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墨書 Inktalez
Zhu Ge Lao's granddaughter, how could she possibly learn painting from an unknown person?
Her instructor is also a renowned master from Capital City.
Previously, if anyone else had spoken as arrogantly as Zheng Ning, they would surely have been mocked with the phrase "overestimating oneself." However, when it comes from Zheng Ning, no one dares to refute a single word.
The reason is simple: strength proves everything.
The title of "Ghost Hand Painter" resonates widely. Among all those who come here, regardless of who they are, if they were to face him in painting, it’s unlikely anyone could gain even a slight advantage.
Even Zhu Boran, who is protective of his sister, has no words to counter at this moment. After a moment of silence, seeing that Zheng Ning shows no intention of leaving, Zhu Boran flicks his sleeve and leaves in anger.
Originally, Zheng Ning planned to head to the event location alone. Now that he has encountered trouble with Qing Wu, he is determined not to let the girls face any more potential issues.
As the event is about to begin, the young women discuss where to go. Although Zheng Ning pretends otherwise, he follows them closely after they start moving, keeping an eye on everything around them.
Shen Shuihua and Zou Kefen notice this and occasionally look back. They quietly whisper to Qing Wu.
Qing Wu then lags a few steps behind and invites Zheng Ning to join them.
However, Zheng Ning lazily waves his hand and says, "You girls can share some intimate conversations. What interest would I have as a Master mingling with you? It’s better for me to leisurely enjoy the scenery here and listen to the birds chirping and insects singing."
Unable to persuade him, Qing Wu hastens her steps to catch up with the other girls.
Hearing Zheng Ning's response, the young women are quite curious.
Shen Shuihua looks back again in surprise and exclaims softly before turning back to poke Qing Wu's arm, saying, "What scenery? I clearly see him watching you."
"I? I can't stop." Qing Wu turned around to look, only to see Zheng Ning intently staring at the tall sycamore tree by the roadside. She smiled and pulled Shen Shuihua to take a look.
Shen Shuihua noticed that Zheng Ning indeed did not look this way again and murmured in confusion, "Perhaps I was mistaken."
After staring for a moment at Zheng Ning's slightly flushed cheeks and neck, Shen Shuihua shook her head, linked arms with Qing Wu, and sighed, "Your master is truly meticulous. It's essential for an artist to observe carefully in order to paint well. I suppose he must pay attention to his surroundings all day long to achieve such accomplishments."
Thinking of the little details Zheng Ning taught her on ordinary days, Qing Wu smiled and said, "That must be it."
The group walked slowly forward until they reached the courtyard where the event was held, then they separated according to the areas designated for male and female guests.
At this time, most of the guests had already arrived.
Previously, Minister Shen had intended to invite young ladies from noble families in Capital City for the Heir Apparent of Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion, considering only those who were unmarried and unengaged. However, upon reflection, he thought that such an approach would be too obvious. If it drew the attention of someone with ulterior motives, they might specifically seek out the grandfather and grandson of Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion for hints, which would make things awkward.
Thus, he decided to invite additional guests. He thought that peers would be more relaxed in conversation, and with Wen Qingyue's status and appearance, few could compare. He invited several young gentlemen and also sent invitations to young ladies who were engaged but had not yet married, in order to create some confusion.
It was precisely because of this last consideration that Zhu Minran was invited.
The Zhu Family and Zheng Family were already discussing a marriage arrangement. Zhu Ge Lao intended to betroth Zhu Minran to Zheng An's eldest son. This matter was nearly settled, and many acquaintances among the families had heard whispers about it. Only the Liu Family had no connection with the Zheng Family and thus did not pay attention.
As for Qing Wu...
In Huo Yun'ai's view, the marriage between the Zhu Family and Zheng Family was not something that required her attention; it had nothing to do with her. Since Zheng Ning's mother passed away, his ties with the Zheng Family had almost completely severed, and he paid them no mind at all.
