The main gate opened after a short while. Looking at Mr. Foster, dressed in a blue robe with a deadpan face, James Bolton simply couldn’t connect this wooden man with any image of a master. However, after reading the annotations in the book “Correct Meaning of the Analects,” he had no doubts about Mr. Foster’s scholarship.

You see, in order to truly understand, he had even forced himself to tackle Zhu Xi’s “Collected Annotations on the Analects,” only to find that the suspected Song Lian’s notes in it were in line with Zhu Xi’s school, while many of Mr. Foster’s views were vastly different from those of Zhu Xi, who was revered as a sage in the Ming dynasty.

Mr. Foster casually took the book from James Bolton’s hands and asked indifferently, “You’ve finished reading the book?”

“Yes, I’ve finished it.”

James Bolton originally thought Mr. Foster would at least let him inside to talk, but to his surprise, he just blocked the doorway without any intention of letting him in, making James Bolton feel that his already slim hope had diminished even further. Sure enough, the next moment, he heard a blunt, unsparing remark.

“I heard from those gentlemen that when asked to recite the opening passages of the Four Books and Five Classics, you said you couldn’t?”

“I really can’t.”

At this point, James Bolton simply decided to lay it all out honestly: “I’ve been frail and sickly since childhood. Even though I wanted to study, I didn’t have the strength, and I haven’t read the Four Books and Five Classics. Now that I finally have the chance, I know that biting off more than I can chew won’t help, so I just want to take it one step at a time. For example, with this ‘Correct Meaning of the Analects’ you gave me, I’ve only managed to memorize it roughly for now, and I’ll try to understand it bit by bit when I have time. So I really don’t have the time or energy to read anything else.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt that Mr. Foster’s gaze seemed to change a little, but no matter how he looked, that deadpan face was still just a deadpan face, with little change. Disappointed, he could only bow deeply, then turn and leave quickly, silently apologizing to his father in his heart. Even after he left the school, he didn’t hear any sound from behind.

If you count the scolding from that old scholar, this was already the second time he’d hit a wall today.

However, as it turned out, the day’s hardships were far from over. When James Bolton entered the back gate of the The Bolton Family mansion, he happened to run into his eldest uncle David Bolton and the brothers Charlie BoltonJack Bolton. Charlie BoltonJack Bolton were quite enthusiastic when they saw him, showing off today’s haul with bows and arrows and big grins, but when David Bolton came over, he gave a stern reminder.

“Yue, if you’re going to study, you need to put your heart into it. Otherwise, if you go to school every day only to be mocked as ignorant and unlearned, you might as well not go at all!”

Chapter 12: Neglect and Disdain

If it had been any other criticism, it wouldn’t have mattered, but those four words—ignorant and unlearned!

After forcing himself to read and memorize classical texts for a whole month, he’d run into three setbacks like this in one day. Even though James Bolton tried hard to control himself, a trace of displeasure still showed on his face. Yet, whether he should feel relieved or sad, after saying those words, his eldest uncle David Bolton didn’t look at him again, just walked away with his hands behind his back.

“Third brother, you’re unlucky today. Eldest uncle happened to go out visiting and must have gotten annoyed by something, so he’s in a bad mood.”

“Yeah, yeah, when we just got back, he scolded us for ‘wasting time on play’… but before, he clearly said practicing martial arts was a good thing… Hmph, no wonder I heard mother say before that eldest uncle is… what was it… two-faced and hides a dagger behind his smile!”

Despite being in a terrible mood, with the two brothers joking around like this, James Bolton couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking it was lucky David Bolton had already left. If he’d heard that, their deep and calculating eldest uncle would surely have started a feud with the second branch of the family. Speaking of which, how did such a shrewd woman like Lady Dongfang raise two such carefree sons?

“Forget it, I really am unlucky today!”

Charlie Bolton, two years older, noticed James Bolton looking a bit down and, after hearing this, curiously came over to ask, “What’s wrong, did someone bully you at school? Tell me who it was, and I’ll take second brother and some guys to give them a good beating for you!”

Seeing Jack Bolton roll up his sleeves and nod in agreement, James Bolton felt a wave of warmth in his heart. After more than a month together, he knew the two boys’ tempers inside out and was well aware that, impulsive as they were, they really would do anything. So, even though he was feeling extremely frustrated, he still shook his head and said, “It’s just a bad mood, nothing serious. If someone really bullies me one day, I’ll definitely come to you two for help.”

Charlie Bolton, proud to be the eldest, was naturally pleased and grinned, “That’s more like it. If anything happens, just come to me and second brother. Second brother, hurry up and get the game ready for mother!”