Chapter 164 Reunion of old friends

Chapter 164 Reunion of old friends

Chapter 164 Reunion of old friends

After the assassination of Chen Shubao was closed, more than a month passed and it was May in the blink of an eye.

In the past month, Xiao Xia basically read during the day and practiced martial arts at night. He worked especially hard on calligraphy, and his calligraphy improved rapidly.
Not all students at the Imperial Academy are good at calligraphy. There are also a few whose calligraphy is not up to standard. The Imperial Academy has specially opened a basic calligraphy course for these students. Xiao Xia is one of them. He really does not have much time to attend classes at the Imperial Academy.

He is currently taking two courses at the Imperial College, one is archery and the other is basic calligraphy.

In the classroom, more than 30 students were practicing calligraphy seriously, Xiao Xia was among them. The teacher's surname was Liang, and he was an old scholar who was serious about teaching students.

At this time, Mr. Liang was standing beside Xiao Xia and watching him write. Xiao Xia's calligraphy improved rapidly and already had a little bit of the charm of Zen Master Zhiyong. This made Mr. Liang extremely surprised and very pleased.

He didn't know that when Xiao Xia was in the state of breaking barriers, not only was his martial arts training efficiency extremely high, but his calligraphy efficiency was also a hundred times that of an ordinary person. He could reach the level of others who had practiced for several years in just one or two months.

Mr. Liang thought that Xiao Xia was practicing calligraphy at home, and he was very pleased with this spirit.

"You write well. First practice regular script, then practice semi-cursive script, then practice running script, and finally cursive script. Lay a solid foundation before moving on."

Xiao Xia quickly bowed and said, "Thank you for your teachings, sir!"

"You have to write the characters in your mind first, so that you can write smoothly. Keep writing!"

Mr. Liang gave one more instruction and then left to teach other students.

Xiao Xia was writing the Thousand Character Classic in regular and cursive script by Zen Master Zhiyong. He no longer needed a copybook as it was deeply engraved in his mind. After practicing for more than a month, he had gradually found the feeling of calligraphy.

Although he cannot be compared with the high-level students of the Imperial Academy, Cui Lian's evaluation is quite fair. He said that he has reached the level of county school students, which is already very good. After practicing for another month, he is estimated to be able to reach the level of Imperial Academy students.

After writing for nearly an hour, the bell rang for the end of get out of class, and Mr. Liang began to assign homework for students to go back home. They were to rewrite "The Analects" fifty times, but he never checked his homework. It was up to the students whether to write it or not.

Everyone packed up their school bags and went back. Xiao Xia felt a little hungry, so he hurried to his dormitory. He lived in the dormitory during the day and would go back in the afternoon.

When he walked into the yard, he saw Cui Lian chatting with someone. Xiao Xia didn't pay attention and thought it was Cui Lian's classmate.

The young man tilted his head, looked at Xiao Xia with a half-smile and said, "It's only been a short time, and you don't recognize me?"

The voice sounded familiar. Xiao Xia looked carefully and recognized that it was Xiao Zhurong.

Xiao Xia was overjoyed, and hurried forward to hug him, patted his shoulder and asked, "When did you come?"

"I've been here for three days!"

"You came to see me three days after arriving in Beijing?" Xiao Xia complained.

Xiao Zhurong apologized, "It can't be helped. Daddy needs to settle down first. There are too many things to do. He is too busy to catch his breath."

Xiao Xia then remembered that Xiao Zhurong's father, Xiao Yu, had been promoted to the position of Shaoqing of the Dali Temple and should have come to Beijing to report.

"Where do you live now?"

"I live in Buzhengfang. The court gave me a five-acre official residence. I have been cleaning up the house these days. It was only yesterday that it got a little better. I came to see you today."

"Let's go! I'm going out to eat, Lao Cui, come with me!"

Cui Lian shook his head and smiled: "I have another class soon, so I won't go."

Xiao Xia did not force it and took Xiao Zhurong to Longshan Restaurant on the commercial street. Xiao Xia ate lunch outside most of the time. Although he could endure hardships, there was no need to deliberately put himself in a difficult position.

The two sat down by the window. Xiao Xia ordered a pot of wine, seven or eight dishes and five pounds of Hu cakes.

Xiao Zhurong smiled and said, "I met my eldest cousin yesterday. He said that you bought a house and a restaurant, and you are living a very comfortable life."

The eldest cousin is Yang Zhao, and Xiao Yu is Yang Zhao's third uncle. Xiao Xia laughed dumbly and said, "The restaurant is co-opened with others. It is in Chongrenfang. I will take you to have a look when I am free. Why don't you go to my house in the afternoon and have a cup of tea? Are you free this afternoon?"

Xiao Zhurong apologized, "I have to report to the Law School this afternoon."

"You want to study too?" Xiao Xia was startled and asked quickly, "What about your martial arts training?"

Xiao Zhurong said slowly: "My father asked me to study law, mainly to meet more people and increase my network. I am now practicing internal skills and light skills. The response of the pill appeared three months ago. Master said that I will be able to break through the barrier in a year. I plan to take the seventh-grade martial arts exam directly after breaking through the barrier."

Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and said, "You won't stop taking the medicine after you pass the seventh-grade exam!"

Xiao Zhurong sighed, "Dad heard that taking internal energy medicine would shorten my lifespan, so he doesn't allow me to keep taking medicine."

"But what if you can consolidate your essence? After consolidating your essence, you can take medicine for two years at most, and then you can complete the foundation. You don't need to take medicine anymore, and you can break through the barriers and enter at any time. Isn't this better?"

Xiao Zhurong smiled bitterly and said, "Qilang, I know very well how you succeeded in strengthening your primordial energy. If I were thrown into the Yangtze River, I would not be able to break through even if I did not drown. Apart from you, how many people in Jiangnan have succeeded in strengthening their primordial energy?
Zhang Jue, Liu Shili, and Xiao Xin, then what? Maybe there are some hidden dragons and crouching tigers. At least everyone knows that only the four of you have succeeded in consolidating the Yuan. Qilang, I know myself well. I have reached the top if I can break through the barrier. I will quickly pass the seventh rank of martial arts, and study hard. In the future, if I manage the family, I can also enter the officialdom, just like Yuan Shirong. "

Xiao Xia nodded. Xiao Zhurong had clear ideas and specific goals. He was a typical child of aristocratic families. This was why children of aristocratic families had always been the social elites. They knew what they wanted to pursue and how to work hard to achieve their goals when they were in their teens, while children of common people were still living in ignorance in their thirties. Without any inheritance, their parents would not teach them how to work hard, and they would live in confusion from generation to generation.

Xiao Yu was a smart man. As soon as he became the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, he immediately arranged for his son to study law. His intention was very clear.

"Let's have a drink and wish you an early entry into officialdom."

The two of them drank a cup in one gulp. Xiao Zhurong suddenly remembered something and said, "My father told me that there is a man named Shan Xiongxin who is looking for you. You have to be careful of him!"

Xiao Xia nodded. He knew that Shan Xiongxin would come looking for him sooner or later. He was quite afraid before, but now he knew the water in martial arts and didn't take Shan Xiongxin, who was an eighth-rank martial artist, seriously. It would be a blessing in disguise, and disaster was unavoidable. Let him come if he wants!

Xiao Xia refilled his glass and said with a smile, "Something must have happened to Wei Lihu!"

"how do you know?"

Xiao Zhurong was surprised and said, "He was stabbed and seriously injured. It was very tragic. I heard that one of his ears was cut off, one of his eyes was blind, and his arm was cut off. I heard that he won't live long. His aide Zhou Lu was also killed, but the government did not issue a wanted notice. Could it be that Shan Xiongxin did it?"

Xiao Xia nodded, "Wei Lihu brought this upon himself. He arranged for Shan Xiongxin's brothers to assassinate me, and then he killed them to silence them. He sowed the seeds, and this is the inevitable result."

"Should I ask my father to issue a warrant for the arrest of Shan Xiongxin?"

"No, let him come to me. I'm looking for someone to try out the knife!"

At this moment, a man came up from the stairs. He saw Xiao Xia and hurriedly stepped forward and said with a smile: "Qilang, I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Unexpectedly, it was Dou Dexuan. Xiao Xia smiled and asked, "Brother Dou, is there something wrong?"

Dou Dexuan scratched his head and said, "I want to invite you to have a drink tonight. Are you free?"

"Where are you going to drink? Who else is going there? Why are you going to drink? You need to explain yourself clearly."

"It's just the few of us. Me, Dugu Huai'en, Houmo Chenfeng, Yuan Ping, and Yu Xiaoyan. You know all of us. Let's go to Xiao Qingmei Restaurant in Pingkangfang tonight. I'll treat you!"

These Guanlong nobles were still playing together, but they were much more obedient and no longer caused trouble. Xiao Xia pointed at Xiao Zhurong and said with a smile: "This is my cousin, Xiao Zhurong, the son of the Junior Official of the Dali Temple. He just came to Chang'an from Jiangdu."

Dou Dexuan reacted very quickly and said, "Then let's go together, brother Zhurong, it will be a great opportunity to welcome you back!"

Xiao Xia whispered in Xiao Zhurong's ear: "I have made these Guanlong nobles obedient. If you want to go, go ahead. It doesn't matter."

When Xiao Zhurong heard that he was the son of a Guanlong noble, he was moved. His father taught him that he should get to know more powerful and wealthy people in Chang'an, which would be beneficial to his future.

Xiao Zhurong smiled and nodded, "It's good to go and broaden your horizons!"

Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "Since my brother wants to go, I'll give this honor to Brother Dou. What time is it tonight?"

Dou Dexuan was overjoyed. "I have already booked the Huashan Room on the third floor of Xiaoqingmei Restaurant. How about Shen Shizheng?"

"can!"

Dou Dexuan bowed to Xiao Zhurong again and said with a smile: "We have tried to invite Qilang several times but failed. Today, thanks to Brother Xiao, we are finally able to invite Qilang."

(End of this chapter)