I Examine Myself Thrice Daily

"Miss Han?"

Qiu Yan tried to recall, but couldn't find a corresponding person in his memory. He didn't even know many people with the surname Han.

"Since we're here, the Essentials and see them."

After thinking it over, Qiu Yan made a decision. Since they had already come to visit, he couldn't just turn them away.

Watching Qiu Yan's departing figure, Dai Guo chuckled, which Hu Qi saw, and he looked puzzled.

"Brother," noticing Hu Qi's expression, Dai Guo muttered softly, "That young lady who came to see our young master is quite beautiful. I think our young master is about to have a stroke of good luck with women."

Hu Qi frowned slightly and whispered, "You know how powerful the young master is. These past two days, he seems even more unfathomable, as if he has made further progress. If the young master hears you gossiping about him behind his back, it won't be good."

Upon hearing this, Dai Guo shuddered, quickly suppressed his smile, and fell silent.

Qiu Yan shook his head. Of course, he could sense the commotion behind him, but he didn't care about such things. What he was thinking about was the purpose of the people who came.

For the past three days, he has stayed indoors, reading and writing, which is also a form of spiritual practice, a way of calming Mind Fasting Divine Soul and consolidating his cultivation.

Having Dao Heart gives you a goal, but it doesn't guarantee success.

Learning without thinking is futile; thinking without learning is dangerous.

If one does not have a sufficient understanding of one's own Dao, State of Mind will inevitably be shaken by external things or events in the future, and there is a danger of shattering one's Dao Heart, resulting in a regression in cultivation. Therefore, one must constantly strengthen and enrich one's understanding.

Sages say, "I examine myself three times a day," which shows the importance of constantly strengthening State of Mind. Therefore, the period of initial Divine Soul formation is actually a dangerous time; a slight carelessness can cause one's cultivation to regress.

However, as his State of Mind became more resolute, Qiu Yan's will also became more steadfast. The aura he exuded began to align with his own Dao, giving rise to a sense of unfathomable profundity.

The clearer one's State of Mind, the more precise one's grasp of the Dao, and the clearer one's understanding of Fortune becomes, leading Qiu Yan to realize that this trip to Eastern Capital is an opportunity. There is danger and opportunity, and everyone one encounters during this time has a specific meaning.

"The Li Trigram undergone three transformations; I wonder if all of them have come to pass..."

With these thoughts in mind, he arrived at the inn's lobby and saw the woman known as "Second Miss Han".

The woman was beautiful and attracted attention. But at that moment, she was sitting at a table, wolfing down her food.

On the table in front of her were stacks of food, and she gently picked at them with her chopsticks, then opened her cherry lips and swallowed them down, as if she were enjoying a Taotie feast.

However, what should have been a scene of desperate hunger was instead presented in this woman's hands with a sense of ease and naturalness, without a trace of dishevelment.

"Hmm? This woman has considerable wrist strength, and she uses her strength skillfully, clearly she's a martial artist. Hmm? She looks somewhat familiar."

After taking a few steps and getting a clear look at her face, Qiu Yan's heart skipped a beat, remembering that he had seen this woman before.

"Isn't this the woman disguised as a man from Xuankou Town? What's she doing in Eastern Capital? Could it be because of Prince Yan's matter?"

A glint flashed in Qiu Yan's eyes as he extended his senses. Now that he had condensed his Divine Soul, his cultivation level was vastly different from before. He was able to detect the faint aura emanating from the woman and immediately made a guess.

Seeing Qiu Yan approach, a strange light flashed in the woman's eyes. She put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and stood up.

"Brother Qiu, it's good to see you here."

She looked at Qiu Yan and spoke in a very natural tone, giving off a familiar and friendly feeling that made it difficult to feel any ill will.

Then, the woman took out some loose silver and placed it on the table, saying to the waiter beside her, "This is the money for the meal. The rest is a tip for you. However, the food here is only so-so. You should invite the Kitchen God into the kitchen as soon as possible."

The waiter thanked him repeatedly, while the manager of the main hall came over, respectfully calling out "Miss Han," and inquired about the origins of the Kitchen God.

The woman chuckled lightly, "Send someone to Jiannan Circuit to take a look, and you'll know about the Kitchen God. As for me, I can't explain it clearly either."

Having said that, she ignored the shopkeeper and walked up to Qiu Yan. Without any hesitation, she bowed like a man and continued, "Judging from your expression, Brother Qiu, you must have recognized me. So, I won't beat around the bush. My name is Han Wei'er, and I am Han Yi's granddaughter. It's fate that we met in Xuankou. However, I'm not here because of Prince Yan, but because my ancestor wants to see you."

"Han Yi's granddaughter?"

These words flashed through Qiu Yan's mind, causing him to pause in surprise.

"Are you the granddaughter of Prime Minister Han?"

Han Yi's name was extremely well-known even in Jiannan. He had served as prime minister, and he was no ordinary person. He could be called a veteran of three reigns. When the new emperor ascended the throne, he voluntarily retired and then returned to the Eastern Capital, pretending to enjoy his old age.

In terms of prestige, Han Yi was no less than Ma Yang.

