Tonight, ChangAn City was definitely very lively. After experiencing a night of battle, Ning Que was very tired, but the blade flashes and blood in the night rain still made him a bit excited. Thinking of the scene of everything still happening in every street and market, guessing Chao XiaoShu’s cards, speculating about where he had to go tomorrow, tossing and turning, he had no way of falling asleep.

Separated by a thin blanket, he kicked Sang Sang awake. Until these things ended, there was no way to know. Sang Sang saw his haggard expression yet he couldn’t sleep, leaning his head to the side and thinking. Under his unlined s.h.i.+rt was a jar of strong wine, and the both of them drank together sitting up in the bed. Just as before, Sang Sang drank most of the wine into her belly, and Ning Que only drank a few sips of liquor for a hard victory, then finally drowsily went to sleep.

The next morning, the spring rain that had been lingering for many days suddenly stopped. The clear and elegant sun, bore through from behind the rain clouds without so much as a greeting. As the skies shone, little birds danced atop treetops. A carriage silently stopped in front of the Old Brush House’s entrance, and from the carriage came a youngster that looked like a servant. Without even giving a greeting, directly pus.h.i.+ng open the shop’s closed wooden doors, he gazed at both the master and servant with a slightly raised chin, and coldly said, “Let’s go.”

This was probably the person Chao XiaoShu said would come to pick them up. Ning Que looked at that servant, noting this person’s calm appearance but seeming to not reveal quite a bit of arrogance. From this person’s Adam’s apple to his stance, there was a bit of a difference that could be seen from an ordinary person’s – this fellow should be that little eunuch from the Palace.

Last night he learned that Chao XiaoShu’s support and backing came from the Imperial Palace, and today a little eunuch came to pick him up. Ning Que naturally didn’t feel too shocked, he was just wondering if he should stuff red envelopes, and if he did, how big of one.

The impression that he had been trained by from fiction novels was that the other meaning of the Emperor not being worried but the eunuchs being worried was that the Emperor was good to provoke but the eunuchs weren’t good to provoke. The protagonist of the story encounters a eunuch, no matter if the other party was a high governor or a lowly servant, they would always choose an occasion of “smokeless fire” to hand over several thin silver banknotes and even so far as a translucent jade plaything. What he viewed as the most unconvincing thing of those stories was, how did those main characters get so much jade?

Ning Que’s brow rose as he glanced at Sang Sang, using his eyes to ask whether they should prepare something. Sang Sang had always been an extremely cheap individual – with a slight pause she then shook her head, completely acting like she didn’t understand what he meant. That is to say, young master wasn’t some generous person, and contemplating some thought was simply playing a fool. Saving some silver was some silver.

That little eunuch was holding both hands behind his back, sizing up the shop. Like an old person nodding his head, he used a clear voice to say, “I have heard that this street has some good calligraphy, today I see that it is indeed quite good. A n.o.ble of the palace wants to see your calligraphy, quickly go wash up and follow me.”

Ning Que thought that this excuse was actually pretty good. Looking at what he was wearing, he clasped his hands towards that eunuch in a proper greeting, and smiling he said, “Ordinarily I dress like this, a poor scholar. How would I still be able to wash up and look much better?”

Originally he was a bit worried that since he hadn’t given a red envelope, that he might trouble him, and hadn’t thought that this little master didn’t mind. Instead he slightly smiled, seemingly a bit fond of the way he spoke. Nodding to him, he walked out of the shop door.

Inside the slightly cramped carriage, the little eunuch closed his eyes the whole way. Seeing his performance earlier at 47th Street, he shouldn’t have any opinions about Ning Que, and it wasn’t because he disdained to speak with him, rather it was a customary precaution outside of the Palace.

Ning Que instead awakened in this quiet. Lifting up a corner of the rocking curtain he looked out at the street scenery, and could see under the clear sunlight, the common people of ChangAn wearing smiles as they walked in between workshops and markets. Every breakfast shop had business thriving; from time to time several calls out to friends could be heard. Where could half a bit of a shadow of the JiangHu’s b.l.o.o.d.y battle last night be seen?

