When the early morning forest breeze brought the dull sound of the ancient bell on the top of Linlu Mountain into the Dongli Cottage.
Zhao Rong has opened his eyes.
He jumped off the bed with a somersault.
Open the window, face the vibrant morning sun on the distant hills, squint your eyes, and take a deep breath.
Full of energy.
Zhao Rong touched his stomach, muttered something, then put on a double-breasted shirt and ran to wash up.
Not long after, he prepared a pot of tuantuo, which is noodle soup, in the kitchen. He filled his stomach with most of it, and the remaining half was served and placed on the stone table in the courtyard by Zhao Rong.
After everything was packed, Zhao Rong, who had enough food and shelter, went out with a small book box hooked between his two fingers.
Jia Tengying, still half asleep, poked his head out of the door and stared in surprise at the bowl of steaming dumplings in the empty yard and the lightly closed door.
Why do I feel like a roommate has become a little different since he came back...
Zhao Rong didn't know that his heroic figure, who came and went like the wind, impressed Brother Teng Ying. If he knew, he would probably smile embarrassedly.
After a good night's sleep, he activated his heart lake early and rushed to Mo Chi Academy on the fallen leaves.
I didn't feel much mental hunger when I woke up this morning. The two tubes of well water I drank yesterday are still effective and do not need to be replenished. They can last for two days.
Zhao Rong was quite satisfied.
He left home too early, so there were not many people on the road. When he arrived at Mo Chi Academy, he found it even more so, with the long corridors completely empty.
But don’t say you are early, there are people who are even earlier than you.
The academy is located close to the bank of the Mochi Lake. From a distance, you can see some hardworking students who value introspection pacing and reciting their lessons.
Zhao Rong smiled and went to the examination room No. Ren.
He was one of the first to arrive. He took out a chess manual and started flipping through it from his seat. Later, as time passed, the examination rooms in the academy gradually became lively. During the exam, many students from other halls who came because of what happened to Zhao Rong yesterday stopped outside the gate of the Renzi Hall to "pay homage to the holy face."
In response, Zhao Rong turned a deaf ear to what was happening outside and just flipped through the chess manual.
In this way, when the clock struck two quarters past midnight, the morning calligraphy assessment officially began.
Zhao Rong took the test paper, spread it out on the table, took a look, paused, and smiled.
At the same time, in the No. 1 examination room, there was a subconscious low cry among the candidates.
"Silence!" the new invigilator shouted.
The whole place fell silent, and most of the students except Zhao Rong began to study ink and think with bitter faces.
Zhao Rong had already ground the ink, and he began to spread the paper and start writing in an orderly manner.
His expression was calm and he glanced at the test questions again.
This time, Zhu Yourong did not test the students to copy classic calligraphy works on the spot as Zhao Rong had heard in the last mid-month exam. Instead, Zhu Yourong tested the students to express themselves freely on the spot.
The requirement for this session was to improvise a piece of calligraphy, and the theme given by the orchid lady was very simple: window.
As long as there is the word "window" in calligraphy, there is no limit to the font, and it must be no less than thirty characters, and repeated characters are not counted.
No wonder the candidates lost their composure after receiving their papers just now.
Zhu Yourong's requirements for students' calligraphy are already very strict, and he is also famous for his strict marking. For students, the test of writing characters is definitely "the more you write, the more mistakes you make", and if you write too much, it will be easy to reveal flaws.
If the test paper required fewer words, about a dozen or so, they could also use the best few words they had written, and some of the words that Zhu Yourong had taught them, to piece together a short sentence and try their best to show their best level.
Unfortunately, now, the test is thirty different characters...
Zhao Rong's expression did not change, he was not surprised at all.
He had already guessed that predicting the topic was almost useless, so last night in the calligraphy lessons at Zhengyi Hall and Ruexing Hall, he had focused on teaching the basic skills of the eight strokes of the character Yong, teaching them how to fish.
