Chapter 304

【You look outside, and overnight, it is as if the world has changed.】

【The sycamore tree outside the house has bloomed like pear blossoms.】

【The stone table in the courtyard is piled with thick snow, and the large water vat is also covered with a layer of crystal-clear, thick white ice.】

【The birds that were originally chirping are gone, leaving only a vast expanse of white.】

【Sister Wu Tong rubs her hands; the cold air from outside rushes in, and the cold air she breathes in freezes her nose red.】

【You feel it is not that deep and do not feel cold. In the month and a half since you started practicing martial arts, your body has become much stronger.】

【"Hurry inside, Young Master, it's cold outside."】

【You nod, walk back into the room, and start to light a fire.】

【Although Sister Wu Tong does not want you to help with these trivial matters, you insist, and she cannot stop you.】

【Under the stove fire are dried wood and black charcoal. You rub your hands together, and a wisp of flame emerges from between your fingers; this is the supernatural ability possessed by entering the second realm of primordial spirit cultivation, "Ding Shen."】

【You operate the "Five Dragon Prosperity Talisman" of the seven arts in the "Yin Fu Jing" in your heart; this is a talisman pattern that increases primordial spirit power, which you can already outline in your heart's sea.】

【When you draw this talisman, the flame between your fingers increases instantly, and the fire of your heart and lungs burns the firewood.】

【Before long, the stove fire is roaring, the room is warm, and even the tea on the warm stove begins to bubble with hot bubbles.】

【You nod with satisfaction, sit on the hot kang, and pick up the books on the table to continue studying.】

【Recently, the books you have been reading are those borrowed from Xie Yuan, mainly because it doesn't cost money. When Xie Yuan comes again, you will just return them as they are.】

【You have the ability to remember everything you see, so you finished reading the Confucian classics long ago and started reading widely about the theories of the hundred schools.】

【During this period, the plate of lean meat Sister Wu Tong adds every day is clearly not enough; your appetite has increased greatly, and you eat four or five catties of meat a day.】

【Of the four hundred taels of silver, excluding the fifty taels gifted to Dong Shao, the addition of winter clothes for the household and the replacement of furniture also cost quite a bit, but the largest expense fell on your food. Successively, it has already cost seventy or eighty taels.】

【Sister Wu Tong has to go to the main courtyard to help in the morning, so she prepares the meal early and leaves it in the pot.】

【Sister Wu Tong learned needlework from your mother, and her hands are skillful, so the madams of each courtyard like her, and there is also remuneration for helping.】

【You are alone in the room, reading with books, until noon, when you slowly get up and take out the steamed pork from the steamer on the stove.】

【Holding meat with chopsticks in one hand, you wave your brush freely on the paper with the other, the wind rising under your brush.】

【You don't pay attention to your image, comparing the scrolls of the Second Master and Xie Hong. During this period, your progress in calligraphy has been rapid.】

【You have the talent of "spirit in the brush," and in a short time, you have fully mastered Xie Hong's font, almost writing it indistinguishably, only lacking a bit of charm.】

【The Second Master's calligraphy also has seven or eight parts of form and spirit.】

【But for you, it is still not enough.】

【The Second Master's cursive script falls from the sky, high and elegant, like an immortal wielding a brush.】

【Xie Hong's regular script, "every word is a pearl," every word uses the peak of brush and momentum, with no more clever use.】

【The Second Master's cursive script, Xie Hong's regular script.】

【You slowly develop your own style, and between your strokes, there is both the agility of the Second Master and the steady structure of Xie Hong.】

【The characters lie like an old flood dragon in a pool, moving like the cold light of a flying sword, walking like an iron horse crossing a frozen river.】

【After practicing calligraphy, you contemplate the Ghost-Slaying Sword in your heart. You found a method that achieves twice the result with half the effort: draw out the "Ghost-Slaying Sword" you realized in your heart. Every time you draw it, your understanding of this sword intent increases by one point.】

【You pick up the brush and draw slowly. A divine general with leopard eyes, curly beard, wearing majestic red official robes, and a Seven-Star Treasure Sword at his waist leaps onto the paper.】

【It is a "Divine General Capturing Ghost Picture."】

【You haven't dotted the eyes, yet there is a fierce aura rushing toward you.】

【You integrate the artistic conception of the "Ghost-Slaying Sword" into the painting, and a sword intent like moonlight begins to diffuse in the "Divine General Capturing Ghost Picture."】

【It seems that as soon as the finishing touch is applied, the divine general will roar out from the paper, slaying ghosts and catching evil.】

【However, you just blow lightly on the paper, and all the supernatural phenomena vanish, returning to calm.】

【After contemplating the "Demon-Slaying Sword," you don't touch the "Demon-Slaying Sword" in your heart's sea.】

【Lu Hua's warning is still in your ears; there is still a flood dragon entrenched in the Xie residence.】

