How could Xiao Yurong lie in front of him like that?
Xiao Yurong was fortunate that people out there said that he was a noble and virtuous person. He did not expect him to be such a suck-up!
The Crown Prince must have sent a message to him first. That was why he was so shameless to tell such a lie!
The others were half-believing and half-doubting.
Since Xie Qiao got eight first prizes earlier, it would be reasonable if she was good at landscape painting.
However, they had never thought that she would be able to beat Zhao Xuzhi.
It was because Zhao Xuzhi had been praised by the Emperor several times. His reputation was especially well-known.
“Your Highness, in order to chase me away, you actually did such a disgraceful thing with Master Xiao. Don’t you think it’s too much?” Zhao Xuzhi snorted, “How can my painting be worse than Young Lady Xie’s?”
“You’re looking down on me?” Xie Qiao said gently when she heard that. Then, she frowned, “My painting is very good.”
Zhao Xuzhi was stunned, “I didn’t mean that…”
“But you lost and you’re unwilling to own up to it. It’s immoral,” Xie Qiao said again.
She did not want to talk to him anymore.
Fortunately, Zhao Xuzhi was wearing a mask. Otherwise, people could see his changed expression.
“I’m not as petty as you think. If your painting is good, even if the Crown Prince puts a knife on my neck, I will not insult you,” Xiao Yurong was very upset, “Show it to everyone. You can see it at a glance. There is no need to argue.”
The two overseers immediately did as they were told.
They aimed the painting at Zhao Xuzhi and the students.
When they saw it, everyone’s heart tightened and they could not help but sigh.
Zhao Xuzhi’s painting was very good. It was really good.
There were mountains and water. The artistic conception between the mountains and water was pretty good. It could be said that it was a mountain landscape, a simple and quiet landscape. It was a good painting.
However, his painting was very restricted, just like most of the landscape paintings out there. There was almost nothing special about it. One could only say that his skill was mature and he was pretty talented.
As for the other painting…
It had a desolate atmosphere, clear clouds, sharp edges, and delicate ink techniques…
Most importantly, the artistic conception of this painting was really rare!
It was simple and elegant, the water and sky blended into one with the same color. It was warm and quiet, and the grass and trees were lush. The outline of the ink was dyed with a bit of immortal aura, which made this painting so beautiful that people could not take their eyes off it. Their hearts were peaceful, as if they had seen a famous immortal mountain.
There was almost no need to compete. It was obvious to tell who was the winner at a glance.
Zhao Xuzhi was completely stunned.
“Impossible, this painting…” Zhao Xuzhi was just about to say that this painting could not have been made by Xie Qiao.
However, he remembered that this painting had never left his eyes.
So… without a doubt, Xie Qiao won, and it was beautiful and straightforward. Compared to her painting, his painting actually looked very tacky.
The others were silent.
Qin Liu secretly covered her mouth and looked at Xie Qiao with excitement and admiration.
Zhao Xuzhi thought of what Xie Qiao had said at the beginning…
“If I win, he won’t be able to be a teacher anymore?”
He thought Xie Qiao was worried, but he did not expect…
She was trying so hard because… she did not want him to stay? Why was that?!
Zhao Xu’s face was completely flushed. At that moment, the mask gave him some comfort.
“Young Lady Xie, we’re sorry to trouble you to compete with him,” The Crown Prince felt his heart ache as he looked at Zhao Xuzhi, “Young Lady Xie’s health isn’t good. She’s put in so much effort. Don’t go back on your words. It’d be a waste of Young Lady Xie’s effort. I’m going to give your painting to my Father so that he can see how you’ve wasted your years.”
