145. He knew he was a genius.

the next day.

Wenhua Hall.

Qu Zijin picked up the calligraphy copybook his second brother had handed in today, and his normally calm gaze paused slightly as he swept it across the paper.

He first pushed aside the book he was reading halfway through, then laid the calligraphy copybook flat on the table, and finally spread out his second brother's stack of scribbles-like homework from the other day next to him.

The difference between the two is truly astonishing.

Upon closer inspection of the handwriting, it was indeed written by the same person.

"Um……"

His second brother looked at him nervously.

“At least you know to pause when you start writing,” Qu Zijin said, looking at the slightly stiff but real pause. “Although the ending stroke… still looks like a broom sweeping haphazardly.”

Qu Zijin turned a few more pages.

He looked at it several times before finally raising his eyes to examine the trembling student before him, and made a rare, teasing remark: "You've made great progress. Did you study hard last night, or did you receive some divine guidance in a dream?"

The second brother's eyes gradually lit up.

He was praised by the Grand Tutor!

He knew he was a genius!

-

During break time.

The second brother leaped onto the stone table in the courtyard, put one hand on his hip and the other holding his homework, and began to spread his tail feathers like a peacock.

"See that? See that?" He shook the stack of homework papers in his hand, as if he wanted to shove them under the noses of the little princess and the little prince. "The Grand Tutor said it himself! My handwriting—hmm!"

He deliberately cleared his throat, mimicking Qu Zijin's steady tone: "It has already begun to show its character! It has made considerable progress!"

The little princess curiously leaned closer, examined it carefully for a long time, and pointed to a word with her finger: "Jin Er, what is this thing that looks like a broom with its bristles standing on end?"

"W-What?! What broom bristles!" The second brother was a little embarrassed. "That...that was on purpose! That's called artistic conception! Don't you understand artistic conception?!"

He spoke louder and louder, trying to use the volume to cover up his guilty conscience.

The young prince sneered, each word more piercing than the last: "The ink is uneven, as if you stole some old soy sauce from the kitchen. The brushstrokes are sometimes there and sometimes not, as if you were writing with a fire poker. But... compared to your calligraphy the other day, which looked like a ghost's scribbles and could scare a crying child to stop crying, it is indeed more than ten times better."

"Of course!" The second brother automatically heard the words "more than ten times stronger" in his head, and immediately seized the opportunity to climb up the bar. The embarrassment he had just felt was instantly forgotten, and his tail was wagging high again.

"With my extraordinary talent, if I just put in a little effort, surpassing ordinary people would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it? I knew it! It's not that I can't write well, it's just that I'm not willing to take it seriously on a regular basis..."

The little dumpling, who had been standing obediently to the side, blinked her big eyes and looked at her second brother with admiration. She raised her little hand high and said loudly in her childish voice, "Yue'er is my witness! Second brother is really amazing! He worked so hard last night! His hand was sore from writing, and he even cried because he was so angry. He said that 'classical Chinese' is the worst thing in the world!"

The little dumpling's intention was to tell everyone how hard her second brother worked.

But once the truth is revealed, it feels like exposing someone's shortcomings.

"Little sister!" The second brother was so anxious he almost fell off the stone table. He frantically tried to cover his sister's mouth, his face turning even redder than when the little princess had teased him earlier. "You...you...you...don't talk nonsense! I...I was...I was brewing! Yes, brewing the emotions for writing! Only when the emotions are abundant can the words have a soul!"

The little princess was so amused by his embarrassed appearance that she laughed uproariously and said, "Oh? You've managed to shed three pounds of tears? Young Master Jin is indeed extraordinary!"

"That's right! This young master either doesn't write at all, or he writes something earth-shattering and awe-inspiring!"

"It was truly earth-shattering and awe-inspiring," the young prince added coolly, "It scared them to death."

"Hey!" the second brother jumped up and down, "If you're so capable, write something even better!"

“Sure,” the young prince immediately agreed, “My handwriting is better than yours anyway.”

The little dumpling quickly smoothed things over: "Second brother's handwriting has really improved! Even the Grand Tutor praised it!"

