Chapter Eleven: Famous Calligraphers

  The two rascals are now in a sorry state, ignoring the pointing and snickering of passersby, casually sprawling on a long stone bench with their tongues hanging out to catch their breath.

  "Cheng... Uncle Cheng's monster is too scary..." I couldn't help but shake my head, even someone with a good physique can't withstand this kind of torture.

  "Old goods, the best of human waste, don't be afraid, brother, as long as you go back home it's fine, this old good won't dare to come knocking on your door." Li Ke finally regained some of his king-like demeanor, but it seems he still has a lot of apprehension towards Cheng Shu, that old rascal.

  "Trouble, what about your sister?" I just remembered that the little loli beside Li Ke hadn't appeared.

  "She's fine, don't worry about it. Just now she was covering for me, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to escape... Sigh..." Li Ke wiped the sweat from his face. After such a shock and this frantic run, he had broken out in a cold sweat, but somehow felt more clear-headed than before.

  "Second Master..." A shout, I turned around, how did Fang Shen come? Holding my Western Treasure Horse, carrying a lantern that hadn't been lit yet.

  "Uncle Fang, how did you come? Is there something at home?" Hurriedly came forward to welcome him, the old man still came to pick me up, it's so heartwarming.

  "No, it's just that the madam was worried, so she specially sent Xiao to come to the Lu Guo Gong Fu to pick you up. Before even reaching the door, I saw you and...and the prince suddenly running out together."

  My face is a bit hot, I sneaked a peek at Li Ke, haha, Li Shuai's old face was red and swollen for half the day, only nodding.

  Li Ke told me to go first, saying that someone would come to pick him up soon. He waved goodbye to Li Ke, got on his horse, and let House Uncle lead the way home. "Second Master, Master, Mistress, and First Master, Third Master are all waiting for you in the front hall for dinner." Fang Cheng led the way with a lantern.

  "Oh, let's hurry up... by the way, Uncle Fang, is there still a villa outside the city at home?..."

  The housekeeper almost fell down, and I was so scared that I quickly jumped off the horse to hold him up. It's not bad, this body obtained through crossing is more powerful and flexible than my previous life.

  "It's nothing, it's nothing... I'm getting old and my legs are not what they used to be, haha... Second Master, I almost forgot that you were ill... Cough, cough. In our estate, apart from the current national duke's mansion, there is also a villa bestowed by the Emperor, located outside the city by the Wei River. Normally, except for going there to escape the heat in summer and autumn, it's rarely visited..."

  Listening to the steward's explanation, I only knew that the manor was also another source of wealth for the Fang family besides Fenglu. The population and land granted to the old master were there, near the river, with many fertile fields, and there were also 800 or 900 households on the manor.

  Leading the horse, I chatted with the steward while hurrying home. After entering the gate, the steward led the horse to the stable, and I ran quickly to the front hall. There, I saw the old master sitting steadily in the front hall, reading a book under the lamp, looking very relaxed. However, Old Madam Lu was restless, holding House Yi and constantly looking out of the hall. Eldest Brother sat beside her, seemingly comforting her. As soon as he saw me, she handed House San to a nearby nurse and walked over: "Jun Er, you're back! Honestly, how could you not return home for one night? If we hadn't sent Fang Shen over today, I'm afraid you would still be staying at someone else's house!"

  "No." Hurriedly shaking my head, I paid respects to the elderly gentleman and his wife. The old man narrowed his eyes at me: "You went to Duke Lu's residence, didn't you?" His expression was very serious, but there wasn't a hint of anger, which made me feel relieved inside. I nodded: "Yes, yesterday I followed Prince Wu to his place... didn't expect Uncle Cheng to be so enthusiastic... insisted on having me stay overnight with the prince..."

  The old man nodded, seemingly with a smile: "Oh... Cheng Zhijie? No wonder that old fellow was here early this morning... Cough, cough... Come sit down everyone. Let's eat first..."