Without knowing how long had gone by, two rows of obscuring willows covered the sight, and a comfortable shade covered the entire carriage and the stony path the carriage crossed. The shadow wasn’t from the willows, but rather from behind the willows and beyond the moat – the Imperial City.

The Tang Dynasty was the greatest nation under Heaven, and ChangAn City was the greatest city under Heaven. The Tang Dynasty’s Imperial City used the most magnificent palace under Heaven – the Imperial Palace could be described with the word ‘magnificent’, perhaps not very fitting, but with the Tang Dynasty’s Imperial Palace standing for a millennium, the Tang people had a grand bearing. The vermilion walls were st.u.r.dy and thick; the yellow eaves with a seemingly sword-like aura, were vast and solemn; and it didn’t seem like there were three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines applying make-up early in the morning and becoming distinguished n.o.bles, but rather an imposing impregnable barrier that sat towering in the heart of the Tang Dynasty.

Ning Que raised his head towards that imposing, majestic Imperial City. With an ever calm expression his gaze followed to the very top of the vermilion city walls, looking towards that extremely tall portrait like a black dot of a Tang Dynasty Yu Lin Army soldier, but in his heart he silently admired.

Only it was a pity the carriage couldn’t use the main Vermilion Bird Gateway to enter, but instead followed the moat around in a semi-circle, then from an extremely inconspicuous side door, they proceeded inside. The carriage entered the Imperial Palace, moving slowly along on those not at all s.p.a.cious carriageways. Without knowing how many turns they turned, the line of sight was completely obscured by the soaring eaves of the walls next to the carriage. The only thing visible was the sky cut into pieces by the corners of the eaves of the walls. He completely didn’t have a chance to see the entirety of the Imperial Palace, and was only able to see how extremely tall the inside of the Palace was.

From afar, at a green lake, a place of various work rooms could be seen. That little eunuch took Ning Que down from the carriage and began walking, and the two of them following a dense sea of bamboo by the lakeside, walked for about the effort needed for several cups of tea. Pa.s.sing through a wide rain corridor supported by big red pillars, only when they reached a row of inconspicuous little halls did they stop. What caused Ning Que to feel distrust, even as far as alarm was that along this long journey, he actually hadn’t seen any guards, and didn’t even see a single maid or eunuch.

That small eunuch turned his head over, his visibly expressionless face said, “This is the Imperial Study. I can only take you here. You wait here. After the visit, naturally someone will come take you to leave the Palace.”

In the first place, Ning Que didn’t care. With his hands clasped behind his back, br.i.m.m.i.n.g with interest, he looked at those different, strange flowering plants in front of the hall with interest. Looking at a distant flower boat in the middle of the lake covered by drooping willows, he thought whether it was possible to look at some beautiful palace girls. Suddenly he heard two words ‘Imperial Study’, and his body couldn’t help but to slightly stiffen, stunned as he turned towards these unremarkable rooms.

A man’s most secretive place isn’t the bedroom, but is the study.

In heavy winter snow he could be in the study reading forbidden books, in a summer evening he could be in the study completely naked looking at erotica; in a spring’s warm noon he could be in the study writing someone a secret love letter, and in a deep autumn night, he could be tearing off red sleeves, sitting in an embrace, kneading.

Here didn’t have yellow-faced grandmother’s meddling, and didn’t have children playing. With private, secretive or happy matters, all could borrow the honorableness of ink, scrolls and books and be fine – no one would come to disturb you.

The Emperor was also a man, and the Imperial Study naturally was his most private, secretive place. Who knows of how many major events in history, in how many reigns that shady and filthy things occurred inside of the Study. If it wasn’t the Emperor’s most trusted of trusted aides or preparing to become the most trusted of trusted aides, they absolutely would not have been qualified to enter the Imperial Study.

