Chapter 45 – The Fashionable Feudal Patriarch
Putting aside her preconceived notions, Jiang Pengji realized she seemingly stumbled upon a rather unique “old dad.”
“Your handwriting… is way better than your mother’s; it must be from me.”
As the feudal patriarch, no matter how different Liu Zhi was, checking homework and reviewing studies were standard ways to “cultivate father-son affection.” Just a glance at Jiang Pengji’s writing made his facial muscles twitch slightly, and he forced out a compliment, “Pretty decent draw…”
Jiang Pengji: “…”
Clearly, it was written text, and calling it a drawing was just a sly way to criticize her writing skills!
The age-old method of fostering father-son relationships genuinely gave her a headache. Jiang Pengji wanted to find an excuse to avoid this, but upon seeing Liu Zhi poised with brush and ink, the characters he wrote made her eyes light up. Even though she couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, it looked beautiful.
In fact, Liu Zhi’s calligraphy was quite famous in Hejian County, possessing clarity and depth, with strong strokes brimming with spirit. Years of service in an official capacity mellowed his temperament, giving his writing an added layer of elegance and refinement.
“To observe characters is akin to observing a person. A good hand, far more than flowery essays, can truly capture one’s attention.”
Liu Zhi put down his brush, and on the bamboo paper, he boldly wrote the characters for Liu Xi, a stark contrast to Jiang Pengji’s own writing, clearly showcasing the difference in prowess.
Jiang Pengji carefully examined the distinctions and tried to analyze Liu Zhi’s posture and the force applied in his strokes. Yet before she could finish her analysis, the supposedly stern feudal patriarch casually added:
“After all, when sending letters to young ladies, they usually notice the handwriting first, then consider the heartfelt content.”
Jiang Pengji: “Pfft—cough!”
Liu Zhi’s eyes crinkled with delight, pleased with his “son’s” reaction. “What’s so shocking about this? Back in the day, Amin used to mock my sloppy handwriting, saying it looked like a dog crawled over it. Regardless of how well I wrote the content, the impression would drop by three points! If we hadn’t known each other, she wouldn’t even glance at it.”
【The Great Landlord’s Wife】: The streamer’s mother taught well; this fashionable feudal patriarch is so ahead of his time! 233333
【Beloved Handsome Guy】: Although the vibe seems off—feudal patriarchs shouldn’t be so unserious and quick to resort to family rules—haha, this streamer dad is really cute, casually discussing tips for writing love letters with his teenage “son”! (/ω╲)
【Lan Cuiyu Doesn’t Bend】: But the streamer is a girl, though… totally confused! JPG
【Stowaway Non-Money】: Let me reiterate, when it comes to flirting, only this streamer gets my approval! 2333
Seeing Liu Zhi in that light, Jiang Pengji couldn’t help but relax a little. “So… is this the motivation for you to practice your calligraphy, Father?”
Liu Zhi replied with a solemn tone, “The result is that I can write beautifully, but how that came to be is something others will never know; they can only see the outcome.”
Then, Liu Zhi asked Jiang Pengji if she’d read any interesting books recently and what her thoughts were, trying to understand his “son’s” interests.
“Yesterday I copied some Analects for practice, but I didn’t enjoy it; the book ‘Strategies of War’ in the study seemed much more intriguing.”
Liu Zhi agreed, “I didn’t like it either; it tends to wear one out. At your age, it’s fine to read just enough to get by for your assignments, no need to dive deep. When you’re older, have your own opinions and more experience, you can revisit it later.”
This “bargain father” was indeed different from the rest. Jiang Pengji couldn’t help but secretly marvel at her supposedly well-disciplined mother.
After all, the Analects is a classic of Confucianism, and it stands as a literary leader of this era. After the unification of the previous dynasty, Confucianism was lauded as the orthodoxy; following several hundred years of turmoil, other schools began to rise again, and only when the Five Kingdoms fell to chaos did the hundred schools of thought flourish once more.
Even so, Confucianism remained revered as the orthodoxy, and no one could challenge its status.
As a high-ranking official in Dongqing, Liu Zhi represented that orthodoxy, and to speak so openly to his “son” was a gamble.
If Jiang Pengji were a true local, encountering such a father would surely leave an incredibly deep first impression.
Liu Lanting’s academic performance was mediocre; with Jiang Pengji’s memory, the outcome was obvious.
During the day, she could respond somewhat to Feng Jin’s questions, but facing Liu Zhi, her knowledge was utterly insufficient.
【Lan Cuiyu Doesn’t Bend】: 2333 this is tragic; I can already foresee the streamer getting verbally dunked on by the feudal patriarch.
A crowd of viewers eagerly awaited the live stream, hoping to witness Jiang Pengji getting scolded by Liu Zhi, only to be collectively disappointed.
Keeping up appearances, Jiang Pengji felt a bit “guilty and dejected,” saying, “I’ve disappointed Father.”
Liu Zhi was not overly disappointed; compared to how much she’d read or how many essays she memorized, he valued that spark of creativity far more.
After all, who couldn’t recite from the book?
It was rare to have one’s own opinions and not just follow the crowd, turning into a mere parrot.
“Not bad, at least you haven’t turned your brain to mush from reading.” With a tender ruffle of her hair, he said, “You can always catch up with your studies; there’s no rush.”
In fact, Liu Zhi himself had been a bit of a slacker in his day. He recognized those characters but couldn’t seem to retain the knowledge. Every time the Teacher or his father reviewed his lessons, his mind was a jumbled mess, filled with thoughts but unable to express them.
He’d had enough of that struggle and naturally didn’t want his “son” to repeat the same mistakes.
“Regardless of how well one writes essays or discourses, what’s truly important for an official is the implementation of real policies. No matter how much you’ve learned, it all serves that purpose; if one blindly pursues academics and perfect essays at the expense of other aspects, that would be putting the cart before the horse!”
Jiang Pengji couldn’t help but admit, in such an environment, for Liu Zhi to say that was incredibly avant-garde for a feudal patriarch!
The live stream chat made it clear—Liu Zhi’s words immediately won over a bunch of fans.
After some more discussion, Liu Zhi noted it had grown quite dark outside and looked somewhat regretful.
“It’s late; Liu Lanting, head back to rest. We’ll visit the Buddha temple together tomorrow morning to offer our thanks.”
“Visit the Buddha temple to offer thanks?” Jiang Pengji was puzzled. “Don’t we need to go to the clan school?”
“Naturally not. That place… it’s not awful, but the quality varies, and the atmosphere can lead you astray. It’s better for me to teach personally.” Liu Zhi explained. “After your second brother passed away early, Amin went to the Buddha temple to pray for your safety through your twelfth year. Now that the danger has passed, it’s time to fulfill your mother’s vow, and also let Master Liaochen take a look at you.”
Jiang Pengji felt a pang in her heart. “The danger of twelve years… was it about the bandits before?”
“Mm, it should be.”
When Liu Zhi spoke, there was a hint of gloom in his eyes.
“Father, do you already know?”
Jiang Pengji thought if the stepmother had noticed, that was one thing, after all, she was family, but Liu Zhi had been away for so long, and their interactions were limited to her childhood years—how could he have noticed too? Was it just because of their bloodline?
Liu Zhi patted her head affectionately. “No need to worry; I was already aware before you were born and had made adequate preparations.”
Jiang Pengji: “…”
Why did it feel like they were on completely different wavelengths?
