Chapter 189 - 188: Frantically Vying for Favor, Teaming Up Against Pei Xuan
Chapter 189: Chapter 188: Frantically Vying for Favor, Teaming Up Against Pei Xuan
"..."
Shi Changying looked at the formally dressed Cui Jinghan in silence, recalling her previous two encounters with him.
The first time was when Yan Sinian treated them to a meal. He hadn’t even touched his chopsticks.
The second time was when they went to the Zhongwu Tomb to sweep Pei Xuan’s grave. He brought neither flowers nor wine, only some common foxtail grass he had picked up along the way.
But what left the deepest impression on her was Yan Sinian claiming that his Senior Brother had been trembling all over with a deathly pale face, insisting he was happy even while crying, and diagnosing him with some sort of mental illness. She didn’t care about other people’s affairs, to the point where she hadn’t even bothered asking Yan Sinian for his Senior Brother’s name. Thus, she truly hadn’t connected Cui Jinghan to Yan Sinian’s Senior Brother.
However, this Senior Brother of Yan Sinian had an educational approach toward his junior fellow disciples that somewhat resembled her teacher, Ye Yu.
So that was why. After all, Cui Jinghan worked under Ye Yu, who was his direct superior. It was only natural that he would pick up his boss’s habits.
"Your Majesty, when I saw Mr. Cui at noon, he wasn’t dressed like this," Xie Qingshi said with a thoughtful smile. "I suppose he recognized Your Majesty through your calligraphy and hurried to change into another outfit. Since he was going to see Your Majesty, he naturally had to make himself look presentable."
Cui Jinghan was incredibly sharp. The moment he laid eyes on Xie Qingshi, he understood everything.
He had been played!
It must have been at noon. When Xie Qingshi found out he had become a judge for the youth calligraphy competition, he knew Cui Jinghan would definitely recognize Shi Changying’s identity. Most likely, just a few hours ago, Xie Qingshi was still racking his brains for a way to stop him from finding Shi Changying.
Reporting his whereabouts? What a load of nonsense!
Meeting Xie Qingshi’s smiling eyes, Cui Jinghan steadied his breathing, silently etching this grudge into his heart for now.
For him, the most important thing right now was to pay his respects—yet he wasn’t able to kneel. A sudden breeze swept past, lifting him back to his feet.
Cui Jinghan blanked.
Shi Changying glanced at him. "Why are you kneeling? I never made it a rule that you have to kneel when we meet. How is it that after living two lifetimes, you’ve become even more feudalistic?"
"During our Xuan Dynasty, kneeling was only required during major ceremonies like ancestral worship or when receiving an imperial edict. For daily greetings, a simple bow with clasped hands was enough," Xie Qingshi remarked faintly. "We didn’t even have to kneel during court sessions. Mr. Cui has probably forgotten."
How could Cui Jinghan not hear the underlying sarcasm in those words? He replied indifferently, "Lord Xie is mistaken. How could my reunion with Your Majesty not be considered a major occasion? Or does Lord Xie think this matter is completely trivial?"
Both men hid hidden blades in their words, having already crossed swords countless times in the shadows.
"I do enjoy watching my enemies kneel, kneeling on the ground and unable to get back up." Shi Changying rested her chin on her hand. "But neither of you is allowed to kneel. Keep your heads held high. No one can make you bow your heads. Do you understand?"
Cui Jinghan and Xie Qingshi exchanged a glance, both nodding silently.
After three seconds of silence, Shi Changying suddenly said, "Jing Han, I’ve read your *Sorrow of Nine States*. The unprecedented, unrivaled number one running script in the world—you managed to write it after all."
Cui Jinghan’s body jolted. He pressed his lips together, his throat feeling as though it were blocked by something, a tight pang of sorrow gripping his heart.
"But I know you’d rather not have earned the title of writing the world’s number one running script." Shi Changying’s voice softened. "No one blames you, though."
Those words made Cui Jinghan’s eyes sting.
Yes, he would rather not have!
No matter how much future generations read *Sorrow of Nine States*, the greatest running script born from his hand, they would never truly understand him. Even if historians could analyze the profound grief in his heart during the year the empire fell, even if they could use his writings to depict the tragic state of Jiuzhou where "one state fought a whole country," the eras were ultimately different. How could they genuinely empathize?
"Your Majesty," Cui Jinghan said hoarsely. "A scholar is ultimately useless..."
"Useless? Why useless?" Shi Changying cut him off coldly. "Do you think being useful simply means killing enemies on the battlefield and protecting the homeland with martial arts?"
Cui Jinghan closed his eyes. His hands clenched at his sides, veins bulging along his arms.
He really did think so. Because in those chaotic times, he had actually been unable to do anything.
That was why he had used his blood to write, *"The scholar is useless, with no path to offer his services, no way to avenge his homeland, leaving a hatred that flows through the millennia."* Because even now, he still hated it all.
"Everyone was doing everything they could to protect Jiuzhou in their own way," Shi Changying continued. "You did very well."
She was praising him again, just like she had done so many times before.
Cui Jinghan kept his head slightly bowed, but a tear slipped from the corner of his eye, hitting the floor with a soft SPLAT.
Shi Changying sighed. Clearly used to this, she began rummaging through her pockets. Her backpack had been left in the dance studio. She tried to fish out a tissue from her pocket, and to her surprise, she actually found one. It was just a bit crumpled from being squeezed and didn’t look very presentable.
But just as Shi Changying was about to hand the tissue over, a long, pale hand had already stuffed a brand-new tissue into Cui Jinghan’s grasp.
"Mr. Cui, seeing Your Majesty is a joyous occasion," Xie Qingshi said. "Wipe your tears."
Shi Changying agreed. "If your junior brother finds out you’ve been crying later, he’ll definitely start screaming that you’re broken."
Cui Jinghan remained speechless.
His voice was squeezed through his teeth. "Thank you so much, Lord Xie."
"Colleagues should help one another. This, too, is Your Majesty’s teaching." Xie Qingshi smiled faintly. "If Mr. Cui needs help with anything else, feel free to speak up."
Just as Cui Jinghan was about to speak, KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK, someone rapped on the lounge door. It was Lu Mi. "Yingying, hurry up! Let’s rehearse one more time."
Shi Changying was dragged away by Lu Mi, leaving only the two officials alone in the room.
Cui Jinghan wiped away his tears and suddenly sneered. "Xie Qingshi, you know full well whether you came to report my whereabouts to Your Majesty, or if you were intentionally trying to hide it!"
Admittedly, he had only met Xie Qingshi today, but when Pei Xuan created the "Missing One for Mahjong" group chat a few days ago, Xie Qingshi clearly already knew he was alive. However, Xie Qingshi definitely hadn’t reported it. Instead, he had covered it up, obviously not wanting him to appear before Your Majesty.
"I’m afraid Your Majesty doesn’t realize just how many twisted schemes you have in your head. She speaks plainly and only listens to plain words." Cui Jinghan’s gaze was icy. "You really managed to fool her, but do you think you can deceive Your Majesty for a lifetime?"
"Young Master Jing Han, we are allies now." Xie Qingshi looked at him, not angered in the slightest, instead offering a faint smile.
"Allies?" Cui Jinghan retorted. "I wasn’t aware. When exactly did I become your ally?"
"We weren’t four hundred years ago, but we definitely are four hundred years later. After all—" Xie Qingshi paused, his smile deepening. "You wouldn’t want Pei Xuan to find out that Your Majesty is right here in Jianghuai, would you?"