Gasp! She's a Time Traveler Using Modern Tech to Improve Ancient Life-Chapter 462 - 460: Leaving Behind a Calligraphy Masterpiece

Chapter 462: Chapter 460: Leaving Behind a Calligraphy Masterpiece

Xiao Chong couldn’t refuse Lin Wanwan. After she eagerly lit the incense and added fragrance, he wielded the brush and splashed the ink.

In the Tang Dynasty, the procedures for aristocrats to read and write were very complicated. Not to mention bathing and changing clothes, burning incense, washing hands, and straightening attire were essential steps.

Burning incense in a quiet room is an elegant leisure activity.

Although Lin Wanwan didn’t pay so much attention to rituals when she read and wrote on her own, she still learned these rules from Heng Wu and the Teacher Chen.

She might not do it daily, but couldn’t afford to be ignorant of it, otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to integrate into the aristocratic circle and would be looked down upon as uncouth.

Writing is naturally one of the most elegant things in the world. To let Xiao Chong happily leave his ink strokes, Lin Wanwan put in a lot of effort for what is called "writing in the moment, with a carefree and dust-free charm."

The incense burned in this censer was self-made by her after consulting ancient books in a modern library and selecting from the incense recipes passed down through generations.

One advantage of modern times is that as long as you have money, patience, and the internet, you can easily learn anything you want, and making incense is no exception.

She directly sought out the successors of intangible cultural heritage of incense, paid to have one-on-one video lessons with them, and combined it with Sun Lao’s hands-on guidance in making pills, thus mastering the art of making incense with half the effort.

The incense she burned today could be taken out for a scent competition.

Presenting it as a treasure to Xiao Chong naturally wouldn’t be beneath her dignity.

Before lunch started, Xiao Chong finished a piece of calligraphy.

A gust of wind blew into the study from the window, making Xiao Chong’s hairband flutter while he maintained a calm and composed demeanor, even his gesture of putting down the brush exuded an extraordinary aura.

Lin Wanwan stepped forward to savor it carefully, overjoyed—don’t misunderstand, she wasn’t thinking of taking it to the modern world to sell this time, just felt that the writing, like the person, was pleasing to the eye.

Some calligraphy looks meticulous and beautiful at first glance, but the more you look at it, the more common it seems, quickly losing its charm; whereas good calligraphy hides its mastery, with strength within the characters, and the more you look, the more it captivates.

"Cousin, you’re amazing! This piece is so fluidly written, with ever-changing strokes, naturally integrated. The horizontal lines are like a thousand-mile formation cloud, dots like falling stones from high peaks, left slants like severed rhinoceros horn, crooks like a hundred-stone crossbow release, vertical strokes like thousand-year-old vines, slashes like crashing waves and roaring thunder, and hooks like the sinew of a strong crossbow!"

Lin Wanwan borrowed the words of Lady Wei to flatter him because paying compliments doesn’t cost anything.

Xiao Chong, accustomed to Lin Wanwan’s exaggerated style, chuckled and said, "Cousin overpraises, Xiao feels unworthy."

As they spoke, Xiao Yixun had already passed by the door of the study three times, holding a white fox and pretending to be nonchalant.

Little Qingyu, being young and straightforward, rushed into the study to latch onto Lin Wanwan like a koala as soon as she flew back from school.

She really doesn’t know the word "interrupt."

It made Xiao Yixun so envious and jealous that her eyes turned red. Initially, due to her albinism, her eyes had already started to turn red.

"Mother, mother, I don’t want to eat at school today, I want to come back and eat with you. This morning, I caught a lot of mantis shrimp, and Aunt Hua Nong promised to make salt and pepper mantis shrimp for me!"

"Okay, okay, we’ll start soon. Have you washed your hands? Go wash your hands first!"

Lin Wanwan picked up Little Qingyu and walked to the washroom, not forgetting to call out to Xiao Yixun, whose thoughts were clearly written on her face: "Yixun, come over and wash up too. Today we’re having green crabs, let’s use osmanthus soap to clean our hands, it matches best."

