Her Entire Court Reborn with Her in the Modern World

Chapter 118: Chapter 117: A New Round of Vying for Favor, Shi Changying’s Calligraphy

The cup slipped from Shi Changying’s hand and crashed to the floor.

"Changying!" Ming Chengli exclaimed in shock. Instantly tossing everything else to the back of his mind, he grabbed her hand. "Did you get burned? Your hand is all red!"

"No," Shi Changying said, trying hard to keep her voice steady. "Dad, what did you say her name was? I didn’t quite catch it."

"Her name is Qingyuan. *Qing* as in cyan, and *yuan* as in the soaring kite." At this, Ming Chengli slapped his forehead. "Isn’t that a coincidence? She has the exact same name as the actress you saved a while ago, Changying!"

Shi Changying remained quiet, not saying a word. She thought to herself, "It’s not just the same name. They are the same person."

"But there is actually something strange about this," Ming Chengli continued. "I know they’ve been doing archaeological work in that area for a long time. Everything that could be excavated was already dug up. It’s so bizarre that a brand-new ruin was discovered after more than twenty years."

Shi Changying’s voice was very soft. "Perhaps history itself is unwilling to let such extraordinary individuals remain buried."

"True, but the ruins were just unearthed, so we don’t have much information yet," Ming Chengli said. "What we can confirm so far is that this woman named Qingyuan was a high-ranking female official, and her life was intrinsically tied to The Eighth Year of Taichu!"

Shi Changying smiled faintly. "Then, she must have been remarkable."

"Since she was a figure from the Taichu Period, she must have had a close connection with Empress Taichu." Ming Chengli’s voice grew excited. "Historical records claim that Empress Taichu was a womanizer, and that she only promoted Pei Jiang for the sake of Pei Xuan."

Shi Changying was speechless. She thought, "It’s more like she promoted Pei Xuan for the sake of Pei Jiang."

"Okay, even if Pei Jiang really became a female official for that reason, what about the newly discovered Qingyuan?" Ming Chengli argued. "I’ve said it for a long time—Empress Taichu didn’t just judge people by their looks. Even if she wasn’t highly educated herself, did she really not know how to employ capable people?"

Shi Changying pondered for a moment. "But what if she actually did care about looks?"

"Ah? Well... well, she would still have looked at their talents first!" Ming Chengli stumbled over his words before stating firmly, "In short, she was absolutely a Ming Jun. There is no such thing as a perfectly flawless person in this world. She made mistakes, but her merits far outweighed her faults."

Looking at the animated and spirited Ming Chengli, Shi Changying felt a slight tremor in her heart. This modern man, born four hundred years later, had staked his very future on uncovering the truth of the past. Countless people called him foolish and useless, claiming he placed too much importance on history while neglecting the present and the future.

"Changying, Dad has to go on another business trip. I’ll probably be gone for a few extra days this time." Ming Chengli put his coat back on. "Call me if you need anything. I’m heading out now."

After taking a few steps, Ming Chengli suddenly remembered how Shi Changying had previously asked him if there was anyone named Qingyuan in Xuan History. At the time, he had said no, because there was no record of that name in either texts or artifacts. But now... why did he get the nagging feeling that his daughter had developed clairvoyance!

After parting ways with Ming Chengli, Shi Changying returned to her bedroom. She stared at her phone for a long moment before dialing Qingyuan’s number.

"Hello? Sister Ying!" Qingyuan sounded delighted. "We really have a telepathic connection. I just finished filming and was about to check in on you."

"A Yuan," Shi Changying called out softly. "Congratulations. You are going to go down in history."

Qingyuan’s body suddenly trembled. "Sister Ying?" she murmured.

Shi Changying recounted the previous conversation. "They were just discovered, and the authentication process is still ongoing."

Qingyuan seemed unable to snap out of her daze. She blinked slowly, and only after a very, very long silence did she speak softly. "Sister Ying, I’ve always wondered... if history had truly been burned clean by a great fire, leaving nothing behind but ashes, what would we do?"

"Even if only ashes remained, deep within those ashes lie the cremated remains that no fire can ever destroy," Shi Changying said mildly. "The bones of the heroic sons and daughters of my Da Xuan will one day see the light of day again."

"Sister Ying, I really don’t have any grand ambitions, but I truly want to leave my mark on history." Qingyuan choked up, tears finally slipping down her face. "Call me vain if you want, but if my name is recorded in the annals of history, it proves that I didn’t live my life in vain. It means I was useful, Sister Ying."

Hearing the tearful crack in her voice, Shi Changying felt an uncontrollable ache in her heart. "A Yuan, how could you be useless? The fact that Meiqu Opera still exists today is entirely your greatest achievement."

"Yes, it was A Tang and the others’ hard work. They actually did it," Qingyuan whispered. "But I still couldn’t accept it. I wanted so badly to see my own name in the history books."

She had already given up hope, never expecting that the historical traces belonging to her would finally emerge.

After the call ended, Qingyuan looked up at the sky. The bright moon remained the same, immutable since ancient times. Together with the sun, it forever illuminated the lands of Jiuzhou.

Sister Xu looked in astonishment at Qingyuan’s tear-streaked face. "A Yuan, are you okay?"

"I’m fine. These are tears of joy." Qingyuan wiped her eyes. "I’m just really happy."

She pulled out her phone and found a contact she had just added.

[Qingyuan]: Sister Ying just called me and personally wished me a good night.

[Xie Qingshi]: ?

[Qingyuan]: What a pity. Why didn’t you get one?

[Xie Qingshi]: Yesterday, Your Majesty asked me to compose a piece of music. It seems Lord Qingyuan didn’t have that honor.

[Qingyuan]: ?

Sister Xu witnessed what it meant to change faces in a second, and her worry deepened. "A Yuan, are you still suffering from some aftereffects of falling into the water last time? Should we go see a doctor?"

Qingyuan put down her phone and smiled. "I’m fine. I just want to hit someone."

Sister Xu was speechless. She thought, "That’s even more terrifying!"

Two days later, Yan Sinian visited the Old Xu Mansion once again.

"Mr. Yan, the study on the second floor has been cleared out," Old Madam Xu said. "If there is anything else you need, I will have someone prepare it."

Yan Sinian waved his hand. "No need, a brush is enough. My senior brother always said that sometimes you don’t even need a brush—a tree branch works just fine."

Shi Changying raised an eyebrow. That sounded exactly like something Cui Jinghan would say.

"Alright then. Changying, make sure to study hard under Mr. Yan." In the presence of an outsider, Old Madam Xu’s attitude was exceedingly amiable.

Shi Changying went upstairs and entered the study with Yan Sinian. The writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were already neatly laid out on the desk.

"Miss Shi, there’s no need to be nervous. Just try writing a few characters first," Yan Sinian said.

Shi Changying narrowed her eyes slightly and picked up the brush.

Looking at the way she held the brush, Yan Sinian was somewhat taken aback. However, he didn’t say a word. Instead, he opened a group chat titled "Ten Dogs of the Sect."

[Yan Sinian]: This daughter of the Xu Family is absolutely not simple. She actually has a music score handwritten by Xie Lin, and she definitely knows calligraphy!

[Yan Sinian]: @Cui Jiu, Senior Brother, look at her brush-holding posture.