Chapter 11

Editor: Atlas Studios

When Liu Lang opened the door with a straight face, Mu Yangling looked at him with a smile. “Cousin Lang, how old is Cousin Lun? He’s too particular.”

Liu Lang’s face darkened even more. He lectured her with a straight face, “You’re already nine years old, and Ah Lun is also eight years old. You’re going to get married in a few years. Why are you still so rash? Fortunately, only the few of us know about what happened today, plus we’re cousins. If it were someone else, what would you do if they insist you take responsibility by marrying him?”

Mu Yangling opened her mouth wide and stammered, “I… I’m only nine years old…”

Liu Lang frowned. “A nine-year-old is already an adult. Third Uncle Liu’s tanned daughter got married when she was 13 years old.”

Mu Yangling immediately shut her mouth. 13 years old…

Liu Lun had already put on his clothes and was washing them. When he saw his cousins enter, he snorted and returned to his room with his head raised. Mu Yangling saw that the corners of his eyes were still a little red and only then did she know that this child really minded.

Clueless as to what had just happened, Little Bowen looked at his cousin and sister in a daze and didn’t dare to joke anymore.

Mu Yangling said, “Cousin Lang, Eldest Great-uncle said that you picked up two books, so I came to take a look.”

“Okay, wait for me. I’ll go in and get it for you.” Liu Lang left them in the courtyard and returned to his room.

Alright, she only took a glance, and now, she was not even qualified to enter the house.

Liu Lang handed the two tattered books to Mu Yangling and said, “I picked them up from a family’s trash bin in town. I took them back because I saw that there were words on them.”

As there was no bookstore in Seven Mile Village, they had to go to the county if they wanted to buy books. Moreover, because a book was not cheap, books were passed down from one generation to the next. Therefore, very few people threw books away like trash in this era. This was the first time Liu Lang had picked up such a treasure.

However, as no one in their family was literate, they had no use for it, so he might as well give them to their cousins.

Mu Yangling took the two books. The book cover was tattered, as if someone had torn it. Flipping it open, she realized that it was ‘The Analects’. Mu Yangling’s eyes lit up and she said happily, “Cousin Lang, this is ‘The Analects’. Although the first five pages were torn, the rest of the book is complete. This is awesome. After I finish reciting the ‘Three Character Classic’, I can read ‘The Analects’.”

Liu Lang was incredibly envious because he did not understand what ‘The Analects’ was at all. He said sincerely, “It’s good that you find it useful. Take it back and use it. I’ll look around again in the future and see if I can find more stuff with words on them.”

Seeing that he was staring at the book in her hand with desire, Mu Yangling suggested, “Cousin Lang, why don’t I teach you how to read? You’ll have an easier time finding your way when you go out in the future.”

Though tempted, Liu Lang said hesitantly, “But I can’t afford pen and ink.”

Mu Yangling smiled. “Our family can’t afford pens and ink either. We just doodle on the ground with tree branches. It’s not as if we’re taking the Imperial Examination. We just need to recognize some words and know how to write. There’s no need to have such pretty handwriting.”

This was how Shu Wanniang taught her. However, she never allowed Little Bowen to draw on the ground with a tree branch. Instead, she asked him to dip his finger in water and write on the table. She was afraid that he would get used to holding a tree branch and become inert when he switched to holding a pen later, thus would not be able to learn calligraphy well.

“Then quickly take a look at the other book.” Liu Lang urged her.

“It’s the ‘Three Character Classic’. Cousin Lang, you can keep this book for yourself. Later, we’ll use the ‘Three Character Classic’ to learn how to read.”

Liu Lang heaved a sigh of relief and whispered, “Don’t tell my parents about this. In the future, I’ll go to your house every day to learn from you.” Liu Lang hesitated and said, “Can I bring Ah Lun there? Teach my brother too.”

“Makes no difference whether I teach one or two. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret.”

Only then did Liu Lang smile widely.

However, Mu Yangling felt a little sad.

In her previous life, children who were out of school were very worrying. However, the number of people who were out of school only accounted for a small portion of the population. However, this era was different. Here, perhaps more than 99 out of 100 people could not read.

