And Lian Musu, naturally, was not the type to play cute after gaining an advantage; therefore, he took the initiative to bring up the matter, which pleased Minister Fan immensely. He thought to himself that he had indeed made the right judgment about the person; he truly was conscientious.
"This?!" Lian Musu also pretended to be surprised, "Speaking of coincidence, just a few days ago, I happened to find several books, each a peerless lone copy only known by name and never seen in person. The old master who lost the books I had indeed seen from a distance, much like Minister Fan with white hair like a celestial, but he had gone far before I could approach, and I could not see his true face clearly, nor return the books to him, alas..."
He sighed, as if it were a great pity that he had not found the man.
Looking at Minister Fan, his eyes were filled with uncertainty, guessing, "The student found the books, and Minister Fan inadvertently lost the books. Could it really be such a coincidence that Minister Fan is the old gentleman who lost the books?"
He turned his head and said, "Wu Sheng, bring out those books for Minister Fan to recognize."
While speaking, he gestured for Wu Sheng to bring forward the several lone volumes, along with the annotations.
Minister Fan initially appeared pleasantly content, but upon hearing the last phrase, he was taken aback; how could this setup be...
He dismissed his doubts, glanced at the books once without taking them, and calmly shifted his gaze away, saying, "Hmm, they are indeed the ones I lost."
Lian Musu was overjoyed, "That’s truly wonderful, as a student, I wholeheartedly wanted to return them to their rightful owner..."
Hearing that things were not going as intended, Minister Fan immediately raised a hand to interrupt him and casually continued stroking his beard with the other hand, "As I said earlier, since you found them, it means you are destined to have them, so I shall gift them to you."
After all, he wouldn’t take them back, taking the books would mean losing a disciple; did he think he was easily fooled?
Minister Qin, having eyed the book titles, his eyes heated up, unexpected that Minister Fan was so generous, just giving away several peerless loners.
Lian Musu paused, his words not yet finished; it seemed difficult to return the books once found?
He had already suspected earlier; later, during one occasion, he even teamed up with Liang Qi for a trial test against Minister Fan, confirming his suspicions today. He hadn’t expected the old man’s resolve to be so considerable.
It was just a pity...
He sighed silently and changed his earlier expression, becoming solemn, saying the lone volumes were so precious, he couldn’t accept a reward without merit, it would be improper to take them, and it would make him uneasy; in short, he firmly declined, speaking very sincerely.
To Minister Fan, however, it was futile. With a light phrase, "A few lone volumes aren’t worth much, I have plenty of them, and it’s essential for young people to broaden their knowledge," he brushed aside the protests.
Displaying a swagger of wealth, yet deeming Lian Musu’s view of the few lone volumes as treasures naive.
Which left Minister Qin quite speechless.
Lian Musu clearly saw the situation; today, he would have to accept the books whether he wanted to or not, thinking to himself, well, perhaps he would just keep them for now, though what Minister Fan desired might not be feasible.
But even before he could speak, Minister Fan, the old cunning man, already figured something out.
First, he glanced at Minister Qin, then, as if encountering some troubling matter, he sighed deeply, "Though I have plenty of books, they are not for the average person to read; most of these unworthy descendants are fools. I have a great-grandson who is somewhat intelligent, but he is too young to understand, letting them decay, the bugs and rats plentiful, relentlessly spoiling these lone volumes."
He kept sighing and shaking his head after speaking.
Catching Minister Fan’s gaze, Minister Qin resignedly started to echo him, "Lone volumes are obscure and difficult to understand; it is quite good if one or two out of a hundred people can grasp thirty to forty percent of their content. Talented individuals are indeed rare."
Since he felt they were being spoiled, why wouldn’t he lend them?
The old cunning man, setting a trap with such high stakes, alas, may the young friend fend for himself.
Minister Fan’s eyes flashed sharply, then he turned his head with added warmth and asked Lian Musu, "How well have you read these books? What percentage have you understood?"
Lian Musu felt something was off; the reactions of the two men stirred a strange feeling in his heart, especially Minister Fan’s question.
Without overthinking, he answered honestly. With the commentary in that book, reading was smooth enough, but he couldn’t calculate how much he understood. A thousand people could read and perceive a thousand different insights, and he wasn’t sure if his understanding matched the author’s intentions.
After he had spoken, he bowed respectfully and frankly admitted his lack of concentration. Having read these books, he asked for forgiveness for his presumptions and finally handed over his meticulously prepared reading notes as an apology.
He had specifically prepared them to present upon meeting, as his apology for reading a few of the books, although they were not as significant as the original copies, they contained his earnest efforts. He would return the rest later.
The books were specifically meant for someone to read by Minister Fan’s arrangement. Had he assumed an attitude of haughty integrity not to read them, Minister Fan would have considered him narrow-minded, hopelessly ignorant, incapable of adapting, and perhaps would have abandoned the thought of taking him as a disciple.
He did not lack rigid disciples.
At that moment, Minister Fan took the notes, flipped through them, and showed a gleam of admiration in his eyes, unable to suppress a beaming smile and constant nodding.
"Good, very good, well read," he repeatedly praised without stint.
With a smile covering his face, he thought to himself that this was confirmed, there was no escape now, it was secured!
After a quick browse through the notes and closing them, Minister Fan’s face beamed like spring as he stroked his beard, his gaze eager as he looked at Lian Musu, apparently waiting for something.
Throughout, the hand stroking his beard never ceased, making his posture slightly odd.
That strange feeling surged again, stronger than before!
Confused by this, Lian Musu expected that since he had apologised, there should be some response, whether accepted or not. But why was Minister Fan displaying such an expression? It left him at a loss.
He involuntarily looked towards Minister Qin, only to see Minister Qin avoiding eye contact, evidently reluctant to look at him.
His gaze returned to Minister Fan, and in an instant, his pupils dilated as realization dawned.
It all made sense now!
The rare book that fell from Minister Fan was not meant for the average person to read. It meant not the average person could understand, but that only a select few were qualified to read it.
The qualified ones, as Minister Fan had previously hinted, were either descendants of the Fan Family or, undoubtedly, Minister Fan’s disciples!
No wonder the question was not whether he had read it, but whether he understood it. It solidified his reputation as having read it, making it impossible to deny now.
Upon figuring this out, he laughed wryly, feeling helpless. Despite all his calculations, thinking that Minister Fan left only half of the commentary as bait, assuming he wouldn’t be tempted was one thing; but he never expected Minister Fan to have this trick up his sleeve, having set the trap from the start!
Although it seemed somewhat cunning and forceful, regardless, he truly read the old man’s rare books...
Seeing his understanding, Minister Fan felt a deep satisfaction, thinking to himself how clever his disciple was to have grasped his intentions so quickly.
He couldn’t blame himself for this scheme, as it was clear that not all was going as planned, knowing the person had no intention of becoming a disciple, and the half of the commentary he had left had failed its purpose, leaving him no choice but to shamelessly resort to extraordinary measures.
Among the intelligent, little needs to be said, and even less needs to be clearly pointed out.