Chapter 20: The Picture of the Sages (Revised)
Zhu Lan was moved and nodded to Master Xie, his hands moving faster.
Since Xie Ding had made such a fuss, Ji Tian just went with the flow, stroking his moustache and concentrating on watching Zhu Lan paint.
Zhu Lan's paintings have clear lines and distinct layers. He not only depicts the towering ancient trees outside the Longchang Academy, but also outlines the winding paths inside the academy.
The students in the classroom are lifelike, and you can almost hear their voices reading aloud.
Especially the contrast between light and dark shadows in the painting, which cannot be reflected in ordinary paintings.
Wonderful, it’s really wonderful!
Ji Tian looked calm, but he kept clapping in his heart.
When Zhu Lan finished the last stroke, beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She moved aside so that everyone could see.
Some students in the audience exclaimed in admiration.
Zhu Qingyan smiled coldly, walked to the front of the county, and said loudly:
"Sir, please select Junior Sister Zhu Lan as the third place first."
"Ah?" Ji Tian stroked his beard and looked at Ouyang Ye.
Zhu Qingyan continued:
"Although Junior Sister Zhu Lan's painting is exquisitely crafted, there is no word on it. Although the rules of this competition are not limited to any genre, it cannot be confused with painting.
Otherwise, wouldn't it be better for scholars all over the world to stop learning poetry and learn painting instead?"
Ouyang Ye's eyes darkened slightly. What Zhu Qingyan said did make sense.
Although Zhu Lan's move was unconventional, it was ultimately not the right way to win.
What a pity.
Ouyang Ye stood up slowly and was about to speak when he heard Zhu Lan say:
"Wait a minute, why is Senior Sister Qingyan in such a hurry?"
She glanced at Zhu Qingyan with a half-smile and bowed to everyone.
"Master Supervisor, you haven't announced the end of the competition yet."
Zhu Lan picked up the calligraphy brush and started writing in the upper left corner of the painting.
She didn't write fast, but her small calligraphy was neat and tidy, which matched the style of the painting next to it.
After Zhu Lan finished writing, he put down his pen, turned around and bowed:
"I would like to invite the county magistrate, the abbot Ouyang, and all the teachers to review my humble work, "A Picture of the Poems of the Sages."
Ding Xiaoqiu in the audience finally recovered from his shock and clapped his hands, muttering:
"Absolutely, it's absolutely amazing..."
When everyone in Class T heard this, they hurriedly asked him what he said.
Ding Xiaoqiu nodded like an old man and explained:
"Junior Sister Zhu Lan is extremely talented. She was able to master the small regular script calligraphy I wrote for her in just a few days.
But because my basic skills were not good enough and I could not write large characters like those in banner calligraphy, I deliberately painted on the wall and wrote poems in the form of inscriptions. "
Qiao Youyou suddenly realized:
"I see! If you write directly on the wall, you can't write in regular script. But when writing poems on paintings, only regular script can make people feel comfortable to read!"
Ding Xiaoqiu looked envious, "Junior Sister Zhu is so smart and resourceful, and has unparalleled intelligence. It's really beyond our reach!"
When the students from Class C heard this, they started to look at Ding Xiaoqiu with anger.
traitor!
A traitor who hangs out with the T-Class all day!
Ding Xiaoqiu immediately glared back.
The junior students in Class T are all talented and speak nicely. I like being in it very much!
What's up?
Ji Tian walked forward, read the works of the three people respectively, and nodded continuously.
"Well, they are indeed students of Longchang Academy. At such a young age, they are all talented writers. They will surely achieve great things in the future!
In my opinion, all three works are excellent, and they will not bring disgrace to the Wulei Pavilion if they are inscribed on the wall. However, if we must decide who is the better one——"
Ji Tian narrowed his eyes, stroked his beard, and thought for a long time before saying:
"I personally think that the best one is Zhu Lan's "A Picture of the Sages".
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience was in an uproar, and even the teachers in Class C changed their expressions.
Originally, Class T came to participate in this poetry competition just to make up the numbers.
In the end, Zhu Lan took the lead?
How can all the teachers and students in Class C maintain their dignity?
