Chapter Six: A Contest

  The room was tastefully decorated, with a painting of elegant ladies hanging on the south wall. A nine-stringed ancient zither sat on a low table by the window. A lamp bracket protruded from the wall, holding a tin lantern with a red candle inserted, and beside it stood an intricately carved wooden couch with three sides enclosed, its red silk canopy hooked back to either side, and a thin quilt and bamboo mat. A young girl sat in a daze, staring at the newly mounted painting.

  The girl is elegant and quiet, a pair of beautiful eyes wandering in the painting, sometimes dazed, sometimes amazed.

  A maid beside her said in a low voice: "The young lady has been watching for an hour, shall we have someone send some fruit to fill her stomach?"

  The young girl nodded thoughtfully: "This person is really formidable, and has actually grasped the subtleties of Sunzi's divine inspiration. The strokes of his brush can be so fine and delicate."

  The maid fox doubted: "Is the painting done by the young master of the Qi Guo really this good?"

  The girl shook her head: "It wasn't done by Master Zhou, there must be someone else. If this painting didn't have no signature, I would have thought it was a genuine work."

  "So that's what you mean, there's someone else who can paint?" The maid said: "Why not invite that person to come and see, let's see who can copy out a painting that makes the young lady forget about tea and food."

  The young girl smiled slightly, with a calm tone: "Can't see, this person is deliberately provoking me, okay, I also can't lose to him. Are the paintings I copied a few days ago still there?"

  "It's already been put away."

  The girl said: "In two days, send it to the Qi Guo Gongfu, don't say anything, just say it's a gift for Master Zhou."

  The maid nodded.

  The girl puckered her lips and continued to admire the painting.

  …………

  Liu Wen, the head of the outer court, heard that Shen Ao was going to compete with Shu Tong and was personally recommended by the young master. He suddenly became enthusiastic about Shen Ao, pulling him into a corner to talk in a mysterious tone: "You're a talented young man, daring to challenge the scholar, worthy of being brought up by old Liu. Make sure you don't lose face for our outer court in this competition. You don't have to work for the next few days, I'll take care of everything. If you need anything, just let me know quickly."

  Liu Wen was overly enthusiastic, but actually had ulterior motives. Originally, the government office needed a book boy, and several people in charge recommended their own relatives, which is called "the fat water doesn't flow into outsiders' fields". Who knew that Zhao, the main person in charge of the inner court, had a lot of face, and his nephew was also formidable, so he took this quota for himself. Liu Wen felt uncomfortable in his heart and became jealous of Zhao.

  "The workplace struggle is so fierce." Shen Ao sighed in his heart.

  But it's also good that Director Zhao took the spot, causing many people in the mansion with a reputation to lose face. Now everyone has formed a united front to support Shen Ao together.

  It's finally the Mid-Autumn Festival, and after a long wait, the evening has arrived. The last rays of sunset have faded away, and the full moon is high in the sky, casting its bright light down on everything. Firecrackers are popping loudly along the street, and the Qi Guo Gong Fu mansion is decorated with lanterns and streamers. As the people in charge give the order to light the lanterns, one by one they are hung under the eaves of the roof, filling the entire area inside and out with a warm, bright glow.

  "Going further ahead is the inner court, Shen Ao, you must make an effort for me." Zhou Heng smiled and said: "Several of my cousins in the clan opened a gambling den, I bet 10 guan on you winning."

  Shen Ao curled his lip: "You didn't pawn that scholar's twenty taels again, did you?"

  Zhou Heng was surprised and said: "How did you know?"

  "Believe it!" Shen Ao shook his head regretfully: "Is it that you don't have faith in me? Did you hear some rumors?"

  Zhou Heng frowned: "I heard that this scholar is not ordinary, he was first in the provincial examination. Although I have high hopes for you, but compared to this scholar, you are still a little bit inferior."

  "Wait and see, I'll make you open your eyes wide. Are all things ready?"

  Zhou Heng nodded: "Everything is ready, this young master has given you an opportunity, you'd better grasp it well."

