just arrived from Jaxian. She was still an unspoiled country girl, untouched by the world's grime.

"I've heard a great deal about how capable you are. I hope you'll help Her Highness alongside Yuan Huan here."

"You helped me enter official service. Of course I'll help."

And so Yang Xi's entry into the Prince of Chen's household was decided. She received only a minor post, and under Liu Eun rather than Liu Chong — but she still seemed deeply moved by her first appointment.

"Where will Duke Do go now?"

Yuan Huan asked. That was something I'd been mulling over myself. I'd said I wanted to see the world, but I hadn't actually settled on a destination.

"Are you planning to gather strong companions, the way you mentioned before?"

"That's one of my goals, yes. Why? Have you heard rumors of any promising talent?"

"What about heading to Yingchuan? It's been famous since ancient times as a land rich in capable people."

Yuan Huan immediately recommended nearby Yingchuan. Of course, I already knew it was a treasure house of talent.

"Yuan Huan, as I told His Majesty, the reason I can't take you with me right away is that my lord isn't someone who can hand out official posts. And the brilliant talents of Yingchuan aren't exactly going to follow me, are they?"

"That's true, but…"

"Then what about visiting Chen Shen's academy?"

"…?"

That was Yang Xi. She'd only just joined the conversation, but she'd already grasped the heart of what Yuan Huan and I were discussing with sharp quickness. Liu Eun asked:

"By Chen Shen, do you mean Chen Jifang — the one called one of the Three Talents?"

"Yes. After their father Chen Shi passed away, the elder brother Chen Ji held office at court and is currently Chancellor of Pingyuan. But Chen Shen alone remained in Xu County, teaching disciples. His academy has many talented people who, like me, haven't yet entered service. I thought some of them might be willing to follow Duke Do."

In other words: go hijack some promising youths. Surprisingly, it made a fair amount of sense. Liu Eun asked again:

"Is Chen Jifang's academy that renowned?"

"Is it ever. Zhong Yuanshang — Zhong Yao. Xun Wenruo — Xun Yu. Xun Gongdal — Sun Yu. Even Guo Gongze — Guo Tu. Every promising talent in Yingchuan has passed through his academy."

"Then Chen Jifang must truly be an extraordinary teacher."

Liu Eun praised Chen Shen for producing such remarkable people one after another. This was news even to me, and I was a little stunned. Yuan Huan spoke up next.

"Why not go there, Duke Do?"

"I appreciate the suggestion, but I don't see how I'd actually get to meet the students just by showing up."

"Why wouldn't there be a way? You could enter as Chen Shen's disciple yourself and get to know them all."

"Huh? How is someone like me supposed to become Chen Shen's disciple? Just hearing the names of those students is enough to crush my spirit."

Judging by the caliber of his graduates, you needed at least seventy points allocated to Intelligence and Politics to even be considered. With a total of one hundred fifteen, I didn't stand a chance.

"What about this? I'll ask Father for a letter of recommendation. With that, surely Chen Jifang would accept you? Father seemed rather disappointed he couldn't reward you properly, you know."

Here Liu Eun produced a clever idea. With a recommendation from Liu Chong, the Prince of Chen, Chen Shen would have no choice but to accept me — regardless of my actual ability.

"Ah… though it might not work after all. I've heard Chen Shen's illness has grown so severe lately that he may have to close the academy."

And then Yang Xi delivered a bleak piece of news. First she tells me to go there, and now Chen Shen is supposedly dying?

But this was a perfect opportunity. Maybe I could get into Chen Shen's academy without having to awkwardly redistribute my stats.

"Your Highness? I truly hate to ask this of you, but could you request a single letter of recommendation from His Majesty?"

"It's no trouble at all. Just promise me you'll return to Chen State and report once your business is finished."

With people waiting for me like this, how could I not come back? I readily agreed to the promise and secured the letter.

Back to the present: Xu County, Yingchuan Commandery, Yu Province.

Confucius said… Mencius said…

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Wasn't the country split in two and locked in a fierce civil war? Yet true to its nature as a city of learning, the academy rang with the clear voices of students reciting the classics.

I timed my arrival for the end of the school day and sought out the residence behind the academy — the home of the great scholar Chen Shen, one of the so-called Three Talents.

