Chapter 14: Did You Invite the Imperial Chancellor to Copy Books?

After explaining everything, Shen Xiuyan looked at the silver in his arms and let out a sob.

Sigh, making money is so slow.

Since he’d already handed off the sugar business, he figured he might as well go back to copying books.

After all, right now, copying books was the fastest way to earn money for him.

He spent several days doing it and quickly grew bored, so he started practicing calligraphy by imitating various famous masters.

Sure enough, switching styles gave him the motivation to keep going.

In just a few days, he was writing with great ease.

As expected of himself—he was just that talented.

The bookshop owner trembled as he held the newly delivered books. “D-Did you hire the Imperial Chancellor himself to copy these…?”

Shen Xiuyan: “?”

“This handwriting—this handwriting is exactly like the Chancellor’s!” the shopkeeper couldn’t hold back and cried out.

Shen Xiuyan scratched his head. “I just copied the calligraphy manual I got from you last time and… accidentally picked it up.”

“Hehe, is it bad that it looks too similar? Then I won’t use this style next time.”

At this point, Shen Xiuyan was feeling a little awkward. He regretted changing his writing style—was the issue really that they wouldn’t accept it just because it looked different?

“No, no—” The shopkeeper immediately plastered on a flattering smile. “My dear Young Master Shen, I beg you, please keep writing just like this in the future. We’ll take as many as you’re willing to give us—never too much.”

In the shopkeeper’s mind, he could already see the glorious future of the Su Family Bookstore becoming famous across the Nanyue Dynasty.

Shen Xiuyan: “?”

The shopkeeper wanted to shake the confused-looking Shen Xiuyan. Did he even know what this meant?

Could just anyone replicate handwriting like that?

Look at those strokes, that style—it looked exactly like the Chancellor’s personal script!

Imagine how people would scramble to buy it once it went on sale!

He flipped through the book in his hands excitedly, but his hand paused after a couple of pages.

What a shame—such beautiful writing, and it was used on the Thousand Character Classic…

Why hadn’t he thought of asking Young Master Shen to copy something else instead?

Seeing Shen Xiuyan’s puzzled little expression, the shopkeeper forced a smile and said, “This handwriting is excellent—truly excellent. Young Master Shen, please come copy more books for us whenever you have time. Of course, the payment is absolutely negotiable.”

With handwriting like this, he wouldn’t even need to report it to the owner—he could raise the price on his own. Miss this opportunity, and there’d be no second chance!

Shen Xiuyan said bashfully, “I’m thinking of transferring to another school soon, so I probably won’t have time to copy books.”

Shopkeeper: “……”

So sad, he wanted to cry.

Why hadn’t you shown off this skill earlier?

He felt like he’d just missed out on ten thousand taels!

But then he quickly perked up again—this kind of talent had to be properly nurtured.

“No problem! As long as you remember us whenever you have time to copy books, we’ll always be here to welcome you.”

Shen Xiuyan scratched his head. Since the man was being so sincere, he decided to give him some face.

After all, it was the shop belonging to the one he liked.

“Alright, since you’ve said that much, I’ll take two books back this time. But I can’t guarantee when I’ll finish copying them.”

The shopkeeper beamed. “Sure, sure, take as long as you want. As long as it’s written like that, no rush—take your time.”

Shen Xiuyan nodded. “By the way, here’s the calligraphy manual you gave me last time. I really liked it, but I’ve already mastered it. Do you have any other nice styles?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” The shopkeeper excitedly pulled out several treasured calligraphy books he’d kept for years.

Shen Xiuyan picked a few he liked and brought them home.

Not long after he left, the shopkeeper placed the Thousand Character Classic in a special display case labeled “Not for Sale.” But that night, while cleaning, one of the assistants found the book in the wrong section.

Thinking someone must’ve mis-shelved it in a hurry, he returned it to the Thousand Character Classic section.

The next day, this book was bought by a xiucai who intended to use it to teach his grandson.

Because he was in a hurry to get to the academy, he didn’t look at it—he just paid and stuffed the book into his clothes.

It was break time at the academy, and everyone was engaged in a heated discussion.

“Have you prepared a birthday gift for the teacher?”

“No, I still don’t know what to give.”

“Same here. The teacher loves calligraphy by famous masters, but I can’t afford any of that.”

“It’s a real headache.”

“Hey, Brother Sun, have you gotten yours yet?”

Sun the xiucai shook his head and sighed. “Not yet. I don’t know what I could possibly give.”

Suddenly, someone shouted, “Brother Sun, that’s not very nice of you! You already got such a fine original piece and didn’t even tell us!”

Sun the xiucai was confused. “What?”

What was he even talking about? He couldn’t make sense of a single word…

Following the direction of everyone’s gaze, Sun looked down at his desk—turns out the wind had flipped open his Thousand Character Classic, and with the pages turning, the calligraphy inside had been revealed.

He glanced at it casually—and was stunned on the spot.

“This, this, this… what is this!!!” He immediately pounced on the book, handling it as if it might escape, examining it with intense focus.

Had the bookstores in this county really become this competitive?

A simple little Thousand Character Classic written like this?

This was using a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken…

From the look on his face, it was obvious he had no idea what he’d bought.

Someone pressed, “Where did you buy it, how much was it? I need to get one too!”

Sun murmured, “Su Family Bookstore… two taels of silver…”

“What!!! Are you kidding me?!” the other shouted in disbelief. “There must be a mistake—this handwriting is worth at least ten taels! Has the Su Family Bookstore turned into a charity? Selling something this cheap???”

“I don’t know either…” Sun was already in shock.

“What is this ruckus?” The elderly Teacher Liu arrived, frowning as he looked into the room. “What are you all shouting about? Bring it here and let me see.”

Sun xiucai dazedly handed over the Thousand Character Classic.

Teacher Liu took it—and froze.

The calligraphy flowed like drifting clouds and rushing water, vigorous and powerful. These strokes, this strength—wasn’t this the handwriting of the current Imperial Chancellor?

Where did this come from!

His gaze burned with intensity.

When he finally saw the cover of the book in his hands, he couldn’t help but tremble slightly.

The Thousand Character Classic. It was the Thousand Character Classic.

Had the Chancellor gone mad?

To waste such excellent calligraphy on copying this book.