Bone Painting Coroner

Early morning

As the sun slowly crept up from the horizon, golden rays slowly spread from the forested peaks into Jinjiang city, dissipating the lingering chill and finally giving a hint of warmth. Several people were seated at the breakfast table, but there was no sign of Wei Yi.

“Where is Wei Yi?” Ji Yunshu asked the Wei servants.

“Young Master went to the study with Uncle Fu early in the morning. I even heard them reciting poems when I passed by earlier.”

“Reciting poems?”

“That's right.” The maid nodded and joked, “And it was Young Master reciting! It was miraculous. In the past, Young Master couldn't even recognise big words, much less recite poems.” Is that supposed to be praise or criticism?

“What poem is he reciting?”

“Seems to be...something about friends visiting from afar. Young Master is like a totally different person now; His speech and his actions feel much more spirited than before.” The maid was so happy she was grinning from ear to ear.

Mo Ruo overheard and smiled. “That silly boy has even learned to recite poems? How interesting… it's like the sun rose from the west!”

Tang Si gave him a stare of disdain. “Who are you to make fun of him like that and not let him study?”

“Oh? Miss Tang, when did you start speaking up for him?”

“Wei Yi is a great hero. He was willing to sacrifice himself to save my Ah Ji’s life - of course I'd speak up for him! With such a thin, weak body, wouldn't our Ah Ji have perished if not for him?!”

Pfft. Ji Yunshu couldn't stand the nonsense from this girl.

Mo Ruo barked out a laugh, lightly tapped his chopsticks on his winecup, and looked up. “If that's the case, why don't you repay him with your body? Get married to Young Master Wei to repay your Ah Ji's debt of gratitude.”

A loud bang sounded as he finished speaking. Tang Si aimed a savage kick at his kneecap under the table; the whole table shook with the impact and some wine spilled out of its pot.

"Ow ow ouch!" Mo Ruo hugged his knees and groaned in pain, complaining, "Don't you know that there's a death acupuncture point in our knees? What if you hit it?"

"Then that would be your just desserts for saying nonsense! Moreover, I was the one who saved your life - if you died, that would merely be returning a life to me."

"You're a lady - your merciless tongue is one thing - but why is your heart so black? No wonder no one wants you!"

"Who said so?" She raised an eyebrow proudly, leaned towards Ji Yunshu and grasped her forearm. "It's enough if Ah Ji wants me, right?" Tang Si gazed up at her coyly, biting her lower lip.

But… "No."

This elicited a riotous laugh from Mo Ruo, who only narrowly restrained himself from slapping the table in glee. "Some people with mistaken intentions would pick up a rock just to drop it on their own feet."

Tang Si was so incensed that smoke was practically coming out of her ears.

The two of them were practically living treasures, their banter filling the morning air completely unhindered by the chilly atmosphere surrounding Jing Rong. What Wei Yi saved Ji Yunshu? What mistaken intentions? It all seemed to be directed at him. 

Dammit, that hit close to home. Throughout the meal, Jing Rong was frowning and didn't say a word.

Ji Yunshu felt it was too noisy and left for the study in the back courtyard. Just as she reached the door, she could already hear the sound of Wei Yi reciting poems. She drew back the leg that was already poised to enter the room and remained hidden outside instead.

Wei Yi was holding ‘The Analects of Confucius’. As he read, he asked Uncle Bo about unfamiliar words before writing them down on a piece of paper after hearing the explanation. As he wrote, he began to recite.

“Isn’t it a pleasure to learn something and practice it? Isn’t it a delight to have friends from afar visit and talk? Isn’t it gentlemanly to not rage against those who do not understand? [1]” He gently swayed his head as he recited, looking like he knew what he was doing.

He recited the whole of ‘The Analects’ from memory, without missing a single word!

Ji Yunshu’s eyes darkened and clenched her fists a little tighter in her sleeves. Someone who couldn’t recognize a single word has now learned ‘The Analects’?

“Young Master, you’re so smart! You only needed four hours to memorize all that and even learned to write all these words! I think that Old Master and Madam have blessed you from the heavens and made you smarter.” Uncle Fu was so happy that his eyes filled with tears, dabbing at them with his sleeves.

Wei Yi revealed a gentle smile and lifted his brush. He looked at his own slanted and untidy handwriting, then looked at Uncle Fu's neat calligraphy. His face fell and he scratched his head. "But Uncle Fu, my writing doesn't look as nice as yours does!"

"Don't fret, take it slow. Young Master will soon write better than I do."

"Really?"

"Of course. Our Young Master is so clever that nothing is too difficult for him!"

He grinned as he nodded enthusiastically and continued writing eagerly. Uncle Fu felt comforted as he watched him. He wanted to fetch a cup of water for Wei Yi but saw Ji Yunshu standing by the door the moment he turned around. "Teacher Ji, when did you arrive?"

Wei Yi lifted his head and exclaimed happily, "Shu'er, you're here!"

She nodded and entered. "Why didn't you go eat something?"

He shook his head.

"Starving yourself isn’t good for your health!”

He shook his head again. “Shu’er, I’m not hungry. See, I’m writing! Uncle Fu taught me.”

He held up the paper he was writing on, proudly showing it off. Ji Yunshu took it and looked. Even though the words were messy and slanted, every single one of them was written correctly. Is this the same Wei Yi who would even miss a stroke in the ‘Yi’ of his own name?

“You wrote this?”

He nodded. “Uncle Fu taught me.”

“You know all the words?”

“Every one of them.”

“What about ‘The Analects’? You can recite it?”

“Every last word!”

In that moment, Ji Yunshu’s deep eyes shuttered further, giving a sense of mystery. She turned her head slightly towards Uncle Fu. “Uncle Fu, I have some words I would like to say to Wei Yi alone.”

“Then I’ll go get some snacks for Young Master.”

Wei Yi put down his brush and walked around from behind the desk, looking at her worriedly. “Shu’er, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Her fingertips gently stroked across the messy calligraphy. She originally was still undecided about whether she should bring Wei Yi to Yufu, but now she needn’t worry. Her heart had been set the minute she stepped in here!  She met his eyes and said, “Wei Yi, could you promise me something?”

“Shu’er, tell me. I’ll go with anything you say.” He promised readily.

“Stay.” Just one word! Wei Yi froze at that moment, only understanding after a long while. His arms hung listlessly by his sides and the smile on his face slowly stiffened. Brows knitted tightly together, he asked with gritted teeth, “Why?”

[1] This is really a quote from Confucius. I'm so glad translations already exist and I only have to paraphrase them. Chinese poems are so hard to understand.