Chapter 22 I wish to borrow the pen of Heaven to rewrite the merits of Dingyuan!

The sun was high in the sky, and the sky was clear.

After two days of rain, the air in Chunhe Garden is much fresher, with a faint fragrance of flowers, grass, bamboo and trees.

Even the golden carp in the pond became much more active, leaping out of the water one after another, only to be caught by Xiao Wuge with his simple fishing rod.

His excited voice could be heard from the pavilion from time to time.

"Brother-in-law, this is the third carp we caught today."

"Brother-in-law, this is the fourth one. Are we really not allowed to eat them?"

"Brother-in-law, the..."

Your second uncle's legs.

There's definitely something wrong with the carp in this pond. They're acting like they're obsessed with vanity, recklessly biting and licking Xiao Wuge's fishhook!

Even with Chen Yi's good temper and easygoing nature, he had no choice but to put down his fishing rod and return to his study to practice calligraphy, trying to avoid seeing it.

During this period, with the support of Dacheng Calligraphy, his running script has improved rapidly, probably because he has gained a lot of experience in brush techniques through practicing Wei Qing's calligraphy.

In just over ten days, he mastered the running script to a high level of proficiency, and was only one step away from breaking through to mastery.

As Chen Yi practiced his running script calligraphy, he couldn't help but recall the old Marquis's birthday celebration.

"The old Marquis spent his life on the battlefield, defeating the barbarian tribes and the army of Vaishsa... His birthday greetings had to be related to the military."

As he thought about it, several frontier poems came to mind.

Some poems describe unfulfilled ambitions, while others depict scenes of intense and dramatic events, but few can be applied to the old Marquis.

After a moment's thought, Chen Yi made a decision.

Immediately, he glanced at the cloud-pine paper, mentally drafted the composition, then picked up a wolf-hair brush, dipped it in ink, and channeled the limited energy within his dantian to manipulate the heavens and earth, forcefully writing through the paper:

"The flames of war tempered our courage, our armor forged our strength. For ten years, we held our spears high, pointing south, our heroic spirit cleaving through the clouds. We traversed the vast and desolate waters, and bound the demons of the mountains, pacifying the borders with laughter... We wish to borrow the brush of Heaven to rewrite our glorious achievements!"

This time, Chen Yi did not use the slightly smooth running script, but instead chose the bold and unrestrained Wei Qing style.

Soon, a poem, written with unrestrained brushstrokes, possessing extraordinary momentum and vaguely revealing profound artistic conception, appeared on the paper.

As he finished the last stroke, Chen Yi abruptly threw the wolf-hair brush aside, leaned back in his chair, and felt weak and powerless in his limbs, with his vision slightly blurred.

He quickly closed his eyes and rubbed his temples to relax and rest.

I never imagined that using intention to control the brush would take such a heavy toll on him.

Not only did it deplete his dantian energy, but it also damaged his blood and qi. The feeling of exhaustion was just like when he practiced the spear stance for two hours.

"Brother-in-law, are you feeling unwell?"

Just then, Xiao Wuge pushed the door open and came in. Seeing his furrowed brows and weak appearance, he quickly asked.

Chen Yi forced his eyes open and smiled, "I overdid it, I'm fine. Get me some food."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wuge quickly found some food and handed it to him while looking at the poem on the table.

Although he had only recently begun studying classical texts and didn't know much about poetry, he was already literate; at least he recognized the characters "Dingyuan Hou" and "Xiao Yuan" in that poem.

After carefully reading the poem, Xiao Wuge wrote it down and then asked in surprise, "Brother-in-law, are you preparing a birthday poem for Grandpa?"

Chen Yi ate his food and said, "It's the old Marquis's birthday, and as your sister's husband, I should make some preparations out of courtesy and reason."

Xiao Wuge chuckled, "Since it's a birthday greeting, I'll keep it a secret for my brother-in-law and make Grandpa happy later."

With his limited understanding of word meanings, he naturally couldn't quite grasp the full artistic conception expressed in this poem.

But he could tell that it was a poem praising his grandfather.

After finishing his snacks and regaining some strength, Chen Yi said, "It's alright, the news about this poem will come sooner or later."

After saying this, he got up, took a piece of Xuan paper, dipped it in ink on the poem, and added the title of the poem, "Shuidiao Getou: Zhiqing Xiaohou", and the signature, thus completing the poem.

