Chapter 187 The Shadow in Front of the Screen Wall
The high screen wall just stood at the center of the yard and totally blocked the view of the buildings in it, filled with words of different sizes and different styles.
Qin Wanru could not help getting closer. She stared at the characters on the wall, which looked very powerful, showing that they were from a man whose wrist was brawny. However, the styles of these works were slightly different from each other. It seemed that the one who did them had started from the right side and went to the left, and those written words became more and more powerful and mature, and better. From these beautiful and vigorous characters, it could be seen that the one who wrote them was quite skilled in calligraphy.
The screen wall was used for practicing calligraphy. Qin Wanru had heard that some masters from aristocratic families would use one screen wall to do calligraphy in their court. However, she had never known that someone would use such a great wall to do this while this screen wall blocked the entrance! Ordinary people would not dare to do this or know who did this.
After staring at the screen wall, she started to watch those words, from which she could tell that the one who did this was very outstanding. As she looked at them, a figure flashed in her mind. It seemed that the man was writing something quickly and powerfully, leaving a tall and forceful view of his back while a thin figure was just walking over…
Suddenly, Qin Wanru had a splitting headache and stepped back. She closed her eyes and almost fell down as she felt faint. Yujie quickly held her as she saw her master almost fall down. She shouted hurriedly, “Lady! Lady!”
“Sister! What is going on?”
Qin Wanru supported her head and opened her eyes slowly. The sky was blue. It seemed that everything she saw was just her delusion. She slowly calmed down and stood up steadily by holding Yujie’s hand. Then she set her eyes on the screen wall again and only found there were some beautiful characters but no male figure or a thin figure!
“Is everything all right, lady?” Yujie asked as she found Qin Wanru’s face was pale. At that moment, she saw her lady’s pretty face change from pink to deadly pale. How could she calm down?
“I am fine!” answered Qin Wanru. With difficulty, she forced a smile and took a deep breath, trying to suppress the tumbling inexplicable sorrow.
“Sister, are you sure? Or do you need to take a rest here? You could use those rooms to have a rest except the middle one!”
Shao Yuanhao grasped the bottom of her clothes and spoke worriedly. He was totally freaking out when he saw Qin Wanru suddenly faint.
“Don’t worry, Hao’er. I am fine now. But who, who did this?” asked Qin Wanru.
“It was my father. They were all written by him. I heard that my father did calligraphy at a very young age. Sometimes he would practice here. Those words on the wall were all written by him. Come and have a look, sister.” Shao Yuanhao held Qin Wanru’s hand and took her to see the back of this wall. The other side was also filled with characters except for one place on which there was nothing.
“Sister, look. They all say that this place was left by my father to let me do calligraphy here!” said Shao Yuanhao proudly.
So that meant that this was the place where the dead heir of Duke Xing lived!
“Hao’er’s father was so great!” When she saw this little kid try to stand up straight in front of his father’s works, Qin Wanru felt like crying. A kind of unspeakable sorrow burst out. Qin Wanru bit her lips and tried to suppress her feeling and she talked to Shao Yuanhao with a softer voice.
“So were you going to do calligraphy here with your ink bottle?”
“Yes,” said Shao Yuanhao. While speaking, he particularly looked around and found no others were here and then he got closer and whispered in Qin Wanru’s ear. “My grand-nanny doesn’t allow me to come here. However, I insisted on it and she gave in. She only allows me to come here every couple of days and warns me not to move anything here. She told me that my father would get angry if I were to break them!”
“But why does she allow you to do calligraphy here this time?” asked Qin Wanru calmly. She didn’t allow him to come here and obviously she would not allow him to do calligraphy. However, he came here with an ink bottle this time and it was obviously to practice calligraphy.
“It is them that told me I could write some words here secretly. They also told me that my father left this place to me. I am going to live in my grandmother’s mansion so if I don’t mark this place with some words, someone would take it away from me! It belongs to me! It is my father who left it to me! I will not let others take it away from me!”
Shao Yuanhao’s face tightened and he clenched his fist, showing that he was the owner of this place and no one could take it away from him.
So this meant that it was the two servants who fooled him and let him go there and then let him encounter Qin Yuru and hit her! They caused this ridiculous accident!
Qin Wanru had known the whole thing clearly. But she still could not figure out the reason that Qin Yuru didn’t want to let go of a kid while her position was lower than his, whom she should not offend.
She looked at Shao Yuanhao pitifully, patted his head lightly, and squatted down. She said, “Hao’er, you have to eat well, learn well, and write well. You will be able to write such beautiful words as well as your father did!”
Before he grew older enough and was capable of owning his belongings, he would be considered as a thorn in those people’s flesh when he said these words!
Shao Yuanhao’s eyes twinkled. He seemed to try to say something but he lowered his head when he thought of something else. He twitched and said, “But I still don’t know how to write!”
“Why?” asked Qin Wanru surprisingly. Even if he didn’t go to school, he should begin learning as other kids like him did.
