Yu Shu didn't know that when she was half asleep, Xue Rui, who was in Wangji Tower, was rejoicing because of today's false alarm.
In the afternoon, he went to the Supreme Court's prison to interrogate the prisoners as usual. When he passed by the torture room, he saw a male prisoner being whipped. He suddenly remembered Yu Shu's reminder yesterday that he should stay away from those sharp knives and swords, so he didn't stay for long. Unexpectedly, after he walked a few steps past the torture room, he turned his head and saw a thrilling scene —
A sharp iron hook flew out from the door and went straight through the place where he was just standing. The next moment, it hit the shelf that extended from the opposite wall, knocking over the brazier on the shelf. The sparks of boiling oil splashed all over the ground, making a sizzling sound, and the ground was burnt black.
At that time, Xue Rui's face was very ugly. It could be imagined that if he hadn't taken a few steps faster just now, the iron hook would have mercilessly scratched him. Even if he was lucky enough to avoid it, the brazier that fell from the wall would have splashed a few holes on his body.
The jailer in the torture room hurriedly ran out. When he saw Xue Rui's face, he almost knelt down to beg for forgiveness. It turned out that he was the one who used the torture. The whip was crooked and didn't hit the prisoner. The barbs on the whip rolled up the iron hook hanging on the side and directly threw it out.
Xue Rui was frightened but not hurt, so he didn't blame him too much. However, when he returned to Wangji Tower, he felt a burst of fear and doubt — not because of Yu Shu's accurate foresight, but because before this, he didn't receive any news from the mansion.
Not only did the Xue family support several Masters of Fortune Changing who knew geomancy and physiognomy, there was also a Great Master of Fortune Changing who used to be one of the top three ranked masters in the Two Lists of Fortune Changing. Every year, the Great Master of Fortune Changing would perform divination for several of the Xue family's relatives. Xue Rui, the eldest son of the Xue family, was one of them. Every once in a while, a secret letter would be sent to the Xue family. If there was any natural or man-made disaster, the Xue family would be warned.
So Xue Rui had always had a smooth sailing since he was young. Even if there were calamities and tribulations in his life, he would always be able to safely overcome them. For example, when he was facing an obvious calamity of blood like today, that person in the ancestral mansion didn't make the slightest movement, and it was instead Yu Shu's inadvertent reminder that hit the nail on the head, causing Xue Rui to have no choice but to ponder deeply.
Born into a noble family, Xue Rui was raised by Xue Lingnan when he was a child. His grandfather was a close minister to the Emperor, and accompanying the Emperor was like accompanying a tiger. Under Xue Lingnan's teachings, he was very cautious, and he would also extend the details of trivial matters.
Perhaps it was only an accident today, or perhaps he was being overly suspicious. But no matter what, this gave Xue Rui a reminder. That person in the Ancestral Mansion was reliable in the past, yet it might not be the case in the future.
"Childe, it's late. Do you want to rest after supper, or take a bath first?" Gui Qi's voice came from outside the door.
Xue Rui collected his thoughts and said, "I'll sleep early today."
Yu Shu sent someone to deliver a message to Wangji Tower, saying that she would not be back tonight. He did not want to stay up late, so it was better to sleep early and talk about other things when he saw her tomorrow.
The next day was the 25th, and there would be Fang Zijing's lectures on the 5th, 7th, and 9th. Even if Yu Shu did not covet the strange art of word prediction that he promised previously, she still had to be there. She wanted to inquire about the news of the Day of Divine Ancestor Sacrifice.
Today was still the morning class. Yu Shu entered the gate of Taishi Library and went directly in the direction of the chess house. The strange art originated from the four arts. Fang Zijing first introduced them to the door, and he had already taught them about the zither, calligraphy, and painting. He only had not finished teaching the word "chess".
The chess pieces that would be used in today's class, Yu Shu sent someone to go back to Wangji Tower to fetch them last night. She put them in a heavy book case and slung it over her shoulder. Walking in the library with birds chirping and flowers fragrant, she smelled the fresh air and had the ambition to learn. She really had some satisfaction of a scholar reading in the morning.
When Yu Shu entered the chess house, she first looked around. She saw that there were many old yellow wooden low stools in the room. There were about 20 sets of them. Some students in ordinary clothes were sitting on them, playing with the chess pieces that they had brought with them. One or two of them even had chess records in their hands.
The chess pieces used by these students were different. Some were ground and washed with rainflower stones, and some were carved with wood. The most valuable one should be a set of lovely green jade stones. The owner should be Fang Zijing's granddaughter, Situ Qinglan.
Yu Shu saw that there was an empty seat on her right. She thought for a moment and walked over to say hello, "Miss Situ."
Situ Qinglan turned her head and saw that it was her. Her quiet face raised a smile, "Miss Yu, good morning."
Yu Shu sat down next to her and glanced at the scroll in her hand. She vaguely recognized the two words "Chess Spirit" on the cover. Her memory flashed, and she asked directly, "Are you reading the 'Chess Spirit Scripture'?"
Situ Qinglan nodded graciously, and then asked, "Miss Yu, have you also read this scroll?"
