Chapter 32: The Princess of Chang Le (Part 2)

  Duhua's change made Princess Chang Le no longer reject Duhua, but instead secretly envied the bickering and joking between Duhua and Li Xueyan, with a sour and indescribable taste.

  That day was even more so, but when she heard that Du He and Li Xueyan were planning to go out together, that inexplicable feeling rose up again, making her feel like crying.

  Never could she have imagined that this sorrow would trigger the dormant illness within her body. The symptoms at the onset of the disease were something Princess Chang Le had experienced many times before, but for some reason, this time was especially severe.

  That kind of suffocating horror made Princess Chang Le even think of dying once and for all.

  But just then, Du He's constant encouraging voice entered her ears.

  Although Princess Changle's old illness recurred, she was in extreme pain as if dying, but her mind remained clear and awake. Seeing Du He forcing his way into the palace to care for her and encourage her without rest, these actions brought out a desire to survive from the bottom of her heart, supporting her through this ordeal.

  Inside the Taiyi Mansion, Princess Changle heard her father Emperor Taizong of Tang and Du He discussing state affairs, and her mood became more calm than ever before.

  Last night, Li Shimin and Empress Changsun had agreed to dine together with three people, but Li Shimin unexpectedly delayed.

  After inquiring, Princess Changle finally found out that it was because Du He had arrived. Du He received Li Shimin's attention, and Princess Changle felt a hard-to-express joy in her heart. In the end, she even heard that Li Shimin had kept Du He to stay in the palace.

  It is worth noting that since Li Shimin ascended to the throne, he had never allowed anyone to stay overnight in the imperial palace, but Du He was the first.

  This morning, Princess Changle rarely didn't have her morning reading, but instead strolled around the palace, unknowingly arriving at Du He's courtyard. What a coincidence, she ran into Du He practicing sword fighting under the tree while reciting "The Ballad of the Knight-Errant".

  Du He's "Iron Blood Thirteen Forms" was unfolding with grandeur and majesty, just as the atmosphere of "The Knight-Errant's Song" was about to converge.

  Like snow sword light, strong sword shadow, handsome and elegant figure, and magnificent poem, in the eyes of Princess Chang Le almost became a perfect painting.

  "Princess?" Du He looked at Chang Le Gong Zhu in surprise outside the courtyard, never expecting that the person secretly spying on him was actually her!

  Princess Chang Le thought of her own situation and hastily explained: "I came to thank you, nothing else."

  "Oh!" Du He responded with a nod, shaking his head to indicate it was nothing, sheathing his sword and smiling: "We've met once, just a small favor."

  A sentence of "a little effort" made Princess Chang Le feel a bit lost, paused for a moment, wanted to speak but stopped, and finally said: "Was the poem just now written by you?"

  "Hmm..." Du He originally wanted to say it wasn't, but he remembered clearly that Li Bai was a person from the Tang Xuanzong era, and now they were in the early years of the Zhenguan era, Li Bai had not yet been born. If he said he wrote it, upon closer inspection it would be unseemly. So he nodded his head and said: "The Ballad of the Gallant Hero!"

  "The Outlaws of the Marsh!" Princess Changle murmured, "Good name, but the poetic meaning is even better!" She herself was influenced by Emperor Taizong and Empress Changsun, with extensive knowledge of the classic novel "The Outlaws of the Marsh", whose themes were already deeply ingrained in her mind.

  Du He's face turned slightly red, this poem by the Poet Immortal is indeed not bad!

  Princess Chang Le smiled wryly, but didn't know what to say.

  Du He walked forward with a smile and said, "If the princess still feels embarrassed about not canceling the engagement, I think it's unnecessary. You also know that past events I've long forgotten. So, the princess doesn't need to worry or pay attention to it, let's just pretend we're getting to know each other again!"

  Du He's smile was faint and subtle, yet it possessed a unique charm that made people feel refreshed, as if they had been caressed by the gentle breeze of spring.

  Changle Princess was taken aback for a moment, and then Ruo also showed a bright smile. She had been thinking about this for a long time, but since she was the one who had initially made a fuss about canceling the engagement, she really couldn't ask to make amends!

  Du He's open-mindedness and magnanimity were just what was needed to untie the knot in Princess Chang Le's heart, revealing her genuine smile.

