Chapter 128: The sound of books and laughter fills the courtyard, and the kind words and gentle words touch the heart
Shufangzhai Courtyard
The afternoon sun shone like melted gold foil, splashing across the bluestone slabs and heating the wind chimes in the corridor. Their tinkling sounds were shrouded in warmth. Beneath the crabapple tree, petals fell in a riot of color. A sheet of rice paper, nearly a foot wide, lay spread on the stone table. Little Swallow stood before it, clutching a purple-hair brush. The hem of her lilac-colored palace dress swayed gently in the breeze, and the pearl tassels in her hair rustled with her movements.
"Look carefully, the character '人' has a left stroke and a right stroke, like two people holding hands, not a crooked sapling." She dipped her pen in thick ink and placed two steady strokes on the paper, her brush strokes graceful and powerful. "Little Mosquito, come and write one."
Little Mosquito rubbed his hands together as he stepped forward. His hand trembled as he took the pen, and the ink smeared onto the paper, leaving a tiny black dot. He frowned and scribbled two crooked lines, resembling a tiny grasshopper with its wings spread. He scratched his head and laughed, "Wow! How come this character '人' is harder than a somersault? What I'm writing is... a grasshopper jumping, right?"
"Pfft..." Mingyue and Caixia covered their mouths with their hands and laughed. They were both wearing aqua-green palace dresses, each holding a piece of rice paper covered with calligraphy, their sleeves stained with faint traces of ink. Caixia held up her handwritten "人" character and whispered, "Gege, look, isn't my stroke too curved? It looks like a little insect with its legs curled up."
Xiaoyanzi suppressed her laughter and held her hand as she rewrote the character. "The left stroke should be relaxed, and the right stroke should be steady, just like when we walk, we need to take each step firmly to maintain stability." She turned to look at the small stool. "It's your turn now. Write the character '学'. Don't forget what we taught you yesterday—the top of the character '学' looks like a roof, and underneath it is a child who loves reading."
Xiaodiaozi scratched his head with a bitter face, dragging his pen across the paper until he wrote the character "学" (learning) like a little old man with a crooked hat. He slapped his thigh so hard, the sound so loud it startled the sparrows in the trees. "Sun Wukong, save me! This character '学' is harder to subdue than a demon! It looks like Zhu Bajie, still half asleep, with his ears drooping and unwilling to move!"
"Don't be lazy!" Xiaoyanzi tapped the back of his hand with a ruler, a smile glittering in her eyes. "The emperor said the other day that wanting to learn to read is a sign of progress. If he finds out you're calling Sun Wukong here, I'll make you copy the Hundred Family Names a hundred times!"
Jinsuo came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of almond pastries. Her light red bodice was stained with flour. She placed the plate on the low table next to the stone table and, smiling, helped Xiao Zhuozi steady the rice paper. "Brother Zhuozi, the '田' in your '福' character is too small. It looks like a granary gnawed by mice. You need to make it bigger to contain the blessing."
Xiao Zhuozi nodded, his face flushed, ink smearing on the tip of his nose, like a kitten that had drunk some ink. Just as he was about to put pen to paper, he heard a laugh from under the tree. Twelfth Prince Yongji was crouching among the crabapple blossoms, holding a piece of pea-yellow paper. The front of his royal blue brocade robe was stained with pastry crumbs. He pointed at the words on the stone table with his little hand, his eyes narrowed into crescents with laughter.
"Twelfth Prince, why are you eating here?" Xiaoyanzi called back, her tone full of doting, "Come here, I'll teach you how to write the word 'sweet'. If you write it well, I'll give you two pea yellow pieces as a reward."
Yongqi immediately jumped up, stuffed his mouth full of cakes, trotted to the stone table, and said incoherently: "I want to learn! I want to write 'sweet' for my mother to eat!" His little hands grasped the edge of the stone table, the flowing cloud pattern on his cuffs was gilded by the sunlight, and the osmanthus petals on his little face sparkled.
Ziwei sat on a pearwood chair in the porch, a handkerchief embroidered with orchids. She couldn't help but smile at the lively scene in the courtyard. Her aquamarine skirt draped over the stone steps, a corner lifted by the wind, revealing the tip of her shoe embroidered with lotus flowers. She smiled and said to Jinsuo, who was grinding ink beside her, "Look at them! They're not practicing calligraphy, they're clearly acting out a lively play."
"That's right," Jinsuo smiled. "Brother Xiaodengzi just said that the word 'learning' looks like Sun Wukong wearing a hat, and he wants to ask for the golden cudgel to help."
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard footsteps approaching the Moon Gate. Little Swallow looked up and saw Emperor Qianlong, dressed in a bright yellow formal attire with a five-clawed golden dragon embroidered on his collar, standing at the doorway with a smile on his face. Behind him followed the Empress and Madam Rong. The Empress wore a stone-blue phoenix robe, a jade-inlaid pearl hairpin in her hair, and clutched a string of red sandalwood Buddhist beads. Madam Rong, dressed in a gray cloth, held a brocade box with gold embroidery. Both wore faint smiles.
