Chapter 497: with translation of chapter title

Zhan Peng also acknowledges that Wen Boyuan's painting is not bad, but he does not find it as mysterious as Wu Jing Shan claims. Really, saying this painting is only about seventy percent similar, the fault is not Wen Boyuan's skill but the limitation of his painting style; his style excels in atmosphere rendering, yet in realism it certainly falls short of sketch-like Western painting.

Hearing the Minister of Rites, a great scholar of the age, praise him so highly, Wen Boyuan also felt his face glow.

Wu Jing Shan habitually stroked his beard and said: "Just now, as I passed by the princess's residence, I glanced and saw Hu Xiaotian in the courtyard painting the princess's portrait."

Wen Boyuan furrowed his brows and said: "He really is showing off."

Wu Jing Shan said: "He holds a wooden board, and the princess sits before him so he can copy her likeness."

Upon hearing this, Wen Boyuan felt a surge of jealousy: "Princess, princess, you are being too partial! I am competing with Hu Xiaotian in painting skill, yet you actively help him—clearly you want me to lose."

Wu Jing Shan added: "I hear he didn't even use a brush or any pigment—truly curious, what exactly is he painting?"

Wen Boyuan scoffed: "His specialty is just trickery; no matter what tricks he plays, he still has to produce a work to speak for itself." Wen Boyuan's eyes flashed with light, and his strong confidence surfaced on his face.

Wu Jing Shan said: "In a genuine contest there's nothing to fear from him, but the judging is also very important."

Wen Boyuan had always thought victory was assured; hearing Wu Jing Shan's words, he only then realized this point. Indeed, judging is crucial, and the one with the most say is surely Princess Anping—whoever she declares the most similar wins. With Princess Anping holding absolute authority, today's outcome may not be optimistic. His confidence is no longer as strong as before. After all, Princess Anping will certainly not be on his side.

Wu Jing Shan said: "I have an idea: let the Princess, myself, and Wang Wenyou jointly judge."

Wen Boyuan said: "Wang Wenyou is clearly trying to curry favor with Hu Xiaotian; he may not judge fairly."

Wu Jing Shan laughed: "You needn't worry about that. Wang Wenyou still has integrity in this regard."

At noon, the snow still hadn't stopped, and everyone came to the inn's banquet hall to jointly witness the painting skill contest between Hu Xiaotian and Wen Boyuan.

The governor of Tianbo City, Wang Wenyou, also brought his subordinate officials to await here; following the princess's orders they dared not make a big fuss, but lunch still needed preparation—he had already instructed the rear kitchen to get ready. As soon as the contest ended, they would start serving dishes.

Hu Xiaotian accompanied Princess Anping's entourage as they arrived late; Princess Anping wore a light gauze veil over her face, and she would not have appeared in such a public gathering were it not to witness the contest's result in person.

The officials hurried forward to pay respects; Princess Anping waved her hand, indicating they need not be overly ceremonious. She then came to the seat prepared for her and sat down.

Wu Jing Shan and Wen Boyuan together approached Princess Anping; Wu Jing Shan smiled and said: "Your Highness, today General Wen and Lord Hu's painting exchange adds elegance here, though the intent is merely to exchange. Ultimately we must decide a winner, so judgment is indispensable. As we are all our own people, we naturally strive for fairness and impartiality; regarding judgment, I have an idea."

Hu Xiaotian, hearing this, already understood that this old man's ill intentions were aimed ahead; he was simply afraid the princess would blow a black whistle.

Long Xi Yue nodded and said: "Sir Wu, please speak."

Wu Jing Shan said: "In my view, let the Princess, myself, and Sir Wang form a panel of judges to evaluate these two paintings; the one with more votes wins. I wonder what the Princess thinks?"

Long Xi Yue, so clever, instantly understood Wu Jing Shan's intention—he feared she would favor Hu Xiaotian. In fact, even now she does not know what Hu Xiaotian's painting looks like; when he paints, he always turns his back to others, not letting them see, making it exceedingly mysterious. Long Xi Yue has no confidence whatsoever whether he can defeat Wen Boyuan, and she nodded, saying: "Just as Sir Wu says!" Yet in her heart she thought: No matter what idea you come up with, I will definitely support Xiao Tian; as long as his painting is not too outrageous, I will say it's good, and I want to see who dares to oppose me! Although Long Xi Yue is gentle-tempered, being a princess, a noble lady cannot lack some temper, especially since she has resolved to protect her lover, she is unwilling to let Hu Xiaotian suffer public humiliation.

Wu Jing Shan smiled, looking at Wen Boyuan, and said: "General Wen, what do you think?"

Wen Boyuan said: "I have no particular opinion."

Wu Jing Shan then turned his gaze to Hu Xiaotian and said: "Lord Hu…"

Hu Xiaotian replied: "I disagree!"