Thus, when Lu Pingting smiled while mentioning Zhu Minran and Young Master Zheng, Qing Wu's shock was hard to conceal.
"Is this—really happening?"
"Of course," Lu Pingting replied, puzzled. "You didn't know?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Zou Kefen subtly shook her head at her, signaling her not to pursue the matter further.
Lu Pingting thought for a moment and then remembered that Qing Wu was someone close to the Emperor, while Zheng An was at odds with him. She quickly stopped talking, not daring to say another word, and instead smiled, "I wonder what kind of questions will come up later."
Qing Wu, however, was considering that since the Zheng and Zhu families had such a relationship, Zhu Minran's arrival meant that members of the Zheng Family would likely come as well. She had heard from her brother, the Heir Apparent, that this time the Marquisate was looking for her and that the Zheng Family had offered their assistance. Therefore, during the banquet, they might have to extend an invitation to the Zheng Family out of courtesy.
At that time, Wen Qingyue had mentioned something about it, but Qing Wu hadn't paid much attention to it and hadn't inquired further. Now thinking back, it seemed almost certain they would be present.
With this in mind, she felt some concern for Zheng Ning, who was among the male guests. She could only hope that if the Zheng Family sought help from others regarding finding a teacher, Wen Qingyue and the others would be able to assist in some way.
Unlike the Floral Banquet's Competition from that day, where everyone had gathered and activities could commence, here the event couldn't start until everyone arrived, so the tables had not yet been set up.
Qing Wu sat for a while on a chair beside the girls. Seeing that it would still take some time before things began, she found an excuse to step out alone.
After walking through the courtyard for a while and noticing there were no other people around, she turned her steps toward the courtyard where Wen Qingyue had previously taken her.
Before she reached there, still several dozen steps away, a figure suddenly emerged from a side path.
Qing Wu was startled and quickly took two steps back. When she focused her gaze, she realized it was Mu Hai dressed in a fitted outfit.
Mu Hai respectfully bowed to her and said with his head lowered, "My lord and General Qin have gone to a secret place to discuss matters. They specifically instructed me to wait here for you and convey a message: 'Enjoy the Competition; don't worry about anything else; I will handle everything.'"
The words left by Huo Yun'ai clearly anticipated that something might happen and were meant to reassure Qing Wu.
Knowing that the Zheng Family would be arriving today made Qing Wu even more worried about Huo Yun'ai. She softly asked Mu Hai, "Is he still in this residence?"
"Yes."
Mu Hai responded heavily and suddenly remembered that Huo Yun'ai had instructed not to disturb her regarding political matters. However, for these trivial matters, if she asked, there was no harm in discussing them with her.
After pondering for a moment, he continued, "Your Majesty previously had Li Gonggong bring something over, and then called General Qin to discuss it together. I just didn't inquire about what that item was."
Qing Wu thought to herself that Huo Yun'ai's actions this time might be to guard against the Zheng Family. Seeing that he was on guard, Qing Wu felt much more at ease. She nodded slightly to Mu Hai and turned back to the previous courtyard.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, she heard a startled exclamation from nearby.
Qing Wu paused for a moment, and when she recognized it was Shen Shuihua's voice, she hurriedly quickened her pace toward that direction.
As she got closer, she noticed that the young girls in the courtyard had already surrounded the area in two or three layers, whispering among themselves. She could vaguely hear Zou Kefen and Lu Pingting's voices.
Qing Wu was alarmed, fearing that Shen Shuihua might be in trouble. She quickly set aside everything else and rushed over, lifting her skirt slightly as she ran.
When she reached the group of girls, Qing Wu found a gap to move forward and discovered Shen Shuihua clutching her arm, tears in her eyes as she glared angrily at two people not far away.
The targets of her fury happened to be Zhu Ge Lao's granddaughter Zhu Minran and Zeng Mingxin, who had come looking for her earlier.
