In his memory, Cai Yan once recited over 400 chapters from her father’s collection for her master years later, even though she had spent over a decade as a captive of the Xiongnu without any books. Her memory was remarkable, akin to a “walking library.”

But now, as a young woman who hadn’t endured such hardships, how much of that collection could she possibly recall?

Cai Boji’s books weren’t just trivial essays written by scholars who complained meaninglessly. They were full of practical and valuable knowledge.

To his surprise, Cai Yan responded calmly and confidently with just two words: “All of it.”

Zhao Kuo and Huo Qubing gasped in shock. They both hated reading and couldn’t imagine memorizing so many books. Even Bai Qi, usually calm, looked surprised. Her talent was clearly beyond ordinary.

Cai Yan, unaffected by their reactions, addressed Jia Xu, “Please hire some literate people to help me copy the books later.”

When Jia Xu teased her, “I thought you would be worried about men and women working together,” Cai Yan replied, “I’ve already died once. What is there to worry about now?”

Copying 4,000 books alone would take far too long, and she was practical about it.

Turning to the young girl, Ying Yue, Cai Yan softened her tone and asked, “Shall we begin with the Four Books ^[1]Confucian classics: ‘The Great Learning,’ ‘The Doctrine of the Mean,’ ‘The Analects,’ and ‘Mencius’. tomorrow?”

Ying Yue nodded eagerly. “I’ll listen to Sister Yan.” Inspired, she decided to study daily to grow her knowledge.

Seeing brushes, ink, and paper nearby, Cai Yan sat down to prepare an outline for Ying Yue’s lessons. She began writing silently, her movements elegant and precise.

_

Later, after Cai Yan left to recite the books, Ying Yue turned to Bai Qi and Zhao Kuo. Her gaze settled on Huo Xiaonian, who had initially refused to help her but later insisted on joining her in fighting the Hu people ^[2]refers to nomadic tribes threatening ancient China.. Seeing his confident nod, she tilted her head and said, “Then I’ll leave training the soldiers to Bai Qi, Zhao Kuo, and Qu Bing.”

Bai Qi nodded slightly, silently accepting. Zhao Kuo, however, puffed up his chest and exclaimed, “Don’t worry, Sister! I’ve got experience with this.” Although he had never trained soldiers himself, he’d watched his father do it and lived in military camps long enough to feel confident.

Huo Xiaonian, unwilling to be outdone, smirked. “The soldiers I train will definitely be better than yours.”

The two boys, normally close friends, suddenly became rivals.

Ying Yue, thinking they were as dependable as Bai Qi, felt relieved. But just as she turned to speak with Jia Xu, Zhao Kuo shouted, “Wait!”

Startled, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Zhao Kuo looked at her indignantly. “Sister, you called him by his name! You’ve never called me by mine.”

Confused, Ying Yue thought for a moment before testing, “Kuakuo?”

Because Zhao Kuo’s name was just one syllable, she playfully doubled it, as she did with childhood friends in her boudoir. The nickname left Zhao Kuo momentarily stunned.

Hearing the reduplicated words from the little girl, the young man, who had been silent for a moment, couldn’t help but slowly say, “Otherwise… sister, why don’t you just call me by my full name?”

This… this is too embarrassing.

A straight man like Zhao Kuo really couldn’t understand how a girl could say repeated words without changing her expression and not think there was anything wrong. Isn’t this too clingy?

Seeing Zhao Kuo’s reaction, Huo Qubing, the young boy just mentioned, snorted coldly and began to mock his friend, “It’s because your name is hard to say.”

Huo Qubing’s words directly angered Zhao Kuo, who had been quiet a moment ago.

The young man turned his head and shouted, “What do you mean my name is hard to pronounce? Do you know that a single name is precious?”

Then, after thinking for a long time, Zhao Kuo finally remembered a quote from an ancient book and said something that sounded like a cultured person would say, “Two names are not polite! Do you know that they are not polite?” ^[3]This quote suggests it’s disrespectful to use multiple names for someone.

However, the boy who didn’t like reading ignored the flowery words and confidently said, “What do you know! My name was given by His Majesty, okay?”

Huo Qubing continued, “It’s said that when I was born, His Majesty was ill, but when I entered the palace, His Majesty recovered, so His Majesty gave me the name Qubing.”

Listening to the two teenagers quarrel, Ying Yue, who had become used to seeing them argue recently, didn’t pay much attention. She was more focused on Jia Xu and continued what she had not yet said, asking him, “Wen He, should I let Li Hu take people to plant cotton seeds tomorrow?”

Li Hu was the strong man who had first bowed to the little girl.

Hearing her question, Jia Xu thought for a moment and replied, “Not impossible. But I think it would be better for the lord to hire farmers in the city. First, Li Hu and his men need to be trained as soldiers. Second, letting the farmers in Beidi County plant these ‘miraculous’ cotton seeds, which yield 300 kilograms per mu ^[4]a Chinese unit of area, around 1/15th of an acre., may make them feel proud and give them a sense of belonging to the lord.”

Hearing this, Ying Yue didn’t think about it anymore and said, “Then I will ask Shu Tan if he has any recommended farmers tomorrow.”

After all, they had just arrived and were unfamiliar with Beidi County. If they were to hire farmers, they needed to find a more reliable family to do the work.

Jia Xu nodded, “That’s fine.”

While Ying Yue and Jia Xu were talking about serious matters, the two teenagers who were arguing suddenly stopped and began to act sneaky.

Zhao Kuo hugged Huo Qubing’s neck and they huddled in a corner. The usually loud boy deliberately lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming with mischief. He said to his friend, “Let’s find a chance to go outside the border later?”

The meaning was clear to Huo Qubing, who had just seen the side quest panel of the Hu people not daring to go south. Huo Qubing reacted instantly, “You mean…”

Zhao Kuo nodded in confirmation and lowered his voice again, “As long as the two of us can get eighty heads of the Hu people, I can have eight more chances to draw cards. You envy me for having a wife, right? Who knows, I might even draw a Red Hare for you.”

***

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