Lin Shu's choice of painting put Ji Yunshu in a difficult position. It was not because of her fear of being subpar. She was, in fact, worrying about her extraordinary painting skill. In order to get rid of this bothersome sticky candy, she had to let Lin Shu win the competition. But, painting? It would be easy for her to win the competition, but much more challenging for her to lose without being obvious.
Noticing Ji Yunshu's hesitance, Lin Shu snorted as he continued to provoke Ji Yunshu, "Are you scared now?"
"No. I'm not. I offered to let you pick and you picked painting. Painting it is."
"Fine!" Lin Shu yelled a command, "Prepare the tools."
The next moment, the crowd moved to the side to make space for Lin Shu and Ji Yunshu. Some of them were working to shift the study desks. They put together a big table by combining eight study desks before they laid out the stationery on the table. This, indeed, had all the trappings of an official competition!
Lin Shu raised his brows as he asked, "Do you know the painting 'Jiangbei Huainan'?"
Ji Yunshu replied, "Of course!"
Oh, save it. 'Jiangbei Huainan' was unearthed from a tomb located in the Pingqiu District of Shanxi Province in modern times. Coincidentally, Ji Yunshu was involved in that project. She had personally witnessed the restoration of the genuine "Jiangbei Huainan". The painting portrayed a gruesome war on the battlefield. In the painting, a captain was leading the troops, charging courageously toward a battlefield that was obscured by dust and flooded with blood. When she saw it then, she was deeply astounded by the painting.
Lin Shu said, "It's a good thing that you know it. How about this? We take 'Jiangbei Huainan' as a reference and each will make a painting out of it."
"As you wish."
After brief contemplation, "If this is a competition, then we need a judge," Lin Shu said as he landed his gaze on Shang Zhuo. "Shang Zhuo, all of us from the academy know that you are good at both drawing and replicating paintings. Teacher also often keeps you by his side when he inspects a painting. In that case, why don't you be the judge of the competition between Teacher Ji and I?"
After backing up Ji Yunshu earlier, Shang Zhuo could no longer inconspicuously watch the competition as a bystander. Now that he was called out to be the judge of the competition, it would be imprudent of him to decline. He had no choice but to agree.
As a matter of fact, Lin Shu's skill in painting was only second to Shang Zhuo in the academy. Once in awhile, Teacher Yu would compliment Lin Shu, saying that his paintings were more remarkable and unique than Shang Zhuo's. The scholars all felt that Ji Yunshu was just needlessly asking for trouble.
Lin Shu lifted his brush and began to paint on the paper. His strokes were energetic, well-defined, and full of confidence. On the other hand, Ji Yunshu seemed relatively composed. She was not contemplating how to win but rather was trying to figure out a way to lose. As a consequence, she took a long time before she commenced.
After about the time to burn a joss stick, both of them completed their drawings! All the scholars stepped forward in order to take a better look at the paintings.
Lin Shu's painting perfectly showcased the highlights of 'Jiangbei Huainan', vividly portraying the bloody battle scene. The painting depicted a general on a majestic rearing horse with its front hooves raised high in the air. His armour was awash with fresh blood as he mercilessly pierced the footsoldier before him with his longsword. The expressions of the characters were vivid and true to life. However, due to the lack of time, the painting did not carry much detail. Nonetheless, it was an extraordinary work of art.
Following that, the group deliberately shifted their gaze toward Ji Yunshu's painting. An explosion of disdainful laughter echoed across the hall. They scoffed, "What is this?"
"You call this a painting? You must be kidding me."
"A toddler who has just learned to lift a brush might have done a better job than you."
Ji Yunshu was attacked with spiteful and obnoxious comments. Yet, she retained the smile on her face, wholly indifferent to the criticism. She looked at her painting, a piece of paper filled with messy and aimless lines, with satisfaction. It was a shame that no one else agreed could appreciate it! But, this was exactly the result she wanted. She wanted a loss!
Even a child was capable of telling the winner if the paintings were displayed side by side. From both the adherence to the title and the painting skill, Lin Shu was the absolute winner.
With a brief chin lift, Lin Shu looked at Shang Zhu, conceited and contented, as he asked, "You're the judge. You shall decide the winner." I'm undoubtedly the winner!
Shang Zhuo deepened his eyes as he studied the two paintings for a long time. Eventually, he spoke, "Lin Shu is the winner."
Pleased with his victory, he stuck his chest out. His two eyes flooded with arrogance while he threw a derisive glimpse at the painting made of hideous strokes. "I used to think that Teacher Ji's skill in painting was exceptional. It seems like I've overestimated you," he said in a contemptuous tone.
To everyone's surprise, Ji Yunshu said in relief, "This one admits my defeat as well as the crudeness of my painting. I apologize for my unsightly work. Meanwhile, I have to acknowledge my admiration for Young Master Lin's painting. With merely the time to burn a joss stick, he has done a marvellous job. It's only reasonable for this one to lose." She cupped her hands before she made a courteous bow.
"To be frank, your painting is not as bad. At the very least, your strokes were smooth and well manoeuvred."
"As our competition has ended and this one has been trounced, I will take my leave now." She was ready to exit the scene. However, Tang Si was not pleased with the result and refused to silently accept it.
She stepped forward to stand before Lin Shu, "Your painting skill is no match to Ah Ji's. I have witnessed Ah Ji's drawing. The characters in her paintings are extremely lifelike. Your work can never be compared to hers. Can't you tell that she's losing on purpose?"
"Little brat, I'll cut off your tongue if you say any more nonsense. Everyone here can clearly tell who did a better job and who's the winner. Are you saying that we are all blind?" Lin Shu said furiously.
"That's right. You're all blind! Our Ah Ji can never be bothered to enter a painting competition with you."
Quickly, Ji Yunshu gave Tang Si a pull, "Miss Tang, it's time for us to go."
"Ah Ji, you certainly have better painting skills than him. Why did you let him win on purpose?"
"That's not the case. It was purely because of my substandard skill."
"That's not true. I have seen your paintings and they are definitely better than his."
"You…" The words died in Ji Yunshu's throat. Sister, can't you act along and save me some trouble?
Lin Shu mocked, "You're undoubtedly an uncultured woman. You fail to even distinguish a good painting from the bad. Yet, you are shamelessly speaking your unrefined thoughts out loud. I'm right, women should stay home to practice their sewing, serve their husbands and nurture their children. None are like you, loitering in the public while shadowing a man brazenly."
Tang Si could not understand the meaning behind the phrase "Only women and bastards are difficult to feed", but she knew exactly what "brazen" meant. Enraged, her eyes turned bloodshot in no time. The explosion of mocking laughter from the scholars, added oil to the flames as she turned hysterical as though she was drugged.
With her teeth clenched, she yelled, "I'm not one of you cultured scholars, who are only good at pretentious tale-telling." She pulled out the silver whip that was tied to her waist as she spoke.
A cold breeze swept across the bystanders the moment she waved the silver whip in her hand as the light gleamed on the silver whip. She adhered to the custom of Houliao people, to steer the first hit to the floor. The whip made a deafening crack that echoed across the big study hall.