  Two people walked and talked, passing through the moon gate, suddenly opening up in front of them, a rippling lake appeared before Shen Ao's eyes, on the lake was a pavilion connected by a zigzag bridge, the pavilion was very large, enough to hold dozens of people with ease, figures were faintly visible, apparently many people had been waiting already.

  "What a pity Wu Saner is not qualified to come in, otherwise he would definitely be shocked by this scenery." With the round moon on his head and the broken moonlight reflected in the lake under his feet, this feeling is as if wandering in a fairyland.

  Shen Ao really wants to sing a song, humming the tune: "I once saw, Jinling's jade trees and orioles' voices at dawn, Qinhuai River's pavilions and flowers blooming early, who knows it's easy to melt like ice! I watched him rise to the vermilion building, I watched him feast guests, I watched his building collapse. This green moss and blue tile pile, I once slept through a romantic dream, watching fifty years of prosperity and decline with satisfaction. That Wu Yi Lane, not surnamed Wang; Mo Chou Lake, ghosts crying at night; Feng Huang Tai, birds nesting! The dreams of the ruined mountain are the most real, it's hard to get rid of the old territory. Don't believe this draft is changed, sing a set of 'Lament for Jiangnan', singing sorrowful sounds until old age."

  "What song were you singing?"

  Shen Ao hummed a silly tune, but didn't say anything. If Zhou Dashao knew he was singing this kind of song in front of his family's vermilion building, he would strangle himself to death.

  Arriving at the Round Pavilion, Zhou Heng hastily walked towards the dignified woman on the main seat: "Mother..."

  Shen Ao's gaze fell on Chun'er, who was standing beside his wife. Today, Chun'er had indeed dressed up carefully, and in the dim light, she looked even more lovely. Shen Ao winked at Chun'er, who blushed and lowered her head to play with her hem.

  "Little girl is shy." Shen Ao secretly enjoyed himself and shifted his gaze elsewhere. Sitting beside his wife was a elegant and refined young girl, with skin as white as jade and bones as delicate as ice, her face like a gardenia flower, exuding a noble and pure princess-like aura, her icy beauty was like a lotus flower emerging from the water.

  "This is Miss Zhou, last time was too far away and didn't see clearly, now she looks even more beautiful than before." Shen Ao looked a bit stunned.

  But as soon as the gaze shifted, a man was seen standing beside Miss Zhou, with a mature and steady face, exuding a warm smile, those eagle-like eyes revealing a domineering gaze, combined with his robust physique giving off an aura of pride.

  "Why did I feel that this man was not a good thing as soon as I saw him?" Shen Ao's heart felt sour, and he provocatively stared at the man for a moment, but the other party obviously didn't put him in his heart, not even giving him a glance.

  A little further away were a few more people, and Liu Wen gave Shen Ao an encouraging look. Another person caught Shen Ao's attention, he was about forty years old, with a goat-like beard, looking very kind, with a hint of a smile that wasn't quite visible. Standing next to him was a thin young man, the young man's skin was somewhat pale, but between his eyebrows, one could sense a hint of arrogance. Apparently, although poor, he had some pride.

  Shen Ao walked up to his wife and said, "Hello, dear."

  "Good." The lady nodded slightly towards him, smiling and saying: "Everyone has arrived. The Duke's residence is not like an ordinary commoner's home. Every time it reaches this hour, the Duke always goes to the palace to accompany the Emperor in admiring the moon."

  She paused, sighed and said: "Others have family reunions, but we don't even have a day to gather together. That's why I've called you all here to liven things up. Coincidentally, the mansion is looking for a new book boy, and there are two suitable candidates. Today, I'll throw out a brick to attract jade, and ask these two young heroes to compete with each other."

  She pursed her lips, her eyes fell on the pale-faced young man, and she was obviously very satisfied with him. "Wen Qing," she said, "you are the first scholar in the provincial examination, and you will definitely be a high-ranking official in the future. Coming to our mansion as a small book boy won't humiliate you, will it?"

