A Plea for First Subscriptions
(Wishing everyone a peaceful and healthy new year, and all your wishes come true! I also hope this book does even better than my last one, hehe. Please subscribe and vote!)
Xu Xi was unaware of what had happened after she left the main courtyard. She was currently standing in a room in the Chess Watching Courtyard.
The Chess Watching Courtyard is a guest courtyard, located not far from the entrance through the hanging flower gate. It is a lush and beautiful courtyard. Compared to the old lady's courtyard, it is smaller, but much larger than the Xu Family's residence in the county. It has seven or eight rooms, and the scenery is pleasant with its verdant vegetation.
"The First Madam had prepared a room for you in the Second House, and all your belongings are there. Please rest here for now and use the things in the guest courtyard. Don't worry, the bedding set you're using is brand new and has never been used," Daimao said. She was unaware that the Old Madam had instructed them to prepare the Tea Tasting Residence.
"Thank you, Miss Daimao."
After instructing the head maid in charge of the guest quarters, Dai Daimao returned to the main courtyard.
Even though there are no guests staying in the guest courtyard, it is still cleaned by someone and is fairly tidy. With a little more tidying up by Matron Yuan, Qingfeng, and the others, it will be ready for people to move in.
Xu Xi entered the room, glanced around, and instructed Qingfeng, "Go ask the Madam if I can get some ink and Xuan paper for calligraphy practice. If so, bring them back. I need to practice calligraphy."
After a whole morning of fussing, it was only Wushi. Xu Xi didn't want to deal with the messy people and affairs of the Marquis's mansion, so she decided to practice her calligraphy instead.
Today she did receive a set of calligraphy supplies from Zhao Yuanxun, but the paper and ink inside were very expensive. There were two ink sticks and only a small stack of paper. Xu Xi was reluctant to use good ink and paper to practice calligraphy, so she asked Qingfeng to inquire.
The Marquis's family was large and wealthy; they certainly wouldn't lack ordinary ink and paper.
Qingfeng accepted the order and left, returning quickly with two third-class maids following behind, each carrying many things in their arms.
"Miss, the things have been brought back. The First Madam also picked out two more sets of writing implements for you. She said the set the Marquis gave you was quite valuable, and it would be a pity if it were accidentally broken. There are quite a few of these things in the manor, and it would be a waste to leave them lying around, so she picked out two sets for you to use. If you need more, you can go and choose more. You will be going to the academy tomorrow, so take one set to the academy and keep the other at home. This way it will be convenient, and you won't have to carry it back and forth."
Xu Xi naturally wouldn't refuse. "Then thank you very much, Madam."
She had already instructed Yicui and the other woman to tidy up the vases and ornaments on the table in her room. Now, she tapped the table and said, "Put everything out neatly."
Qingfeng was clearly literate and knew what people who practiced calligraphy needed. She not only took more ink and paper, but also a wool felt sheet to lay on the table as a base. This served two purposes: firstly, it prevented the ink from staining the table, and secondly, the softness underneath the paper made the writing easier, and the paper was less likely to move.
Instructing the maids to lay out the items one by one, Qingfeng then handed a book to Xu Xi, saying, "The Madam was very Gao Xing to hear that you wanted to practice calligraphy, so she specially found a calligraphy copybook for you."
Xu Xi took the book and flipped through it, quite satisfied with the calligraphy copybook. Although she didn't know who the writer was, she liked the strong and vigorous handwriting.
Perhaps because of her strong personality, she prefers characters with sharp edges and a powerful, forceful style.
"System, if I copy this calligraphy model and my writing is close to the characters in the model, I should get two points per piece, right?" she asked in her mind.
She finally entered the Marquis of Suiping's Residence according to the original plot, although she clashed with Lady Wei as soon as she entered, instead of returning to the second branch's residence as originally planned. However, her previous rogue behavior left a deep shadow on the system. Now, the system should be grateful that she only moved to the guest courtyard instead of directly breaking ties with the Marquis's residence and leaving.
At this point, it became very agreeable. "Alright. If the host can write the characters to be seven-tenths similar to the model, they will receive three points; if they can write them to be ten-tenths similar to the model, they will receive four points; and if they can write them even better than the model, they will receive five points."
Xu Xi was immediately Gao Xing.
The original owner of this body didn't have any calligraphy practice books, and her handwriting wasn't much better than Xu Xue's. After Xu Xi transmigrated, she tried her best to integrate with the original owner's handwriting from her memories, and also practiced by copying the characters from the book Xu Yongzeng had copied. Her score went from "0" to "1". Xu Yongzeng's handwriting was mediocre, so no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't advance from "1" to "2".
Now that she has good calligraphy practice books and a clear goal for leveling up, she is even more motivated to earn points.
To be honest, although she outwardly showed complete disdain for the Agility Pill, she secretly coveted it. After taking the Agility Pill, she would essentially have some martial arts skills, making it much harder for those maids and servants to defeat her. Even without help, she wouldn't be afraid.
She asked the system, "If I could reach the level of the best calligraphy master of this era, how many points could I earn for a single piece of calligraphy?"
"Host, please wait a moment." After saying this, the system went silent.
Xu Xi was taken aback, touched her chin, and suddenly a guess came to her mind.
Over there, the maids had already arranged everything. Seeing Xu Xi looking lost in thought, Qingfeng quickly reminded her, "Miss, it's all done."
Xu Xi then came to her senses and saw that everything was neatly arranged on the table, and nodded in satisfaction.
She smiled and said to the two maids who had brought the things, "Thank you for your help today. I should have treated you two sisters to tea. But I just got back and haven't received my monthly allowance yet. I'll have Qingfeng treat you two to tea later."
Qingfeng was quite surprised. Just now, seeing Xu Xi speak to Lady Wei like that, which angered Lady Wei, she thought this girl was indeed a country bumpkin who didn't know any manners.
But now it seems, didn't you know the rules quite well? That statement was quite appropriate.
The two maids quickly waved their hands, smiled, and said a few polite words. When Qingfeng saw them off, they praised her, saying, "Fifth Miss is such a kind person." Although this was meant to curry favor with Qingfeng Qingfeng, it also showed that they had a very good impression of Xu Xi.
Qingfeng returned to the guest courtyard thoughtfully and saw Xu Xi standing in front of the table, practicing calligraphy stroke by stroke with an extremely serious attitude. Looking at her writing, although it only resembled the characters in the calligraphy model by two or three points, it was already considered quite good by ordinary people. Qingfeng was surprised again.
This fifth daughter really doesn't seem like someone who grew up in a rural village. Not only is she literate, but she writes so well.
But then she immediately wanted to slap her head.
Xu Xi's ability to get into the Women's Academy, even a county-level one, indicates she possesses considerable talent. She's completely misunderstood.
"Congratulations, host, your Wisdom Points has increased by 1."
After finishing writing a piece, Xu Xi heard the points announcement in his mind.