Male superiority and female superiority: forced love

Man makes one move, Heaven decides a thousand miles away.

Things are developing in an unpredictable direction.

Finally, his eyes lost their composure and showed a hint of worry.

Ruan Chuyin is completely confused now.

Weren't they supposed to just stand on the stage and perform casually? How did everything change in the blink of an eye?

"Princess Linhuai, I look forward to your masterpiece." Sun Wanning said with a dagger hidden in her smile.

This is equivalent to indirectly determining the items for the first competition.

Everyone gasped. The painting "Hibiscus Carp" not only held the Emperor's favor, but was impeccable in technique, color, and composition. Not to mention a woman's hand, even a man steeped in painting for years wouldn't necessarily match her excellence. His Royal Highness's earlier assessment was spot-on, not an exaggeration at all.

"Hatsune, there's no need to force yourself," Jiang Xuanzhou said loudly. Staying here for a moment longer meant giving Jiang Wenzhou another chance. He was eager for Ruan Chuyin to be finished sooner so he could take her back.

At this moment, an unexpected person spoke.

Jiang Yunzi stretched out a jade finger and gently stroked the edge of the jade cup, a few giggles escaped from her lips.

"Princess Linhuai, you came up here without any real ability? This won't do."

If you fail to perform in front of the emperor, you will be punished.

The discussions around gradually became louder.

Wang Yumei suddenly pulled her two friends over and asked, "Do you know what Hatsune is good at?"

"...cooking skills." Liu Dongxiang replied with her face flushed red.

"What else?" Wang Yumei turned to Cai Lei again, unwilling to give up. After seeing her friend shake her head, she slowly loosened her grip.

Cai Lei stared at Ruan Chuyin's expression, her eyes were empty, as if she was wandering in the void.

Princess Yong'an's words were undoubtedly a reminder, but this friend seemed unaware of it and immediately decided to add fuel to the fire, shouting, "Hatsune, if you continue to hide your incompetence, you'll have stood up for nothing today."

"Yes! Come on! If you don't work harder, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will really be snatched away." Liu Dongxiang and Wang Yumei hurriedly followed to cheer her up.

The cheers from the three of them immediately boosted the atmosphere in the hall, and many young ladies present came together to cheer for Ruan Chuyin.

Anyway, they have no chance to play. Instead of letting a foreign fairy sit on the throne of Crown Princess, it is better to support Princess Linhuai.

Ruan Chuyin listened to the cheers from the audience, and countless black lines slid down her forehead. She had never thought of snatching Jiang Wenzhou away, okay!

"Princess Linhuai, do you want to compete or not?" Sun Wanning's face flushed red with anger when she heard so many people cheering for Ruan Chuyin. She snorted coldly and continued, "It was you who stood up and said you wanted to compete with me just now. Now that the emperor has agreed, why don't you want to compete? Or do you think that you can sit firmly on the position of Crown Princess just by showing up?" As the words fell, her narrow and beautiful eyes swept over Jiang Wenzhou, and the anger in her heart burned even more.

The two of them were touched and lowered their eyes at the same time.

what should we do?

Ruan Chuyin gently picked up the jade pendant around her waist and played with it.

The pink Qilin jade fluttered on the tender green satin, making the delicate hand look even whiter and longer, like a snow lotus bud about to bloom, touching the hearts of all young men.

The next moment, even louder cheers echoed from the hall. Jiang Xuanzhou watched as the unmarried men stood up in inappropriate excitement, and the crimson in his eyes that had just faded returned in an instant.

"Who said I don't want to compete anymore? I'm just thinking about what to draw for a while." Ruan Chuyin slowly raised her head and smiled at Sun Wanning.

Speaking of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, as an outstanding university student at the highest institution in the 23rd century Magic City, one must know a little bit. This is because it is a required subject for the high school entrance exam, and everyone knows it, but the depth of their knowledge varies.

As it happened, she belonged to the former, the type who studied in depth. However, she had never picked up a pen since entering university, so she never considered these things to be her specialties.

When I saw the works of Cai Lei, Cao Ranyue and Sun Wanning before, I found that they were all ink-splashing paintings, and I had some ideas in my mind.

Today she will paint a picture of "Two Carp Playing with a Pearl," using meticulous brushwork and heavy coloring. This style, characterized by delicate brushstrokes, rigorous composition, and a focus on realism, demands considerable patience from the artist.