Only a very small number of people had mastered the language. In the entire Seven Mile Village, only a few families could read.

Mu Yangling had once followed Mu Shi to the county. At that time, she did not do anything but go to the bookstore to flip through history books for half a day. Coupled with the information she obtained through indirect means, she knew that this was an era similar to the Song Dynasty.

The history of the period before the Later Tang was the same as in her previous life. However, the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms after the Later Tang changed. The Emperor Taizu of Later Zhou, Guo Wei, came from a poor background. After ascending the throne, he humbly accepted the opinions of his subjects and could be considered a good emperor. Following his death, his adopted son, Guo Rong, took over the throne. This person revolutionized politics and developed the economy. As such, he could, even more so, be considered a great emperor with exceptional talent and strategies. According to the history books, he had only been an emperor for six years before he died of illness, leaving many regrets. Due to his early demise, the Zhou Dynasty was swallowed up by the Northern Song Dynasty. However, the history books here recorded that he had been in power for 17 years. Not only did he develop the agricultural economy, but he also conquered and unified the country. Known as the Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou, his throne was later succeeded by his son, Emperor Gaozong of Later Zhou.

Therefore, the Northern Song Dynasty, which had originally unified the country, had disappeared, but history had taken a turn and returned to its original point.

Emperor Shizong valued both civil and military affairs, and he was also conscientious in government affairs. However, Emperor Gaozong did not like military officials and feared that the generals would seize the Guo family’s territory if they took control of the military power. Therefore, not long after he ascended the throne, he reformed politics and set up many supervisory bodies to guard against the generals. He even changed Emperor Shizong’s policy of resisting foreign forces to guarding against internal conflicts. Most of the troops in the country were deployed to guard against civil unrest and the rebellion of the generals.

Emperor Gaozong said, “In our vast Great China, we have never seen the Yi barbarians rule. On the other hand, the collapse of a dynasty always started from an uprising of the unruly civilians and generals. Therefore, in order to protect the stability of our Great Zhou, we have to station soldiers in the military pass to prevent trouble.”

Hence, the 800,000 soldiers stationed outside the pass were scattered and returned to various parts of the pass. However, they did not expect that the Dangxiang people, the Jurchen race, and other ethnic tribes would gradually grow stronger. Great Zhou went on to lose its cities and land, and the battle line kept moving south.

Before the Great Zhou Emperor could help bring into power the civil officials, the generals had already been suppressed and scattered. He had no choice but to put the aristocratic families in an important position.

The Tang Dynasty’s ninth-grade system that had been abolished with difficulty gradually rose again. Although the Great Zhou Dynasty did not announce that they would choose officials based on the ninth-grade system, the Imperial Examination had already been monopolized by the aristocratic families, leading to even fewer people who could read and write.

Take Mingshui County for example. There was only one small academy in the huge Mingshui County. Those who could study there were all children of wealthy families who did not have knowledge passed down from ancestors. As there was only one bookstore in the county, if Mu Yangling wanted to buy a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, she had to walk nearly four hours to the county to buy it. Moreover, there were only six shelves of books in the bookstore. Mu Yangling had heard from her mother that most of the books were still in the hands of the aristocratic families.

From Mu Yangling’s point of view, the Great Zhou was on the path of decline.

Having a literate person in Nearhill Village was something to be proud of. Shu Wanniang had always been amiable and gentle, so she would seriously teach any child who wanted to learn.

Suddenly coming into contact with the outside world, the children’s hearts surged with unrealistic thoughts.

Third Uncle Liu’s eldest son, Liu Yong, had learnt from Shu Wanniang for a few days before making a fuss about going to the county to take the Imperial Examination.

This could be considered shocking news to the Liu family.

Third Uncle Liu’s family barely had enough to feed themselves. They did not even dare to fall sick, let alone support a child to study and take the Imperial Examination.

The patriarch thought that it was rare for such a determined person to appear in the clan. Thus, if he proved himself capable, the patriarch could use the entire clan’s resources to support him. Although the cost of studying was high, the rewards from doing well in the examination were equally generous. Therefore, the patriarch went to ask Shu Wanniang about Liu Yong’s talent in studying.