Aiyo, Shiheng, why did you come back so late? You must be tired, right?
As soon as Yu Qing stepped into the east courtyard, he saw Wen Jianhui who immediately stood up and came over. The look on her face was full of concern. She had really been waiting for quite a while.
Yu Qing was a bit surprised that she would be waiting here. He immediately cupped his hands in greeting and said, “It is fine. I am not tired.”
Wen Jianhui made a sound of denial and said, “You went out before dawn, and after going around and being busy until dark, you came back. How could you not be tired?” She immediately turned her head to the two maids following her and said, “What are you still standing there for? Can you not see that the young master has been tired all day? Hurry and urge someone to bring hot water. Hurry and urge someone to bring hot food!”
The two maids immediately responded and lifted their skirts to run off quickly.
Yu Qing wanted to speak but stopped. He decided to forget it and asked, “Auntie, do you have something to discuss?”
What could Wen Jianhui have to do? All her busyness was in her mouth. She took her own emotions seriously and only felt that she herself was busy and tired. She sighed and said, “It is nothing. I just came over to keep an eye on things. If I do not worry a bit, these servants cannot do anything well. Your parents are no longer here. I am your mother now. At least in the future there will be no difference from your own mother. If your days are to be lived well, who will worry if I do not?”
“Uh…” Yu Qing had nothing to say in reply. He could only cup his hands to express his thanks.
After that he listened to a torrent of chatter. Yu Qing thought that he would soon have to let down her whole family. He obediently listened there, feeling depressed in his heart. He did not know when this old woman would stop. He found this even more tiring than making a trip to the palace.
He hoped that the other party would leave early, but Wen Jianhui just would not. When the hot water came, she personally directed the maids to serve him in washing his hands and face and so on. She almost did it herself. In the end she stared at Yu Qing while he ate, telling him to eat a bit more of this and a bit more of that.
While chattering she added one more nosy sentence, saying how good it would be for the family to eat together and so on.
After finally enduring until this woman left, Yu Qing turned around and lay down on the mat platform…
Back in the main hall of the inner residence, looking at the gift boxes piled up on a table, Wen Jianhui’s face bloomed with smiles. She picked up this attached gift card to look at it, then picked up that one to look at it. She was very satisfied.
Wen Ruowei bounced and jumped beside her, shouting to open them and have a look. Suddenly there were so many gifts. She had been itching to touch them for a long time. If she were not afraid of the tigress getting angry, she would have already laid hands on them.
A little later, Zhong Su returned from outside.
After Yu Qing came back, the steward Li came to announce it. Only then did he officially go out to meet the guests queuing outside. He used the name of “A Shiheng” to refuse the guests, smoothed out the words, and tried his best not to offend anyone. In short, he told everyone to please go back. The gifts would not be accepted.
He naturally understood why the people outside were sending gifts under various pretexts. This side had also received the news and was very surprised. He had not expected that as soon as “A Shiheng” arrived at the Censorate, he could be personally selected by the Censor-in-Chief to serve beside him. It really made this side overjoyed.
He naturally understood that a mere ninth-rank minor official was not worth so many people sending gifts. What those people wanted to send gifts to was that Censor-in-Chief. It was just that they had no qualification to cling to him, so they targeted the people around the Censor-in-Chief instead.
Zhong Su, who stepped into the main hall, was stunned. Looking at the full table of gift boxes, he was stunned.
Wen Jianhui turned her head to look and said with a smile, “You are back. Have you sent all the people away?”
It was a smile that truly came from the heart. When had the Zhong residence ever had such a scene of people queuing up to send gifts? Never. Although the Zhong family was a wealthy and noble household, outsiders had no need to treat the Zhong family like this. Today was an eye-opener, and it was quite glorious.
Her face was particularly bright, and she was especially happy.
Zhong Su did not reply to her. He pointed at the pile of gifts and asked, “What is going on with this? Where did they come from?”
Wen Jianhui said, “Aiyo, I know what can be accepted and what cannot. Do not worry. These are not sent by those people outside. These are just some congratulatory gifts from the group of sisters I usually interact with!”