Ruan Chuyin chose a good center and wrote it down with his brush.

She first double-hooked the outline, then applied flat painting, general dyeing, partial dyeing, highlighting, and shading to the pattern, finally adding the wake-up and baking dyes. When she finished, she took out the homemade rouge she had in her pocket and mixed a little with the paint for highlighting. The two koi fish seemed to come alive, swimming and glittering, a truly beautiful sight.

The character "珠" (pearl) in "Two Carps Playing with Pearls" cleverly uses metaphor, depicting the "bubbles" spit out by koi. Each "pearl" is outlined with a color closest to zinc titanium white, then outlined with black lines, and finally a circle of gold powder, which complements the fish's body.

The entire work is like a fish in water, richly colored and full of vigor. Unlike the three previous splash-ink paintings, each line is meticulously executed. If time were not limited, a few clusters of lotus flowers would have been added for even greater contrast.

The moment Ruan Chuyin picked up the painting, Sun Wanning knew he had lost.

There was silence in the hall, and everyone was deeply attracted by the lifelike painting of "Two Carps Playing with a Pearl".

The great scholar Cai Zhiyuan excitedly stepped forward, examining this unprecedented novel technique inch by inch, his voice filled with admiration. Other court officials, appreciative of the painting, had been admiring it until his unsightly figure blocked their view. They all stood up and rushed forward, eager to explore the art. Even the Great Yong Emperor slowly descended from the imperial platform, hoping to get a better look.

Jiang Wenzhou, Jiang Xuanzhou, and Beiyue Crown Prince Lu Yinnian were completely petrified. Lu Yinnian, the master of painting, was especially struck by a passion he had never seen before.

Ruan Chuyin was surrounded by them, her ears were filled with questions, and she didn't know which one to answer first.

Jiang Xuanzhou and the Duke of Zhenguo and his wife hurried forward to pull them apart, allowing this "treasure" to see the light of day again.

Qin Lang and Ye Sangning never knew that their daughter-in-law had such a skill. They took the drawing paper and held it with their backs to protect it tightly.

"Duke Zhenguo, can you please show some martial ethics?" Cai Zhiyuan and Kong Ji rushed in front of the two men, each holding the two corners of the drawing paper in one hand.

Cai Lei, Wang Yumei, and Liu Dongxiang had suddenly stood beside Ruan Chuyin, clamoring for her to paint another one. Everyone's eyes lit up as they turned to push the three girls aside and gathered around her once more. Their faces were filled with affable smiles, but each word they spouted was more shameless than the last. You asked for one, he asked for two, and the countless "ones" made Ruan Chuyin's head ache, unable to remember them all.

The arena was plunged into chaos. Jiang Xuanzhou led her out of the encirclement several times, but was always trapped by a new circle. Even the palace attendants shouted several times, but to no avail. In desperation, he had to use his internal energy to shake them all away.

"Stay away from my princess! If you dare to come near me again, don't blame me for being rude!" Jiang Xuanzhou led the people back to their seats with a sullen face.

Several ministers got up from the ground and surrounded the Duke and his wife.

Jiang Chenfeng was stunned for a while, then spoke in a loud voice and asked for the treasure map on the spot.

"Hatsune, how about giving this painting to father?" The sharpness in his eyes had faded away, and was now filled with kindness.

"Okay... If you like it, I will go back and draw two more for you." When Ruan Chuyin heard that the emperor had changed his address, she seemed to be no longer angry and felt much more relieved.

Jiang Chenfeng was even happier when he heard this. Not only did he declare her the winner on the spot, he also gave her a pair of coral bracelets for generations to come, which were in no way inferior to the Dongzhu necklace he had awarded to Sun Wanning.

Ruan Chuyin, receiving her first imperial gift, was overjoyed. Each of the emperor's treasures held a rich history, their value and significance immeasurable. This innate energy intensified her, fueling her fighting spirit.

Jiang Wenzhou stared at the excitement in her eyes without blinking, his thin lips curled slightly, his eyebrows curved, and the ripples in his heart spread even wider.

"Princess Linhuai, how about we compete in poetry writing next time?" Sun Wanning couldn't bear to see Ruan Chuyin being the focus of everyone's attention. This was an honor that should have belonged to her. His eyes were filled with malice as if they were filled with poison.