Chapter 146 Seal Carving

Hearing Ouyang Xiu mention a candidate, Zhang Yue wondered to himself who on earth it could be.

Among Ouyang Xiu's close friends in the capital at present, the one most renowned for poetry was Mei Yaochen, hailed as the patriarch of Song poetry, who had served as the deputy examiner for the imperial examinations in the second year of the Jiayou reign and currently held the post of Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel. He and Ouyang Xiu were jointly known as "Ou and Mei."

Next was Wang Anshi, but as he was currently serving as an official in the Finance Bureau, he surely would not have the time to tutor him.

There was also Yan Jidao, who had inherited his noble privilege to become a Grand Ritual Attendant in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. His standing in poetry led to him and his father, Yan Shu, being referred to as the Elder and Younger Yan.

Then there were Jiang Xiufu, Wang Anguo, Liu Chang, Fan Zhen, Han Wei, Han Jiang, and so on.

Ouyang Xiu's social circle was extremely vast, and it would not be easy for Zhang Yue to guess the right person. Yet any single one of them would be more than qualified to teach him.

"I am deeply moved by your constant concern, Student, and for recommending me to the tutelage of a renowned master. I am truly overwhelmed by your kindness, Third Master," Zhang Yue said.

Zhang Yue could not help but sigh with emotion regarding Ouyang Xiu's nobility of character.

When Ouyang Xiu offered his assistance, it was often not driven by any expectations of you or the desire for future reciprocation, but rather out of a genuine appreciation for your talent, prompting him to give you a helping hand.

Such a pure and unyielding integrity was reflected in quite a few scholars of the Song Dynasty.

Back then, Su Xun traveled to the capital with his two sons to present his writings to Ouyang Xiu. Because he found their style reminiscent of Yin Shulu and Shi Shoudao, Ouyang Xiu rejoiced and submitted the commoner Su Xun's writings, recommending him to the imperial court. Later, Ouyang Xiu spared no effort in praising the three members of the Su family in his writings, causing the entire realm to hold the two of them in high esteem.

Seeing Zhang Yue so grateful, Ouyang Xiu smiled and said, "Third Master is too modest. Since you trust my judgment, let me write a letter, and you shall take it to Chen Shugu's tutelage."

"Many thanks—"

Zhang Yue started to speak, but halfway through, he suddenly felt something was amiss.

Chen Shugu, wasn't this Chen Xiang?

When Zhang Yue first arrived in the capital, Scholar Hu had asked him to deliver a letter to Chen Xiang, intending for the two of them to become acquainted. Zhang Yue had delivered the letter to Chen Xiang's family while the latter was attending court, leaving a brief message before departing. He had even declined the meals and gifts of silver offered by Chen Xiang's family in hospitality.

The reason Zhang Yue did this was precisely because his second brother was Chen Xiang's most prized disciple.

Yet he never expected that Ouyang Xiu would instruct him to enter Chen Xiang's tutelage.

It was not that Chen Xiang was lacking; on the contrary, he was the preeminent talent scout of that era second only to Ouyang Xiu. Not only was he fair, upright, and incorruptible, but he was also renowned for his ability to recognize talent and make stellar recommendations, while possessing an exceptionally high level of Confucian scholarship.

Furthermore, he was also a native of Houguan, making him a fellow townsman of Zhang Yue from Fujian.

However... Ouyang Xiu's interactions with him were not particularly deep, so why recommend him to Chen Xiang?

This left Zhang Yue temporarily baffled.

Seeing Zhang Yue's expression, Ouyang Xiu smiled and asked, "How does Third Master find this?"

Zhang Yue thought to himself: would a flat refusal right here not cause Ouyang Xiu to lose face?

Without hesitation, Zhang Yue replied, "Many thanks for the Scholar's recommendation."

Only then did Ouyang Xiu stroke his beard and smile, saying, "That is settled then."

Ouyang Xiu immediately penned a letter and handed it to Zhang Yue. Clutching the letter, Zhang Yue took his leave from Ouyang Xiu's residence.

Zhang Yue did not dwell for the moment on whether he should present his calling card to Chen Xiang, as he had to make a trip to the marketplace of the Great Xiangguo Temple.

He had an appointment to meet someone there today.

It was a rather long story. That day, Zhang Yue had been wandering around the Market of Ten Thousand Surnames at the Great Xiangguo Temple, peddling the leisure seals he had carved himself.

Later, a merchant with a discerning eye took a liking to them. This merchant happened to run an antique shop near the Zisheng Gate of the Great Xiangguo Temple.