I just don’t know how much the students in the two schools listened to it.
"window……"
Zhao Rong, who was sitting in the open-air examination room, turned his head to look in the direction of Dongli Cottage, and then turned his head to look in the direction of Yilanxuan.
A dark window slowly emerged in his mind.
Zhao Rong bent over his desk and started writing.
The pen moves like a dragon and the writing is done in one stroke.
More than thirty words appeared on the paper in less than thirty breaths.
As usual, without wasting time, Zhao Rong went straight to the stage, handed in his paper and left.
I didn’t even take my book box and exam supplies back with me because I had another exam in the afternoon and had to come back to continue.
So, under the raised eyebrow gaze of the invigilator in the examination room Ren, Zhao Rong turned and left, leaving only a dashing back view for the invigilator and all the candidates including Li Xueyu.
Then Zhao Rong left the Ren examination room and once again stepped onto the empty lakeside promenade, passing by the eight examination rooms of Xin, Geng, Ji, Wu, Ding, Bing, Yi, and Jia in turn.
Many students in the eight examination rooms turned their heads in a daze, looking at the back of the student who was the first to hand in his paper and leave the hallway, and began to doubt whether they had taken the same test paper...
Zhao Rong followed his masculine principles as strong as the wind, left Mo Chi Academy without looking back, and returned to Dongli Cottage.
At noon, after Zhao Rong had a hearty lunch, he did not take a nap. He found that the sleep he got at night was enough to activate the mind and physical energy consumed during the day. As long as the nutrition of three meals a day could keep up, it would be enough.
Zhao Rong continued to review his weakest chess skill at noon, looking through chess records and recalling Li Xueyu's chess lessons and predictions last night.
So noon passed in the blink of an eye.
In the afternoon, Zhao Rong arrived at the Renzi examination room on time. A group of bored students from other schools came over with strange looks and wanted to watch the "monkeys". Zhao Rong treated them as "monkeys" and ignored them, lowering his head to flip through the book.
At 2:45 pm, the afternoon painting examination started on time.
Zhao Rong got the test paper, reviewed the questions, and found that it was another free-expression question.
In short, it means that candidates can draw almost anything and the painting teacher can change the grades.
This degree of freedom is quite large.
Zhao Rong thought of the burly gentleman who taught painting at Ruexingtang. He was indeed a generous and open-minded person, just like the questions he asked.
Zhao Rong took out his painting supplies with a smile.
After a brief thought, he decided to paint portraits, and to paint "ladies" among portraits.
The term "beautiful ladies' paintings" is used at the foot of the mountain, while it is called "fairy ladies' paintings" on the mountain.
Because at the foot of the mountain, painters mainly paint ladies, noble ladies, and princesses; while on the mountain, painters mainly paint fairies, goddesses, foxes, goblins, and spirits, etc. The names change due to different audiences.
Therefore, it can also be called beauty painting, which is simple and easy to understand, but it is only one of the art forms of beauty painting, not all.
What, you ask if there are other types of beauty paintings?
Zhao Rong suggested that this question should be asked to the knowledgeable Fan Yushu instead of asking him. As everyone knows, he is a serious person who only paints serious beauties.
At this time, Zhao Rong thought to himself: "I have to draw three, and I can't favor one over the other."
A purple sword spirit suddenly asked curiously: "What do you want to draw?"
Zhao Rong answered honestly, "Beauty."
"Nonsense, I'm asking who you want to draw."
Zhao Rong nodded seriously: "Beauty painting, of course, should be the most beautiful woman."
The sword spirit sneered, "Tsk tsk, the most beautiful woman? Her cultivation is not high, but she is quite arrogant. Are you sure you have seen one? I have seen many beauties. As for the most beautiful one... well, of course there is one. Do you want me to provide you with one?"
Zhao Rong immediately shook his head. "No, I already have three of the most beautiful women in the world, and I'm already very familiar with them. Don't say it's hard to paint a beautiful woman's skin, even if..."
