Tianxin Jushi's paintings are all in the freehand style, mostly depicting flowers and plants, and occasionally some everyday objects such as fruit platters, vases of flowers, and window views.

The composition is simple, the size is small, and a painting can be completed quickly.

He Shizi had already made a draft and practiced several times, so he drew it even faster.

To avoid attracting attention, he deliberately slowed down his painting speed.

He kept writing for half an incense stick's time before finally stopping.

After finishing the painting, he glanced at Situ Zhi and almost burst out laughing when he saw that she had a large sheet of Xuan paper laid out in front of her.

Just as that person said, this Princess Changning was indeed a good-for-nothing.

The paintings she took out, it's unclear who did the work for her.

For someone who has never even studied painting to suddenly create a painting with such a beautiful artistic conception, the headmaster of Songyue Academy not only didn't suspect anything amiss but also endorsed her, which most likely means he received a bribe.

Princess Yongfu must have spent a lot of money to promote her daughter.

However, she certainly didn't expect that he would suddenly appear out of nowhere.

All their efforts became stepping stones for him.

From this day forward, he will be known as Layman Tianxin.

He no longer needs to make a living by copying other people's paintings; he can now enter the art world and gain both fame and fortune.

He couldn't help but laugh out loud at the thought of what was about to happen.

The laughter suddenly reached his ears, and he was startled to realize that the scene was so quiet you could almost hear a pin drop.

Why is it so quiet?

Shouldn't these onlookers have mocked and ridiculed him when they saw that he had finished drawing while Situ Zhi was still pretending to doodle?

A sense of panic swept through him.

He noticed that everyone was staring intently at Situ Zhi as she painted, and unconsciously moved closer to her table. When he saw her painting clearly, he was startled.

Situ Zhi wasn't just scribbling randomly; she was seriously drawing.

And it's drawn...quite well!

Although the size of the painting is quite different from the usual paintings of Tianxin Jushi, the style is consistent, and the painting skills are even better than those of the paintings of Tianxin Jushi that he has seen.

In other words, she is very likely a hermit named Tianxin!

How is that possible!

Despite being a genius like him, he started learning to paint at the age of six and has been painting for nearly twenty years, yet he is still only at the level of technique.

How could Situ Zhi, who has always been learning the piano, paint so well?

She definitely didn't create it herself.

He must have anticipated that someone would question him, and like him, he specially practiced a copy to deal with today's situation.

He managed to calm down.

Situ Zhi painted for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before stopping.

She rarely paints such a large painting, especially not in front of so many people.

However, it was precisely this accumulated pressure that allowed her to fully express her inner emotions and achieve a breakthrough.

She had just finished washing her brushes when applause broke out.

First it was one person, then two, three... most of the onlookers applauded.

She was flattered and a blush rose to her face.

Just then, He Shizi walked over calmly and said indifferently, "You must have practiced many times to paint this picture."

Situ Zhi frowned: "What do you mean?"

"This painting is not your work at all."

He Shizi pointed to her newly completed painting.

"This is what you silently said."

Silent?

Situ Zhi found it quite amusing.

This person is really good at arguing. If she can't paint it, then it must be a purchased painting; if she can paint it, then it must be a silent painting.

Are you determined to steal the title of Tianxin Jushi?

She glanced at the painting he had finished; it was a picture of orchids, very similar to one she had painted before, except that she had changed the orchid from black orchid to gladiolus.

She sneered, "Then how many do you think I can recite from memory?"

He Shizi was slightly taken aback.

Shouldn't this person try to defend themselves after hearing what he said?

Why are you asking this kind of question instead?

"No matter how many paintings you can recite from memory, none of them are yours."

Situ Zhi asked the shopkeeper to bring out another table and carefully moved the slightly dry ink painting onto that table.

Then he ground ink, laid out paper, and began to write calligraphy on the spot.

In less than fifteen minutes, another painting was finished.

Then he drew the third, the fourth... and the sixth picture.

She spread out paper on the ground and arranged all six paintings together. The scholars then discovered that she had painted the scenery of Yichun Garden.

Each picture represents a corner of the scenery, but when all six are combined, they depict the entire garden.

Every flower, every blade of grass, every stone, every tree—all reflect the style characteristic of Tianxin Jushi.

Yet it is more grand and pleasing to the eye than the previous small paintings.

All six paintings exude a sense of effortless freedom, created in one go, with no discordant elements.

They are all skilled in writing and drawing, and it's immediately obvious that this is not a copy.

In contrast, He Shizi's painting, although also completed in one go, is somewhat stiff and lacks the open-mindedness that Tianxin Jushi's paintings should have.

When He Shizi saw Situ Zhi paint six paintings in a row, his heart sank to the bottom.

He's framing the wrong person.

Situ Zhi turned to look at him: "I can recite six paintings from memory. I wonder if Scholar He can paint six paintings? If he can, I will acknowledge you as the Hermit of Heavenly Heart."

He Shizi felt a surge of emotion and almost picked up his pen.

But he couldn't draw it.

He only prepared one painting. He had thought of two or three ideas, but he hadn't practiced them, so they definitely wouldn't look like the style of Tianxin Jushi.

Situ Zhi must have known this, which is why she said that.

He gritted his teeth, bent down and apologized: "I'm sorry, it's because your style is so similar to mine that I had this misunderstanding."

No sooner had he finished speaking than boos erupted.

"Shameless! Trying to steal someone else's title, yet can't even paint a decent picture."

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