  The young man politely said: "Being able to accompany you in reading books, how can Wen Qing have any complaints?"

  "Alright, so the first match is about to begin."

  In the center of the pavilion is a square desk with pen, ink, paper and inkstone all complete.

  "The first round of competition is painting. The two talented individuals, please get ready. The topic is: the highest mountain."

  The young man and Shen Ao walked to the center, Shen Ao held out his hand: "I'm Shen Ao."

  The young man smiled indifferently: "Just Zhao Wengui."

  This politeness was naturally superficial. The two people's eyes met, with a strong provocative meaning.

  Zhao Wenqing considered himself a child prodigy, the top scholar in the provincial examination, and naturally wouldn't take a servant from the Zhou household seriously. Without being polite, he immediately picked up the pen on the table and began to write swiftly on the white paper.

  Shen Ao was not in a hurry at all, slowly picked up his pen, but furrowed his brow.

  "What is the highest mountain? What kind of mountain can be the highest?" This obviously isn't just about drawing, but more like an IQ test.

  Shen Ao glanced at Zhao Wengui's manuscript and saw that an outline had already been drawn. Shen Ao immediately recognized that this was a painting of Liang Bo's "Yin Feng Tu" from the Two Jin period. This painting is not famous, but it excels in depicting the majesty of Hengshan. Among the famous mountains in the world, Hengshan is the highest, so Zhao Wengui's copy of Liang Bo's "Yi Feng Tu" naturally became the highest mountain.

  "Must I have this young fellow paint Mount Everest? No, even if he paints it, no one will know. But again, we can't imitate the style of Yifeng's painting, otherwise it would be inferior. It seems that we really need to rack our brains."

  One side is writing with flair and elegance, while Shen Ao on the other hand is hesitant and indecisive, with a clear distinction between high and low.

  Chun'er and Zhou Heng both looked somewhat worried, especially Chun'er, whose beautiful eyes stared straight at Shen Ao, her concern evident on her face.

  The lady cast a glance at Shen Ao without making a sound, and then her gaze fell on Zhao Wenqing again, with a hint of appreciation in her eyes.

  That benevolent Director Zhao also revealed a hint of joy at this moment, apparently feeling that his nephew had already secured victory.

  Time flew by quickly, Zhao Wengqing let out a breath and finally put down his brush, saying: "Madam, it's done."

  Chun'er walked over carefully holding up the painting for Madame to see. Madame said, "It's painted quite well."

  Zhao Wenqing smiled slightly and said: "Among the famous mountains in the world, Mount Heng is the most superior. Although this painting of Yifeng is an imitation, it happens to conform to the main theme."

  The lady nodded and her eyes fell on Shen Ao again, only to see that Shen Ao still hadn't moved his pen, his eyebrows furrowed: "Time is almost up."

  Shen Ao nodded and smiled: "It will be fine soon." He moved his wrist, casually sketching a few strokes on the paper, and said: "It's done, please madam evaluate it."

  Chun'er went to Shen Ao's desk to get the painting, and Shen Ao took advantage of no one noticing to pinch her hand. Chun'er suddenly panicked, stumbled, and blushed as she handed the painting to the lady.

  Just a few casual strokes and it's done. The people in the pavilion looked at Shen Ao's expression with some weirdness, just like watching monkeys in the zoo together.

  The lady also disliked Shen Ao: "This person looks like he doesn't have Wen Qing's integrity, always with a hint of evil spirit. Wen Qing's paintings have a focused quality to them. But this Shen Ao is careless and sloppy, could it be that he knows he can't compare to Wen Qing in painting, so he intentionally scribbles a few strokes to deceive people?"

  Zhao Wenqing also felt that he was sure to win, and looked at Shen Ao with disdain: "Brother Shen is so careless, can a few casual strokes really paint a tall mountain?"

  Shen Ao smiled with a hint of arrogance, his eyes gleaming with interest: "Let's wait and see, Brother Zhao."