  Haha, unexpectedly, Uncle Cheng is indeed a demon who has been detested by both humans and gods.

  ---

  Today I finally got to eat a full meal, I'm so moved. It's still good at home. Thinking of being turned over by Uncle Cheng's early wine today, I was so angry that I gritted my teeth and bit into a piece of wind-dried meat that looked like Uncle Cheng.

  "Who eats like you, the bowl is almost bitten out of shape! Really..." Mom smiled and patted me on the head, saying in a doting tone. She then picked up some meat with her chopsticks and put it into my bowl: "Eat more, you're still growing."

  "Ah?!" Scared me to jump, just suddenly remembered, now I am still under sixteen years old, naturally belongs to the category of eating long rice.

  Just as I was savoring the flavor, Old Master also gave me a piece of chicken: "Jun Er..."

  "Hmm..." His mouth was full of meat.

  "Is chicken delicious?" The old man asked slowly and calmly.

  I nodded in agreement: "Mmm, delicious."

  "What's the use of chicken feathers?"

  "Oh no... Oh no..." He's at it again, that cunning old man...

  Eyes gleaming, the enemy's situation unclear: "A pen?...Hmmm...As for Father, it's actually the first time seeing this kind of object being used as a pen..." Old Master Fang pointed to the edge of the low bed, and I finally saw the murder weapon - a bunch of chicken feathers, with the thicker ends all black. It seems that I forgot to have Green Butterfly destroy the evidence.

  "Look at you, eating and scaring Jun'er so much that the bones in his mouth fell out..." Lu Shi glared at Old Master Fang with a scolding expression, took the half-gnawed bone from my collar and continued to serve me dishes.

  "Father, I think the pen that my second brother made is crude but has its merits. Is that right, Second Brother?" My elder brother was speaking up for me, and I felt moved and grateful to have an older brother as a shield.

  "Alright, finish eating first, I'll come to your room later and take a look. As your father, I want to see how you use this thing..."

  “.......”

  The old man imitated me, hooking his fingers like claws and holding a fine chicken feather brush to write two words. The crooked and twisted characters made both Fang Yi and I blush on his behalf.

  The old master looked at the characters he had written, his old face also turned red, and he hummed for a long time: "Novel... However, not durable, the pen tip is too thin and lacks strength..."

  "Father is indeed a master of calligraphy, and he immediately found the shortcomings of this chicken feather brush." Hurriedly use flattery to cover it up, lest the old man become angry and make me copy a hundred or two more times. What I didn't expect was that older brother Fang Yi's level of flattery had already reached an art form - without saying a word, he directly picked up the chicken feather brush and pretended to write a few characters: "Alas... really..." Fang Yi intentionally shook his head in disappointment, his handwriting not the ugliest, but even more ugly than the old man's, instantly making the old man regain his mental balance, with laughter lines appearing at the corners of his eyes.

  The old man gave a thumbs up from behind the old brother, and the big brother gave me a comforting smile, winking at me with his back to the old father, looking very understanding.

  The old man didn't notice our little movements, and under the lamp, he picked up that simple brush: "Jun'er, how did you think of using this thing? I see that you write very smoothly with this brush..."

  "It's nothing, just copying the Three Character Classic, it's just a matter of getting your hand used to it..." Very satisfied with my own cursive script. Compared to the old man's hard pen calligraphy, I'm more like a master of calligraphy.

  "Oh... this thing, although not very useful, yet..." The old man's eyes sparkled as if thinking of something. Fortunately, he didn't say anything in the end and just took away the dozen or so chicken feather pens I had newly made. My older brother reminded me to rest early before following Father out.

