Hong Xi didn’t understand Song Jiyun’s meaning for a moment, but he still said, "Besides inviting a few friends of my grandfather, and distant relatives from both branches of our family, the guests at my brother’s Coming of Age Ceremony will mostly be his classmates and teachers from Crane Mountain Academy."
Song Jiyun was greatly startled.
She had not expected that the Hong Family could invite people from Crane Mountain Academy to attend the ceremony.
After all, Crane Mountain Academy is in Suzhou!
The journey from Suzhou to Liang County is over five hundred miles and takes half a month. After disembarking the boat, one must switch to a mule cart. The journey, tedious and exhausting, is not something ordinary.
Instead, the news that the second young master of the Hong Family was studying at Crane Mountain Academy merely flickered through Song Jiyun’s mind without much thought.
She couldn’t help but ask, "Are they coming from Suzhou?"
Hong Xi nodded and said with a demure smile, "My brother has quite a talent in studies, and was accepted as a closed-door disciple by the head of Crane Mountain Academy. Originally, the Coming of Age Ceremony should have taken place in Suzhou, but since our family’s roots are in Liang County, and our family members are few, my grandfather and the headmaster after consultation, decided to hold it in our hometown."
Song Jiyun immediately understood.
Old Grand Master Hong was aiming to make a name in his hometown, hoping to deter the petty, preventing them from coveting the Hong Family’s property.
"Then they would need to specially commission a batch of porcelain as gifts for the second young master’s Coming of Age Ceremony." Song Jiyun said understandingly, "At the time of the Coming of Age Ceremony, there will probably be more scholars attending, right?"
Hong Xi said, "The household’s relatives and old friends probably won’t fill two tables."
Song Jiyun mused, "If more scholars are to attend, then paint a cluster obliquely. Leave more blank space, which makes it appear more elegant and grand. If there are more old acquaintances from noble families, then paint the entire vase, bustling with flowers and brocades, making it livelier."
Upon hearing this, Hong Xi looked at Yuan Yunzhong meaningfully.
Yuan Yunzhong, leaning casually by the window, appeared quite content, with a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his eyes.
Hong Xi chuckled, twirling the Hetian Jade ring on his ring finger, and sat back on the Taishi Chair behind the desk, suggesting, "I didn’t expect Young Master Yuan to also understand porcelain making!"
Song Jiyun sighed inwardly.
Yuan Yunzhong’s words had indeed left an impression in Hong Xi’s mind.
She smiled and said, "The Song Family is able to refire the Sacrificial White Porcelain, all thanks to Young Master Yuan’s contribution."
She didn’t want Yuan Yunzhong to be underestimated by Hong Xi, especially since Yuan Yunzhong’s painting skills were high, and people with high painting skills usually have a good appreciation ability. Yuan Yunzhong’s suggestion to paint a cluster of cornus was not without reason.
"However, Young Master Yuan is better at painting, especially the fine brush style," Song Jiyun continued, "I am inferior to him. There might be an opportunity to discuss this with Young Master Hong."
"Is that so?" Hong Xi’s eyes held a trace of sternness, clearly skeptical, as he turned to look at Yuan Yunzhong, "I wonder from whom Young Master Yuan learned to paint? I grew up in Suzhou; perhaps it’s someone I know!"
Yuan Yunzhong, who had been looking at Song Jiyun, turned to Hong Xi.
His clear eyes seemed to flicker with a light.
Hong Xi was startled and couldn’t help but widen his eyes, staring at Yuan Yunzhong.
But Yuan Yunzhong was already leaning lazily by the window, his brows as serene as the icy moon of autumn.
The light in his eyes made it seem as though he had been mistaken.
Hong Xi paused in his expression.
Yuan Yunzhong, nonchalantly said, "I’m not particularly skilled at it, just that as a child I was forcefully taught by my family’s elders for a few years. Young Master Hong probably doesn’t know them."
Can painting be mastered just by being forced to learn for a few years?
Was he implying he had a natural talent for it?
