echoesofchangan
Synopsis
Cui Qin once harbored a secret yearning for the capital's most esteemed gentleman-Mu Yuesheng, now the youngest Grand Secretary (1) of the Inner Cabinet.
He was a man of peerless countenance and a chillingly aloof disposition. Possessing both overflowing talent and a ruthless political hand, he commanded the absolute reverence of the Imperial Court.
When Mu Yuesheng eventually took the capital's most celebrated prodigy, the eldest miss of the Grand Preceptor's (2) Manor, Pei Yin, as his wife, Cui Qin buried her feelings in the deepest recesses of her heart.
Years passed until a matchmaker arrived at her door with an unexpected proposal: she was to be Mu Yuesheng's successor wife (3).
Cui Qin entered the marriage with a heart full of joy, naively believing her warmth could thaw his heart of ice. Yet, in the end, she was no match for the "White Moonlight" (4) enshrined in his soul.
Disheartened and weary, Cui Qin reclaimed her dowry and returned to the Cui family, establishing the Yanshan Academy on the outskirts of the city.
Months later, the Academy's female Headmaster produced a collection of small-standard calligraphy (5) so breathtaking that scholars offered a thousand gold pieces for a single leaf.
She spent half a year pouring her soul into a painting that became a national treasure, drawing students from across the land just to glimpse and copy its strokes.
As Cui Qin's fame soared, suitors began to break down the Academy's threshold.
One day, the young Grand Secretary Mu Yuesheng arrived at the foot of the mountain, only to be met by a sign written in bold, stark ink:
"Dogs and Mu Yuesheng are forbidden from entering."
Mu Yuesheng froze. Beneath it, a second line of text caught his eye:
"Correction: Dogs may enter. Mu Yuesheng may not."
"...........")