Has he ever caught fish too?

Huarong tried all sorts of postures, but those fish were far more cunning than foxes. The water seemed to be entirely their home turf, and she found herself completely helpless against them, ending up utterly exhausted instead.

"This won't do. I simply can't take it anymore. These fellows are too cunning! It's impossible to catch them barehanded. I might as well go get a net!"

Huarong slumped sideways onto the bank, lying flat on her back like a deflated balloon. Staring up at the blazing sun in the sky, she didn't even care about feeling dizzy; the simple sensation of lying flat on her back felt exceptionally comfortable.

In an instant, her body and mind seemed to relax completely.

Huarong took a deep breath, only then feeling as though her soul had returned to her flesh.

She cast a tentative glance at Gu Yan, who was still drinking nearby, attempting to win some form of approval or sympathy from him.

However, what she received in return was a bout of sarcasm. "You can't even catch a fish, yet you still harbor ambitions of practicing martial arts and wielding weapons. Simply laughable."

"Hey, it's not like I wanted to do this!"

Huarong pouted. She had spent an entire hour here wearing herself out with him, only to receive such a reply. Wasn't this a bit too cold and heartless?

Besides, she had been forced into this in the first place!

Pouting her lips, she was truly filled with grievances and had nowhere to vent them.

Gu Yan, however, sneered. "The Emperor is doing this for your own good, yet you fail to appreciate kindness and instead harbor resentment here. It's just a waste of his painstaking efforts and my guidance."

Watching him speak as he stood up, retrieved his empty wine flask, and prepared to leave, Huarong was somewhat bewildered. "Are you just going to leave like this?"

"Otherwise? Teaching someone like you is simply a waste of my time. Why bother frittering away the hours here when I could be drinking a couple more cups of wine and enjoying my freedom?"

Gu Yan glanced back and cast a teasing look at her, though his tone carried a trace of contempt that was rather difficult to take.

"Stop right there! So what if it's catching fish barehanded? I'll catch one for you right now!"

Provoked in this manner, Huarong felt as though she had been injected with chicken blood. Her previous half-dead posture instantly revived with full health.

She turned her head to look at the fish pond. The fish were swimming around freely, looking quite leisurely and content.

Rubbing her chin slightly, Huarong was suddenly struck by a flash of inspiration. "Watch me closely! Catching fish barehanded is nothing difficult!"

With that, Huarong grabbed the hem of her skirt and gave it a hard tug. As the sound of tearing fabric ripped through the air, Gu Yan looked at her in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"You'll see!" Huarong tossed her chin up at him, her words full of confidence, and squatted back down by the bank.

Supporting herself with both hands on the ground, she pulled a piece of osmanthus cake from her bosom. "I originally wanted to save this to eat when I got hungry, but I suppose it's your lucky day. Eat up!"

Breaking the osmanthus cake into tiny pieces, Huarong scattered all of them into the fish pond.

Gu Yan was utterly bewildered by the sight. Yet, in the blink of an eye, those fish swarmed forward like hungry tigers pouncing on prey, driving themselves mad as they instantly gathered into a dense cluster.

Seizing the exact moment, Huarong quickly wrapped the torn fabric around her hands to serve as a tool for friction. Then, plunging straight into the chaotic flurry, she randomly and swiftly pinched a fish, gripping it tightly in her hand.

No matter how slippery the fish was, under the effect of the cloth, no matter how smooth its scales were, it lost all extra momentum.

Leveraging a sudden surge of momentum, Huarong grit her teeth fiercely. "Up you come!"

With that, she rose from a kneeling position, hoisting the fish gripped tightly in her palm right in front of Gu Yan, her excitement bordering on delirium. "Did you see that? I caught it!"

Seeing this, Gu Yan was somewhat dazed. It really was a living, breathing fish.

Even though it was still jumping and thrashing about at that very moment, Huarong held onto it so tightly that it didn't have the slightest sliver of a chance to escape.

Looking at Huarong's beaming face, her sleeves drenched more than halfway through, she seemed to have tasted the sweetness of success and completely forgotten the hardships she had suffered just moments before.

"Well? Now you should finally believe that I'm not someone who can't endure hardship, right?"

A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated. You could say anything else about her, but you absolutely could not call her useless. After all, this was her final shred of dignity.

Hearing this, a flash of astonishment crossed the depths of Gu Yan's eyes. He put his hands behind his back and fell silent for a moment before suddenly letting out a cold laugh. "It's nothing more than opportunism. If you didn't have these crooked ideas, I'm afraid this fish would never have ended up in your hands."

This blow wiped away Huarong's overflowing joy completely. Her eyes darkened slightly, and for a moment she didn't know how to respond, so she could only brace herself and quibble, "I... well, all's fair in love and war!"

"Right, all's fair in war." Gu Yan nodded, unsure whether it was approval or sarcasm. Glancing at the nearly suffocated fish in her hand, he then said, "Since this fish isn't going to be eaten, why suffocate it to death? Why don't you hurry up and put it back?"

Hearing this, Huarong belatedly came to her senses and nodded repeatedly. She turned around and tossed the fish back into the pond. Watching it swim away freely, a sense of pride welled up in her heart once more.

"So what if it's catching a fish? It's not actually that difficult. You just always have to use methods when doing things." Huarong patted her fingers, feeling that her sleeves were heavy from being soaked in water, and her arms ached with soreness, prompting her to unconsciously roll them a couple of times.

She looked back at Gu Yan. His gaze was as calm and untroubled as ever, making it impossible to fathom what he was thinking.

For some reason, seeing that expression caused Huarong's initial trace of complacency to fade away, as if she had just done something completely meaningless.

"Could it be... that this still won't do?"

Huarong couldn't help but fret over her own actions, her tone carrying a hint of probing hesitation.

Hearing this, Gu Yan suddenly chuckled softly. "Although it was a bit opportunistic, your brain certainly works fast. I'll barely count it as a pass. From today on, you are my disciple."

"What? Just like that?"

Huarong was somewhat surprised, still unable to believe her own ears.

Was this really the same Gu Yan who had shown her a hundred different kinds of disdain just moments ago?

"If you aren't willing, then naturally I won't force you." Gu Yan clasped his hands behind his back and lifted his foot to walk away.

Huarong hurriedly chased after him in panic, blocking his path. "Master is above, please accept your disciple's bow!"

"You certainly are quick-witted. From now on, obediently follow me and learn martial arts."

Gu Yan finally revealed a satisfied expression. Seeing Huarong raise her head, her gaze seeming to carry a hint of lingering doubt, he asked, "Is there still something you don't understand?"

"Not really, I'm just curious... when the Emperor was handling affairs, did you ever catch fish for him?"