"Father Emperor! Her Majesty!" Xiaoyanzi quickly put down her pen and saluted. The four talented scholars and Mingyue Caixia knelt down in panic. The pen in Xiaowenzi's hand fell to the ground with a "click" and rolled a long way on the bluestone slab, leaving a small ink tail.
Qianlong smiled and waved his hand. "Everyone, get up! I can hear laughter from afar. Has this Shufangzhai become a palace school?" He walked over to the stone table and his eyes fell on the four characters "peace and joy" written by Xiaoyanzi on the rice paper. The strokes were graceful yet powerful. He couldn't help but nod. "That's good calligraphy. It seems the Fang family has really raised you well. They've made you a talented girl."
The empress's gaze passed over the crowd and fell on Yongji. His son was waving half a piece of pea yellow cake at her, his face stained with cake crumbs, his eyes bright as soaked black grapes. She walked over and gently wiped the sweet foam from the corner of his mouth with her fingertips. "Ji'er, why aren't you studying in your study? Why are you playing here?"
"Mother! It's so fun to hear Sister Little Swallow teaching me how to write!" Yongji passed the cake to her mouth. "Brother Little Mosquito's handwriting is so moving, and Brother Little Stool is calling Sun Wukong for help. It's much more interesting than the Analects taught by the teacher!"
The empress took a bite of the pea yellow, the sweet fragrance spreading across her tongue, her heart warmed by a warm stove. In the past, Yongji had always been timid in Kunning Palace. The children in the palace were afraid of her being the empress and kept a distance from him. Only Ling Fei's Sixth Princess would occasionally chat with him. She had never seen him smile so charmingly. She looked at her son's sparkling eyes, and even her gaze towards Xiaoyanzi softened: "Princess Huanzhu is so thoughtful. She has made Ji'er more lively."
Rong Mama stood behind the Empress, watching the small stool secretly imitate the Monkey King scratching his head and cheeks, and couldn't help but purse the corners of her mouth. She touched the Empress's sleeve and whispered, "Look, your Majesty, the way Twelfth Prince smiles is much more lively than when he sits bored in the palace."
"That's right." Qianlong picked up Xiaoyanzi's manuscript, brushed his fingertips over the end of the character "乐" (joy), turned and smiled at the empress, "This girl's teaching method is quite novel. Just now I heard Xiaodeng calling Sun Wukong. Is she making a story out of the characters?"
Little Swallow scratched her head and smiled, the pearl tassels in her hair gleaming with tiny gleams. "You don't know, Father Emperor, but they say learning to read is like chewing a bone. So I break down the characters into stories—for example, the character for 'monkey' has 'zi' on the left and 'xi' on the right. I say that if a monkey wants to be king, he must first learn to tie his shoelaces. That's how they remember it."
"That's a good idea." The Queen nodded, her eyes fixed on the word "sweet" that Yongji had scribbled on the stone table. The two dots on the "mouth" had been transformed into round cakes. She couldn't help but smile. "Turning words into stories is more relatable than memorizing them by rote." She turned to look at Xiaoyanzi, the kingfisher-inlaid pearl hairpin on her temple swaying slightly with her movements. "Since you're so good at this, why not take Ji'er with you to practice more often? He never sits still in his study. Perhaps a different approach will make him more attentive."
Xiaoyanzi's eyes lit up, and she nodded immediately. "Don't worry, Empress! I'll make sure to teach the Twelfth Prince to be a 'top literate scholar'!" She took Yongji's hand and pointed at the words on the rice paper. "Look, the word 'sweet' means 'sweet' on the tongue. From now on, whenever you eat pea yellow, think of this word, and I'm sure you'll remember it."
Yongqi nodded, half understanding, and pointed at his tongue with his little finger: "It tastes sweet, just like the pea yellow I'm eating now!" He stuffed another piece into his mouth, puffing out his cheeks and smiling, "I want to learn the character '豆'! I want to write '丸豆' for my father and mother!"
Qianlong was amused by him and bent down to ruffle Yongji's hair. "Well, I'm looking forward to our Yongji's 'pea yellow' calligraphy." He looked at the empress with warmth in his eyes. "Look, this girl is not only smart herself, but also has a way of teaching children. It's much more effective than the tutor's ruler."
The Queen smiled in agreement, her fingertips lightly brushing the rice paper on the stone table. The scent of ink mixed with the fragrance of crabapple blossoms lingered in her nose. She suddenly remembered what Rong Mama had said the day before: the small kitchen in Shufangzhai always had warm pastries left for Yongji, and how Xiaoyanzi had taught him to fly kites and identify flowers and plants. The slight sense of alienation she had felt towards "Princess Huanzhu" dissipated unconsciously. She winked at Rong Mama, who immediately stepped forward and handed the brocade box to Xiaoyanzi.
