Chapter 7: Ghostwriting for Liu Gong's Calligraphy

  Getting to know Wang Zhaojun was like a dream come true for Liang Xiao.

  Early in the morning, Liang Xin sneaked out of Yuhan Palace to the Imperial Hospital. Just after finishing washing up, Chen Yuding pushed open the door and came in. With a worried expression, Chen Yuding tested Liang Xin's knowledge of various medicines. As expected, Liang Xin's astonishing memory once again deeply shocked Chen Yuding.

  Chen Yuding looked at Liang Xin with a comforting gaze and nodded slightly: "Hmm, not bad. Xin'er, your foundation in medical herbs is still quite solid. From today on, you'll follow me to the main hall for consultations."

  "Is he going to see patients?" Liang Xin was slightly surprised and touched. As the chief of the Imperial Hospital, Chen Yudian actually didn't need to see patients. Usually, it was ordinary doctors who saw patients, and those who came for treatment were naturally palace maids and eunuchs. For someone of Chen Yudian's status to diagnose illnesses for palace maids and eunuchs was truly condescending.

  The imperial hospital's chief physician brought his top apprentice to see patients, and as soon as the news was announced, it spread throughout the entire palace. All the eunuchs and palace maids with some illness came, from morning till afternoon, Liang Xin's seat was a long dragon queue that only slightly dispersed in the afternoon.

  Every time a patient comes, Chen Yuding will let Liang Xin diagnose and say the disease and corresponding method first, and then Chen Yuding will re-examine it. At first, Liang Xin would still make mistakes, but later on, after mastering the methods, he gradually became more skilled.

  Chen Yuding, sitting behind Liang Xin, saw that Liang Xin didn't even eat his meal and wasn't complaining, but instead had an excited look on his face, constantly stroking his beard and nodding, feeling happy in his heart for being able to accept such a disciple in his later years.

  After a long day of hard work, Chen Yuding finally let go of Liang Xin and allowed other doctors to take over. Liang Xin stood up from his chair, stretched his waist, and his joints crackled with a loud noise. Although he was very tired, Liang Xin felt a strong sense of satisfaction in his heart.

  While having lunch, Liang Xin enthusiastically discussed with Chen Yuding the various diseases he had previously diagnosed, and Chen Yuding was also frank and open. After finishing their meal, Chen Yuding asked Liang Xin to return to his room to rest well, then he left the palace and went home.

  Back in his own room, Liang Xin had just picked up the teapot to pour himself a cup of tea when he heard a knock at the door. Liang Xin was slightly startled and replied, "The door isn't locked, come on in."

  The door opened and in came Yu Yao Yuan Xiao Du Zi, Xiao An Zi and Xiao Deng Zi. Seeing Liang Xin, the three of them smiled and greeted him: "Xin Ge, Xin Ge..."

  As soon as Liang Xin saw the three of them, he suddenly remembered that he had promised to write a letter for them yesterday. Seeing each of the three carrying pen, ink, paper and inkstone, Liang Xin smiled and said: "I must declare first, you three can't learn from Xiaochunzi and let me write a few big articles, try to be brief."

  "Save it, save it." Xia Duzi nodded and said: "The three of us thought about it all night yesterday, and we definitely won't exceed 1,000 words."

  "Hmm." Liang Xin nodded and said: "Alright then, which one of you three will go first?"

  "I'll go first, I won at rock-paper-scissors yesterday hehe..." Xia Anzi said excitedly, while spreading out the rice paper and placing it in front of Liang Xin, then actively started grinding ink.

  Liáng xīn picked up the brush, dipped it in ink and began to write according to what Xiǎo ān zǐ had said. Indeed, as Xiǎo dū zǐ had said, they were all carefully considered, with each person's words not exceeding a thousand characters.

  What moved Liang Xin to sadness was that the three of them, Xiaodu and his friends, all cried when they read out the contents of their family letters. After finishing writing the letters, each of Xiaodu's friends gave Liang Xin two hundred wen as a fee for his brushwork. Liang Xin insisted on not accepting it, but the three of them said it was the rule, stuffed the money into Liang Xin's hands and then took their leave with repeated thanks.

  Liang Xin looked at the six hundred copper coins on the table and couldn't help but laugh and cry, thinking to himself: Is this really the legendary windfall?

  In the following ten or so days, Liang Xin basically could already conduct consultations on his own. In addition, more and more people from the palace came to ask Liang Xin to write letters for them, developing from the initial three or five to twenty or thirty every day.

