"Zhang'er, come and meet your Uncle Cai."
"Your Uncle Cai is a famous Confucian scholar, and he can't be easily compared to him!"
Liu Yan quickly called Liu Zhang to come. Cai Yong was a great scholar in the world. It would be of great benefit to Liu Zhang if he could become his disciple.
Liu Zhang himself knew this very well and trotted all the way to Cai Yong and bowed in salute.
"Young man Liu Zhang, meet Uncle Cai!"
"Yes, Not Bad!"
Cai Yong smiled and nodded, looked at Liu Yan and praised:
"It is said that my good nephew is a child prodigy that is rare to see in a century. When I saw him today, he certainly lived up to his reputation!"
Liu Yan was very proud, but he still waved his hand modestly.
"He's just a little clever. How can he be called a child prodigy? It's a rare occurrence in a hundred years!"
"Hey, Xu Zijiang's assessment is not false!"
"I heard that my wise nephew created the seven-character poem?"
Cai Yong looked at Liu Zhang kindly. He also admired Liu Zhang's talent very much and wanted to take this opportunity to see it in person.
Liu Zhang first bowed his hands and then said:
"Xu Shao asked the boy to evaluate him, but he didn't dare to offend him, so he replied, 'The whole world is turbid, but I alone am pure, and everyone is drunk, but I alone am sober.'"
"Xu Shao asked the boy about his ambitions, and the boy replied, 'Without indifference, one cannot clarify one's ambitions, and without being tranquil, one cannot reach far'."
Cai Yong was also shocked by these two lines of poetry. After a long time, he murmured:
"A great nephew, a great talent, worthy of the name of a child prodigy!"
"Hahaha, Brother Bozhe, stop praising him!"
"Just now he taught me that 'there is a beauty like jade in the book, and there is a house of gold in the book'."
"I asked him what Yan Ruyu was, but he told me that there is no limit to learning and that I need to learn more!"
"This kid! He's neither big nor small!"
Cai Yong looked at Liu Yan angrily cursing Liu Zhang, and shook his head helplessly.
Liu Yan seemed to be blaming Liu Zhang, but in fact his eyes were full of pride. It was nothing more than showing off Liu Zhang's talent to himself.
"My dear nephew, are these two lines of poetry incomplete? Is there anything more to follow?"
"Yes, there is indeed a sequel."
Liu Zhang glanced at Cai Yong with admiration. He was indeed a great scholar. Even if I have never been exposed to seven-character poetry, I can tell at a glance that there is more to it.
"My dear nephew, can you give me some advice?"
"I don't dare, please ask Uncle Cai for advice!"
"Rich families don't need to buy fertile farmland. There are thousands of grains of millet in books."
"You don't need to build a high hall to live in peace, there is a golden house in the book."
"Don't regret having no one to follow you when you go out. There are so many carriages and horses in the book."
"Don't hate an unscrupulous matchmaker when marrying a wife. There is a beauty in the book."
"A man who wants to fulfill his life's ambitions should read the Six Classics diligently in front of the window."
"What a poem!"
"Do you have a name?"
Cai Yong asked hurriedly.
"This poem is called [Poetry to Encourage Learning]!"
Cai Yong read it twice silently, and then sighed.
"My nephew's poem to encourage students to study is truly unprecedented! What a pity...ah!"
Liu Yan was originally very excited because Liu Zhang showed his talent again, but Cai Yong's pity made him very puzzled.
"Brother Bozhe, why is it such a pity?"
Cai Yong shook his head helplessly and sighed.
"Although it is good to encourage people to learn poems, isn't it a pity that the people have no books to learn from?"
Liu Yan glanced at Cai Yong strangely, feeling unhappy. What books do these people read?
Liu Zhang glanced at Cai Yong with admiration and asked:
"Uncle Cai, can't the common people study?"
Cai Yong shook his head, looked at Liu Zhang and said:
"People have problems with food and clothing. How can they have money to buy books? Let alone study."
Seeing that the atmosphere was very depressed, Liu Yan quickly changed the subject.
"Brother Bozhe, why are you here?"
"I offended Situ Liu He and almost died in prison!"
"Fortunately, Lu Qiang, the imperial minister, interceded for me to save me from death. Now I am exiled to Shuofang by His Majesty."
"I didn't expect that Liu He would not let me go. He chased me all the way. Zhang Jiao must have been instructed by him."
"Fortunately, Mr. Jun showed up and saved my family's lives! Madam, take Yan'er out. It's okay."
Cai Yong shouted into the carriage, and a woman led a child out.
Liu Zhang looked directly at the little girl, his eyes widened.
The big eyes are inlaid with two black pearl-like eyes, the two willow eyebrows are thin and long, and the fair skin sets off the delicate facial features, like a graceful elf.
Cai Yan! It's actually Cai Yan!
She is so cute at such a young age. How can she be so cute when she grows up?
"Isn't Jun Lang the governor of Nanyang County? Why are you here?"
Cai Yong's words interrupted Liu Zhang, who was in a daze, and the latter quickly lowered his head.
The inferiority complex of diaosi was brought to full display by Liu Zhang.
"Your Majesty appointed me as the governor of Jizhou, and then my whole family took the post!"
"That's it. Congratulations, Mr. Jun!"
"Brother Bozhe, not far ahead is Haocheng, the seat of Jizhou government. Why not rest for two days before we get on our way again!"
Seeing Liu Yan's sincere invitation, Cai Yong felt a little embarrassed. He wanted to agree but didn't dare.
"Jun Lang, now that I have offended Liu He, I am afraid I will cause trouble for you!"
"Brother Bozhe, don't worry. Liu He and I are both Han clan clansmen, and we have some friendship. I don't expect him to harm me!"
"Let's go, Brother Bozhe, we haven't seen each other for many years since we said goodbye in Luoyang!"
"If that's the case, I'm going to bother you for my brother's sake!"
