So compared to the women’s mad jealousy and dissatisfaction, the men exhibited a deep interest in Shen Xiaoyu.
Yan Qing caught this scene and, somewhat displeased, glared in the direction of the Crown Prince who, puzzled, touched his nose and wondered why he was being glared at. Wasn’t this the time to glare at those from the Prince Zhao Mansion?
In the final round of the painting competition, Xiao Yu didn’t use the essential materials for water-ink painting. Instead, Xiao Ya brought her the prepared easel, sketch paper, pencils, and erasers, and she found a girl to sit down so she could draw a portrait of her.
She had learned sketching up until high school but had stopped, giving her a solid foundation in drawing. Although it was not professional, she dealt with the ancient subjects with ease.
As everyone knows, among the various painting techniques, portraits are the most difficult to master, and completing one quickly within a certain time frame was particularly challenging.
Water-ink painting emphasizes the artistic conception, while sketching focuses on details. Therefore, when the other party had finished their drawing, she was still not done.
However, the girl was so intrigued by her method of drawing that she specifically reported it to the Emperor and asked to wait for Xiao Yu to finish her drawing. After receiving the Emperor’s permission, Xiao Yu spent about another half an hour before she completed the artwork. Then, she stood beside the palace maid with the sketch paper for a live comparison; to everyone’s surprise, the drawing resembled the palace maid by about seventy to eighty percent.
Instantly, it was deemed an extraordinary feat, and people marveled at it, while Xiao Yu generously gave the drawing to the palace maid in question.
"Miss Shen, what kind of drawing technique is this? I have never seen it before," someone asked.
"Oh, this is done with a charcoal pencil, made from grinding charred wood—used for these more intricate drawings. It took me a long time to find this type of paper in various stores, as it’s quite suitable for drawing. This technique is something I figured out by myself when I had some spare time. It’s quite laughable, really," she explained. The source of this content ɪs novel⁂fire.net
Miss Yang conceded defeat and accepted her loss graciously, admitting, "If I were to draw a portrait with charcoal ink, I couldn’t achieve such realism. Thus, I lost this round."
Originally, the competition should have stopped there. After all, counting four rounds, with one tie and two victories, Xiao Yu had technically only lost one round, making her the winner. However, Princess Yijia wouldn’t let her off easily and insisted on competing in dance.
Although Tangyuan had practiced modern dance as a child, those dances were not suitable for ancient settings, and most of the specifics had faded from her memory, making immediate improvisation impossible.
Fortunately, she had come prepared, having altered her Dance Rhythm Yoga outfit into an ancient dance costume—a celestial white one with lace and skirts.
On one side, Princess Yijia led the dance herself with palace maids complementing her performance, perfectly showcasing her good figure and excellent moves.
But Xiao Yu had the musician play a soothing melody without specifying the song, simply dancing elegantly to the rhythm.
Dance Rhythm Yoga emphasizes the gracefulness of the body, perfect coordination between the wrist and arms, whether doing splits or handstands. Her movements, filled with various dance movements, meant that anyone familiar with dance wouldn’t consider her dance level to be low.
The Empress, having practiced yoga, naturally realized the extent of Xiao Yu’s proficiency...