Chapter 47 He has quite the nerve.

After some persuasion, Chen Yi still declined, so Li Huaigu had no choice but to leave the Xiao residence with Yunxiang, feeling rather disappointed.

The two sat in the carriage.

Yunxiang noticed that Li Huaigu was distracted and asked softly, "Li Lang, are you worried about how to explain things to Mr. Yue Ming?"

Li Huaigu snapped out of his reverie, shook his head, and said, "I was thinking about Brother Qingzhou."

“Him?” Yunxiang thought for a moment and said, “He seems different from everyone I’ve met. He’s very… very easygoing.”

Upon hearing this, Li Huaigu sighed, "Yes, Brother Qingzhou is indeed extraordinary. He is easygoing, unassuming, and indifferent to fame and fortune."

In his view, only a great Confucian scholar like his teacher possessed that kind of mindset.

After all, most people are troubled by fame and fortune. The more talented a person is, the more they care about fame and fortune, and they toil and struggle their whole lives.

But Chen Yi had no such thoughts at all.

He was clearly a promising young man with exceptional talent.

"Then, Li Lang, what do you plan to do?"

"I'll go to Guiyun Academy first to report to my teacher. I hope he won't be angry."

Guiyun Academy.

"Is he really not going to come?"

In the spacious study, Mr. Yue Ming sat upright at his desk, a hint of anger showing on his face, and said in an unpleasant tone:

"His status as a son-in-law of a marquis's family is indeed not suitable for formal occasions, but since I have invited him to participate in the poetry gathering, I will naturally protect him."

"Furthermore, I have corresponded with Mr. Juyi many times. How could I possibly embarrass his student?"

At the next seat, Li Huaigu shook his head, "Teacher, I have tried my best to persuade him, but... but Brother Qingzhou's attitude is adamant."

He also said that the poetry gathering would inevitably bring up the matter of the imperial examination, and since his elder brother Yunfan was the top scholar, people would inevitably compare the brothers.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Yue Ming paused, his expression softening. He stroked his beard and said, "In that case, I had not considered things thoroughly."

Looking at his expression, Li Huaigu thought for a moment and asked, "Teacher, I have a question. Why did you insist on inviting Brother Qingzhou to come?"

As if worried that Mr. Yueming might misunderstand, he continued, "If it's because of the previous 'forced abduction of Yunniang,' I have already made it clear at the government office that this matter has nothing to do with Brother Qingzhou. He did it out of good intentions."

"Good intentions?" Recalling the incident of "forcibly abducting a woman," Mr. Yue Ming's old face turned serious.

"Fang Gui, do you really think so?"

"Your mother's methods were a bit extreme, but she was thinking of you. It was an arranged marriage by your parents and a matchmaker."

"Don't be fooled by your current affection for Yunniang; things may not be so easy in the future."

Li Huaigu nodded with a wry smile.

He understood the reasoning, but he was unwilling and would not abandon Yunniang.

Just as Chen Yi wrote on the note to him, there are some things that you might regret doing in the future, but you will regret not doing them for the rest of your life.

If he were to marry a woman of equal social standing or from a wealthy family, as arranged by his mother, he would never be happy in his life.

Mr. Yue Ming, of course, saw through his thoughts, waved his hand to avoid discussing such sentimental matters, and instead said:

"I summoned Chen Yi mainly for a calligraphy copybook."

"What kind of calligraphy model could make a teacher care so much?"

Li Huaigu knew that in addition to his profound academic studies, his teacher was particularly skilled in calligraphy and often appreciated calligraphy works with several other teachers from the academy.

To be so highly regarded by the teacher, who went to the trouble of personally inviting him, it's likely that Brother Qingzhou must possess a calligraphy copybook by a renowned artist.

Mr. Yue Ming said with a sigh, "I don't know where Chen Yi found a great calligrapher to write this. The characters are truly beautiful."

Li Huaigu was invigorated. "The artistic conception is self-evident? There aren't many calligraphers in the Great Wei Dynasty who can produce such works."

Mr. Yue Ming recalled that fleeting glimpse of the calligraphy copybook, and a hint of eagerness welled up in his cloudy eyes.

"That's not ordinary calligraphy, but a completely new font that is distinctly different from Wei Qing's style."

Li Huaigu was dumbfounded: "A new style? A new style of calligraphy that reveals its own artistic conception?"

Don't be surprised; if this were true, it would shake the entire Great Wei Dynasty.

It should be noted that in the two hundred years since the founding of the Great Wei Dynasty, there have been people who have come up with new styles of characters, but none have been as mature as the Wei Qing style.

Let alone new styles of calligraphy that naturally express their artistic conception, there are very few calligraphy models that can even meet the standards of renowned calligraphers.

Mr. Yue Ming was also aware of this, and sighed, "But such a treasure is in Chen Yi's hands, it's a complete waste of its value."

"What annoys me the most is that his maid argued with me, saying that the calligraphy was written by Chen Yi."

"Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!"

Li Huaigu chuckled, never expecting that his usually stern teacher would get angry with a maid, which showed how much he loved that calligraphy copybook.

However, at the same time, a question arose in his mind.

Although he had little contact with Chen Yi, he could tell that Chen Yi was not the kind of person who spoke without reason.

Suddenly, Li Huaigu remembered something and hurriedly took something out of his inner pocket, opened it, and took a look.

The more I looked at him, the stranger his expression became, and eventually even his hands trembled slightly.

Mr. Yue Ming noticed his unusual behavior. "Fang Gui, is something wrong?"

