Chapter 55: A Letter Arrives, Expressing Longing

Chapter 55: Sending a Letter, Expressing Longing

Ning Xishi was still a bit dazed as he watched everyone declare they would wait for General Xie to return with his troops.

Were ancient martial artists really this... easy to sway with a little stirring up?

He'd prepared a whole bunch of speeches and even asked his senior martial brother Xiao Shaoqing to help him stage a few more performances.

But since everyone bought it, that saved him a lot of talking. He'd lost his memory, and the more he talked, the easier it'd be to slip up.

Xiao Shaoqing said, "These are secret imperial orders that even many low-ranking officials aren't qualified to know about. They concern the safety of our Jule Gang, so I ask all protectors and elders to watch their words even more carefully and find ways to help our members stay hidden."

"Of course," said the Left Protector, who was quick-tempered. "Don't worry about our members—everyone's top-notch at hiding. Besides, we've long been dissatisfied with this emperor. Damn emperor, always raising taxes on everyone, so a lot of our shops don't even dare to do much business."

Blunt as it was, what he said made sense.

Because the national treasury was empty, the court had issued decrees in Jiangnan to levy extra taxes. Merchants were furious, but with General Xie looming over them, they had no choice but to hand over their silver.

"Exactly. With the extra taxes, those tax collectors show up at our shops more often. The more they come, the more we have to play host every single time. And when they leave, we have to send them off with gifts to keep them happy. Where's the profit in that?!"

"I was planning to stock up on more grain this year, but now I've got to cut my grain budget in half."

"Being broke really does take down a bunch of heroes."

Ning Xishi: "..."

Why did this feel nothing like the Beggar Gang he'd imagined?

Everyone going on about silver and losses—was he really the Beggar Clan Chief, or some kind of merchant guild leader?

Shouldn't Beggar Gang members be legendary heroes who treated money like it was nothing?!

Ning Xishi was still pretty weak, so after talking, he had to go back and rest for a bit.

After a half-hour nap, Xiao Shaoqing woke Ning Xishi and took him to the courtyard to train.

This time, Ning Xishi couldn't slack off—he'd been asleep for over a month, and his body had deteriorated. He needed proper training to get back in shape.

Pushing aside the curtain, Ning Xishi saw the courtyard was quiet and asked, "Where are the elders?"

"My third uncle took them all to stay at an inn. It'd be too disruptive to your rest here. Besides, some of them love challenging people to spar. If they stayed here a few days, you'd end up having to spar with them."

Ning Xishi immediately shook his head.

Xiao Shaoqing chuckled. "What's there to be afraid of? Didn't we spar yesterday? Even if your mind's lost its memories, your body still remembers. You haven't forgotten your moves or techniques."

That also put Xiao Shaoqing at ease, because leaving Ning Xishi alone at the Minister's residence would've really worried him.

"I haven't gotten over that mental hurdle," Ning Xishi said.

Xiao Shaoqing couldn't help but pause. In fact, years ago he'd asked Ning Xishi the same thing—"Junior martial brother, your internal energy and techniques are solid, so why don't you like sparring with others?"

To put it simply, well-read scholars often go to literary gatherings to compose poetry and show off their writing. By the same logic, martial artists with great skills should naturally spar with others on the regular.

But Ning Xishi had never liked fighting others.

Back then, Ning Xishi wasn't used to revealing his inner thoughts and had only said, "Ah, fighting and killing all day—what kind of decorum is that? Better to follow the saying that a gentleman uses words, not fists."

Now, hearing Ning Xishi's current words, Xiao Shaoqing suddenly understood why he'd so firmly chosen Xie Jingxing.

Because at his core, his junior martial brother yearned to reduce the hierarchy created by force and violence.

It was only after he'd fought in the arena that he gradually let go of this mental hurdle.

Xiao Shaoqing said, "Don't worry, with the Jule Gang's help, Xie Jingxing can save half the effort in conquering the realm."

Ning Xishi nodded.

After training, he still had to study and practice calligraphy. Every day, after finishing his duties at the Hanlin Academy, his elder brother would find time to check his homework and the five pages of large-character calligraphy he had to do.

Also, since Ning Xishi hadn't recovered his memory yet, he wasn't attending the Imperial Academy for now. The fewer people he came into contact with, the safer.

At first, Ning Xishi found five pages of large-character calligraphy tough—it took him nearly an hour to finish, since any slight slacking would be caught by his elder brother's hawk eyes, resulting in a penalty of five more pages.

Ning Xishi initially argued, "I only got tired on this one page, so it's not as good as the others. If you're going to punish me, it should only be for this one."

"Six pages," Ning Lanzhi said flatly.

"I..." Ning Xishi's voice trailed off, and he obediently went back to the study to practice.

Ning Xishi also knew that for a scholar, handwriting was everything. Only with good calligraphy could you gain recognition in scholarly circles. Otherwise, no matter how privileged your background, you'd just be dismissed as an illiterate rich kid.

Before, it was fine for Ning Xishi to be a carefree rich young master, but now with the court situation shifting unpredictably, only by taking the imperial exams could he dispel the emperor's suspicions.

After all, the most important thing for a scholar was "loyalty to the emperor."

·

After finishing five pages of large-character calligraphy, Ning Xishi rotated his wrist, and the ink on the brush he hadn't yet put down splattered out like scattered flowers.

At that critical moment, he quickly grabbed the paper on the table and spun it around in front of him. All the ink was absorbed by the paper without a single drop spilling. Ning Xishi set down the brush, thinking it was a trivial matter.

