Chapter Thirty-Seven: Dry Firewood and Fierce Flames

  Du Ruhui's voice was not loud, but it exploded in the crowd like a thunderclap.

  Replace the king with gold!

  Everyone gasped in unison, and for a moment, all eyes were fixed on the golden token in Du Ruhui's hand, its golden magic captivating everyone's attention.

  It is said that each of these tokens is worth 100,000 yuan!

  It was released for only one day. It is said that a wealthy businessman received the news late and did not make it in time, now he can only hit the wall in regret!

  You don't know, do you? The brick road under our feet is made with this money, and it's probably even the money from this forbidden area.

  Everyone was incredulous, never thinking that such a precious thing would be carried around by someone, not afraid of losing it? It seemed to have been tossed by the young man!

  These things aren't meant to be taken home and worshiped or hidden in a secret room, so why would you carry them around with you?!

  This golden token was deliberately prepared by Yang You for himself, as a disguise for going out of the palace, and under the circumstances of not exposing his identity, he could avoid many troubles.

  Seventh Uncle, you... aren't mistaken, are you?! Du Zhao said in surprise, stuttering.

  Du Ruhui nodded affirmatively, and the onlookers couldn't help but gasp in surprise. They looked at Du Zhao with sympathetic eyes, thinking that this time he had kicked an iron plate.

  Having obtained Du Ruhui's affirmation, Du Zhao couldn't help but feel a little heavy in his heart. Looking at Yang You again, he saw that he was still expressionless and carefree. He had to believe that this was indeed the true substitute for King Jinling; otherwise, why would a merchant's son be so fearless?

  Du Zhao's mouth was dry, and he really had a crow's mouth. He casually said it, but didn't think that he would actually run into Dai Wang Jinling.

  Go back! Don't lose face here anymore, you're not even worth 100,000 yuan!

  Du Ruhui's lightly spoken words shattered Du Zhao's entire self-confidence.

  The grain merchant Lu family of Daxing successfully defended against the annexation by the Taiyuan Wang family, using the substitute king Jinling, which had long been circulated among the aristocratic families.

  The Du family is also a century-old family, but in front of the Wang family in Taiyuan, it is still as weak as a child. The Wang family has not succeeded, how can I turn the sky over?

  Du Zhao didn't say a word and walked away dejectedly. The onlookers automatically dispersed, clearing the way. The whole commotion came to an end with everyone scattering in all directions.

  "Please inform your master that the Du family has committed an offense. Please don't take it to heart, Master!" Du Ruhui returned the token to Dong Yue and apologized.

  "Mr. Du was being polite, it was just a misunderstanding. I originally came to visit Mr. Du, and it's really fortunate that we met here by chance! Why don't we get in the car and have a chat?" Yang You invited him forward.

  Du Ru Hui hesitated for a moment and nodded in agreement. He followed Yang You onto the carriage, and immediately the convoy slowly started moving.

  "Du Lü Du Ru Hui, see King Duan's palace!"

  On the carriage, Du Ruhui had just gotten on and bowed to pay his respects. Fortunately, Yang You's carriage was big enough, otherwise Du Ruhui would have really had nowhere to unfold himself.

  Yang You couldn't help but stare blankly, having been recognized!

  Secretly admiring, indeed a legendary figure in history, without saying another word, he had already recognized his own identity.

  "Not bad, it's indeed me!" Yang You smiled wryly and openly acknowledged his identity. For these historical figures who left their names behind, one couldn't make assumptions about them as if they were ordinary people. Yang You knew he could deceive others, but he absolutely couldn't deceive Du Ruhui.

  Du Ruhui heard this, bowed again and said gratefully: "Thank you, Your Highness. Ke Ming has apologized to Your Highness on behalf of the Du family today. The Du family has been very wronged, please forgive our unintentional offense."

  Yang You was annoyed, but he didn't take it to heart. To Du Zhao, he pretended to be a clown and waved his hand: "Mr. Du doesn't need to worry, I'm not a petty-minded person."

  Yang You suddenly became enthusiastic and thought of another question. He curiously asked, "I wonder how Mr. Du recognized Your Majesty."

  "Your Highness, it's better to call me Xuemin Ke Ming! The two words 'Mr.' are really unbearable." Du Ruhui said with restraint, Ke Ming was Du Ruhui's courtesy name.

  "Then I'll just call you Ruhui, I prefer to use people's names," Yang Su hinted at Du Ruhui to continue speaking, as the Yang Su of later generations was not accustomed to those awkward words.