He was so fond of Zhang Yue's leisure seals that he took five or six of them to sell on consignment at his antique shop, and had already sold three of them for Zhang Yue.

The last time Zhang Yue went to see him with newly carved leisure seals, the man told him that a patron had taken a fancy to his carved seals and wished to meet him in person to commission some work.

Consequently, Zhang Yue and the other party had agreed to meet at his antique shop during the hour of the sheep on this very day.

It was said that the Great Xiangguo Temple was the former residence of Lord Xinling. Now, it had become the premier Chan Buddhist temple of the Great Song, situated right in the center of Bianjing City.

As for the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month, as well as days ending in eight, the Great Xiangguo Temple held a temple fair, permitting merchants and travelers to set up stalls both inside and outside the temple grounds, an event known as the Market of Ten Thousand Surnames.

Zhang Yue crossed the Xiangguo Bridge. Because today happened to be a market day, looking out from the bridge, he saw stalls clustered densely both inside and outside the temple, forming a sea of humanity.

Thinking he might as well join in the bustling activity, Zhang Yue walked into the Great Xiangguo Temple along with the crowd.

Inside the mountain gate, various birds, cats, dogs, and rare beasts were being sold, with many young gentlemen and noble ladies browsing the stalls to select their favorite animals.

Zhang Yue had no interest in these and walked on to the second and third gates, where he found that the stalls were all set up with colorful canopies and neatly arranged. They sold items such as rush mats, fine bamboo mats, screens, washing basins, horse bridles, bows and swords, seasonal fruits, and preserved meats.

Along the way, Zhang Yue's horizons were greatly broadened. Here, there was no distinction between scholars and commoners; everyone rubbed shoulders, pressing forward amid the pushing and shoving.

It was only when he walked close to the main Buddha hall that the crowd thinned out slightly. Zhang Yue took a breath of relief and saw that the shops here were all time-honored establishments, such as the honey-preserved fruits of Daoist Wang from the Meng Family Daoist Courtyard, the writing brushes of Zhao Wenxiu, and the ink sticks of Pan.

As a scholar, Zhang Yue could not be entirely conventional here and purchased a set of writing brushes and ink sticks.

As for the two covered corridors of the temple, they were also packed with stalls. Here, nuns from various temples sold embroidery, collars, silk flowers, pearl and jade hair ornaments, and the like.

Since this area was mostly frequented by women and maidservants doing their shopping, Zhang Yue found it inconvenient to linger and wander around blindly.

Stepping out of the Great Xiangguo Temple, Zhang Yue made his way to the Shaozhu Courtyard to eat some meat.

Fascinatingly, this Shaozhu Courtyard sold roasted meat prepared by the monks of the Great Xiangguo Temple, originally named the Shaozhu (Roast Pig) Courtyard. Back in the day, Yang Yi loved the meat here the most and frequently brought friends along. Feeling that the term "pig meat" lacked refinement, he had it renamed the Shaozhu (Roast Vermilion) Courtyard.

Wang Fang, the son of Wang Anshi, was also a regular patron here. Historically, when Wang Anshi was summoned back to the capital from Jinling, a group of officials saw Wang Fang eating at the Shaozhu Courtyard and could not help asking, "Is your father no longer declining the Emperor's decree?"

Wang Fang replied, "He no longer dares to decline. He has sent me back to the capital to find a house."

"Where will you live?"

Wang Fang said, "Where we live does not matter; the most important thing is to live as neighbors with Lord Sima the Twelfth, for his cultivation of self and regulation of family make him a model for all youth in every matter."

Upon arriving at the Shaozhu Courtyard, Zhang Yue was immediately greeted by a shop attendant.

Heading straight to the kitchen, Zhang Yue ordered a large slab of pork belly, half fat and half lean.

The cook immediately roasted and seared it over charcoal. Waves of heat rolled outward, followed instantly by the rich aroma of meat, with juices dripping onto the burning coals and hissing softly.

Zhang Yue felt his appetite instantly stirred. After waiting for quite a while, recalling the impatience of eating barbecued meat in his previous life, he could not help but find the cook's movements rather sluggish.

At last, the attendant brought the pork belly, wrapped in lotus leaves, to Zhang Yue's table.

Zhang Yue picked up a piece of meat, popped it into his mouth, and chewed to savor the rich flavor of the roast meat. Then he took a sip of chilled sweet soup—the sensation was truly incomparable, even for an emperor.

Having eaten his fill, Zhang Yue stepped out of the Shaozhu Courtyard and headed toward Zisheng Gate.

