The Leisurely Life of a Peasant Woman in the Tang Dynasty

The sun rises, and golden sunlight fills Chang'an City.

Today is the opening day of Tang Youyou Art Studio's exhibition.

She arrived at the scene early and looked at the beautifully decorated exhibition hall, but a sense of nervousness welled up in her heart.

Wu Huazi and Zheng Shizu have also arrived, both with unconcealable anxiety on their faces.

"Madam Tang, why... are there so few people here?" Wu Huazi rubbed his hands and looked anxiously at the few sparse figures at the door.

Although Zheng Shizu didn't say anything, he frequently looked at Tang Youyou with worry between his brows.

Tang Youyou took a deep breath and tried hard to suppress the uneasiness in her heart.

"Don't worry, this is just the beginning. Let's check again to make sure everything is safe." She said in a firm tone, trying to comfort the two of them and to cheer herself up.

At this time, several gorgeously dressed ladies walked in arrogantly. They were Li Junxiang's followers.

"Oh, is this the exhibition organized by that country woman? It doesn't look that great." One of the women covered her mouth with a fan and spoke in a contemptuous tone.

Another woman echoed, "I heard that she offended Miss Li. I don't think this exhibition will last long." Their voices were neither loud nor soft, but loud enough for people around them to hear, and the atmosphere suddenly became a little subtle.

Tang Youyou's expression remained unchanged. She nodded politely at them, ignoring their sarcasm.

She walked to a landscape painting and carefully adjusted the angle of the painting, as if everything around her had nothing to do with her.

Time passed by minute by minute, and as the sun rose higher, the crowds remained sparse.

Wu Huazi was so anxious that he was running around in circles. "Madam Tang, what should we do? Not many people have come..." There was a tremor in his voice, and he was obviously at a loss.

Zheng Shizu also walked to Tang Youyou's side and whispered, "How about I go find those literary friends..."

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves approached from afar and stopped at the door of the painting studio. A shrill voice rang out: "The imperial edict has arrived—"

Everyone knelt down to receive the order.

Eunuch Wang unfolded the imperial edict and read aloud, "By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: The Tang family's painting studio has opened for business. I am very pleased and hereby grant one hundred taels of gold as encouragement. I decree this!" After Eunuch Wang finished reading, he looked at Tang Youyou with a smile, "Madam Tang, congratulations!"

Tang Youyou took the imperial edict, and a huge stone fell from her heart.

She knew that the emperor was secretly supporting her.

With the emperor's support, those who wanted to make fun of her naturally dared not act rashly.

The faces of Li Junxiang's followers turned pale in an instant. They didn't expect that Tang Youyou had such a powerful backer. Their previous arrogance now seemed extremely ridiculous.

They left the studio in shame, fearing that they would be implicated.

With the arrival of the imperial edict, more and more people began to gather at the entrance of the painting studio.

The news spread throughout Chang'an City as quickly as if it had wings, and more and more people flocked to the exhibition, including many dignitaries.

They were attracted by the exquisite layout and unique artistic atmosphere of the studio and stopped to admire it.

Wu Huazi's landscape paintings and Zheng Shizu's poems were placed in the most conspicuous positions, attracting a lot of attention.

Wu Huazi excitedly pointed to one of the paintings and explained his creative ideas to the crowd: "This painting depicts the scenery of the Jiangnan water town. I used a lot of white space to express the ethereality and tranquility of the water..." Although his voice was a little trembling, it was full of passion, and the audience listened with utmost interest.

Zheng Shizu was reciting his own poems on the side. His graceful posture and infectious voice brought out the artistic conception of the poems to the fullest.

"The setting sun and the lone wild goose fly together, the autumn water and the sky are the same color..." His voice echoed in the exhibition hall, drawing cheers.

Tang Youyou looked at the lively scene in front of him, his heart filled with a sense of accomplishment.

She walked to Wu Huazi and said softly, "Mr. Wu, Mr. Zheng, your talents have finally been recognized." Wu Huazi's eyes were slightly red, and he excitedly held Tang Youyou's hand: "Madam Tang, thank you, if it weren't for you..."

Suddenly, a melodious flute sound came from outside the painting studio...

The melodious and graceful sound of the flute attracted more people to stop.

It turned out to be a few folk artists, some playing the flute, some playing the string instrument, and some beating the drum. They cooperated with each other tacitly and played a cheerful and festive folk music.

The children were very excited and clapped along with the rhythm, and the adults also cheered.

