My Wife Is A Sword Immortal
Chapter 335 - 250: Colorful Start in Calligraphy Class_2

Chapter 335: Chapter 250: Colorful Start in Calligraphy Class_2

Anticipating that elegant and scholarly figure of the secluded orchid.

Crackle and crunch—

Just then, at the entrance to the clearing in Fenglin, there suddenly came the soft sound of dry leaves being tread upon.

Most of the students at Shuaixing Hall put down their work and turned to look.

At the entrance, a figure soon appeared, was it... Zhao Ziyu?

Including Yu Huaijin, the crowd was taken aback.

They watched as Zhao Rong, with his sleeves rolled up and an indifferent expression, passed the several rows of seats behind him and returned to his vacant spot he had left earlier. Along the way, he even turned his head and smiled at Li Xueyou, who was watching him from the side, causing her to quickly duck away.

Why has he come back?

Before they could ponder further at that moment, another subtle sound drifted from the entrance of Fenglin, and soon, an elegant figure in a Confucian robe emerged.

Zhu Weirui walked out from Fenglin and glanced around the open space. Her bright eyes paused slightly in the direction of Zhao Rong; then she smiled sweetly at the students from Shuaixing Hall.

"Sorry for being late, there was... a little delay on the road," she said.

She lifted the corners of her mouth, greeted the students’ gazes, walked through the seats, and came to a stop behind the black lacquer long table.

Many students exchanged looks, and then it dawned on some that she had caught Zhao Ziyu halfway there. Was his excuse to leave unable to hold water against her, and she had sent him back?

Wu Peiliang let out a soft chuckle.

Seeing Zhu Weirui take her place, Yu Huaijin stood up, and the students of Shuaixing Hall followed suit, standing up to salute and speaking in unison.

"Teacher Zhu, good morning."

"Please take your seats. Xuanji, has everyone arrived?"

Yu Huaijin glanced back, noticed Zhao Rong’s expressionless face, and turning back, said, "Everyone is here. Teacher can begin the lesson now."

Zhu Weirui nodded gently.

Suddenly, a strong blast of Jiang Feng wind swept through, causing everyone’s garments to flutter and the papers on some tables, which students had forgotten to weigh down, to fly about. Thankfully, they were promptly secured by students behind the tables.

The Jiang Feng wind was tumultuous.

Zhu Weirui rolled up her sleeve and extended her Jade Hand, casually grabbing a brush and quickly writing on a sheet of paper.

After setting the brush down, she pinched a corner of the paper with two slender fingers and shook it in the wind. Ten ink characters scattered from the sheet, and when the Jiang Feng wind blew again, it carried the ink characters with it, dispersing them into the wind.

The onlookers caught sight of a five-character line of poetry floating midair: The orchid boat crosses in autumn, waves flip on their own without wind.

The line of poetry vanished in an instant.

For a moment, the students standing in the Lanzhou Crossing Open Space felt as if the sounds of the wind, the roaring waves, and the rustling leaves had all ceased.

There was a silence as if the world itself had stilled.

Yet looking at the river water and the mountains, the surging waves and the forest waves continued to roll on.

Then, Zhu Weirui’s clear voice came through distinctly.

"Everyone, do you think the waves and the forest waves look good?"

The students returned their gaze, assuming that the lady teacher was giving them a lesson, but knowing her character, they were unafraid and responded with good-natured teasing smiles.

"Teacher Zhu, they look very good."

"Very nice, indeed quite pleasing to the eye."

"I think they look as good as the teacher does."

"What a coincidence, so do I."

Everyone echoed along, creating quite a lively atmosphere.

Zhu Weirui couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head, "Stop messing around, everyone. I’m serious. In this wave and forest sound, have you noticed anything?"

No one responded; many shook their heads.

Zhu Weirui’s gaze shifted towards Zhao Rong’s direction, only to see him propping up his head and staring blankly at the desk, paying her no attention.