The shops here mainly dealt in books, antiques, paintings, and artifacts pawned by officials returning from their posts in various provinces.

This place was somewhat similar to the Panjiayuan market. Compared to the front entrance of the Great Xiangguo Temple, there were far fewer people here, but those coming and going were mostly wealthy and noble individuals.

Walking up to an antique shop named the Souji Studio, Zhang Yue stepped inside.

The shop assistant, who had been dozing off by the door, heard footsteps and immediately called out toward the inner room, "Manager, Scholar Zhang is here!"

A merchant immediately hurried out to greet him. Spotting Zhang Yue, he cupped his hands with a smile and said, "Scholar Zhang, you've finally arrived."

Zhang Yue nodded and asked, "Which patron were you speaking of?"

"He arrived long ago and is inside drinking tea. Scholar Zhang, please come right in."

"Oh? Then I am the one who kept him waiting."

"Not at all, Scholar Zhang is a busy man of importance. Please, this way."

Zhang Yue stepped into the inner chamber without further ado to meet the visitor.

The other party was a man in his late thirties, accompanied by a servant. Taking a look at him, Zhang Yue saw that he was dressed in a hempen robe adorned with several patches. Judging by his bearing, however, he possessed no air of officialdom whatsoever.

Zhang Yue felt somewhat puzzled. Was someone who looked neither particularly wealthy nor noble also here to commission a seal from him?

Nonetheless, Zhang Yue bowed and said, "I am Zhang Yue, the third among my siblings. Greetings, Elder!"

The man nodded and said, "So it is the Third Master. No need for such formal courtesies."

"If the Elder wished to have a seal carved, you could simply have instructed the manager. Why did you insist on a personal meeting?"

The man replied, "I observed the carved seals you left on consignment in the shop; they are beyond the reach of ordinary artisans. Hence, I guessed that the Third Master must be a scholar, and seeing the scholar's robe you are wearing now confirms I was not mistaken."

"I wonder if you might write a few characters for me to look at?"

Zhang Yue smiled and said, "Of course. The Elder need only command it."

The merchant immediately arranged paper and brush on the desk, and the man said, "Let us write: 'The essentials of cultivating the mind, the reflections on governing the state.' How about that?"

"Very well."

Zhang Yue picked up the brush and wrote with fluid strokes, then blew on the paper to dry the ink. The servant by his side picked up the paper and handed it to the middle-aged man.

After examining it closely, the man nodded and said, "Just as I surmised. Your brushwork incorporates the techniques of seal script, which explains why you are able to carve such seals."

At this, the man continued, "I am in urgent need of two seals and wish to trouble the Third Master to carve them for me. I need them within the next few days. I wonder if you would be agreeable to this?"

Zhang Yue thought to himself: I am planning to go out on the fifteenth, and you are in a rush to have them in these few days, which makes things rather difficult for me. If I am to carve them after all... that will cost extra!

Seeing Zhang Yue's hesitant expression, the man remained silent and quietly took a seat to the side.

The male servant chimed in, "My master, Scholar Junshi, is utterly sincere in this matter, offering five strings of cash for each seal. We only wonder if they can be completed within three days?"

Hearing this, the merchant purposely remarked, "That does seem rather rushed."

The servant replied, "We truly cannot spare any more money."

Upon hearing this, the merchant said, "In that case, it depends entirely on the Third Master's wishes."

The merchant kept winking at Zhang Yue, signaling him to accept the offer.

The proceeds from carving seals were split evenly between Zhang Yue and the merchant, with the minimum share for Zhang Yue being no less than two strings of cash. A price of five strings was genuinely substantial.

Looking at the middle-aged man, Zhang Yue thought: You dress in such patched garments, yet you are not stingy at all when it comes to commissioning seals.

Seeing Zhang Yue's dilemma, the merchant smiled and said, "Since the Third Master writes such fine characters and is an expert at seal carving, why not help someone out in their time of need?"

Zhang Yue promptly replied, "Very well! Three days it is."

The middle-aged man nodded and said, "That would be best. I am indeed pressed for time, and I am grateful for the Third Master's trouble."

The servant immediately handed Zhang Yue the design specifications for the seals, with the carved text being the aforementioned "Essentials of cultivating the mind, reflections on governing the state."

As for the signature at the bottom, it was "Sima the Twelfth."

Seeing this signature, Zhang Yue could not help but startle. Could there truly be such a coincidence in this world?

Indeed, the male servant had addressed him as Scholar Junshi, and Junshi was precisely his courtesy name. But why had he been addressed as a scholar?