The sun had risen three poles high, and the sky had cleared.
After two days of rain, the air in Chunhe Garden was much fresher, faintly suffused with the fragrance of flowers, grass, bamboo, and wood.
Even the Golden-haired Carp in the pond had become far livelier, leaping from the water one after another, only to be reeled in by Xiao Wuge with that crude fishing rod of his.
His excited voice drifted from the pavilion from time to time.
"Brother-in-law, that's the third carp today."
"Brother-in-law, the fourth one already. Can't we really eat them?"
"Brother-in-law, the—"
Your Second Uncle's legs!
There was definitely something wrong with the carp in this pond. They were like fish that loved vanity, recklessly biting—no, licking—Xiao Wuge's hook!
Even Chen Yi, with his good temper and tranquil nature, could only toss aside his fishing rod and return to the study room to practice calligraphy, choosing to let his eyes see no evil.
These past days, bolstered by Great Mastery in the Way of Calligraphy, his Running Script had progressed rapidly. He reckoned it was because practicing Wei Qing's calligraphy had allowed him to grasp a great deal of brushwork experience.
In merely a dozen days or so, he had brought his Running Script to consummate proficiency, just one step away from breaking through to mastery.
As Chen Yi practiced the brushwork of Running Script, he could not help thinking of the Old Marquis's birthday.
"The Old Marquis spent his life on horseback and in battle, defeating the Barbarian Tribes and the armies of the Poshushuo Kingdom in succession... The birthday ode ought to be related to the military."
As he pondered, several frontier poems and lyrics surfaced in his mind.
Some brimmed with ambitions left unfulfilled, while others carried killing intent and sweeping grandeur. Yet there were not many that could be applied to the Old Marquis.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Yi made his decision.
He then scanned the Yunsong Paper, drafted the piece in his mind, picked up the Wolf-hair Brush and dipped it in ink, then mobilized the scant Qi within his Dantian to stir heaven and earth. With strength piercing through the paper, he wrote:
"Beacon smoke tempered courage; armor forged Kunlun. For ten years, halberd held across, he pointed south, heroic spirit splitting layered clouds. He once trod the blue waves of Poshushuo, and bound the demons of Cangshan, laughing as he settled the border dust... I wish to borrow Heaven's brush, to rewrite Dingyuan's merits!"
This time, Chen Yi did not use the somewhat moist strokes of Running Script. Instead, he chose the bold and unrestrained Wei Qing Style to display heroic grandeur.
Before long, a set of lyrics written in sweeping, unfettered strokes, extraordinary in aura and faintly revealing a profound Artistic Conception, leapt from the page.
As the final stroke came to a halt, Chen Yi suddenly flung the Wolf-hair Brush aside and leaned back in his chair. His limbs felt weak and powerless, and his vision darkened slightly.
He hurriedly shut his eyes, rubbing his temples as he relaxed his mind and rested.
He had not expected wielding the brush with intent to consume so much of him.
Not only had it drained the Qi in his Dantian dry, it had even depleted some of his blood and vitality. The exhaustion felt like he had practiced the Great Spear Stance Cultivation for two hours.
"Brother-in-law, are you feeling unwell?"
Just then, Xiao Wuge pushed open the door and entered. Seeing his pale, furrowed expression, he hastily asked.
Chen Yi forced his eyes open and smiled. "I overexerted myself. It's nothing serious. Help me bring some food over."
At once, Xiao Wuge hurried off to find food. As he handed it over, he looked at the lyrics on the table.
Though he had only recently begun studying the classics and histories and knew little about poetry, he could already read. At the very least, he recognized the words "Marquis Dingyuan" and "Xiao Yuan" in the piece.
After reading it carefully and memorizing the lyrics, Xiao Wuge suddenly realized. "Brother-in-law, are you preparing a birthday ode for Grandfather?"
Chen Yi ate as he said, "It is the Old Marquis's grand birthday. As your sister's husband, I should prepare something whether by sentiment or reason."
Xiao Wuge giggled. "Since it's a birthday ode, I'll keep it secret for you first, brother-in-law. Then we can make grandfather happy when the time comes."
With his shallow ability to understand the meaning of lyrics, he naturally could not quite grasp the piece's complete Artistic Conception.
But he could tell that it was a piece praising his grandfather.
After Chen Yi finished the pastries and regained some strength, he said, "It doesn't matter. Sooner or later, everyone will know about a set of lyrics."
With that, he rose and used rice paper to blot the ink from the poem. He added the tune title, Shui Diao Ge Tou: Celebrating Marquis Xiao, along with his signature, thus completing the work.
