Volume One: River City Tune Chapter 60: New Year Visits and Literary Discourse

According to the customs of the Dayue dynasty, the first day of the Lunar New Year is dedicated to ancestral worship by the entire family. On the second day, newlywed brides return to their parental homes to pay respects. Only after the third day do friends and colleagues exchange New Year visits and greetings.

As a time-traveler, Li Ling naturally followed local customs, resting at home for the first two days of the new year. It was not until the morning of the fourth day that he took Yue'er out for a stroll, paying New Year visits to friends like Xu Cang and Gu Yuzi. He also took the opportunity to ask Gu Yuzi for two sets of the first six published volumes of his serialized novel about the Investiture of the Gods.

In fact, right before the new year, Gu Yuzi had already communicated with bookstores in the prefecture capital, preparing to trial-sell the complete set of the novel there. However, because the profit-sharing agreement had not yet been finalized, nothing was fully settled. When Li Ling came to pay his respects this time, Gu Yuzi could not help but ask about the writing progress of the final volume.

Li Ling could only promise to deliver the complete manuscript shortly after the new year. After having lunch at the Gu family residence, he left Yue'er there and headed straight for the county yamen. Paying New Year respects to his immediate superior, Magistrate Wei, was the primary objective of his outing today.

At this time, the county yamen was naturally deserted. All the officials, clerks, and runners were at home celebrating the new year. The main entrance was inaccessible, so Li Ling had to detour to the back door. That side connected directly to the magistrate's private residential quarters in the inner yamen. After he knocked gently, the tightly closed courtyard gate opened, and it was Ximo who came running at the sound, looking quite pleasantly surprised as he gazed at Li Ling. "Happy New Year, Young Master Li! What brings you here?"

"Happy New Year to you too. Of course, I've come to pay my respects to the magistrate. Is he in the yamen today?" Li Ling replied with a smile, raising the New Year gift he held in his hand. Ximo hesitated slightly before nodding and saying, "The master is certainly in. Let me show you the way." With that, he made a gesture of invitation.

At that moment, Wei Liang was reading a book in his study. Hearing the commotion, he curiously looked out and happened to see Li Ling following Ximo toward him. He immediately walked out with a smile to greet them. "Li Ling, you certainly are thoughtful..." But as his gaze shifted to the two packages—one large and one small—in Li Ling's hands, his expression sank slightly.

Li Ling cupped his hands in a salute from afar and said, "Your subordinate is here to wish Your Honor a smooth and prosperous new year, and robust health."

"Happy New Year to you as well. Come inside to talk." The smile had already vanished from Wei Liang's face, and he invited Li Ling into the study with a rather cool demeanor. The moment Li Ling sat down, Wei Liang pointed at the packages placed on the table and said, "I am quite glad that you came to pay your respects, but there was no need to bring these things. You can take them back later."

"Uh..." Li Ling was also taken aback; he had not expected this man to be so upright that he would refuse even holiday gifts. However, he did not nod immediately. Instead, he smiled, picked up the larger package, and began untying it as he spoke, "Your Honor is truly honorable. However, my gift is merely a small token of sincerity and can hardly be considered bribery. They are simply serialized novels I wrote and published myself, and I thought Your Honor might have some leisure time during the New Year holiday, so I brought them to help you and Master Cao pass the time."

While speaking, he had already unwrapped the outer cloth, revealing a stack of more than ten volumes of novels inside. Ximo, who was pouring tea for him nearby, glanced at them and let out a soft exclamation: "Ah, *Investiture of the Gods*..."

"Hmm?" Magistrate Wei, whose face had been somewhat gloomy, was also momentarily stunned. When he looked closer at the contents of the large package, they indeed turned out to be ordinary copies of the novel *Investiture of the Gods*. But at this moment, his attention shifted to another detail. He looked at Li Ling with curiosity and asked, "What did you say? You wrote this book? You are the author Xiaoyaozi?"

"Precisely so." Li Ling nodded with a smile. "Has Your Honor also read my humble work?"

"Oh, my! I thought Xiaoyaozi was some white-bearded old man; I never expected it to be Young Master Li! Are the immortals you wrote about in the book real?" Ximo's eyes were already shining brightly as he stared at Li Ling like a fan looking at an idol, completely forgetting the rules of a servant. Clearly, he was a loyal fan of the novel *Investiture of the Gods*.

"Of course everything in the book is fake. At least, I've never seen any immortals," Li Ling replied, turning his gaze back to Wei Liang. "This was merely a past pastime of mine, intended to earn some money to pay off my family's debts and allow my younger sister and me to live a slightly better life."

"I have also read parts of this *Investiture of the Gods*. Although the literary style is not top-notch, the content is fascinating and quite readable. I never imagined it was written by you." Wei Liang had calmed down by now, and he smiled as he said, "Ximo is extremely interested in this book, and Mr. Cao also spoke of it with unceasing praise..."

"Your Honor flatters me; I am unworthy. If Your Honor does not mind, please accept these two sets of books. One set is for you, and the other is for Mr. Cao. By the way, where is Mr. Cao?"

"Mr. Cao is a native of Huaibei. Since there were no official duties this New Year, I allowed him to return home for a brief visit." Wei Liang nodded. "Since this is a gesture of your good intentions, I will make an exception and accept them today." As he spoke, he glanced at Ximo beside him, whose face beamed with joy, clearly having wanted the novel for a long time.

