The Prime Minister's Darling

Chapter 41: Being Alone

Gu Jiao never anticipated that, after spending her past life studying hard for exams to get into university, postgraduate school, then the doctoral program, she would have to start from the basics in her new life in an area she had the least proficiency in – Chinese calligraphy.

Gu Jiao was feeling utterly dejected and defeated.

Even if she did have a beauty by her side who was an absolute feast for the eyes, she didn’t want to learn calligraphy. No, not at all!

“Let’s start with your name,” said Xiao Liulang.

His voice was somewhere between that of a teenager going through puberty and that of a mature man. Rather than sounding like the awful croak of a drake, it had a refreshing baritone quality.

Feeling absolutely helpless, Gu Jiao silently watched as he wrote her name on paper.

Unlike the sloppy signature she had scrawled on the consent form for the surgery, this time her name seemed more tidy and elegant.

Yet Gu Jiao still didn’t understand.

Gu Jiao was sitting opposite to Xiao Liulang. From her perspective, the characters appeared upside down. Sensing her confusion, Xiao Liulang turned the paper around for Gu Jiao to scrutinize.

Afterwards, he meticulously wrote each stroke and their order down for her.

Seeing all the strokes, Gu Jiao felt a headache coming on.

These weren’t traditional characters, nor were they written in regular script or seal script. They were of a style that was entirely unfamiliar to her.

Seeing Gu Jiao awkwardly attempting to grip the writing brush, a deep look of misery on her face, Xiao Liulang remarked, “Your brush holding position is wrong. Move your hand up a bit, your wrist should not be so stiff.”

“Like this?” Gu Jiao adjusted her grip as he instructed.

In her past life, Gu Jiao actually had a standard grip for holding a pen. But her brush holding skills were obviously lacking in front of Xiao Liulang, a learned scholar from ancient times.

“The index finger,” Xiao Liulang said.

“Uh?” Gu Jiao inquired, puzzled.

Hesitating for a moment, Xiao Liulang reached out extending his slender, jade-like finger, gently adjusting her index finger upwards.

In any other circumstance, she would have scandalized the situation by exclaiming, “he touched my finger, rounding it off counts as holding hands.” But right now, he was teaching her literacy. She rounded it off as being in a learning environment, one in which Gu Jiao always maintained an earnest demeanor.

Taking off her shoes, she crossed her legs and sat opposite him, diligently practicing each stroke with focus.

Xue Ningxiang was waiting in the outer room. Why was Gu Jiao taking so long in there? The letter wasn’t that long, surely it wouldn’t take this long to read?

Little did Xue Ningxiang know, the pair had completely forgotten all about the letter by now, with one person absorbed in reading, the other engrossed in practicing calligraphy.

Every once in a while, Xiao Liulang corrected Gu Jiao’s brush holding technique, but he didn’t put pressure on her to improve her handwriting. After all, being able to prevent the ink from spilling outside the paper was an accomplishment in itself for a first-time brushholder.

If Gu Jiao were to catch wind of his thoughts, she might blow a fuse. After all, she remembered clearly that she, reigning as an academic over-achiever of the modern age, wasn’t in any way a calligraphy novice!

Nevertheless, Gu Jiao’s memory was excellent. She was able to remember the intricate sequences after just writing once, however the calligraphy was frankly, dreadful to look at.

From Xiao Liulang’s perspective, she resembled a young chick who was just beginning to learn calligraphy.

After all, the characters he wrote at the age of two looked better than these.

The two ended up spending half a two-hour period together in the room, and it wasn’t until the old grandmother, bored and desiring company, decided to visit Gu Jiao that she discovered the two engrossed in writing.

The old grandmother didn’t venture close enough for a better look, she just glanced from the doorway. Seeing the red-coloured paper, she made a quick guess, “Ah, writing spring couplets? Hmm, right, it is about time, it needs to be done soon. Once you are finished, come to inform me.”

She wanted a set of spring couplets!

This was truly a beautiful misunderstanding. Initially, Gu Jiao had not thought that Xiao Liulang had brought the red paper for anything other than writing spring couplets, but they got distracted by her literacy lesson instead.

