Thinking this, she heard a surprised call: “Qu Family Master?”
” It was Zhou Xian, whom she had met once at Qingxin Garden, accompanied by two men, one wearing a face-covering veil, supporting another—seemingly a master and servant.
“Zhou Miss.”
Qu Xiaojue responded, while Qu Yao and Qu Shan discreetly observed them before continuing their silent meal.
Qu Xiaojue raised an eyebrow, truly not knowing what he was going to do.
Xu Wanzhi directly asked, “Do you have stones? Engraving stones?”
Hearing this, the shopkeeper was curious, “Are you referring to seal-carving stones?”
He nodded, “Yes, bring me the softest and cheapest ones. And a small carving knife will do.” He was purely bored and wanted to practice.
The shopkeeper was genuinely surprised. While many men came to buy various artistic supplies, this was the first time someone had directly come to buy seal-carving stones.
Typically, those who carved seals either worked on the street writing and carving for others or assisted famous calligraphers. Educated men from noble families knew how to read and write, but she had never seen anyone actually carving stones.”
Thus, she asked, “Qingtian stone, Shoushan stone, Balin stone, Yitian stone, Chicken Blood stone, Green Guanglu stone, Frozen stone, Tianhuang stone – which ones does the gentleman know?”
Xu Wanzhi frowned. “I just want Qingtian stone. Any with a simple shape will do.”
Qu Xiaojue was shocked. As a merchant who occasionally enjoyed art, she never expected her husband, who couldn’t read, to know about stone carving.
“Shopkeeper, prepare what my husband requested,” she said softly.
“Please wait,” she went inside, soon returning with a package of stones and smiling as she handed them over.
Twenty stones in total, with three carving knives. Xu Wanzhi couldn’t discern their origin. The shopkeeper quoted a price: “Eight taels.”
Qu Yao took the stone package, and Xu Wanzhi turned to leave, saying casually, “Give her five taels.”
Qu Fan glanced at Qu Xiaojue, seeing a hint of amusement in her eyes. He took out five taels of silver, handed it to the shopkeeper, and they left. The shopkeeper watched them retreat, muttering, “Actually, I even replaced three stones with better ones.”
She truly hadn’t cheated anyone.
Coexistence
Zhou Xian and his wife had arrived with the inner family already seated in the carriage. Seeing the Qu family, Zhou Xian stepped forward, bowing respectfully to Qu Xiaojue and nodding to Xu Wanzhi.
“Whenever you’re ready, we’ll proceed as everyone agrees.”
“We’re only four people, so let’s board and go,” Qu Xiaojue had no intention of lingering at the city gate. After Xu Wanzhi boarded, she exchanged a few words with Zhou Xian and entered the carriage.
He pulled out the stones, indeed simple in shape – mostly rectangular, perfect for carving. The three knives were different, but Xu Wanzhi couldn’t distinguish their specifics. He weighed the one as wide as his index finger and began experimenting.
Qu Xiaojue looked at him curiously, wanting to ask something, but he spoke first, “Is there ink and brush? Can you write in reverse?”
“Yes, what reverse character do you want?” She became interested and leaned closer. Xu Wanzhi answered, “Just make it so it looks correct when stamped.”
She immediately understood, took a stone, and asked, “You want me to write? What character?”
Xu Wanzhi thought, “Just write whatever you want.” Previously, he had always carved characters dictated by teachers or copied from impressive seals. Now, he thought, why not let her choose?
Qu Xiaojue advised, “Why not rest for a while? There’s no rush.”
“I’ve just found my rhythm now.” Rest?
What could he do? Look at the leisurely summer scenery outside the window, or chat with her?
She paused, and Qu Yao’s voice came from the front of the carriage: “Master, does Miss Zhou want to stop and rest for a moment?”
“Mm.” The carriage slowed down until it completely stopped. Xu Wanzhi hadn’t quite realized it when the carriage was suddenly opened, becoming brightly lit. He looked up, and Qu Xiaojue reached out to press him down: “Husband, we’ve been traveling half a day and are tired. Let’s take a walk.”
He was about to refuse, but when he looked up and saw her undeniable gaze, he suddenly felt somewhat inexplicable. From an objective standpoint, he had been causing her a lot of trouble recently…
“Alright.”
Straightening his clothes, they both got off the carriage. The others had already sat down in the tree shade. Zhou Xian smiled while carefully serving water to her husband, diligently fanning him with her sleeve. Seeing the two of them, she came over to chat.
“The carriage was boring, but it’s more comfortable in the mountain forest.” Zhou Xian pulled out a folding fan and waved it stylishly, sighing with a laugh. Qu Xiaojue nodded, unconsciously looking at Xu Wanzhi, who was casually leaning against a tree, quietly gazing at the scattered light in the dense forest.
Zhou Xian followed her gaze and understood, laughing, “Master Qu is truly extraordinary.”
“…Indeed.
Qu Xiaojue chewed over the words, not minding, and surprisingly agreed. She furrowed her brow and turned back, asking, “Shall we travel for another hour and stay in Qingyun Town tonight?”
Zhou Xian closed her fan and clapped her hands: “Exactly what I was thinking.”
Chen Tinglan saw only three men in the scene, with the Qu family brother leaning alone against a big tree. He instructed a small servant to follow him towards Xu Wanzhi.
Xu Wanzhi wasn’t familiar with them and had nothing to talk about, so he casually found a spot to stay, noticing a tree opposite that seemed to be a species he had never seen before. He felt someone approaching and looked up.
Chen Tinglan always felt his gaze was too distant and cold, but since he intended to make friends, he didn’t retreat, softly calling out: “Qu family brother.”
Xu Wanzhi raised his hand to brush away the hair falling over his eyes, speaking softly: “Chen Tinglan?”
“Yes, it’s me.” He didn’t expect Xu Wanzhi to still remember the introduction from last time. He was stunned, a hint of smile in his eyes, feeling odd intimacy being called by his name.
“You can call me… A-wan, like ‘evening’.” He hesitated but felt it inappropriate for Chen Tinglan to call him “brother,” so he decided this was acceptable.
Chen Tinglan genuinely smiled, nodding and moving closer to ask, “Why are you staring at this tree?”
“I’ve never seen it before.” Xu Wanzhi answered him straightforwardly.
Unexpectedly, Chen Tinglan paused, thinking, “My wife is knowledgeable. She might know. I can go ask…”
“No need.” Xu Wanzhi shook his head. Seeing Chen Tinglan’s ashamed expression, he felt like he had bullied him and tried to change the subject: “I want to walk forward. It seems there are mountain fruits.”
“Indeed.” Chen Tinglan looked in the direction he pointed. Seeing Xu Wanzhi about to walk, he quickly said, “If A-wan wants to eat, I’ll have someone pick them.”
However, after walking a few steps, Qu Xiaojue had somehow followed and called out: “Husband, going further will lead us off the path. We need to go back.”
It seemed rest time was over. Xu Wanzhi had no intention of delaying everyone’s journey. Although he didn’t see the fork in the road, he stopped and turned back cooperatively.
Everyone returned to their carriages and continued traveling. Sitting down, he picked up the carving knife again to engrave characters. This time, Qu Xiaojue took out the chess manual he had been reading during the day, noticing the first eight pages showed signs of new scrolling.
Was he not good at this?
