Her Entire Court Reborn with Her in the Modern World

Chapter 191: Chapter 190: The Growing Ranks of Subordinates!

[Qingyuan]: From now on, Mr. Cui is a member of our alliance. We must work together with one heart and one mind.

[Ning Liuyu]: Mr. Cui might not understand the second half of the group’s name, but that’s alright. You will definitely come to understand it soon enough.

[Qingyuan]: When that time comes, we won’t even need to say a word. Mr. Cui will definitely give it his all.

[Cui Jinghan]: ...

He stared at the chat screen in silence, completely unable to pull his thoughts away from his shock for quite a while.

The group name wasn’t important; what on earth was this group chat?

Even though four hundred years ago, he had only interacted with a few members of the Twelve Master of Mingjing for work. It was mostly Master of Literature, Pei Jiang, and Historical Scholar Yun Wuxin, with occasional handovers to Master of Arts, Hua Shao. However, that didn’t mean he didn’t know the others. After all, the Twelve Master of Mingjing had an illustrious reputation back then.

This all-female team was an absolutely unprecedented existence in the entire history of Jiuzhou.

In the early days of the Xuan Dynasty’s founding, the Grand Ancestor allowed women to serve as court officials. Empress Taichu had a hundred thousand female generals under her command. Even back when she was Prince Jing, she had led these women to charge through enemy lines. Undeniably, due to the limitations of the era, the dynasty still carried the flaws and corruption of a feudal society. Yet, during her reign, women’s status truly reached its absolute peak. As long as one had the capability, anyone could put their expertise to use.

However, the surviving historical records still erased her achievements, consequently burying the existence of the Twelve Master of Mingjing.

Fortunately, Master of Literature, Pei Jiang, was Pei Xuan’s younger sister, making her much harder to erase. Perhaps, to those who erased this history, leaving Pei Jiang behind was inconsequential. It couldn’t prove that Empress Taichu contributed to the progress of the era; it only proved that the Jianghuai Pei Family had excellent genes.

Cui Jinghan stared at the names of the other two people in the group chat.

Qu Xian Qing Yuan, the founding figure of Meiqu Opera.

Medicine Girl Ning Liuyu, who had saved countless lives.

Cui Jinghan closed his eyes and let out a long breath. No, he needed some peace and quiet.

Xie Qingshi had already reunited with Her Majesty. It was beyond his expectations, but he endured it. After all, Pei Xuan had recognized Xie Qingshi first too; he had ultimately fallen behind. But why were there two other people who had also beaten him to the punch?!

Taking in Cui Jinghan’s expression completely, Xie Qingshi said thoughtfully, "It’s rare to see so much emotion on your face. If Pei Xuan saw this, he would definitely mock you."

Cui Jinghan suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over coldly. "Are you not mocking me right now?"

"How could I?" Xie Qingshi’s features were elegant and refined. "I am covering for you. We are the allies here."

Cui Jinghan’s expression was indifferent. "It’s only a temporary alliance. So, what on earth is going on?"

"Lord Qingyuan was the first person to recognize Her Majesty, and Lord Ning was the first person to be recognized by Her Majesty," Xie Qingshi said softly. "I truly envy them. Even though... I was the first one to treat Her Majesty to a meal."

Hearing this string of ’firsts’, Cui Jinghan’s brow twitched. Even though Xie Qingshi was telling the truth, he knew Xie Qingshi was doing it on purpose.

Xie Qingshi suddenly smiled. "Actually, you also hold a ’first’ title. You were the first person to change into new clothes to meet Her Majesty."

Cui Jinghan: "..."

He couldn’t be bothered to entertain this deeply scheming Music Immortal. His gaze returned to Shi Changying.

The song hadn’t ended yet, but it had entered its final notes. Suddenly, a singing voice fell in harmony with the notes of the ancient zither.

His voice was inherently crisp and clear, the trailing notes carrying a faint smile. It sounded like pearls dropping onto a jade plate, or drifting ice and crushed snow. It was like a breeze passing through deep valleys, rustling the leaves with a melodious chime.

The song ended.

"..."

The dance studio was completely silent. The students stared blankly at Shaoyuan, clearly not expecting him to actually know how to sing.

Shaoyuan set the ancient zither aside and tilted his head, noticing Shi Changying staring at him unblinkingly. "Why are you looking at me like that? It’s like you want to eat me."

Shi Changying was displeased. "Didn’t you say you couldn’t sing?"

She had looked it up; being tone-deaf was actually a medical condition called amusia. It wasn’t something that could be overcome just by learning. In that case, didn’t this mean she would never be able to surpass him in singing?

Having been her desk mate for nearly three months, how could Shaoyuan not know what she was thinking? She truly was fiercely competitive.

He raised an eyebrow slightly and said at a leisurely pace, "I couldn’t originally. I learned it for you."

The volume of his voice was neither loud nor soft, but both Xie Qingshi and Cui Jinghan heard it loud and clear. The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the coldness on each other’s faces. These were clearly the words of a treacherous official seeking to plunge the court into chaos, deliberately meant to disturb the Divine Emperor’s state of mind.

But Shi Changying was satisfied. She rested her chin in her hand and looked at him. "Then sing a few more lines for me to hear, young master."

Cui Jinghan asked impassively, "What is he singing now?"

Xie Qingshi frowned. "It’s still a folk ballad from the Xianyan Period. It truly is a very ancient tune. You can’t find melodies like this on the internet; they are all passed down by word of mouth from the elders in the family."

Cui Jinghan didn’t need to ask anymore, because he clearly heard the lyrics Shaoyuan was singing.

"There is a beauty, so elegant and graceful. An unexpected encounter, just as I desired."

At this very moment, Cui Jinghan finally understood the meaning behind the second half of the group chat’s name. He felt that the word "Crusade" was simply not severe enough. So, he changed the "Crusade" in the group name to "Extermination."

[Qingyuan]: As expected of Mr. Cui. When it comes to phrasing, we are still inferior to you.

[Xie Qingshi]: Lord Qingyuan told me to be careful last time, but you need to pay attention this time as well.

[Cui Jinghan]: He can sing. Your Majesty likes it very much.

[Qingyuan]: ?

[Qingyuan]: Why does he know how to do everything? Have we found out which family he belongs to yet? Wait, is he even human? Is this fair?!

Qingyuan gritted her teeth, absolutely fuming.

Standing nearby, Sister Xu watched as her artist, who had been beaming with smiles just a moment ago, instantly pulled a long face. Sister Xu was already used to Qingyuan’s sudden mood swings. She didn’t even need to ask to know it definitely had something to do with Miss Changying again.

Everyone truly had their kryptonite!

***

At this moment, at the Meng family’s home.

Dinner was already prepared, just waiting for everyone to arrive. Tonight, Mrs. Huo brought Huo Yunxing over as guests, having prepared generous gifts. Old Madam Meng invited the mother and son to stay for the meal.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

Xu Zhao Yu smiled and said, "It should be Shuyan and Shuyu coming back."

Mrs. Huo also smiled. "I remember Shuyu and Shuyan both participated in this year’s youth calligraphy competition, didn’t they? That’s impressive. Yun Xing, you should learn from them."

Huo Yunxing was a bit impatient. He ignored Mrs. Huo and continued watching the military news on the television.

"I didn’t hear the sound of a car," Housekeeper Meng muttered to himself in confusion as he walked over to open the door.

With a CLICK, the front door opened.

Two police officers were standing outside.