Chapter 24
Domestic power struggles remain a popular and enduring theme even in the 21st century.
Xu Ying had been obsessed with it for a period of time in her previous life. She not only watched it but also wrote about it herself. After she finished writing it, she published it and earned a considerable amount of royalties.
Therefore, she is quite familiar with the tricks of domestic power struggles.
However, she swears that when she was writing "The Great Tang Female Painter," she never intended to include any palace intrigue in it; her female protagonist was not meant to be that kind of character at all.
This second daughter of the Imperial Censor Wang was just a casual character she wrote to create the image of Imperial Censor Wang; she never intended to develop any further plot.
Some readers have such wildly imaginative ideas.
Although the people in this world have never heard of the term "domestic power struggles," it doesn't stop them from being naturally interested in this type of storyline.
Not long after the latest chapter of "The Great Tang Female Painter" was updated, a very familiar account posted a long review in the comments section. The person who posted the long review was Mo Yun.
After getting her roommates' permission, she posted the ideas they had come up with.
This long review immediately drew countless people to call it a masterpiece, and even Xu Ying couldn't help but give it a thumbs up.
Mo Yun and her roommates were reading the comments others had left for them when they suddenly noticed that the author had liked the post. The whole dorm got excited.
"Wow, the big boss gave us a thumbs up!"
"Quickly leave a message for the author!" one of the roommates teased. "We're not capable of writing it ourselves, so it would be best if the author wrote it for us, hehe!"
That's a great idea.
Upon hearing this, Mo Yun quickly left a message: "Big, big, big, the second daughter of the Imperial Censor Wang is so pitiful! I hope they won't torture her anymore and give her a happy ending, please!"
They had developed some affection for their second daughter, whom they had discussed for so long.
However, they had never witnessed a proper power struggle within a family, and in their simple understanding, if the author hadn't given them a special twist, the second daughter would have certainly met a tragic end after marrying into the family.
Now we can only beg you to show mercy!
Xu Ying naturally saw this latest comment. She raised an eyebrow. Interesting. Someone is actually pleading for a character who has only appeared for a couple of lines.
She casually replied with an "OK" emoji.
She wasn't a rigid person; for her, the plot of a novel could be adjusted at any time as long as it didn't deviate from the outline.
Since the public has voiced their opinion, it wouldn't hurt for her to expand on the story of the Imperial Censor's second daughter a little, so that the people here could witness what a power struggle within a household is all about.
However, now is clearly not the right time.
She just wrote that the female protagonist began to intentionally or unintentionally show off her painting talent. Ability is the foundation of a person's life. If you don't want to be manipulated by others, it's useless to just talk big. You have to have real skills to convince people.
Yan Huaijin went to the kitchen early in the morning.
After finding a suitable stick in the firewood pile in the kitchen, she busied herself chopping, shaving, and braising it.
Hongzhu couldn't understand what she was doing, but she was very obedient and followed Yan Huaijin around without getting tired.
When the charcoal pencils were finally finished, Yan Huaijin casually handed her one, while she took the rest to her father's study.
She's going to draw.
There are other places in the house where I can paint.
However, since she wanted to show off her talent in front of her father, causing trouble in his study was the quickest way.
After spending some time in Aye's study, and having thoroughly smeared the stack of fine Xuan paper on his desk, Yan Huaijin patted his behind and left.
afternoon.
When Yan Liben entered the study, he was greeted by a mess. Papers were scattered all over the desk and floor, and the brush holder where he usually kept his brushes was now filled with... firewood sticks.
His eye twitched.
Before he could even vent his anger, he caught a glimpse of the painting on the table out of the corner of his eye.
He froze on the spot.
"This painting..."
The fact that the characters can be portrayed so vividly is quite remarkable.
He picked up the papers from the table and the floor and looked at them one by one. The portraits included his, his wife's, Hongzhu's... even his cook and groom were included.
The appearance and spirit of everyone are all contained within.
These paintings all share the same inscription: "Immortal Holding Jade".
Yan Liben chuckled. This name was obviously his wife's. Baoyu Baoyu means "cherishing jade".
"This clever little rascal is quite skillful!"
Yan Liben was a great lover of painting and calligraphy, and at this moment he couldn't help but feel sorry for his daughter. He beckoned to the servant outside the door to call his daughter over, but the servant went to do so only to find that his daughter was missing.
Yan Huaijin is no longer at home.
At this moment, she was carrying her homemade easel, along with charcoal pencils and red beads, heading to the countryside for a spring outing. She had also invited several familiar young women, but because of her remarks at the last flower-viewing party, some declined to come, and in the end, only two people showed up.
Yan Huaijin didn't pay any attention.
She's here today to make a name for herself. As long as someone is willing to come, she'll have achieved her goal. It doesn't matter if there are one more or one less.
After strolling around the suburbs, Yan Huaijin chose the place with the highest foot traffic, set up his easel, and sat down.
