It was a bright spring day, with hundreds of flowers in full bloom. Xiao Yunya wanted to teach Dou Jingshu a lesson for being so ignorant and provoking her sister, so she painted peach blossoms like her.

But Xiao Yunya's peach blossom painting was more artistic. The moment she stopped painting, a maid presented the painting to Madam Mo and Madam Su. The two looked at each other, their eyes full of admiration and satisfaction.

"After not seeing you for many years, our Ya'er has become a talented woman." Madam Xiao said with a smile, and the idea in her heart became more firm.

Madam Mo was also very satisfied. She asked two maids to carefully hold the painting and stand in the center for display. This time everyone could see it clearly, and waves of exclamations and praises gradually came out.

In the huge painting, peach blossoms are intertwined and in full bloom, and at first glance it looks like a fairyland. But if you look at it carefully from a distance, you can find that these peach blossoms have the appearance of a woman. People who are familiar with the Xiao family have discovered that the person in the painting is Xiao Yunrou!

"Oh my god, this is the first time I've seen such a painting! Miss Xiao Er actually used peach blossoms to paint the appearance of the Crown Prince's wife!"

"I have seen this before, but it takes decades of practice to achieve this. This Miss Xiao is really a hidden talent!"

"Mrs. Xiao is so lucky. Her eldest daughter was the most talented woman in the capital at that time, and her second daughter also has such talent. No other noblewoman in the capital can compare to her!"

“…”

Praises and exclamations continued for a long time in the hall, and many ladies looked at Xiao Yunya with burning eyes. On the other hand, Dou Jingshu, who had beaten everyone speechless because of her painting just a moment ago, was directly knocked to the ground by Xiao Yunya at this moment. The two paintings were incomparable. Regardless of the painting skills, the artistic conception was more than one level different.

"Miss Xiao Er is so good at painting that Jingshu feels inferior to her and has to admit defeat." Dou Jingshu smiled, suppressing her anger.

"Big sister, do you think my painting has improved?"

Xiao Yunya ran to the stage with a smile on her face, took Xiao Yunrou's arm and spoke sweetly to her. Xiao Yunrou pinched her nose helplessly, being very intimate.

"Our Yaer has made great progress."

"It's all thanks to my sister's good teaching. I listened to her and practiced hard in the past two years. Fortunately, I can only achieve one tenth of her performance, so it doesn't disgrace her reputation."

"Girl, aren't you afraid of getting your tongue blown off by the strong wind?"

"What is there to be afraid of? Wasn't Yaer's music, chess, calligraphy and painting taught by her sister herself?" Xiao Yunya blinked her beautiful eyes, glanced in the direction of Dou Jingshu and curled her lips.

"Sis got married and has been concentrating on managing the household for a few years, but now anyone can come to stir up trouble. Ya'er doesn't have such a good temper as her sister. When did our Xiao family become someone that anyone can step on?"

Xiao Yunya's words completely slapped Dou Jingshu in the face. Amid the hidden sneers of the crowd, Dou Jingshu's face changed several times. Finally, she could only sit quietly in her seat, listening to the voices of people praising the Xiao sisters. The handkerchief in her hand had already been deformed, but she still maintained a soft and gentle smile on her face.

"Okay, there are no rules."

Xiao Yunrou scolded lightly, but her face did not show any displeasure, and the Su family not far away was the same. In their eyes, even if their family members did not make any progress, it was still good enough. Not to mention that although Xiao Yunya lost the tolerance that a lady from a noble family should have when she got angry this time, she was defending Xiao Yunrou, and in their eyes, she remembered her kindness in her heart, and became even more disgusted with Dou Jingshu, who they had already looked down on.

Xiao Yunya stuck out her tongue, and seeing Su's look, she quickly walked back to her seat.

Xiao Yunya's reputation as a talented woman was firmly established at this banquet. Dou Jingshu, who wanted to use Xiao Yunrou as a stepping stone, became Xiao Yunya's stepping stone. Her majestic appearance, good upbringing, and noble family background, every bit of her suppressed Dou Jingshu. With the support of other supporting actors, Xiao Yunya became the biggest winner of this banquet, and Dou Jingshu became the biggest joke of the banquet.

The talent show was still going on, but everyone had lost interest after the commotion just now. The subsequent performances were hastily shoved aside and ended quickly. Madam Mo also knew what everyone was thinking, so she didn't force them to continue, and told the maids to take everyone to the chamber to rest.

After Madam Dou and Dou Jingshu entered the chamber, they closed the door and asked the maid to guard outside.

"Shu'er, you are too anxious today." Dou was somewhat dissatisfied, but she hated Xiao Yunya more.

Dou Jingshu's face also looked very ugly. She suppressed her anger and did not sweep the things on the table to the ground. Thinking of the humiliation she suffered today, her hatred for the Xiao sisters increased several levels.

"I miscalculated. I didn't expect Xiao Yunrou to not accept the challenge and let Xiao Yunya take the lead instead. Moreover, she actually has such a skill!"

Dou Jingshu's eyes were filled with sinister thoughts. She had been taught by the most famous teacher in Jingzhou, but this exposure had brought her to the bottom of the valley, making her a laughing stock in the capital. She could even imagine what her reputation would become in the capital after this birthday banquet!

Trying to steal the chicken but end up losing the rice!!

"I wanted to use Xiao Yunrou's reputation as a talented woman to help me get into the capital and quickly enter the circle of noble ladies, but today, I'm afraid they all have a grudge against me."