There were even a few dancers with light figures and graceful steps, dancing among the crowd, adding a touch of color to the exhibition.

The performances of folk artists were also very popular, and the entire exhibition site was very lively.

Seeing this scene, Tang Youyou felt a sense of accomplishment.

At this moment, Li Junxiang, dressed in gorgeous clothes, walked in arrogantly with several maids.

She looked around, her eyes filled with disdain. "Hmph, a bunch of country bumpkins, you think you understand art?" A maid beside her immediately chimed in, "Exactly. These things are so vulgar. How can they compare to Miss Junxiang's collection of antique calligraphy and paintings?"

Li Junxiang walked up to a landscape painting by Wu Huazi and commented in a pretentiously profound manner, "The brushwork of this painting is childish and devoid of any artistic conception. It simply tarnishes the word art!" As she spoke, she reached out to tear the painting apart.

"Stop!" Wu Huazi saw this and quickly stepped forward to stop her. His face flushed red as he angrily said, "Miss Junxiang, how can you be so rude?"

Li Junxiang sneered, "Impertinent? I said your painting is not good, is that wrong? Do you think you are worthy of being called a painter?"

The people around began to talk, some stood up for Wu Huazi, while others were dissatisfied with Li Junxiang's domineering behavior.

Seeing this, Tang Youyou walked over calmly. She had a faint smile on her face, but her tone was unquestionable: "Miss Junxiang, this is an art exhibition. Everyone has the right to appreciate it. If you don't like it, you can leave. Why are you making such a fuss here?"

Li Junxiang was shocked by Tang Youyou's aura. She didn't expect that this seemingly weak woman would have such a powerful aura.

She was furious and pointed at Tang Youyou and said, "You...just wait for me!"

Tang Youyou was unmoved and just smiled faintly: "I'll wait." She turned around and said to Wu Huazi and Zheng Shizu: "Let's continue." She picked up a brush and splashed ink on a blank piece of rice paper... Li Junxiang looked at Tang Youyou's back, and a sinister light flashed in her eyes.

She whispered to the maid beside her, "Go, find out who this woman is..."

Tang Youyou's brush strokes moved like dragons and snakes, and a magnificent landscape painting came to life on the paper.

She was not proficient in painting, but the insights from later generations and unique aesthetics made her works unique and attracted everyone's admiration.

After Li Junxiang left in anger, the atmosphere of the exhibition became more lively, and people were talking about Tang Youyou's bold innovation and the superb skills of Wu Huazi and Zheng Shizu.

Eunuch Wang walked up to Tang Youyou with a smile on his face, his shrill voice tinged with admiration, "Madam Tang, this is the first time our family has seen such a unique exhibition. The Emperor will surely be delighted." He pulled out an exquisite jade pendant from his sleeve and handed it to Tang Youyou, "This is a gift from the Emperor as a reward."

Tang Youyou took the jade pendant and bowed slightly: "Thank you, eunuch, and thank the emperor for me."

After the exhibition, Tang Youyou, Wu Huazi and Zheng Shizu sat together and discussed future developments.

"Today's incident is all thanks to Madam Tang," Wu Huazi said with emotion, "If it weren't for Madam's righteous words, I'm afraid my paintings would have been destroyed by Li Junxiang long ago."

Zheng Shizu waved his folding fan and smiled carefreely, "People like Li Junxiang are just frogs in a well. How can they understand true art? Today's event is a perfect opportunity for the world to witness the charm of our new school."

Tang Youyou nodded: "We are now showing our potential, but we need to work harder to gain a foothold. I think we can hold exhibitions like this regularly, or set up a school, recruit disciples, and pass on our artistic concepts."

Wu Huazi and Zheng Shizu looked at each other and saw the excitement in each other's eyes.

"What a great idea!" Wu Huazi excitedly slammed the table. "I'll go back and organize my paintings for the next exhibition."

Zheng Shizu also stood up and said, "I will also contact some like-minded scholars and writers to strengthen our team together."

While they were discussing, an old man in plain clothes came over. He leaned close to Tang Youyou's ear mysteriously and whispered, "Madam, I heard that there is an extremely precious mineral in the Luoyan Mountain in the west that can be used to make pigments. The colors are bright and dazzling, and they won't fade for a hundred years..." He paused and added, "But the terrain of Luoyan Mountain is steep and there are fierce

Beasts are appearing..."

Tang Youyou's eyes lit up...