Hearing this, Anfu didn't ask any more questions, bowed slightly, and retreated.
However, since he had already said those words to Sima Jing, he was bound to go all out with the performance.
Looking at the unfinished illustration, he stroked his chin and fell into thought.
It would probably take him quite a while to finish the drawing by himself.
If he remembers correctly, there should be court painters in the palace.
An idea suddenly came to him, and he immediately ordered that all the court painters be summoned.
Meanwhile, the painted boat.
In the very center, a beautiful woman sat on the ground, head bowed and chest tucked in, completely still.
In front of her was a row of kneeling painters.
These painters were all incredibly beautiful, each with their own unique charm.
Holding calligraphy brushes, they would sometimes observe the beautiful women, and sometimes paint on the paper on the table in front of them.
It was so quiet that you could hear your own breathing.
Just then, someone knocked on the courtyard gate and shouted inside.
"By order of the Emperor, all painters are to proceed to the Imperial Study and await further instructions!"
Startled by the sound, the painter's hand trembled involuntarily, and a drop of ink fell, appearing quite out of place on the painting.
The artists began to discuss it amongst themselves.
"Why did His Majesty suddenly decide to summon the painter to the Imperial Study? Such a grand mobilization, could it be to paint a portrait of some newly appointed concubine?"
"Isn't that the same kind of tyrannical ruler? He does whatever he wants!"
"Stop talking nonsense! No matter how incompetent and tyrannical he may be, he is still the Emperor, and we cannot speak of him so casually!"
...
The people speaking were five female disciples of Qingyun Temple who were learning to paint on the painted boat.
Upon receiving the imperial decree, the group of painters had no choice but to rush to the Imperial Study.
The guard knocked on the door and said respectfully.
"Your Majesty, all the painters you requested have arrived!"
Upon hearing the noise, Qin Yu, who had been half-asleep on the dragon throne, immediately woke up, sat up straight, and spoke loudly.
"Come in!"
Then, several beautiful women dressed in loose Taoist robes walked in.
As she walked, her slender waist became faintly visible.
His dark hair was tied up high, making him look energetic and full of vitality.
Most importantly, her face was so tender it looked like you could squeeze water out of it.
Are artists all this powerful these days?
Qin Yu was surprised for a moment, and then a hint of interest appeared in his eyes.
The artists stood in a row and bowed their heads in respect.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
"No need for formalities! I summoned you here today to have you work quickly and help me paint a set of chess and card games!"
Qin Yu waved his hand and got straight to the point.
Card games?
They only knew about wooden chessboards, but had never heard of chess or cards.
The artists exchanged glances, their faces full of confusion.
A tall and beautiful woman was the first to step forward.
This person, named Qingzhu, was the oldest and most composed among them.
She politely bowed and asked the question that had been on their minds.
"Your Majesty has entrusted us with this task, and we will certainly do our utmost to fulfill it. However, we have never seen the chess and card game that Your Majesty mentioned before. Would Your Majesty be so kind as to show us a sample image?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Yu gave an evil smile.
"Of course, of course. I have indeed painted a few myself. Take a good look!"
He then rummaged through the table and pulled out a few sheets of paper, handing them over.
Qingzhu quickly stepped forward to take it.
After reading the contents, she couldn't help but widen her eyes and blush.
"this……"
Other artists also craned their necks to look curiously.
The lifelike illustrations on the paper stunned everyone.
This tyrant actually made them draw such obscene things!
Seeing their angry expressions, Qin Yu raised an eyebrow and lazily lay back on the dragon throne.
"What? Do you have any objections?"
Meeting his slightly gloomy gaze, everyone swallowed the words that were on the tip of their tongues.
There was nothing they could do; no matter how licentious the man before them was, he still held the title of Emperor.
The saying goes, "A higher-ranking official can crush you," so how dare they act presumptuously in front of the emperor?
Qingzhu cupped his hands in greeting and took the lead in agreeing.
"Your Majesty, we dare not presume; we will obey Your Majesty's will!"
Before long, the painters sat down, each with a sheet of white paper in front of them.
After Qin Yu's introduction, they all picked up their pens and began sketching on the paper.
They were all dressed in ethereal Taoist robes, yet they painted these lifelike things, and the contrast made Qin Yu even more excited.
He put his hands behind his back and moved back and forth among the women, supervising their progress.
They even started giving verbal instructions.
They were all disciples of Qingyun Temple, untouched by worldly affairs.
The filthy words uttered by Qin Yu made their faces turn bright red.
Every minute spent in the Imperial Study was agonizing for them; all they wanted was to complete their mission as quickly as possible and leave this place.
It took them more than an hour to finish drawing all the illustrations for the entire game.
Qin Yu held a stack of papers and flipped through them back and forth.
As expected of a court painter, his painting skills are truly superb!
He nodded repeatedly in satisfaction, praising it highly.
"You've done a great job. You'll be richly rewarded!"
"This is none of your business. You may leave now!"
Upon hearing this, the women felt as if they had been granted a pardon and rushed out of the study.
No sooner had the women left than Anfu walked in.
"Your Majesty, this old servant has already delivered the secret letter to the Duke of the State via carrier pigeon. I expect to receive a reply soon!"
Anfu bowed respectfully and reported in a low voice.
He originally thought it would take some time, but he didn't expect the matter to be handled so efficiently!
Qin Yu was overjoyed and quickly stood up.
"Very good, very good! Thank you for your hard work, Eunuch An!"
"This old servant only did what was his duty, I dare not accept such praise!"
Anfu humbly said.
People in ancient times were always humble, and Qin Yu didn't take it to heart.
He handed a stack of papers to Anfu and began to give him instructions.
"These were painted by court painters at my request. Paste these papers onto the cards and then send them to the Empress's palace!"
With this upgraded version of the couple's flying chess game, the evening is sure to be even more exciting!
Qin Yu smiled expectantly, her eyes gradually deepening in color.
These cards refer to wooden pieces with writing on them.
Since paper was easily damaged, Qin Yu specially had some wooden pieces of the same size shaved off and inscribed with words on them.
"yes!"
Anfu took the paper without changing his expression and pasted it on according to the cards.
As for Qin Yu, he secretly went to the secret room with the silver notes in his pocket.
The two million taels that Anfu extorted was no small sum; it would be needed as start-up capital in the future, so he had to hide it away.
Otherwise, if someone accidentally touches him, he'll have nowhere to turn for help.
Since the body of the short-lived emperor was destroyed, the smell in the secret chamber has dissipated considerably.
Qin Yu quickly took out the secret box and put the silver notes inside.
As he returned the secret box to its original place and prepared to go back to the study, he suddenly heard a quarrel outside.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com