Today is his birthday, and all he wanted was for his friends to be happy. It was too much to make Meng Zhaojun go back and complain, but it wasn’t good for the family.
Ever since Tang Shunyan had been old enough to understand, he’d always heard his family say to let Meng Zhaojun have her way.
Sometimes he felt indignant, but his nature made him more generous and tolerant, which was why Meng Zhaojun always clung to him, restricting his freedom during his spare time, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Meng Zhaojun was already a bit resentful, and seeing Tang Shunyan’s joyful expression, as if he were the one who had won against her, made the boy’s smile particularly grating to her eyes.
With such pride in her heart, she defiantly continued with the following words.
"Humph, the drawing may be good, but it doesn’t mean it’s better than mine. The portrait I drew of Tang Shunyan was from two years ago, and my skills have improved a lot since then. Who wins and who loses is still unknown!"
Meng Zhaojun’s confidence was thanks to the past two years spent imitating the Ye family’s toys; she had already memorized the portrait and expressions that Ye Shiqi had just drawn.
She felt that replicating a drawing exactly like it would be no challenge at all.
Master painters are always imitated, their works copied to mix the false with the true. To her, the drawing by the little girl was the simplest thing, and she knew it was a sketch.
Though Meng Zhaojun wouldn’t claim to be exceptionally skilled at sketching, she felt that having someone else’s drawing as a reference, as if painting with a model, truly wouldn’t trouble her.
Everyone thought this interlude would become a thing of the past, but Meng Zhaojun was unrelenting. The others had already taken great care of her dignity, refraining from mockery.
The farmer girls also refrained from provoking Meng Zhaojun on this topic. So stubborn was this young woman that both the wealthy young ladies and gentlemen watched her in silence, as if speaking up might make enemies.
Children from wealthy families are often more precocious; adults always remind them not to offend nobles at such gatherings.
Offending is not just about one noble; it can affect a family’s entire future.
"What? Questioning me? Think I’m wrong?"
With everyone too scared to speak again, Meng Zhaojun suppressed the fickle expression from before, which improved her mood slightly.
Status determines a person’s standing, and these people wouldn’t dare to act out of line in front of her!
"Meng Zhaojun, if you want to draw, then go ahead and draw. Just consider it a birthday gift for me. Let’s not take everything too seriously; it’s not good for you or anyone else!"
Tang Shunyan, the young host, felt compelled to intervene, as he didn’t want the gathering to drag on when it was almost time to eat.
"Fine, wasn’t her drawing very lifelike and quick? I can draw even faster than her!"
After Meng Zhaojun spoke, she instructed the maid to fetch her the best brush and grind some ink.
Without asking Tang Shunyan to pose, she began to replicate Ye Shiqi’s recent drawing at another table.
Others did not understand Meng Zhaojun’s actions, but Ye Shiqi knew that the young lady was imitating her recent drawing.
Then it would be a competition to see who could draw better. Although it was a copy, it would still require greater skill to produce a drawing as good as or better than the original.
As time flowed on, some of the children who had attended the banquet had already arrived here.
The children had been away for too long, and the adults, worried, had sent people to look for them.
So, many people gathered at the door of this room, watching every move inside.
These onlookers included the maids of the young ladies inside and their relatives.
The adults, not knowing what the children were up to and wanting to call them out, quietly learned that Meng Zhaojun, the most famous talented girl in the county, was having a drawing competition with a little farmer girl over two years old.
The adults believed in Meng Zhaojun’s renowned reputation and were confident that she would win in this wager.
They all peered inside, but unfortunately, the view was obscured by children and distance; they couldn’t clearly see the contents of the drawings, only able to follow the unfolding events.
The children who had been there for a while reported that the artistry of the little farmer girl was excellent.
However, the adults didn’t believe such talk, trusting only what they could see. How could a child, not yet rid of her childish expression and barely over two years old, understand anything?
Could she have learned to draw while still in the womb?
Meng Zhaojun, supported by Mrs. Meng from an aristocratic family, stood in stark contrast to the farmer girl, whose parents’ feet were caked in the earth of their toils.
Farmers, not highly cultured and scarcely literate, were even less likely to have learned artistic skills.
Only privileged young ladies had the means to excel in Qin, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting. Becoming a talented girl was not so easy.
Beyond innate talent, it required investment, as even paper and brushes cost money. For many farmer families, who considered a full meal a blessing, educating a child was less important than ensuring everyone was fed.
The adults were skeptical, and the children didn’t explain much since they dared not discuss too loudly, worried that it would disturb Meng Zhaojun. Should she lose, she might hold a grudge against the noisy ones, finding an excuse to blame them.
Even at their young age, they knew they couldn’t afford to take the fall!