【Just as you are about to walk out of the house to practice martial arts in the courtyard, you should practice even in the freezing cold.】

【Two light and heavy footsteps come from the distant gate, stepping on the snow, making a "creaking" sound.】

【Your heart stirs; just by the sound of the footsteps, you have already guessed the identity of one of them.】

【Pushing open the door!】

【You welcome them out, only to see Zhang Yuanlai and He Xiao walking side by side in the courtyard, both carrying pastry boxes and the four treasures of the study in their hands.】

【There is also a piece of cut venison, wrapped in red paper, with the word "Fu" written on it.】

【Zhang Yuanlai has a smile on his face, his expression as usual; he is clearly a regular visitor, while He Xiao appears a bit restrained. Since that time he read for you, he has not stepped into this little courtyard half a step.】

【You smile, welcome the two into the room, and they place the gifts at the door. Both are wearing thick cotton-padded jackets and fur hats to resist this sudden severe cold.】

【On the steps outside the room, they shake off the snow and mud from their feet before walking into the inner room.】

【The stove fire in the room is roaring, and it is warm, forming a sharp contrast with the severe cold outside, making people feel refreshed.】

【"The weather in Above Bianjing is truly unpredictable; in one day, goose-feather snow has fallen everywhere." Zhang Yuanlai chats familiarly, his tone carrying a bit of apology, "Young Master Guan, I have been truly busy for the past half month, and it was only today that I finally found time to visit."】

【You nod and respond with a smile, "I was just preparing to have Sister Wu Tong go and pay an early New Year's visit to Mr. Zhang in a few days."】

【Your gaze turns to He Xiao, and you smile sincerely, "Mr. He, it has also been a long time. Have you been well?"】

【A flash of complexity crosses He Xiao's eyes, but he immediately returns to normal and hurriedly bows, "Young Master Guan, I haven't seen you for a few days, and your complexion is getting better and better."】

【Zhang Yuanlai also nods in agreement, his gaze lingering on you for a moment, a flash of surprise in his eyes.】

【The young man before him has a simple hairpin in his hair, his black hair like a waterfall draped over his shoulders, his face like jade.】

【Compared to the elegant and quiet temperament of the past, his face is now rosy, with a bit more vitality and a bit less weakness.】

【If it weren't for his rather "shabby" attire, he would truly look like a young master raised by the Nine Great Clans.】

【The two sit on the kang!】

【Zhang Yuanlai naturally picks up the kettle to boil water and make tea, not forgetting to prepare a cup for He Xiao.】

【He also pays attention to He Xiao's expression. The usually smooth-talking and humorous Brother He is a bit constrained at this time.】

【Zhang Yuanlai naturally knows the reason for this.】

【At that time, Xie Guan was blind, and he and He Xiao took turns reading to him, which was a rare good fate.】

【However, He Xiao is shrewd and likes to calculate gains and losses, feeling that this concubine-born son of the Xie residence is just an insignificant character, not favored by the mistress, and not worth his effort to befriend.】

【Therefore, after Xie Guan's eyes recovered, he gradually distanced himself from this relationship, treating him as a stranger.】

【What he didn't expect was!】

【More than a month ago, at the Caotang Poetry Gathering held by Su Yun at the Yuehua Pavilion, the finale was this young master's incomplete poem, which has been widely circulated during this period.】

【Especially the line, "When the name is not prominent, the heart is not decayed; light the lamp again to read the article," which stirred the emotions of countless frustrated scholars, who competed to recite it.】

【"Peng in the Su Beihai, Phoenix toward the sun, carrying books and swords on a vast road," makes people yearn for it, and many want to complete the rest to continue its meaning.】

【Xie Guan's name has gained some reputation in the West Wing Tower.】

【Of course, not everyone praises him; there are also those who mock him, especially the poetry gatherings that are at odds with the Caotang Poetry Gathering, who proclaim:】

【"One or two sentences are like 'leftover juice and scraps'; this is just a defective product burned out in a kiln and cannot enter the hall of elegance."】

【But amidst these controversies, following the praise of Jin Zitan, a critic who frequents the Xifeng Tower, who said, "Judging by the calligraphy copied by Xie Guan, it actually has a bit of the Second Master's style."】

【For a time, Xie Guan's name was mentioned again.】

【They began to be curious about who this Xie Guan of the Xie residence was, and even the name had never been heard of.】

【Finally, after much inquiry, Xie Guan was just a concubine-born son of the Xie family, a young man who had not yet reached adulthood, which led many to feel contempt.】

【Even worse, they spread rumors about Xie Guan, saying he was just a concubine-born son who read in the courtyard, never entered the school, was regarded as "lacking virtue and character" by the Xie residence, was sent to the Li family school, and did not study in the clan.】

