Chapter 137 The return journey is also filled with enriching learning^^……
Qi Chengming could hardly believe his ears.
What did he hear?
He Dajia... This talented person from the original story actually met his cousin before... In other words, he has a connection with the Marquis of Weiyong's family? I don't know how he recognized his identity, but he has been quietly concealing it.
No wonder Mr. He wanted to give him his beloved painting.
If it weren't for the sudden incident in Liuzhou... this Ms. He was so anxious to help him, otherwise would she have been unwilling to reveal this familiarity?
Qi Chengming broke out in a cold sweat just thinking about it.
But there was no time to say more. The ship they had booked at the last minute was about to depart, so Qi Chengming could only call for people to board: "Mr. He, let's go inside first and talk!"
With two more people, there weren't enough seats on the original plan, and the merchant ship was already full of cargo. He Dajia didn't hesitate, rolling up his sleeves like a porter: "Is there any room left in the hold? We can sleep with the cargo."
He had experienced terrifying turmoil, and everything else became less important. The hold could hold him; intellectual pride was unnecessary in times like these.
Qi Chengming couldn't possibly let people sleep with the goods. He glanced around, pondering how to arrange things.
Manager Hua's wife, commonly known as "the Hua family's wife," had an idea. Her eyes flickered, but she swallowed it back, hesitating and remaining silent. Gan Tang, standing silently beside Qi Chengming, however, had very sharp eyes.
She noticed the woman's gaze sweep over her, and guessed that the suggestion might not be good for her. The Hua family was afraid of offending her, the head palace maid, so they dared not say anything and pretended not to have thought of it.
Gan Tang has always been an honest, low-key person. She doesn't like to stand out and has a kind and gentle nature. That's why Qi Chengming felt so at ease letting her lead the people in the main courtyard after Bi Shu left.
At this moment, Gan Tang didn't hesitate much and directly asked, "I think Grandma Hua has something to say?"
Qi Chengming's gaze shifted over there.
The Hua family dared not delay and could only lower their heads and say, "This is just a strange idea of mine. Please forgive me if I say anything wrong. Right now, Niwa and I are sleeping in one room, and Miss Gantang is sleeping in the room next to His Highness. The other rooms are all assigned according to the number of people, and we can't change them."
Niwa is the son of Manager Hua and her. He is still young and has been eating and playing a lot these days, at most running errands.
"I was thinking..." She felt increasingly frustrated that she had come up with an unfinished idea and couldn't finish her sentence.
Fortunately, Qi Chengming had already understood.
Gan Tang's eyes lit up, and she replied, "Your Highness, I can sleep with Granny Hua." Although it's said to sleep in the same room, it doesn't mean sleeping on the same bed; if the couch is moved aside, there will still be two spaces.
Some might think the old woman was filthy, and that it was inappropriate for Gan Tang, a senior palace maid serving the prince and still unmarried, to share a room with her. The Hua family had considered this point earlier, which is why they hesitated to speak out.
Fortunately, Miss Gantang herself didn't mind; she has a really good nature.
“This will allow one more person to stay,” Qi Chengming pondered.
But... what about the other person? We can't just let Master He's page sleep alone in the hold, can we? That would be too awkward. It doesn't seem right to have a renowned scholar like Master He, the son of a steward, and a young child sharing a room.
Seeing the predicament, He Santie cupped his hands and prepared to lead the page to the lower deck: "Your Highness, it was I who insisted on coming along! It's not like people can't sleep there. A thick layer of bedding would suffice. There's really no need to make things so difficult for us."
Qi Chengming had an inspiration: "...!"
Hey, isn't this simple?
He stepped forward and grasped Master He's hand, saying emotionally, "I admire Master He's paintings, but I only have a superficial understanding of poetry and painting. Now that I'm going back, I have some time... Why don't we sleep side by side, and I would appreciate it if Master He could teach me?"
He San Tie: "...!!"
Qin Liusong, who was standing to the side, his face practically contorted with jealousy: "...!!!"
He hesitated, unable to utter a word.
Damn it, how did they put him in the same room as Manager Hua?! There's not even a spare spot!
He Santie was somewhat flattered, but he agreed without hesitation.
Although this was a last resort born of immense difficulty, the future emperor's decision to let him stay overnight stemmed from his concern for him and his reluctance to have him reside in the lower decks. This will undoubtedly become a celebrated story!
He Santie was overjoyed, but reservedly asked his page to bring him his portion of the luggage.
He Santie had left in a hurry this time, taking nothing but some beloved letters and paintings, a few sets of clothes and some money with him. Now, he could take them all out and discuss them one by one with the Second Prince!
Qi Chengming directed Gan Tang and his page to change the layout of his room.
