Chapter 124 Daydreaming
Mengxi doesn't care about Xiu'er making fun of her. If Xiu'er thinks she is an eyesore, then she should find a way to get the Xiao family to divorce her as soon as possible.
After returning from Shouxi Hall, she started to study her calligraphy again. Mengxi had been practicing calligraphy so hard because she wanted to travel around the famous mountains and holy waters of Daqi after leaving Xiao Mansion. Then she could write down "Li Mengxi visited here in XX" and leave a poem or lyrics to be passed down to future generations. Maybe she, Li Mengxi, would become the second Li Bai or Du Fu, and be called the master of something by future generations and recorded in history. Even if she could not become a master of something, at least she could trick a handsome guy back.
As Mengxi thought so arrogantly, she could not help but see Master Shangguan traveling with her among mountains and rivers. When they came across a beautiful scene, she was inspired to write on the cliff in a flamboyant manner. When Master Shangguan saw the scene, he was amazed and thought that such a beautiful scene and such a beautiful woman were enough for her in this life.
Meteor showers were seen floating in the sky. Young Master Shangguan had long forgotten the ambition of a man to rule the world. He rode a white horse, holding a huge diamond ring in his hand and galloped towards her. Finally, he came in front of her, jumped off the horse, and knelt down at her feet. "Brother Tan! Brother Tan! I want to laugh at the rivers and lakes with you..."
She had forgotten that when she and Shangguan visited Luding Mountain together, she was not wearing a pomegranate skirt, but a man's long gown. Seeing Master Shangguan kneeling down before her, Mengxi was so beautiful that she smiled from ear to ear, and her pair of big, charming eyes blinked like stars, and the pen in her hand began to dance more vigorously.
Khan: Mengxi’s daydream is shocking enough, two men are so arrogant, what are they doing with diamond rings!
"Second Madam, the most important thing to avoid when practicing calligraphy is being impatient. You must be calm and composed, and start and end well. Calligraphy practice is meant to relax your mind and cultivate your character. You need a kind of artistic conception, like a sky with light clouds and a gentle breeze. When you write a word, you must have enough patience and arrange each stroke in place. Only then can the shape and spirit of the whole word complement each other, and gradually you can practice to the state of unity of pen and hand. An impatient person will not be able to practice calligraphy well."
Zhiqiu saw Second Madam scribbling on the paper. She was not practicing calligraphy, but waving two chicken claws. She could not bear to watch it any longer, so she called Second Madam to stop her.
Zhiqiu's words woke Mengxi up from her daydream. Looking carefully, there were still shadows of the meteor shower and the Prince Charming, and only Zhiqiu was looking at her angrily. Looking at the big words she had written with great passion, it was clearly a chicken scratching its claws instead of a phoenix dancing.
Hey, they say a crow turns into a phoenix, so how come a good phoenix turned into a crow under her hands? He could not help but lower his head in shame. Zhiqiu changed the paper again, and Mengxi picked up the pen again, and began to practice seriously, stroke by stroke.
Mengxi was determined in her heart and refused to believe that she couldn't write big, vigorous and beautiful characters. She would try her best, try her best, and try her best again.
These days, Xiao Jun was busy every day and often disappeared for several days. Mengxi lived a quiet life again. Every day, apart from accompanying the old lady, she practiced calligraphy, read books, and occasionally prepared some medicine in the house. The first wife also felt that the punishment on the second wife was a bit harsh this time, so she didn't make trouble these days.
Life was too leisurely. Mengxi suddenly had an idea to learn the guqin again. She told Zhiqiu about the idea. Zhiqiu stared with eyes wide open, almost popping out of their sockets. Looking at the second grandmother's handwriting, the guqin wasn't much better. It was okay to practice calligraphy, but it was an eyesore. She could just close her eyes, but she couldn't close her ears.
Seeing her Second Grandma's excited , Zhiqiu began to wonder if this Second Grandma was torturing her young heart in various ways. After all, she was the master. Seeing that the Second Grandma was so happy, it was not easy for Zhiqiu to dampen her enthusiasm. She prayed secretly that the Second Grandma was just in a momentary mood and would fade away after a while.
Zhiqiu did not dare let the Second Grandma practice the piano in the east wing, for fear that the noisy piano sound would reach the upper room and disturb the Second Master's peace. Fortunately, the backyard of the east wing was large and independent, so she found a secluded place in the backyard and patiently taught the Second Grandma. To Zhiqiu's relief, the Second Grandma had a strong sense of music and was not greedy. She only practiced one piece of music, and it became pleasing to the ears after just a few days. It was not as torturous as she had imagined. She thought to herself that the Second Grandma had some talent and was a rare gem, but it was a pity that she was stuck in the pile of cow dung of the Second Master.
Zhiqiu had no idea that Mengxi had learned piano in her previous life, but there was no such thing in ancient times. Every day, there was no TV, no computer, no Internet, and no music. Mengxi felt bored and uncomfortable. Thinking of the style of Shangguan playing the piano that day, she was envious. So she suddenly had the idea of learning the guqin instead, so that she could learn from Shangguan when she traveled with him in the future. Although the instruments were different, the rhythm was always the same, so Mengxi learned the guqin much faster than ordinary people.
One day, Zhiqiu brought a plate of lychees into the room. Seeing that Second Madam was still writing, he was impressed by her perseverance. He put the lychees on the table and said:
"Second Madam, please take a break. It takes more than one day to write this calligraphy. The old lady just sent someone to give it to me. She said it was just written this year, so it's fresh. Second Madam, please give it a try."
Mengxi put down the pen in her hand, and Zhiqiu hurriedly brought water and helped her wash her hands. Then he picked up a lychee, peeled it, and handed it to the second grandmother. Mengxi took it, looked at Zhiqiu's smiling face, and asked:
"What good news? You look so happy. Did the pharmacy get a big deal again?"
"The owner of the pharmacy came to my brother these days and said they needed money urgently and wanted to sell the property we rented, including a teahouse next to it, for nearly 20,000 taels of silver. My brother is thinking about asking the Second Madam if we should take the opportunity to buy it over, but this is not what I am happy about."
"Can we come up with so much silver now?"
"All the money we earned some time ago was used to buy those rare medicines for Second Madam. Yichuntang currently has little cash that can be moved. My brother said that we can only take out more than 7,000 taels. Even if we try hard, we can only get more than 10,000 taels. My brother thinks this is a rare opportunity, and he inadvertently sighed in front of Sun Cheng, a subordinate of Master Shangguan. Unexpectedly, when Sun Cheng heard this, he went back to Master Shangguan without saying a word. Master Shangguan said that he used a lot of medicine and was a frequent customer, so he agreed to advance us some of the silver first, and we will use the medicine to cover it in the future. My brother thinks this is a great opportunity, but the amount of silver involved is too large, so he dare not make the decision, and let this servant go back to Second Madam to make the decision."
"Since Big Brother has such good intentions, let's just buy it. Sorry for putting too much pressure on Big Brother Shangguan. Tell Li Du that from now on, Big Brother Shangguan will get a 30% discount whenever he goes to get medicine."
"That's right, brother, I was thinking of asking you for advice. Young Master Shangguan uses a lot of medicine and has been taking good care of us. I want to give him a discount. I will tell you another day."
As Zhiqiu spoke, he peeled another lychee for the Second Grandma. Mengxi took it and put it in her mouth. Suddenly, she remembered that Zhiqiu said that she was not happy about this matter, so she asked casually:
"You just said that being happy is not just about this, what else is there?"
When Zhiqiu heard this, he immediately laughed and said:
"Second Madam doesn't know that Aunt Cui was punished by Second Master."