Now, with the old grandmother’s reminder, they decided to get back on track and started to write the spring couplets!

“I will cut the paper!” Gu Jiao put down her brush and rushed off to find a pair of scissors.

Gu Jiao thanked her aunt for rescuing her from water and fire. She couldn’t continue with the calligraphy any longer, her fingers would be ruined!

Xiao Liulang glanced at the red paper before him, a far-off look in his eyes.

However, when Gu Jiao returned with neatly cut sheets of red paper and laid them by his side, he distractedly picked up his brush and wrote a few sets of spring couplets.

“Don’t forget to write a few for young Xue too,” the old grandmother reminded.

The old grandmother was quite fond of Xue Ningxiang, as she was of Gu Jiao. Although she didn’t say it out loud, Gu Jiao was acutely aware of the goodwill or ill will people had towards her.

When she first met Xue Ningxiang, there was some hostility on Xue’s part. By now, however, all the malice had vanished.

The old lady’s affection for Xue Ningxiang was different from her affection for Gu Jiao. She saw Gu Jiao as family, whereas her affection for Xue Ningxiang was that of a host’s generosity towards a guest.

In other words, she thought Xue Ningxiang was a decent guest, well-suited for frequent visits.

Upon the old lady’s reminder, it dawned on them that they had completely forgotten about Xue Ningxiang and her letter. Their faces flushed with embarrassment.

What frame of mind did Xue Ningxiang have while waiting for them in the outer rooms…?

Half of a two-hour period later, Gu Jiao arrived at Xue Ningxiang’s house with her letter, along with spring couplets written by Xiao Liulang himself, as well as a plate of sesame candies and chestnut cakes.

“Why so much?” Xue Ningxiang exclaimed, surprised.

Gu Jiao couldn’t very well admit that she was there to apologize. She replied with a straight face,

“It’s almost New Year’s, Aunt asked me to bring them over. She says the spring couplets are for you, the chestnut cakes and sesame candies are for your mother-in-law and your son.”

Xue Ningxiang immediately thanked her.

“Just now…” Gu Jiao hesitated, but decided to give an explanation anyway.

Just as she was about to speak, Xue Ningxiang flashed her a knowing smile.

Gu Jiao wondered: What on earth did she understand?!!

Being a married woman herself, Xue Ningxiang could guess exactly why a young wife would spend so long in her husband’s room.

Why would she be upset about such a thing? The reason she had quietly left instead was to avoid seeing or hearing anything inappropriate.

“Just…” She leaned closer to whisper into Gu Jiao’s ear, “next time remember to close the door. Your aunt is still in the house.”

Gu Jiao: I think there might have been a misunderstanding…

Apparently, in the letter, Xue Ningxiang’s brother-in-law had mentioned that he had performed a small merit at the border pass, earning a promotion to Corporal, as well as ten taels of silver as reward. He entrusted all the silver to Xue Ningxiang, asking her to take care of his mother and son, and not to neglect herself.

He assured her that he would earn more silver in the future and asked her not to be economic with herself.

That little brother-in-law is quite a decent man.

Gu Jiao asked Xue Ningxiang if she wanted to reply, but Xue shook her head. Nowadays, as it was the holiday season, everyone was at home, and there was no one at the post station to deliver the mail.

After delivering the things to Xue Ningxiang, Gu Jiao returned home. Xue Ningxiang accepted the food but only required one set of spring couplets, saying that the spring couplets were very expensive. When Gu Jiao explained that they were not bought from the shop, rather Xiao Liulang wrote them, Xue Ningxiang countered: “The paper used is expensive.”

As the paper was gifted by Fen Lin in large quantities, Gu Jiao didn’t dwell on the price. It was only after she later asked Xiao Liulang did she realize that the paper used to write spring couplets was several times more expensive than ordinary paper.

“It’s not usually this expensive. The price goes up during the New Year,” Xiao Liulang explained.

“So… Does Fen Lin come from a wealthy family?” Gu Jiao asked.

Xiao Liulang thought for a moment before shaking his head, “I have never asked, but it should… not be too good.”