Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 339 Coincidence of the Visiting Card
Sheng Changquan really liked this purple sword.

Although it is not as lethal as the halberd, the purple sword has another advantage: it is more concealed and sharper.

On the battlefield, the cold halberd reigns supreme, capable of overwhelming others with force and momentum, sweeping across armies and eliminating all enemies. However, when dealing with martial arts masters who fight alone, the purple sword is more suitable.

Moreover, wielding the Purple Sword requires many profound techniques. Compared to the Cold Halberd, it places more emphasis on the swordsman's skill rather than strength.

After all, it is a soft sword, and its blade is so sharp. If the owner of the purple sword does not have a high level of swordsmanship, it is still unknown who will be injured first when they actually start fighting.

Sheng Changquan carefully applied a special secret medicine to the entire body of the purple sword to maintain it, and then placed it on the desk to wait for a while.

Because the secret medicine is specially made, it must be allowed to fully evaporate and penetrate the sword before its effects can be fully realized, thus maximizing the protection and maintenance of the weapon.

After a long while, once the secret medicine on the purple sword had completely disappeared, Sheng Changquan carefully picked up the purple sword and looked at the sword patterns on it.

Because the Purple Sword was made of meteorite iron from outer space, its blade naturally has patterns resembling Daoist script, making it look quite mysterious.

"Om~"

Sheng Changquan gripped the purple sword and skillfully unleashed a flurry of swordplay.

A faint purple light flashed, and within the dazzling yet hazy cold light, a purple shield suddenly rose up, protecting Sheng Changquan's entire body. Water could not penetrate it, and air could not get in; it was truly extraordinary.

This is because the soft sword was swung too fast, creating multiple layers of light and shadow on its blade.

A soft sword is different from an ordinary sword. To wield a soft sword, one must use it with the same gentleness and strength as one would a long whip, like the harmony of yin and yang, to unleash its immense power.

Looking at the dazzling, cold light shield that was constantly swirling in Sheng Changquan's hand, it was clear that his strength was already sufficient.

"Qiang!"

With the final sharp buzzing sound, the room suddenly fell silent.

It turned out that Sheng Changquan had put the purple sword back into its sheath.

Of course, the scabbard of the purple sword was not ordinary; it was Sheng Changquan's belt. Therefore, with Sheng Changquan's actions, the belt on the table was quickly assembled and reappeared in front of him.

Sheng Changquan quietly picked up the inconspicuous belt, put it back on, and then covered it with his outer robe so that it was not visible.

He pursed his lips slightly, but in his heart he was silently feeling the sense of security that the purple sword brought.

As a true disciple of the conservative school, Sheng Changquan can responsibly tell the world that he has thoroughly implemented his school's philosophy and carried forward the principle of "survival of the fittest".

Unless in special circumstances, such as outside the imperial examination hall, Sheng Changquan would always carry weapons wherever he went.

"Yes, Not Bad!"

After packing his belongings, Sheng Changquan stroked his chin and pondered to himself, "Now that so many things have come to an end, it's time to prepare for the provincial examination."

Although Sheng Changquan had already begun reviewing the classics back in Youyang in preparation for the upcoming autumn imperial examinations, the matter of returning to the capital and some recent troubles had kept him occupied. As a result, he was only able to take a short break now and focus on preparing for the exams.

"Yes, we still need to give it our all. We'll only know the outcome after the autumn imperial examinations are over!"

"However, when that time comes, I can consider my elder sister's marriage first."

Thinking about his future plans and Minglan's upcoming arrival, Sheng Changquan felt a surge of energy, as if he were filled with enthusiasm.

"Once everything is settled, I can finally find an opportunity to compile the book I have in my hand!"

Long before he made his future plans, Sheng Changquan had already decided to write a book and compile a monumental work!
Of course, it wouldn't be a short period of time. Sheng Changquan planned to spend most of his life writing this book, striving to solidify his literary reputation and ensure his lifelong good name.

After all, in this world, apart from the emperor, only those who become the patriarch of Confucianism and bring together the best of their respective schools of thought can achieve unification for thousands of years and fear no external attacks.

