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After finishing his sentence, he changed the subject, "Since he is such an outstanding person, even though he has been away from the political center of the capital for several years, many people still want to get close to him. Many families would be willing to form a marriage alliance with the He family. Our family, especially our second branch, can be said to represent a part of the military's power. Most importantly, it also means that we can easily gain the respect of many scholars in the world."

"Scholars?"

He Sushi nodded, "That's right, scholar."

“My father wasn’t the only one with high official rank, but it can be said that no one in the entire court had his prestige because of his standing among the scholars.” He took a sip of tea and continued, “This was earned after he achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations, through fourteen years of voluntary teaching and supporting impoverished scholars across the country.”

He Suchen curled his lip: "Brother, are you kidding me? Fourteen years ago, that old man was only in his early twenties, right? Giving free lectures in his early twenties? And supporting poor scholars all over the country? Are you kidding me?"

He Su sighed slightly, put down his teacup, and said, "I'm not joking. Don't judge special people by the standards of ordinary people. Geniuses do exist in the world. Besides, you've only been here a short time and have no idea how incredibly hard people study in this era."

"Don't compare your modern student values with those of the students here, especially not with our fathers, or you'll be ashamed to death," He Su said seriously.

“If you can’t be like him, getting up at four in the morning and going to bed at midnight every day for twenty years, spending all your time studying except for meals, bathing and greetings, then don’t doubt or look down on his achievements.” He Su said admiringly, “There are many scholars in this era who take the world as their responsibility. In their eyes, knowledge is the foundation of a strong country, and our father is one of the best. I can’t be like him, but that doesn’t stop me from admiring him.”

He leaned forward on the chair, smiling at his sister's incredulous gaze. "In short, our father is a remarkable man, worthy of our respect. That's enough for you. We'll talk about the rest when we go to Beijing in a couple of years."

He Su pursed his lips, suppressing the overwhelming sense of admiration he felt for the responsible scholar. "Wouldn't Emperor Huizong be wary of someone like that?"

"Of course not," He Sushi replied firmly. "You must understand that Father was created by Emperor Huizong himself as a role model for all scholars, to provide a direction and standard for everyone to strive for—to be diligent, loyal to the emperor, patriotic, and willing to sacrifice everything for the country. Besides, although Father has extremely high prestige, he has long since lost all real power. A scholar's rebellion would never succeed in ten years, let alone the fact that scholars admire him, not worship him. Furthermore, do you think this emperor would fear a minister whose merits overshadow his own?"

That's true. The emperor seems to be an extremely confident person, and he's also very popular. "We're from the second branch of the family, so is Liu Jin here to propose marriage and build connections?"

"Of course not, it's just a gesture."

Although it was only the beginning of summer, a slight heat was already spreading in the air, and the study, with its windows and doors tightly closed, began to feel oppressively stuffy. He Su Shi got up and opened the window. Outside were several banana trees of moderate height, their large, fan-shaped leaves drooping down, providing some shade. He took a deep breath, turned around, and smiled, "You know, factional strife is something that no dynasty can avoid. Our father just happens not to want to take sides. Liu Jinshan is merely making a gesture to let people know the obsequious attitude of the faction behind him."

"So we are safe?" He Su felt slightly relieved.

“For now,” he said, opening the window and then the front door, instantly illuminating the room. “Why are we keeping it so closed? Are we afraid people won’t know we’re talking in there?”

He Sucheng let him open the door and window, picked up his teacup, took a small sip of tea, shook his head, and only asked again after feeling that his neck had moved, "I want to know, what happened to eldest sister He Yuanfang, what kind of person is He Sucheng, and why was she pushed into the water."

He Su Shi sat back down, patted the non-existent dust off his hands, and said, “He Yuanfang wouldn’t commit murder. He must have accidentally caused this. You don’t need to worry about his safety in the future. As for Third Aunt, unfortunately, although our father doesn’t take sides, the He family does. Third Aunt is unfortunately on the opposite side of the He family.”

As he spoke, a warm smile began to spread across his face. "You don't need to care what the original He Suchen was like. Just be yourself. Leave the rest to me."

He Suchen twirled the dark, richly glazed black hare's fur teacup in his hand, and still asked, "Are you sad? He Suchen is dead..."

He Su Shidun stood there, motionless, before finally managing a smile. "She's my sister, my beloved little sister. I watched her grow from a two-month-old baby to a ten-year-old child; I was involved in every step of her growth. When I first came into this world, I didn't want to move, listen, or speak for several years, until this child was born. She was crying, yet she looked at me and smiled. This child is arguably the closest person to me in this world. When I learned she had fallen into the water and was about to die, I was truly terrified. When I learned she had woken up, I breathed a sigh of relief. I never imagined she would be gone, that my sister would be gone."

He looked at the lively, smiling child in front of him with pleading eyes, "He Suchen, please, please live well in this body..."

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This is a really long postscript, please ignore it. I think I'm getting a bit too emotional and indignant again...

Cao Yu could recite "Dream of the Red Chamber" at a very young age, and Qian Zhongshu could recite "Guan Zhi of Ancient Prose" fluently before he was ten years old. Gu Hongming, a staunch royalist, was proficient in more than a dozen languages and cultures. When Westerners mocked China's backwardness and decadence in front of him, he would drag his queue and, in a language more fluent than the attackers, point out the darkest and most barbaric aspects of his country that the attackers did not know, and cite classics to explain the goodness of China. Although sometimes it was sophistry, the corrupt late Qing Dynasty really had many problems, but he would often make those self-righteous foreigners blush with shame and retreat.