  Du Ruhui was stunned. In this era, people of the same generation usually addressed each other by their courtesy names. Only those who were familiar with each other would call each other by their given names. If you heard two people calling each other by their given names on the street, there was only one possibility - they were in a heated argument. However, Yang You being a prince, addressing him by his given name did not count as impolite.

  Du Ruhui made a fist at Dong Yue, who was walking outside the window: "The common people suspected that the identity of the substitute king's mansion started with this guard. At first, the common people only felt that the substitute king's mansion had an extraordinary air, and the wealth and nobility were not ordinary merchants' sons. Later, the common people took over the gold order from this guard's hand and found that this guard's hand had thick calluses, which must have been left by holding a knife and gun for a long time. Adding some of this guard's behavior, it was determined that this strong man must be a military general."

  Yang You nodded and introduced: "This is the commander of the king's guard, Dong Yue."

  "It turned out to be Commander Dong, forgive me for the disrespect." Du Ruhui stood up and bowed.

  Dong Yue followed alongside the carriage, clasping his fists in respect: "Mr. Du is too polite"

  "After that, Xiaomin took over the substitute king's golden token from Dong Tongling and found the words on it. The characters were like they were carved with a knife or an axe, yet they were perfectly square and round, absolutely not written with a brush. If Xiaomin wasn't mistaken, then it must be the unique 'Peacock Script' of King Dai!"

  "What's 'Peacock Script'?" Yang You was perplexed - how did his own hard-pen calligraphy come to be named "Peacock Script"?

  "The Crown Prince resides in the palace, naturally unaware of these rumors circulating among the common folk. Currently, it is widely spread that when the Crown Prince revises memorials, he holds a peacock feather and his brush moves with ease, writing with exceptionally beautiful characters that are unlike any other calligraphy in the world, unique in style. Now, all the officials who love calligraphy are emulating him, but none of them can reach the level of the Crown Prince."

  "The reason why the words of King Wangxie are called 'Peacock Words' is that they can express the extraordinary elegance of King Wangxie holding a peacock feather when writing, and also use the peacock to describe the beauty of King Wangxie's handwriting, which is indeed rare in the world!"

  "It's all just fleeting clouds! Fleeting clouds! I, the king, am also just a temporary obsession. Yang You was pleased with himself, but unexpectedly, he inadvertently became the founder and master of hard pen calligraphy."

  Du Ruju secretly wiped away a cold sweat, but in fact, there is another more popular version of the story that Du Ruju didn't dare to tell. It's said that the original handwriting of Emperor Taizong was ugly and unbearable, and Wei Shangshu often couldn't finish his homework on time, and was frequently ridiculed by Princess Yun. In a fit of rage, he plucked out the tail feathers of two peacocks in the Yuexiu Garden, worked hard through the night, and completed half a month's worth of homework in one go. He finally mastered the art of writing and became an unparalleled genius at doing homework.

  Of course, Du Ruhui would rather die than reveal this version, but judging from his guess, the second possibility is more likely. In Daxing, more people believe in the second version and want to know what magical power the Peacock Feather has that can transform a child into a calligraphy master overnight, and for a time, the Peacock Feather was revered by a group of middle school students as an artifact to avoid doing homework.

  Some clever businessmen have already started secretly buying peacock feathers overseas at high prices, it can be seen that in the near future, peacocks will definitely be slaughtered, and those who will become wild chickens are not a few.

  "Everything else can be imitated, but the handwriting of one person cannot be imitated. Moreover, it is the unique peacock script of His Highness, the Crown Prince. When I came to pay my respects earlier, I took a glance at the visiting card left by His Highness, and the handwriting on it was exactly the same as that on the golden edict issued by the Crown Prince - both were exquisite peacock scripts. Furthermore, the ages of the Crown Prince and Princess Yún also match the rumors. It wasn't until then that I dared to guess that you are indeed the Crown Prince."

  Yang You let out a wry smile, never expecting that his own handwriting would reveal his whereabouts.

  Du Ruohui again highly praised Yang You's meritorious achievement of building brick roads to relieve refugees, and for a while the two chatted very happily. Du Ruohui indeed had real talent and learning, and was not just flattering, often expressing his own unique insights, making people feel refreshed.

  Yang You has the wisdom of his past life, Du Ruhui is clever and almost magical, soon, both are convinced by each other's wisdom.

  One is eager for talent like a thirsty man, another has experienced the cold and warmth of the world.

  Dry firewood burns fiercely, and once it's lit, it can't be put out.