Zou Kefen gently held Shen Shuihua and looked coldly at Zhu Minran, saying angrily, "What are you doing! Even if she said something you don't want to hear, just ignore it. Why make things difficult for her?"
"Exactly!" Lu Pingting shouted at Zhu Minran. "She only said a few words; why do you have to pressure her like this?"
Zhu Minran was a very pretty girl. Although she was extremely angry at the moment, in order to maintain her composure, she suppressed all her rage and forced a harmless smile as she said, "It's nothing. It's just that the younger sisters are too nervous and overthinking things. I merely wanted to change chairs, yet they reacted so dramatically and even lost their tempers with me. Such behavior... is truly disgraceful."
If one were to only listen to her words, it seemed as if all the fault lay with Shen Shuihua.
But how could others accept her one-sided words?
Lu Pingting snorted, "Clearly, you realized that the chair you are sitting in was once occupied by Qing Wu, so you disdainfully insisted on changing chairs. Let me ask you this: Has Qing Wu ever wronged you? If she hasn't, why didn't you just set up a separate courtyard to live alone? That way, everyone wouldn't have to listen to that buzzing sound and be annoyed!"
Zhu Minran, although of noble birth and highly educated, never put on airs in front of others.
Now that she was in the courtyard, she did not choose one of the more favored seats but casually picked a less frequented seat near the door.
Zeng Mingxin quickly noticed that Zhu Minran had sat down in the chair that Qing Wu had previously occupied. She hurriedly pulled her away from there.
After learning about the situation, Qing Wu felt somewhat amused.
"You dislike the chair I sat in so much that you refuse to sit?" She smiled lightly at Zhu Minran, her red lips parted as she sighed, "Since you dislike me so much, you really shouldn't stay here. It would be better for you to leave early and return home." With that, she meaningfully glanced at Zeng Mingxin.
Zeng Mingxin thought she understood Qing Wu's provocation. With a cold snort, she tugged at Zhu Minran's sleeve and said, "Don't fall for her tricks. This person is very insidious; she wants to provoke you into going home so she can claim the top spot for herself. Let's ignore her and leave quickly!"
She thought that with such sarcasm, Qing Wu would surely be furious. So after finishing her words, she provocatively looked at Qing Wu.
To her surprise, upon hearing this, Qing Wu not only showed no anger but instead revealed a look of confusion and puzzlement.
"Top spot?" Qing Wu asked in surprise. Then she quickly closed her mouth and said, "Thank you for your kind intentions, Miss Zeng. However, I have yet to compete with all of you sisters; I cannot rashly assume that I will definitely take first place."
As soon as Qing Wu said this, the courtyard fell silent.
The girls pondered over her words carefully and suddenly wore expressions of anger.
—According to Zeng Mingxin's words, aside from Zhu Minran, it seemed that Qing Wu was the only one vying for first place. So among them, was there truly no one capable of surpassing Qing Wu?
The girls were about to question a few things when they saw Qing Wu carefully supporting Shen Shuihua and smoothing out the wrinkles on her clothes. Suddenly, they were taken aback and changed their minds in an instant.
—They almost ended up making someone else’s wedding dress.
Zeng Mingyue kept insisting that Qing Wu was in first place, but that was under the premise that Zhu Minran had left.
Now that Miss Zhu was sitting steadily and not leaving, she had also heard those words. Given this, how could the subsequent remarks still hold any weight?
This matter was clearly orchestrated by Cao Mingxin and Zhu Minran. They treated them like fools, making Tuan Tuan spin around.
The girls immediately became furious and blocked his path, preventing him from going back.
Zeng Mingxin and Zhu Minran, upon seeing their angry expressions, finally realized that the two of them hadn’t done anything at all; just a few words had offended someone deeply…
Just then, Zhenyuan Marquis and Heir Apparent entered the courtyard one after the other.
The event was about to begin.
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