Published at 15th of June 2020 6:39 am

Chapter 178: The First Talented Lady

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Mo Qianxue made a slight smile. This scene was exactly what she wanted. Don’t underestimate these movements. When she had practiced not to splash water out, she had made tremendous efforts and wasted much tea leaves.

The tea ceremony hadn’t been around in Tianqi for a long time. None of those ladies ever saw the brushing technique of ‘Phoenix Three Nodding’. Admiration glistened in their eyes, telling their yearning to take a try.

Chuyi’s face was more interesting. Yes, her lady could make tea, but just in a normal way. Since when did she turn tea-making into an elegant dance, which pleased the eye and made the tea leaves more fun?

It seemed that they had missed a lot in the past six months. Lady not only changed her temperament, but also learned a lot of unknown stunts, just like painting the big-headed portraits.

Princess Yuhe remained the same face, but her stiff fingers on the cup clutched harder. The servants who were familiar with her knew that she was in a horrible mood.

Nobody stood out to accept the challenge.

The ladies had never even seen this kind of tea art. Whatever they did would show themselves up.

There was some disturbance among the ladies. After Mo Qianxue finished, poured tea for Princess and the several ladies who were superior to her, there were ladies came to her to learn and some even directly invited her home.

Mo Qianxue didn’t decline but just smiled.

It was up to them whether they invited her, but up to her whether she would go. She had planned to make a few friends since female diplomacy was quite popular in Tianqi.

She laid a good foundation now so that she would be more respected after marrying Ning Shaoiqng.

The next was guqin competition. Princess Yuhe sat there and looked to Mo Qianxue several times. She heard from mother that Mo Qianxue was a good guqin player.

Yet, she didn’t know that she was wrong. The former Xue, timid by nature, did like playing guqin and was a good player.

After a few ladies’ performance, Wengzhu YuanAi tried many times to let Mo Qianxue play. She just didn’t believe that she was excelled at everything. But every time, before she talked, the attempt was strangled by Princess Yuhe, who was still being considerate and said Miss. Mo was tired and should take a rest.

She didn’t know how to tell mom, the Empress, if Mo Qianxue won three pendants unprecedentedly.

She heard that she was bad at calligraphy and painting. Wait there.

The Guqin Pendant was granted to a quiet girl wearing a green dress.

The winner of chess competition was Wan Ziying. Indeed, a person talking less must think more and become wiser.

Calligraphy and painting couldn’t be separated, so in the party, there was set into one competition, although the winners weren’t necessarily the same person. If one single person won both pendants, her talent and fame would be known quickly.

Usually there weren’t many contenders in this field which tested really skills, because their works would be submitted to the scholars of the Imperial Academy. One mistake found be the scholars, and the painter would become a laughing stock.

For this party, every year the scholars waited outside the garden to comment on the ladies’ works.

Of course, they didn’t dare to comment casually. Their comments would be straightforward, fair but sharp, since these paintings would finally be submitted to the Imperial Academy for other scholars to appreciate.

Therefore, the last two pendants were most valuable. Every year, whoever won these two pendants at the same time would also be known as the fist talent lady of Tianqi.

There weren’t many of the ladies going to the stage. Mo Qianxue didn’t say anything yet, and Princess Yuhe and Wengzhu YuanAi already picked her.

Mo Qianxue, on the stage, clumsily churned paint. They smiled at each other. So what even if she had won two pieces of pendants? If her calligraphy and painting was too humble, with those scholars’ merciless criticism, she would still become the laughing stock in the capital for a whole year.

In fact, they didn’t know that Mo Qianxue had planned to contend without their picking.

Although she wasn’t a great painter, she couldn’t be clumsy. She did so just to tease the two fools, so that they would let down their guards and make less tricks while she was painting.

Chuyi wished to cover her eyes with hands. She knew lady who wasn’t very good at calligraphy and painting since childhood. But she was at a normal level.

However, strange things happened since she came back in that she always drew some hilarious monsters. How could them not be monsters when the head was three times bigger than the body? Yet and yet, someone just like those strange pictures. Lord Su Qi asked for them.

She murmured to herself and hoped that lady didn’t joke now and just drew something in the normal style. Even if it wouldn’t excel, there couldn’t be mistakes. She already won two pendants, so it would be okay if she lost a little face and be slightly laughed at for this competition.

Although Mo Qianxue wasn’t a great painter, there was one painting that she had painted countless times since she was a child. Now painting that would be cheating, but it couldn’t be wrong.

