Chapter 64: Masterful Painting
Huaizhou is adjacent to Danyang County on the coast. It is normal for her to have seen dolphins and it will not be exposed. It is just the right time to fool these girls who grew up in the inland.
Lu Yu stroked her chin. Because of the filter of her own family, she felt that what her cousin said made a lot of sense.
"Wenxuan, have you ever seen a dolphin?"
Huo Wenxuan shook her head: "I haven't seen it, but isn't Sister Song's drawing a little simple?"
Facing the doubts of her relatives and friends, Song Lingyi remained calm: "Realism requires discarding all imagination. My painting of this dolphin is very lifelike. It's a pity that none of the sisters here have seen a dolphin, otherwise they would definitely praise me."
Princess Changyang frowned in displeasure.
It's obvious that this girl's painting skills are not even as good as those of a novice. It's not easy to fool people with just her mouth.
Since Pei Zhao wanted to see her paintings, it would be better to send this painting to him so that he could see the literary talent of Miss Song and put those thoughts aside.
Princess Changyang's brows relaxed slightly as she smiled softly, "Sister Song is a master painter, but we haven't seen a dolphin, so it's hard for us to appreciate it. Why don't we send it to the inner hall? My brother and Master Pei are knowledgeable and will surely appreciate your painting."
The other noble ladies immediately echoed the words and waited to see the show.
“…” Song Lingyi was petrified.
No way, is this how you play?
Huo Wenxuan saw Princess Changyang's intentions and raised her voice, "Sister Song was unwell, so this painting was done on the spur of the moment. The details aren't polished enough yet. Besides, many paintings have already been sent from the inner hall. Sending this one alone will simply lead others to think Sister Song is being pretentious or trying to be different."
At critical moments, we still have to be sisters!
Song Lingyi looked at Huo Wenxuan, her eyes almost filled with tears.
But Princess Changyang didn't buy it at all. She was determined to embarrass Song Lingyi and would not give in easily. She immediately asked her maid to take the painting and send it to the inner hall.
Song Lingyi sat down in a daze. Although the sun was shining brightly today, her heart felt as if it was covered with dark clouds.
I thought it was just a casual drawing, and since these ladies wouldn't understand, I could just fool them with a few words and get away with it. But if I showed it to those young masters, they would definitely criticize me for being uneducated!
Especially Lu Qian, he will definitely laugh at her!
How shameful!
"Cousin, what's wrong with you?" Lu Yu asked as if nothing had happened.
Huo Wenxuan coughed lightly and blinked to signal Lu Yu to say less.
Lu Yu was confused: "Wenxuan, are your eyes uncomfortable?"
“…”
"Cousin, are you worried that no one will appreciate your paintings? But I think your paintings are pretty good. If you have the chance in the future, can you take me to Huaizhou? I also want to see dolphins..."
The girl chattered away, not noticing that her cousin looked as listless as a frost-bitten eggplant.
…
Inner hall.
The maid slowly unfolded Song Lingyi's painting, and an animal that looked like a pig but not a pig, and like a fish but not a fish appeared on the paper.
The whole room was silent for a moment. Considering the presence of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, they all suppressed their laughter and did not dare to laugh too loudly.
"Uh..." A young man came closer to take a look, "What is this...?"
The maid nodded and said, "In reply to your question, Miss Song painted a dolphin."
"Brother Jianzhi, this Miss Song is truly a refined and elegant person. Her paintings are also very clear at a glance, hahaha..."
The maid holding the painting walked around the seats and stopped in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
The man sitting at the top slowly raised his eyes and saw the painting, but surprisingly he did not smile.
The painter's painting skills are poor. If he is not deliberately perfunctory, then he must have no knowledge of painting.
But this painting made him inexplicably think of Ali. If she were to paint it, it would probably be just as shocking.
The maid holding the painting continued to walk around. When she passed in front of Lu Qian, the young man just held his forehead with a headache and felt embarrassed to look at her any longer.
Could this damn girl be any dumber? If she can't draw, then don't draw. If this painting is shown in front of people, it will definitely make people laugh.
The maid holding the painting finally stopped in front of Pei Zhao.
Because the princess's maid had specifically instructed her to do so, she stayed for a long time, wanting to see her master's reaction.
The young man sitting near the scattered seats was trying to hold back his laughter in pain.
"Brother Jianzhi, aren't you concerned about Miss Song's paintings? Now that they've been delivered, what do you think of this 'sea pig'?"
The young man who was speaking didn't even remember the name of the animal in the painting.
The laughter around him even louder.
Pei Zhao looked at the painting, his expression solemn for a moment.
"The commentary on the Classic of Mountains and Seas says: 'There is a sea pig in the sea today, with a body like a fish and a head like a pig.' "Xie" means pig, so Brother Chu called it a 'sea pig,' which is actually correct."
The young man surnamed Chu was stunned. Could it be that Pei Jianzhi really knew what a "sea pig" was?
"I have never seen a dolphin before. When I read this article before, I couldn't imagine what it meant to be 'fish-like, pig-like'. I was always puzzled. But today, I saw Miss Song's painting of a dolphin. It was so lifelike that it finally cleared up my doubts."
Lu Qian didn't expect that the dead fish face would speak for the dead girl. He was surprised in his heart but didn't show it on his face. He continued, "The body is like a fish, the head is like a pig, isn't it what my cousin drew? What's so funny about it?" His tone was slightly threatening.
“…”
The laughter in the room suddenly stopped.
It was truly not easy to get Pei Jia Erlang to say "lifelike." Whether it was out of respect for their daughters or the intentional defense of Young Master Lu and Pei Jia Erlang, they dared not laugh anymore.
………
What happened in the inner hall soon reached Princess Changyang's ears.
She originally thought that Song Lingyi would be embarrassed in front of everyone, but she didn't expect Pei Zhao to defend her in public. She was so angry that she almost threw the cup on the table.
The maidservant whispered to comfort him: "Princess, don't be angry. Even if Pei Erlang intends to protect her, it doesn't mean anything. The Lu and Pei families are old friends. Perhaps it's out of respect for the brother and sister..."
Before she could finish her words, Princess Changyang gritted her teeth and interrupted her: "No matter what the reason is, this princess will not allow it!"
The master and servant made a little more noise, which attracted the attention of the noble ladies present.
The young girl, who had no idea what was happening in the inner hall, held her snow-white cheek with her hands, her eyes blank, and she looked completely absent-minded.
First, he ran into His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and found out that he was a bandit leader. Then he was forced to paint, which made him a laughing stock.
Oh my God, is this the kind of unlucky life a human can live?
"These grapes are so sweet, cousin, please try some."
Seeing that her cousin was in a bad mood, Lu Yu tried her best to comfort her and stuffed a sweet grape into her mouth. "How about it, sweet, right?"
Song Lingyi sighed, feeling like it was chewing wax.
"Don't worry, Lu Qian is over there. You are his cousin, and he will definitely not let others laugh at you." Huo Wenxuan comforted.
“…”
It would have been better if she didn't say it. Song Lingyi had already imagined the pretty boy mocking her when he got home.
Just when the girl was feeling discouraged, Huo Wenxuan's maid came quickly and told the three of them exactly what had happened in the inner hall.
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