Signing In At The Civil Affairs Bureau, I Was Rewarded With A Gorgeous Wife

These herbs were highly potent; the smoke they produced when burned was extremely pungent.

Ouyang Shu bent over the basin, his face directly above it, feeling very uncomfortable.

"A-choo!"

Accompanied by Ouyang Shu's sneeze, an extremely tiny insect was expelled, flying onto the table and struggling a few times before becoming motionless.

Song Yun was very curious when he saw this; he hadn't expected that Gu techniques would have been passed down to modern times, let alone who had cast it!

"Song Yun, what is this?"

Ouyang Rong's face was gloomy as he stared at the insect on the table, hardly daring to imagine that his father's body contained such a thing!

"A Gu insect."

Song Yun picked up the insect and casually tossed it into the basin, where the flames surged up as if the insect contained a powerful energy.

"Old master, move your body around a bit."

Upon hearing Song Yun's words, Ouyang Shu stood up and walked around several times, exclaiming with delight, "I felt so uncomfortable walking around the past few days, but now I feel much better!"

"You've saved my life again!"

Ouyang Shu said with a smile, "But how did you know I was infested with a Gu insect?"

"I happened to encounter this case while studying with an old traditional medicine doctor. At first I didn't think of it, until Shu Shu's words reminded me."

"Father, how should we handle this matter!"

Ouyang Rong felt a raging fury in his chest; he swore he would tear the person who had planted the Gu to pieces!

"Go investigate!"

"Ding! Host detected in the study of the Ouyang family in Forty-nine City, would you like to check in?"

The system's ill-timed alert sounded, but how could Song Yun miss out on the cheat given by 'System Dad'? He decisively clicked the check-in button.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for checking in, you've been rewarded with a master-level calligraphy skill!"

Memories of tracing the writings of calligraphy masters flooded into Song Yun's mind, and it took him over ten minutes to fully digest them.

Looking at the old master Ouyang Shu's calligraphy on the table, he now saw it differently. If calligraphy were ranked, the old master would be at level 8, while calligraphy saints like Wang Xizhi could reach level 9. Having mastered all techniques from the grandmasters, he himself could reach level 10!

"First, I'll prepare a medicine for the old master to take. After a week, I guarantee he'll be immune to all poisons."

Song Yun picked up the old master's writing brush and began writing on a blank sheet of paper.

Ouyang Shu caught a glimpse of it and was immediately stunned.

Song Yun's calligraphy was too beautiful!

He truly hadn't expected that Song Yun, at such a young age, had surpassed his own research in calligraphy. Thinking back on how he had just been boasting in front of him, Ouyang Shu felt his face flush with embarrassment.

This kid was truly a prodigy!

"Song Yun, you've come at just the right time for the Ouyang family's banquet tonight. Join us."

Ouyang Shu, holding the prescription written by Song Yunkai, was astounded and somewhat reluctant to part with it.

"Is that appropriate?"

"Appropriate! Whoever dares to gossip, I'll throw him out." Ouyang Shu, reluctant to hand over the prescription, said to Ouyang Rong, "After you've prepared the medicine, bring this paper back to me!"

Ouyang Rong looked at the paper oddly, and with just one glance, was deeply shocked by the words written by Song Yun.

The overall handwriting flowed as smoothly as clouds and water, exquisitely capturing the free spirit within a few strokes.

Song Yun was supposed to be a businessman, wasn't he? How could he be good at everything!

"Don't even think about taking this paper!" Ouyang Shu warned his son, "If I find out it's even slightly different, I'll twist your head off."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Ouyang Rong sighed. He really had been tempted just now, but unfortunately, the old man's ability to read people was unnervingly acute, and any little thought he had was thoroughly picked apart.

By evening, the family banquet was held in the front courtyard of the mansion.

Song Yun, accompanied by Ye Qingqing and Chi Lu, followed the old man to the event.

The Ouyang family was thriving with a good seventy or eighty members, many of whom had long since lost track of Song Yun. Seeing a young man now so favored by the elder, they felt instantly soured.

"Grandpa, I'm back."

A robust young man, unhesitatingly bending forward, quickly walked up to Ouyang Shu, reaching out to support him.

Ouyang Shu brushed off the young man, pointing at him with the frustration of iron not turning into steel as he berated, "As a soldier pledged to protect our country, you must follow military discipline. Today is not a day of rest, so what are you doing back here!"

The young man shrank back, looking extremely embarrassed.

Seeing the young man's unsightly appearance only infuriated the old man more, who then slapped the back of the young man's head.

"Stand up straight for me!"

"Hehe... I'm just trembling under Grandpa's mighty presence..."

"You're really trying to anger me to death!" Ouyang Shu pointed to Song Yun and said, "Look at Song Yun, only a year older than you and so mature. When will you reach his level?"

"I..."

The young man originally wanted to argue stiffly, but seeing his father Ouyang Rong's warning glance, he eventually backed down.

"Father, it's getting late, shall we start the banquet?"

Ouyang Rong asked cautiously.

"Let's begin."

Members of the Ouyang family took their seats according to their status in the clan, while Song Yun and his companions were kept at the main table by the old man.

The others, upon seeing Song Yun, were filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment. To dine at the same table as the old man was fortune made over several lifetimes!

"Grandpa..."

"Shut up!"

The young man had lived under immense pressure since childhood, with a stern-faced father above him and an earnest and serious grandfather above that. Everyone said that as the Ouyang crown prince, he was well off, but who knew his suffering!

"Little Song, I always feel that when I write, there's plenty of form but no soul. Take the simplest 'human' character for example..."

The old man dipped his finger into some clear water and, with a swipe and a stroke on the table, wrote a character. It might look splendidly out of shape to others, but in Song Yun's eyes, it was merely pretty.

So, Song Yun imitated the old man, casually jotting down with water.

Song Yun's character, next to the old man's, immediately showed a clear difference in quality, and though one couldn't quite put a finger on what made Song Yun's better, it just felt different!

The old man excitedly pulled Song Yun aside to seek advice, leaving the young man across the table looking gloomy as he watched his grandfather chat happily with this outsider, while he himself, the actual grandson, was left out in the cold!

"Brother, you look unfamiliar. What department are you in?"

The young man, feeling indignant, approached with a glass of wine to toast.

Ouyang Shu glared at his grandson. He had been enjoying the conversation, and his grandson had no business intervening!

"I'm not from the Forty-nine City, my family does a bit of business in Magic Capital."

Upon hearing this, the young man looked down on Song Yun from the bottom of his heart. After all, the Forty-nine City was the center of power, a place that emphasized authority. Magic Capital, in his opinion, was rife with the smell of copper; he didn't like it!

"Oh, so you're here in Forty-nine City to curry favour?"

Having seen too many outsiders come to Forty-nine City asking for favors, the young man lumped Song Yun into the same category.