Chapter 130: Proficient in the Five Classics and Six Arts

Chapter 130: Proficient in the Five Classics and Six Arts

If only Lu Mingchao were his wife.

In that case, he and Lu Mingchao would become legends together.

Sun Zhiye couldn't rein in his jumbled thoughts and let out another sigh.

Changxi Village.

The weather was pleasantly warm and sunny.

Lately, the weather had turned unusually mild, more like early spring than the depths of winter.

Lu Mingchao figured the heavens must have noticed her recent good mood.

"Mingchao, lift your elbow a bit higher; keeping it too low will throw off your aim."

By the courtyard wall stood a straw target. Lu Mingchao held a bow and arrow, practicing archery, with Xie Yan giving guidance from the side.

Following his advice, Lu Mingchao raised her elbow slightly, pulled the bowstring with three fingers, held the arrow nock with two, drew back, aimed, and let the arrow fly.

In the next moment, the arrow sliced through the air and embedded itself in the straw target.

Lu Mingchao stared at the arrow wobbling on the target's edge, feeling pretty bummed.

She'd aimed for the bullseye but hit the edge; a bit more and she would've missed completely.

"Once more!"

Lu Mingchao grew more determined with each miss, drawing and shooting again and again.

As the sun climbed to its peak, Lu Mingchao's arms ached so badly she could hardly raise them. She reluctantly set down the bow, but seeing her arrows hitting closer to the mark, she felt a surge of pride.

Xie Yan kneaded Lu Mingchao's shoulders and arms, "Take a medicinal bath before bed tonight, and the soreness won't be so bad."

Lu Mingchao sat in a rocking chair, mumbling, "A Yan, why is hitting the bullseye so tough?"

Each time she aimed for the bullseye, she just missed.

Xie Yan grinned, "Practice makes perfect."

"Not missing the target as a beginner shows real talent."

"When I was young, I practiced archery by drawing the bow five hundred times a day and martial arts by holding stances for two hours daily."

"At first, it was pure agony, counting the hours till night, but gradually I started to enjoy it."

As Xie Yan massaged her, Lu Mingchao began to doze off.

Shu Yuan leaned out the window, "In Daqian, a gentleman masters the Five Classics and Six Arts: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and math; women learn the Eight Elegant Arts: qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine, flowers, and tea."

"Xie Yan, you're teaching your sister-in-law archery and charioteering, she's always buried in account books, and she even borrows the Four Books and Five Classics from Lu Santu now and then. Are you trying to raise a lady who's more skilled than anyone, humble yet expert in the Four Books, Five Classics, and Six Arts?"

Xie Yan glanced sideways, his voice low, "Why not?"

Shu Yuan chuckled, "Sure, it's just not what society expects."

Xie Yan's voice was calm and steady, "The world is what it is, but that doesn't make it right."

"As for the title of a gentleman, who can assert that a woman cannot become as resilient as pine and bamboo?"

"Being a gentleman is about character, integrity, ambition, and moral conduct, but it should never be about gender."

"If she wants to learn, I’ll teach her."

"In the northern frontier, war is constant, and foreign invaders frequently attack, burning, killing, and looting. I have seen a county where all the able-bodied men were killed or injured, and the elderly, weak, women, and children fought back with hoes, shovels, axes, and kitchen knives, trading their lives for the enemy’s."

"It’s always good for women to learn new skills. The path we’re about to take is extremely dangerous. Every bit stronger Mingchao becomes is a good thing."

Xie Yan’s gaze briefly fell on Lu Mingchao, who had already closed her eyes, and a trace of helplessness welled up in his heart. He smiled, turned back into the house, grabbed a thin blanket, and gently covered Lu Mingchao with it.

Then he went to Shu Yuan’s window and continued, "Shu Yuan, you don’t seem like someone who follows societal norms."

"You shouldn’t be saying this."

Shu Yuan raised an eyebrow, "I don’t believe in any of this societal nonsense."

"I just want to tell you, some people stand there like the bright moon in the night sky. If you make this moon even more radiant, there will be many who desire to reach for it."

Xie Yan’s expression darkened slightly, "Mingchao has said, she will only be my wife."

Shu Yuan smiled, "I hope you don’t forget your original intention."

"By the way, I forgot to tell you, the hidden guards found a portrait of your sister-in-law in Jade String Gentleman's study."

If it weren’t for this, he wouldn’t have been so nosy as to bring it up.

Sun Zhiye has suffered losses at the hands of Lu Mingchao time and again, yet he still finds time to paint and express his longing in the quiet of the night.

After hearing the report from the hidden guards, he began to suspect that Sun Zhiye either has a natural inclination for masochism or has lost his mind due to Lu Mingchao.

Shouldn’t normal people hate their enemies?

What is Sun Zhiye doing? Turning hate into love, mutual admiration?

Xie Yan’s face darkened, "He’s sick."

"When a patient has an episode, it can't be blamed on Mingchao, can it?"

"Your hidden guards have time to watch Sun Zhiye paint, but no time to find the second young master of the Sun family's lost treasure?"

Shu Yuan’s mouth twitched, "Now you’re just taking it out on me."

A gust of wind blew, and the strands of hair at Lu Mingchao’s temples fell onto her cheeks, tickling her.

"What anger?" Lu Mingchao rubbed her sleepy eyes and asked curiously.

Xie Yan glared at Shu Yuan and made a gesture to keep quiet.

Before Xie Yan could answer, Xie Jingyi emerged from some corner, with a few dried weeds hanging from her head, and walked towards Lu Mingchao with her short legs, "Mommy, mommy, I know."

"Uncle said mommy is the moon, and he wants to reach for the moon."

"He also said there’s a jade portrait that’s sick."

Lu Mingchao’s eyes twitched, and she looked suspiciously at Shu Yuan, "Brother-in-law, isn’t this a bit too rebellious and insane?"

Shu Yuan almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

Even if he weren't a eunuch who had been castrated, even if he were a whole, normal man, he wouldn't be coveting his brother's wife, would he?

Shu Yuan slammed the window shut with a bang and said in a gruff voice, "Xie Yan, your wife is yours, and your daughter is yours too. You explain it yourself."

Xie Yan awkwardly scratched his head, then grabbed Xie Jingyi by the neck with one hand, lifted her up, and said loudly, "Huaiqian, Jingyi misses you and Ru'an."

Xie Yan pushed open Xie Huaiqian's window nearby and placed Xie Jingyi inside.

The series of actions was smooth and fluid.

Then he leaned down beside Lu Mingchao's ear and briefly explained the portrait in Sun Zhiye's study.

Lu Mingchao slapped the armrest and stood up abruptly, "No, is he out of his mind?"

Lu Mingchao's first thought was also that Sun Zhiye was sick.

After all this time of real battles and intense struggles, he's still delusional, dreaming of unrealistic things.

"Ah Yan, do you think there's a possibility that he hates me so much that he painted the portrait to remind himself to remember the hatred?"

Xie Yan pursed his thin lips, "Hating someone might make you paint a portrait, but you'd end up destroying it in a fit of rage."

He would never be like Sun Zhiye, carefully hiding it, afraid that someone might figure out his intentions.

Lu Mingchao said in a deep voice, "Then he's completely unhinged."

There's a bit of a split personality vibe in it.

When he went after her, he was ruthless and merciless, hoping to strike while she was vulnerable.

If she hadn't been alert, her grave would have already been overgrown.

Yet in the dead of night, he sets up his canvas and paints.

If that's not crazy, what is?

Bring him to trial.