  "Second Master, the bath water is ready for you..." Green Butterfly appeared at the door. Hmm, it's only been two days since I last saw her, but somehow she seems even more beautiful now. She was wearing a long, pale green dress with a sash tied around her slender waist, accentuating her curves. Her small, rosy mouth was slightly open, and her bright eyes sparkled under the lamp light, shining with a clear and ethereal beauty. Her hands were exposed outside of her sleeves, as white and delicate as jade. There was still a hint of sweat on her forehead, and a few strands of short hair stuck to it. She looked like she had been working hard; although we were at least two meters apart, the faint fragrance from her body kept wafting into my nostrils.

  "Master..." Green Butterfly raised her eyes, then quickly lowered her head again. I even saw the blush on her cheeks.

  "Cough cough... um, you lead the way..." I admit that I appreciate beautiful women, but that doesn't mean I'm a pervert. That's why I can keep my composure in front of Green Butterfly Little Miss.

  "...green butterfly."

  "In..."

  "Why don't you go check if the lights in the house are off?" I was embarrassed... facing a lively and pretty young woman, I, an over-40-year-old unmarried old bachelor, was embarrassed.

  "The slave has already turned off the lights, young master, hurry up and take off your clothes, or the water will get cold...". Green Butterfly was still busy by the side of the large wooden tub, completely unaware that her young master was walking out from behind the screen with a bashful expression.

  "Master... what's wrong with you?" Green Butterfly finally noticed me, looking at the dirty clothes wrapped around my waist, her expression a bit strange.

  "Nothing... nothing much, is the water ready?"

  "Hmm... Young Master, your face... how did it become so red..." The bright-eyed loli's expression was quite something, making me want to spank her plump little butt.

  "That... Green Butterfly, you go and guard the entrance first, don't let anyone disturb Young Master's bath..."

  "Oh..."

  As soon as this little girl went out and closed the door, she immediately heard this stinky girl's giggling. Who dares to laugh at your young master? Forget it, I won't explain to this kid who doesn't even know what male-female boundaries are, why my face is red.

  A huge wooden tub, scalding hot water, my skin was all red and blistered. I used a wooden ladle to scoop the water over my head, ah... it felt so refreshing! It's been almost two months since I've had such a comfortable bath. Thinking back, I've been living in this world for nearly thirty years, doing nothing but drifting aimlessly. Just a few days ago, I was still in a small city, struggling to make ends meet and find a woman who could marry me and have children with me. But then, after I woke up, or rather, just a few days ago, I suddenly became the son of a high-ranking official in the Tang Empire! A young master, half-grown, with all the servant girls in the house being very pleasing to the eye... except for the one who serves my father, of course. Life is truly mysterious, too mysterious!

  The problem is, what am I doing in this world? Learning from those great gods to go to the battlefield and kill people like crazy? No way, although I'm not afraid of blood, but from childhood to adulthood, I've always been very kind. Should I usurp the throne of the Li family and do it myself? Probably before this sentence was even spoken, I would have already been thrown into the pigsty by Old Master Fang.

  Think about it, what else can I do? Pick up all the beauties in the world? This... looked at my chest muscles, very satisfied, looked down again, also very satisfied, but... the difficulty of having a honeymoon every night is still too great, I don't want to be old before my time, and only be able to cry without tears when I'm 40 or 50.

  I'm so useless, I'd be useless even in ancient times. You go first, I... I want to... never mind, let me sleep first. Such a big decision can't be made lightly, at least not without considering it for ten or twenty years.

  --

  "Have you heard?" The mysterious voice behind the fake mountain made me slow down my footsteps and hide, just to see two maids eating pastry and gossiping.

  "Second Young Master is awesome..."

  "Yes indeed... I've also heard..."

  "Huh?" Have I become a god? Pinching myself, apart from two blocks of chest muscles being quite solid and my arms being slightly thicker than the dry firewood-like legs I had before crossing over, there's no other change? I'm really perplexed, gossip is wreaking havoc in my heart, decided to listen again...

  ----

  PS: The first chapter is delivered today, all the big immortals, come and vote, collect it, and take a screenshot of your footprints. Unfortunately, I didn't add any extra chapters for you, what a pity...