Chapter 12: Sketch Portraits (Recommended Collection)

  Zhao Yan was best at sketching, and the charcoal used for sketching was actually willow branch charcoal. The Wang Fu originally had preparations, so the tools were all ready-made. Xiao Douya was originally a little kid, and when she heard that the Duke wanted to paint her portrait, she was excited beyond words. She helped Zhao Yan find charcoal and paper, and also reminded Zhao Yan to make sure to draw her beautifully.

  After Xiaodouya sat back up, Zhao Yan adjusted her breathing to calm herself down, allowing her to focus more intently. After all, painting required one's full attention, and any distraction could lead to failure.

  Zhao Yan felt that his heart had completely calmed down, and then he used a small knife to carve the charcoal into the shape he needed. Only then did he start painting. Although Zhao Yan often skipped class in his previous life and rarely attended classes for his major in painting, his foundation in sketching was very solid. This was also due to his innate talent and hard work in this area. After all, art students have to take an additional exam in their chosen artistic field for college entrance exams, and without effort, it's impossible to get into a good university. However, since graduating from college, Zhao Yan had hardly touched a paintbrush, and heaven knows how much of his foundation was left?

  Perhaps it was the foundation laid by Zhao Yan in the past, or perhaps it was because her current state of mind was more suitable for painting than before. Anyway, since Zhao Yan drew the first line, she felt as if she had divine assistance, and both the overall composition and local details were very smooth. Her grasp of light and dark was also effortless, which made her painting speed very fast. In about an hour, a lively and charming young girl holding a lovely little dog appeared on the paper.

  "Wow~, this...this...is it really me?" Xiaodouya stared at the portrait in Zhao Yan's hand, her face full of incredulous expressions, and her mouth was shocked to the point where she couldn't close it.

  It's no wonder that Xiaodouya was shocked, because Zhao Yan's sketch is very realistic. Although due to time constraints and the inconvenience of tools, Zhao Yan couldn't draw a hyper-realistic sketch, that kind of photographic effect sketch, but this portrait of Xiaodouya has excellent contrast and composition, making it seem like the person is protruding from the paper, with a strong sense of three-dimensionality. It's natural for Xiaodouya to be shocked when seeing such a portrait for the first time.

  "Of course, it's our little bean sprout." Zhao Yan also said with great satisfaction. Earlier when he was painting, he felt himself entering a very mysterious state. This state not only allowed him to perform exceptionally well but also rekindled his passion for painting. Anyway, he now had plenty of time to waste, so why not pick up the foundation of painting from his past life? Who knows, relying on this sketching foundation might even allow him to leave a great name in history.

  In the evening, Xiaodouya's portrait had appeared on Cao Ying's desk. At this time, Cao Ying was frowning, her face showing a mixture of anger and resentment, as if she was thinking about something. Meanwhile, Xiaodouya stood there awkwardly, occasionally pinching Moxue beside her. Moxue, not willing to give in, would sometimes fight back with Xiaodouya, and the two little maids would tussle for a while.

  Zhao Yan gave the portrait to Xiaodouya after finishing the sketch, and Xiaodouya was overjoyed. She took it to her room and became engrossed in it. Just then, Xunxue came looking for her and was also surprised by the portrait of Xiaodouya. She grabbed it and wanted to take a look, but Xiaodouya wouldn't let go. As a result, Xunxue ran ahead with Xiaodouya chasing after her until they were seen by Cao Ying, who ended up getting hold of the portrait.

  "Xiao Douya, be honest with me, did Zhao Yan really paint this portrait for you?" Cao Ying asked again, although Xiao Douya had already told her several times that the portrait was indeed painted by Zhao Yan, but Cao Ying still couldn't quite believe it.

  "Fourth sister, this portrait was really painted by the Duke for me. This afternoon, the Duke felt bored, so he chatted with me. As we chatted, the Duke said he wanted to paint a portrait of me and asked me to bring charcoal and paper. Then he told me to sit still, and it took him a whole hour to finish!" Xiaodouya said somewhat resentfully, feeling both hurt that Cao Ying didn't believe her words and worried that Fourth Sister would take back the portrait.

  "How is this possible? How can it be......" Cao Ying muttered to herself in utter disbelief, her eyes falling on the portrait on the table once again.

  Only in the painting, a small bean sprout sits on a velvet cushion, with a fan-shaped open window behind him. Outside the window, it seems to be raining lightly, and under the window, the small bean sprout is holding a small dog named Little Meatball. His left hand strokes Little Meatball's smooth fur, his body slightly leaning forward, his face with a bright smile, his small mouth slightly open, as if saying something exciting. The whole painting is extremely vivid.

  In addition, the style of this painting is also completely different from what Cao Ying had seen before. At first glance, it seems to be similar to white drawing, but white drawing only uses lines to outline flat shapes. This painting, on the other hand, uses some unknown technique to make Xiaodouya's image seem like it's protruding from the paper, giving a very realistic feeling as if the girl on the paper is another Xiaodouya.