Holding a charcoal pencil, she smiled warmly: "Auntie, Second Auntie, I brought some paintbrushes with me today. How about I draw a portrait of you?"
The two young ladies: "..."
I've never heard of Madam Yan being able to paint.
When the young maid Hongzhu saw that the two did not believe her, she hurriedly began to boast about her mistress's painting skills, little did she know that the more she did so, the less others believed her.
Despite their disbelief, the two young ladies were kind enough to obediently stand in the correct positions.
As Yan Huaijin was painting, people passed by from time to time. They had never seen such a scene of sketching before, and they were all immediately drawn to it.
At first, some people were dismissive, but as Yan Huaijin's characters became more and more complete, people around him gradually exclaimed in surprise.
"It's so similar!"
"What kind of painting technique is this? It's truly amazing!"
Yan Huaijin made the final stroke, and thunderous applause erupted around him.
Someone asked curiously, "Whose daughter are you? How come your painting skills are so exquisite?"
Yan Huaijin stood up and said with a smile, "Yan Huaijin."
Buzz!
Yan Huaijin, isn't that Madam Yan who was in the limelight not long ago?
"Are you the Madam Yan who said she would never marry?"
“Exactly,” Yan Huaijin said, shaking his masterpiece. “What do you all think of my painting?”
"Of course that's good."
“My home is in Yankangfang. Anyone who needs a self-portrait can come to me. One string of cash per painting, fair and square.”
Those who have the time to come here for a picnic and outing are mostly wealthy and powerful; her asking price is nothing to them.
As for the one in her hand, it naturally belonged to the two young ladies who were practicing standing meditation.
The two young ladies were now very excited. Hongzhu wasn't lying after all; Yan Er truly was a reincarnation of a painting god, able to paint people so lifelike!
Xu Ying paused at this point.
She thought of the readers in the comments section who were asking her to give the second daughter of the Imperial Censor Wang a happy ending, and wondered if she could temporarily bring out Wang Erniang for a stroll.
So she continued typing:
Yan Huaijin has finished making headlines today and is preparing to go home.
Unexpectedly, he bumped into a young lady halfway there. The young lady was beautiful and had a gentle and elegant temperament. She was clearly a lady from a well-to-do family.
She quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, are you alright? I didn't mean to."
"It's nothing."
The girl smiled politely, said nothing more, and left.
The beauty was indeed beautiful in every way; even her walking silhouette was graceful and elegant. Yan Huaijin watched the beauty's departing figure and asked the two young ladies beside him, "Whose wife is this?"
The two were surprised.
"You don't recognize me?"
"This is Wang Erniang, who's recently become as famous as you!"
Speaking of Wang Erniang, her father, Imperial Censor Wang, was only a third-rank official, and she herself had no outstanding talents, so she was not very famous in social circles in the past.
Who would have thought that the fight between Vice Minister Yan and Imperial Censor Wang in court would bring her into the public eye.
She was implicated because her father was involved with Aunt Yan, so nowadays people often talk about her and Aunt Yan together.
However, the two women were seen in completely different ways by the public. Everyone said that Aunt Yan was too fierce and Aunt Wang was too pitiful.
After the two young ladies explained the whole story, Yan Huaijin didn't think anything of it, but Hongzhu next to him seemed a little sullen.
After returning home, Yan Huaijin asked her why she was unhappy.
Hongzhu said, "When outsiders compare the two of you, she gets a good reputation, while you, my wife, get only a bad one!"
Sigh, I thought it was something serious.
Yan Huaijin reassured her, "It's alright, it's alright. I don't plan to remarry, so what does it matter if my reputation is good or bad?"
OK.
That concludes the story of Wang Erniang for now.
Xu Ying only let her make a brief appearance; as for her other scenes, that will probably have to wait until later.
......
Xu Ying sat in front of the computer for another half hour, and when she felt that she had enough drafts for the day, she turned off the computer and got up to stretch her body.
She had only been stretching for a few minutes when Grandma Wang from next door came over to call her for dinner.
I don't know if Grandma Wang has some special ability, but she always manages to come and call her right after she finishes writing her manuscript.
Grandma Wang doesn't have any special tricks.
Sometimes she would call Xu Ying to eat, and she would come right away. Other times, it would take more than ten minutes for her to come. After a while, she would know whether Xu Ying was working or not!
She now cooks at six o'clock, so that Xu Ying can finish work and come over for dinner as soon as she finishes cooking.
After dinner, Grandma Wang said she was going downstairs for a walk to digest her food, and Xu Ying went with her. She didn't plan to write her novel that night, and since she was free anyway, she might as well get some exercise.
She hasn't exercised in a long time.
Since returning to her hometown, she has completely lost the habit of night running that she developed in school, and she feels it's time for her to pick it up again.
A note from the author:
Family, the game will be available for purchase tomorrow, and I'll be posting three chapters. Be sure to check it out! [droopy-eared bunny head]
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