Chapter 29: The Ancient Emperor Helps Me Grind Ink

  Du Heqiang suppressed the joy brought by the great increase in his inner strength, stabilized his mind, took out the treasure sword, and practiced alone in the courtyard until his inner strength was exhausted before stopping.

  Returned home to meditate and regulate his breath, after two hours, Du He's spirit recovered, but his internal energy did not increase.

  "It wasn't because his internal energy was exhausted after all." Du He sighed quietly and didn't force the issue anymore.

  The most feared thing in cultivating internal power is being greedy for results, so Du He stopped his rational thinking and didn't continue to investigate further.

  Du He made the wisest choice here.

  Human potential is infinite and unpredictable. In times of crisis, a wounded mother can move a 400-pound boulder in an instant to save her child, and a person trapped for survival can go without sleep, rest, food, or drink for ten days and nights.

  This is a power unique to humans and cannot be controlled by oneself.

  Du He had been practicing internal strength for only four months and was still a novice in terms of his skills.

  It's impossible for a rookie to carry someone who weighs nearly 100 pounds and run two miles in one breath while dodging the imperial guards' obstruction.

  But Du He did, and he himself didn't know how he managed to do it. At that time, he was only thinking of rescuing Princess Chang Le, and didn't want to see a talented, kind-hearted and beautiful person die in his arms.

  At that time, he didn't think of anything else, only one thought: that is to save people, regardless of everything to save people.

  This unexpectedly stimulated his own potential, prompting him to make great progress in his inner strength and greatly increasing his skills, completing this impossible task.

  But the harm to the body caused by forcibly stirring up one's own potential is quite great, just like taking stimulants. If Du He greedily seeks more and continues to practice intensively, trying to find a shortcut, his body and meridians will rupture from being unable to support this sudden surge of power, leading to mental derangement.

  Something like this happens a lot in the martial arts world, but Du He had an experience before, so he made the most correct choice with reason.

  After resting for a night, Du He spent the whole of the next day learning about the rules and regulations of the Tang Dynasty polo match.

  Perhaps because polo was a game for the nobility, the Tang Dynasty polo matches were not intense, just like a group of women playing and laughing together, and they couldn't show that kind of competitive spirit that belonged to sports.

  Duhu's feeling is like 90s basketball and 20th century basketball.

  The 90s basketball was magnificent and intense, watching Jordan's games was a pleasure, while the 20th century basketball had many stars, but even slight contact would be considered a foul, it can't be compared to the 90s games.

  The polo of the Tang Dynasty was played more delicately than basketball in the 20th century.

  If polo is like this, it's impossible to truly achieve the purpose of training riding skills.

  "We need to redefine the rules, make the game more intense, more passionate, and more attractive, just like American football!" Du He muttered to himself, thinking, occasionally scribbling with his pen, and furrowing his brow.

  Little Loli Linglong was grinding ink on the side, her small face red, her eyes occasionally stealing glances at Du He, her chest like a small deer constantly colliding, thinking that Second Young Master was getting more and more handsome.

  But as Linglong thought, Duhe was originally not bad-looking, only that in the past he had indulged excessively in wine and women, with a sickly appearance that made people feel disgusted. But now, with Dulangtian's attachment, Duhe possessed the superior mental method of "Five Qi facing the Origin", and without any bad habits, naturally became more and more spirited, adding to his original Dulangtian's carefree and uninhibited temperament, gradually revealing a quality that could captivate countless girls.

  Especially in recent days, Du He's internal strength has made great progress, and his spirit has been significantly improved, which naturally makes the hearts of the girls who cherish spring flutter.

  Linglong's thoughts were quite clear to Duhe, but she was only thirteen years old, and Duhe didn't have the hobby of a young girl.

  Du He sorted out the information in his mind that day and made some adjustments and revisions the next day, then took a stack of materials to the imperial palace to find Li Shimin.

  Li Shimin met Du He in Ganlu Temple, which made Du He feel quite surprised.