He quickly shut up.
Gui curiously asked, "Even if it's what?"
"Nothing." Zhao Rong nodded sincerely.
But he quietly swallowed the words "Even if I'm drawing fur, I can draw it in detail."
Gui muttered with some dissatisfaction, "Playing tricks."
Zhao Rong smiled without explaining. He lowered his head and thought carefully. He decided to use the perspective method he learned in his previous life to paint this "Qi Family Beauty"...
Zhao Rong rolled up his sleeves and began to compose the picture.
The sword spirit in the heart lake was a little bored and was ready to take a rest, but suddenly he noticed that there seemed to be murmurs in the heart lake.
It listened carefully.
Someone who was immersed in the painting of a beautiful woman was subconsciously mumbling:
"The one with lotus face and eyebrows like distant mountains must be Qingjun, the one with cherry lips and slim waist must be Xiaoxiao, the one with golden lotus feet and peach blossom smile must be Qianer..."
"A beauty should have a graceful demeanor, spirit, fun, affection, and heart..."
"Beauty has her own manner. With eyes slightly angry and eyebrows dark and hazy, I like Qingjun's slightly angry manner the most; with pear blossoms in the rain and cicadas in the autumn, I like her weeping manner the most; with hair in disorder and leaning against the embroidered screen, I like Qian'er's lazy sleeping manner the most."
"Beauty has feelings. Qingjun's gaze at the small window is a sign of quiet love; Qian'er's coquettish whispers are tender feelings; stupid little girl's day and night, laughing and crying all the time is infatuation..."
The sword spirit, who was about to sneer "boring", couldn't help but open his eyes and continued listening.
"Beauty is interesting. The face in the mirror, the shadow under the moon, the shape behind the curtain... The empty interest is Qingjun; slightly drunk, half-made up, sleeping for the first time... The unique interest is Qianer; the romantic sweat, lovesick tears, rainy dreams... The strange interest is Benxiaoxiao."
"Beauty also has spirit. Qingjun, her spirit is like ice in a jade pot; Qian'er, her spirit is as soft as jade; Xiaoxiao, her spirit is as light as the fragrance of tea, like wisps of smoke, sometimes dissipating and sometimes gathering..."
Gui eavesdropped for a long while before curling his lips and making a sound of "Pooh" to express his disdain:
"Zhao Rong, you are such a lecher. You can even come up with so many tricks just to draw a beautiful woman for the exam. If you put half of your energy into cultivation, you would have been a great success long ago... You are really not doing your job properly."
After complaining, the sword spirit deliberately didn't wait for Zhao Rong to react and slipped away, leaving him no chance to fight back.
Zhao Rong smiled inwardly, not caring, and continued to focus on sketching his painting:
"Well, the three beauties' clothes are also indispensable... Clothes should be appropriate at different times. Spring clothes should be light, summer clothes should be cool, autumn clothes should be elegant, and winter clothes should be bright. When meeting guests, they should wear solemn clothes. When traveling, they should wear plain clothes. Under the flowers, they should wear plain clothes. Facing the snow, they should wear beautiful clothes. Even if they don't wear these, a hairpin and a skirt made of thorns are still elegant..."
"Also, the places where the three 'beauties' live in this picture... The potted plants and the vases for cuttings are indispensable. The flowers are the shadows of the beauties, and the beauties are the real flowers. They complement each other..."
Zhao Rong leaned back and smiled knowingly.
It was an exam that was supposed to be concluded quickly, but Zhao Rong became more and more leisurely and contented as he painted. He was no longer in a hurry, and slowly, stroke by stroke, he completed the "Beauty of the Qi Family" in his mind.
Therefore, in this painting exam, Zhao Rong rarely failed to hand in his paper first, which made many students in the exam room secretly breathe a sigh of relief. After all, handing in his paper first in every exam was simply too cruel...
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