"Not bad," Han Wei'er patted her ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), "You can choose a time to go. Of course, if you're free now, I can also take you directly to the manor." Although her actions were somewhat abrupt, they appeared poised and graceful.

Qiu Yan frowned slightly, pondering for a moment, and said aloud, "Since the old prime minister actually wants to see me, could you please tell me why?"

Han Wei'er glanced at him and smiled, "Don't make wild guesses. The matter in Xuankou Town has nothing to do with my ancestor, and he wasn't the mastermind behind it. Besides, it wasn't a big deal to begin with."

She took two steps forward and said, "Since ancient times, we have been Confucian on the outside and Legalist School on the inside. What's so strange about Legalism? You Confucianism pursue peace and a world where everyone is a gentleman, while we Legalist School hope that the law governs the world and that rewards and punishments are just. The methods are different, but the original intentions are the same. I've come to invite you without any ill intentions."

Qiu Yan wasn't embarrassed that his thoughts had been exposed. However, he hadn't expected Han Wei'er to so openly reveal that she was a member of the Legalist School in public.

"In that case, Prime Minister Han Yi must also be a Legalist School. However, we can't completely trust her words. Seeing is believing. What Prince Yan did was heinous and immoral. Even Legalist School wouldn't support such behavior. Now it seems that this woman's position is to monitor Prince Yan. I had suspected Gongyang Yi before, but I didn't expect to miss this person."

After organizing his thoughts, Qiu Yan nodded and said, "It would be a great honor to meet Prime Minister Han. Since he has extended an invitation, how could I refuse?"

"Hmm, you certainly have insight," Han Wei'er praised with a smile, then flicked her hand.

Swish!

A flash of white light appeared before Qiu Yan's eyes, a gust of wind rushed towards him, and an object shimmering with the luster of white jade flew towards him.

A thought struck him, and he reached out and grabbed the object. Looking down, he saw it was a writing brush with a white jade handle, and two characters were written in the center of the handle—

Spring and Autumn Annals.

These two characters are simple and unadorned, yet each stroke seems to contain endless information and profound meaning.

Instantly, Qiu Yan's attention was drawn to those two words.

At this moment, Han Wei'er's voice came from the side. "This Spring and Spring and Autumn Brush, when used together with the Literary Ancestor Paperweight and the Northern Abyss Jade Basin, will have an even better effect. It can help you improve your Literary Thought and refine your Literary Heart, thus giving you an advantage in the upcoming imperial Metropolitan Examinations."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Yan looked up, his eyes sharpening. "Those Paperweights and Jade Basins were indeed given to Prince Yan by you. In that case, this theft of Literary Thought's thoughts is probably also related to you."

Han Wei'er smiled and calmly said, "Oranges grown south of the Huai River are sweet oranges, while those grown north of the Huai River are bitter oranges. How one uses something is entirely up to the individual; what does it have to do with the person who gave it to them?"

"That's sophistry. But one shouldn't accept something for nothing. These Spring and Autumn Annals coins, along with the Jade Basin and Paperweight, are rightfully mine to return to their rightful owner." Qiu Yan said, turning to go upstairs to return the items without a trace of reluctance.

Although those two items were precious, Qiu Yan obtained them mainly to return Literary Thought to the students. Now that he had achieved his goal and the rightful owner had appeared, there was no reason to keep them.

But Han Wei'er's next words made him stop in his tracks.

"Brother Qiu, don't be in such a hurry to return it. I won't lie to you, once you give it to me, I can only return it to Prince Yan. What he does with it after that is none of my business."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Yan turned around and saw a serious expression in Han Wei'er's clear eyes; she was clearly not lying.

Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes, flicked his fingers, and after a long while said, "In that case, I, Qiu, will first accompany you to the Han Residence to pay my respects to the former Prime Minister."

After saying this, he turned to look at the stairwell, called out, and then Hu Qi and Dai Guo, looking embarrassed, came out. Qiu Yan handed the jade pen to the two of them and instructed them, "Put this away carefully, then take a piece of calligraphy from my bag and sell it at a bookstore in the city to use as travel expenses."

"Brother Qiu, are you short of funds?" Han Wei'er overheard this and immediately approached, "Why sell your calligraphy and paintings? How much are they worth? If needed, I..."

Qiu Yan waved his hand, interrupting the other party without any hesitation, and simply said, "This matter has nothing to do with you, young lady. Please lead the way."

Han Wei'er frowned, shook her head, a flash of anger in her eyes, said nothing more, turned and left, Qiu Yan followed her.

The Han Residence was located in the Inner City, which was mostly the residence of high-ranking officials and nobles, while the inn where Qiu Yan stayed was in the outer city. The Eastern Capital was a large city, and it took quite a bit of time to get there.

Upon arriving at the gates of the Han Residence, a servant rushed over, bowed respectfully to Han Wei'er, then glanced at Qiu Yan and said cautiously, "Second Miss, Ma Gong heard you were back and came just now, waiting until now..."

Before he could finish speaking, a clear voice came from behind him—

"Wei-mei, why didn't you send someone to tell me you were coming back?"

As they spoke, a handsome man in a dark robe emerged from the side door and approached. Upon reaching Qiu Yan, he glanced at him and asked, "And this gentleman is...?"

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