It was precisely because they were sent by the sisters she usually interacted with that she was happy. She felt that everyone had started to flatter her. Even those who used to be at odds with her had lowered their stance. This son-in-law had really given her so much face. He had only just stepped into officialdom, and just thinking about the future made her feel very good.
Zhong Su’s face instantly sank. “Are you deceiving ghosts or deceiving yourself? Do you really have no sense in your heart? Let me tell you, some people send gifts to build connections, while some people send gifts with ill intentions. Do you believe that if you accept these gifts today, tomorrow the name of ‘A Shiheng’ might be brought up in the court? Have you forgotten that he was demoted from top scholar to third place? Do you not know that his father’s affairs are still being remembered by others? People are just worried about not finding a place to strike, and here you are, actively handing them a handle! Is it that you usually lack clothes to wear or lack spending money? Do you lack these things that could ruin your son-in-law?”
Wen Jianhui’s expression stiffened, and she could no longer smile.
Wen Ruowei pursed her lips and quietly retreated backwards. She no longer dared to mention opening the gift boxes.
Zhong Ruochen, who had always remained silent on matters involving “A Shiheng” and had always said that everything was up to her parents, now showed a worried look on her face. She was already worried about her future husband. She bit her lip hard with her silver teeth and could not help but complain, “Mother, these gifts cannot be accepted.”
Zhong Su pointed at Wen Jianhui’s nose and warned, “In the past you could accept these gifts casually, but now it is different from before. Listen to me carefully. Whatever family sent them, send them back to that family intact. Not a single one can be left behind. They must all be sent back tonight!”
Wen Jianhui finally weakened for once. She muttered, “You do not need to say it. I know what to do.”
In the east courtyard, Yu Qing, who was lying on the mat platform, took out the bean-sized bell and shook it in his hand, shaking it gently, shaking it hard, shaking it slowly, shaking it rapidly.
He shook it for a good while with no reaction at all. He could not help but sit up and sigh, then put the bell away.
It was obvious that his little martial uncle had already left the capital far behind and had run out of the range that the current sound-word technique realm could hear.
With no one to discuss things with, he had completely given up the idea of staying in the capital.
He did not dare to stay in this capital at all. This wave after wave of shocking waves always hit exactly on his weak points. He really could not take it anymore.
Besides, he had already made a plan with his little martial uncle long ago. After receiving the official appointment, he would immediately resign and leave. It was impossible to wait for half a month to suffer those torments. If he dragged it out any longer, would he wait to complete the marriage with A Shiheng’s wife?
With his mind made up, he stood up, took out the scroll of calligraphy and painting from his sleeve, stuffed it into his chest to hide it well, then carried a basin of bones and went to the study.
In the study the lamp was lit. He took a metal jar from the bookshelf, brought out “Big Head” as well, casually threw it into the basin of bones, let “Big Head” crunch and gnaw away, while he himself sat behind the desk to grind ink. He pondered the resignation letter templates he had seen today and thought about how to start writing.
The Zhong residence had not assigned him a maid to add incense with red sleeves, fearing he would do something improper with the maid. As for assigning a male servant, Yu Qing did not want one either. He did not want strangers near him and did not want to be disturbed in his cultivation.
After he had the article in mind, he pulled over a sheet of paper, put pen to paper under the lamp to draft it, and revised it repeatedly.
In the middle, the bone basin rang twice with a clanging sound. It was “Big Head” signalling that it had eaten until full.
After experiencing some things repeatedly, “Big Head” knew what to do after it ate until full.
Yu Qing stood up upon hearing the sound, went to pick up “Big Head” whose belly had swelled into an egg shape, went out to the pond side, let “Big Head” sink into the water and release a few black farts, then picked up the “Big Head” that looked like a hanged ghost and brought it back to the study. He threw it into the bone basin to let “Big Head” continue eating.
After sitting back at the desk, he revised the draft several times with additions and deletions before he was satisfied with his resignation letter. Only then did he find a blank card, open it, and copy it perfectly according to the draft.
