Liu Man smiled but did not speak. She would rather get chased after and fed by her parents than learn to study writing at such a young age.
Next, the host asked a few questions about the content of her work, including the details of her font and translation of words, “Many viewers and I did not understand Judge Cheng’s comment just now. What meanings are there to ‘Changle Weiyang,’ other than the names of two imperial palaces?”
Liu Man said, “Every tile in Weiyang Palace is engraved with the four characters, ‘Chang Le Wei Yang,’ which means ‘long-lasting happiness that never ends.’ This was every Han Dynasty emperor’s vision, and I only hope this little girl will always be ‘Chang Le Wei Yang’ regardless of the environment.”
The host incessantly nodded as if she learned a lot, “I have one last question. The hanfu you are wearing today is very unique. May I ask, where did you buy it? I want to buy a set, too.”
The host asked what was on every female viewer’s mind. They were particularly fond of Liu Man’s attire and started searching for it on Taobao while watching the stream on TV. As a result, they did not find the same hanfu or even similar styles.
TL’s Note: Taobao is a Chinese platform similar to Amazon.
Liu Man was worried that if she mentioned Zhong Jiangnan’s name, she would be suspected of advertising for him; however, since she was now Zhong Jiangnan’s model, there was nothing wrong with helping him promote. She thought about it and said, “Mr. Zhong Jiangnan gifted this set of Hanfu to me. It’s a set he designed before and is probably no longer available on the market.”
The host looked disappointed, “It’s so unfortunate. How can such good-looking clothes be off the market?”
After interviewing Liu Man, the host interviewed Zhou Budai and other authors who performed well.
At this moment, everyone’s results had been calculated. Ouyang Cen walked to the front and read aloud the final list of award winners in this year’s calligraphy exhibition. People who placed in the last thirty were Exhibition Wward winners, regardless of rankings. Their works would be hung and exhibited in the outer lobby after the award ceremony.
The twenty people in the middle would all receive the Excellence Award, regardless of rankings. Excluding being exhibited, the works of the Excellence Award can also enter the circulation market and be priced and sold.
Only the top ten could receive bonuses, which were not enormous amounts of money. The first place could get 30,000 yuan, and the tenth place could get 5,000 yuan. What everyone valued was not the money but receiving the professional certification from the Calligraphy Association, which meant that all signed works by the top ten could be circulated and sold from now on.
Ouyang Cen first revealed the Exhibition Award winners. Liu Man did not hear her name nor the names of Wu Qu and Zhou Budai.
Wu Qu turned his head and gratefully smiled at her.
Then came the Excellence Award. The remaining thirty people focused on listening to Ouyang Cen as he announced the names; they did not want to hear their names.
Wu Qu’s name appeared among them. He sighed in relief with a hint of pity and fortunateness. He already felt extremely satisfied with receiving the Excellence Award.
If Liu Man had not been kind enough to exchange papers with him, he would only have received the Exhibition Award.
The ten judges awarded them. Wu Qu took the award certificate from Chen Jianqiu, who shook hands with him and patted his shoulder, “Keep working hard. You will accomplish a lot in the future.”
“Thank you,” Wu Qu said with appreciation.
He was unlucky to be assigned to group eight and was lucky to encounter Liu Man and Chen Jianqiu. The experience of this exhibition was worth remembering for his whole life.
Deputy Minister Guo and the mayor awarded the top ten in person. Starting from the tenth, after reading each name, a judge would give a professional review and summary of their work with convincing reasoning.
Liu Man placed fifth, winning a bonus of 15,000 yuan.
Her reviewer was Cheng Zikun, “Liu Man’s work, ‘Innocence,’ has a unique concept, looking at ‘Han Dynasty’s Style’ from the perspective of a poor child in the Han Dynasty. It is accompanied by carved-out drawings, rich in imagination, and full of natural interest. Her wood inscriptions are in the Qin and Han seal script, and the font and characters’ structure draw on the style of the inscriptions. The writing is natural, and the entire work adds novel elements to the traditional fundamentals. Its unconstrained style aligns with the personality of young people in the status quo.”
Deputy Minister Guo placed the professional certificate in Liu Man’s hands, shook hands with her, and looked at her admiringly, “Young lady, you are young and promising.”
Deputy Minister Guo was the highest-ranking figure Liu Man came into contact with after transmigrating. In her previous life, he would have been ranked among the top nine ministers. She thanked him respectfully, then stood beside the sixth person with her certificate. The videographer gave her a close-up.
Meanwhile, the news tag of #Hanfu Goddess won fifth place in the Calligraphy Exhibition# returned to second place on the internet’s hot search leaderboard. The first place was still about the conflict between Yu Zhan and Vet’s Cuties 2. The popularity maintained its upward trend without losing popularity. There were two reasons: First, the three water army companies that Yu Zhan spent a large sum of money to hire were not freeloaders; Second, during the period when Liu Man was participating in the calligraphy competition, a large number of reversal plots appeared on the internet, which was an eye-opener for onlookers. For the time being, this will not be elaborated on.
Zhou Budai won first place with his work, “Western Regions,” which was expected by everyone.
The calligraphy exhibition officially ended.
Liu Man walked toward Su Yi and Yu Zhan with her certificate. Su Yi’s smile was so big that his eyes were disappearing.
Liu Man felt convinced of her results because the depth of her theme was far less than that of the top four. They looked at the Han Dynasty from the perspective of families, the nation, and the world, with ever-changing and magnificent events. Zhou Budai’s “Western Regions” was especially relevant to the status quo’s overall situation, for the nation wanted to rebuild the Silk Road.
In comparison, Liu Man’s “Innocence” was not powerful enough. It had a narrow vision and was limited to a corner deep within the palace, which the judges attributed to her female identity and lack of experience and knowledge.
How could they know that Liu Man had another purpose in choosing this theme? She did not mention this purpose when the judges asked the question, and she could not say it publicly.
Liu Man handed the certification to Su Yi and smiled as she said, “Please review it, teacher.”
Su Yi stared at the name “Liu Man” imprinted on the certificate, feeling a mixture of emotions. He had served as a judge for five exhibitions non-consecutively and had handled many people’s professional certificates, but it was the first time she saw one belonging to his apprentice.
God was kind to him, allowing him to meet his true heir in the twilight years of his life.
Su Yi returned the certificate to Liu Man, “You only placed fifth. It seems that my ‘accelerated course’ will have to continue in the future. After school starts, everything will continue as usual!”
Despite having said that, the smile on Su Yi’s face never fell.
Liu Man smiled joyfully and said, “Okay. As long as it’s your order, I will do it.”
“Enough. Look at how proud you are. Show the certificate to Xiao Yu,” Su Yi said. After being with him all morning, his impression of Yu Zhan changed significantly. After being criticized by netizens, the young man rushed to Gudu non-stop to accompany Liu Man as she participated in the competition. He could not have rested well in one night and stood at the venue all morning. It was arduous, but he did not show any impatience, and his gentle and affectionate eyes always fell on the girl in the venue.
Based on his more than eighty years of experience in life, Su Yi could confirm that this man’s feelings for Liu Man were sincere.
Translated by: Sydney
Vandez Translations 