The next morning, as Ye Ren'an changed into his official robes and sat in a sedan chair on his way to the government office, the shock that the youngest son had given him in the study the previous night was still flashing through his mind.
The fourth son, Tianxuan, not only gave insightful comments on the calligraphy of the four of them, but he also wrote some calligraphy himself. Well, to put it simply, his calligraphy was far superior to that of his second and third sons, falling far short of theirs. It was almost on par with the calligraphy of his eldest son, Wenliang.
But if he is comparable to his eldest son Wenliang, then it's not just a simple matter of saying "comparable".
After Tianxuan started following Hong Xiaoniangzi, she didn't teach them to write at first. It was only after some time had passed and she had some money in her purse that she began to teach them.
All things considered, it's only about two years.
But his three sons, who grew up by his side, were different. Before they were even five years old, they had already started learning to write, and he and his father taught them themselves.
I entered the academy when I was eight years old.
There are also special calligraphy classes in the academy.
But he's not even as good as Tianxuan, who has only been practicing calligraphy for two years!
What shocked him even more was that his son Tianxuan not only had excellent handwriting, but he could also speak foreign languages!
The letter that Tianxuan wrote to Kaiyang, the grandson of Minister Wei, was two whole pages long, and there wasn't a single Chinese character in it; the entire letter was written in foreign languages.
Ye Ren'an had already heard that Minister Wei had found his grandson and knew that the child had a good life abroad, had learned foreign languages, and had even accompanied foreign delegations to the palace at a young age.
I only recently learned from Miss Hong that Minister Wei's grandson was with Tianxuan and the others.
But at the time, he thought that perhaps Lady Hong thought Lord Wei's grandson was smarter, so she taught him a foreign language?
Is your son Tianxuan's hobby cooking?
But who would have thought that last night the third brother asked Tianxuan how she could speak a foreign language?
What did Tianxuan say in response? He actually said it was because the seven of them studied together.
The seven of them practiced martial arts together, studied calligraphy and learned foreign languages together, but only Yuheng and Yaoguang learned the zither from Sister Feiyan.
I did ask the five boys if they wanted to learn, but they themselves didn't want to.
Last night in the study, he chatted with his four sons until almost midnight. Seeing that Tianxuan was snoring incessantly, Ye Ren'an finally told them to go back and rest.
Tianxuan said that Hong Xiaoduo knows a lot and is good at many things.
She would teach them anything they wanted to learn and anything she knew how to do, without reservation.
If there's anything else she knows that she didn't teach them, it's only her seemingly ordinary and simple movements, yet incredibly powerful kung fu that even her master envied.
She said it wasn't that she didn't want to teach them, but that she didn't know how!
Once, when his master was in high spirits after drinking, he jokingly said that if she herself could teach them seven kung fu skills, then there would be no need for him to do anything.
She told them that what they learned would be theirs to keep. Learning more and becoming better would never hurt their future.
Tianxuan's arithmetic skills amazed the four of them. They even summoned the accountant, who had already gone to bed, and brought over the household accounts. Before the accountant could finish calculating with his abacus, Tianxuan quickly wrote down the results on a piece of paper. He was so fast that the old accountant was stunned.
However, when Ye Ren'an arrived at the government office, he heard from Mu Shizi, who had arrived before him, that the matter of the moldy disaster relief grain had been investigated and that someone had framed him. He solemnly thanked Mu Shizi, but the man said that he had thanked the wrong person!
The person he should thank the most is Tianxuan's "mother," Hong Xiaoduo, the benefactor of the Ye family. It was she who asked the manager of Duobaoge to help him find out the truth.
He was shocked again. He had heard about Duobaoge and that it also sold information, but he never thought that he would be involved with Duobaoge one day.
Even more unexpectedly, after so many years in office, he encountered such a big problem. It wasn't that he investigated it himself, nor that the young master Mu, sent by His Majesty, investigated it, but that a young lady who hadn't even married yet used her connections to find out the result.
The person who framed him was Sun Shuyu, who was also his classmate and ranked higher than Lord Ye in the imperial examination that year.
However, Lord Ye is now a prefect of the fourth rank, while Lord Sun is only a prefect of the fourth rank. Although they are both prefects, there is still a difference between them, one being a rank official and the other a rank official.
This time, Prefect Sun happened to be in charge of receiving disaster relief supplies from various places. It just so happened that his brother-in-law, who was in charge of the granary, had been negligent and hadn't noticed that the granary was leaking, causing the stored grain to become moldy, which was causing him a lot of trouble.
Lord Sun had a sudden inspiration and came up with a plan that would both help his brother-in-law avoid being punished for dereliction of duty and give him a chance to vent his anger—killing two birds with one stone.
Ye Ren'an returned home at noon to tell his family the good news, so they wouldn't worry about him. Of the whole family, young and old, Tianxuan seemed the most composed, as if it were nothing special.
Especially when she heard her father say that Hong Xiaoduo had used her connections to investigate this matter, Tianxuan was not surprised at all. She just smiled and said that her mother was very capable. She was not afraid of anything and nothing could stump her.
Hong Xiaoduo came to the mansion in the afternoon and sat for a while. She told Tianxuan and Xia Shi that they would be leaving early the next morning. After drinking two cups of tea, she gave Tianxuan some more instructions and then left.
Xia kept a close eye on her son's reaction. She noticed that his expression changed after he heard Hong Xiao Niangzi mention the departure time. He didn't cry, but his little face was tense and he looked very serious.
In the evening, Ye Ren'an learned of all this as soon as he returned to his residence from the government office.
"Is the fourth brother alright?" Ye Ren'an asked immediately.
Upon hearing this, Xia shook her head: "How could nothing be wrong? She must be holding back her sadness. She has experienced so much hardship at such a young age, it's natural that she's mature beyond her years."
After discussing it, the couple felt that the most important thing right now was to prepare a thank-you gift. After all, they hadn't repaid their son's great kindness yet, and now he had helped them solve another important matter!
As for their grieving son, they will spend the rest of their lives comforting him.
During dinner, the whole family kept a close eye on Tianxuan. All the dishes on the table were cooked by him personally. According to the servant, the fourth young master even personally washed and prepared the ingredients for tonight's meal.
Is it because you're feeling down that you're trying to distract yourself from your emotions?
"Tianxuan, come with your father and mother to the study for a moment. I have something to tell you," Ye Ren'an said to Tianxuan after they finished eating.
Regarding the matter of a thank-you gift, I felt that simply giving some jewelry and monetary gifts wouldn't be enough to express their gratitude.
Thinking that Tianxuan had known her for over two years and understood her better, he asked for her advice.
Tianxuan nodded upon hearing this, as he also had something to say to his father and mother...
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