Chapter 215: Writing? Is this drawing a talisman?
"No," Xiao Yu explained patiently, "Pen, ink, paper, and inkstone are the quietest things. As long as you put your heart into it, they will reward you with the most beautiful lines. And..."
He changed the subject and threw out his trump card.
"Don't you want to make me happy?"
Ah Jiu nodded immediately: "Yes!"
A gentle smile appeared in Xiao Yu's eyes.
"I don't like watching people practice swordplay; fighting and killing are not good. But I like watching people write, especially Ah Jiu's." He said softly, "If you can write well, I will be very, very happy."
Ajiu was completely convinced.
It is better to make Brother Xiongxiong happy than to protect him!
This logic makes sense!
"Okay!" She immediately made the decision, completely forgetting about the sword dance. "Then I'll learn calligraphy. I want to write the most beautiful calligraphy in the world and make Brother Xiong Xiong happy every day!"
call--
Chu Xuanyi and Xiao Yu both breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts, feeling completely exhausted.
Saved.
The palace was saved.
"Okay." Xiao Yu nodded with satisfaction and rubbed Ajiu's head.
He instructed the housekeeper who was waiting beside him, "Go, get the best set of Hu brushes, Hui ink, Duan inkstone, and Xuan paper from the storeroom, and send them to Jiu'anju."
"Yes, Your Highness." The butler bowed and retreated.
"Since everything is fine, I'll take my leave first." Chu Xuanyi felt that he needed to go back and have a cup of calming tea, so he bowed to Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu said "hmm" lightly.
Chu Xuanyi turned around and walked out as if he had been pardoned.
When he reached the door, Chu Xuanyi couldn't help but lower his voice and asked Xiao Yu, "Your Highness, is it really safe to write? Why do I always feel a little uneasy?"
Xiao Yu glanced at him and said unhappily, "What else? Let her practice sword dancing? Writing wastes a bit of ink at best, but sword dancing is life-threatening! Choose the lesser of two evils, understand?"
Chu Xuanyi thought about it and felt that it made sense.
"That's right, but..." He was still a little worried, "She won't poke people with the brush, right?"
"...Shut up your crow mouth!"
Chu Xuanyi almost fled from the courtyard of Jiuanju.
As soon as he went out, he patted his chest, looking relieved that he had survived a disaster.
"Oh my god, I was so scared. I really thought the prince was going to agree to let her dance with the sword!" He exaggeratedly wiped the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead. "Thankfully, thankfully, the prince is wise and brave enough to come up with this... uh, peaceful idea of writing."
The housekeeper was very efficient. Soon, a set of top-notch study treasures was respectfully brought in and laid out on the desk.
The Duan inkstone, produced in Longwei Mountain in Shezhou, is made of warm and solid stone; the Hui ink is black and shiny, solid and delicate; the Hu brush has a sharp tip and a round waist; and the high-quality Xuan paper is as white as jade and as thin and tough as gauze.
Any one of them is enough to attract scholars and writers to pursue it.
However, in Ajiu's eyes...
This is a black stone plate.
A hard, black stick.
A pile of bristly brush behind a pole.
And a large, white stack of paper.
She reached out and curiously poked the cold inkstone, then pinched the soft hairs at the tip of the brush, finding it novel and interesting.
Xiao Yu stood beside her, watching her study these things like a curious baby, with a mixture of helplessness and doting in his eyes. Forget it, as long as she stopped thinking about sword dancing, he could still afford to spend some money on pens, ink, paper, and inkstone.
"Brother Xiongxiong, what should we do now?" Jiu looked up and asked him.
Xiao Yu picked up the inkstone and asked the maid to bring a small bowl of water.
"First, you have to grind the ink," he explained in a gentle voice. "You need to be calm to write. Grinding the ink is the first step to calming your mind."
He demonstrated it himself, poured a little water into the inkstone, then picked up the ink stick and drew circles on the inkstone slowly and steadily.
His movements were graceful and deliberate, his wrist steady and his strength even. Soon, the clear water gradually turned into thick ink, and a faint scent of ink filled the air.
Ajiu's eyes were wide open.
She felt that the way Brother Xiongxiong was grinding ink was a hundred times more beautiful than the "beautiful woman playing the piano" that the adult had just described.
"Let me do it, let me do it." She immediately became interested, snatched the ink stick from Xiao Yu's hand, and imitated him to draw circles in the inkstone.
