Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 332: Asking for words in leisure time
Of course, what Hai Chaoyun was really looking at was Sheng Changquan's future. As for the present, although Sheng Changquan had performed well, he had not yet encountered any favorable circumstances to rise to prominence. Therefore, Hai Chaoyun did not really think much about him and had no plans to scheme against him.

After all, Hai Chaoyun had only met Sheng Changquan a few times when she first married into the Sheng family six years ago, and she didn't know him very well, so naturally she couldn't say that she was scheming.

As for her belief that Sheng Changquan had a promising future, it was purely because she trusted her husband's judgment.

Sheng Changbai is indeed a trustworthy person!

"hehe!"

"This little girl!"

In the hall, Old Madam Sheng and all the other elders watched the little one's actions with great smiles.

Even Minglan, who was sitting on the far side, couldn't stay still and seemed eager to move closer.

Judging from her expression, she probably really wanted to have some fun with Zhuo Jie'er.

"Well……"

Upon hearing her mother's words, the little child opposite her immediately frowned, pouted, and looked rather distressed.

However, judging from her expression, Zhuo Jie'er is really trying hard to recall.

"It seems that Second Sister-in-law really did teach Zhuo'er!"

Sheng Changquan's mind raced, and he immediately understood that Hai Chaoyun wasn't just being polite; she had genuinely taught Zhuojie with all her heart.

Although it wasn't a big deal, being valued so much still made Sheng Changquan quite pleased, and therefore, his gaze towards Zhuo Jie'er softened even more.

As the first child of the Sheng family, Zhuo Jie'er was born with advantages that her future younger siblings would not have, making it easier for her to win the favor of the elders.

Meanwhile, Zhuo Jie'er was still trying to think, her face showing a faint sadness.

Fortunately, children have experienced less and are more innocent. They don't have as many things on their minds. This little bean simply pouted his rosy lips, frowned, and thought hard for a while before remembering.

"ah!"

"I remember now!"

Zhuo Jie cheered, her expression instantly becoming lively.

Upon recalling the lessons her father and mother had taught her the day before, the little girl immediately perked up, her chubby little face beaming with joy.

"Uncle!"

"Are you my uncle?"

The little boy craned his neck, looking at Sheng Changquan with an innocent expression, and asked again for confirmation.

"Hehe, that's right!"

Even though Sheng Changquan had tried his best to squat down, he was still too tall for Zhuo Jie'er, who was only three years old. So the little girl had to look up to see Sheng Changquan's face.

"Zhuojie, I am your dearest uncle!"

For once, Sheng Changquan showed a childlike side, deliberately speaking in a low voice, imitating a child's emphasis as he spoke to Zhuo Jie'er.

"really?"

The little girl was overjoyed, and in her young heart, she completely believed Sheng Changquan's words.

After all, this wasn't just how his own mother introduced it; the other party himself also admitted it.

In Zhuojie's young mind, everyone in the world was honest and did not lie, so she believed them completely.

"That!"

"I am well, Uncle. Zhuo'er kowtows to you, Uncle!"

As he was talking, the little boy suddenly struggled to kneel down and kowtowed to Sheng Changquan.

"Hahaha……"

"Hehehe..."

"..."

Upon seeing this scene, before Sheng Changquan could say anything, Sheng Hong and his wife in the hall couldn't stop smiling. Sheng Hong, in particular, was unusually cheerful, his eyes full of doting affection, showing none of his former "strict father" demeanor.

Even the old lady at the very head of the table had a big smile on her face, her eyes almost squinting into a straight line.

As for Madam Wang, she was the one who laughed the most exaggeratedly among everyone present, laughing non-stop with "uh uh uh".

"Ah, little girl!"

Even if you really like your uncle, there's no need for such a grand gesture.

Sheng Changquan, somewhat amused and exasperated, gently supported the little boy's movements. He then turned to Hai Chaoyun beside him and asked, "Second sister-in-law, what's with Zhuo'er's antics this time?"

Before Hai Chaoyun could speak, Sheng Changquan said helplessly, "With Zhuo'er's small arms and legs, we mustn't let her hurt herself!"

"If there is any injury, then it is my fault as the uncle!"

