Yang Jie said to Chu Nian, "Every word you've said is an attempt to exonerate Zuo An Shan Ren, which shows you're in cahoots with him. Guards..."
He was about to wave his hand and order his men to seize Chu Nian when Chu Nian spoke first, interrupting him with a clear and cold voice: "What do you mean by being in cahoots with Zuo An Shan Ren? I am none other than Zuo An Shan Ren, the very person you are looking for."
Upon hearing this, the previously somewhat chaotic hall fell silent, and everyone looked at her with strange expressions.
"Pfft!" Yang Jie was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, pointed at Chu Nian with his whip, and said with a mocking and disdainful look, "Are you Zuo An Shan Ren?"
Chu Nian replied calmly, "Exactly."
Yang Jie: "If you are Zuoan Shanren, then I am Tang Anyi!"
Tang Anyi was a renowned poet, calligrapher, and painter in the Eastern Chu Kingdom, a distinguished student of Confucianism, a famous scholar known to all, and an object of admiration for countless scholars throughout the country.
"Tang Anyi?" Chu Nian chuckled. "You really know how to flatter yourself. If you don't believe I'm Zuoan Shanren, I can paint right here and show you how a real master of calligraphy and painting does it."
Everyone present looked at her with great astonishment, finding her words unbelievable, yet upon reflection, they found them to be quite reasonable. Soon, some people began to look at her with curiosity.
Yang Jie said, "Oh? To be honest, I really want to see how that Zuoan Shanren, who is so highly regarded by the Confucian Academy, actually paints."
Chu Nian turned to the madam, who had just been crying her eyes out and was now staring at her in astonishment, and said, "I would like to trouble you, Granny, to have someone prepare an empty table and some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones."
"Ah...ah, okay!" The madam stammered twice in a daze before finally coming to her senses. She quickly ordered someone to clean up a large table full of wine and dishes nearby, and then brought out the Four Treasures of the Study.
Chu Nian picked up the pen and pondered for a moment, then murmured, "Hmm, what should I draw?" She stroked her cheek with her left index finger and thought for a while before saying, "I've got it." After saying that, she dipped the pen in ink and began to draw on the paper.
In a short while, everyone saw that she had also taken up a pen in her left hand, dipped it in ink, and was writing with great skill on the paper. She was actually writing with both hands at the same time, which amazed everyone present. Their eyes lit up and they were full of wonder.
Yang Jie was utterly stunned, staring at Chu Nian's hands so hard his eyes almost popped out.
Zhao Feiyan, Li Wenzhuang, and Sima Xiu were all peeking through the crack in the door from inside the room, watching the situation in the hall outside. They were both amazed and impressed to see Chu Nian perform such a wonderful skill on the spot.
Overwhelmed with excitement, Zhao Feiyan reached out and grabbed Sima Xiu's arm, startling him. She then exclaimed, "Did you see that? Did you see that? Sister Tong can even paint with her left hand!"
Sima Xiu's arm was in excruciating pain. He tried to shake it off but couldn't. Helplessly, he said, "We saw it, we all saw it. Can you please stop pinching me?"
Zhao Feiyan then turned her gaze to Sima Xiu, paused for a moment, and then turned to look at the other side, only to realize that Li Wenzhuang, the masochist who liked to be pinched, was standing on the other side!
"Sorry, I pinched the wrong person," Zhao Feiyan said, then switched hands and pinched Li Wenzhuang.
"Ouch!" Li Wenzhuang groaned in pain, but what he said next startled Sima Xiu: "Yanyan, your pinching skills are not good, you are far inferior to Niannian."
What does this mean? Sima Xiu looked at Li Wenzhuang in shock: Does this young master Li often get pinched? Why does he look so excited after being pinched, without showing any sign of pain or suffering?
At this moment, the commotion outside reignited, and the exclamations of amazement and wonder were several octaves louder than before, drawing the attention of the three people inside back to the outside. Because the door faced the widest part of the hall, where Chu Nian was painting, they could see him painting perfectly clearly.
Chu Nian actually dipped her hand into the leftover food on another table and used the soup to make a brushstroke. But when she used the brush again, the soup spread on the paper and turned into a soy sauce-colored lotus flower. Because of the difference in color from the other lines already drawn on the paper, it created a three-dimensional effect.
A moment later, a three-foot square Guanyin image was completed by Chu Nian's brush. Not only was the image dignified, but the face was also full, and the kind smile on the face looking down on all living beings was lifelike.
After Chu Nian finished writing, the crowd, though large and diverse, remained silent for a moment before erupting into enthusiastic applause and waves of praise.
Chu Nian smiled and said, "I heard that the Empress Dowager is a devout Buddhist. Since the chrysanthemum painting presented by your wife is not suitable for the Empress Dowager to appreciate, I will present this Guanyin painting to her instead. However, whether this painting will actually reach the Empress Dowager's hands depends on Lord Yang."
Yang Jie was both shocked and impressed by Chu Nianlu's amazing skill, but he quickly regained his composure after hearing her words and said, "I will present the painting to the Empress Dowager, but as a member of the Left Bank Mountain Clan, your painting has displeased the Empress Dowager and offended her. This crime cannot be escaped. Guards..."
He waved his hand, about to order his men to step forward and arrest the person, when a commotion broke out at the entrance of Cuihong Tower. Someone outside shouted, "Hey, it's the government conducting a case, make way! Make way!"
Sima Xiu raised an eyebrow as the person he had arranged to appear made his appearance.
Because the shout was loud and the tone was quite arrogant, the people at the door automatically made way for him. A young general, dressed in armor, with a handsome face and a spirited demeanor, led a group of guards and walked in with great fanfare, forcing the people who were originally standing on both sides of the door to unconsciously take several steps back.
"Hey, Yang Jie, you're here too? You actually come to a place like this to have fun. I'll see how you handle it when your sister-in-law finds out. Haha...haha..." The young man showed no fear at all when he saw Yang Jie. Instead, his tone was mocking and teasing.
Yang Jie was not annoyed at all; instead, he quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Prince Yi."
Wing King? Sima Xiu's younger brother, Sima Yi? Chu Nian was slightly surprised. She didn't expect that Sima Xiu would bring up his younger brother in order to investigate Zuo An Shan Ren.
In terms of status, position, and power, Yang Jie was no match for Sima Yi, and in terms of closeness to the Empress Dowager, he was even less comparable. However, Sima Yi was strictly disciplined by Sima Xiu and behaved much more properly than Yang Jie. Moreover, he spent most of his time either in the military camp or in the palace, unlike Yang Jie who spent his days wandering the streets.
Therefore, although both can be considered as纨绔 (wan ku, meaning纨绔, a spoiled, dissolute young man), there are different levels of纨绔. Sima Yi and Yang Jie belong to two completely different categories.
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