Chapter 46 A Stunning Portrait (Second Update)
The two artists were painting a garden where hundreds of flowers were in full bloom and butterflies were fluttering around. The vibrant colors were refreshing and the butterflies seemed to be alive, making one want to close their eyes.
The other person painted a green lake with painted boats on it, wild geese flying overhead, and the lake shimmering in the setting sun, with carp playing in the water. It was truly a fine painting.
Below the stage, many people whispered among themselves, commenting on the two paintings and unanimously agreeing that they were masterpieces.
Finally, everyone looked at the headmaster on the stage. At this moment, the headmaster's face returned to normal. She held up Hailin's portrait and showed it to everyone.
At first glance, everyone, like the sect leader, was first surprised, then bewildered, and finally intrigued.
Is this a portrait? Anyone with eyes can immediately tell that the first painting is of Princess Chang Le, Feng Qian. It is incredibly lifelike, not only resembling her but also full of spirit. Even the court painters could not create such a vivid portrait. But now, the Crown Princess has actually used a single inkstone to paint such a vivid picture of Princess Chang Le, even bringing the princess's heroic spirit between her brows to life on the paper.
Of all these people, Princess Chang Le was the happiest. Ignoring the dozens of people watching below the stage, she directly instructed the headmaster on the stage.
"Bring it to this princess."
Princess Chang Le was overjoyed, never expecting to be painted so beautifully. She usually hated the court painters who painted her portraits, because all she could see was a pile of colors to create a beautiful woman, and she couldn't tell it was her at all. But this one looked exactly like her.
Hailin is truly amazing. With just a paintbrush and an inkstone, she can create such outstanding portraits, even capturing the expressions on the faces so realistically.
Princess Chang Le, who was used to seeing all kinds of paintings, immediately liked Hai Ling's simple yet not dull and lifeless portrait.
The head nun on the stage instructed someone to bring Princess Chang Le's portrait. As for the other two portraits, everyone quickly recognized them after comparison: one was of the head nun on the stage, and the other was of Rouge, the maidservant of the Crown Princess.
Those who weren't painted felt a pang of regret. Why weren't they painted? They longed for a beautiful portrait of themselves too.
On stage, Ye Xiuying and Jiang Feixue initially smiled smugly, but after seeing the portrait drawn by Hai Ling, their expressions stiffened and then turned extremely ugly.
Did they lose again? No! If they lose this round, they'll have to bark like dogs! What should we do?
A cloud of sorrow and despair settled over the two women's beautiful faces, and their previous smugness vanished instantly.
When Jiang Feixue thought that Ye Xiuying was the one who came up with this terrible idea, she couldn't help but glare at Ye Xiuying angrily. She even had an impulse to strangle Ye Xiuying. This stupid woman actually came up with such a method. Couldn't she have set some more elegant bets?
Jiang Feixue completely forgot that she herself had really hoped to see Jiang Hailing bark like a dog. She even thought that if Jiang Hailing refused to bark, the Crown Princess's dishonesty would spread throughout the capital, putting her in a dilemma. But now, the dilemma had become their own.
Ye Xiuying's expression wasn't much better than Jiang Feixue's. She was the daughter of the Grand Tutor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. If she were to bark like a dog in public, it would be too terrible.
Thinking about it this way, Ye Xiuying couldn't help but tremble slightly.
At this moment, the sect leader glanced at the hall, raised her hand, and the chattering crowd immediately quieted down. Everyone looked at the sect leader, waiting for her to announce who won and who lost the game.
Anyone with eyes can see that the Crown Princess has won this round.
Because probably no one in the world could create such a novel and unparalleled painting using only the single color of inkstone, she was destined to win.
However, before the sect leader could finish speaking, a lazy and casual voice came from below the stage.
"The game is tied."
The deep, languid voice of Crown Prince Feng Zixiao rang out.
Everyone froze for a moment. The only ones who were happy were Jiang Feixue and Ye Xiuying. The two women looked at the Crown Prince with gentle light in their eyes.
The Crown Prince is so kind. This shows that he cares about them, which is why he couldn't bear to make them bark like dogs.
The two women smiled happily, their previously unpleasant faces flushed with a blush, and they looked at His Highness the Crown Prince with shyness.
In fact, Feng Zixiao was just as surprised as everyone else that Hai Ling was so talented. The reason he said the game was a draw was to see what this woman would do next.
It wasn't for the two women on stage, but being admired by women was a pleasant thing.
Princess Chang Le was the first to react, and immediately stood up angrily: "Royal brother, you've gone too far! It's clearly..."
Before Feng Qian could finish speaking, Feng Zixiao's eyes swept over, his dark pupils sharp and piercing, his gaze fixed on Feng Qian. Feng Qian's heart trembled, knowing that if she spoke again, her elder brother would be furious. As the crown prince, he would not allow anyone to question his words.
Princess Chang Le stopped talking for a moment, but still stomped her foot angrily: "This is not fair."
She plopped down in a chair. In the examination hall, everyone saw that even Princess Chang Le was helpless, let alone others.
Therefore, the sect leader changed the words she was going to say.
"The second round ended in a draw; now we'll prepare for the third round."
Hai Ling narrowed her eyes and looked at Crown Prince Feng Zixiao below the stage. A dark light flashed in her eyes, which then turned into a shy expression. She quickly lowered her head, displaying the charming demeanor of a young girl. However, no one saw the chilling coldness flowing in her smile on her lowered face.
However, Crown Prince Feng Zixiao was clearly disgusted; his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, and his eyes showed some impatience.
This woman clearly admired him. Being admired by a beautiful woman would be a pleasure, but being admired by such a fat woman annoyed Feng Zixiao.
He had some expectations for her before, but he didn't expect that this woman was just an ordinary person. Perhaps she had been hiding herself all along just to show herself in front of him so that he would look at her differently.
Feng Zixiao accepted this as fact and stopped looking at Hailin on the stage.
Sitting next to him, the Left Prime Minister Xi Lingfeng smiled and understood. This woman didn't want to marry the Crown Prince, so she resorted to trickery.
Left Prime Minister Xi Lingfeng turned his head to look at the noble and domineering Crown Prince. If he were to remind the Crown Prince, it might ignite the Crown Prince's fighting spirit, and perhaps the Crown Prince would then pay more attention to Jiang Hailing. However, Xi Lingfeng's eyes were deep and dark, and his lips slowly tightened. The thought of reminding Feng Zixiao made him uncomfortable, as if his little prey had been coveted by someone else.
So he chose to say nothing. Even if he did, there was a huge chasm between this man and the Jiang family that was impossible to cross, so it was better not to let that little girl suffer...
---Aside---
In the next chapter, the Left Prime Minister borrows his ever-present jade flute...
Chapter 47 Liang Zhu, Transformation into Butterflies
The third round of competition has begun.