But then, as he lowered his eyes to look at the paper in his hand, Ning Xishi's smile immediately vanished.

He... had grabbed... the paper he had just been practicing on.

A bird flew past the winter plum blossoms outside the window, leaving behind a string of cackling sounds, as if mocking Second Young Master Ning.

Ning Xishi: "..." He let out a bitter laugh.

But he knew his elder brother was impartial and strict—if he submitted this, he would definitely be penalized with another five pages. Better to rewrite this one now before handing it in.

When Ning Xishi submitted the five pages of calligraphy, Ning Lanzhi indeed spotted the discrepancy at a glance: "Was this one rewritten afterward?"

Ning Xishi's heart immediately tightened, and he quickly flattered, "Big brother, your eyes are truly sharp."

Ning Lanzhi glanced at him sideways. "This one is the best written."

Ning Xishi was somewhat surprised. The last page was the one he had rewritten, and at that time he had actually been a bit restless, since no one likes extra homework because of an accident.

Ning Lanzhi said, "This piece isn't particularly neat, but it already shows a half-hidden, half-revealed sharpness. It has your own style."

Before Ning Xishi could bask in self-satisfaction, Ning Lanzhi suddenly added, "In that case, I have some documents here that need organizing. You can sit across from me and write ten more pages of large-character calligraphy."

Ning Xishi refused: "Big brother, ten pages? That's two days' worth of my quota."

"What's the harm? If you're unwilling, then from now on you'll write fifteen pages every day." Ning Lanzhi's indifferent remark completely silenced Ning Xishi's bargaining.

Because his elder brother would genuinely make him write fifteen pages of large-character calligraphy a day!

By now, the sky had darkened, and outside the room, Dongshuang brought in a nourishing soup from Mother's kitchen. Usually, Ning Xishi would be able to fall asleep after drinking this bowl of soup, but tonight he still had to practice calligraphy.

He picked up the pace of his writing accordingly.

Ning Lanzhi observed Ning Xishi's movements—the way he wielded, lifted, and paused the brush, the stroke style, momentum, and strength all bearing his personal stamp in this emotional moment.

A smile unconsciously spread across Ning Lanzhi's lips, and he thought to himself that his younger brother was indeed extremely talented.

After another half year of practice, by the autumn harvest, a couple of literary gatherings would spread his name far and wide.

After inspecting, Ning Lanzhi picked out a few characters where Ning Xishi's strokes dragged, and said, "Writing like this would normally mean rewriting ten sheets. Since it's getting late, you should head to bed first."

Ning Xishi breathed a sigh of relief and was about to bolt.

Then he heard Ning Lanzhi continue, "You'll make it up tomorrow. Fifteen sheets total—I'll check when I get back. Also, besides that, I'll spot-check the first ten sections of the Great Learning."

Ning Xishi was speechless.

He practically walked out on shaky legs—his eldest brother was even stricter than their senior-year homeroom teacher!

After rounding two small arched gates, he reached his own courtyard. Seeing Dongshuang still pacing in circles at the door, Ning Xishi said, "Why haven't you gone to sleep yet?"

Dongshuang gave him a meaningful blink, then opened the study door.

Ning Xishi looked back and was surprised to see it was the youngest personal guard beside Xie Jingxing.

"Young Master Ning, this is a letter from the General, delivered for you. The General ordered that it be delivered personally into your hands." With that, the guard gave Ning Xishi a military salute and immediately turned to leave.

Ning Xishi hurriedly stopped him: "Wait, I have a letter to bring to the General too."

But the guard shook his head firmly: "Can't do that. The General said that if he saw your letter, he wouldn't want to fight a single day more and would only want to rush back to see you. But he can't come back right now."

Ning Xishi held the letter—a thick stack—and it felt even heavier now, both in hand and in heart.

He pressed his lips together, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes, and said, "Then listen to your General."

The guard stood there, watching Ning Xishi turn and head to the bedroom with the letter, and quickly asked, "Young Master Ning, is there no message you'd like me to relay?"

Ning Xishi, with his back to him, waved the letter in his hand: "Tell him—next time the letter has to be at least this thick, no less."

"Understood!"

Dongshuang, seeing how respectfully these guards treated his young master, thought to himself that back when they had moved into the General's mansion, these people had ignored the young master entirely.

Being able to achieve this was not only because General Xie held the young master in high regard, but also because the young master had beheaded Wanyan Dahong at the frontier!

These military men were all the same as the gang fighters he knew—to earn their genuine respect, one had to possess strength and achievements that commanded admiration.

At this thought, Dongshuang grew even more excited, wanting to share his deduction with the young master.

—It was because the young master was so formidable that they were truly convinced!

But Ning Xishi, holding the letter, looked somewhat deflated. Dongshuang opened his mouth but swallowed the words back.

Today was the fourteenth, and the moon in the sky was astonishingly round, like a huge, glowing silver plate.

But he had yet to reunite with his beloved.

The young man's long hair cascaded loose, and he lounged lazily against the bedside. Without lighting a lamp, he carefully read through General Xie's stack of letters by the moonlight.

Just the first line made Ning Xishi's hands burn, nearly scattering the letters everywhere.

—"Golden spears and iron horses storm into my dreams, waking to find I still clutch the ribbon of our union.

The full moon reflects into my Xi's eyes, beneath the withered tree's shadow, white hairs appear."

==========Author's Note:==========

Goodnight