Princess Chang Le, Feng Qian, read the poem in her hand aloud: "The green Tang River ripples and connects with the Star River, the creaking orchid oars enter the white duckweed. It must be the socks of the Goddess of the Luo River on the waves, for even now the lotus stamens have fragrant dust."
When Princess Chang Le read the poem, everyone fell silent, listening to her recite it. When she finished, everyone felt a lingering fragrance in their mouths, and they all had one thought: all they needed now was a cup of fragrant tea. If they had a cup of fragrant tea, they could savor it and recite poetry—truly a life that even the gods wouldn't trade for…
Chapter 45 Dai Yan's Sketch
The entire audience erupted in cheers. Everyone had to admit that the third young lady of the Jiang family was actually a hidden talent. Just based on these few poems, she was undoubtedly the number one talented woman in the capital.
Although she is plump, her talent makes her a suitable match for the Crown Prince.
Crown Prince Feng Zixiao's deep eyes were filled with amazement, but when he looked up at Hai Ling's chubby face and round body, he lost his appetite and felt regretful. Why wasn't she born with a beautiful face? Perhaps he would have favored her.
A glint flashed in the handsome black eyes of the Left Prime Minister Xi Lingfeng, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
The subordinates, including Shi Mei and Shi Zhu, who were standing not far away, were shocked. The master's expression today was unlike anything they had ever seen before. He had always been cold-blooded towards people. Although he appeared elegant on the surface, he kept people at arm's length. Even as a close advisor to the crown prince, his relationship with the crown prince was merely that of a subject and ruler, and they were never close.
Unexpectedly, this Crown Princess made the Prince change his expression several times. If the Crown Princess didn't look like this, they would really suspect that the Prince might be fond of this woman.
But when they saw the woman on stage, they changed their minds. After all, he was no ordinary man.
If the woman on stage stood next to the man, wouldn't it be a delightful and elegant sight?
Perhaps it's because this is the first time he's encountered a woman like this, so he finds it novel and interesting. Once this period of time passes, he'll lose interest.
After Shi Mei and Shi Zhu made their decision, they stopped worrying about it.
In the first round of the competition, Hai Ling defeated Jiang Feixue and Ye Xiuying with an absolute advantage, and no one even bothered to read the poems they wrote.
Many people eagerly read and recited the poems written by the Crown Princess.
The second round was drawing. Hai Ling already had a plan in mind. With a smile on her lips, she calmly looked at Jiang Feixue and Ye Xiuying opposite her. Both women's faces had lost all color and turned deathly pale. They couldn't utter a single word.
Hai Ling spoke calmly, "Miss Ye, shall we continue?"
A faint sneer hung on her face, a playful smile played on her lips, and her eyes flashed with blatant disdain.
This spurred Ye Xiuying and Jiang Feixue into action. Although they had lost the first round, it didn't mean they would lose the second round of painting. Besides, this was the third round. If they won the next two, who knew who would be barking like a dog? Thinking this way, the two calmed down considerably. They looked at each other, their eyes filled with shared hatred. At this moment, they were in the same boat. Their common enemy was Jiang Hailing, and they had to beat Jiang Hailing today, or they would be the ones barking like dogs.
In fact, Hai Ling's expression just a moment ago was deliberately feigned, meant to provoke these two women so that they would be motivated to compete with her, and then she could make them bark like dogs.
On the high platform, Ye Xiuying and Jiang Feixue encouraged each other and finally spoke in unison.
"Let's begin."
The headmaster immediately cleared her throat and announced, "The second round of the competition begins: drawing."
The audience immediately fell silent. This second round was unlike the first round, where everyone wanted to see Hai Ling make a fool of herself. Everyone was filled with amazement, secretly wondering what kind of amazing masterpiece the Crown Princess's painting skills would be. Everyone was quiet, staring wide-eyed at the three people on the stage.
Hailing glanced at the table behind her, which was covered with various drawing tools. Everything was ready, but she didn't need any of these things. She only needed...
Ye Xiuying and Jiang Feixue had already walked to the table, waiting for the headmaster's order to begin painting. They had already sketched out what they wanted to paint in their minds and were just waiting to start. This time, both of them had a look of determination on their faces.
Hai Ling beckoned the headmaster over and whispered something in her ear. The headmaster's expression changed drastically, her eyes widening. Although surprised, she became even more curious. What exactly did the Crown Princess want to do? She immediately looked at the person by the high platform and ordered, "Go and fetch Dai Yan."
The inkstone, also known as the "Daiyan," was used by women in ancient times to draw their eyebrows; it was light in color and delicate in texture.
Hailin used it to replace a pencil. Although it wasn't as even as a pencil, it wasn't far off. And what she wanted to draw was a figure sketch.
She's not an expert in painting, but she loves sketching and can capture people's features so vividly that they're incredibly lifelike.
Below the platform, everyone stared wide-eyed at the stage, wondering why the Crown Princess had someone bring out the inkstone. What did she need it for? Was she going to draw her eyebrows on the spot? Her eyebrows were so delicate and beautiful, naturally slender and perfectly shaped, that she didn't need to draw them at all. So what was the purpose of this? Everyone speculated, filled with doubt and astonishment.
The headmaster's servants had brought the inkstone and placed it on the table. Hailing then instructed the servants to remove all the various colored inks from the table, leaving only a few sheets of white paper, an inkstone, and the finest brush, nothing else.
Everyone was astonished. What was the Crown Princess up to? They all peered eagerly, eager to see what amazing tricks the Crown Princess would come up with next.
Ye Xiuying and Jiang Feixue exchanged a smile, feeling quite relieved.
Is this woman crazy? She thinks she can surpass them with just an inkstone, a few sheets of paper, and a brush? Dream on! A smug smile instantly appeared on her lips. They will definitely turn the tables.
The sect leader gave the order: "Begin."
The second round began with lighting incense. It was still the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn. The task was to complete a painting, and they were not picky about what they painted, but it had to be a complete painting.
On stage, everyone began to immerse themselves in their paintings, each completely focused. However, everyone's attention was entirely on the Crown Princess, who used only a single brush, lightly dipped in ink, to carefully paint on the paper. It was unclear what she was doing, but she used only one brush from beginning to end, without using anything else.
Those below couldn't help but feel disappointed. What amazing paintings could one create with just a pen? Was it destined that Ye Xiuying and Jiang Feixue would win the second round?
Unfortunately, Hai Ling ignored everyone else and focused on drawing her own sketches. She drew three people: Princess Chang Le Feng Qian, her good friend Yan Zhi, and the headmaster on the stage.
The three sketches were finished quickly, and the incense had only burned a little over halfway.
Looking at Ye Xiuying and Jiang Feixue, who were still focused on their battle, the sect leader ignored them and went straight to Hailing's side to look at the painting on the table.
His face quickly showed surprise, astonishment, disbelief, and confusion.
For a moment, the people below the stage did not know what the Crown Princess was painting, or why the headmaster's expression kept changing, making it difficult to see clearly whether the Crown Princess's painting was good or bad.
Just as the sect leader was looking at Hailin's painting, the time for one incense stick was up.
Ye Xiuying and Jiang Feixue successfully completed their respective paintings.
The two women simultaneously put down their paintbrushes, breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at Hailing with smug smiles. Seeing the expression on their headmaster's face, they assumed that Hailing's painting skills were utterly inadequate, and therefore they had won this round.
At this moment, servants from the Banana Garden Bookstore walked up to the high platform, picked up the paintings by Ye Xiuying and Jiang Feixue, and displayed them to everyone...
---Aside---
Please leave comments and votes, my dears! That'll motivate me to post a second update today. Hehe...