【Thus, the crowd that originally "praised" Xie Guan "scattered in a rush."】

【What they didn't expect was!】

【Half a month later, that line of Xie Guan's, "Peng in the Su Beihai, Phoenix toward the sun, carrying books and swords on a vast road," somehow went through several twists and turns to the Academy and reached the ears of the Second Master.】

【The Second Master even wrote after this line.】

【"Peng in the Su Beihai, Phoenix toward the sun, carrying books and swords on a vast road; until now, books and swords are drifting."】

【This matter spread back to the West Wing Tower!】

【In an instant, one stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the Second Master's completion of the poem spread throughout the imperial court and the public in Above Bianjing.】

【It is said that Prime Minister Su in the court, after hearing this poem, sighed and also asked for Xie Guan's name, and that night summoned the Minister of Rites, Tang Ziang, to play chess until dawn.】

【Xie Guan's name is now widely known in the West Wing Tower.】

【He Xiao experienced this firsthand; the Second Master completing the incomplete poem with "until now, books and swords are drifting," and Prime Minister Su mentioning his name, is enough to make him famous.】

【He Xiao's visit today is a gesture of friendship.】

【Zhang Yuanlai tells you about the turmoil of the Caotang Poetry Gathering these past few days, a look of admiration in his eyes.】

【He has been in Above Bianjing for many years, running around for years, but in the end, he is still an incompetent and unknown person, not as good as the young man reading in the courtyard, writing poems casually.】

【As an insider, you have always stayed behind closed doors in the little courtyard, burying your head in books, and do not know much about things outside the Xie residence.】

【A few days ago, Su Yun visited in person, but before he could say a few words, he left in a hurry.】

【Sister Wu Tong, a maid, naturally doesn't know these things.】

【After hearing about the Second Master completing the poem, you are surprised in your heart.】

【You and this Second Master of the Academy seem to have a deep fate; you obtained his inheritance in the lake and also obtained his calligraphy scroll.】

【Although you have never met the Second Master, you have already received his kindness.】

【Zhang Yuanlai teases, "Now many girls in the West Wing Tower are looking forward to Young Master Guan."】

【You shake your head and don't take up the topic. You notice that this Mr. Zhang seems to be a bit different from usual; he wouldn't have actively mentioned the women in the West Wing Tower before.】

【He Xiao sees that you don't seem to take it to heart; after all, it is now "mending the fold after the sheep is lost," "burning a cold stove."】

【"Young Master Guan might not know, but Brother Zhang recently met a singer at the Yuehua Pavilion, and the two fell in love at first sight and are now in love."】

【Zhang Yuanlai blushes at this, waves his hand, and says, "It's not even a sure thing yet, Brother He, don't talk nonsense."】

【You tease, "Mr. Zhang, it seems you are still quite popular."】

【Zhang Yuanlai says hurriedly, "Young Master Guan, don't tease me, we just met."】

【He Xiao laughs on the side, "Brother Zhang is about to marry a beautiful concubine, which is truly enviable. However, this matter might still need Lady Zhao to act."】

【He Xiao is also genuinely envious; after all, he has also seen that singer, who is decent in appearance, sensible, and has a good look, and can be counted as a top-tier singer in the Yuehua Pavilion.】

【He Xiao is also completely puzzled why such a woman would take a fancy to Zhang Yuanlai, who has neither official status nor money.】

【But the facts are right before his eyes!】

【You nod; these women in the Yuehua Pavilion have all signed a deed of sale with the Yuehua Pavilion. Apart from needing money to redeem themselves, they also need a large mansion to guarantee them. If the Xie residence doesn't step in, the Yuehua Pavilion won't let them go.】

【It is not a rare thing for women in the Yuehua Pavilion to redeem themselves. Many madams in the mansions of the Nine Great Clans were top singers in the West Wing Tower, so naturally, they won't be ridiculed.】

【It is still a romantic story worth praising.】

【Seeming to be afraid of He Xiao mentioning this matter again, Zhang Yuanlai doesn't sit for long before leaving in a hurry.】

【Before Zhang Yuan leaves, he says that the grand occasion of this year's Hundred Flowers Banquet in the West Wing Tower will not only have Academy masters and Great Qi court ministers, imperial concubines and princesses, but even delegations from the Great Sui, the Southern Buddhist Kingdom, and others will come to Above Bianjing to attend the Hundred Flowers Banquet.】

【"Young Master Guan, this Hundred Flowers Banquet far exceeds the previous ones and should not be missed."】

【You look at Zhang Yuanlai and nod gently. He Xiao prepares to say something, but in the end, he doesn't speak, just sighs and leaves silently.】

【Outside the distant gate, you watch Zhang Yuanlai and the other person stepping on the snow, drifting further and further away in the vast whiteness.】

【You tuck your hands into your sleeves and whisper to yourself:】

【"The Hundred Flowers Banquet?"】

【"Are they all here for this?"】

(End of chapter)