A person who writes well indeed has a firm and strong handwriting, but the Speed of his pen would not be too fast.
When the Sword Manual was finally completed, Su Xingze was not too exhausted, but Su Rong grew silent. As Ye Guixue was about to take the writing brush from Su Xingze, Su Rong swiftly snatched it without a word, telling them, "You both can go and enjoy some tea; I will take care of the rest."
Su Xingze raised his brow, questioning her sudden willingness to help.
Su Rong replied with disdain: "You were writing too slowly."
Su Xingze: "..."
He had worked so hard only to be criticized by her. Getting up in a huff, he said to Ye Guixue, "Second Young Master Ye, shall we move to the West Chamber to talk?"
The West Chamber was a small study.
Ye Guixue got up with a smile, "Sure."
With that, the two men left together.
Su Rong took the brush, her writing, fluid as a dragon, swift as a phoenix. The wild cursive script in her hand became an impressive spectacle, her strokes hit the paper at a dizzying pace. Fen Ling, who was grinding the ink, was dazzled, but he didn’t dare utter a word. He was afraid that if he interrupted, Su Rong might throw the brush at him and ask him to take over. Although he could also write in wild cursive, he certainly couldn’t match her speed.
Su Xingze brought Ye Guixue into the small study. Once seated, Su Xingze didn’t ask Ye Guixue to help, but personally brewed tea for him.
Ye Guixue sat in patience, waiting for Su Xingze to start the conversation.
Once he had poured out two cups of tea, Su Xingze began, "Second Young Master Ye, you have spent a considerable amount of time with my youngest sister. As her older brother, I must ask, do you believe she is suitable for marriage? Is she the kind of woman you envision for a wife?"
Ye Guixue thought Su Xingze would ask about his family or the Nanchu King, or the political situation of Nanchu. He didn’t expect him to ask this first. He was about to answer when Su Xingze continued.
"Take your time before you respond, Second Young Master Ye. As men, we all have an idea, however vague or clear, of the type of woman we want to wed when we are young. My youngest sister told me that you agreed to this marriage at the age of thirteen at the request of the Nanchu King and Ye Xiang. I am curious as to what thoughts the thirteen-year-old Second Young Master Ye had regarding his future wife before he made that decision. And thereafter, what did he think of my sister, whom he had never met?"
Second Young Master Ye immediately grasped the sharpness of Su Xingze’s question.
He truly thought for a while before he responded to Su Xingze, "To be honest, before I was thirteen, I didn’t give much thought to my future wife. My father, seeing that I had some talent for both literature and martial arts, was strict with my education. I had no spare time to think about other things, especially girls. I have hardly had any contact with girls, so I have never had a clear or vague idea."
Su Xingze nodded. He had deduced as much from the records of the Ye Xiang Residence. It seemed that Ye Guixue was not lying.
Ye Guixue added: "At the age of thirteen, I made the decision to marry your sister after serious consideration. The intelligence about the Princess was limited, but it was enough to show she was an interesting and lively young lady. The King wishes to pave the way for her. The Ye Xiang Residence, loyal to the throne, has enjoyed a harmonious relationship with the King over the years. Hence, supporting the accession of the future heir becomes our obligation. I, as a member of the Ye Xiang Residence, having an older brother maintaining the dignity of the residence, can marry the Princess."
He withdrew his smile, "From the day I was born, my father instructed me strictly, intending that I would assume my father’s current position in the future. Although my older brother is talented, he isn’t as wise as me. However, after our awareness of the Princess, the King approached my father and thus the Ye Xiang Residence had another option. My father swore loyalty to the King, I could marry the Princess, and the King also wished to utilize my talent, to assists the Princess for the welfare of Nanchu. I am also willing to dedicate my talent to a greater conducive cause and strive for the prosperity of Nanchu."
His voice was soft yet steady, "Before meeting the Princess, I had known about her for five years. The King has taught me, and I have been carefully nurtured by my father. Every time the spies sent news, the King would show it to me. Although I had not seen the Princess in person for five years, I felt quite familiar with her. When I first saw her after five years, I thought to myself, the young girl I waited for five years had finally grown up. Although I was a bit late, she had already cancelled the engagement herself. When she agreed to marry me, I felt grateful."
He continued, looking at Su Xingze, "Do you understand, Elder Brother Su? Before turning thirteen, I didn’t have any thoughts about my future wife, not even a vague shadow. But after turning thirteen, there’s only Princess in my heart, from vague to clear, I am willing to share a hundred years of good life with her, to be the perfect match made by heaven."
Su Xingze nodded slowly, "Second Young Master Ye has explained it very clearly, and I understand it now."
He picked up his cup and took a sip of tea, no longer probing Ye Guixue. Instead, he began to share the stories about Su Rong’s childhood with Ye Guixue.
Ye Guixue listened quietly, sometimes smiling, sometimes surprised. There were some stories he knew, some he didn’t. There were some Su Rong mentioned before and some she didn’t, probably because they were too mischievous and she felt embarrassed to talk about.
Learning from Su Xingze, Ye Guixue obtained a new understanding of Su Rong. Even though he thought he knew a lot about her, he seemed to realize that he didn’t know her well enough. There were sides of Su Rong that he hadn’t seen.
That afternoon, Su Xingze shared a lot of stories about Su Rong, from her good deeds to mischievous ones, until Su Rong came looking for them.
"Su Xingze is trying to slander me behind my back. Isn’t that right?" She replied after rubbing her wrist as she looked at her elder brother.
Su Xingze nodded, "Yes."
Laughing and annoyed, Su Rong gave her brother an angry glare and turned to Ye Guixue, "No matter what my elder brother says, he was born to bother me and be bothered by me. I doubt you’d hear any good things about me from him."
Ye Guixue looked at her affectionately, "In my eyes, you are always perfect."
At his words, Su Rong burst out laughing. Turning to her brother, she boasted, "Did you hear that, elder brother?"
"Isn’t our aunt calling us for lunch?" Su Xingze asked, ignoring her.
Su Rong nodded, "Yes, our uncle just came back. Our aunt invited Ye Guixue to stay for lunch. She ordered the kitchen to prepare a large feast with lots of delicious food." Then she called both of them, "Let’s go. It`s time to eat."
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