"Yes, teacher, no... this."

Li Huaigu couldn't explain it clearly for a moment, and disregarding the proper teacher-student etiquette, he stepped forward and placed the paper in front of him.

"Teacher, please look at this character."

Mr. Yue Ming glanced at the palm-sized piece of Yun Song paper with torn edges and frowned.

However, trusting Li Huaigu, he refrained from speaking, took the paper, examined it carefully, and muttered to himself:

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, lest they wither and die..."

Before he could finish reading, Mr. Yue Ming suddenly stood up, looking at the words on the paper with a mixture of surprise and delight. His eyes darted up, down, left, and right, clearly reading the calligraphy word by word, following the strokes.

After a while.

Mr. Yue Ming smacked his lips, letting out a sigh that sounded like he was enjoying himself.

“Excellent calligraphy. It must be from the same hand as the calligraphy copybook I saw earlier.”

As he spoke, he looked at Li Huaigu and asked, "Fang Gui, what is this character?"

Li Huaigu, confirming his suspicions, exclaimed excitedly, "Teacher, these characters are exactly what Brother Qingzhou wrote earlier!"

"really?"

"Students dare not deceive their teachers."

Mr. Yue stared at him for a moment before looking away, slowly sitting down, his eyes fixed on the writing in his hand.

"I was wrong before, I misunderstood that maid."

"And Chen Yi... Thinking back, it was that old fox Juyi who had a sharp eye and determined early on that his calligraphy had a special talent."

Li Huaigu comforted him, "Teacher, there's no need to overthink it. After all, Brother Qingzhou has only been in Shuzhou for a short time, and his actions are unconventional, therefore..."

Mr. Yue Ming raised his hand to interrupt, saying, "A mistake is a mistake. Whether it was my preconceived notions or my stubborn adherence to etiquette, it is ultimately my fault."

Li Huaigu pursed his lips, not daring to offer any further advice.

After a long silence.

Li Huaigu tried to speak up: "Teacher, how about I ask Brother Qingzhou for a calligraphy copybook?"

"you?"

Mr. Yue Ming shook his head. “Never mind, since this matter arose because of me, I will handle it myself.”

"And this poetry gathering..."

"If it is held as scheduled, then I will treat you to a welcome feast."

"Thank you for your help, teacher."

Not long after, Li Huaigu left Guiyun Academy and saw Yunxiang waiting under a tree not far away. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Yunxiang asked in surprise, "Li Lang, did Mr. Yue Ming blame you?"

Li Huaigu shook his head: "It's not the teacher, but Brother Qingzhou."

"Is the gentleman blaming him?"

"Scolding him? No, from now on, the teacher will not only not blame him, but may even personally come to see him..."

...

Chen Yi had no idea how "shameless" he was referring to.

Despite declining the poetry gathering at Guiyun Academy, he remained unchanged.

Aside from staying in his study and never venturing out, he would occasionally take Xiaodie out for a stroll to join in the hustle and bustle of the mansion and seek opportunities.

If anything happens at other times, Xiaodie or Su Zhenyue will come to find him.

If nothing happens... it's best if nothing happens at all.

With the return of the two young ladies of the Xiao family, Xiao Wuge moved back to Jiaxing Garden, and Zhang Heng vowed never to come again, making Chunhe Garden even more chaotic than before.

These past few days, Chen Yi has been meeting so many people with his wife, Xiao Jinghong, that he's practically stiff from all the polite conversation and courteous manners.

Those generals who came from military backgrounds were alright; at most, they looked down on him and muttered something like "weak and frail" to his face before letting it go.

The young ladies and gentlemen from aristocratic families speak in roundabout ways, making people feel uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Xiao Jinghong remained calm throughout.

"The capable should do more work, so let Madam handle them."

Chen Yi lay on the recliner, flipping through the "Four Diagnostic Essentials" while comparing it with the "Medical Canon" in his mind.

Just then, Xiaodie pushed open the door to the main room and led Liu Si'er in.

"Fourth Brother, the son-in-law is inside."

Liu Si'er clasped his hands in a respectful greeting, then entered the study, saying, "Young Master."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yi put down his medical book, looked him up and down, and asked with a smile, "Fourth Brother, is there something you need?"

It's been a while since I've seen Liu Si'er. I suppose it's because Xiao Jinghong returned to the manor that this "hidden guard" doesn't dare to approach Chunhe Garden.

Even with the "other person in charge" mentioned in the secret letter, Chen Yi has not made any progress in his recent observations and has no choice but to keep quiet for the time being.

"Someone just handed a name card to the son-in-law at the gatehouse, and I brought it to you on the way."

Liu Si'er casually placed the red lacquered cardboard on the table, bowed, and said, "Young Master, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."

Chen Yi hummed in agreement, watched him walk away, and then picked up the name card to look at it.

My dear brother Qingzhou, I have missed you dearly for several months.

Whenever I think of how you traveled so far to marry into the Xiao family, I feel heartbroken, fearing that you might not be eating or sleeping well in the Xiao family.

"It just so happens that my brother has passed the imperial examination with top honors and has been appointed by His Majesty to serve in the Shu Prefecture Provincial Administration Office. Tomorrow morning, I hope to have a conversation with you on the official road north of the city." — Chen Yunfan

After reading it, Chen Yi raised an eyebrow. "Brother, Chen Yunfan?"

Let me go greet him tomorrow, oh, what a big face he has.

(End of this chapter)