"You must be thirsty, drink." Luo Shenyuan pointed to the teacup.
Luo Yixiu picked up the teacup and suddenly remembered that Yi Ning and her brother had always been at odds with each other. She glanced at Yi Ning cautiously.
Yi Ning picked up the teacup and drank it all, trying to remain calm: "Thank you for the tea, Third Brother."
"You're welcome." He said these two words and then lowered his head to look at his book. He was really frugal with words.
When Yi Ning saw him lower his head, his eyelashes were very long and straight, like black tail feathers. His handsome profile was really beautiful, and his temperament had a kind of restrained calmness.
Yining looked around his room. Compared to her own, it was indeed rather barren. A few potted plants lined the huanghuali wood display case, and he was served by only two maids and two servants. But there were four older maids serving Yining, so all told, there must have been twenty people. He lived in poverty, but he didn't seem to mind.
Yining saw another piece of calligraphy hanging on the wall, signed by Huaizhi and inscribed in the year Bingzi.
"Huaizhi" was Luo Shenyuan's calligraphy, and Yi Ning still remembered it. The strokes and brushwork of that calligraphy looked very familiar, and Yi Ning suddenly remembered the calligraphy copybook Luo Shenyuan gave her, which also had the same brushwork.
It turns out that the calligraphy he gave her was written by him himself.
Yi Ning was lost in thought when she suddenly heard him ask, "Are you feeling better?"
Yi Ning raised her head and found that her third brother, who was very frugal with words, was looking at her. She was a little flattered.
"Hmm...almost better," Yi Ning said vaguely. Then she noticed Luo Shenyuan seemed to smile, but it quickly faded. But Yi Ning thought he looked good when he smiled, his gloomy eyes like melted ink, a mellow and gentle quality.
"Do you like loquats?" he asked again lightly.
It’s hard to say whether I like it or not. If you’ve been making hairpins for more than 20 years, you’ll like to eat everything. Yi Ning thought for a moment and said, “I like everything that’s delicious.”
Luo Shenyuan didn't ask her anything else and lowered his head to continue reading.
Luo Yixiu drank a few cups of tea, but she couldn't stay here any longer. She came over and pulled her back: "Yining, let's go back quickly! I'll be scolded if we're late."
Yi Ning collected his thoughts and smiled at Luo Shenyuan: "Third brother, let's go first."
The two little girls walked out of his yard hand in hand again. Luo Shenyuan watched them walk away and told the servant, "Pick more loquats and send them to grandma."
The servant replied, then thought for a moment and whispered, "Third Young Master, the old lady won't accept it even if you give it to her."
Luo Shenyuan pursed his lips slightly and whispered, "The little girl likes it, just give it to her."
The next day, while Yining was learning Go with the old lady, Madam Xu came over and said, "...the Third Young Master sent over a lot of loquats, saying that if Miss Seventh wants some, just ask him. You don't have to pick them yourself."
Mrs. Luo glanced at her granddaughter and said, "Those loquats we picked yesterday were from your third brother."
Yi Ning nodded calmly, pointed at the chessboard and said, "Grandma, I've captured your piece."
Luo Shenyuan sent her a small basket of loquats, and Mrs. Luo finally didn't return it. However, Yining took two days to finish it, and her mouth was sour. She felt that she would not want to eat loquats for a long time.
Ever since she sent the loquats, Yining discovered that her grandmother treated Luo Shenyuan differently.
That noon, when she came back from Tingfeng Pavilion to study, she saw Luo Shenyuan sitting and waiting for her grandmother.
Yi Ning was shocked. When did these two become so close?
Old Mrs. Luo waved her over and said, "I'll ask your third brother to come and help you practice calligraphy. He writes very well."
Luo Shenyuan was drinking tea and nodded to her: "Third sister."
After giving her instructions, Mrs. Luo was about to take a nap. She pointed at Yining and said, "You must teach her well. She must finish writing the entire Red Cliff Fu today, otherwise she won't be allowed to take a nap."
Yi Ning could only pack up her writing brush and go into the study with a sad face. Luo Shenyuan followed her in a moment later, but ignored her and continued reading his book beside her.
Yi Ning spread out the paper, ground the ink himself, and thought for a moment, biting the tip of his brush. Then he took the brush and wrote the first stroke. The study was quiet. After copying, Yi Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief and ran to show Luo Shenyuan, "Third brother, I'm done."
Luo Shenyuan frowned when he saw her handwriting. "Yining, although you are young, your handwriting is indeed a bit..."
It was the first time he called Yining's name, but Yining didn't notice. She pulled Luo Shenyuan's sleeve and said sincerely, "Third brother, why don't you help me copy it? If you write with your right hand, it will be ugly, so grandma won't know."
Luo Shenyuan glanced at her and seemed to disagree with her idea.
Yi Ning was dejected and was about to go back and copy it herself. But he stood up, took a step forward, and led her to the desk. "Come here and hold the pen."
Yi Ning was small, barely taller than his waist. She looked up to see Luo Shenyuan's tall figure looming over her. He held her small hand again, guiding her as she wrote, saying calmly, "When writing like this, keep the horizontal and vertical strokes straight, understand?"
Yi Ning looked at his calm profile. Although he was still handsome as a teenager, there were faint traces of wrinkles between his brows, perhaps from frequent frowning. She couldn't help but be a little lost. The person who was guiding her in writing was the future Prime Minister of the Cabinet...
"What are you daydreaming about?" Seeing the little girl staring at him with a blank look, not knowing what she was thinking, Luo Shenyuan frowned and asked her.
Yining said "oh" and lay down obediently to write.
The little girl was indeed very serious, diligently applying every stroke. Although she was still incredibly ugly, she was truly dedicated. Previously, she had disliked even the slightest contact with him. Now, leaning in his arms, she didn't seem to mind anything, as if she was quite used to him.
In fact, when she was born, her mother always let him hold her. The tiny baby girl bit her fist in his arms, drooling everywhere. Although she grew up to be a naughty child, he always remembered that soft baby. Even when he caught her and the scissors pierced his palm, causing unbearable pain, he didn't blame her. He just silently pressed his bleeding right hand while others took Yi Ning away from her, crying.
Later he became very disappointed, and became more and more disappointed, gradually becoming indifferent.
After finishing her writing, Yi Ning raised her head and looked at him hopefully: "Third brother...you've finished writing again."
Luo Shenyuan pursed his lips and said, "Rewrite it. Don't rush it."
She lay down again, feeling a little depressed. Luo Shenyuan looked at her from above, her eyebrows were furrowed, and the little mole at the end of her pointed eyebrows made her look even cuter.
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