May I Borrow Heaven's Brush to Rewrite the Marquis Dingyuan's Merits!

The sun was high, and the sky had cleared.

After two days of rain, the air in Chunhe Garden was much fresher, faintly filled with the fragrance of flowers, grass, and trees.

Even the golden carp in the pond were more active, leaping out of the water one after another, only to be caught by Xiao Wuge with his simple fishing rod.

His excited voice could occasionally be heard from the pavilion.

"Brother-in-law, that's the third carp today."

"Brother-in-law, that's the fourth! Can we really not eat them?"

"Brother-in-law, the..."

Go to hell.

There was definitely something wrong with the carp in this pond; they were biting onto Xiao Wuge's hook like they were seeking vanity.

Even Chen Yi, with his good temper and calm demeanor, had no choice but to put down his fishing rod and return to the study to practice calligraphy, to cleanse his eyes and mind.

During this period, with the aid of the Great Calligraphy Way, his running script had progressed rapidly. He estimated it was because he had mastered a wealth of brushwork experience by practicing Wei Qing calligraphy.

In just over ten days, he had practiced running script to the point of proficiency, just one step away from mastery.

As Chen Yi practiced his running script brushwork, he couldn't help but recall the Old Marquis's birthday.

"The Old Marquis lived a life of military exploits, successively defeating the Barbarians and the armies of the Poshushuo Kingdom... The birthday message must be related to the military."

Thinking this, a few frontier poems came to mind.

Some spoke of unfulfilled ambitions, others of overwhelming killing intent and grand momentum, but few poems could be applied to the Old Marquis.

After a moment of thought, Chen Yi made his decision.

Immediately, he scanned the cloud pine paper, rehearsed his thoughts, then picked up the wolf hair brush, dipped it in ink, mobilized the meager Qi in his Dantian to connect with heaven and earth, and wrote with force that penetrated the paper:

"Beacon smoke tempers the liver and gallbladder, armor forges Kunlun. For ten years, the spear pointed south, heroic spirit tearing the layered clouds. Once we trod the Poshir waves, and bound the mountain demons, settling the border dust with laughter... May heaven's brush rewrite the Dingyuan merits!"

This time, Chen Yi did not use the slightly moist running script but chose the Wei Qing Style, which was bold and unrestrained, highlighting heroism.

Soon, a piece of writing, full of unrestrained ink, extraordinary Aura, and subtly revealing a profound artistic conception, appeared on the paper.

As the last stroke fell, Chen Yi abruptly threw the wolf hair brush aside and leaned back in his chair, feeling weak and powerless in his limbs, his vision blurring slightly.

He quickly closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, relaxing his mind to rest.

He hadn't expected that using his mind to guide the brush would consume so much energy.

Not only was his Dantian's Qi depleted, but his blood and Qi were also somewhat depleted. The feeling of fatigue was the same as practicing the Great Spear Stance Cultivation for two hours.

"Brother-in-law, are you feeling unwell?"

Just then, Xiao Wuge pushed the door open. Seeing his pained and weak appearance, he quickly asked.

Chen Yi forced his eyes open and smiled, "I exerted myself too much. It's nothing. Help me get something to eat."

Xiao Wuge heard this and hurried to fetch food. As he handed it to Chen Yi, he looked at the poem on the table.

Although he had only recently begun studying classics and history and didn't know much about poetry, he could already recognize characters. At least he recognized the words "Dingyuan Hou" and "Xiao Yuan" on the poem.

After reading it carefully, Xiao Wuge memorized the poem and asked thoughtfully, "Brother-in-law, are you preparing a birthday message for Grandpa?"

Chen Yi ate, "It's the Old Marquis's birthday. As your sister's Husband, I should naturally make some preparations, both in reason and sentiment."

Xiao Wuge chuckled, "Since it's a birthday message, I'll keep it a secret for you, Brother-in-law. I'll make Grandpa happy then."

With his shallow understanding of the poem's meaning, he naturally couldn't fully grasp the complete artistic conception it expressed.

But he could tell that it was a poem praising his grandfather.

After Chen Yi finished his snacks and recovered some strength, he said, "It's fine. A poem will be known sooner or later."

With that, he got up, took Xuan paper, and wiped away the ink on the poem. He then added the title Shui Diao Ge Tou - Celebrating Marquis Xiao and his signature, thus completing the poem.