"Huh? That's right!"

Just as Sheng Changquan was beginning to daydream about the future, he suddenly remembered something else: "I had completely forgotten about that!"

Sheng Changquan narrowed his eyes, looked up at the east, and thought to himself, "Now that I'm back, I should pay a visit to the Shen family!"

"After all, I had already made an appointment with Shen Li in that letter that I would go to his house to see him as soon as he returned to the capital, and it would be difficult to break my promise."

Sheng Changquan recalled his good friend Shen Li and silently muttered a sentence in his heart.

"Yes, if you promise, you have to keep your word, otherwise it will be awkward when you meet again in the future."

To be honest, in recent years, Sheng Changquan has only been able to correspond with a few people. Apart from his family members, he has written more letters to Shen Li.

Because Shen Li's situation was somewhat special, his family was worried about him traveling and studying alone. Therefore, Sheng Changquan, who knew about Shen Li's difficulties, would often describe his experiences in his letters to him, expressing the beautiful scenery outside in words.

Like the magnificence of mountains and rivers, the ancient simplicity of strange peaks and rocks, the rolling clouds above the sea, and the boundless, surging rivers and seas...

In short, Sheng Changquan used countless beautiful and gorgeous words to record the outside world, and then sent it to Shen Li so that he could experience all of this between the lines. As a result, Shen Li was able to "know the beauty of the world without leaving home".

"hehe!"

"Okay, let's leave it at that for now!"

Sheng Changquan nodded silently, but he had made up his mind: "At the very least, I need to let Shen Li know that I'm back!"

With that in mind, he simply picked up the calligraphy brush on the table, took out a piece of stationery, and started writing directly on it.

"Shh! Shh! Shh!"

With a stroke of his pen as swift as a dragon rising from the land, or as graceful as a phoenix soaring through the heavens, Sheng Changquan had already finished writing a visiting card in just a few breaths.

"Yes, my calligraphy is increasingly showing the air of a master!"

Sheng Changquan stood up, looked at the visiting card in his hand, and couldn't help but show a hint of satisfaction on his face.

To be honest, Sheng Changquan's calligraphy is indeed quite remarkable, but the main reason he became famous is because his calligraphy is unique and distinctive, primarily because of its "uniqueness".

After all, those font styles were not created by Sheng Changquan himself; his characters may have the form, but they lacked the spirit.

Of course, it cannot be said that it was completely devoid of integrity, but in the end, it only had a third of the original owner's strength. Therefore, although Sheng Changquan's calligraphy was famous, it did not become very popular.

Sheng Changquan's rise to fame in recent years is partly due to his superb marketing skills, but also partly due to the gradual development of strength and structure in his calligraphy.

It was precisely for this reason that Sheng Changquan felt secretly satisfied at this moment.

"Somebody come!"

After expressing his feelings, Sheng Changquan immediately left Zhiyuan Hall, intending to have someone deliver the visiting card to the Shen family, and planned to pay them a visit the next day.

One reason was to see his good brother and rekindle their brotherhood, while the other was to take the opportunity to ask Shen Shouzhen for advice and guidance.

Just as Sheng Changquan was preparing to take some time to visit the Shen family, someone from the Shen family also had designs on him.

……

The Shen family. "Sister!"

"Sister!"

After Shen Jun and Madam Shen were safely brought home, Shen Li followed behind Shen Jun, pleading with her, "Sister, please talk to Father for me!"

"With so many people in the family, only if you, sir, speak up would my father possibly allow me to participate in the autumn imperial examination!"

Shen Li pleaded with his older sister with a sincere expression, looking extremely pitiful.

However, Shen Jun seemed not to hear Shen Li's sincere and earnest plea.

She wouldn't even roll her eyes at him; she simply turned away gracefully, completely ignoring him.

"Sister~"

Shen Li couldn't hold back any longer. He stood up straight in an instant, took a few quick steps, and turned right in front of Shen Jun. With a forced smile, he said, "Sister, please help me! I'm your own brother!"