  Originally, Zhao Yan's medical skills had already surprised Cao Ying greatly, but now the portrait that Zhao Yan drew for Xiaodouya was even more shocking, to the point where Cao Ying was now wondering if the previous Zhao Yan, although seemingly absurd on the surface, was actually a talented genius?

  However, this is also unreasonable because Zhao Yan didn't need to hide his skills. The crown prince of the Song Dynasty had already been determined and it was Zhao Yan's older brother, Zhao Heng. Even if Zhao Yan had exceptional talent in medicine and painting, it wouldn't mean anything and wouldn't threaten Zhao Heng's position as crown prince. Therefore, Zhao Yan could have showcased his talents, not only gaining great fame but also winning the favor of more women, which would be a good thing for someone as lustful as him.

  In addition, Cao Ying thought of Zhao Yan's behavior on the wedding night. At that time, Zhao Yan gave her a very bad impression. Apart from being lustful and obscene, Cao Ying couldn't think of any other way to describe Zhao Yan. How could such an obscene person possibly possess extraordinary talent? Although some people are talented but lack virtue, Cao Ying's intuition told her that the previous Zhao Yan definitely didn't belong to this type of person.

  "Find some old people from the Wang Fu and ask them what the Junwang used to like doing, have you found out anything?" Cao Ying suddenly spoke up again. After seeing Zhao Yan's medical skills last time, she was very curious about where Zhao Yan learned her medical skills, so she sent Xunxue to ask around some old people from the Wang Fu, especially the maids and servants who were closest to Zhao Yan in the past.

  Xunxue, who was playing with Xiaodouya, immediately stood up straight and replied: "I have asked all the people around the Duke, but they all say that the Duke's only hobbies are raising fierce beasts, fighting chickens and listening to music. As for medical skills, no one has ever taught him anything. If he were self-taught, but the Duke hates reading books, he can't even go to the study a few times a year, and when writing an IOU, there will be some wrong characters, let alone understanding medical books!"

  "I don't like reading, I don't go to the study room, every day I'm outside causing trouble, where did he learn his medical skills from? And when does he have time to learn painting?" Cao Ying felt like she was going crazy, it had only been a month since they got married and there were already so many mysteries surrounding Zhao Yan that no matter what she couldn't figure out. Actually, Cao Ying hoped that Zhao Yan really was a talented person, but his past behavior made her not dare to believe it, and she was also afraid that the bigger her hopes were, the greater her disappointment would be in the end.

  "The princess, is it because of the light ball on the wedding night that everyone outside is saying that the county king was so evil before that he provoked heaven's anger and was punished by heavenly thunder? Maybe after being punished by heaven, the county king started to reform and changed his former wicked habits, so he became what he is now?" Cao Ying's muttering was heard by Xunxue standing beside her, this little girl thought of the rumors outside, so she spoke up.

  "Even if it's heaven's punishment that made Zhao Yan reform, but where did his medical skills and painting talent come from? Maybe the medical skills used to treat Xiao Rou Ding were somewhat deceitful, but this painting is extremely vivid and realistic. Without the guidance of a master and years of hard work, it would be impossible to create such a masterpiece!" Cao Ying asked with some incomprehension.

  "Is it because heaven saw that the Duke had washed his heart and changed his ways, so he gave the Duke some rewards?" Xiaodouya said innocently at this time, she just felt that Zhao Yan was really good now, such a good person should be rewarded by heaven.

  However, Xiaodouya's casual remark made both Cao Ying and Miu Xue pause, and the two suddenly felt that Xiaodouya's guess was very likely, and this was also the only reasonable explanation. Especially when Cao Ying thought of the mysterious light ball in the bridal chamber that day, although it was different from ordinary lightning, but later Zhao Yan's body did seem to be injured by lightning, and since then, Zhao Yan seemed to have changed into a different person, no longer as arrogant and domineering as before, and even more amiable to the servants. Only these changes Cao Ying had not noticed before, now thinking carefully, Zhao Yan's changes were indeed related to that mysterious light ball.

  "Is there really a god in this world?" Cao Ying suddenly sighed and muttered to herself. Before Zhao Yan arrived at the bridal chamber that day, Cao Ying had fantasized about hoping for heavenly thunder to strike Zhao Yan dead, and she had made a grand vow to be a vegetarian and do good deeds for the rest of her life. At first, heaven did not respond, and Cao Ying was very disappointed. However, later on, a light ball really struck Zhao Yan, which also surprised and delighted Cao Ying. During this time, she accompanied Zhao Yan in eating vegetarian food, actually to keep the promise she made earlier.

  "Fourth sister, if we want to know why the county king has changed so much, can't we just ask him directly?" Xiaodouya looked at Cao Ying's worried face and proposed a very simple suggestion. Her little brain had always been straightforward, which was also one of the reasons why people liked her.