However, for it to become a perfect "birthday message," it would need to be mounted by someone.

"Can I go tell Grandpa now?"

"As you wish."

Chen Yi was indifferent.

Since he had written this poem, it would be known sooner or later. Hiding it was meaningless.

"Then I'll go tell Grandpa now."

With permission granted, Xiao Wuge ran out with a delighted expression and headed to the central courtyard under the escort of armored soldiers at the entrance.

Seeing his hurried departure, Chen Yi calmly tidied up the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone on the desk before heading outside.

He called Xiao Die and instructed her to find a mounter to come to the manor, and to bring more food.

After Xiao Die left, seeing that no one else was around, Chen Yi took some pastries and headed straight for Jiaxing Garden.

Pei Guanli saw him coming and quickly jumped down from the tree.

Without time for pleasantries, she picked up a pastry and stuffed it into her mouth.

As she ate, she whimpered complainingly, "Brother-in-law, if you don't come again, I'll starve."

In fact, Pei Guanli was not only starving at the moment, her stomach rumbling, but also exhausted from not sleeping all night.

Chen Yi watched her devour the food without any pretense. He didn't rush to ask questions, waiting until she had slowed down a bit before asking:

"Did you find anything?"

"Yes, yes, yes,"

Pei Guanli said excitedly, "Brother-in-law, you are truly a god. Someone came to collect that secret letter before dawn this morning..."

After listening, Chen Yi suddenly understood.

He knew who Pei Guanli was referring to – a servant responsible for transporting trash and other miscellaneous items out of the Marquis's Estate.

It was said that they were all veteran soldiers of the Dingyuan Army, who had followed the Old Marquis through many campaigns.

But it was strange.

The previous Liu Si'er was one thing, but this elderly house servant was practically an old retainer of the Marquis's Estate. How could he also be a "Hidden Guard"?

As Chen Yi pondered, he instructed Pei Guanli to continue hiding in Chunhe Garden, so she wouldn't be seen if she wandered off.

Pei Guanli, now full and energized, couldn't help but get excited again and asked, "Brother-in-law, what should we do next?"

"No rush, let the bullet fly for a while."

"Bullet? What's that?"

"You can think of it as an arrow..."

In the central courtyard of the Xiao Manor.

Xiao Wuge skipped his way to a secluded courtyard and stopped abruptly after scanning the area.

Under the pavilion in the courtyard, several elders, led by the Old Marquis, were leisurely drinking tea.

Beside them were Madam Xiao Qiuyun and the Young Heir Apparent Zhang Heng, attended by several Marquis's Estate servants.

Xiao Wuge straightened his clothes and walked over respectfully, greeting each of them in turn.

"Wu Ge greets Grandfather, Grandpa Zhang, Grandpa Sun, Grandpa Li, Aunt Qiuyun, and Brother Heir Apparent."

Xiao Yuan gestured to the side, "Wu Ge, come sit by Grandpa."

Xiao Wuge obediently sat down.

Xiao Qiuyun glanced at him and smiled, "Eldest Uncle, Wu Ge is looking more and more like his elder brother."

Beside her, the Young Heir Apparent Zhang Heng pouted and made faces at Xiao Wuge.

"Qiuyun is right, Wu Ge truly has his father's demeanor," Duke of Gan Zhang Xuan nodded.

Xiao Yuan was naturally pleased to hear this. After a few humble remarks, he asked, "Wu Ge, I heard you've been fishing in Chunhe Garden lately. It's rare for you to visit, is something the matter?"

Xiao Wuge nodded, "Brother-in-law wrote you a birthday poem..."

Before he could finish, Zhang Heng interjected in a childish voice, "What brother-in-law? He's just a runaway groom."

Xiao Qiuyun reprimanded him, "Heng'er, don't be rude!"

Even the Duke of Gan's expression soured slightly, "Heng'er, if you continue to be so rude, you'll be sent back to Jiaozhou!"

"It's fine, it's fine..."

Although Xiao Yuan was displeased, he wasn't about to argue with a child. He then turned back to Xiao Wuge:

"Wu Ge, what poem did Chen Yi write? Do you remember it?"

"Your grandson remembers."

Xiao Wuge immediately began to recite, his young voice echoing in the courtyard.

"Beacon fires temper liver and gall, armor forges Kunlun, ten years of wielding spears..."