"Sister, you should always help your own brother out!"

"..."

For some reason, Shen Li couldn't remember anything else at this moment. He only remembered his good brother Sheng Changquan's occasional jokes and his relentless pursuit of Shen Jun.

Sheng Changquan once said, "Most women in this world are kind-hearted by nature. As long as you are shameless enough to pester her, you will eventually have a chance to get what you want, no matter what."

Although there was no basis for his words, Shen Li trusted him completely and felt that there was some truth to what Sheng Changquan said.

And now, this is the opportunity he was testing, the one Sheng Changquan had mentioned—Shen Li was chasing after Shen Jun, pleading with her in the manner of Tang Sanzang.

"Shh!"

Finally, after being relentlessly pestered by Shen Li, Shen Jun had no choice but to give up.

"Brother, what happened to you?"

"you……"

"How...how did you become like this?"

Shen Jun really didn't know whether to say that Shen Li's change was good or bad.

After all, compared to his previous stiff and shy bookish self, Shen Li is much better now. At least he has grown up and can now shamelessly ask people for favors.

Although it wasn't particularly beautiful, for Shen Li himself, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.

Of course, if he wasn't making things difficult for himself, Shen Jun wouldn't be so conflicted.

However, no matter what, looking at Shen Li's current appearance, Shen Jun still felt somewhat fortunate, thinking that Shen Li was better off now.

"Sister, please say yes!"

Shen Li ignored Shen Jun's doubts and kept asking her for help.

"Ugh!"

Shen Jun sighed and replied helplessly, "Brother, just give up on this idea!"

"I'm not helping you with this!"

Shen Jun reiterated her stance, giving Shen Li a direct and negative answer.

"Huh? Why?"

Shen Li looked disappointed, and felt quite bad inside.

Although he had anticipated this outcome, he still felt very bad when it actually came to this.

"Why?"

Shen Jun glanced at him with her beautiful eyes, but did not explain further. She simply said, "Brother, I have already made things very clear to you."

"While I can understand your thoughts, I cannot allow you to act this way!"

Shen Jun raised her head and looked at Shen Li seriously, saying, "Brother, you must understand that you are the only male heir in our Shen family!"

"If anything were to happen to you because of this scientific expedition, how heartbroken your father and mother would be!"

Shen Jun simply made the worst-case scenario and advised, "More importantly, if that really happens, then our lineage will be cut off!"

"Can you really bear to let your parents be worshipped by outsiders after they pass away?"

Shen Jun was influenced by orthodox Confucianism, so she paid great attention to the matter of family succession. In a case like Shen Li's, if she did not have absolute certainty that she could guarantee his safety, Shen Jun would never agree to Shen Li's request.

Even if Shen Shouzheng and his wife agreed, Shen Jun would never agree if Shen Li's health could not be guaranteed.

Shen Jun is extremely stubborn on this point.

"Sister, this..."

Faced with Shen Jun's reasons, Shen Li's own arguments were immediately rendered useless, and he was unable to say anything.

After all, what Shen Jun said did make sense.

Moreover, Shen Li and Shen Jun are both children of the Shen family, and they received similar educational environments. Therefore, Shen Li could not refute his older sister's ideas, and even agreed with them in his heart.

However, despite this, Shen Li was still unwilling to give up.

Looking into his sister's unwavering eyes, he slowly thought to himself, "I'm out of options. It seems I'll have to rely on Changquan to persuade her!"

Thinking of this, Shen Li's eyes lit up, as if he had thought of something. After a moment's thought, he said, "Sister, since that's the case, then I won't talk about this matter!"

"Let someone else explain this to you!"

"Another person?"

Shen Jun pursed her red lips slightly, a hint of disdain in her voice: "So what about the other one?"

"Brother, stop trying to come up with ideas for me. Instead of wasting your time, you should think about how to explain things to Father!"

Shen Jun raised her beautiful eyes and said directly, "Perhaps you have a better chance of persuading Father than you do with me!"

I found a bug earlier and quickly made some minor adjustments...

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(End of this chapter)