The only difference is that Xiao Yu is "grinding" while she is "stirring".
"Sizzle—sizzle—"
A harsh sound was heard in the quiet room, and a few drops of stirred ink splashed onto the rice paper next to it, leaving a few ugly black spots.
Xiao Yu: “…”
He silently reached out and held down Jiu's overly "lively" little hand.
"Slow down," he sighed helplessly, gently hugging her from behind, holding her hand and leading her to grind the ink again, "The force should be light and the speed should be even. Like this, feel the fusion of ink and inkstone with your heart."
His chest was pressed against her back, his deep voice ringing right next to her ear, his warm breath brushing against the top of her hair.
Ah Jiu's body stiffened for a moment, her face strangely hot. She felt as if she were surrounded by a pleasant, cool, pine scent, and even her heart skipped a beat. She didn't dare move, and obediently followed Xiao Yu's strength, slowly grinding her in circles.
After grinding the ink, Xiao Yu picked up a brush of appropriate size and dipped it in the ink.
"Come, let me teach you how to hold a pen first."
He handed the pen to Ajiu.
Ajiu grabbed the pen.
Xiao Yu: “…”
He closed his eyes and told himself to stay calm and be patient. This was the "talent" he had chosen, and he would teach it even if he had to kneel down.
"No." He stretched out his hand and broke Ah Jiu's incorrect grip one by one, then patiently taught her, "Thumb finger, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger, it should be like this... That's right, fingers are firm and palm is empty, and wrist should be straight."
After adjusting for a long time, Jiu finally managed to strike a pose that looked decent.
"Okay, what do you want to write now?" Xiao Yu asked.
"I want to write your name." Jiu blurted out.
Xiao Yu's heart seemed to be gently bumped by something, and he let out a low "hmm".
"Xiao Yu." He wrote his name on a piece of paper. His handwriting was so powerful, it pierced through the paper, and he exuded the air of a king who looked down upon the world.
Ajiu leaned over and looked at the two complicated words, his little brows immediately frowned.
Why... is it so difficult to write?
It was a hundred times more complicated than she had imagined!
However, the words have been spoken, and it was to make Xiong Xiong's brother happy.
Can't retreat.
Ajiu took a deep breath, picked up the pen and imitated Xiao Yu, poking at the rice paper in front of him.
But the pen in her hand was completely unresponsive. She tried to write a horizontal stroke, but her hand shook and the stroke became a twisted earthworm. She tried to write a vertical stroke, but a drop of ink spread out, creating a large dot on the paper.
She was not convinced, so she dipped the brush in ink again and started drawing on the ink spot.
Where are the words then?
It was clearly an unknown creature composed of unevenly thick, crooked lines and several ink lumps. It looked like a flattened spider, or a tangled mess of yarn.
Ajiu looked at his own masterpiece and felt embarrassed.
"Brother Xiongxiong..." She raised her head aggrievedly and looked at Xiao Yu, "It bullies me too. It doesn't listen to me."
Xiao Yu looked at the "ghostly scribbles", then looked at Ajiu's pitiful appearance who seemed about to cry, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
He felt that his previous thoughts might be wrong.
Writing may not be as simple as just spending ink.
It's also... hard on the eyes.
"It's okay," he consoled her, suppressing a smile. "It's always like this the first time you write. Let's not write something so difficult. Let's start with the simplest character, 'one', okay?"
"No," Ah Jiu shook his head stubbornly, "I'm going to write your name."
She pressed the entire tip of the brush into the inkstone and stirred it vigorously until the brush hairs were covered with ink so thick that it was about to drip.
She picked up the pen, gathered her strength and was about to "attack" the paper again!
Just as she picked up the pen, she flicked her wrist suddenly—
“Snap!”
A huge drop of ink flew out from the tip of the pen and landed squarely on the sleeve of Xiao Yu's dark brocade robe with dark gold patterns.
The finest brocade was instantly stained with a glaring, round black mark.
Ajiu's movements froze.
She slowly looked at Xiao Yu's sleeves, then slowly raised her head to look at Xiao Yu's face.
Xiao Yu lowered his head and looked at the ink stain on his sleeve expressionlessly.
"I... I didn't mean it." Ajiu's voice was filled with tears, and the brush in his hand fell to the ground with a "pop".
"Brother Xiongxiong, I was wrong, don't be angry."
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