Her Entire Court Reborn with Her in the Modern World

Chapter 184: Chapter 183: Shi Changying, the Ultimate Genius!

"Wait," Pei Xuan suddenly spoke up. "It’s so rare for us to get together. Why are you leaving already? What’s the rush?"

Cui Jinghan was concise. "Judging the youth calligraphy competition."

Xie Qingshi’s brow twitched suddenly. He watched Cui Jinghan’s retreating back, his brows knitting together slightly.

"Tsk. When writing articles, he can go on for pages and chew me out ruthlessly, but when speaking, he’s always a man of few words," Pei Xuan scoffed with a smile. "Let him go then. I originally wanted to invite him to your concert."

The last sentence was directed at Xie Qingshi, but he didn’t respond.

Seeing that he seemed a little distracted, Pei Xuan narrowed his eyes. "What’s wrong?"

Xie Qingshi gathered his thoughts. "I was thinking about the calligraphy competition."

"Oh, that guy Cui joined the Cultural Heritage Institute in this life. Just like you, he picked up his old profession," Pei Xuan said slowly. "Discovering calligraphy geniuses is his duty."

Xie Qingshi suddenly said, "I have something to do as well. Do as you please, Young Master Pei."

Pei Xuan sneered lightly. "There’s no talking to those you don’t see eye to eye with. A couple of lunatics." He poured himself a cup of tea and admired the scenery outside the window.

Meanwhile, at the Jianghuai Calligraphy Association.

The secretary-general was directing workers to move a new folding screen to the center of the main hall. Suddenly catching sight of Meng Shuyan entering through the side door, he hurried over to greet him with the utmost respect. "Young Master Meng, what brings you here?"

The Meng family was a lineage of scholars, and Old Sir Meng was once the president of the Jianghuai Calligraphy Association. Although Old Sir Meng had passed away three years ago, his lingering prestige remained. Coupled with the fact that the Meng family provided ample funding to the Jianghuai Calligraphy Association every year, the Meng family members naturally commanded their respect.

"I just came to look around," Meng Shuyan waved his hand. "I heard quite a few new calligraphy works and paintings arrived recently."

"Indeed, quite a few have arrived, though they haven’t been officially exhibited yet," the secretary-general smiled. "Right this way, Young Master Meng."

Meng Shuyan nodded and followed the secretary-general to the storage room. However, his mind wasn’t on the newly arrived artwork, but rather on the upcoming youth calligraphy competition.

He asked, seemingly casually, "I heard that the masters from the Mingjing Cultural Heritage Institute have come to Jianghuai this time?"

"Yes, it rotates every year, and this year it just so happens to be Yunzhou’s turn," the secretary-general said. "But even I don’t know exactly which master is coming."

Meng Shuyan’s gaze darkened. After following the secretary-general around the storage room, he made an excuse and left on his own. After spending a full hour at the calligraphy association, Meng Shuyan finally emerged. His hands were trembling, and his face was somewhat pale. He had clearly done something guilty.

"Calm down, I need to stay calm," Meng Shuyan repeatedly consoled himself in his heart. It took him quite a while to soothe his violently pounding heart. At least he had succeeded.

Returning to school, before he could even enter his classroom, someone called out to him from behind. He jumped in fright, nearly tripping and falling to the ground. Upon turning his head and realizing it was Xu Shuyu, his rising anger caught in his throat. "Shuyu, why aren’t you doing your practice questions?"

Xu Shuyu stared at him. "Meng Shuyan, you left school at noon. Where did you go?"

Meng Shuyan’s gaze darted evasively. "I didn’t go anywhere."

"Liar," Xu Shuyu said coldly. "I clearly saw you go to the calligraphy association. Are you trying to pull some dirty trick? If someone finds out, you’re the one who’ll suffer the consequences!"

"Hey, Shuyu, aren’t you just worried about being discovered? Relax, I promise no one will find out," Meng Shuyan said mysteriously. "Just wait and watch Shi Changying make a huge fool of herself!"

