Chapter 229: Chapter 196: Flustered Xiao Wan’er

The next day, the weather was clear and bright.

It was just past mao hour, and the rising sun already revealed the full might of the dog days of summer.

The brilliant sunlight bathed Shu State Prefecture City in a bright, clear light.

There were the bustling East and West Markets, the refined Kangning Street, the solemn and stately South Street Government Office Gate, and the graceful women of South City’s Yanhua Lane.

Perhaps because the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, everyone from common folk and merchants to government officials wore smiles on their faces.

Xiaodie was no exception.

She had woken up bright and early today. After tidying up a bit, she had the carriage driver take her to Kangning Street to hire a master from a mounting shop.

This mounting master was no stranger—it was the shop owner himself, along with two of his assistants.

The owner’s surname was Dai, with the given name Nian.

He was quite familiar with Chen Yi, who was a regular customer.

Xiaodie quietly led him to the study in Spring Lotus Garden.

Dai Nian looked around at the study’s furnishings, offered a few words of praise, and then asked, "Miss Xiaodie, which calligraphy pieces are to be mounted?"

Xiaodie pointed to the stack of Yunsong Paper on the desk. "These."

"That’s quite a few. How many scrolls?"

"There are... Let me count."

As she spoke, Xiaodie counted them one by one. "One, two... Boss Dai, there are twenty-one scrolls in total."

Dai Nian noted the number, then began unrolling each scroll to measure its dimensions and prepare his tools.

With each one he measured, he made a note and commented on Mr. Qingzhou’s excellent calligraphy.

She didn’t need him to tell her whether it was good or not.

Xiaodie knew perfectly well.

But right now, her little face was tense, as if worried Dai Nian might try some funny business.

She clearly hadn’t forgotten the incident when a calligraphy piece had been lost at the mounting shop.

Fortunately, Dai Nian was oblivious to her thoughts; otherwise, he would surely be wailing and crying foul.

He recorded twenty scrolls in a row. Then it was time for the last one.

The moment Dai Nian took it, he sensed something different. He hefted it a couple of times and couldn’t help but mutter to himself, ’This one’s a considerable size.’

But when he unrolled the Yunsong Paper and saw the light and the Mental Realm materialize, his expression instantly went slack with shock.

"This... this is..."

Dai Nian’s eyes widened, and he nearly buried his face in the scroll, unable to finish his sentence.

Xiaodie also saw the Mental Realm on the poem, but she clearly didn’t understand its significance. She just thought the poem was good and the image was beautiful.

Especially at the end of the Mental Realm, when she saw the figure sailing a boat past ten thousand mountains, she couldn’t help but smile and say:

"The Young Master is truly the Young Master. The poem is good, and the calligraphy is wonderful."

"He even wrote himself into the poem."

Dai Nian, who hadn’t heard a word, asked with a tremble, "M-Miss Xiaodie, was this... was this really written by your Young Master?"

Xiaodie gave him a strange look. "Of course my Young Master wrote it."

Then, she grew wary and asked, "What are you planning? You’re not thinking of swapping it for a worse one again, are you?"

Dai Nian’s hands trembled so hard he nearly dropped the scroll.

’Good heavens,’ he thought, ’this is a calligraphy piece at the Perfection Realm of Calligraphy Dao! I wouldn’t dare tamper with it even if you gave me ten times the nerve!’

’Even if I had the idea, I wouldn’t have the skill to pull it off.’

’Forget me—in the entire Great Wei Dynasty, there are probably only a handful of people who could create a forgery of this scroll convincing enough to pass for the original.’

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Dai Nian tremblingly rolled up the scroll and solemnly promised:

"Rest assured, I swear on my life, I will absolutely, absolutely use the finest auxiliary materials and the best techniques to mount this scroll."

You have to understand, not his master, not his master’s master... no one in his lineage for eight generations back had ever mounted a calligraphy piece from the Perfection Realm of Calligraphy Dao.

To be able to mount a scroll of such a Realm in his lifetime—his life would not have been lived in vain.

Only then did Xiaodie nod in satisfaction. "That’s good."

"In any case, you can’t make any mistakes this time. If you damage it, I... I... the residence has Armored Warriors to give you a beating with a plank!"

"Rest assured, rest assured..."

「The sun was high in the sky.」

As Xiaodie helped him get up, dress, and wash, Chen Yi heard the sounds from the study downstairs and casually asked:

"How many have been mounted?"

When she heard his question, Xiaodie puffed out her cheeks and said, "He’s only just finished one."

"Young Master, that man is so strange."

"How so?"

Xiaodie chattered on for a while before finally saying:

"When I invited him over this morning, he clearly brought two apprentices with him, but when it was time to start, he was the only one working. Don’t you think that’s strange?"

Chen Yi chuckled, guessing that the mounting shop’s owner must have seen the Calligraphy Dao Realm in "Post-rain Reflections" and didn’t want to entrust the work to others.

"Slow is fine. As long as they’re all mounted before the Mid-Autumn Festival, it’s okay."

"Young Master, I’ll be sure to keep an eye on him for you."

"There’s no need to be so tense..."

Amid their lighthearted banter, Chen Yi finished getting dressed.

Because he was accompanying Xiao Wan’er to Fengchun Building today, he had deliberately changed into a suit of brocade clothes.

A navy-blue, silk long-robe felt as light as air, worn over a pure white inner shirt, with a gold and jade-adorned belt at his waist and matching navy-blue boots.

He naturally exuded an air of nobility.

However, Chen Yi’s usual disposition was lazy and listless. Even if he put on airs, which was enough to carry the outfit, he still seemed somewhat frail and scholarly.

Xiaodie, however, looked him up and down and saw none of that.

She only felt that once the Young Master changed into these clothes, he was the most handsome man in the world.

As she sized him up, her face unconsciously grew a little hot, and she quickly said:

"Young Master, please have a seat. I’ll go prepare something for you to eat."

Seeing her turn and leave as soon as she finished speaking, Chen Yi was slightly taken aback, but he didn’t think much of it.

However, after studying his reflection in the Copper Mirror for a few moments, he hesitated slightly, then took a deep breath. His expression immediately became calm and composed.

In the next moment, the listlessness about him vanished, replaced by a burgeoning noble aura. Even the sense of frailty and weakness mostly disappeared.

He looked just like a young nobleman from one of the great Noble Families.

Chen Yi glanced at his reflection a few more times, a smile playing on his lips. ’I guess you could call this a talent, too.’