The little princess leaned closer curiously: "Little Moon, tell me, how did the Grand Tutor praise him? I don't believe him. What were his exact words?"

The young prince quickly answered, "The original saying was probably 'The beginning of the stroke is like hoeing the ground, the ending is like sweeping the broom,' right?"

"You!" the second brother exclaimed angrily, "You're just jealous!"

"What's there for me to be jealous of with your terrible handwriting?"

"You're just jealous that I was praised by the Grand Tutor!"

"Good, keep it up louder."

"No! No fighting!"

-

Another day passed in a lively and bustling manner.

As usual, Xie Wenling came to pick them up after school.

Inside the carriage, Xie Wenling was reviewing documents. Several letters were scattered on the table, all of which were documents to be sent to various places to direct the handover of the princes.

The little dumpling sat to the side, its little head craning out curiously to watch the densely packed words flowing from Brother Xie's pen.

She exclaimed softly, "Brother Xie is writing a letter! How amazing!"

The second brother yawned: "What's so great about writing letters..."

The little dumpling's eyes sparkled: "Of course it's amazing! Only adults write letters! Brother Xie must be saying something very, very important to someone very, very far away!"

Xie Wenling continued writing, only uttering a soft "hmm".

The little dumpling looked on enviously: "If only Yue'er could grow up quickly and write letters too..."

Xie Wenling finally stopped writing: "Why do I want to grow up quickly?"

"Because the moon is growing up, it can learn to write letters!" In the little dumpling's eyes, writing letters is a very mysterious and amazing thing that only belongs to adults.

The adults would write down a lot of words she couldn't understand, then put them in a box and send them out.

After sending it out and waiting for a while, another mysterious letter will appear from outside.

It felt like the handover of some kind of secret mission.

"Why look forward to growing up? Growing up isn't happy," Xie Wenling patted her little head. "But if you want to learn how to write letters, I can teach you."

The little dumpling ignored the first half of the sentence and nodded vigorously: "Okay, okay, Yue'er wants to learn to write letters like adults too!"

"Here you go," Xie Wenling handed her a pen and a piece of paper. "You can practice first."

The little boy gripped the pen carefully, his face tense.

Xie Wenling took another piece of paper and demonstrated: "Raise your head to the top of the line to show respect."

"The circles in front represent names. Write the name of the person you want to send it to here." He drew two circles at the beginning and then wrote "Respectfully yours" on the paper.

The little dumpling imitated him and neatly wrote: "Respectfully yours, 00".

Although the handwriting is a bit crooked, it's already quite good.

"Start a new line, recount the matter." Xie Wenling thought for a moment and casually wrote two lines of poetry.

The little dumpling looked up and saw that there were many words it couldn't understand.

The adult has started writing mysterious runes again.

The little dumpling got excited, then carefully traced the poem written by Xie Wenling, adding a little of his own creativity, and finally drew a piece of scribbles.

The second older brother peeked out and asked, "What character is this?"

The little dumpling shushed, "This is Yue'er's secret!"

Xie Wenling glanced at the scribbles, ignored them, and continued to instruct: "Sign your name at the end."

The little dumpling seemed to understand, but not quite, and carefully wrote its name in the lower left corner.

"Finally, seal it." Xie Wenling pulled one out of a stack of exquisite envelopes and handed it to the little dumpling.

The envelope was a vibrant green with fine silver trim, unlike the usual yellow envelopes.

The little dumpling really liked it and happily accepted it, exclaiming, "So pretty!"

She carefully folded the letter and clumsily stuffed it into the envelope, her little face full of piety.

Xie Wenling pushed the glutinous rice glue over.

The little dumpling imitated Brother Xie, carefully sealing the envelope and even pressing a small handprint on the seal.

"This is just like a real letter!" she exclaimed happily, holding up the letter. "Moon can write letters like an adult now!"

"Yes, you've learned it, that's great." Xie Wenling praised her a couple of times and gave her several sheets of stationery and colorful, pretty envelopes, making the little dumpling overjoyed.

"Moon must write a letter when she gets back!"