Chapter 47: Chapter 47 Noble Lady vs. Reborn Foster Daughter (Part 15)
As Gu Shengyin spoke, people began to bring things up one by one.
Yuan Xu looked carefully and saw that these were clearly not the White Jade Guanyin that had been prepared earlier.
Soon, a table was set up in front of Gu Shengyin, upon which a sheet of fine Xuan paper was spread—it was none other than the Four Treasures of the Study!
What is she trying to do?
Cheng Yiru’s brows furrowed tightly, she had never heard of Cheng Xizhi making any contributions to the national studies in her previous life.
It’s nothing more than an attempt to attract attention and please the crowd. She comforted herself in order to suppress the ominous premonitions rising in her heart.
Clearly, quite a few people were intrigued by Gu Shengyin, curious to see just what she was up to.
The Cheng family members were also quite curious; they had never known that their youngest daughter had such a skill up her sleeve.
Gu Shengyin did not care what others thought.
Since her creation, whether it was in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine, flowers, of various skills she could be deemed a master. Moreover, she had a special interest in ink painting, and in her previous world, Ji Yu had specifically invited Elder Bai Shan, a famous painting master of the Tianqi Dynasty, to teach her personally in the palace.
In his later years, Elder Bai Shan himself admitted that in terms of painting, the Empress’s mastery was no less than his own.
As she ran her hand over the Xuan paper, Gu Shengyin was somewhat unsatisfied. Although she had already had the best quality brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone brought over, compared to what she used in her previous world, it was still of considerably poorer quality.
However, it was passable.
She closed her eyes and centered her mind.
Upon opening her eyes again, Gu Shengyin’s brush danced across the paper, quickly covering the Xuan paper with strokes of ink.
Initially, the guests were just crowding around for the excitement and did not hold much expectation. How much could one expect from a teenage girl?
Even if Gu Shengyin’s paintings were only at an amateur level, as long as Cheng Zhensheng said he liked them, they would still offer praise.
But soon, their skepticism was overwhelmed by astonishment; such brushwork, such an artistic conception—had they not witnessed it with their own eyes, who could imagine it came from the hand of a seventeen-year-old girl?
Among the guests, there were not a few who had a deep understanding of national studies; as the painting neared completion, their gaze went from admiring to almost mesmerized.
“Excellent!” As Gu Shengyin finished her last stroke, someone finally couldn’t hold back and praised aloud.
Many were still immersed in the artistic conception of the painting when they were suddenly interrupted, feeling displeased, only to turn and see who spoke and immediately swallowed their complaints.
“So it’s Old Mr. De.” Someone recognized the elder who had spoken.
“The brushwork is gentle without losing strength, the artistic conception is lofty and rich, and the characters are lifelike without being exaggerated. Excellent, excellent, excellent!” Old Mr. De said the word ‘excellent’ three times before finally directing his gaze towards Gu Shengyin.
“May I ask under whom did Little Friend Cheng study?” Old Mr. De’s gaze was intense.
Gu Shengyin brought out the explanation she had prepared beforehand: “As a junior, when I was studying abroad, I met an old master named Bai Shan and studied traditional Chinese painting with him for several years.”
This Elder Bai Shan was Gu Shengyin’s painting teacher. However, not abroad, but in another world.
As expected, Old Mr. De pondered for a long time but could not remember where exactly this Elder Bai Shan came from.
It seems he was a reclusive master residing abroad. Old Mr. De exclaimed internally that such a teacher capable of educating Cheng Xizhi was truly a master of a generation.
“Old Mr. De, this painting?” Someone couldn’t help but ask.
The painting Gu Shengyin had created was a Birthday Celebration Painting, depicting a kindly old immortal holding a Peach of Immortality, coming to offer birthday congratulations.
They could only be considered laymen, feeling that the painting was very good, but they couldn’t articulate exactly why.