Xia Ruya originally didn't want to compete in the Qianjin Banquet, but Lin Yingxin's performance disappointed her so much that she was afraid that Lin Yingxin would say something bad again and completely ruin her plan, so she had to step forward.
Of course, she did not expect that Du Ruoxin's words just now, "Even if she is Mr. Mo's granddaughter, she may not be proficient in all the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting," would completely push her to the forefront.
She found that many rich ladies in the field looked at her strangely, comparing her with Wen Xinya, as if she was inferior to them in every way. In this situation, if she couldn't turn the game around, even if Lin Yingxin defeated Wen Xinya and Wen Xinya fell into her trap and her reputation was ruined, her reputation of being talentless and immoral would also be established, and she had no choice but to stand out.
Of course, the reason why she proposed to compete with Wen Xinya in painting was because she knew that among the four arts of playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, Wen Xinya's painting was the weakest. After knowing this, she, who had originally been not interested in painting, specially sought out a master of Chinese painting and studied painting diligently. She was also very talented in painting and now has quite accomplished results.
Of course, more importantly, she knew that the Datura poison had begun to erode Wen Xinya's central nervous system. After the initial subtle excitement caused by the drug, Wen Xinya was now slightly tired. This tiredness was not physical, but manifested in the brain. Because it was subtle, it would not be noticeable for a while.
Although it is only a minor difference, the art of painting has always been planned in the heart and controlled by the mind. The mind here refers to the brain. As the saying goes, a mistake of an inch can lead to a huge loss. A thousand-mile dam begins with an ant hole. A tiny difference can cause huge consequences.
She had full confidence in herself in this round.
"Since Miss Xia has invited me so kindly, I naturally cannot refuse." Wen Xinya raised her eyebrows. She did not expect that Xia Ruya was also proficient in painting. It seemed that she had underestimated Xia Ruya.
She could refuse a duel with anyone except Xia Ruya. Not only because of the complicated grudge between her and Xia Ruya, but also because she had never thought of backing down when facing Xia Ruya.
Because Xia Ruya is someone who will take ten steps forward if you take one step back.
Xia Ruya stood up: "Miss Wen, please!"
Wen Xinya also stood up: "Please!"
The two walked up to the pavilion in the middle of the lake one after another.
At this time, Lin Yingxin realized that she had overacted just now and couldn't help but feel annoyed in her heart. At the same time, she was also a little confused. She was obviously not an impulsive person, so why could she not control her emotions when she saw Wen Xinya's elegant scenery
She rubbed her throbbing forehead and suppressed her inner irritability.
Boyaxuan prepared the pen holder and various colors of ink. After everything was ready, the two of them stood in front of the desk and began to compose and paint.
The owner of Boya Pavilion said, "The time is the same as the incense in the stove. The two ladies must finish their paintings before the incense burns out, otherwise they will be considered the losers."
Wen Xinya looked towards the incense. This stick of incense would last about half an hour, so the time was really tight.
Xia Ruya glanced at Wen Xinya, then lowered her head and began to paint.
Wen Xinya knew that Xia Ruya never did anything without confidence. Since she dared to challenge her to a painting competition on the spot, her attainments in painting must be very impressive.
As for her, among the four arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting, her painting skill was the weakest. Her grandfather never forced her to do so, and she had not made any special efforts in studying it, so her skill was only average. It was impossible for her to defeat Xia Ruya.
But she had to win.
Since her painting skills couldn't match his, she had to resort to tricks.
Si Yiyan once painted a picture of the four scenes of spring, including plum, apricot, pear and carrot. The composition was so exquisite and breathtaking that she still keeps it in her study.
Si Yiyan also taught her specially because she liked it.
At that time, Si Yiyan said that with her painting skills, it would be very difficult for her to paint the artistic conception of the four scenes of spring, but she had two advantages. The first was composition. She was very good at composition and layout. The other was color. She had a very high sensitivity to color. If she used these two things well, it would be enough to cover up the embarrassment of her slightly weak painting skills.
Si Yiyan also taught her how to compose and use the colors of the four scenes of spring.
So, today she planned to paint the four spring scenes of "Plum, Apricot, Pear and Tangerine".
Incense was curling up from the incense burner, and there was silence inside and outside the pavilion. For fear of disturbing the two people who were painting, the maid came up and replaced the tea and cakes for everyone, and then left quietly.
Everyone ate the cakes silently, occasionally whispering a word or two, and from time to time checking how much incense was left in the incense burner.
To those who were waiting, half an hour seemed so long that every second seemed like a day, but to the two painters, it was a fleeting moment. Soon, the last ashes of the incense fell into the incense burner, and the incense was completely extinguished.
The owner of Boya Xuan announced, "Time's up!"
Wen Xinya and Xia Ruya put down their pens together.
The judges first looked at Xia Ruya's painting, which was about peonies competing for spring. The magnificent peony is worthy of being the king of flowers. Under Xia Ruya's pen, the peony is gorgeous and charming, with a beautiful appearance, as if it bloomed vividly on the paper, which was highly praised.
"Miss Xia has a profound foundation in painting, and her painting style is delicate and unique. She is proficient in brushwork and has profound skills. In this painting of peonies competing for spring, each peony has a different shape, and everything from the petals to the stamens is carefully and meticulously drawn."
Then the judges looked at Wen Xinya's paintings. Wen Xinya painted the four scenes of spring, namely plum, apricot, pear and peach. At first glance, it was so gorgeous that one could not take their eyes off. At a closer look, they found that the layout was ingenious, which was not inferior to that of calligraphy and painting masters. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the style of the painting was gorgeous and delicate, which was amazing.
"Miss Wen painted the four scenes of spring: plum, apricot, pear and crabapple. The late plum blossoms in February, the apricot blossoms in March, the pear blossoms in April and the crabapple blossoms in May are the four most unique scenes of spring. The most peculiar thing is that these four plum blossoms are all from the Rosaceae family, and the genus Apricot is a small tree. The flowers have the same shape and are quite similar in meaning."
"Miss Wen's layout is exquisite and ingenious. Under her layout, the four kinds of flowers, each with its own shape and merits, are cleverly combined into one scene, which is simply amazing."
"Miss Wen has a lot of experience in the use of colors, and is also very sensitive. The plum blossoms are lightly painted with pink, with a unique appearance of ice and snow, and a quality of ice and jade; white is not really white, and red is not as red as red. Please look beyond red and white and look at the work of nature. It is really the five wonders of apricot flowers; the pear blossoms are as white as jade, and are also called jade rain flowers, which fully describe the color, shape, elegance and posture of pear blossoms; this branch of weeping crabapple, with its swaying branches, is gorgeous and charming, and it instantly brightens up the whole pattern of the painting. It is really wonderful."