The woman in the purple skirt bent down to place the tray on the table. Her gaze swept across both their faces and finally settled on Yu Qing. She smiled gracefully and said, “How could I dare to miss the visit of the third place scholar? Besides, I have admired you for a long time.” She then gave a graceful curtsy towards Yu Qing. “My humble little shop has been slow in receiving such an honoured guest. This little woman, Ye Dian Dian, greets Lord A.”
Lin Cheng Dao looked somewhat speechless. Under normal circumstances, his aunt did not receive guests, or rather, she almost never appeared in front of outsiders. She feared being secretly harmed by people from Qu He Mountain. This was also the usual practice for many people in Xi Yue Fang.
Although she lived here in seclusion, it did not mean that interested parties did not know she was here.
Of course, he did not forget to quickly explain to Yu Qing, “Brother Shi Heng, I did not tell them it was you.”
He was not lying about this. When he had someone send the message, it was not appropriate to tell the messenger that the third place scholar was coming.
The woman named Ye Dian Dian teased, “You do not need to say it. I am afraid many people in the whole of Xi Yue Fang already know that the third place scholar has come here. As for you, since you brought the third place scholar, you did not even cover up beforehand. Do you not know that he rode through the streets on horseback only yesterday? The once in a century top scorer with full marks in all four subjects. Yesterday countless people stood by the roadside waiting eagerly to catch a glimpse. How could they not recognise him?”
Lin Cheng Dao finally understood how she knew Yu Qing had come. Speaking of this, he felt embarrassed. Because they were colleagues who spent time together, he had not thought in that direction at all. He had only changed into ordinary clothes to cover up.
Yu Qing’s gaze was still examining Ye Dian Dian. Whenever he saw a beautiful woman, he felt like getting close to her, but that did not mean he would act on it. His reason remained. He asked, “Brother Lin, how come your aunt looks even younger than you? Does she have a way to preserve her youth?”
Lin Cheng Dao gave a dry cough. “Her generation is senior, but her actual age is indeed not older than mine.”
Ye Dian Dian also explained, “His grandfather was my mother’s own elder brother. The age gap between the siblings was already large. After my mother became a cultivator, she was obsessed with cultivation in the early years and met my father quite late.”
“Oh!” Yu Qing finally looked as if he understood. After that he did not know how to address the other party. Since he called Lin Cheng Dao brother, he could only be a bit more distant. “Madam boss is a spiritual plant master?”
Ye Dian Dian smiled. “You could say that. Things from the past are already over.”
Yu Qing was someone quite interested in money, so his questions were rather worldly. “Is planting spiritual rice and such not more profitable than running this Small Fresh Tower?”
Ye Dian Dian shook her head. “Do you think Xi Yue Fang is a suitable place to expand spiritual fields? Most importantly, the market for spiritual rice is already controlled by those sects. They will not easily let others take a share. Without permission from those sects, they can jointly suppress you at any time and make you lose everything.”
Yu Qing gave another understanding sound. He roughly understood and realised he had made a fuss over nothing.
Ye Dian Dian then arranged the wine and dishes from the tray onto the table. She pointed at the fish slices in the tray, which had a faint misty layer covering them. “Third place scholar, this冥 fish is best eaten raw to enjoy its freshness and to absorb the maximum spiritual energy it contains. The chef is already boiling the fish bones into soup, which will be served when ready. Please take your time. I will not disturb your conversation.” She bowed slightly and left.
She went straight to the two guards and invited them to sit in the reception room, saying she would prepare some food for them as well.
However, the two guards did not dare to eat or drink anything here at all. In an unfamiliar place, guards had their duties. They still stood in their original positions and did not dare to let Yu Qing out of their sight.
Ye Dian Dian could understand this and did not insist, otherwise it would have put them in a difficult position.
Lin Cheng Dao stroked the small moustache on his lips, still somewhat puzzled. He did not know what his aunt meant by coming in a hurry and leaving in a hurry. Could it really just be to greet the third place scholar?
He kept the doubt in his heart and turned back to invite Yu Qing to eat, pouring wine for him.
Since it was already done, and the food was so expensive, Yu Qing was not polite either. He picked up his chopsticks, lifted a slice of fish and ate it. It felt icy cold in the mouth, crisp and bouncy when bitten, with a slight sweetness. The texture was really good. It tasted refreshing, and after swallowing, he indeed felt strands of spiritual energy spreading inside.
It really was a good thing. He ate several more slices in a row.
Before long, more exquisite side dishes were served. They matched well with the taste of the冥 fish. It was clear that Small Fresh Tower had put great effort into this meal.
The two ate, drank and chatted. With a good moon, good scenery and good atmosphere, Lin Cheng Dao took this opportunity to express his wish to leave the archive.
After studying hard by the cold window and obtaining official rank, who would want to guard a warehouse for a lifetime?
It was only because his act of favouritism at the time was what the Vice Censor hated most. No one in the Censorate was willing to help him.
Yu Qing agreed readily and said he would definitely put in a good word.
However, he agreed too quickly. Lin Cheng Dao was not sure if it was his imagination, but he always felt it was not quite reassuring.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, it was not a place to linger. The two got up to leave.
Yet they could not leave easily.
Ye Dian Dian had already prepared brush, ink, paper and inkstone in the front hall and was waiting. Although she had not disturbed their private chat, she had been waiting here for a long time.
Lin Cheng Dao saw this setup and immediately knew what was going on. He could not help scratching his head and finally understood why his aunt had appeared.
The blocked Yu Qing had no such awareness and simply bowed his hands in thanks again.