Dou Jingshu's original plan was in vain, and the two of them were extremely depressed for a while.

"Hmph, no matter what abilities Xiao Yunrou has, you should know that it was you who almost married Prince Pei. If it had worked out, what would the Xiao family have to do with it!!"

Mrs. Dou had a look of resentment on her face, but after hearing these words, Dou Jingshu's face froze for a moment.

"Mom, don't say it. We were the ones who wanted to cancel the engagement. Fortunately, no one knows about it. Please don't tell anyone."

Dou Jingshu knew the whole story and was able to remain rational at this juncture. Mrs. Dou wanted to say something, but she felt a little guilty when she thought about the reason why she didn't get married.

"Who knew that the one who was dying of illness was actually a son of a marquis? Our Dou family is not bad, how could we possibly use our legitimate daughter to celebrate the occasion!"

Mrs. Dou was extremely regretful at this moment. If she had gritted her teeth and persevered for a few more days to get married, she would now be a relative of the Marquis's family, and her daughter would be a first-rank marquis' wife in the future, and she would have benefited a lot from it. But now everything is gone.

"It doesn't matter. Since the Marquis's wife liked me back then, she must still remember my kindness now. I have also inquired before. The Marquis's wife is very dissatisfied with the eldest daughter of the Xiao family. I still have a chance."

Dou Jingshu's eyes sparkled, and she must grab what belonged to her. But she was so absorbed in her fantasy that she ignored the unnatural look on Mrs. Dou's face. If she had discovered it earlier and asked clearly, perhaps the ending of her life could have been rewritten.

The fight over the painting in the backyard soon spread to the front yard. Although the women in the backyard dispersed quickly, the front yard was still full of enthusiasm, drinking and competing in poetry. It was very lively. After hearing about the glorious deeds of the second daughter of the Xiao family, most of the guests invited to the birthday banquet of Lord Mo were literati, and they were all interested in the painting that was said to be so beautiful that it was rare to see it in a century. However, because the painting was painted by a woman, and someone said that the person in the painting was the wife of the son of the Zhenyuan Marquis, everyone looked cautiously in the direction of Pei Lingfeng and dared not say a word.

"Prince Pei, Minister Su, could you please take a look at Miss Xiao's paintings so that we can stop worrying about them?"

Others didn't dare to speak, but that didn't mean that the emperor's favored minister, Duke Ning, wouldn't dare to speak. Moreover, Duke Ning and the Zhenyuan Marquis' Mansion were relatives.

"Girls' paintings are not as majestic as ours. Besides, since this painting features the Crown Prince's wife, it would be inappropriate to show it in front of a man." Xiao Yunyan said calmly.

"That's all." Duke Ning spun his wine glass and chuckled. He had already broken the rules by asking once, and if he asked again, it would be ignorant of good and bad. Xiao Yunrou was not an ordinary citizen. If she took the painting with her portrait in front of so many men to appreciate it, her reputation would be ruined.

Pei Lingfeng didn't even look at the Duke of Ning. After Xiao Yunyan refused, he whispered to Liufeng to find Xiao Yunya and get the painting. Xiao Yunyan, who was standing by, also heard it. He opened his folding fan and said with a smile:

"Brother-in-law wants this painting?"

Seeing that Pei Lingfeng didn't respond, Xiao Yunyan's smile became even more mysterious.

"You are Rou'er's husband, so it's not impossible for you to have this painting. However, this painting was created by my frivolous second sister. I don't know what my brother-in-law gave me in exchange."

Pei Lingfeng looked at Xiao Yunyan after hearing this and said calmly, "What does Big Brother want?"

Seeing Pei Lingfeng being so easy to talk to, Xiao Yunyan couldn't help but narrow his eyes. To be fair, he didn't lack anything, and he couldn't think of anything to take for the time being. Xiao Yunyan knocked on the table with his folding fan, thought for a long time, and smiled:

"How about my brother-in-law give me ten thousand taels of gold? I can give it to An..."

"Liu Feng, send ten thousand taels of gold to the Xiao Mansion."

Pei Lingfeng interrupted Xiao Yunyan before he could finish speaking, leaving the words stuck in his throat. Xiao Yunyan felt extremely frustrated.

He glared at Pei Lingfeng with dissatisfaction. Although he was a little unhappy, he was happy for Xiao Yunrou when he saw that he agreed without blinking.

"My cousin has made a good deal. If my eldest brother can do the same, our Su family will not only be the leader of the Dajin family, but also the richest family!"

Su Qingyun, who had just come to his senses, muttered in dissatisfaction as he listened to Xiao Yunyan's easy trick of cheating Pei Lingfeng out of 12,000 taels of gold. Then, not knowing what he was thinking of, he leaned over and whispered in Pei Lingfeng's ear:

"Actually, if you like, I can paint ten or a hundred paintings of my cousin. I don't want ten thousand taels for each. A thousand or a hundred taels is fine."

Pei Lingfeng's face darkened when he heard this. Liu Feng, who had not yet gone to find Xiao Yunya, also twitched his mouth. If the occasion wasn't wrong, he really wanted to drag Su Qingyun out and beat him up. Is it possible to betray his master like this?

"Second brother!"

Su Qingmo, who had never spoken, couldn't bear to hear his second brother's embarrassing words, so he lowered his voice and spoke. Su Qingyun was shocked when he heard it. He could only sit in his seat and watch with hatred as Xiao Yunyan got 12,000 taels of gold just by talking. He decided to get closer to this cousin during his time in the capital. He had never seen anyone who could cheat people more than him!