Li Ling also smiled. Giving gifts to superiors had always been a headache for people, especially those in official circles, as it was difficult to gauge whether a gift was too heavy or too light while also matching the recipient's personality and status. He had contemplated this for quite a while before finally deciding to use his own novel as a gift. It appeared refined, saved face when presented, and most importantly, no matter how incorruptible the recipient was, they could hardly refuse such a gift.

In fact, this trend had long been widespread in later generations. People with modest achievements always wanted to write a book—memoirs, past diaries, and the like—then pay to have them published and hand them out everywhere as a way to feign literary elegance.

However, Li Ling's gift-giving was far more sophisticated than theirs; after all, his book was a bestseller, and others had to pay hard-earned money just to read it.

With this awkwardness resolved, Wei Liang's attitude toward Li Ling became much warmer. After a few casual remarks, the conversation shifted back to the novel. "While your *Investiture of the Gods* is certainly interesting and allows you to earn some extra money, if you truly intend to take the imperial examinations, I suggest you not devote too much of your energy to this. Although I have never written a novel, I know it is a most mentally taxing and time-consuming endeavor. Compared to that, the imperial examinations are the defining matter of your life."

"Thank you for your guidance, Your Honor. I have already thought it through and will finish writing the final volume during this New Year holiday—after all, one must see things through to the end—and then I will devote myself entirely to the imperial examinations and my official duties in the county yamen."

"Ah... You're finishing it already? I haven't had enough yet," Ximo muttered softly under his breath, earning a slightly displeased glare from Wei Liang, who then turned back to say, "It is best if you think this way. After all, one must distinguish between what is primary and secondary."

"Speaking of the imperial examinations, Your Honor, I happen to have a few newly composed exam essays here and would like to ask for Your Honor's critical eye and guidance." Taking advantage of the moment, Li Ling opened the smaller package, took out several folded sheets of writing, and respectfully handed them over. This was also one of the main purposes of his visit today.

Wei Liang had been wondering what was inside the small package, and only then did he smile with relief, his attitude becoming even more amiable. "Let me see them. Since I promised you earlier that I would offer more guidance regarding the imperial examinations, I will not go back on my word." With those words, he took the five or six essays and began to read through them carefully.

It took more than half an hour before Wei Liang finally raised his head. He looked at Li Ling for a moment and said, "You have been studying the classics for quite a few years, but you have never received guidance from a renowned master, have you?"

"Yes. Due to the decline of my family, I actually studied and wrote essays alongside my father. But to my shame, he never managed to pass the Xiucai examination and only studied quietly by himself."

"Hmph, no wonder your essays possess a solid foundation, yet they ultimately lack a soaring perspective and insightful ideas. This makes the entire writing appear overly dry, and it is hard to call it top-tier."

"In that case, does it mean it will be very difficult for me to walk the path of the imperial examinations?" A wave of disappointment washed over Li Ling's heart. He had felt that these essays were written quite well—far superior to the random scribblings of a short while ago, or the compositions of the original owner from even earlier. Yet, in Wei Liang's eyes, they earned only a flat appraisal of being "dry."

However, in his anxiety, he had forgotten the other person's status. Wei Liang was an elite scholar who had ranked high as a *Tanhua* (third place overall in the imperial palace examination); how could Li Ling's vision and capability possibly compare to his?

Seeing the look of dejection on Li Ling's face, Wei Liang gathered his thoughts and comforted him, "You need not be too discouraged. The imperial examinations are, after all, different from composing poetry and fu; while literary talent is certainly important, a solid foundation is even harder to come by. I can see that your foundation in the classical texts is quite good. As long as you elevate yourself slightly in terms of details and themes, passing the Xiucai examination should not pose much of a problem."

What kind of roller coaster was this? A moment ago, he was saying my essays were no good, and now he was saying passing the Xiucai exam wouldn't be difficult? Li Ling twitched the corners of his mouth and could only say, "Please enlighten me, Your Honor."

"Well, how about this? There are still two months before the county examination. Every day, I will give you a topic, and you will go back to write an essay and bring it for me to review the next day. Also, remember to make more use of classical allusions in your writing, and build upon them by expressing the sages' insights through stories of our current dynasty. As long as you can thoroughly integrate all of these elements, securing at least the rank of Xiucai will be a certainty." Wei Liang offered his solution.

Li Ling, however, wore a bitter expression. If it were about other dynasties, he might have had some ideas, given that later generations had plenty of popular history channels and he had read a thing or two. But as it happened, the present Dayue dynasty was not among them, and living in a small county town like Jiangcheng, he had no access to further materials. Meeting the magistrate's requirements seemed practically impossible.

Seeing his troubled expression, Wei Liang was startled for a moment before quickly guessing the reason. He smiled and said, "Very well. I happen to have a few volumes of records concerning major events since the founding of our dynasty, along with some of my own reflections gathered over the years. You may take them back to study thoroughly, and then incorporate them into your own essays. I imagine you will make progress."

Only then was Li Ling genuinely moved. This Magistrate Wei was truly unselfish, willing to lend even such important reference materials for him to consult. He immediately stood up, cupped his fists, and said, "Your subordinate will keep this in mind. Thank you for your guidance, Your Honor. Starting today, I shall write one essay every day according to Your Honor's instructions. Please, give me the topic!"