Beside her, Zhao Xuzhi was already in the flow of painting. He would send paintings to the Emperor every year, so he was familiar with the layout of the landscape. At that moment, he did not think it was difficult at all.
Moreover, his opponent was a little girl like Xie Qiao.
Not only that, she wanted him to continue being a teacher. The things she would paint later would probably be very unsatisfactory.
However, it was the first time he was painting in front of these students. He had to show his ability.
He had given his all.
The Crown Prince was sitting there calmly. There was a piece of paper in front of him. Since he had nothing to do, he was also writing and drawing for fun.
As he was there, everyone else sat down obediently. They did not say much and did not move. They quietly waited for the time to end.
Scattered, connected, uneven, far and near, high and low, real and fake…
Zhao Xuzhi was in the zone. His brush and ink were flowing freely and he looked extremely handsome.
People could not help but look at him.
In comparison, Xie Qiao’s actions were normal and she did not have any exaggerated movements. It was as if she would die from exhaustion if she moved too much. Most of the time, she would sit and paint. She would only get up occasionally to add a few strokes.
However, everyone thought the Crown Prince must have made a mistake this time.
Since he did not want Zhao Xuzhi to be a teacher, he might as well use his identity as the Crown Prince to chase him away. He might as well be more direct.
Now that he had made such a move, if he were to go back on his word after the results were out, he would be criticized.
He was waiting until he was about to fall asleep.
After a long time, the overseer rang the gong, “There’s still 15 minutes left.”
Zhao Xuzhi, on the other hand, stopped painting, “I’m done.”
His voice was light and had a hint of a smile. He raised his hands in a confident manner. He put down the brush and ink and blew lightly at the paper. He was very confident.
On the other hand, Xie Qiao was still painting.
She was still maintaining her speed.
After a while, she finished the painting. The overseer next to her carefully brought the painting to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince did not look at it carefully. He only said, “Xuzhi, I will give you another chance. Are you sure that your ability is better than Young Lady Xie’s?”
“Your Highness, why are you stalling? If I can’t even compare myself to a little girl, how would I be able to present my paintings to the Emperor in the future?” As Zhao Xuzhi finished speaking, he thought his words were inappropriate, then he turned back to look at Xie Qiao and said, “Young Lady Xie’s painting must be very good. It’s just that the little girl doesn’t know much about mountains and rivers, so it’s inevitable that you would be a little inadequate. I believe that if you draw flowers and birds, the things in Young Lady Xie’s paintings will definitely be vivid and lively.”
Xie Qiao was expressionless.
She did not like to hear that lie.
The Crown Prince laughed and said, “Well, since Xuzhi is so confident, then please invite Xiao Yurong over!”
Although Zhao Xuzhi thought that Xiao Yurong must be on the same level as the Crown Prince, if there was a big difference in standards, even Xiao Yurong would not dare to talk nonsense and lie, right?
Therefore, he agreed without any objections.
Not long after, the painting dried up and Xiao Yurong arrived.
He was wearing a white robe. He looked like a weak scholar.
He looked at the Crown Prince helplessly, “Your Highness, we’re not done with the chess game yet…”
“After this, I will play three games with you. I can’t play more than that,” the Crown Prince said frankly.
Xiao Yurong’s spirit was lifted after he heard that. He straightened his body and said, “Okay, bring it over. Let me have a look.”
Then, the two paintings were presented to Xiao Yurong. He looked at them and said frankly, “Do you need me to comment on this? This one is the winner.”
He pointed at one of them.
“Young Lady Xie has won,” the overseer immediately said.
However, as soon as the result was out, Zhao Xuzhi laughed in anger.
