Chapter 446: The Imperial Edict Arrives, One More Sinister Than the Other (Fourth Update)

[Today I have received 100 monthly tickets, I will update six times! 】

Mr. Yuan Xi was right. She was taking a big risk by using the human skeleton diagram to participate in the competition. If it weren't for Mr. Yan's keen eye, her diagram would most likely have been buried.

But do you think she wants to be like Tang Bohu, who can create a masterpiece with just a few strokes and make people amazed and envious? But the prerequisite is that she has to know how to do it and have the talent.

Feng Qingchen secretly rolled her eyes and lowered her head so as not to let Mr. Yuan Xi see her contemptuous look.

Mr. Yuan Xi thinks that everyone is like him, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Doesn't Mr. Yuan Xi know that there is a group of people in this world who can't even afford enough food and clothing, so how can they have the leisure and interest to learn music, chess, calligraphy and painting and enjoy those romantic things?

Only the ladies from powerful and wealthy families are qualified to learn the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting. How could Feng Qingchen be powerful or wealthy? Although she was the daughter of the Marquis of Loyalty conferred by the emperor himself, that was only this year. What could she learn in just one year?

Feng Qingchen really didn't know whether Mr. Yuan Xi was too naive or she was too successful in pretending to be a talented woman. Mr. Yuan Xi actually thought she was a talented woman and had the ability to paint.

If it wasn't for the wrong occasion, Feng Qingchen really wanted to lose her temper and tell Mr. Yuan Xi that she had used all her skills to compete with Su Wan. The only things she could draw were diagrams of the human skeleton and human organs, and she couldn't do anything else.

But she couldn't say it, because if she did she would lose.

Pretend, pretend, pretend. She wants to pretend to be indifferent to fame and wealth so that these celebrities and scholars will like her.

Feng Qingchen adjusted her breathing, raised a bright smile, and said calmly: "Mr. Yuan Xi, in today's painting competition, I just want to enjoy the process of the competition. I don't care about winning or losing. Music, chess, calligraphy and painting are originally elegant things. Adding utilitarianism will taint the four words of music, chess, calligraphy and painting."

"Friend Qingchen said it well, the piano can please the mind, chess can make people think, books can calm the mind, and paintings can make people forget their worries. Although it is a competition, one should not play the piano or paint with utilitarianism in mind." Old Yan agreed, and also indirectly indicated that he appreciated Feng Qingchen's human skeleton diagram. If this diagram were to be released to the public, its significance would be far more far-reaching than a painting of "Dielianhua".

"Mr. Yan is right. Painting a useful picture, a picture that makes you happy, is more gratifying than winning." Feng Qingchen disagreed in his heart, but his face showed respect.

Only someone like Mr. Yan can say such words. How could those who really participate in the competition not care about winning or losing? Just like the great scholars love reputation, those who participate in the competition also want to gain a good reputation.

Utilitarianism, who in this world can escape from these three words? The realm and reputation pursued by scholars and famous Confucian scholars are also utilitarianism. No one is nobler than anyone else. Among the ordinary people in this world, how many can jump out of the world of fame and fortune and stay away from this flashy world.

Feng Qingchen doesn't think that being utilitarian is a bad thing, as long as the utilitarianism is put in the right place and does not harm oneself or others, it will be fine. Without utilitarianism, corrupt officials will not be greedy, and honest officials will not want to leave their names, and the world will be in chaos.

Of course, Feng Qingchen just understood it in her heart, but she didn't think of using this logic to convince Old Yan and others. If she said it, she would offend a large number of people. She didn't want to cause trouble. The most important thing now was to hold Old Yan's thigh tightly and strive to win the painting competition.

The smile on Old Yan's face deepened, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Feng Qingchen became more and more satisfied. Of course, after living for more than fifty years, how could Old Yan not see that Feng Qingchen was not as nonchalant as she appeared to be, but it was not easy for her to be able to do this at such a young age and pretend not to pursue fame and fortune.

We should be tolerant towards young people and children.

