Su Hua smiled slightly, "Now that we're competing in painting, the fire azalea has always been used for painting."

"Use fire azaleas to paint?" Qin Yucheng and his sister were both taken aback.

They cultivate many flowers in their various estates, which are used not only for ornamental purposes but also for cooking.

For example, the lilies, peony vines, hibiscus, epiphyllum, and dendrobium orchids that we see now taste great when stir-fried, used in cold dishes, or added to soups.

For example, roselle, osmanthus, honeysuckle, jasmine, chrysanthemum, peach blossom, and plum blossom have unique fragrances. They can be dried to make flower tea, used to cook porridge, or even made into flower cakes after special processing.

Not only were these dishes served at the Qin family's dinner table, but they were also served at Tianxianglou restaurants throughout the Qin family's residence. Moreover, there were quite a few guests who enjoyed these flower-themed dishes.

I've never heard of this flower being used for painting.

The teachers have been teaching them to paint all these years, and they have never used any fresh flowers.

Even Su Dahu, who was used to his younger sister's amazing feats, was astonished at this moment.

If Hua'er said she was tired of seafood and wanted to eat some azaleas to cleanse her palate, he thought it was perfectly normal.

After all, no matter how messy or random something is, it can all be turned into food once it gets into Hua'er's hands.

At first, the snails that cats and dogs disliked were like this; later, the smelly, various kinds of offal were like this; and then, the poisonous mushrooms that people feared were also like this.

Not only can you eat it, but it's also incredibly delicious.

But now that she says she wants to use azaleas in her paintings, he is completely baffled.

Seeing the expressions on the three people's faces, Su Hua smiled and explained simply, "This fire rhododendron can be used as a pigment, so that the colors won't be so monotonous."

"oh…………"

The three nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

However, now is not the time to talk about this. Many people in the center of the garden have already started writing. Qin Yucheng led Su Hua directly to the fire azalea.

"Hua'er, just pick as many fire azaleas as you need. If you need other flowers, just say so. Qichi Manor may not have many other flowers, but we will definitely have enough of these."

Su Hua chuckled, "This fire azalea is enough."

She glanced at the azaleas and picked a dozen or so of the most vibrant red blossoms.

The original owner had been to Feng Zicai's study, and she had also been to Xiao Jinhan's study, but on their desks, there were only writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones.

All of their paintings were black and white ink paintings.

While the Feng family may be poor and unable to afford paint, Xiao Jinhan is not; on the contrary, he is a very wealthy man who keeps a low profile.

Therefore, there can only be one reason: pigments had not yet been invented during the reign of Yu the Great.

Therefore, the people here have always only been able to paint ink wash paintings, which are either black or white.

She doesn't like things that are too bland.

Actually, her first thought was to use the Cymbidium goeringii and Rhododendron simsii in her space. She had cut a few leaves from the Rhododendron simsii that Xiao Jinhan had given her and propagated them in her space.

Under the relentless, continuous watering from the space's water droplets, the cuttings of Loushan Red have already taken root and blossomed, looking just as good as the one outside the window.

It even has an added touch of refreshing herbal fragrance.

However, there are many people around, and if she were to suddenly produce a flower out of thin air, someone might see it, not to mention Wei Jianjia and Liu Yuxian, that pair of brilliant strategists, who are watching her all the time.

Therefore, she thought of using the fire azalea as the light and the Loushan red as the dark.

The red of the fire azalea is a true red, while the red of the spring orchid Loushan red is a deep red, both of which are suitable for use.

As for why she didn't use other flowers...

In the field of painting, the clash between red and black is always the most classic.

Red and black, when used well, can definitely make people's eyes light up.

Of course, she didn't say those words.

It was her art teacher from her previous life who told her that she majored in traditional Chinese medicine and art was just an elective. Her art teacher was a somewhat eccentric old lady, whose personality was somewhat similar to... Old Xue.

The paintings are divided into two groups of two, with each group consisting of one painting.

The painting of Liu Yuxian and Wei Jianjia was naturally done by Wei Jianjia, who was skilled in painting.

As for Liu Yuxian, she stood obediently to the side, grinding ink for Wei Jianjia.

Originally, this task of grinding ink was done by servants.

However, Master Ouyang stipulated that the entire painting process could only be completed by the two people participating in the painting contest, and no one else could do it for them.

Therefore, after the desk, writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone were arranged, all the servants were dismissed, including Qiu Shuang, who was brought by Wei Jianjia.

Liu Yuxian naturally wouldn't let such an opportunity to show off pass her by.

Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles.

She, the legitimate daughter of a prefectural magistrate, was willing to grind ink for the concubine's daughter of the Wei family. What a great favor that must have been! Anyone who saw this would have to sigh at the deep sisterly affection.

"Jianjia, the ink is ready." The girl raised her chin, her fox-like eyes sparkling with amusement.

However, when she saw the Su siblings beside her, her gentle smile froze for a moment.

Painting requires a quiet environment, so the two of them chose the last table in the first row. However, they didn't expect that the Su siblings, who had arrived late, would be sitting at the table in the next row.

Between the two tables, there was only a narrow passageway wide enough for two people.

Therefore, Liu Yuxian turned her head and saw the Su siblings' actions clearly.

Su Hua was holding a small porcelain white plate in her left hand. She had seen this plate before on the long table where the seafood was. The plate contained about a dozen unknown flowers, while in her right hand she was holding a small pestle and crushing the petals one by one.

The petals were fiery red, and in no time they were crushed into a wet, sticky liquid.

It doesn't smell bad; it even has a faint floral scent.

But to Liu Yuxian, it just felt inexplicably irritating.

Meanwhile, Su Dahu was diligently grinding ink, but his technique was extremely clumsy, like a greenhorn who had never touched an ink block before.

Her fox-like eyes darted around, and then she let out a cold laugh.

"Ha! You can't even grind ink properly, yet you waste time on these crooked tricks. You'd be better off using that time to actually paint something, lest half an hour have passed and you haven't even finished painting a single foxtail grass!"

Su Dahu looked up and smiled, "Yes, yes, Miss Liu is right."

Seeing the man's good attitude, Liu Yuxian raised her chin even higher, like a female peacock spreading her wings.

From its forehead to its tail, every single hair exudes pride.

He then turned his gaze to Su Hua, who had just picked up a pen, and raised his voice even higher.

"When it comes to painting, it takes seven or eight years of practice to achieve anything significant. If I were you, I would take advantage of winning first place in the flower riddle guessing game and quickly admit defeat to avoid embarrassing myself in front of the whole county."

Su Dahu's smile remained unchanged. "Yes, yes, Miss Liu is right!"