However, before it can become a perfect "birthday greeting," it still needs to be framed.

"Can I go tell Grandpa now?"

"what ever."

Chen Yi didn't care.

Since he has written this poem, it will be known sooner or later, so there is no point in hiding it.

"Then I'll go tell Grandpa right now."

Having received approval, Xiao Wuge ran out with a joyful expression, heading towards the central courtyard under the protection of the armored guards at the gate.

Seeing his hurried manner, Chen Yi calmly tidied up the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone on the table before walking outside.

He summoned Xiaodie and instructed her to invite a framer to the mansion, and also to bring some more food.

After Xiaodie left and seeing that no one was around, Chen Yi took some pastries and headed straight for Jiaxing Garden.

When Pei Guanli saw him coming, she quickly jumped down from the tree.

Without saying a word, she picked up a piece of pastry and stuffed it into her mouth.

While eating, she sobbed and complained, "Brother-in-law, if you don't come soon, I'll be starving."

In fact, at this moment, Pei Guanli was not only starving, but also extremely sleepy after not sleeping all night.

Chen Yi watched her swallow without any regard for her image, and didn't rush to ask. He waited until she slowed down a bit before asking:

"Any discoveries?"

Yes, yes, yes.

Pei Guanli said excitedly, "Brother-in-law, you're absolutely right! Someone came to collect that secret letter before dawn this morning..."

After listening, Chen Yi suddenly understood.

He knew who Pei Guanli was talking about—a servant responsible for removing garbage and other miscellaneous items from the Marquis's residence.

It is said that they were all veterans of the Dingyuan Army, who had followed the old Marquis in many battles over the years.

But that's strange.

The previous Liu Si'er was one thing, but this elderly servant could be considered an old man of the Marquis's mansion. How could he become a "hidden guard"?

Chen Yi thought to himself, and then told Pei Guanli to continue hiding in the Spring Lotus Garden to prevent her from wandering around and being seen.

Having eaten and drunk his fill and regained his strength, Pei Guanli became excited again and asked, "Brother-in-law, what are we going to do next?"

"No rush, let the bullets fly for a while."

"Bullets? What are those?"

"You can think of it as an arrow..."

...

The central courtyard of the Xiao family mansion.

Xiao Wuge skipped and hopped to a secluded courtyard, looked around, and then suddenly stopped.

Inside the courtyard, under the pavilion, several elders, led by the old Marquis, were leisurely drinking tea.

Beside them were the young Duchess Xiao Qiuyun and the young heir Zhang Heng, served by several servants from the Marquis's household.

Xiao Wuge straightened his clothes, walked over respectfully, and greeted them one by one.

"Wu Ge greets his grandfather, Grandpa Zhang, Grandpa Sun, Grandpa Li, Aunt Qiuyun, and Brother Shizi."

Xiao Yuan gestured to the side, "Wu Ge, come sit here with Grandpa."

Xiao Wuge obediently sat down next to him.

Xiao Qiuyun glanced at him and said with a smile, "Uncle, Wu Ge is becoming more and more like an elder brother."

Beside him, the young prince Zhang Heng pouted and made a face at Xiao Wuge.

“Qiuyun is right, Wuge does indeed have the same style as his father.” Duke Zhang Xuan nodded.

Xiao Yuan was naturally pleased to hear this. He waved his hand and said a few words of modesty before asking, "Wu Ge, I heard you've been fishing at Chunhe Garden lately. It's rare for you to come over. Is there something you need?"

Xiao Wuge nodded, "My brother-in-law wrote you a birthday poem..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Heng, who was standing next to him, said in a childish voice, "What brother-in-law? He's just a runaway groom."

Xiao Qiuyun scolded, "Heng'er, how dare you be so rude!"

Even the Duke of Gan's expression turned sour. "Heng'er, if you continue to be so rude, get back to Jiaozhou!"

"It's alright, it's alright..."

Although Xiao Yuan was displeased, he wasn't about to hold a grudge against the child. He then looked at Xiao Wuge:

"Wu Ge, do you still remember what lyrics Chen Yi wrote?"

"Grandson remembers."

Xiao Wuge immediately began to recite it, his childish voice echoing through the courtyard.

"The flames of war tempered our courage, our armor forged our strength, ten years of valiant service..."

(End of this chapter)