However, before it could become a perfect "birthday ode," he still needed to find someone to mount it.
"Then can I tell grandfather now?"
"Do as you please."
Chen Yi did not care.
Since he had written the lyrics, people would learn of them sooner or later. There was no point in hiding them.
"Then I'll go tell grandfather right now."
Having received permission, Xiao Wuge ran out with delight written all over his face, heading for the central courtyard under the escort of the Armored Soldiers at the door.
Watching his bustling, wind-and-fire manner, Chen Yi calmly put away the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone on the desk before walking outside.
He summoned Xiao Die and instructed her to invite a mounting craftsman to the manor, then told her to bring him more food as well.
After Xiao Die left, Chen Yi saw that no one was around. He took some pastries and headed straight for Jiaxing Garden.
When Pei Guanli saw him arrive, she immediately flipped down from the tree.
Without bothering to say much, she grabbed a pastry and stuffed it into her mouth.
As she ate, she complained through muffled mouthfuls, "Brother-in-law, if you hadn't come any later, I would've starved to death."
In truth, Pei Guanli's chest was pressed to her back with hunger, and after staying awake all night, she was sleepy beyond endurance as well.
Chen Yi watched her swallow without the slightest regard for her image. He did not rush to ask questions, waiting until she had slowed down before asking:
"Did you find anything?"
"Yes, yes!"
Pei Guanli said excitedly, "Brother-in-law, you truly see everything before it happens. Before dawn this morning, someone came to collect that Secret Letter..."
After hearing her out, Chen Yi suddenly realized.
He knew whom Pei Guanli meant—a servant responsible for carrying the Marquis's mansion's garbage and other miscellaneous items outside.
It was said that they were all veterans of the Dingyuan Army, men who had followed the Old Marquis through southern campaigns and northern wars for many years.
But that was strange.
Liu Si'er was one thing, but this elderly house servant could be considered an old hand of the Marquis's mansion. How had he also become a "Hidden Guard"?
As Chen Yi pondered, he told Pei Guanli to continue hiding in Chunhe Garden, lest she wander around and let someone discover her trail.
Having eaten her fill and recovered her strength, Pei Guanli grew excited again. "Brother-in-law, what do we do next?"
"No rush. Let the bullets fly for a while."
"Bullets? What are those?"
"You can think of them as arrows..."
Central courtyard of Xiao Manor.
Xiao Wuge skipped into a secluded residence, looked around, and abruptly came to a stop.
Beneath the pavilion in the courtyard, the Old Marquis and several elders were leisurely drinking tea.
Nearby were Duchess Xiao Qiuyun and Young Heir Apparent Zhang Heng, attended by several servants of the Marquis's mansion.
Xiao Wuge straightened his collar and walked over respectfully, greeting each of them in turn.
"Wu Ge greets Grandfather, Grandfather Zhang, Grandfather Sun, Grandfather Li, Aunt Qiuyun, and Brother Heir Apparent."
Xiao Yuan gestured to the seat beside him. "Wu Ge, come sit by grandfather."
Xiao Wuge obediently went over and sat down.
Xiao Qiuyun glanced at him and said with a smile, "Eldest Uncle, Wu Ge is looking more and more like Eldest Brother."
Young Heir Apparent Zhang Heng, beside her, curled his lip and made faces at Xiao Wuge.
"Qiuyun is right. Wu Ge indeed has his father's bearing." Duke of Gan Zhang Xuan nodded.
Xiao Yuan was naturally pleased to hear that. After modestly waving it off a few times, he asked, "Wu Ge, I heard you have been fishing in Chunhe Garden lately. It is rare for you to come here. Is something the matter?"
Xiao Wuge nodded. "Brother-in-law wrote a birthday ode for you..."
Before he could finish, Zhang Heng spoke in a childish voice, "What brother-in-law? He's just a runaway groom."
Xiao Qiuyun rebuked him, "Heng'er, do not be rude!"
Even Duke of Gan's expression darkened. "Heng'er, if you continue behaving so rudely, get back to Jiaozhou!"
"It's fine, it's fine..."
Though Xiao Yuan was displeased, he would not stoop to taking offense at a child. He turned back to Xiao Wuge.
"Wu Ge, what lyrics did Chen Yi compose? Do you still remember them?"
"Your grandson remembers."
Xiao Wuge immediately began reciting, his childish voice echoing through the residence.
"Beacon smoke tempered courage; armor forged Kunlun. For ten years, halberd held across..."
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