“I’m glad you’re willing to wear it. As for what… Great Ming craftsmanship…”
Yang Wan held up one finger, “The finest craftsmanship in Great Ming!”
Deng Ying watched her genuine delight and smiled gently, “Did you bestow this title on me?”
“Yes.”
As she spoke, she removed the lotus jade pendant from her waist, took out the original fixing bead, and placed it beside her. Lowering her head, she threaded the new bead while saying: “I heard from the craftsmen at Taihe Hall before that you’re not only skilled in construction methods but also excellent at fine carving. They say you can even carve landscapes in relief inside tiny snuff bottles.”
The old matters she mentioned flowed past like water over stone.
Deng Ying spoke lightly: “That’s all in the past, and I learned it secretly when Master Zhang wasn’t watching.”
“Why did you have to learn in secret?”
Deng Ying bent down gently to help Yang Wan hold the jade pendant to prevent her strain, while honestly responding:
“Because officials shouldn’t spend too much effort on specific crafts. The teacher hoped I would study more of the ‘Book of Changes’ and ‘Book of Rites.'”
He looked at his own hands, “I wasn’t very skilled even before, and now I’ve forgotten many techniques. As for that snuff bottle, that’s their fabrication – I actually can’t do it.”
Yang Wan kept her head down while fixing the jade, seemingly asking casually: “That’s already quite remarkable. By the way, have you ever thought about not being the Eastern Depot Chief anymore, and becoming a craftsman outside instead?”
Deng Ying shook his head after hearing this, “A scholar cannot become a craftsman, they can only become officials. Similarly, a eunuch cannot become a craftsman, they can only be servants. Even if I’ve thought about it, it’s impossible.”
He finished speaking and picked up the notebook beside him again.
Yang Wan only then noticed that on the ginger-colored volume was written “Qing Something Strategy,” with the middle character hidden by Deng Ying’s hand.
“What are you reading?”
“Oh.” Deng Ying moved his finger and showed the volume to Yang Wan, “Written by your brother, strategies for implementing land clearing in the South.”
“May I take a look?”
“Sure.”
He turned the book over and handed it to Yang Wan.
Yang Wan quickly scanned several lines on the page he had turned to, immediately recalling when Yang Lun wrote the “Land Clearing Strategy” which later became world-famous. After the Zhenning years, countless copies of this article were passed down, so it was not only a famous policy document but also one of Yang Lun’s renowned calligraphy works.
Yang Wan reached out to take it, asking: “This article, has the Cabinet and Ceremonial Office not yet jointly discussed it before His Majesty?”
Deng Ying made a sound of agreement.
“This is my copy.”
“You copied it?”
“Yes.”
Hearing this, Yang Wan looked carefully at the characters on the paper.
It was said that after Deng Ying died, his residence was burned.
Perhaps for this reason, this person hadn’t left any handwriting in history. Since studying Deng Ying, this was the first time Yang Wan had seen his handwriting.
Unlike Yang Lun’s magnificent style, Deng Ying’s characters were extremely orderly, each stroke had its limits. The horizontal and vertical strokes, the left-falling and right-falling strokes were all contained within a perfectly appropriate force. When traces of sharpness appeared, they were suddenly contained, appearing without any hint of aggression, as standardized as characters from a printing block.
One’s writing reveals one’s character.
If he were in modern times, he would certainly be a young man who could wear a white shirt well, write in a perfect print style, and have a decent job related to scientific research and technology. Then like a cold gear, he would turn precisely, quietly, and lonely somewhere in the world.
“Your handwriting is really beautiful.”
Yang Wan couldn’t help but compliment him.
Deng Ying said: “Master Yang is the one with true accomplishments in calligraphy.”
Hearing this, Yang Wan smiled showing her teeth, “I don’t think so at all, he’s like someone writing with a mop, as if drunk on yellow wine, very confusing.”
Deng Ying couldn’t help but laugh.
This wasn’t the first time Yang Wan had teased Yang Lun in front of him, yet hearing it always inexplicably warmed his heart.
She was like a gravitational force between status differences, pulling Deng Ying out from the dark mire while bringing Yang Lun down from the clear sky, allowing them to temporarily walk parallel.
Seeing him smile without speaking, Yang Wan took up the volume herself and casually browsed through it.
Yang Lun’s writing style was quite ordinary, but his logic was exceptional. When Yang Wan was a graduate student before, one of her professional course teachers particularly liked Yang Lun. He said Yang Lun was a practical person, with average political sensitivity, but had a natural talent for grasping national economic and military matters. If Emperor Zhenning could have died a few years earlier, his achievements would have been even greater.
From this not-too-long article, Yang Wan could read the power of over a decade of diligent study and a decade of departmental experience.
She put down the volume and rubbed her slightly sore eyes, recalling historical materials related to Deng Ying from Zhenning’s thirteenth year. The first passage she thought of was from the “History of Ming,” describing his embezzlement of educational fields in Jiangnan.
This was also an important change in the later “Record of Hundred Crimes.”
“Deng Ying…”
“What is it?”
Yang Wan looked up at him, “If this strategy is implemented, who will the court… send to the South?”
Deng Ying said: “The Imperial Academy should select students to verify the land area, you… are you worried about Yang Lun?”
Yang Wan was originally worried about Deng Ying, but his mention made her recall the related historical records as well.
The spring and summer transition of Zhenning’s thirteenth year was when the Cabinet and Ceremonial Office were most strongly opposed. This political struggle, arising from land clearing, involved the imperial clan in Jiangnan, as well as most of the hidden fields belonging to He Yixian, Hu Xiang, and others in the South.