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Huang Chengyan laughed heartily and reached out to pat Huang Yueying's head, but halfway through, he changed his mind and instead gave her shoulder a firm pat.
"You were still young before, weren't you?" Huang Chengyan said with a smile. "Now that you're married, it's the perfect time to tell you these things. Otherwise, it would've just been unnecessary worry."
"Though I'm still healthy now, I will grow old one day. Truthfully, I would've loved to spend more time with you, waiting until you were sick of me before marrying you off… haha…" Huang Chengyan deliberately joked to lighten the mood and keep Huang Yueying from becoming too sad.
"Father!" As expected, Huang Yueying pouted at his teasing.
"Alright, enough of that." Huang Chengyan continued, "Yueying, you must remember—you are now part of the Fei family, but you are also part of the Huang family. The reason I went to such lengths to find someone from a branch family was so that you could stand as equals with your husband, represent the Huang family, and inherit its legacy!"
He lightly tapped the bamboo scrolls on the table. "These scrolls are important, yes, but Yueying, you must remember—what's more important are the people! The generations of Huang craftsmen who have passed down their knowledge hand-to-hand for over three hundred years! If the scrolls are damaged or lost, it doesn't matter—as long as the people remain, we can rewrite them. But if the people leave, they're gone forever!"
"In the coming years, I will gradually hand over the Huang craftsmen to you. And from today onward, you must take up the responsibility of continuing the Huang legacy! Remember, you must demonstrate your worth in front of Fei Qian, Fei Ziyuan! Only then will he value you, respect you, and never cast you aside for some fleeting beauty in the future!"
"This is also one of the reasons I deliberately showed him these scrolls today—to let him know that the Huang family's heritage is nothing to scoff at! Yueying, do you understand?"
Huang Yueying rose from her seat and bowed solemnly.
Huang Chengyan helped her up, sighing inwardly. 'Ah, Yueying, if only you were born a son, you and I wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble… In the future, when Yueying has a child, we'll see. If we can choose one to take the Huang surname, that would be ideal'
---
Fei Qian had no idea that Huang Chengyan was already making plans for his unborn children. At the moment, he was simply stunned by the towering stack of bamboo scrolls before him.
These scrolls had been brought by his visitor.
The man's name was Xu Yue, courtesy name Gonghe, and he was a disciple of Liu Hong—making him Fei Qian's senior brother. He had come to Jingxiang on an official mission for Liu Dai of Yanzhou and had taken the opportunity to deliver some scrolls from Liu Hong to Fei Qian.
As Fei Qian flipped through them, he couldn't help but marvel at his master's brilliance. Liu Hong was truly a giant of mathematics in the Eastern Han Dynasty—his work was so advanced that even someone from the future like Fei Qian found most of it incomprehensible without a solid foundation.
'Do you know what the "White Path" is?'
'Do you know what the "Yellow Path" is?'
(T/N: Idk what these two mean, sun and moon maybe?)
'What about the nodes of the moon's orbit? The synodic month? The tropical year?'
Fei Qian could vaguely tell that Liu Hong was studying celestial mechanics—specifically the relationship between the moon and the sun—but the material was so specialized that most of it went straight over his head.
'Is this really something a man from the Eastern Han Dynasty could grasp? Master Liu Hong, are you sure you're not a time traveler too?'
Putting down the scrolls, Fei Qian smiled wryly. "Senior Brother Gonghe, I… I must admit my ignorance. This is truly…"
Xu Yue wasn't bothered. After all, he himself had studied under Liu Hong for three or four years before barely scratching the surface. If Fei Qian had understood everything at a glance, "that" would've been shocking—and would've made Xu Yue feel utterly inadequate in comparison.
"Junior Brother, there's no need to rush," Xu Yue said. "Master's knowledge is vast and profound. It's not something one can grasp in a day or two."
Fei Qian nodded in agreement. 'No wonder Master Liu Hong invented the abacus—with calculations this complex, relying solely on counting rods would've driven anyone insane…'
Xu Yue continued, "This is the culmination of Master's life's work. Before I left, he specifically instructed me to make a copy for you, saying that if you were interested, you could build upon his calculations…"
Fei Qian almost felt embarrassed. 'Master really thinks highly of me… Even if I knew advanced mathematics, it wouldn't help much here. This is a completely different field!'
"Also…" Xu Yue hesitated slightly. "There's a personal matter I'd like to ask for your help with, Junior Brother."
"Please, Senior Brother, go ahead."
Xu Yue explained—though he had some academic achievements, his official rank wasn't high, merely that of an assistant.
A few years ago, a fellow townsman had come to him for refuge, claiming that he had done something morally just but had offended the local gentry. To avoid unjust persecution, he had fled with his younger cousin.
This man had been Xu Yue's neighbor back in their hometown, and their families had been close since childhood. After Xu Yue took up his post in Shanyang, they had lost touch.
At first, sheltering one or two people hadn't been a problem. But the local gentry in Yanzhou had been relentless in their pursuit. Eventually, the man, unwilling to implicate Xu Yue, had fled north alone, leaving his younger cousin behind due to the boy's young age and the difficulty of long-distance travel.
Later, seeing that the cousin was quite bright, Xu Yue had taken him on as his own disciple and taught him some knowledge. He had assumed the matter was settled—until recently, when someone reportedly recognized the boy on the street. Soon after, men were sent demanding that Xu Yue hand him over.
Naturally, Xu Yue refused. But this meant the boy could no longer stay safely in Shanyang. So, taking advantage of this diplomatic mission to Jingxiang, Xu Yue had brought him along, hoping Fei Qian could shelter him temporarily until the situation cooled down.
After all, Fei Qian was a fellow disciple, and Jingzhou was far enough from Yanzhou that the gentry's influence couldn't reach. Given time, the matter would likely be forgotten…
'This shouldn't be a problem, right?' Fei Qian thought. 'I have no connections with the Yanzhou gentry anyway, and since Senior Brother has asked, it's not like I can just turn him away.'
So Fei Qian agreed.
Pleased, Xu Yue stepped outside and returned with a young man. "This is the cousin I mentioned—his name is Tai Shi Ming, courtesy name Zijian. Come, greet your martial uncle…"
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A/N: Liu Hong was truly remarkable. As early as that time, he spent ten years meticulously observing the moon's movements, calculating the length of a year as 365 and 145/589 days, a synodic month as 29 and 773/1457 days, and even determining the angle between the orbits of the sun and moon… An absolute titan of astronomy.
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