Chương 31: Calligraphy

Wuyi continued with his tasks and trainings that Chao assigned him.

At the Mid-Autumn Festival, Wuyi added a pinch of astragalus to a serving girl's afternoon tea, causing her and her friends to suffer from digestive troubles and be unable to serve that night. In the fall, he tied a thread around the fetlock of a visiting noble's Ferghana horse, inducing a temporary limp that extended the noble's stay at Lujingbao fort by two days. He never questioned the underlying reasons for Chao's tasks; he was more focused on the 'how' than the 'why.' He believed this was also a lesson Chao intended for him: to obey without questioning the motive behind an order. Even if he was curious, he knew that knowing more than he needed to was not always a good thing.

There was one task that absolutely delighted him. Even at the time, he knew that the assignment was more than a whim of Chao's. He summoned Wuyi for it in the last bit of dark before dawn. "Master Juesi and his lady have been visiting these last two weeks. You recognize them when you see them; he has an exceptionally long mustache, and she's always messing with her hair, even while eating. You know who I'm talking about?"

Wuyi looked puzzled. Several nobles had assembled at Lujingbao fort to form a council to discuss the increase in raids from the demonics. The Riverland Provinces wanted more warships, but the Highland Provinces opposed sharing the taxes for what they saw as a purely regional problem. Master Juesi and Mistress Liya were from the Highland Provinces. Both Juesi and his mustache seemed to possess tempestuous temperaments. Mistress Liya, on the other hand, seemed mostly preoccupied with exploring Lujingbao Fortress.

"She wears flowers in her hair all the time?"

"That's the one," Chao replied emphatically. "Good. You know her. Now, here's your task, and I've no time to plan it with you. Sometime today, at any moment, she will send an attendant to Young Master Wangzhe's room. The attendant will deliver something—a note, a flower, an object of some kind. You will remove the object from Wangzhe's room before he sees it. You understand?"

Wuyi nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but Chao stood abruptly and almost chased him from the room. "No time; it is nearly dawn!" he declared.

Wuyi contrived to be in Wangzhe's room, in hiding, when the attendant arrived. From the way the girl slipped in, he was convinced this was not her first mission. She placed a tiny bamboo slip and a flower bud on Wangzhe's pillow, then left and slipped out of the room. Soon, both items were taken away by Wuyi from Wangzhe's room and concealed under his own pillow. He thought the most difficult part of the task was refraining from opening the slip. He turned the slip and flower over to Chao late that night.

Over the next few days, he waited, certain there would be some sort of furor and hoping to see Wangzhe thoroughly discomfited. But to his surprise, there was none. Wangzhe was his typical self, except he appeared even more keen than usual and seemed to be even more boldly charming with each woman present. As for Lady Liya, she unexpectedly started paying attention to the council discussions and surprised her spouse by becoming a passionate advocate for naval taxes.

Wangzhe's mother, Lady Furen, expressed her displeasure over this change of behavior by excluding Mistress Liya from a tea ceremony in her chambers. The whole thing amused Wuyi, but when he finally mentioned it to Chao, he was rebuked. "Remember, you are a hand. No matter here or anywhere. As long as you are not the Patriarch or head or elder of the clan, you are just a hand. A task is given to you, and you do it. You should be well satisfied with yourself for completing the given task; that is all you need to consider. Only Congming may plan the moves and plot his game. You and I, we are perhaps playing pieces, as long as Congming is paying for your things."

As winter arrived, Wuyi's lessons in calligraphy and classical language commenced. The fort was situated far east of the desert and by the sea. North of the castle were the highlands and river tributaries, and to the south was the vast desert. As the fort was near the desert and sea, winters were supposed to be mild, but it amazed Wuyi how cold the winter was here, a weather pattern beyond his understanding from his previous life.

"Young one," said Master Fēng, the teacher for Wuyi and other children during winter. When he called out, only Wuyi came forward from the group of boys near the hearth. Wuyi stood in front of the table where Master Fēng was sitting and handed him a paper. The house they were in was a gift to Master Fēng for staying during the winter by Patriarch Congming himself. Outside, strong winds would hit the walls, and sometimes they could even feel the chilly wind inside.The room they were in felt cold and quiet, just like winter.

The cold was a very comfortable season in Lujingbao. Lamps with special symbols lit up the room. Outside the house, on one side, some people were making arrows, while others were listening to funny stories. On the other side, children were singing a very old song. A musician played music on a guzheng, and mothers made beautiful lace. They all felt comforted by the smell of special wood burning in the fires, waiting for winter to end.

Before guiding Wuyi, Master Fēng looked at other children who seemed half-asleep. "Look here," he instructed, pointing at one child's script. "You've failed to complete the strokes properly. Recall the technique I've demonstrated."

"ZhengYi, awaken and return to your brushwork. Another moment's drowsiness, and you shall fetch another coal for the brazier."

"CiXin, suppress that smirk, or assist him. Now, back to your work," he ordered. After instructing the children, his eyes refocused on Wuyi's paper.

"Your brushwork has notably matured, not just in the common script but also in the Wǔyán runes. Such sigils, however, deserve a finer medium than this. You'd do well to use pounded bark sheets for such intricate characters, or use silk paper," he said, running a finger appreciatively over the silk scroll he himself was working on.

"Maintain this level of diligence, and by winter's end, you may copy a chapter from Mistress Jiān's Elixirs. What say you?"

Wuyi tried to smile and appear properly flattered. Again, it wasn't luck that made him good at calligraphy; it was his secret advantage. He had unlocked another statue a few days after he started learning under Master Fēng. This statue depicted a scholar, deep in thought, with a brush in one hand and a tome in the other. The statue emanated an aura of intellect and clarity, its presence a testament to the wisdom Wuyi had been accumulating. This statue was called the Statue of Knowledge.

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