These maids were all arranged by the Han family. Although they weren't necessarily skilled in singing and dancing, they were all literate, and having been in the Han household for a long time, their appreciation of art was quite good. Seeing her like this, Han Zheng couldn't help but slightly wave his hand, beckoning to the guards behind him. He then whispered a few words to one of them.
Under Attorney Pei's curious gaze, the guard walked up to Qin Mu, said a few words, and then took the Xuan paper in front of Qin Mu and returned to Han Zheng.
Han Zheng took the Xuan paper and eagerly began to read it. Seeing Han Zheng's excited expression, Attorney Pei couldn't help but quietly stand up and walk behind him.
"Beautiful calligraphy!" At one glance, Attorney Pei couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Han Zheng didn't know much about calligraphy. He had been focused on the poem, but after being reminded by Lawyer Pei, he looked at it again and couldn't help but exclaim, "Indeed, it's beautiful calligraphy! Although it's a bit deliberate, it's slightly different from other calligraphy styles I've seen before."
"His handwriting is slender and vigorous, thin yet full, very similar to the style of Chu Suiliang, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. Could it be that Qin Mu has come to the capital?" Lawyer Pei asked, stroking his beard.
"No, to be honest, I don't know anything about this Young Master Qin's background either. I only know that he comes from a mountain village and is the grand-nephew of the Prince of Yan," Han Zheng said, shaking his head.
Regular script originated in the early Han Dynasty, characterized by its horizontal and vertical strokes. The dictionary defines it as "square in shape, with straight strokes, and suitable as a model." Qin Mu practiced calligraphy primarily in regular script, as Song typeface was the mainstream style, and he also learned the Slender Gold style.
Current regular script is mainly characterized by its flowing and elegant style, which is why I am more curious about this type of font with a rigid style.
“Chu Shilang studied under Yu Shinan, so he must be from Jiangnan,” Lawyer Pei guessed.
"I really don't know!"
"Never mind, I was just curious."
"Look at this poem!" Han Zheng reminded him.
"What a beautiful poem!" Lawyer Pei exclaimed, then, seeing that he had attracted everyone's attention, he shut his mouth.
The two glanced at the others, who were already somewhat distracted, and exchanged a wry smile. How could they possibly compete like this?
As time passed, the others gradually put down their pens. Han Zheng glanced at his son, shook his head almost imperceptibly, and sighed inwardly. He could have achieved a good ranking, or even been no worse than Cui and Lu, but today Qin Mu was destined to overshadow him. He was certain that after this poem, no one would pay attention to the others anymore.
Han Zheng said a few words to Attorney Pei, and after collecting the other people's poems, he set them aside without commenting as usual.
"We'll critique this poem together later. For today's second poem, there are no restrictions on subject matter or format; any poem is welcome. Feel free to express yourselves," Han Zheng said loudly.
He had a little ulterior motive: by not imposing restrictions, he wanted others to write what they were best at, even poems they had previously drafted or those unknown to outsiders. He didn't want Qin Mu to steal the spotlight.
His main concern was his son. His son had always been known as the number one person in Youzhou City, and he was afraid that if his son suffered a severe blow, he would never recover.
Lu Chengli was quite surprised by Han Zheng's topic. After thinking for a moment, he glanced at Qin Mu in surprise, having made a guess in his mind. Then, his expression turned serious, and he decided to improve one of his previous masterpieces.
Driven by his competitive spirit, Lu Chengli closed his eyes, blocking out external distractions, and began to think seriously.
Qin Mu was also somewhat surprised. This topic without a title was of course the most advantageous for him. However, precisely because there was so much to write about, he was unsure how to choose.
After thinking for a moment, his eyes lit up. He then filtered the ideas in his mind, made some minor revisions, and picked up his pen to write.
Seeing Qin Mu pick up his pen, both Attorney Pei and Han Zheng looked over expectantly; the poem they had just read had indeed amazed them.
As Qin Mu put down his pen, Han Zheng was about to call someone to fetch it when he suddenly noticed a milky white mist descending from the sky, enveloping Qin Mu and the table in front of him.
"This is!" The two were taken aback and stood up abruptly. Then they heard someone reciting.
"Jiangchengzi, Hunting in Youzhou"
A spirited and impetuous youth
The left lead is yellow,
Qing Cang on the right,
Brocade hat and sable fur coat
A thousand horsemen swept across the plain. To repay the city's loyalty to the general, they personally shot a tiger, just like Sun Quan.
"In my cups, my heart and spirit remain open; a touch of frost in my temples, what does it matter! When will the emperor send Feng Tang to command me, holding the imperial staff in the clouds? I will draw my bow like a full moon, gazing northwest, to shoot the Heavenly Wolf."
Not only Attorney Pei and Han Zheng, but everyone was stunned. Witnessing Tianci in person was a first for them.
The people of Youzhou City are more familiar with this, because they experienced it not long ago, and many of them only learned about Tianci's passing on that day.
At this moment, no one cared about writing their own poems anymore; they all listened intently, because when Tianci recited the poem, they could also feel the author's state of mind.
As they recited, a series of vivid images seemed to appear before their eyes. A surge of heroic spirit seemed to be stuck in their hearts, something they wanted to express but couldn't. It was both exhilarating and painful.
Qin Mu hadn't expected to trigger Tianci's favor again. He was simply thinking of the poem and the day he rode his horse at full gallop, and as he savored the memory, he picked up his pen.
With the divine gift bestowed upon him, he was much calmer this time, actively guiding his righteous energy back to his Tanzhong acupoint.
The divinely bestowed righteous energy washed over his body, causing no pain but rather great comfort. Only after the divine blessing ended did he open his eyes with a satisfied expression.
Seeing everyone staring at him, Qin Mu was startled. This was the first time he had ever been watched by so many people.
"Excuse me! I'm sorry to have disturbed you all." Seeing that many people were still holding pens, Qin Mu said apologetically.
"Alas! Young Master Qin can write such a divinely inspired poem; this competition is pointless." Cui Yanxing sighed, putting down his pen.
"Young Master Qin truly deserves first place, and I admire him immensely." Lu Chengli also put down his pen, shook his head, and sighed.
They had seen the divine gifts, even the divinely bestowed scrolls, but they truly couldn't write them down. Therefore, they were completely convinced of Qin Mu's abilities.
Not only them, but others also put down their pens, though some were impressed, some were unwilling, and some were jealous.
Han Zheng, of course, wouldn't let anyone take the Heavenly Gift Scroll. Seeing that everyone had stopped writing and had no other opinions, he said, "I am not qualified to comment on this poem that has inspired the Heavenly Gift. How about we ask Young Master Qin to share his insights and give everyone some guidance?"
"Actually, it's nothing. A few days ago, I went hunting with my uncle outside the city. Today, Chief Secretary Han asked me to write a poem, and I suddenly remembered what happened that day, so I just wrote it down casually," Qin Mu explained, half-jokingly.
The fake part is the origin of the poem; he only changed a few words. The real part is his state of mind. He felt that the poem was very suitable for his experience that day, and he could even feel that surging passion now.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com