Xu Shuyu suppressed her anger. "How can you guarantee that? You only ever know how to cause trouble!"

Meng Shuyan sneered. "Because I know for a fact that Shi Changying doesn’t know a thing about calligraphy. Her entering the competition is a joke to begin with. Alright, Shuyu, class is about to start. Go back and wait for the good news."

Xu Shuyu pursed her lips. Saying no more, she turned and left.

Meng Shuyan was in an excellent mood. He hummed a tune as he returned to his classroom, eagerly waiting.

At 2:30 PM, the judges arrived one after another.

Upon seeing Cui Jinghan, the others were greatly shocked. "Mr. Cui?"

This Cui Jiu was truly a brilliant young talent with exceptional calligraphy skills. Dean Xu had even praised him as "the reincarnation of Cui Jinghan." If these words were applied to anyone else, it would definitely be a joke, but on Cui Jiu, they were completely well-deserved.

Cui Jinghan didn’t actually know the other judges. He had always been solitary and aloof; to say he looked down on everyone else would indeed be the truth. He gave a slight nod. "Hello, everyone. Thank you for your hard work."

"Mr. Cui, could I get your autograph later?" someone asked excitedly. "I absolutely love your calligraphy. You truly are the foremost master of the Cui Style!"

Cui Jinghan did not refuse, but instead said, "Everyone, let’s finish reviewing today’s calligraphy works first."

The judges sat upright, their expressions solemn. There were a full seven hundred contestants in the entire Yunzhou division. Out of these seven hundred pieces, they had to select thirty to advance to the final round. In the beginning, Cui Jinghan reviewed them with great patience, but after looking through a hundred pieces, his patience was finally depleted. Perhaps it was because he had seen an absolute genius like Empress Taichu that the so-called elites praised by the other judges couldn’t even catch his eye.

Seeing Cui Jinghan’s silence, one judge assumed he was dissatisfied and asked tentatively, "Mr. Cui, what is your opinion on this piece?"

Cui Jinghan said indifferently, "You can decide among yourselves."

Another older judge smiled thoughtfully. "There are far too few people with natural talent like Little Friend Cui. We shouldn’t be so harsh on these children."

The judges continued scoring each piece.

"Finally, a piece scoring over 90 points."

"Xu Shuyu? So she’s a daughter of the Meng family. She must have been influenced by Elder Meng. That’s quite an achievement."

"Elder Meng taught her everything he knew, but his granddaughter has surpassed her master."

To score over 90 points in the preliminaries meant she had the skill level to reach the top ten in the finals. However, Cui Jinghan’s gaze lingered on Xu Shuyu’s work for barely half a second before moving away.

The older judge spoke up again, "The next piece is also from Jianghuai High School. As expected of a top-tier school! Shi Changying? This name is quite—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the scroll in his hands was suddenly snatched away. Cui Jinghan’s gaze was fixed on the calligraphy. He abruptly stood up, his fingers trembling violently.

A judge was startled. "Mr. Cui, are you alright?"

Cui Jinghan didn’t speak. His breathing quickened as a voice from a long, long time ago echoed in his ears. Every time he remembered it, it was as if it struck his eardrums, causing his very soul to tremble slightly.

"When I finish fighting this war and drive every last one of those barbarians out of Jiuzhou, I can return to the palace and enjoy my old age." She drained the jug of wine in one gulp and said lazily, "Every day, I must set aside an hour or two to practice calligraphy. Once I perfect it, it will be called the ’Yaoguang Script’."

After finishing her words, as if to emphasize something, she added, "Who knows, it might even be better than your Cui Style. Everything I do, I must do it to the absolute best."

Shi Yaoguang—the true name of Empress Taichu. Today, even if one scoured all the history books and read every stone inscription, these three characters could not be found. But they were etched into his heart, never to be forgotten. Yaoguang, also known as Po Jun, was the seventh star of the Big Dipper, governing slaughter. Her calligraphy was exactly like her name—written with profound strength, revealing absolute sharpness. Four hundred years later, it still possessed an unstoppable momentum, remaining invincible against all.