  "I have many questions about calligraphy, I wonder if you have time!" Princess Chang Le loves calligraphy, and the Du body font is a brand new font that sweeps the Tang Dynasty with its momentum. Princess Chang Le also has a special fondness for Du body font. However, this font can only be written by Du He, who can bring out its unique charm, and only he can perfectly answer any questions about Du body font.

  As for the request of Mei Ren, Du He has always been responsive and nodded immediately: "Wherever I, Du He, can serve, I will certainly speak without reservation."

  Du He invited Princess Chang Le to enter the palace and talk, instructing the palace maid to prepare paper and pen, and personally explaining the writing method of Du's script and its key points according to Princess Chang Le's questions.

  "You're doing it all wrong!" Du He saw that Princess Chang Le was unable to get the hang of it, reached out and grasped her small hand holding the brush, saying: "I'll teach you how to write!"

  Princess Chang Le was startled, but seeing Du He's serious face also knew that he didn't mean to be rude, so she endured the shame and let him do it.

  "The strokes of the Du script are light horizontally and heavy vertically, with strong and powerful brushwork, rounded and full-bodied, majestic and awe-inspiring, emphasizing the beauty of the characters' plumpness." Du He held Princess Chang Le's hand and wrote a simplified character "Yong".

  He let go of his hand and said, "Simply put, the words should be fat and full, especially when writing with the wrist. If you are not familiar with it, you can first enlarge the characters to be written and then reduce them after becoming familiar."

  "The 'yong' character I just taught you, seemingly simple, yet contains the eight essential strokes of calligraphy. Once you master these eight strokes, you can extend them to various other strokes and capture their spirit and demeanor."

  These were what Du He's father told him when he was teaching him to write in his later years. At this moment, he bought and sold them, and handed them over to Princess Chang Le together.

  Princess Chang Le gazed at Du He holding the "forever" character she had written, and a mysterious sparkle appeared in her eyes.

  "Calligraphy requires constant practice, wanting to master this Du style script depends on whether you can put in the hard work!"

  After Du He solved all the problems of Princess Chang Le on the Du body character, he did not stay long and bid farewell to leave the palace.

  Princess Chang Le was somewhat reluctant, but couldn't find an excuse to detain him, and could only see him off at the inner palace gate.

  Returning to her residence, Princess Changle dismissed all the palace maids and came to the desk, spreading out the scrolls on it. In her mind, she suddenly thought of Du He practicing sword under the willow tree, picked up her brush and started painting with rapt attention.

  "Chang Le!" The knock on the door sounded, and a warm voice echoed from outside.

  But Princess Changle seemed completely unaware, and was seriously painting a picture.

  The sound of footsteps echoed, and a beautiful young woman in palace attire appeared behind Princess Changle. Despite this, Princess Changle remained completely unaware.

  The beautiful young woman saw Princess Chang Le being so focused and didn't disturb her, just watching from the side.

  Princess Changle hadn't painted for many days, but at this moment, her brushstrokes flowed effortlessly. It was as if the pen in her hand had a mind of its own, and all she needed to do was support it so it wouldn't fall over.

  Princess Changle recalled a sentence said by Yan Liben: "The highest state of painting is like the Zen in Buddhism, it's a state of non-action. After picking up the brush, one forgets about the painting, just like after meditation, one forgets what was thought before meditation. At this time, only the subconscious mind guides the brush in hand to paint, often exceeding one's normal level and producing astonishing works."

  Princess Changle was both shocked and delighted, and without thinking much, she simply followed her intuition to paint. It wasn't until her consciousness returned to the xuan paper in front of her that she realized the painting had already been completed.

  In surprise, he hastily concentrated his mind and sized him up.

  Only in the painting, the morning sun is born, and the red clouds on the horizon are like brocade. However, it's all blurry and unclear. Nearby, a swordsman is dancing with his sword under a willow tree, his sword cold as the nine states, fluttering as if he were a legendary swordsman, elegant and heroic.

  Is this really what I drew? Is this my level?

  Chang Le Gongzhu couldn't believe that she had drawn this herself, suddenly her face turned red like cinnabar, apparently discovering that the person in the painting was 70% similar to Du He, to be precise, she had actually painted Du He!