  Apart from the eunuchs, there were many palace maids who came to ask Liang Xin to write letters for them. Every time those palace maids asked Liang Xin to write letters, they would generally tease him and act coquettishly. The feeling of being enchanted that came with physical contact each time made Liang Xin's heart drift away.

  At night, Liang Xin would go to see Wang Zhaojun every other day. The two were now close friends who could talk about anything. When Liang Xin was with Wang Zhaojun, he felt very relaxed and natural, without any impure thoughts, everything seemed so ordinary.

  Yanfu Palace. This palace area is relatively independent of the imperial palace and is located outside the palace city. It was a place where Emperor Zhao Ji, Empress and concubines would play. Because national affairs were all handled by Grand Preceptor Cai Jing, Zhao Ji generally spent his time playing here, and his figure was rarely seen in the palace.

  Zhao Ji had many children throughout his life, the most among Chinese emperors. Among the 70 or 80 children, several sons he valued highly were sitting in the imperial study of Yanfu Palace at this moment. The reason was that Zhao Ji had obtained a piece of calligraphy by Liu Gongquan today and suddenly called over several sons to imitate it for comparison, to see who could truly capture the spirit of Liu Gongquan's calligraphy.

  The four princes, Zhao Huan, Zhao Kai, Zhao Kun and Zhao Gou, all furrowed their brows and concentrated on the hanging scroll of Liu Gongquan's "Summer Inspiration" in front of them. Although they had some attainments in calligraphy due to Zhao Ji's influence, it would be difficult for them to write out the spirit of Liu Gongquan's regular script.

  Seeing his five sons hesitant to start writing, Zhao Ji said somewhat displeased: "Alright alright, you four each copy one copy back home to ponder, tomorrow at this time each hand in a handwritten essay for me to review."

  "It is the Emperor Father, your son withdraws." The five princes, as if granted a great amnesty, all rose and knelt to bid farewell before retreating.

  Zhao Huan returned to the Crown Prince's mansion and immediately summoned his trusted eunuch, Wang An. Wang An was the head eunuch of the Crown Prince's mansion and originally served as a personal attendant to Zhao Huan's mother, Empress Wang. After Empress Wang passed away, Zhao Huan had arranged for him to serve by his side, assisting with various daily matters.

  Wang An followed Empress Wang for many years and was also well-versed in the palace's power struggles, so apart from being able to take care of Zhao Huan in his daily life, Wang An could also help Zhao Huan with many strategic plans, which made Zhao Huan increasingly reliant on him.

  Wang An walked into Zhao Huan's study and did not salute him immediately, but instead asked directly: "What are your orders, Your Highness?"

  Zhao Huan handed the copied calligraphy of Liu Gongquan to Wang Andao: "The Emperor ordered me, the third prince, eighth prince and ninth prince to copy this calligraphy tomorrow for him to review. Among the four of us, my calligraphy skills are the worst, I will definitely be scolded by the Emperor tomorrow."

  Wang An carefully looked at the calligraphy in his hand and did not respond to Zhao Huan's words. Zhao Huan said somewhat irritably, "You'd better think of a solution for me."

  Wang An's eyebrows spread out and he smiled slightly: "Your Highness, don't be in a hurry, I have something here that I'd like to show you."

  "Can't you bring it back for me to see later?" Zhao Huan frowned slightly, thinking that Wang An was being unusually obtuse about the gravity of the situation today.

  Wang An took out a letter from his bosom and said, "This is a letter that I just received from Xiao Lizi in the palace. Xiao Lizi is my nephew, but he has never been good at writing, so this letter must have been written by someone else on his behalf."

  "You insolent dog, I don't have the leisure to listen to your stories about you and your nephew right now. What I need you to think about is how I will explain myself to the Emperor tomorrow." Zhao Huan's anger flared up upon hearing Wang An constantly talking about his nephew.

  King Zhao Huan scolded Wang An, but he didn't tense up. Instead, he smiled and said: "Your Highness, please calm down for a moment. What I want to say is not about my nephew, but the person who wrote letters on behalf of my nephew."

  Wang An took out the letter and handed it to Zhao Huan along with a copy of his calligraphy. Zhao Huan carelessly accepted it, glanced at it, and suddenly froze.

  "This...this..." Zhao Huan carefully compared the letter and calligraphy, if he didn't know that Liu Gongquan was a person from the Tang Dynasty, he would have thought that the calligraphy and letter were written by the same person.

  "There is such a genius in the palace, you immediately take this calligraphy into the palace to find the person who wrote letters for your nephew. After finding this person, let him write a pair of characters according to the content on the copied calligraphy and bring it to me."

  "Yes! Your Highness." Wang An bowed and took the calligraphy that Zhao Huan had copied, then backed out of the room.