He blew the ink dry against the lamp, appreciated and confirmed it once more, nodded in satisfaction, closed it, placed it on the table, and waited to hand it to that Lord Pei tomorrow.
Having resolved a major worry, he finally had the leisure to appreciate the suspected good item he had obtained from the Censorate today. He could not resist appreciating it.
He took the scroll out from his bosom, unrolled it for a look, and saw that it had already reached the end of the sword technique. He rewound it once, rolled it back to the beginning of the sword technique, held it in his hands and began to ponder it. He wandered back and forth in the study, and as he understood a bit, he rolled the scroll forward a bit.
With the foundation from having viewed it once in the document warehouse today, he knew what points to pay attention to this time when viewing it again.
To practise the sword technique, first practise the Dragon-Capturing Hand. Why practise it first? The sword technique said: Only when the hand has the intent to capture the dragon can one bind the azure dragon.
Yu Qing understood the meaning at a glance. If one wanted to hold the sword and compete, one must first be able to hold the sword firmly.
After carefully looking at and pondering the first few forms of the Dragon-Capturing Hand, he placed the scroll on the desk. He could not help but compare and make the hand gestures, trying to circulate his energy and direct qi to his hands according to its essentials, exerting force according to its method.
A sword technique was a sword technique. There was no matching internal energy art, only moves and the mental method for controlling them.
He circulated his energy several times, but the flow of power in his hands was always stumbling and not smooth enough.
But he did not give up. After repeating it dozens of times, he finally gradually became familiar with it. His power began to accumulate and release in his hands according to the tricks of the Dragon-Capturing Hand.
The bone basin rang with clanging sounds again. Yu Qing had no choice but to collect his focus, pick up “Big Head” whose belly was now round, and go out once more.
When he came back he found “Big Head” distracting him, so he no longer let “Big Head” continue eating. He directly threw it back into the metal jar and locked it up.
After it became worry-free, he made the claw shape again, circulated his energy and exerted force according to the mental method of the Dragon-Capturing Hand once more, and walked back and forth in the study to practise.
He practised until he confirmed that he could control it skilfully at will. Then he felt a bit itchy in his hands. He felt that grabbing air all the time was not satisfying enough. When he passed by the three-tier triangular stand holding three pots of green plants, he could not help but casually swipe a claw at one of the upright poles.
He grabbed it with one claw and suddenly exerted force fiercely in the way of the Dragon-Capturing Hand.
Bang! There was an explosive sound on the spot.
The wrist-thick upright pole had the grabbed part disappear instantly, exploding into scattered wood scraps.
Yu Qing was stunned. He looked at the hand he had just grabbed with and felt a bit dazed.
Someone suddenly knocked on the door outside. “Young master, what happened?”
It was a guard from the Zhong residence.
Yu Qing made a sound of acknowledgement and said, “It is nothing.” He turned around to put away the scroll on the desk.
Clang! There was another smashing sound.
He turned his head to look and saw that the one-person-high triangular stand from earlier had already toppled over. The three large pots holding the green plants had smashed on the ground.
The door of the study was pushed open directly. The Zhong residence guards still rushed in, ignored the toppled and smashed items, and quickly scanned every corner of the study.
Yu Qing hurriedly said, “It is nothing. I accidentally knocked it over.” Yet he turned his back to stuff the scroll into his sleeve.
After confirming that nothing was wrong, and since Yu Qing asked them to go out again, saying that someone could clean it up tomorrow, the Zhong residence guards had no choice but to withdraw.
After the study door was closed once more, Yu Qing immediately went to the side of the fallen tripod, reached out to grip the upright pole again, and gripped it with ordinary energy circulation and force exertion. The section he gripped slowly turned into crumbs in his hand.
With his cultivation he could crush this dry wood and turn it into crumbs, but he absolutely could not explode it into pieces in an instant. His cultivation and power were not that overbearing yet.
He pulled out the scroll from his sleeve, unrolled it again to look, and his eyes bloomed with extraordinary colour. He squatted there and muttered, “The dead eunuch did not write nonsense. This thing is actually the real deal…”