Ye Dian Dian followed up smoothly, “If the third place scholar truly wishes to show gratitude, why not leave some calligraphy for Small Fresh Tower to add brilliance?”
“Calligraphy?” Yu Qing was stunned and only then realised the brush, ink, paper and inkstone were prepared for him.
Ye Dian Dian said, “This little woman has also read the third place scholar’s poems and writings. They are truly exceptional. The line ‘settling the fame before and after life’ captures the endurance and melancholy of so many people in the world. Reading it quietly late at night back then left this little woman unable to calm her emotions to this day. Now that I have met the third place scholar in person, how can I face myself if I do not shamelessly ask? I hope the third place scholar will grant this request!”
Yu Qing felt very speechless. If he had known this would happen, he would not have come even if beaten to death.
What poems and writings? How could he produce any? He did not even give a polite refusal. He raised his hand to his forehead and sighed, “What bad luck. As soon as I drink, I cannot write poems or lyrics. Drinking really ruins things. Brother Lin, drinking ruins things. I am afraid I cannot fulfil your aunt’s wish today.” He would get through today first. After all, he would resign and leave tomorrow.
Lin Cheng Dao gave a dry laugh and did not say anything bad about his aunt.
Ye Dian Dian was stunned by this direct and blunt reason. She immediately stepped back and asked for less, “Leaving a few words for Small Fresh Tower would also be fine.”
Yu Qing felt speechless again. His walking was perfectly fine. He could not say he could not even write characters.
The key point was that he had eaten several thousand taels worth of food from them. If he refused to even write a few words, it would really seem unreasonable.
He tried asking, “What words? You say what to write and I will copy it.”
Ye Dian Dian covered her mouth and laughed softly. “The third place scholar is joking. Write whatever you feel like. Anything you want is fine, as long as it is your personal handwriting.”
This was what it meant to find it hard to refuse a warm invitation. Yu Qing experienced it today.
After being led to the writing desk, he stared at the white paper feeling a bit lost. It was normal to feel at a loss the first time facing this kind of situation.
He looked at the light and shadows swaying in the wind in the mountain valley outside the fence walls. Thinking of the bustling scene there and comparing it to the cold quietness of Linglong View, he felt something in his heart. He asked again, “Really, anything I write is fine?”
Ye Dian Dian nodded in agreement.
Yu Qing sighed, then picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote three big characters on the white paper with swift strokes: Human World Good!
He put down the brush after finishing and shrugged his shoulders. He thought that she herself had said anything was fine. She could not go back on her own words said on the spot. Anyway, he would resign and leave tomorrow. Whether they were happy or not was up to them. They probably would not meet again.
“Human ~ world ~ good!” Lin Cheng Dao tilted his head and muttered the words, feeling somewhat puzzled. He did not know what Brother Shi Heng meant by writing these three straightforward characters.
This puzzled mutter immediately made Yu Qing feel secretly embarrassed. He knew he was not capable, yet he had pretended to be something big. Sure enough, drinking had ruined things.
He could feel that he had indeed been prompted a bit by the wine.
After thinking for a moment, Ye Dian Dian became so excited that her face glowed. She could not help clapping her hands and praising, “What a ‘Human World Good’! How wonderful! Absolutely brilliant! A casual stroke produces gold, pearls, jewels and jade. The third place scholar truly deserves to be called the unmatched great talent of the world!”
Yu Qing was slightly stunned.
The two guards could not help moving closer to look at what was written. Even the old woman wiping tables nearby subconsciously leaned in.
Lin Cheng Dao looked somewhat surprised. He did not know why his aunt gave such high praise. He tried asking, “What do you mean by that?”
The somewhat puzzled Yu Qing also waited to see.
Ye Dian Dian gave him a white look. “And you call yourself a proper scholar with official rank. Taste the artistic conception carefully. Did you not notice the obvious sense of overlooking the world?”
Hearing her say this and looking at the three characters ‘Human World Good’ again, they indeed carried a transcendent flavour of overlooking the human world from above.
Ye Dian Dian continued, “Under normal circumstances, how could ordinary people in the world say words like ‘Human World Good’? Taste it again. The third place scholar’s achievement is the once in a century top scorer with full marks. He is unmatched in the world. The third place scholar is like an immortal banished from heaven to the mortal world. He is speaking from that height.
Why say ‘Human World Good’? Just because he tasted a dinner at Small Fresh Tower, it made the banished immortal sigh ‘Human World Good’!
I asked the third place scholar for calligraphy for Small Fresh Tower, and he gifted the three characters ‘Human World Good’. For a restaurant, is there any higher praise than this?”
After listening, Yu Qing could not help looking at the three characters he had written. His mind felt somewhat blank.
Lin Cheng Dao suddenly understood. After his aunt explained it this way, he realised that the artistic conception of these mere three characters soared straight to the clouds and carried a faint immortal air. After further tasting it, he sighed sincerely, “Brother Shi Heng is truly brilliant. With just three characters he elevated himself to the realm of overlooking the human world. He praised Small Fresh Tower while also praising himself, and did it without any trace. They complement each other perfectly. A top scorer with full marks in four subjects is indeed different. True skill shows in casual strokes. No wonder he could write those smooth and flowing works. This time Lin is truly convinced and admires him!”
The two guards from the Zhong residence also understood the artistic conception of the three characters now. Their eyes towards Yu Qing were already full of admiration. They admitted that even if beaten to death they could not write something with such depth. They felt they had personally witnessed what real talent was.
At this moment, the way Ye Dian Dian looked at Yu Qing also carried an undisguisable sense of admiration. She pointed at the calligraphy and reminded him, “Third place scholar, you forgot to sign your name.”