Her Entire Court Reborn with Her in the Modern World

Chapter 107: Chapter 106: Then He Will Go to Jianghuai, A Night Talk Between Sovereign and Minister

Twenty years ago, the Mingjing Cultural Heritage Institute, together with Mingjing University and the Mingjing Calligraphy Association, held the first Youth Calligraphy Competition. It aimed to cultivate the abilities of the new generation and pass down the excellent culture of Jiuzhou.

At that time, his senior brother, Cui Jiu, was only six years old. When many children still couldn’t hold a brush steadily, he took first place that year in one fell swoop. The institute director was overjoyed and accepted him as a disciple on the spot. Since then, any disciples who entered the Mingjing Cultural Heritage Institute after him, even if they were older than Cui Jiu, had to respectfully address him as "senior brother."

"The first place winner of the last calligraphy competition was from Linsu in Mingzhou, and the second place was from Nanling in Jiang Province," the young man said. "So this time, there are also the most participants from Mingzhou and Jiang Province."

Cui Jinghan flipped through a few pages. He didn’t say a word, but his brows slowly knitted together.

"Senior brother, after all, not everyone is a genius like you," the young man said awkwardly. "It’s already exceptionally good for children to reach this level. After all, they’ve been practicing for ten years at most."

Cui Jinghan set the folder down. "Then do you believe someone could practice for five years and be on par with me as I am now?"

The young man blanked out, his mouth falling open. "That’s impossible, right? Senior brother, you’re not only a master of the Cui Style, but you’ve also developed a new style based on it..."

Cui Jinghan didn’t respond to that. Instead, he asked, "Has Sinian arrived in Jianghuai yet?"

"Brother Yan is taking an afternoon flight out of Mingjing," the young man replied. "If you have any instructions for him, senior brother, I’ll go pass them on right now."

Cui Jinghan shook his head, his expression indifferent.

"Right, senior brother, which competition zone are you going to for the preliminaries this time?" The young man slapped his forehead as if he had just remembered something. "Wherever you go, I’ll tag along to gain some experience."

Cui Jinghan gave a hum of acknowledgment. "Which provinces haven’t I visited yet?"

The young man flipped through his documents. "Only Yunzhou is left. All the participants from Yunzhou will take part in the preliminaries in the provincial capital, Jianghuai."

"Jianghuai... the Pei Family." Cui Jinghan’s eyes narrowed. "Then I’ll go to Jianghuai this time."

Fortunately, Pei Xuan was already buried in the dirt. Going to Jianghuai this time, he could show some great kindness and sweep Pei Xuan’s grave.

At six-thirty in the evening, Shi Changying and Xie Qingshi met at a very secluded private villa. The villa was brand new, without even a speck of dust, clearly having just been purchased.

Xie Qingshi explained, "It was a bit rushed this time. After I recognized you that day, I went ahead and bought a villa first. I just finished the paperwork this afternoon."

Shi Changying smiled. "I cannot bear to hear such things right now." Right now, she was a poor person.

Xie Qingshi froze for a moment before quickly catching on. He immediately took out several bank cards, placing all the wealth he had accumulated over the years in front of Shi Changying.

Shi Changying didn’t take them. She crossed her arms. "Since when is there a rule that I should ask you for money? That makes no sense."

Xie Qingshi couldn’t help but laugh. "Who doesn’t have times when they’re down and out? When I was down and out, didn’t you lend me a hand?"

"I earn my own money and spend my own money. It’s not like I can’t earn any." Shi Changying sat down on the sofa. "Tell me, what happened back then?"

Xie Qingshi paused slightly and said in a low voice, "You should have read the history books by now."

"The history books?" Shi Changying said coldly, as if she had just heard something amusing. "The history books state that my grandfather was strangled to death by a palace maid. But what actually happened?"

Xie Qingshi blanked again.

"The truth is that because he fought for the rights of the common people, he infringed upon the interests of a certain thousand-year-old aristocratic family, and they simply wanted him dead," Shi Changying said casually. "However, I’ve already sent them down to see him."

Xie Qingshi suddenly thought of the case in the first year of the Taichu era that had shocked all of Jiuzhou, implicating thousands of people.

Shi Changying looked at him. "I don’t trust the history books. I want to hear it straight from your mouth."

After a very long silence, Xie Qingshi finally said softly, "Actually, I was never abducted. I stayed in Linsu until my dying breath."

Linsu was located in Mingzhou, in the eastern part of Jiuzhou. With its fertile land, it was a highly contested area for military strategists and naturally became one of the first cities to be invaded by foreigners.