“I have never learned before, I’ve just written some things casually,” Shao Yuanhao answered lightly, seemingly feeling shy as his little face turned red and his body twitched.
“…”
So nobody taught him and he might only do some scribbled handwriting when he referred to doing calligraphy.
Now she could be sure that though Duke Xing’s Mansion seemed to treat this kid well and everyone seemed to favor him very much, actually, they all tried to not allow this kid to learn well and grow into a good man.
People would only know that Duke Xing’s Mansion raised a little devil who could not be taught well. They would never think that nobody had taught him, let alone taught him well.
She curled her lips and couldn’t remember if she had met Shao Yuanhao in her last life and didn’t know what he would become. However, given his situation today, these people would let him go astray if they still didn’t teach him well.
“Hao’er, when you go back, you could tell your grandmother that it is time for you to learn writing. If you learn well, I could do calligraphy here with you and you could write down near your father’s works to make him happy. Okay?” asked Qin Wanru softly.
Shao Yuanhao’s grim face suddenly brightened and he laughed loudly. “Okay! Sister! I want to do calligraphy with you! I don’t want to see that bad person and I will not allow her to write here!”
He now thought of Qin Yuru again.
“Good. If you could write well, I could come here and write together with you! You could compare your works with your father’s. You might be better than him!” said Qin Wanru with a bright smile.
“Sister! Sister! I want to show you around here, my father’s belongings might be there,” said Shao Yuanhao when he pointed to behind them. Then they entered the yard.
“How do you know?” asked Qin Wanru curiously.
“I sneaked inside. I loosened the window secretly, so we could get inside through that place!” Shao Yuanhao lowered his voice as much as he could and glanced at his servant. His voice was so quiet that only Qin Wanru could hear him, which meant that only he knew about this!
“He would know!” Qin Wanru said, patting his head.
“Get him out of here and then we can get inside!” Shao Yuanhao pulled the bottom of her clothes when he hurried to show Qin Wanru the treasure he had discovered.
“Second Lady Qin!” Not until Qin Wanru answered, but Madam of Duke Xing suddenly showed up from the backside of the screen wall. She set her cold eyes on Qin Wanru. The smile she used to show in public vanished! With a throng behind her, she looked really powerful!
“Madam of Duke Xing!” Qin Wanru stepped forward calmly and bowed deeply to Madam of Duke Xing and then stood aside. Shao Yuanhao also ran here and called Madam of Duke Xing “Second Aunty” intimately.
“Hao’er, I just told you not to run about outside! But why are you so disobedient! You even bring our guest here. If your grandma finds out, she would get mad!”
Madam of Duke Xing gradually looked calmer when she spoke softly to Shao Yuanhao as she looked at the door, which was locked tightly.
It seemed that her words reminded Shao Yuanhao of something bad. His face turned pale but he still murmured and pouted, “But I want to let sister have a look.”
“Now she has had a look around here, so there is nothing else interesting to see! Let’s go back!” Madam of Duke Xing said more and more softly as her eyes were smiling.
“No. I want to show her the room inside,” answered Shao Yuanhao anxiously with a twitch.
“Nanny Qu from Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s Mansion is looking for you. If you run around again, she would go crazy. Didn’t Rui’an Great Elder Princess tell you to not run wildly and to listen to Nanny Qu before you go back to your mansion?” Madam of Duke Xing tied to persuade him.
“Yes, yes she told me that.” Shao Yuanhao lowered his head shamefully. His grandma told him that she would feel sorrowful if he didn’t keep her words in mind.
“Then let’s get to Nanny Qu, shall we?” asked Madam of Duke Xing.
Shao Yuanhao wanted to leave but he still worried about Qin Wanru. He raised his head and looked at Qin Wanru. Then he wanted to change his mind and he shook his a little head again.
“Hao’er, go see Nanny Qu! I have something else to do. I will come and see you in Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s Mansion when I am free!” Qin Wanru comforted him.
“Really? You once said you would come but you didn’t!” Shao Yuanhao pouted his pink lips and murmured.
“It is true this time! I will definitely come to see you when I am free!” Qin Wanru laughed.
“Then come and do a pinky swear!” Shao Yuanhao said and reached out his little chubby arm and held it in front of Qin Wanru.
Qin Wanru knew she could not refuse so she reached out her pinkie and completed the pinkie swear with Shao Yuanhao. “Now you can go back!”
“Sister! Remember to find me!” Shao Yuanhao followed those people while he kept turning his head back to look at Qin Wanru.
“Second Lady Qin, the banquet will begin soon. Let’s walk and talk!” Madam of Duke Xing said kindly with a smile as she looked at Qin Wanru’s smiling face.
“Madam of Duke Xing, you first!” Qin Wanru answered directly without changing her expression. However, her eyes gradually looked dark, seeming like she had thought of something.
Madam of Duke Xing left her honorable guests in the hall but came to find Qin Wanru and Shao Yuanhao! What was she worrying about…