Hong Xi started laughing, the Hetian Jade ring on his ring finger spinning even faster, "What’s the honorary title of the elder from your family?"
Yuan Yunzhong raised an eyebrow and said, "Elder from my family is surnamed ’Lian’."
Hong Xi was taken aback.
"Lian" is a very uncommon surname.
In his recollection, there were no prominent families or renowned scholars in Suzhou Prefecture with the surname Lian.
Yet Yuan Yunzhong was exceedingly calm and composed, nothing like someone from an ordinary family, prompting him to think carefully and seriously once more.
Still, he found no one with the surname "Lian."
"It seems I’m poorly informed!" Hong Xi said with a smile, his right hand leaving the Hetian jade ring on his left ring finger, "The superintendents at Crane Mountain Academy all believe that to advance academically, one must strengthen the body. During my years studying at Crane Mountain Academy, I was constantly urged to practice archery and chariotry. Even though there were famous teachers for rituals, music, and painting, I only learned the basics. Frankly speaking, I don’t know much about the masters of painting and calligraphy from Suzhou."
Song Jiyun frowned.
Those who taught at Crane Mountain Academy were not ordinary people; some were even retired officials.
Hong Xi mentioned Yuan Yunzhong’s elder, the professors at Crane Mountain Academy, and even the masters of painting and calligraphy from Suzhou in the same breath...
She was somewhat displeased.
She cleared her throat and was about to speak.
But Yuan Yunzhong, very seriously, nodded and said, "It seems you are indeed not very familiar. That elder once taught painting and calligraphy at your Crane Mountain Academy, and also taught the ’Book of Poetry’ for a few days."
Hong Xi was astonished.
Great scholars, who could lecture on the "Four Books" and the "Five Classics" were also proficient in the Six Arts.
But he was certain that there was no professor with the surname "Lian" at Crane Mountain Academy.
Could it be that Yuan Yunzhong was lying in front of Song Jiyun?
The thought flashed through his mind, but then he heard Yuan Yunzhong chuckle and say, "Doesn’t Crane Mountain Academy emphasize physical strengthening not because in the first year of Tianshun, when your academy’s students participated in the autumn examinations, out of the forty or so who went, over a dozen fainted on the spot? That year, not to mention the other two major academies in Jiangnan, even the second-rate academies in Suzhou didn’t perform worse than yours."
His lips curled upward, his eyes bright, as if he remembered something amusing, his tone light yet somewhat pleased.
But to Hong Xi, it seemed more like schadenfreude.
He was full of doubts, but his face did not show it; instead, he smiled and complained, "That made it tough for those of us who entered the academy later. The Six Arts changed from elective to required subjects."
He sounded like he was joking, yet his mind kept racing.
Indeed, Crane Mountain Academy had emphasized archery and chariotry for that reason.
But this was a matter of shame for the academy, something the professors did not wish to mention outside of their teachings to their own students.
How did Yuan Yunzhong know about this?
And earlier, when Yuan Yunzhong mentioned the anecdotes about Qiu Zhongren...
He looked at Yuan Yunzhong with even greater caution.
Yuan Yunzhong, however, seemingly oblivious to Hong Xi’s change, casually waved his hand and said to Song Jiyun, "Then let’s draw two designs on the unglazed Fortune and Prosperity Gourd Vase, and let Young Master Hong choose one."
This was a good idea!
Song Jiyun immediately asked Hong Xi, "What do you think, Young Master Hong?"
Hong Xi felt a chill in his heart.
Just a few words, and Yuan Yunzhong had taken control of the conversation.
He couldn’t help but feel a sense of rivalry, ready to retort, but just as the words reached his lips and he looked up, he saw Song Jiyun’s face, radiant and bright as spring peaches.
His heart stirred, and the words could no longer find their way out.
Especially since Song Jiyun’s gaze, twinkling and as brilliant as stars, conveyed an indescribable sincerity.
Hong Xi secretly sighed and said with a bitter smile, "I would trouble Miss Song to take extra care with this. Knowledge from books is shallow after all. It would be best if we could see a few actual samples."
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