For reference, the "Three Talents" referred to the three father-and-sons of the Chen clan, a family famous for producing scholars. They were also the family of Chen Qun, a name everyone knows.

Presently a servant emerged and said:

"My master will see you."

Normally, a rootless wanderer like me would have been turned away at the gate. But the power of Liu Chong's recommendation letter ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was formidable.

I waited briefly in the reception hall, and at last Chen Shen appeared. A middle-aged scholar of dignified bearing and immaculate posture.

A build optimized for scholarship, just as expected. He had the same Nurturing Future Scholars skill as Lu Zhi. But true to Yang Xi's report, his complexion was extremely pale — his health clearly poor.

"I hear you've ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brought a letter of recommendation?"

"Here it is."

"Indeed, written by the Prince of Chen himself. And your name is…?"

"Please call me Hoji."

"Have you no courtesy name?"

"My origins are humble. I haven't taken one yet."

"…"

His displeased expression made it clear he was none too happy about this situation. He tossed out a few questions that felt more like obligation than genuine interest.

"May I ask why you've suddenly decided you want to study?"

"The country is in chaos, and I want to do something — anything. But until now I've done nothing but thrash around on battlefields, and it feels like there's nothing in my head at all."

"If you could obtain a recommendation from the Prince of Chen, wouldn't your talents lie more in that direction?"

"Cut down ten bandits and you might save a hundred people. But I've heard that a single good administrator can feed hundreds of thousands of common folk."

"…"

Under ordinary circumstances, such unpersuasive rhetoric would have earned nothing but a snort of derision. But today's build was a little different.

Full investment in Charm, plus Yuan Shu's ability borrowed on top — a build dedicated entirely to boosting intimacy with scholar-officials. That was probably why, even though Chen Shen had put up a wall from the start, he still seemed to be listening fairly carefully.

Humble origins, but carrying Liu Chong's recommendation letter, and radiating an ineffable likability that simply couldn't be ignored.

"Do you know what office my father held?"

"He served as Aide to the General-in-Chief, didn't he? Had he wished it, he could easily have risen to one of the Three Excellencies."

"Do you know where my elder brother is and what he does?"

"He served as Colonel of the Five Imperial Guards and Palace Attendant, and is currently Chancellor of Pingyuan, as I understand it."

"One last question. What was my final official post?"

"You never held one. Even when the Minister over the Masses personally sent a carriage for you, you refused, didn't you?"

It was true. Neither his father Chen Shi nor his brother Chen Ji had received offices fully matching their abilities — but Chen Shen had never once entered court service at all.

"And why do you think that is?"

"In my humble opinion, you didn't want to lose your essential nature as a scholar by taking office. Thanks to that, your reputation as an incorruptible gentleman is renowned throughout the land."

"Knowing that, you still present a recommendation letter and petition to become my disciple? Even if that letter had come from the Son of Heaven himself rather than the Prince of Chen, I would not accept you."

"I wouldn't dream of asking you to bend your personal convictions. But shouldn't you at least test what talents I possess?"

I wasn't the first person to show up with a recommendation letter, and I wouldn't be the last — but among them, not a single one had hit a Charm score of one hundred.

Was that why? Despite the sheer audacity of the question, Chen Shen actually granted me a single chance.

"Recite a poem for me. It must be one you composed yourself — not anyone else's."

If I could produce a poem that satisfied him, he would reconsider the recommendation. Of course, with a Politics score of one, there was no way I could write poetry.

But what about this?

The poem Shang Lin had written last time just to mess with a friend. But she'd wasted so much raw talent on it that even Sima Lang had been moved by its quality.

Among Chen Shen's own students, the number who could write a poem of this caliber could be counted on one hand. He would surely recognize its true worth.

"Your skill at composing poetry is no ordinary thing."

"I merely attempted a pale imitation."

"Of course you did. Because there's no way you wrote this."

"…"

Well. Damn. Apparently fooling the eyes of a great scholar was too much to ask. Chen Shen saw through my plagiarism of someone else's poem in an instant.

"Whatever do you mean…?"

"The poetic style is decidedly feminine. A man of exceptional sensibility might manage it, of course — but someone who claims to have spent his life thrashing about on battlefields doesn't strike me as that refined. This was certainly written by a woman."

