Chapter 183 - 182: Changying’s Calligraphy, Cui Jinghan Himself Is the Judge!

Chapter 183: Chapter 182: Changying’s Calligraphy, Cui Jinghan Himself Is the Judge!

He thought, "When the time comes, Senior Brother will definitely praise me for discovering a genius!"

Yan Sinian focused intently on Shi Changying as she wrote, recording a video of her on his phone. The moment the ink bloomed on the rice paper, his eyes abruptly widened. He involuntarily stood up straight, subconsciously holding his breath.

The tip of the brush flowed with her hand—as graceful as a soaring dragon, as elegant as a startled swan. It was hard to imagine that a girl of her age possessed such incredible brush control.

"Joy Eternal: Ascending the Tianshan of Youzhou?" Yan Sinian murmured, snapping back to his senses in a daze. "Is this a poem by Sword Immortal Pei Xuan?"

He vaguely recalled his Senior Brother once cursing this Poetry and Sword Dual Master. His Senior Brother had claimed that Pei Xuan was a fraud who fished for fame and was arrogant about his talents. In short, he was no good.

Yan Sinian inhaled sharply. He thought, "Since Miss Shi actually chose Pei Xuan’s poem for the calligraphy competition, she must be a fan of his. Now she’s standing in direct opposition to Senior Brother."

Shi Changying finished writing the entire poem in one smooth, uninterrupted motion. Looking up, she noticed Yan Sinian’s gaze glued to the rice paper, looking as though his very soul had been sucked out. She reached out and waved a hand in front of his face.

He remained motionless, completely unresponsive.

Thus, Shi Changying offered her emperor-style concern. "Are you still alive?"

"Ah? I-I-I’m alive!" Yan Sinian jolted awake. "M-Miss Shi, I... I think your handwriting is entirely on par with my Senior Brother’s!"

Shi Changying’s eyes narrowed. "On par?"

"No, you’ve surpassed him. That’s right, it’s definitely better than his." Catching on immediately, Yan Sinian corrected himself. "He is twenty-six this year. When you reach that age, Miss Shi, you will absolutely crush him!"

This flattery struck a chord in Shi Changying’s heart. "Do you think this can win first place in the upcoming competition?"

"Not to mention the youth competition, but even in the World Calligraphy Convention, this piece would absolutely rank among the best," Yan Sinian said with genuine sincerity. "If you participate in next year’s ’Cui Jinghan Award,’ I believe the championship will definitely fall into your pocket, Miss Shi."

"The Cui Jinghan Award? What kind of award is that, and why is it named after a person?" Shi Changying asked, not understanding.

"Nanling Jun Cui Jinghan is the founding grandmaster of our lineage. Most of the people in our sect study his Cui Style," Yan Sinian explained. "In the history of Jiuzhou’s calligraphy evolution, the Cui Style holds extremely high prestige. Furthermore, the best semi-cursive script in the world was also written by Nanling Jun. Thus, twenty years ago, the Culture Institute established the ’Cui Jinghan Award’ to encourage and reward competitors."

"Not bad," Shi Changying said thoughtfully.

Yan Sinian showed off his recording skills to her. "Miss Shi, what do you think? I didn’t get your face in the shot. Can I send it to my Senior Brother?"

"No," Shi Changying refused. "You can only send it tomorrow after the judging is over."

"But my Senior Brother is one of the judges," Yan Sinian muttered.

"I won’t allow myself to pull strings."

"Miss Shi, you’re being modest. Why would you ever need to pull strings? You’ve already soared to the heavens while everyone else is still chasing you on the ground."

Shi Changying fell silent.

A moment later, she patted Yan Sinian’s shoulder. "When I make it big in the future, I will definitely let you ascend to the heavens as well."

Other than Military Master Ling Chang’an, she had never met someone who was so good at flattering her while making every single word sound so pleasing. She felt a bit regretful—why wasn’t Yan Sinian born four hundred years ago?