The events of those days still turned into nightmares that tightly strangled his neck, leaving him gasping for air whenever they haunted his midnight dreams.

After the Linsu Governor, Xie Nanshan, led the city’s defending troops only to be besieged by the invaders and wiped out completely, every man and woman in Linsu over the age of fifteen put on armor. Even though not everyone among them had practiced martial arts—some were private tutors, some were embroidery girls, some were cloth dyers, and some were stable boys—these people of different statuses unanimously chose to face the battle at this moment. If he hadn’t been blind, he would have been one of them too.

People died every day, and the bleached bones outside Linsu had piled up into mountains.

After defending the city for thirty-three days, only the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the young children were left inside. But enough time had been bought. He was able to arrange for these people to escape the city through underground tunnels.

But there was one person who didn’t leave—Ruan Anning, the wife of the Linsu Governor. He addressed her as Aunt Anning. After he had broken ties with his mother, Ruan Anning had officially registered him under her name.

In his memory, Ruan Anning was incredibly quiet and elegant. Even as blood flowed like rivers outside, she remained peacefully embroidering. It was a bellyband, meant to be worn by a one-year-old child. But just yesterday, his infant cousin had been skewered on the sharp blades of the Hong Clan. This piece of clothing would never be worn by the person it was made for.

"Aunt Anning, you should go," he urged her, burning with anxiety. "If you don’t leave now, it’ll be too late."

Ruan Anning suddenly asked him, "Qingshi, were Xuan and Feng... brave?"

Xie Xuan and Xie Feng were his older cousins. They were both scholars who had never set foot on a battlefield, but this time, they had served in the vanguard.

His heart trembled violently, and he nearly shed tears. He said, "Very brave. They killed over a dozen Hong Clan people."

"That’s good. That’s good..." Ruan Anning’s hands paused for a moment before she lowered her head and continued to embroider.

He waited for her to finish the last stitch, then urged again, "Aunt Anning, hurry up and go!"

Ruan Anning slowly stood up. She arranged her hair in front of the mirror just like she usually did, as if she were about to receive an esteemed guest. She smiled and said, "But Qingshi, I can’t leave anymore."

Dressed in her finest clothes and wearing her most exquisite makeup, she threw herself into the river right in front of his eyes.

This woman, who had grown up deep in the inner quarters since childhood, had been trapped in this courtyard her entire life. She had supported her husband, raised her children, and handed out porridge to the poor. She couldn’t charge into battle to slay the enemy like those female generals, nor could she enter the royal court to serve as a female official, but at this moment, her heart and body were fiercer than anyone else’s.

She couldn’t leave, because her husband and sons had all died in battle.

How many people were there in all of Linsu? Linsu was the heart of Mingzhou. Ever since Ancestor Xuan founded the nation, it had been a massive city with a population of no less than a million. But now, he was the only living person left in this city.

He heard the fierce howling of the wind and the thunderous galloping of horse hooves. The city had fallen.

Like a swarm of locusts sweeping through, the Hong Clan people burned, killed, and pillaged, heading straight for the Xie family’s ancestral land.

He had taken out the most ordinary ancient zither and waited there early for the Hong Clan’s arrival.

The leading general of the Hong Clan seemed very satisfied with his tactfulness. He laughed heartily. "I’ve long heard the great name of Young Master Qing Shi. It seems we are fortunate enough today to hear Young Master Qing Shi play ’East Wind Disperses’."

"Hahahaha, a blind man, hahahaha! If it wasn’t for that face of his, how could he possibly have become the Young Master of the Xie family? Emperor Taichu is truly blessed with fortune in romance!"

"What a pity. A blind man who can’t do anything. He’s not even as unyielding as those women!"

"Tsk, he’s still playing the zither. He truly doesn’t understand the hatred of a fallen nation. How pathetic."

With his ears full of humiliating remarks, he turned a deaf ear to them, gently plucking the zither strings.

"TWANG—"

"TWANG, TWANG!"

It wasn’t his famous piece, "East Wind Disperses," nor was it a sorrowful tune of mourning. Instead, it was cheerful and rapid. He played the ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains of Jiuzhou, and the Golden Palace of Mingjing. The common people had no words; there was only the sound of the zither.

Just as expected, the Hong Clan people immersed themselves in the breathtakingly beautiful music, lowering their guard.

He played faster and faster, until the explosive blast of gunpowder went off, reaching the climax together with the sound of his zither.

"TWANG!"

"BOOM!"