Wu ZeTian entered the Imperial Study, Zhang JuZheng entered the Imperial Study, Wei ZhongXian entered the Imperial Study, Wei XiaoBao entered the Imperial Study….Ning Que dazedly gazed at the tightly closed Imperial Study’s tightly closed doors, sadly thinking, how many great women and how many formerly great, powerful ministers were castrated to enter this small little study in order for a soaring career. Unthinkable, who would have thought that in this time on this day, it would actually fall on his own head.

Last night he guessed that Chao XiaoShu’s backing was someone in the Palace, and that the very great person within the Palace may be the Emperor himself. However speculation and actuality were two things, sixteen years ago a boy that was wandering in desperation, struggling to survive, suddenly found himself a chance to take one step and reach heaven –  it was a bit difficult to not have some shock to the heart. He finally understood that what Chao XiaoShu said last night was even more real than gold and silver, it truly was the thickest thigh in the whole world.

“Within an hour, no one will come here. If someone comes to ask, just tell them the response I taught you before, just say that Lu Ji brought you into the Palace.”

Flooded with regret, Ning Que completely hadn’t noticed when that little eunuch had left. When he came to, he discovered that around the Imperial Study was already empty without a single person.

Surrounded by unfamiliarities and a thick forest within the Imperial Palace, and beside him without a single person he recognized, the cool, shaded surroundings around him instantly became a bit gloomy. Even as brave as he was, he couldn’t help but to feel a bit uncomfortable. Standing in front of the corridor, waiting for a moment, he suddenly thought, was he supposed to go inside?

He and Sang Sang entered ChangAn City like country b.u.mpkins, amazed for a good long while. Even more so this was the Imperial Palace, he completely didn’t understand those rules, and only through common sense and theory thought like this, and so, he did exactly that. Lightly coughing twice, feigning and faking he went towards the Imperial Palace and cupped his hands, then pushed open the door and went inside.

What was effortless propriety was all bogus, Ning Que just wanted to go inside. In these years, the most important part of his life besides meditation and martial study, was the way of calligraphy. Today he finally had an extremely rare chance to enter the Imperial Study, of course the thirst of being able to see the Study of the rumored countless schools of G.o.dly calligraphy – this thirst was so strong, so intense that he completely forgot the so-called rules.

Pus.h.i.+ng the door and entering, the sight upon entry was an extremely high wall of a bookshelf, that was level all across and erect. The design was extremely ordinary and simple, but the wood used was extremely rare fragrant rosewood from East Island. On the bookshelves, were books of all kinds packed in tight formation, arranged unevenly, but were all extremely rare treasures that were the only existing copies.

Atop a desk, several open books were placed, with a single brush like a single log in a clear pond laying in the middle of an inkstone, dipped in ink, and beside were several brushes placed messily on a brush holder. The paper was Xuan Province’s sapling paper, the brushes were Horizontal Shop’s simple brushes, the ink was from Chen Province’s smooth ink, and the inkstone was a Yellow Province’s heavy clay inkstone. Not one was eye-catching, but not one wasn’t a precious tribute.

If these brushes, ink, paper and inkstones were taken out to 47th Street and sold, how much could they sell for? Ning Que dazedly looked around, inside he had no idea how he came up with this b.a.s.t.a.r.dly idea. Soon his eyes were drawn to three calligraphy pieces hung onto a flour-white wall.

Seeing these difficult to find, heirloom calligraphy pieces taken deep into the world of the Palace, he was indescribably shocked. His steps slowly moved, gaze falling on those square, stiff, bent and awkward, or smooth, refined, charming genuine famous work, and there was still those inscription stamps. His right hand subconsciously made drawing motions in the air, beginning to copy them, his face filled with joyous admiration.

Moving to the front of the desk, he saw a paper with five big, thickly-inked characters, and couldn’t help but to frown, murmuring he said, “Your Majesty, your appreciation of capability level is actually quite high, but these characters simply have no bite.”