When Hu Mengyao heard that Uncle Wen had not agreed to the marriage, she gloated, "Hmph, who would dare marry someone like County Master Yunying? But don't bring disaster to Brother Wenlan."
"That's right." Lin Sayu agreed.
These two people have had a good relationship with Wen Jin since childhood and grew up together, so they naturally regard Wen Lan as their real brother.
Xia Tian also nodded. This Yunying County Master must be enough of a headache for Princess Ruihua.
"Then what? Did Princess Ruihua find a suitable family?" Xia Tian asked Wen Jin.
Wen Jin shook her head. "I don't know, but I heard Princess Ruihua has been a little irritated lately."
They looked at each other and understood what was going on. This was indeed quite infuriating.
As we were talking, time passed quickly.
After a while, the celebration officially began and several people went to their families.
Because it was the Empress Dowager's birthday, the Emperor's concubines were present. After presenting their gifts, the ministers left first, leaving only the female members of the family in the room.
The queen took the lead in presenting the empress dowager with a screen she had embroidered herself. The empress dowager nodded with satisfaction, praised the queen's filial piety in public, and then had it put away.
Then came the emperor's concubines, the princesses of the princes, and the ladies of the various mansions, who came forward one by one to present their carefully prepared birthday gifts.
When summer came, she walked to the center, knelt down, held the box in both hands above her head, and said, "I have painted a picture to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday. I wish you a long life and eternal youth!"
Xia Tian had just finished speaking, and before the Empress Dowager could even open her mouth, County Lady Yunying shouted in mockery, "You painted this yourself? How can you, a country boy who can't even read, paint?"
"Yun'er, don't be rude!" Princess Ruihua quickly stopped County Lady Yunying and embarrassedly apologized to the Empress Dowager, "Empress Dowager, Yun'er didn't mean it. This child is just too straightforward."
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "No problem."
She then signaled the maid to take the box, and then said to Xia Tian calmly, "Mrs. Shen is so thoughtful."
"Empress Dowager, Yun'er isn't wrong. How could a country girl like her paint? Could she have just taken someone else's painting and passed it off as hers?"
Yunying was certain that Xia Tian could not draw, but she also felt that she was not so bold as to draw a random picture and pretend it was a birthday gift. The most likely possibility was that she would claim that someone else's painting was her own.
"Your Majesty the Queen Mother, I can testify to this. County Lady Yunying did not lie. My sister-in-law really can't paint." Seeing that the Queen Mother was about to ask the maid to put the painting away, Chen Lan quickly stood up to testify.
Liu was afraid that the Queen Mother would blame Chen Lan, so she quickly added, "Your Highness, what Lan'er said is not wrong. After all, I have never heard of this girl being able to paint in the Marquis' Mansion."
What Liu meant was that they had never heard that Xia Tian could paint. If it turned out that Xia Tian was the one who painted it, the Empress Dowager would not accuse Chen Lan of deceiving the emperor.
"That's right, Your Majesty the Queen Mother. The birthday gifts we offer are all carefully prepared. Madam Shen can't just pick up something and fool you. This is a crime of deceiving the emperor." Seeing that the Queen Mother didn't say anything, County Master Yunying continued to add fuel to the fire.
The Empress Dowager was in a bit of a dilemma. She was thinking of taking the painting away first for the Emperor's sake. As long as she didn't open it on the spot, both parties could save face.
On the other hand, I felt a little angry. If I can't draw, I can't draw. Why bother to use someone else's painting to pretend to be one?
Seeing that the Empress Dowager's expression was getting worse, the Empress Dowager spoke up, "Mother, since no one believes that the Shen family's wife can paint, then open the painting and take a look. No matter what, it is a filial act from the Shen family's wife."
Seeing that the Queen Mother was in a dilemma, the Queen Mother had no choice but to speak up to help her out.
Wen Jin told her that Lingwu Temple saved them, and now they are good friends. She believes that this girl is not the kind of person who speaks nonsense.
The other concubines and wives were watching the excitement nearby. At this time, the Imperial Concubine also spoke up, "Empress Dowager, I think what the Empress said is right. Please open it and let us see! You can't just hide good things away."
The imperial concubine's joke brought a smile to the empress dowager's face, and others also began to compliment the empress dowager.
Xia Tian, who was forgotten in the middle of the field, was speechless. At least let her get up first!
The Empress couldn't stand it any longer, so she smiled and reminded the Empress Dowager, "Mother, let Madam Shen get up first, don't scare her."
The Queen Mother then nodded and said, "Get up quickly."
After Xia Tian stood up, the empress dowager signaled the maid to open the box, take out the scroll, and open it directly.
The scroll was quite large, so Xia Tian went over to help. Together, they slowly unfolded the scroll toward the Empress Dowager, the Queen, and others who were sitting directly above them.
The painting was only half opened when the Empress Dowager and the Empress, who were sitting at the top, stood up.
When the painting was fully unfolded, a sound of inhalation was heard from the front.
The Queen Mother was even more excited, and repeatedly asked the two to bring the painting closer, "Come here quickly, let me take a closer look!"
The people sitting at the bottom couldn't see clearly and were all curious about what the painting was about. Could it be that the painting was so ugly that it frightened the Empress Dowager?
The Queen Mother stared at the painting for a long time without taking her eyes away.
The Queen is also.
The Imperial Concubine was also shocked and asked, "Did you really draw this?"
Xia Tian respectfully replied, "Your Highness, this was truly painted by me."
The imperial concubine admired and joked, "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, I told you to listen to the Queen Mother, right? We almost couldn't enjoy such a beautiful painting."
The Queen Mother then turned her eyes away from the painting with a smile in her eyes. "Originally, I wanted to hide it and enjoy it slowly by myself, but you two insisted on seeing it now. I can't hide my good things from you!"
"Mother, you can't leave such a good thing out to me." The Queen also responded with a smile.
Others were even more curious about what this painting was about, and the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and the Imperial Concubine were all full of praise.
Old Madam Xu couldn't help herself and asked, "Empress Dowager, this is a wonderful thing. Let us old folks appreciate it too!"
The Queen Mother smiled and glanced at Old Madam Xu, then said with a smile, "Look, I was so happy that I forgot about it. You two should turn around and show them too!"
Xia Tian was no longer holding the painting. When the Empress Dowager called them to come forward, her personal nanny asked another maid to replace her.
When the two maids turned around and showed the painting to everyone, everyone stood up at once, just like the Empress Dowager had just done. They stared at the portrait of the Empress Dowager in the painting, which looked exactly like the real person, with wide eyes, and did not make a sound for a long time.
"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible that she drew it herself." County Master Yunying shouted, bringing everyone back to their senses instantly.
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