All the cabins were the same, except for one bed and one couch. Qi Chengming, being of noble status, always lived alone. Originally, Gan Tang only wanted to sleep on the couch outside his room, but Qi Chengming couldn't stand that kind of comfort, so he let her sleep in a separate room.
Now is just right.
Qi Chengming didn't think he had become so pampered after only a year of transmigrating that he couldn't stand sleeping in the same room as someone else, even though it wasn't the same bed! If word got out, it would be a beautiful story of his respect for talent and humility.
After a flurry of activity, everything was settled.
Qi Chengming had already cast aside his worries. No matter how anxious he was, being thousands of miles away wouldn't help; he might as well shift his attention and pass the time. The crowd finally dispersed, and Qin Liusong left through gritted teeth.
He Dajia smiled and pointed to the celestial map hanging in the cabin, saying, "Your Highness, how about we start with this one?"
Qi Chengming gladly accepted.
He was a transmigrator who had traveled through time twice. Even as the original owner of this body, he hadn't had much good stuff or received much proper upbringing. Now that he was a prince, no one looked down on him. But when he returned to the capital... he couldn't let the princes, ministers, and Emperor Hongren laugh at him for being a clueless bumpkin.
This artistic education... also needs some urgent make-up lessons.
Qi Chengming thought it was pretty good.
He learned the zither and calligraphy from Mr. Huang and Mr. Qin, and the appreciation of silk fabrics and ornaments from Granny Liu. Now he is learning poetry and painting from Mr. He.
Although he was anxious and unable to sleep night after night, Qi Chengming would wake up in the middle of the night and go to the desk to study Mr. He's treasured collection. After more than half a month of this, he was able to explain the details clearly, and his learning progressed by leaps and bounds under the pressure.
That day, we were finally almost at Liuzhou.
Boats don't travel as easily during the dry season as they do during the wet season, and the return journey, without favorable winds or currents, is naturally much slower. Qi Chengming was anxiously fidgeting, but he tried his best to suppress his emotions, not wanting them to show.
Normally, he wouldn't care about small things, but when it came to such a big matter, Qi Chengming couldn't calm down and didn't want others to know.
"..." He Santie held a scroll and understood.
Even if the Second Prince is incredibly capable, he's only about ten years old. It's understandable that he's not able to calm down when faced with such a major event. To remain silent and not say a word to anyone... that's actually a bit too much of a repression.
He San Tie glanced to the side.
The head palace maid named Gantang was sitting there sewing shoe soles. His Highness had worn out several pairs of boots during his trips out.
He San Tie could also tell that the Second Prince and his palace maid were not very close. He hadn't even brought his personal eunuch with him, so he didn't even have anyone to confide in.
Unable to continue studying poetry today, He San Tie drew the Second Prince's gaze to the window: "Your Highness, what do you see there?"
We're probably getting close to Liuzhou.
The riverbanks were lush with vegetation and the temperature was pleasant. A plump, long-tailed bird landed on a low tree branch not far from the boat, wagging its tail and chirping melodiously, displaying its lively and adorable nature.
Qi Chengming calculated the time and sighed, "It's already November before I knew it. I often forget that we're in the south."
Before his time travel, he lived in Luoyang, a city in the Central Plains. In winter, migratory birds would fly away, but he didn't know how the local resident birds survived the winter. After arriving in Liuzhou, he was often amazed by the differences in climate between the north and south.
He Dajia had already ground the ink, dipped it in the ink, and started painting on the Xuan paper.
He painted very quickly, with large, sweeping movements, as if without thinking, and then he would switch to a different brush to carefully outline the details.
The restless Qi Chengming was unconsciously drawn to him, and looked up in surprise at the branch: "What you drew is..."
Is it the bird on the branch?
Qi Chengming was surprised to find that the bird paintings drawn by Master He were exactly the same as any ancient paintings he had seen online before his time travel, with light ink colors and an antique style.
But when Qi Chengming looked up and took a closer look at the birds on the branches, he discovered that after removing the greenery in the background, the birds and branches were actually painted very lifelike!
Although this is a freehand painting style, it is almost a copy.
...No matter how many times I see it, I am always amazed by the beauty of the ancients.
Qi Chengming, seeing this, had an idea and asked with great interest, "Lord He, is it possible to use some method to hide the characters in the painting?"
He wasn't referring to making the words very small and intricate, or hiding them somewhere; he was referring to... a visual illusion.
Double-sided embroidery existed in ancient times, and Qi Chengming didn't believe that the concept didn't exist.
For example, in the children's book series "Adventure Tigers" that he liked to read when he was a child before he traveled through time, there are some horizontal stripes that you can only see if you look closely; they are all words.
Is it possible to achieve a similar effect through drawing?
Qi Chengming asked this as a precaution.
“Of course.” He Dajia’s mind raced, and he understood immediately. He answered confidently.
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