The sadness that had been on the little guy's face before was now reflected on Sheng Changquan's face.

"This……"

Hai Chaoyun, who witnessed this scene, was also completely innocent.

"This...Seventh Brother..."

Hai Chaoyun said, both laughing and crying, "This...this wasn't taught by me!"

"Oh?"

Sheng Changquan raised an eyebrow, but a thought suddenly arose in his mind.

"Could it be that my second brother taught me this?"

However, upon further reflection, Sheng Changquan shook his head, feeling that this was probably unlikely.

"Probably not!"

Sheng Changquan shook his head, thinking with certainty, "Given Brother Changbai's personality, how could he possibly teach Sister Zhuo to do something so fun?"

"I guess it was my third brother who taught him, right?"

In Sheng Changquan's mind, he immediately ruled out Sheng Changbai as the "culprit." If he really had to say, Sheng Changfeng was more likely to be the culprit.

"Alright! Alright!" "Zhuo'er, your uncle understands your feelings, please get up!"

Although Sheng Changquan kept guessing in his mind, his hands kept moving, still supporting the little one's body to prevent her from moving around. After all, a child might get hurt if she moved around.

However, although Sheng Changquan meant well, the little bean was not happy about it!
"Uncle!"

"Little uncle..."

Zhuo Jie'er knelt on Sheng Changquan's large hands, swaying and struggling back and forth, seemingly trying to break free but unable to.

This scene left her breathless and covered in sweat!
Finally, the little guy panicked, grabbing Sheng Changquan's wrists tightly with both hands and pleading, "Uncle...you...you mustn't move..."

"If you... if you keep doing this... Zhuo'er... Zhuo'er won't like Uncle anymore!"

Zhuo Jie'er was very well-mannered. Even though she was extremely anxious, she still did not intend to hit people indiscriminately. She just said the "most powerful words" while looking aggrieved and on the verge of tears.

"Ha ha!"

This stark contrast immediately made everyone burst into laughter.

Even the servants, except for the little maid Zhuo'er, secretly grinned and laughed, some openly and some secretly.

"alright, alright!"

"You two, stop arguing!"

Finally, it was Madam Wang who felt sorry for her granddaughter and said, "Changquan, put her down first!"

"However, you must keep a close eye on Zhuo'er and make sure she doesn't hurt herself!"

Madam Wang couldn't bear to see her granddaughter suffer such an injustice, so she quickly instructed Sheng Changquan, "Besides, since this little one is willing, then let her kowtow to you and properly pay her respects!"

"This is the first time Zhuo'er has paid her respects to her uncle since she was born!"

At this point, Madam Wang couldn't help but smile and say, "I just wonder if you, as her uncle, have prepared a gift for your niece?"

"If there's no gift after kowtowing, then our Zhuo-jie won't get up!"

Madam Wang chuckled as she teased Sheng Changquan, her expression completely unperturbed, oblivious to the impropriety in her words.

Judging from her expression, she was indeed just saying it casually and didn't think much of it.

"Oh? Mother, what gift or not?"

Hai Chaoyun, who was standing to the side, was afraid that Sheng Changquan would be embarrassed if he didn't prepare these things, so she quickly tried to smooth things over for him, saying, "Our Zhuo-jie doesn't care about these things, does she?"

Hai Chaoyun said to Zhuo Jie'er, who was still arguing with Sheng Changquan, and then said, "Actually, those common customs are not very valuable. If we're talking about real treasures, we have to look at Seventh Brother's talent and learning!"

To prevent Sheng Changquan from feeling embarrassed, Hai Chaoyun continued, "I've heard that Seventh Brother's calligraphy is exceptional and highly sought after!"

"However, because my seventh brother rarely leaves his calligraphy out in public, it is not something that people can appreciate!"

"Even I, as your sister-in-law, have only ever seen one calligraphy copybook in your second brother's study. Moreover, your second brother guards this copybook closely, treating it as a precious treasure."

"Normally, even when I want to go and take a look, they're always reluctant!"

Hai Chaoyun's words were obviously an exaggeration. After all, they were family, so why would Sheng Changbai do such a thing?
However, judging from Hai Chaoyun's expression, it seems that what she said was true, and she really does like Sheng Changquan's calligraphy.

