His brushstrokes flowed freely, painting vividly; the lake echoed with the sounds of rain and flutes.
A curtain of rain had appeared between heaven and earth without anyone noticing.
A damp lake breeze swept over me, gently lifting a corner of the Xuan paper.
Cui Shenghe caught a glimpse of Zhao Zhi painting intently out of the corner of his eye, and a barely perceptible tenderness flashed in his eyes.
This scene gradually overlapped with the image of his mother painting when he was a child. If Yun Shu hadn't launched the palace coup, his mother would still be the most beautiful woman in the harem, favored by the emperor. And he, the crown prince, would undoubtedly have inherited the empire built by his father.
But now, all that was beautiful has crumbled. Everything he revered and believed in vanished that night.
Cui Shenghe shifted his gaze from the lake to Zhao Zhi, looking directly at her.
For a moment, he would have a fleeting feeling that his mother was not dead.
In fact, the Emperor's painting skills were superior to the Emperor's.
Realizing that Zhao Zhi was looking over, Cui Shenghe quickly turned his gaze back to the distance.
He had never heard his aunt mention that he had a younger sister still alive.
He believed that he was the only survivor of that palace coup.
If Zhao Zhi's age is accurate, she should have been born in the second year after the coup in Yun Dynasty.
When the Empress Dowager was captured and taken back by Yun Shu two years after the palace coup, she did not tell her aunt that she had given birth to another daughter outside the palace.
Zhao Zhi was completely absorbed in her painting, her lively brushstrokes outlining Cui Shenghe's features. Occasionally, she would look up at Cui Shenghe, their eyes would meet, and they would smile at each other.
Outside Zhan Garden, the teahouses saw a sudden surge in business thanks to the unexpected rain.
As soon as the rain started to fall, pedestrians swarmed into the already cramped teahouse.
The shop owner glanced at Zhao Yun with a troubled expression, and hesitated before saying, "Miss, hasn't the person you're waiting for arrived yet? You've been sitting here for most of the day."
Hearing the flute music coming from Zhan Garden, Zhao Yun gripped the hem of her clothes tightly and angrily threw a silver ingot onto the table.
"You just want more money, right? Here you go!"
"Oh, that's not what I actually meant. It's just a small business..." the owner explained cautiously.
"I've given you the money, so hurry up and leave!" Zhao Yun said irritably, looking at the torrential rain.
The boss quickly went to attend to the other customers.
"Is this Zhan Garden inhabited by Young Master Cui Shenghe?" Behind us, two young men dressed in Song brocade discussed the owner of Zhan Garden.
“Exactly. There are rumors that Young Master Cui is a royal merchant. A royal merchant, of course, does business with the royal families of Tongyun Dynasty and our Great Sheng Dynasty, and is richer than a country!” The man said, touching the Song brocade on his body, “The Song brocade we are wearing was bought from Young Master Cui by my mother through many people.”
Another young man chuckled, "Cousin, you've gone to so much trouble. I just wonder what kind of girl could be worthy of a man like Young Master Cui?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun began to plot to cancel her marriage with Li Huai'an.
She made up her mind to find a way to marry Cui Shenghe.
So what if you don't have an official position? You're the richest man in the world, and you have more freedom than if you were in the palace. This is what many women dream of.
After the rain cleared, the flute music faded, and Zhao Zhi's painting was nearing completion.
Cui Shenghe received Zhao Zhi's instruction that he could move around freely, so he walked to her side.
Seeing that Zhao Zhi's forehead was covered in sweat, he took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and gently wiped it off for her.
Zhao Zhi smiled mischievously at him, "Thank you, brother!"
Hearing that "brother," Cui Shenghe's eyes welled up with tears. This was his only family member in the world besides his aunt.
His gaze fell upon the rice paper. The man in the painting was so lifelike, he seemed to leap off the page.
Her painting skills were no less than his.
"Zhizhi, your painting is so lifelike! I wonder which painter you studied under?" Cui Shenghe asked casually.
After Zhao Zhi finished the last stroke, he wrote a line: "This is a gift for my elder brother Shenghe."
Then she raised her head, smiled, and said, "I first discovered my talent in this area when I was three years old. I had just learned to hold a pen, and somehow I drew a warbler perched on the window frame of the study. Because of this, I was scolded very badly by the teacher!"
After saying that, she burst into laughter.
Cui Shenghe laughed along with him.
"It seems there must be someone in Zhizhi's family who is good at painting. Through exposure and observation, Zhizhi gradually learned to paint as well."
"No, that's not it. My father likes to appreciate paintings, but he can't paint. My mother, on the other hand, knows medicine. That's how I learned medicine."
Zhao Zhi stretched her aching neck and continued, "I also have an aunt named Liu in my family, she can sing folk songs. My half-sister can sing too. My elder sister, well, she actually plays the zither quite well, but, sigh, I don't know why, she's never liked me since we were little! We clearly have the same mother..."
Cui Shenghe noticed that Zhao Zhi was troubled by her relationship with her elder sister, so he comforted her, "Zhizhi, in this world, some relationships cannot be forced. Blood relatives are not necessarily close, and strangers are not necessarily estranged."
Zhao Zhi nodded, "I understand. It's just that I don't want to put Mother in a difficult position. So, I'll give in to my sister whenever I can."
She glanced at the darkening sky and said she had to go.
Cui Shenghe had no choice but to reluctantly see her off.
"Zhizhi, if you still have that painting, could you give it to your brother as well? To be honest, the beauty in the painting is Cui Jiao, the late Empress of Yun Dynasty, who is my aunt. I don't want to..."
On the covered walkway, Cui Shenghe hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
Zhao Zhi thought to herself, "If it were me, I certainly wouldn't want my aunt's portrait to fall into the hands of the common people."
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