El cuento de la princesa Song en Heian-kyo

Capítulo 49

"You can drip it again," Yu Zhou said indifferently. Hua Qianmo didn't drip it; instead, she took the inkstone and poured it onto Yu Zhou's leg. The ink flowed down like mercury, leaving no trace. His skin remained fair.

Shock! The entire audience was stunned. Hua Qianmo couldn't believe that a man's skin could be so smooth, like silk. Hua Wuxin hadn't expected a woman to pass these two tests. She wasn't sure she could pass the third.

"The texture in your hands must be quite nice." Yelü Longxu smiled charmingly as she looked at her hands. "Is that ink really that sticky?" Ye Yan asked doubtfully.

“Yan, you don’t know this, but once this ink gets on you, it’s very difficult to wash off. Unless it’s extremely smooth, it will leave a mark.” Meng Tianfang said, emphasizing each word.

"How do you know this?" Ye Yan asked, even more puzzled.

Meng Tianfang said helplessly, "This ink is a secret recipe passed down from my ancestors. Your Majesty, please look at the black spots on my hand." Meng Tianfang rolled up his sleeves to show Yelü Longxu and Ye Yan.

It's a dense black dot, but it doesn't look like a mole or a freckle.

"This is something I did when I was a kid, just playing around. It's still as bright as new after all these decades," Meng Tianfang said with a wry smile. Lei Li's eyes widened as he looked at Yu Zhou's leg, then at the marks on Meng Tianfang's hand, and he couldn't help but admire him!

—————————————————————————————————————————————— Hehe, this competition is from a TV series I watched when I was little. I've forgotten the name, but I remember the competition vividly. Tell me if there's anything I wrote wrong!

[Dynasty Storm: Four Aspects of Beauty 2]

"What's next?" Hua Qianmo was unconvinced, but the facts were undeniable.

“A woman’s graceful steps are a sight to behold. But her posture is of utmost importance. Please, Qingfeng and Miss Huarui, come before me. Turn around.” Hua Wuxin glanced at Hua Qianmo.

"Hmph, I'd like to see what tricks you can pull," Hua Qianmo sneered, gracefully walking up to Hua Wuxin. Yu Zhou frowned, but still walked over.

Hua Wuxin smiled knowingly and said, "Miss Qingfeng has won this round again."

Hua Qianmo angrily retorted, "We haven't even had a match, how do you know he won?" The people below the stage also began to murmur amongst themselves, all criticizing Hua Wuxin for being unfair.

“Look at the ground,” Yu Zhou said indifferently. Hua Qianmo looked down and saw talcum powder on his feet, and asked curiously, “What’s going on here?”

"Take another look at the shape of the talcum powder under Qingfeng's feet. Then observe your own," Hua Wuxin said with a smirk, her tone laced with sarcasm.

Hua Qianmo lowered her head again, and Yu Zhou's talcum powder actually turned into a beautiful lotus flower. This is called "lotus growing underfoot". People may have only heard of "a wonderful pen can create flowers", but they have never heard of "flowers growing underfoot". A white lotus flower is lifelike, and every line is clearly visible.

Hua Qianmo looked down at her feet, where talcum powder was splattered everywhere, even covering her skirt. Everyone who saw the contrast between the white powder and the lotus flowers blooming beneath her feet immediately understood.

“This round doesn’t count,” Hua Qianmo said indignantly. Since Yu Zhou knew beforehand that there was talcum powder on the ground, he would definitely have maintained an elegant posture. He hadn’t prepared at all.

Yu Zhou was gloomy; Hua Qian had started her cheating again.

"Alright! I'll give you another chance," Hua Wuxin chuckled.

Hua Qianmo was even more careful this time, walking gracefully and turning beautifully, but talcum powder flew up like dust, causing dust to swirl all over the place.

Forget lotus flowers, there aren't even any butterflies left.

"Cough cough cough, how could this be?" Hua Qianmo covered her mouth and said in disbelief.

Yu Zhou pointed to the talcum powder on the ground and said, "Talc powder has a fine texture and is easy to splatter."

"And then there's Miss Huarui. It's not necessarily true that one can make flowers bloom beneath one's feet. Such a physique must have been honed over ten years; it can't be achieved overnight. One can only imagine that Miss Qingfeng's physique is absolutely one in a million. She can prevent the fine, delicate talcum powder from splattering while still making flowers bloom beneath her feet—that's truly remarkable." The admiration in Hua Wuxin's eyes went beyond mere appreciation. This made Hua Qianmo extremely nervous.

That was brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!

The audience watched intently as the contestants on stage fiercely competed. Yu Zhou, however, was already growing impatient. It was becoming increasingly boring.

"For the final round, we'd like to invite a young lady to come up and lend a hand." Hua Qianmo glanced at Lan Tianxixiang. A young lady? Strange, there are only men here, no young ladies!

“Young master, we have no women here. Are you mistaken?” the man below the stage said.

“No, the fourth young master in the front seat must be a girl in disguise,” Hua Wuxin said confidently. Yu Zhou looked closely and saw that it was Lan Tian Xixiang.

Lan Tianxixiang was not an affected woman. She boldly removed her hairband, letting her hair cascade down like a waterfall. She declared with great spirit, "I am indeed a woman."

"The young lady is indeed generous." Hua Wuxin sighed inwardly. This woman in blue had beautiful eyes like a crescent moon, a pretty face, and exquisite lips. Although she was not as good as the two on the stage, she could still be called a peerless beauty.

"What do you want me to do?" Lan Tianxixiang asked.

—————————————————————————————————————

[Dynasty Storms: Four Aspects of Beauty, Part 3]

Hua Wuxin smiled and said, "Actually, all you need to do is have the young lady look into the eyes of the two people."

"Why didn't you invite a man, but instead invited me?" Lan Tianxixiang wondered.

Hua Wuxin walked up to Lan Tianxixiang and said, "The highest level a woman can achieve is not being able to attract a man's gaze, but being able to make other women feel intoxicated and ecstatic. That is the most beautiful thing."

Is that so? Lan Tianxixiang looked at Hua Wuxin with some disbelief.

"Please stand in the middle, young lady." Hua Wuxin asked Lantian Xixiang to take the middle position.

Hua Qianmo stood on the left, throwing herself at Yu Zhou, who didn't dare look at Lan Tianxixiang at all, constantly avoiding her gaze.

"Ah—" Lan Tianxixiang suddenly let out a heart-wrenching scream. It turned out that Hua Wuxin had inserted a needle into Lan Tianxixiang's arm. Lan Tianxixiang glared angrily at Hua Wuxin, about to unleash her fury as she pulled the needle from her left arm. Hua Wuxin, seemingly unaffected, said, "Qingfeng has won this round again."

"Huh! Why?" Lan Tianxixiang was also puzzled. The people below the stage were equally confused.

"Girl, look at your right arm." Hua Wuxin kindly pointed to Lan Tianxixiang's right arm. "You brat, you're asking for it! I've already tolerated you once, and you dared to stab me again. I'm going to fight you!" Lan Tianxixiang's fiery temper flared up, and she rolled up her sleeves, ready to beat Hua Wuxin.

Hua Wuxin calmly explained, "Miss, your left arm was in pain just now. Did your right arm also feel pain?"

Lan Tianxixiang thought for a moment and shook her head.

"That's right. That means Qingfeng's gaze has reached the point of being soul-stirring and bone-melting, making you forget your pain." Hua Wuxin smiled.