Zhu Weirui bit her lip, but quickly retracted her gaze and smiled, "Teacher Si’s last lesson was about listening in silence, right? This time, we won’t listen but observe the waves instead. In this ocean of forest and the waves of the Li River, I saw the strokes."

She paused to let everyone digest this, then continued, "In today’s class, I will first talk about penmanship strokes. Recently, as I’ve been studying calligraphy works, I’ve also gained some insights into strokes. Strokes are about the principles of using the brush, the basis for forming characters, indicating the demeanor and momentum in calligraphy..."

While speaking, Zhu Weirui took advantage of the river and forest scenery and started explaining the basic strokes of calligraphy in a way that was both profound and straightforward, mostly based on her own summarized experience.

The crowd listened with great interest...

Down below.

Fan Yushu glanced at Zhao Rong and asked curiously, "Ziyu, weren’t you on leave? Why are you back? Does Teacher Zhu recognize you?"

Zhao Rong was leisurely arranging his paper, ink, brush, and inkstone. Upon hearing this, especially the last question, he paused, then turned his head and sincerely replied,

"The thought of leaving you here all alone, Yushu, made my conscience hurt. Halfway through, the pain was unbearable, so I came back to keep you company."

Fan Yushu was taken aback by these words before sighing, "I didn’t expect Ziyu to have a conscience. I misjudged you before; my apologies, my apologies."

As he spoke, his expression changed, and with a hopeful look in his bright eyes, he said to Zhao Rong, "Then, Ziyu, the next time your sister comes looking for you on your day off, could you perhaps take your brother with you to hide away for the day?"

"No," replied Zhao Rong with a blink, decisively.

Fan Yushu stiffened his expression, straightened his face, and stopped paying attention to this so-called good brother who would betray him at crucial times, beginning to listen attentively to Zhu Weirui’s lecture instead.

Seeing this, Zhao Rong looked at him a few times, puzzled, "Hey, you’re actually paying attention? That’s not like you."

"How is that not like me? What doesn’t look like me? What do you see me as? Brother Ziyu, don’t disturb my learning. I’m different from you," Fan Yushu replied seriously, as if setting a boundary and seeking to turn over a new leaf.

Zhao Rong sighed regretfully, then quickly felt bored and idle. The female teacher’s lecture was somewhat interesting, but it was aimed at beginners. He couldn’t stand to listen any longer and felt he needed to do something meaningful in this class.

He looked at Fan Yushu’s profile and seriously suggested, "Brother Yushu, let’s have a chat. Tell me about Du You City."

Fan Yushu, intent on listening to the lecture, ignored the idler, not wishing to engage in anything meaningful with him.

Zhao Rong opened his mouth to speak again, but when he saw that many students were already frowning in his direction, he closed his mouth, realizing his mistake, and offered an apologetic smile before falling silent.

The students around shook their heads and looked away from him.

During the lecture, Zhu Weirui occasionally glanced in a certain direction, only to see that someone had listened for a while and then appeared to be daydreaming again, mind not on the subject at hand.

However, she wasn’t annoyed; instead, at a certain moment, her eyes brightened.

As the morning sun rose higher, Zhu Weirui’s lesson came to a pause. Looking at the audience below, she suddenly said,

"Let’s stop here with strokes for today. Take a short break, everyone. In the meantime, let’s have a classroom assessment according to the old rules. It’s straightforward – within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, submit your most satisfying piece of calligraphy for me to review. We’ll pick out the best one."

Many students looked up with bright eyes upon hearing this.

Zhu Weirui smiled coyly, "I know you’re all eager for the first prize, but no worries. This time the reward will surely please you."

Having said that, she took out a small green bamboo tube from her sleeve and gently placed it on the lectern.

Zhu Weirui paused for a moment and looked around, noting the curious gaze of the students from Shuaixing Hall, including Zhao Rong, who had looked up.

She nodded inwardly and smiled, "What’s inside this bamboo tube is water from the well of Zhengguan, which I was fortunate to obtain recently. How about this for the prize?"

Before Zhu Weirui could finish her sentence, a chorus of surprise erupted from the open space.