Yu Shu shook her head and laughed in her heart. She remembered that when she was found by Ji Xingxuan, she took out several so-called "treasures" to exchange for the unique skill of the six lines. Among them was the 'Chess Spirit Scripture'. At that time, she was ignorant and had limited vision. She thought that it was a wonderful skill. But now she saw that it was a common skill that could be easily obtained by many children of aristocratic families.
Fortunately, she was smart and didn't fall for it. Otherwise, she would have been fooled by Ji Xingxuan as a fool.
Situ Qinglan saw that Yu Shu's eyes were twinkling. No one knew what she was thinking. Because of Fang Zijing's advice, she wanted to make friends with this famous female fortune-teller in front of her. So she handed the scroll in her hand to her and said, "This' Chess Spirit Scripture 'is divided into three volumes. It was collected by my grandfather. I just started learning it half a year ago. If you are interested, you can study it with me."
Yu Shu felt that Situ Qinglan was being nice to her more than once. She thought that it might be Fang Zijing's idea. After thinking for a moment, she took the scroll and casually turned two pages. She sighed deliberately and said, "It's good to study it together. I'm afraid that I'll be a slow learner and drag you down. Don't regret it."
Situ Qinglan rolled her eyes and covered her mouth with a smile, "Of course not. You don't know that I often study alone. I'm always lonely. I'm happy to have someone to discuss with me."
Yu Shu said straightforwardly, "Why do you study alone? Don't you have any sisters of the same age in your family?"
Although the Yixue family did not have a large population, most of the children in the family wanted to learn Yixue. As one of the twelve families in the capital, the Fang family should have many children.
Situ Qinglan's smile dimmed. Her white fingers stroked the cuffs of her sleeves and said softly, "My mother passed away when I was eight. My father sent me to the Fang family in the capital. My grandfather felt sorry for me and taught me personally. So … I don't play with the sisters of the Fang family often."
It was not difficult for Yu Shu to hear the bitterness in Situ Qinglan's voice. Only then did she know that Situ Qinglan might not have had an easy time in the Fang family. Thinking about it, it made sense. She was a cousin of an outsider, but she was personally taught by Old Master Fang and could even study in the Taishi Library. How could the children of the Fang family accept this? They must have excluded her.
Yu Shu felt a little guilty because she had poked at Situ Qinglan's sad heart. She wanted to change the topic, so she said brightly, "Then let's make a deal. You lend me your book and I'll be your companion. But I'm the one who takes advantage of you. How about this, after the class today, I'll treat you to a good meal at noon. Don't refuse. "
Situ Qinglan heard the closeness in Yu Shu's words. Her melancholy was swept away and she was very happy to agree.
After a while, more people came. Yu Shu heard people talking about Fang Zijing's fortune-telling. Everyone said it was strange and many people said it had come true.
Yu Shu did not interrupt, because her fortune-telling seal had not been given to her. According to Fang Zijing's fortune-telling, the Celestial Commissioner should have already made the seal.
.....
After class, Yu Shu was tidying up the scattered chess pieces on the table when she heard Fang Zijing call her, "Yu Suanzi, come here."
It was quiet in the chess house. All the students turned to look at Yu Shu. They couldn't help but feel angry, thinking that Fang Zijing was going to ask her to do something again.
Yu Shu was afraid that the old man would ask her to send something to someone again. She was reluctant, but she still walked forward without any expression.
"Academician."
"Take it." Fang Zijing handed her a sandalwood box the size of a square inch that he had brought to class today.
"… Where should I send it?" Yu Shu took it helplessly.
"What do you mean by sending it? This is your private seal." Fang Zijing did not know what she was thinking. He said calmly, "A few days ago, the Celestial Commissioner sent someone to send it to Taishi Shuyuan. Because he couldn't find you, he left it with me."
Yu Shu was surprised and happy when she heard this. She thanked Fang Zijing for keeping it for her and opened the box. When she saw the object inside, her eyes lit up —
This was the ivory embryo she had personally chosen. It was less than the length of a finger, about an inch square, and about five or six centimeters thick. The symmetrical hexagonal surface was polished and glossy, and the whole body was fine milky white. The most wonderful thing was the nose button, which was carefully carved into a lotus with a hundred holes. It was delicate and lovely, full of charm.
It was smooth and delicate in her hand. There was a line of small characters carved on the seal, which said, "Made by the Celestial Commissioner in so-and-so year." Looking at the bottom of the seal, it was the elegant name "Lotus Room of Yu" that she had left on a whim in the seal board that day.
She liked the two words "Lotus Room" that Xue Rui had given her, so she did not choose another one. As for the fact that she had chosen it as a proper operator's seal, she subconsciously did not mention it to Xue Rui.
Fang Zijing had obviously seen her seal before. He kindly told her, "This piece of beast jade is indeed a rare and good thing. Carry it with you during the day, and it can drive away nightmares at night. You should keep it well. Don't lose it, and don't misuse it."
Ferocious objects like elephant tusks and wolf fangs would gain the beautiful name of "beast jade" after they were dissolved. It was said that Yu Shu's seal embryo was taken from the mouth of an elephant king, so it was indeed worthy of being called "beast jade".
Yu Shu agreed and happily put it in her arms. She bowed to Fang Zijing and said, "Academician, you deserve your reputation. I admire you."
This referred to the matter of Fang Zijing's word prediction last time.
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