To Senior Sister, Since we parted at the mountain gate, two years have passed in the blink of an eye. Since Dr…
To Senior Sister,
Since we parted at the mountain gate, two years have passed in the blink of an eye. Since Dragonbend Academy was first founded, Heaven has been kind, and all has gradually fallen into place. The halls now stand in proper order, the students grow more numerous by the day, those within the academy give their full strength, and Brother Wang lends his protection from without. Nothing has gone amiss at court, and all that once troubled you has now given way to peace.
I write today with glad tidings. Last year, a villager from Luancheng came to study at the academy, carrying his books on his back. He tills the fields and reads the classics, and has quietly devoted himself to the investigation of things. To my surprise, with gifts so plain and unadorned, he has touched upon something those before him had never brought to light. Beyond dyes drawn from plants, he has opened another path entirely, using the red earth of the Taihang in their stead. Whenever I watch the looms clatter and turn, and see lengths of crimson cloth emerge in ordered measure, it seems as though spring itself had quickened them into being. It is enough to make one clap in delight. To have gained a student such as this is comfort enough for a lifetime.
I still remember the resolve you once set your heart upon. Though the path you follow differs from mine, the Dao itself has never run contrary. Now that the first new shoots of the academy have begun to show, perhaps this may serve as proof of that old wish to know the people. If you were to see such wisdom of the common folk flowering within these halls, and find in your own path some new meaning as well, then I should be overjoyed. I only hope you may spare the time to come and see for yourself. I shall make ready and await you.