Speaking of which, Sheng Changquan's calligraphy is truly excellent. With the foundation from his previous life and the accumulation in this life, his calligraphy has already formed its own unique style, making him a grandmaster in this field.

In addition, his good reputation, which he had secretly cultivated in his early years, and the use of a series of scarcity marketing and advertising blitzes, meant that Sheng Changquan's reputation as a master calligrapher had long been known and widely recognized.

If it weren't for his young age and the fact that he had traveled and studied with Mr. Zhuang for six years, making him difficult for others to find, Sheng Changquan's literary reputation would probably be much greater than it is now.

He could easily be called a master of calligraphy!

"Seventh brother, why don't you write a calligraphy piece and give it to Zhuo'er?"

At this point, Hai Chaoyun couldn't help but look up at Sheng Changquan, her face full of sincerity.

"So that in the future, Zhuo'er can also develop beautiful handwriting like her uncle!"

"This can be considered as not betraying the bond between you uncle and nephew in this lifetime."

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang suddenly realized her mistake and couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly.

Fortunately, everyone knew what kind of person Madam Wang was, so they didn't blame her. Instead, they all focused their attention on Sheng Changquan to see what he had to say.

Especially Sheng Hong, whose eyes looked particularly strange.

"Hmph! Brat!"

Sheng Hong glanced at Sheng Changquan, secretly scoffing in his heart: "Not only does he write few letters home, but he also doesn't know how to keep more calligraphy brushes and ink at home. He's truly an unfilial son who doesn't know how to respect his elders!"

The thought that he only had a few disorganized calligraphy practice drafts from Sheng Changquan made Sheng Hong's eyes grow even more "unfriendly"!

Actually, Sheng Hong was wronged!

People outside all know that Sheng Changquan's calligraphy is exceptional, but they have no way of getting the chance to appreciate it, so they give up.

However, while others gave up, Sheng Hong's superiors and colleagues did not. As officials in the same court, unless they were political enemies, who wasn't a good friend?
Therefore, these people remembered that Sheng Hong was the father of Sheng Changquan, and they thought that he should have Sheng Changquan's original works. So, these civil officials who liked calligraphy invited Sheng Hong to perform, hoping to get their hands on some of his works.

Unexpectedly, Sheng Hong only had a few pieces of calligraphy in his hands. Moreover, those few pieces were discarded drafts that Sheng Changquan had carelessly left behind when he was practicing calligraphy. Not only were they of poor quality, but the content was also chaotic and they were simply not presentable.

As for the other manuscripts that Sheng Changquan had written, he actually burned them all himself.

Because of Sheng Changquan's scarcity marketing strategy, very few people were able to obtain his calligraphy. Apart from his teacher, Mr. Zhuang, who had quite a few, even Minglan only had three calligraphy copybooks, which Sheng Changquan had specially reserved for her to practice calligraphy.

There's no way around it; besides her love of sleeping in late, Minglan's ugly handwriting is also one of her most distinctive features.

Apart from that, only Sheng Changbai in the Sheng family had a complete calligraphy copybook; the others had nothing.

To be fair, Sheng Hong was relatively fortunate, at least he had a few scraps of paper. As for Linxi Pavilion, Sheng Changfeng and Mo Lan didn't even have a single scrap of paper.

As for the outside world, at most there is a piece of calligraphy in the Zhuangyuanlou Pavilion from back then, which was written by Sheng Changquan when he took the first imperial examination, which can be regarded as the beginning of his fame.

In fact, even Lord Cui did not possess Sheng Changquan's calligraphy, since Sheng Changquan's examination papers were ultimately stored in the imperial treasury.

Moreover, because of Sheng Changquan's growing fame, these scrolls were eventually collected by the government, so very few people in the world actually possessed complete copies of Sheng Changquan's handwriting.

Of course, since the business is open for business, Sheng Changquan's calligraphy must also be on display. This display consists of the calligraphy he left behind at various scenic spots during his six years of travel and study.

This not only showcases his talent in poetry and prose, but also allows people to see his calligraphic skills. Furthermore, it prevents others from obtaining the original works, thus avoiding the devaluation of his art.

It has to be said that this is a win-win situation.

(End of this chapter)