Beaming with joy, Yan Sinian readily agreed, "Then I will wait until the results are out before letting my Senior Brother admire Miss Shi’s brilliance."

Early the next morning.

Shi Changying handed her mounted calligraphy over to Teacher Bei, who was responsible for delivering it to the Jianghuai Calligraphy Association.

"Senior Sister, why won’t you show us what you wrote?" Song Qingmu scratched his head, dying of curiosity.

"You’ll know tomorrow," Shi Changying replied lazily.

Lu Mi pumped her fist. "Even someone as strict about blackboard writing as Teacher Bei was full of praise for Yingying. First place is definitely in the bag."

As if remembering something, Shi Changying poked Shaoyuan, who was resting with his eyes closed. "Do you know calligraphy?"

The familiar sentence structure made Shaoyuan raise his brow slightly. He opened his eyes and looked at her with a smile. "I don’t know semi-cursive script."

Not intending to give up on probing her rival’s background, Shi Changying also raised an eyebrow. "Calligraphy encompasses more than just the semi-cursive script."

Shaoyuan locked eyes with her for three seconds. Then, he slowly sat up straight, picked up a brush, and wrote three characters on the paper:

Shi Changying.

Her name.

Putting down the brush, Shaoyuan said lightly, "Courtesy demands reciprocity."

Song Qingmu was completely baffled. "Why does writing a name on a piece of paper count as courtesy demanding reciprocity?"

Lu Mi leaned over to take a look. "Wow, Young Master actually wrote in clerical script!"

"It’s not just clerical script; it’s from the Jing Dynasty, also known as Jing Li," Shi Changying said indifferently. "It was the core script of the Jing Dynasty and officially became the standard for government documents during its middle period."

Song Qingmu was taken aback. "I thought Senior Sister was only familiar with the history of the Xuan Dynasty!"

"My dad said that since the Jing Dynasty was the second dynasty that unified the realm of Jiuzhou, and Emperor Chengtian had great merit in founding it, allowing it to last for over three hundred years, it should be studied thoroughly," Shi Changying said.

Indeed, Ming Chengli had said this before, but this was merely her excuse. The truth was that after ascending the throne, she was determined to achieve greatness. To stand shoulder to shoulder with the three eternal emperors—Emperor Yan, Jingzu, and Shengzong—she naturally needed to understand her competitors.

Shaoyuan spoke up slowly, "Yes. Study him thoroughly, and then replace him."

Song Qingmu’s eyes widened. "Young Master, you hold grudges way too long! Senior Sister only said it once. It’s been two months; how do you still remember that!"

Shaoyuan didn’t reply. He closed his eyes again, quietly listening to the wind passing his ears.

They had a long future ahead of them. He would remember her words for the rest of his life.

At noon, inside a teahouse.

At the window seat in the deepest corner, Pei Xuan occupied one side alone, while Cui Jinghan and Xie Qingshi sat next to each other.

Patting the empty space beside him, Pei Xuan said lazily, "If that psycho Helan Jing were sitting here, he would’ve probably fallen asleep by now."

Cui Jinghan didn’t respond. His gaze fell upon Xie Qingshi’s face.

After being reborn into a new life and gaining a new appearance, he still possessed the face of a bewitching seductress who beguiled the sovereign.

Naturally noticing his scrutiny, Xie Qingshi smiled faintly. "Why are you looking at me like that, Young Master Jing Han?"

Cui Jinghan voiced his doubt. "When did you two recognize each other?"

"Two years ago, I held a concert in Mingjing," Xie Qingshi said flatly. "He sat in the front row and recognized me."

Cui Jinghan remained noncommittal. "Young Master Pei is indeed incredibly familiar with Young Master Qing Shi."

"If one doesn’t know their opponent intimately, how can they defeat them?" Pei Xuan’s hand rubbed against his teacup. "Cui Jinghan, I am very familiar with you as well."

Too lazy to waste words with them, Cui Jinghan stood up. "I have things to do. You two can chat. I’m leaving first."