While Chen Caozhi read the letters, Ran Sheng kept asking beside him whether the Old Clan Chief had asked after him, whether the young mistress had asked after him, and whether Little Lady Run'er had asked after him. Ran Sheng regarded Chen Family Cove in Qiantang as his own home.
Chen Caozhi said, "My sister-in-law and Run'er both asked after you. My sister-in-law even praised your clerical script in the style of the Cao Quan Stele. Naturally, Run'er wanted to ask about your studies. Xiao Sheng, read it yourself. This is Run'er's letter-" He also handed his sister-in-law Ding Youwei's letter to Xiao Chan.
Beaming, Ran Sheng took Run'er's letter and read it word by word. Little Lady Run'er's Cao Quan Stele script was so beautiful that he admired it beyond measure. When Run'er asked in the letter whether he read and practiced calligraphy every day, however, he felt ashamed. These days, he often went to the Inner City to pit his strength against the Western Headquarters soldiers and compete in archery. As for reading and practicing calligraphy, he only remembered when the young master prodded him-
The one-armed Jing Nu knelt to one side, watching Ran Sheng read the letter. Delight showed on his face, crisscrossed with purple scars. He thought, My young lord knows so many characters now. Surely he counts as accomplished in both letters and arms. At last, I have lived up to my lord's charge and preserved this flesh and blood of his. My young lord is sixteen now, a grown man, and he is educated and literate. I ought to tell him about my lord.
Jing Nu truly could not bear the thought of those bloody, tragic events henceforth weighing upon Ran Sheng, whose body was powerful but whose mind was still immature and