Old Yan smiled like an old fox. When he thought of the jar of snow wine from the previous dynasty at home, the smile in his eyes became even more intense. Well, everyone has hobbies and weaknesses. Even he could not escape from this world of fame and fortune, so how could he expect a fifteen-year-old girl to see through this world of fame and fortune?

After Feng Qingchen's human skeleton diagram was passed around, Su Wan's painting was also dry. The maid carefully brought Su Wan's painting to the prince.

The prince glanced at it, his eyes fell on the butterfly, and he smiled and commented: "Hundreds of flowers are in full bloom, with various shapes and forms. Miss Su Wan has painted the beauty of the flowers, but the butterfly is a little too gorgeous, which makes the painting lose its authenticity."

"Your Highness, please give me some advice?" Su Wan asked in confusion, or rather, she was dissatisfied and thought that the prince was deliberately finding fault.

The prince smiled tolerantly: "Miss Su Wan, this butterfly is beautiful, but it lacks some authenticity. Miss Su Wan, have you ever seen such a colorful butterfly?"

When people paint butterflies, they always paint them in a colorful and beautiful way, and they don't care whether such butterflies really exist. The prince's words stumped Su Wan.

Although she had caught butterflies before, she had never seen the colorful and dazzling butterflies in the paintings. It was just that her teacher taught her, so she painted it that way. Now that the prince pointed it out, Su Wan really didn't know what to say.

The prince was very graceful and had no intention of embarrassing Su Wan. He smiled and passed the painting to Xiling Tianlei: "Prince Lei, please take a closer look. I remember that Prince Lei said yesterday that my uncle was partial to Qingchen when he said that Qingchen was good."

The prince is definitely a smiling tiger, who would do something wicked to someone without blinking an eye. Xiling Tianlei is not the Ninth Prince, so he cannot be biased like the Ninth Prince with a clear conscience. Xiling Tianlei did not say much, so he praised him a few words and then passed the painting to Old Yan.

Su Wan's painting skills are solid and her use of colors is bold. Although this painting of Butterfly in Love with Flowers is not a rare piece, it is definitely a top-quality piece. Moreover, Su Wan's paintings have received much more praise than Feng Qingchen's. Mr. Yan and the three great painters have also been generous with their praise.

After going through all this, except for the crown prince who pointed out a small problem, everyone else was full of praise. Su Wan's heart finally settled down, and she waited calmly for the seven judges to decide the winner.

This time, she should win!

However, over the method of judging, the seven judges, or rather the prince and Xiling Tianlei, started arguing again.

"Calligraphy and painting are one and the same. Since the judging was anonymous yesterday, let's do it the same way today." said the prince.

Xiling Tianlei immediately denied it: "No, no, calligraphy and painting are one, but they have their own merits. How can we use the same method to judge? In my opinion, why don't we score according to painting skills, artistic conception, etc. Whoever gets the highest score in the end will be the winner."

"Although painting is about artistic conception, don't forget that painting must be more realistic. Miss Su Wan's painting lacks some reality." There was a reason why the prince did not let Su Wan explain. Don't you think this is a good point of attack?

"The realm that painting pursues is too rigidly tied to reality, and lacks novelty." Xiling Tianlei was unwilling to give in. He was tricked by the Ninth Prince yesterday, and he would never repeat the same mistake today. Who knows if the Ninth Prince has done something behind the scenes.

Just because he didn't check what happened yesterday doesn't mean he doesn't know about it.

"Prince Lei, do you think that novelty is more important than realism? Just to make the painting look good, can we ignore reality, confuse right and wrong, and paint the miserable situation of the people into a peaceful and prosperous era?" With these words, the prince instantly raised the small painting competition to the level of politics.

Feng Qingchen was full of admiration. Children who grew up with elite education are simply different.

…

The Crown Prince and Xiling Tianlei refused to give in to each other. The two of them went back and forth without any hint of hostility. However, after a quarter of an hour, there was no progress at all. Neither of them was willing to give in until the eunuch came to report that the emperor had ordered Xuan Feng Qingchen and Su Wan to bring the paintings into the palace. Xiling Tianlei then realized that he had fallen into the Crown Prince's trap again. The Crown Prince was clearly stalling for time...

The sun is shining, but I am typing on my computer. It's so miserable, isn't it?