Xiao Yixun, being given attention, slightly smiled. Though she appeared indifferent, she was easily pleased.

"Mistress, Young Mistress, Lady Xiao, Young Lord, the dining table is set in the Agarwood Pavilion. Please proceed there." Yun Shang came to summon them with Hong Yan and A Li after setting the lunch.

This was the crab-eating ceremony Xiao Xianghua taught Lin Wanwan, and Lin Wanwan found it interesting and thus followed it.

After all, since the Agarwood Pavilion with its green-tiled double eaves was built there, why not enjoy it!

The main dish of today’s lunch wasn’t even the green crab, but the oyster. Oyster noodles and raw oysters, paired with mustard soybean paste, followed by a plate of cold hors d’oeuvre whelk meat, and everyone had their bowl of sea cucumber and abalone soup—the finest tastes of the world.

Hua Nong’s culinary skills were getting better and better, not only did Lin Wanwan’s family love it, even Xiao Chong liked it.

"Cousin, lend your Hua Nong to me for a few days to train my cook," Xiao Chong joked.

Lin Wanwan instantly refused: "That won’t do, Hua Nong is the most important person in our family!"

Little Qingyu lifted her head from the soup: "Yes, Aunt Hua Nong ranks right after mother!"

Soup can be savored quietly, but slurping noodles adds soul to the experience.

Oyster noodles are fresh and smooth, the masters love them, the servants love them too.

For a moment, the Agarwood Pavilion was filled with slurping sounds. Everyone, discarding their image, found eating noodles amusing.

Putting down their noodle bowls, Xiao Chong and Lin Wanwan looked at each other, bursting into laughter.

Little Qingyu and Xiao Yixun looked at the two puzzledly, but the next second, they joined in the laughter.

Happiness spreads easily, causing even the personal attendants dining along the veranda outside to laugh when they heard the laughter from the pavilion.

Shuqi couldn’t help but say, "Our Lord laughs the most heartily and joyfully here at Le’an Village Lady’s place."

Hua Nong responded, "Of course, my lady is beautiful and kind-hearted; meeting her makes everyone happy."

Yun Shang and Hong Yan exchanged glances, emotions in their eyes.

Kun Lun and Ali, the two Kunlun slaves, ate heartily and never engaged in the topics of the servants.

Today, Lin Wanwan and Xiao Chong hunted a lot of seafood. Besides what they caught themselves, Lin Family Manor’s group of people, who went clam digging, also had most of their catch collected by Lin Wanwan, allowing the entire mansion, masters, and servants alike, to indulge freely.

When Lin Wanwan was young, she had a few little dreams: one was to achieve ice cream freedom, and another was to eat seafood from a large basin, eating as much as she wanted.

Now, she had achieved both, which made her chuckle inwardly: Amazing, beauty, you’ve made your dreams come true!

After finishing lunch, Xiao Chong played a few pieces on the zither to aid digestion before saying goodbye to Lin Wanwan.

Having obtained his calligraphy today and enjoyed the heavenly music, Lin Wanwan was already very satisfied and did not persuade him to stay.

Xiao Chong was usually quite busy, so such leisurely moments were few.

But Lin Wanwan was different. With her workshop already on track, she had trained apprentices who surpassed their teacher. Now, if she wanted, she could enjoy leisurely days every day.

Lying in the side room for a nap, Lin Wanwan could still faintly hear the sound of the konghou coming from the front schoolroom, knowing that this was Heng Wu plucking the strings to provide subtle musical education to napping students.

Heng Wu now had more of the demeanor of a teacher, and in the school of Lin Family Manor, she was in her element.

Initially, Teacher Chen and others looked down on her, but after spending time with her these days, they were completely convinced by her talents.

As the leader here, Lin Wanwan never belittled Heng Wu as a music girl, so naturally, others would also accord her respect.