Ji Tian saw the expressions on everyone's faces, and with a chuckle, he called his subordinates and asked them to read the articles of these three people aloud in public.
The subordinate was literate and had a loud voice, so every word was clearly heard by everyone present.
After all three poems were read, Wulei Pavilion fell into a brief silence.
Zhu Qingyan and Chen Ziming's works extol the academic purpose of Longchang Academy and its grand vision of bringing peace to the world for all time. Their words are gorgeous and of the highest quality.
The last piece, "Ode to the Sages" by Zhu Lan, focuses on reality. It not only includes the intentions of the above two people, but also emphasizes the academy's enthusiastic desire to learn, which is very exciting.
Even though the students in Class C were reluctant to admit it, it seemed that... Zhu Lan's work was indeed slightly better.
The students stopped talking.
Although the teachers were unwilling to accept this, they were all experienced scholars with decades of experience.
It is already very clear which of the three poems is the best. If we continue to argue about it, we will really lose our identity.
Master Li sighed in his heart and bowed to Ji Tian helplessly:
"I am convinced. Please announce the result, Mr. County Magistrate."
The other teachers also looked gloomy and stopped arguing.
Only Master Xie was beaming with joy.
After teaching at Longchang Academy for so many years, this is the first time I feel proud in front of these old guys!
Hahaha, this little Zhu Lan really gives honor to his teacher!
Ji Tian cleared his throat, walked to the front of the stage and announced loudly -
“The third place winner of this Longchang Academy Poetry Competition is Zhu Qingyan.
Second place, Chen Ziming.
The leader——Zhu Lan!"
The cheers and whistles of Class T suddenly exploded in the entire Wulei Pavilion, which was completely out of tune with the atmosphere of other classes!
Ji Tian frowned subconsciously, then smiled.
Never mind, young people should behave like young people, let them be!
Ouyang Ye stepped forward and announced the "mysterious reward" for the winner of the competition, and the students in the audience held their breath in concentration.
When they heard that the reward was to enter the Wanjuan Building of the academy and choose any book, the whole audience was excited!
Zhu Qingyan's face turned even more livid.
The books in Wanjuan Tower, even those on the third floor or below, contain many rare and unique copies that are priceless!
She was determined to win, but she didn't expect that this time, she not only failed to embarrass Zhu Lan, but also lost the chance to enter Wanjuan Tower.
The most hateful thing is that she was actually suppressed by this rumored "idiot"!
No, it should be "both ends". Zhu Lan is the first, but she is only the third!
Zhu Qingyan turned around and left without saying a word.
Ouyang Ye came over and asked Zhu Lan when he planned to enter Wanjuan Tower.
I thought she would go into Wanjuan Tower to look through the books and then choose from them.
But Zhu Lan said directly: "Master Supervisor, I want to borrow the copy of the Annotated Works of Various Philosophers."
Ouyang Ye was a little surprised. Few people were interested in this book, and it was not a rare and unique copy.
When asked if she was sure she wanted to borrow this book, Zhu Lan nodded without hesitation, so Ouyang Ye asked someone to get it.
Zhu Lan quickly got the book and started flipping through it.
According to the original plot, after Zhu Qingyan got this book, he seemed to have cheated in the academy exams and won every time.
However, the result disappointed Zhu Lan greatly——
The content of this book seems to be similar to that of ordinary textbooks, with only slight differences in the versions.
There seems to be nothing special about it.
Zhu Lan was increasingly puzzled. What on earth was going on?
Is it because I opened it the wrong way?
After Ji Tian left Wulei Pavilion, many students were thinking about how they could talk to the county magistrate so that he would remember them.
Ji Tian walked straight towards Zhu Lan and asked her with a smile how she came up with the idea of using charcoal black to paint.
"This is the method of sketching, which I learned from a wandering teacher when I was young." Zhu Lan made up the story.
"Excellent!"
Ji Tian looked mysterious and suddenly lowered his voice, asking Zhu Lan if he could draw another sketch so that he could take it back for study.
Zhu Lan was slightly startled. "Of course, what would you like to draw, County Magistrate?"
"Let's just use this "Picture of Poems by All Sages" as a souvenir!"
"I will prepare it now and deliver it to you personally when the time comes."
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