"Princess Huanzhu," Rong Mama's voice was much gentler than usual. "This is the Tao River inkstone that Her Majesty had specially found. It has a fine texture and can grind ink without damaging the brush. There are also a few wolf-hair brushes, which are high-quality materials sent as tribute from Jiangnan. They are for Princess Huanzhu and these children to practice calligraphy with."
Xiaoyanzi opened the brocade box and saw the inkstone, gleaming with a emerald green hue. The inkwell was carved with lotus leaves, and the shaft was wrapped with silver thread. She couldn't help but exclaim, "This inkstone is even more beautiful than the one in the Fang Mansion's study! Thank you, Empress!" She turned and called out to the four talented scholars, "You must be more alert. From now on, when you practice calligraphy with such fine brushes and ink, if you keep writing crookedly, I'll punish you by making you copy the 'Rules for Disciples'!"
The little mosquito patted his chest quickly: "Don't worry, princess! With this precious inkstone, I promise that the characters I write will be straighter than Sun Wukong's golden cudgel!" The little stool joined in the fun: "Yes! I will write the four characters 'The Great Sage Equaling Heaven' and stick it on the door of Shufangzhai. I guarantee that the monsters will not dare to come!" The two of them chatted back and forth, making the queen laugh.
Ziwei walked to Xiaoyanzi, helped her close the brocade box, and whispered, "The Empress's gift is so kind, we must keep it well." Her eyes fell on the Empress, and seeing that she looked at Yongqi with eyes full of love, she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart - the Empress in this life was really different.
Jinsuo brought out the freshly brewed pre-rain Longjing tea and handed a cup to Qianlong and the empress respectively, saying with a smile, "Your Majesty, please try this tea. The princess specially sent it from Jiangnan, saying that it tastes the same as the old tea trees in the backyard of the Fang Mansion." The empress took the teacup, her fingertips touched the warm wall of the cup, and the aroma of tea rose in curls, mixed with the scent of ink in the courtyard, which was particularly soothing.
Yongqi took the Empress's hand and insisted on showing her his handwriting of the character "甜" (sweet). The Empress bent down to examine it carefully. Seeing that the handwriting, though crooked, showed the care taken in writing it, she could not help but praise him: "Our Yongqi'er writes well, much better than the Empress's when she was a child." Yongqi immediately became proud and took Xiaoyanzi to teach him how to write the character "娘" (mother), his little voice echoing throughout the courtyard.
Sunlight filtered through the branches of the crabapple tree, casting dappled shadows on the rice paper. Little Swallow held Yongji's tiny hand, teaching him how to use the brush, the ink spreading faint traces across the paper. Qianlong leaned against a porch pillar, watching the children's laughter and playfulness, twirling a teacup in his hand. The Empress sat on a stone bench, a smile playing on her lips as she listened to Yongji's story of "Sun Wukong Practicing Calligraphy," a story the little stool had made up. Madam Rong stood nearby, her eyes warmed by the Empress's smile, a long-lost smile.
The little mosquito squatted on the ground and practiced the word "dong", muttering to himself: "Good dong, the pen and ink are so useful, I feel so happy after writing the words..." The little stool was writing the word "sun" next to him, imitating the posture of Sun Wukong while writing, and only stopped when Mingyue patted the back of his hand.
Ziwei gazed at the joyful laughter filling the courtyard, and suddenly felt that Shufangzhai felt like a warm little world. The intrigues of her past life were gone, replaced only by the fragrance of tea, ink, and flowers, and the smiles on everyone's faces. She quietly glanced at Xiaoyanzi, seeing the glint in her eyes as she taught Yongqi calligraphy. Suddenly, she understood—in this reborn life, they were not only protecting each other, but also transforming the regrets of their past lives into the sweetness of this present moment.
Qianlong took a sip of tea, looked at the lively scene before him, and said to the empress with a smile, "This Shufangzhai is much more lively than the Imperial Study. With this girl here, the palace has become much more lively." The empress nodded, her eyes fell on Yongqi's ink-stained little hands, and she said softly, "Yes, the children are happy, which is better than anything else."
The wind blew through the crabapple tree, and the fallen petals drifted onto the rice paper, leaving traces of ink, like a natural painting. Little Swallow was teaching Yongqi the last stroke of the character "niang." Yongqi ran to the Empress, holding up the paper: "Look, Empress! I can write 'niang' now!" The Empress took the paper, carefully folded it, and put it in her sleeve pocket. The smile in her eyes was as gentle as spring water.
At this moment, the wind in Shufangzhai was warm, the sun was warm, and even the scent of ink and tea in the air was filled with an indelible warmth. Ziwei looked at all this and suddenly felt that the years in the deep palace had truly become gentle and bright because of their arrival.
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