"That’s not how you hold a brush," Sang Zhi said.

Ye Qianning glanced down and moved her small hand a little lower. "Like this?"

"Like this." Sang Zhi reached out and adjusted her grip, separating her tightly clenched fingers.

No matter what kind of pen or brush she used, Ye Qianning always held it however was most comfortable. It was the same with chopsticks; the way she used her fingers was very different from other people.

The way she was holding the brush now was the same grip she used when she painted.

Now that her grip had been corrected, she tentatively touched the brush to the Xuan paper. ’Great...’ she thought. ’Traditional characters already have so many strokes and are hard enough to write. This is even more difficult.’

A single, crooked character took up half the sheet of paper, and she was writing even more slowly than before.

Qian Zhuye stifled a laugh. "You’ll be lucky if you can finish copying it even once today."

"I’ll copy as much as I can. At least I’m trying my best." Ye Qianning switched back to her old grip. "This is still a little faster."

"I already told you, your grip is wrong," Sang Zhi said.

"Who cares if it’s right or wrong? As long as it’s fast, it’s fine."

"The fundamentals of calligraphy are very important. I’ll teach you." As he spoke, Sang Zhi moved to stand behind her, his large hand covering hers.

Ye Qianning’s small hand was enveloped, and her grip was forcibly corrected.

Sang Zhi guided her hand, writing the characters one stroke at a time. The result looked much better than what Ye Qianning had written just moments before, but the posture felt a little awkward.

Her writing speed was also much faster now.

Qian Zhuye leaned forward, propping his chin on his hands on the desk as he watched them write. The characters looked much better. ’At this rate,’ he thought, ’they should be able to finish ten copies today.’

The three of them were completely oblivious that most of the other students in the academy were staring in their direction.

The academy was filled with children from about ten to thirteen years old. Many of them had been promoted from the lower academy with Sang Zhi. The Eighth Prince rarely spoke on a normal day and disliked interacting with others.

Moreover, he was colorblind, which made his eyes look somewhat gray and dim. It was rumored that meeting his gaze would bring bad luck, making him a very ominous figure. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

As a result, no one ever went near him.

It wasn’t surprising that Miss Xiang, being new to the Capital City, didn’t know the reason and spoke to him. What was surprising was that the Eighth Prince had taken the initiative to teach the little girl how to write.

’Isn’t she afraid of being cursed with bad luck?’

"The master taught us that men and women should not have direct physical contact! How improper for you two to be embracing in front of everyone." Gao Qi stepped out from the crowd, pointing a small finger at the pair.

Sang Zhi, who was still holding Ye Qianning’s hand, stiffened slightly. Only then did he realize how improper their posture looked. He hesitated for a moment before letting go.

Ye Qianning shot him a glance and continued writing. "You haven’t even hit your growth spurt. What do you know about ’improper contact’?"

"You’re not allowed to say I’m short!" Gao Qi puffed out his cheeks angrily.

"But you are short."

"You’re even shorter."

"I’m only six. How old are you?"

"I... My dad said I’ll get taller! And he also said that in the future, you’ll have to depend on me. You’ll have to do whatever I say!" Gao Qi declared, planting his hands on his hips huffily.

Ye Qianning’s writing hand froze, and a drop of ink bled across the Xuan paper.

She looked up, her eyes flickering. ’Depend on the Prime Minister’s manor?’

’Her General’s manor is in no way inferior to the Prime Minister’s. Why would we have to depend on them?’

’And even if we did need to... Prime Minister Gao isn’t the kind of man to just let someone depend on him freely.’

Sang Zhi was also slightly stunned, his gray eyes fixed on Gao Qi.

"Miss Xiang is going to depend on you? Are you saying your Prime Minister’s manor hasn’t suffered enough?" Qian Zhuye broke his brief silence with a laugh.

"My dad said she will, so she will."

"Your dad also said you’d get taller. Have a look, have you gotten any taller?" Qian Zhuye was a head taller than him and deliberately lowered his gaze as he spoke.