Don't Say You're Heartless (Modern Edition)

7 Example

Shen Qiuhua casually picked up a wolf hair brush and turned her head to see Teacher Gu already grinding ink. She unintentionally glanced at Yang Qiong, who wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

The brush Yang Qiong bought from the stationery store was immediately dismissed by Shen Qiuhua as unsuitable for calligraphy. Then there was the ink she bought— it was a pre-made ink... ink... juice...

The expression on Shen Qiuhua's face when she saw the ink... Yang Qiong thought it was a testament to Shen Qiuhua's composure that she didn't lose her temper.

Shen Qiuhua dipped the brush into the ink and, without much thought, swiftly wrote four large characters on the rice paper— "Teaching Plan."

Yang Qiong held back, but the muscles in her face were twitching from the effort. She swore that if it hadn't been Shen Qiuhua writing, she would have laughed until she cried.

When Teacher Gu saw those four characters, his expression twisted in a way that was hard to describe. As an expert, he could immediately tell that the calligraphy was outstanding. However, the content of the words was... something he had never seen before.

"Excellent calligraphy!" Teacher Gu, being older and more composed, wisely chose to ignore the content. "Xiao Shen, would you be interested in joining the Calligraphy Association?"

Shen Qiuhua thought for a moment. "Will there be high-quality writing materials available?"

"Of course!" Teacher Gu promised. The materials they were using were of mid-range quality. When it came to inscribing gifts, they naturally had a set of top-tier materials.

"Alright, I agree to join," Shen Qiuhua replied earnestly.

"Great! I'll make a call right now, and I'll let you know as soon as I have news. Uh, could you perhaps give me one of your works?" Teacher Gu, about to make the call, glanced at the "Teaching Plan" and felt it wasn't quite appropriate as a work of art.

"Can I write something different?"

"Sure." Teacher Gu pointed to a cabinet by the wall and said, "There's paper over there. You can help yourselves. I'll go make the call." With that, he left the office.

Yang Qiong, accustomed to this task even in ancient times, took on the responsibility of fetching the paper. She quickly laid out the paper and began grinding the ink. Shen Qiuhua experienced a momentary illusion, as if they were back in Longhua Palace—she was writing and Yang Qiong was grinding ink, spending long hours together.

"What should I write?" Shen Qiuhua asked, shaking off her random thoughts.

"Your handwriting is rare for a woman, bold and grand. You should write a poem with a strong, heroic tone," Yang Qiong suggested, having learned something from her time in ancient times.

Shen Qiuhua nodded, and after a brief pause, began writing a seven-character quatrain on the paper.

"Three rivers, northern barbarians in chaos,
Four seas, southern flight like Yongjia. But use Dongshan Xie Anshi,
For you, talk and laugh to calm the Hu sands."

"My father used to say that Xie Anshi was wise and quick-witted, knowing when to advance and when to retreat, which is why the Chen clan of Xie remained prosperous. He said Xie Anshi understood the court and the emperor, so my father took him as a model, retreating at the right time, thus preserving the Shen family." It was precisely because Shen's father admired Xie Anshi so much that Shen Qiuhua immediately recalled Li Bai's 'Song of Prince Yong's Eastward Expedition.'

"I only remember that Xie Anshi had a niece who was a famous poet," Yang Qiong said, vaguely recalling something about Xie Anshi.

"Xie Daoyun, a poet renowned for her talent. Although her marriage was unfortunate, she maintained the family's integrity throughout her life." Shen Qiuhua smiled slightly but did not continue. Since her father held Xie Anshi in such high regard, it was natural that he would have introduced Xie Daoyun to her. Though Shen Qiuhua did not take Xie Daoyun as a role model, she admired her resilience, intelligence, and broad-mindedness, and in her youth, she vowed never to be outdone by this woman.