  Li Shimin's palace was called Taiji Palace, and the layout of the Taiji Palace was very particular, strictly following the principles of ancient palace architecture. The main buildings in the palace followed the principle of "front hall and back chamber", with walls and gates such as Zhu Ming Men, Su Zhang Men, and Qian Hua Men dividing the palace into two parts: the "Front Hall" and the "Inner Court".

  "The Front Court" is where the emperor handles state affairs, and "the Inner Palace" is where the emperor rests and the concubines live.

  The Ganlu Temple is located in the "Inner Court" and is where the emperor reads books in the inner palace. It is also the third main hall of the Taiji Palace, which is equivalent to a study room in an ordinary household.

  Li Shimin did not receive Du He in the reception hall, but instead took him to his own study, which was an extreme honor.

  Although Du He knew that this was likely a tactic of Li Shimin's to win him over, he couldn't help but feel some emotion in his heart. If it weren't for Li Shimin valuing his abilities, if it weren't for Li Shimin appreciating him, would anyone have brought him here?

  "Du He greets Uncle Li!" Du He's words had just left his mouth, and he hadn't even bowed down yet, when Li Shimin's voice came over: "Alright, there are only the two of us here, no need for excessive courtesy. Quickly bring out what you've brought for me to take a look."

  Du He had already discovered that there was only one person in the entire study room when he came in, and Li Shimin's personal bodyguards were all blocked outside.

  Duhe walked up close and handed over the sorted things to Li Shimin.

  Li Shimin took it over, smiled and praised: "Good handwriting, worthy of being a famous calligrapher. If all the civil and military officials in the court can write such good characters, then I will enjoy reading the memorials."

  "What is this?" Li Shimin glanced at it and pointed at the punctuation mark with some inexplicable things flashing in his eyes.

  "Punctuation!" Du He only then remembered that punctuation marks were formally used in the late Qing dynasty, and immediately said: "This is a way of punctuating sentences, which makes it more convenient for readers."

  "What a punctuation mark! This method is simple and convenient, but it's extremely practical. I plan to announce it to the world and widely apply it, what do you think?" Li Shimin asked with a smile, having already seen the significance of the small punctuation mark.

  Du He smiled and said: "I have no opinion, it's just that the punctuation marks here are not uniform, each with its own unique meaning. I'll write them down and pass them on together."

  Li Shimin nodded in agreement at once.

  Du He picked up the brush from the pen holder and found that there was no ink on the inkstone, and he couldn't help but stare blankly.

  Although three months have passed, Du He still hasn't gone to learn the technique of grinding ink.

  Li Shimin saw that Du He had not moved his brush for a long time, and he smiled in his heart. He stood up and said, "Well, it seems that as the emperor, I will make an exception today and personally grind ink for you."

  Li Shimin skillfully ground the ink and made a gesture of invitation.

  Du He's heart was filled with reverence for Emperor Li Shimin, and he diligently practiced writing out the usage of punctuation marks such as periods, commas, question marks, exclamation marks, pauses, and semicolons.

  Du He is a top student in the Chinese department, and writing these out from memory is child's play for him.

  Li Shimin did not look at the materials brought by Du He, but stood behind him, seriously watching him write, and learning his calligraphy.

  When Du Fu stopped writing, Li Shimin shook his head and sighed: "Du's style is my favorite, I have practiced it for a long time, but it is still difficult to grasp its subtleties."

  Du He also smiled, Du's script originated from Yan Zhenqing's script. Yan's script is one of the most difficult scripts to write. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Yan's achievements in calligraphy even surpassed those left behind by Wang Xizhi, the Sage of Calligraphy. However, because it was extremely difficult to master Yan's script, there were only a few people who became famous for their expertise in this script.

  Duhe spent over 20 years practicing calligraphy to achieve his current level, but Li Shimin mastered the essence of Du's style in just a few months, which is simply unbelievable.

  "If Uncle Li is willing to learn, how dare I hide it from him?" said Du He with a smile.

  Li Shimin burst out laughing with joy upon hearing this.