"As expected, Master Chen's ear cannot be deceived. The truth is, the person who wrote that poem is someone named Shang Lin, who lives in Wen County of Henei. And as you said, she's a very lovely young woman."

"Not only did you lie outright, but you admit it so readily — what exactly are you trying to accomplish? This is also a discourtesy to the Prince of Chen who wrote that recommendation."

"Even so, I did it because I desperately wanted to become Master Chen's disciple. Please forgive my rudeness."

"I have no intention of forgiving you. Leave at once… cough, cough…"

Chen Shen rejected my request without a second thought. Of course, I never really expected this approach to work.

I'd been waiting for him to cough from the very beginning.

"That cough sounds serious. How long has it been like this?"

"None of your concern. I'm tired — go."

"Your complexion is poor, and there's a heaviness mixed into the cough. Is the phlegm an excessively yellow color, sometimes streaked with blood?"

"Cough… How would you know that?"

"Wandering from place to place has left me with a fair bit of miscellaneous knowledge. Do you get occasional fevers that leave you shivering? Have you ever woken in the night gasping for breath?"

"…"

Chen Shen didn't answer. But the way his skeptical eyes widened slightly told me I'd hit the mark precisely.

"If it wouldn't be too forward, may I take your pulse?"

"And why should I permit that?"

"Because I still wish to take Master Chen as my teacher. Today I may have lost my chance — but what a tragedy it would be if, when I next came prepared, Master Chen were no longer in this world."

"…"

I knew that openly alluding to someone's death was poor manners. But if Chen Shen's illness was truly severe, he wouldn't be able to simply brush past a remark like that.

Shff…

He rolled up his sleeve with the air of a man who had lost an argument. Even so, he turned his head away to the end, unwilling to acknowledge me.

I approached, knelt before him, and took his pulse. After asking a few more questions, I borrowed paper and began writing.

"Have your servant obtain these medicinal herbs and steep them thoroughly for ten hours. Take the decoction, and within five days your cough will improve."

"And why should I believe a word of that?"

"Because you have nothing to lose. If you happen to recover, wonderful. If not, you've simply nourished yourself with some highly nutritious medicinal ingredients."

"…"

With my Intelligence, I couldn't predict what decision Chen Shen would make. But a man as devoted to scholarship as his name suggested would do whatever it took to weather a crisis that might force him to close his academy's doors.

Five days later, just as expected, a servant came running to request another visit. When I arrived at the reception hall, Chen Shen greeted me with a markedly improved complexion.

"Your color looks better. And you're not coughing anymore?"

"The medicine worked."

Chen Shen reported the outcome in a few clipped words. Even though my help had brought about a dramatic improvement in a serious illness, he still couldn't look kindly on a man who'd brazenly recited someone else's poem.

"Haa… I have no intention of recognizing you, nor any desire to accept you as a disciple."

"Then why did you call me here today…?"

"Even so, when a man has received a kindness, he is obliged to repay it. I will permit you to audit classes for one month. If in that time you faithfully observe the academy's rules and show signs of growth, I will reconsider the matter then."

For Chen Shen, the incarnation of integrity itself, this was an enormous concession. It was only half a measure — but either way, I had secured the right to enter the academy.

"You called for me?"

At that moment, a woman appeared through the open gap of the reception hall door.

She was tall, with blue-tinged hair neatly combed and falling smooth. She couldn't be called massively built, but her frame was healthy and well-defined compared to most women — angular in a way that spoke of physical discipline.

Despite her sharp features, a kind smile played about her lips, and the gap moe was off the charts. Judging by the intelligent light in her eyes, she was no mere servant — she had to be one of Chen Shen's disciples.

"This is an auditing student who will be with us for the next month. Fu, go around with him and explain the academy's rules."

Fu… Was there a famous person currently residing in Yingchuan by that name? The woman bent her knee lightly in greeting and said to me:

"I am Xu Fu. Please follow me."

"…?"

For a moment I nearly doubted my own ears. This was someone I knew — and not just anyone. She sat at the very top of my recruitment list, a top-tier talent.

This was her before she took the name the world would come to know — Xu Shu. I never imagined I'd run into her here.