Everyone was startled, all looking at him; Wen Boyuan's lips curled in a disdainful smile, thinking this fellow must be scared, having left the princess's protection, how could he be my opponent? He calmly said: "Lord Hu, are you really going to admit defeat now?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "You're the one who should admit defeat! I think this arrangement is improper; Your Highness is not suitable to be a judge."

Long Xi Yue's beautiful eyes widened; Hu Xiaotian's words were utterly beyond her expectation—not letting herself be a judge, she truly couldn't understand Hu Xiaotian—"Isn't this self-imprisonment?"

Hu Xiaotian, ignoring everyone's astonished gaze, calmly said: "Your Highness, if you participate in the judging, no matter who you cast this vote for, others will surely follow your lead, and no one would dare openly oppose the Princess. Sir Wu, if the Princess gives this vote to General Wen, would you uphold your opinion and not fear offending the Princess by casting your vote for me?"

Wu Jing Shan, questioned thus, was lost for words: "Damn it! I never even thought of giving this vote to you from the start! This eunuch's words are truly vicious—if I say I voted for Wen Boyuan, that's me fawning; if I say I voted for you, that's openly opposing the Princess—isn't this forcing me to swear? The Minister of Rites Wu Jing Shan, asked by Hu Xiaotian, couldn't answer, stammering for a while before finally saying: 'Everything still depends on the work itself.'"

The governor of Tianbo City, Wang Wenyou, laughed and said: "Sir Wu, that's exactly right—ultimately it's still the work that speaks, and besides, different flowers suit different eyes; everyone has their own taste." Wang Wenyou's remark was neither too much nor too little.

Wu Jing Shan said: "Lord Hu, if the Princess does not participate in judging, only Sir Wang and I remain; if we disagree, wouldn't that make it impossible to decide a winner?"

Wang Wenyou said: "Actually, exchanging artistic skills doesn't necessarily require declaring a winner; it's not like a martial arts contest where you must fight to the death." He still protected Hu Xiaotian in his heart, after all Hu Xiaotian is Ji Feihua's person; Wang Wenyou had heard of Wen Boyuan's fame but knew little of Hu Xiaotian, yet in his view, the disciple of painting master Liu Qing Shan is certainly no empty reputation and would surely surpass Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Since it's a competition, there must ultimately be a winner. Sir Wang, you're right that different flowers suit different eyes, everyone's preferences and aesthetic views differ, so relying solely on the two of you cannot produce a fair judgment."

Wu Jing Shan couldn't help but laugh helplessly; Hu Xiaotian seems to be trying to cancel their judging qualifications altogether—apparently he's scared and wants to muddle things to sabotage the contest.

Wen Boyuan finally couldn't hold back: "What do you intend to do then?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "It's simple: we hang our paintings side by side here; everyone present gets a vote, and if they think a painting is more lifelike, they place a copper coin beneath it; after tallying, whoever has more coins wins. General Wen, what do you think?"

Wen Boyuan, hearing this, thought it even better—with so many people, most of them his own subordinates, even if they voted fairly he would still be sure to win; he nodded and said: "Good! Let's do as you said."

Hu Xiaotian added: "Before announcing the results, we must not reveal whose hand painted which; first we cover the signatures and inscriptions with paper, making it fairer."

Wen Boyuan nodded and said: "Fine!" No matter what tricks you, Hu Xiaotian, play, painting skill is the hard truth. I have devoted so many years of effort to painting; I simply cannot believe I am inferior to you, this little eunuch.

The two took out their works, handed them to notary Wang Wenyou, who had Wang Wenyou hang them in the side hall, then brought them to the main hall; to keep them mysterious, each was covered with a red silk cloth, and beneath each painting a large sea bowl was placed for voting preparation.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Afterwards, summon all the guards on duty outside; the more people the better, each gets one vote, and the higher tally wins."

Seeing Hu Xiaotian full of confidence, Wen Boyuan felt a bit uneasy—could this fellow actually be a hidden master of painting? Impossible; even if he had started painting from the womb, his skill would still not match mine.

Wang Wenyou stepped between the two paintings and announced loudly: "Everyone listen—today Lord Hu and General Wen meet through painting to exchange skills; they have both painted portraits of the Princess. Please judge fairly: whoever paints more likeliness or better, place your copper coin beneath that painting."

All responded in unison.

Under everyone's gaze, Wang Wenyou simultaneously unveiled the two red silks; all eyes focused on the two paintings. Seeing Wen Boyuan's painting, they already exclaimed in admiration, but when everyone saw Hu Xiaotian's sketch, they were simply awestruck. For in this age, no one has seen such a painting method; speaking of skill, Wen Boyuan's level far exceeds Hu Xiaotian's by more than a margin, yet the methods differ, each has its strengths—sketching technique in portraiture is utterly adept, that light-and-shadow modeling, the strong sense of three-dimensionality, cannot be matched by traditional painting. Hu Xiaotian dares to challenge Wen Boyuan, this painting master, precisely because of his surprise factor: using fresh, inventive sketchwork to capture everyone's attention.

Request Monthly Ticket! (To be continued~^~)