Mo Qianxue didn’t make too many colors. In general, there was black, white, grey, green and red.

Princess Yuhe took a glance and looked joyful. As she guessed, she wasn’t apt at painting. These colors couldn’t make a good painting.

Some ladies already began painting grand blossoms representing wealth, with a nice inscription. Princess Yuhe nodded. She didn’t care who won the pendant, as long as it wasn’t Mo Qianxue.

However, she cared more about what mother had said that as long as she made things done in the garden, there would be a huge play afterwards.

That huge play was what she looked forward to most.

Originally, she didn’t hate Mo Qianxue and just wanted to help mother. However, now, after rounds of provocation, she began to resent her, especially after she leisurely took away the reputation.

The several ladies almost completed. So did Mo Qianxue.

Her peach blossom poem was stunning, and tea ceremony unique and novel, so at this moment, many ladies paid attention to her in curiosity.

Her paper was quite empty. In such a beautiful season of peach blossom, she didn’t draw flowers, but snow. And by a closer look, there weren’t plum blossoms in the snow, but an icy river, and an old man wearing straw raincoat and fishing. The ladies shook heads.

No poem on it would reverse the situation.

After she complete, the last groups of ladies around her walked to others.

Princess Yuhe, due to her identity, just walked around, took a few glances at the paintings and went back to her seat.

Such a painting, if without excellent calligraphy, would absolutely fail!

At first, she really feared that she might paint peach blossom and then wrote the poem on it, because if so, even if her painting wasn’t impressive, the scholars would still think highly of it wihout much criticism due to the poem.

What a stupid girl!

Princess Yuhe began to enjoy her tea in relieve. After the ladies wrote down inscription, they handed their works to the waiting servants. So did Mo Qianxue.

After this, the ladies were tired.

There wasn’t much sound. Princess Yuhe called up the singers and dancers as arranged and waited for the result from the scholars. Then, after the announcement of the last two pendant-owners, this year’s peach blossom party would come to a successful end.

After a few singing and dancing, the servants carried back the ladies’ works and the comments from the scholars.

The painting in a jade plate held by one servant walking in the front meant that this time there was only one winner. The ladies were shocked, because this hadn’t happened for many years.

Princess Yuhe took over the jade plate and causally picked up the painted. Just now, she had glanced around and found An Eryan’s painting of auspicious grand flowers was good, and with nice words.

An Eryan was from grandfather’s family. It would be good for the family if the reputation of the first talented lady belonged to her.

She opened the scroll, and the black and white and grey colors greeted her eyes. She thought she saw it wrong, blinked and took a second look. The confirmation she had just now was instantly smashed, and she almost overturned the jade plate.

She felt terrible at once. She had never been so discomposed in public ever before.

She forced out a smile and exclaimed seriously, “This year, in the peach blossom party held by me, there is the first talented lady. What a pleasure to witness it! Now, I announce Mo Qianxue as the top-scorer of this year’s party. She wins the fame of the first talented lady.”

After the announcement, there was silence.

Mo Qianxue took it for granted, but Chuyi’s eye popped open. Junzhu Susu secretly gave her a thumb, while Lan Ruomeng gave her the congratulations look in the distant.

The curiosity of the ladies towards the painting reached the peak, especially for those who had seen her painting. A painting was a master piece only when the painting and poem matched perfectly in expression. A good painting might be ruined by a stupid poem, while sometimes, an ordinary painting would stand out due to a good poem.

Princess Yuhe said, “Miss. Mo is a great poet, and her inscription really does make the finishing point. You talents deserve the fame. Mother’s judgment is right.”

After all, Princess Yuhe was an expert in dealing with all kinds of situation. Since a first lalented lady was produced during the party she held, she first tried to drag the credit to herself and then to her mother.

“If Princess didn’t insist Miss. Mo take part in competition, we wouldn’t have been so lucky to see such a master piece, in view that Miss. Mo is so modest.”

“Princess has sharp wise eyes…”

“Her Majesty’s words are never wrong.”

There rose endless waves of flattery words for Princess Yuhe and the Emperor, as if Princess Yuhe was the one winning the fame.

Princess Yuhe wore a smile, raised her hand to let the servant carrying to jade plate to present the painting for ladies to appreciate.

No one could know that, at this moment, both hands of Princess Yuhe were at her back, and the nails were deeply stabbed into her palms.

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