Even my incredibly ordinary father, when he was a young man with a penchant for literature and art, could recite the entire book "How the Steel Was Tempered" from memory.

But now it's hard for us to imagine how the elderly people worked so hard for the rejuvenation of the motherland.

Sigh, I've spent ten years memorizing "The Primer of Prosody" and I'm still only on the third page. I really have no right to say anything. I just feel very sad, but I can't explain why.

Oops, I've realized I'm rambling on and on. I'll correct myself... I'll be more careful next time.

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Chess Piece

The "Propaganda Officer" function is now open! What are you waiting for? Join now! "Robbery!"

"Guazi, can we stop playing this?" Yongjiao asked with a pained expression, propping her head up with her hand.

"Why? It's very interesting." He Suchen held a glass chess piece between his right middle and index fingers; the translucent black bead was pure and bright.

"You're just funny..." Yongjiao shut her mouth, casually picked up a white piece, placed it, and then took it back.

"How could you place a piece here? I just broke your ko, how could you put your piece here?" He Suchen said in surprise.

Yongjiao was completely powerless. "This is called a counter-calamity. Because they surround each other, it's like they're going to die together."

The essence of a game of chess lies in the equal skill of both players, with each side trading blows, which makes it interesting. However, He Suchen was a complete novice who didn't even understand the simplest strategic concepts like "gold corners, silver edges, and bronze centers" or how to finish off pieces. The two played a total of thirty-five games over two hours, with He Suchen winning zero and losing thirty-five. Although Yongjiao's chess skills were not high, it was rare for her to win so decisively and impressively. However, the games that offered no challenge at all gave her a headache.

Unfortunately, He Suchen, being a beginner, was unusually interested in the little things he had just learned. Even when he was losing so badly he couldn't find a spot on his head, he still refused to stop playing.

"Can we stop playing this?" Yongjiao asked hopefully. Knowing it was wishful thinking, she added, "Let's play five-in-a-row instead. It's still a game of chess."

Five in a row? Could it be Gomoku? He Su Chen was slightly interested. After asking about the rules, he found out that it was indeed Gomoku. So, with a mischievous smile, he started playing with her.

Half an hour later, the two had completed eighteen games of chess, with He Suchen winning all eighteen and losing none. Yongjiao felt her head was hurting even more. She pouted, kicked her legs, and leaned back, refusing to play anymore. "Guazi, you're so cruel! You didn't give me any face at all! You made me lose so badly!"

"Who told you to play Gomoku with me? I was a 3-dan in Gomoku back in QQ Games! I let you win happily in Go, but you wouldn't listen. You're just asking for trouble!" He Suchen thought to himself, but complained aloud, "Who told you to win so badly in Go? You didn't even let me win a single game!"

Yongjiao chuckled weakly, tidied up the chess pieces, and said she would stop playing for now, as it was too mentally taxing. Su Chen held his teacup, rubbed his shoulder with his right hand, and suddenly felt a little strange. "Little Rabbit, usually when Big Brother comes back, you stay in the yard with him every day and refuse to come out. Why did you finally agree to come and play with me, a terrible chess player, today? Big Brother is going to school tomorrow, aren't you going back?" Little Rabbit was Yongjiao's nickname. It was said that she had loved rabbits since she was little, so everyone in her family called her Little Rabbit.

Yongjiao rested her chin on the stone table, dejected, and half-slumped over. "I don't want to go back. I don't want to go back and get scolded with my brother."

"Being scolded? Who scolded you? Who would dare to scold you?" This is indeed a strange thing; the eldest son of the He family was actually being scolded.

"Mother," Yongjiao said, turning her head and pressing her face against the table, "Mother is scolding my brother, I don't want to go and get scolded too..."

"Auntie scolded Brother Su Yi? Why?!" Even though they had only met a few times, Su Chen felt that the older brother was handsome, refined, and of excellent character. He couldn't find anything wrong with him. Liu Shi had always been gentle with the next generation and had never disciplined her children before, which was really strange.

"Sigh, it's Sister Biluo, you know her, right?" Yongjiao said weakly, a rare occurrence for her.

"Yes, I know." Biluo was He Suyi's personal maid in the main house. She was well-versed in poetry and literature, had beautiful needlework skills, and was very gentle. In terms of appearance, she was also one of the top maids in the mansion. He Sucheng had interacted with her a few times and had a good impression of her.

“Didn’t that cousin of Aunt Liu, the third aunt, come to the manor last time? He met Sister Biluo on the way, and now he’s proposing marriage to her, saying he wants to take her back as a concubine. Mother was so angry her eyes turned green. Aunt Liu comes to urge him every few days, saying such awful things.” Yongjiao wrinkled her nose, and although she was lying down, her eyes were still eerily green. “How could Sister Biluo marry such a person! I heard that the dismissed official has two wives and seven or eight concubines. Will she ever leave that manor alive?! Aunt Liu does bad things all day long, and her relatives aren’t good people either. They’ll be struck by lightning sooner or later!!”