"Hey, Mingyu, Mingyu?" Sima Lian saw that Mingyu had her head down and was not listening to her at all, so she raised her voice slightly and called her.
Mingyu came back to her senses, her heart pounding, afraid that someone would notice something. Xu Mingrui was already talking enthusiastically with the girl next to her and didn't notice her.
"You talk, I'm listening." Mingyu raised her head and smiled calmly, trying her best to hide the strange emotions in her heart.
Sima Lian shook her head and asked with concern: "If you are not feeling well, I will accompany you home?"
Mingyu looked up and saw that the banquet hall was almost full of people. It would not be a good idea for two people to go out in front of everyone. She shook her head and smiled, "It's okay."
The banquet had not yet begun, but several young gentlemen from the male guests' side had already started making a lot of noise, making the place very lively. Suddenly, the crowd burst into laughter and cheers. Mingyu and Sima Lian looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old with a red face. Under the teasing and urging eyes of the crowd, he gritted his teeth and walked towards the Qin County Prince who was sitting in the corner, enjoying the quiet alone.
The banquet hall suddenly became quiet, and everyone's eyes were focused on the young man and the Qin Junwang. The young man seemed to be a little afraid of the Qin Junwang. He stopped two steps away from the Qin Junwang, bowed, and asked in a squeaky voice: "Your Highness, I... I would like to ask you..."
The young man could not continue speaking. The Prince of Qin turned to look at him with a cold and distant gaze. The young man wanted to turn around and walk away in embarrassment, but the laughter and whistles behind him became even louder. It would be even more embarrassing to run back. He could only bite the bullet and continue, "Please... draw a fan for me."
Before the Prince of Qin could speak, the young man seemed to have expected to be ignored and rejected, and he wanted to save face. He quickly added: "If you don't want to, forget it. I am sorry for being rude." The young man's face turned red, and there were a few pimples on his face that were shiny.
Mingyu roughly understood. This group of young men seemed to be betting on "Truth or Dare". This unlucky young man accidentally lost the bet and chose the big dare, which was to come to the Prince of Qin to ask for a painting. Seeing the young man's embarrassment, Mingyu remembered that Qi Su once said that the Prince of Qin's paintings were the best in the capital.
The Prince of Qin turned his head slowly. When his eyes passed over Mingyu opposite him, he paused for a moment. Just when the young master thought he was being ignored as expected and was about to turn around and leave in embarrassment, the Prince of Qin stood up gracefully, and his tall body immediately blocked the sunlight coming in through the window.
"Where's the fan?" asked the Prince of Qin. His voice was cold and clear, like the sound of a cold spring hitting jade.
The young master was dumbfounded and couldn't speak for a long time. Seeing his silly look, Prince Qin frowned with some impatience.
"Here... here!" The young master came back to his senses and could hardly believe that the always cold and difficult-to-serve Prince Qin actually agreed to paint a fan for him. He could not help but feel ecstatic. He turned around and ran back, took a fan, and carefully and respectfully held it in both hands and bowed to hand it to Prince Qin.
Several young gentlemen who were about to laugh at the young master also stood there in a daze, looking at him with envy, jealousy and hatred.
A table, writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone had already been set up in the middle of the flower hall. A tall maid was grinding ink gracefully with her sleeves lifted.
Prince Qin walked over, spread the blank fan on the table, looked at it for a while, and then picked up the pen.
Mingyu noticed that the Prince of Qin held the pen with his left hand. People say left-handed people are smart... Mingyu couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.
The maid hurriedly approached and tried to roll up Prince Qin's sleeves. However, before her hands touched Prince Qin, he dodged and frowned.
The young master who asked the Prince of Qin to paint a fan knew that the Prince was the most difficult to please and hated strangers approaching. He was afraid that the Prince of Qin would get angry and throw away his brush and not paint for him. He quickly pushed the maid away and shouted rudely in his duck voice: "What are you doing! Get out! You are not serving the servant well!"
The maid who was used to "add fragrance to the red sleeves" was about sixteen or seventeen years old, tall and plump, with a fair face and rosy cheeks. Her beautiful face exuded a scholarly air. She was probably a maid on weekdays, raised like a half-young lady. When she was scolded by the young master in public, her eyes immediately turned red. She reluctantly bowed and walked out quickly with her face covered. [ ~]
This tiny incident did not cause any impact among the male guests. Everyone's attention was focused on Prince Qin, who had already started painting.
Mingyu had to admit that even when he was painting, Prince Qin looked very good. He lifted up the wide purple sleeve of his left arm with his right hand, and held the slender brush with his left fingers, calmly and elegantly. When he was painting, Prince Qin lost his aloofness. He was fully immersed in the painting, serious and calm.
That scene alone is like a beautiful painting.
Mingyu was far away and could not see what Prince Qin painted on the folding fan. She only felt that he picked up the pen and painted very quickly, with everything in mind and completed it in one go.
After finishing the painting, the Prince of Qin put down his brush and left without saying anything. The young master was overjoyed and thanked the Prince of Qin repeatedly. The Prince of Qin did not even look at him and turned back to his seat in the corner. Most people present knew his temper, and no one dared to say anything.
Soon, the ink on the folding fan had dried, and the young master proudly held up the fan to show off to his group of friends. Only then did Mingyu see the painting on the fan. The moon was in the sky, and a slanting, twisted red plum blossom spread out, as if there was a mist of moisture lingering around it. It was so lifelike that the red plum blossom seemed to be about to jump out of the fan.
For no reason, Mingyu recalled that when she was still in Lu'an, her father and brother took her to the Qi Mansion to thank Prince Qin. When she met Prince Qin under the plum tree, the moon was in the sky, and it seemed that a plum blossom like this was coiled above Prince Qin's head.
"You don't know who he is yet, right?" Xu Mingrui spoke proudly, interrupting Mingyu's thoughts.
"You know?" Mingyu asked back.
Xu Mingrui smiled proudly, "Of course I know." Then she lowered her voice and said, "That's the Prince of Qin. His mother is Princess Minhua, the emperor's sister. I heard that Princess Minhua had a good relationship with the emperor before she got married. When the late emperor was alive, Princess Minhua was not favored and her life was not easy. Now that the emperor has ascended the throne..." Xu Mingrui clicked her tongue twice, unable to hide her envy, "No one dares to offend him."
Mingyu suddenly realized what was going on. No wonder the young master's legs were shaking with fear.
Sima Lian came over and said with a smile: "Your Highness's paintings are so beautiful! I wish I could have one too."
Xu Mingrui curled her lips. These country bumpkins knew nothing! "His Royal Highness Prince Qin's paintings are unique in the capital. There are very few of them on the market, and they are hard to come by even at a high price! Two years ago, when he was only seventeen years old, he painted a picture of fishing in a cold river. I heard that it was worth two thousand taels of silver!"
Sima Lian was amazed, which greatly satisfied Xu Mingrui's vanity. The money-obsessed Mingyu couldn't help but think crookedly, with such a son who can make money, why does Princess Minhua need the emperor's favor? What's the difference between this and having a hen that only lays golden eggs? Just lock the son in a small dark room and let him draw, and the money will pour in like water!
She and Madam Xu worked hard and diligently to run their two small shops, but their total profit for the whole year was only two or three hundred taels of silver. A few strokes of the pen by others was equivalent to their hard work for several years.
Look at him asking others to paint for him, but he looks so arrogant and unhappy. It's such a waste of talent!
Xu Mingrui said a few more words and then went off to chat and laugh with the people around her.
Sima Lian shook her head and smiled at Mingyu, "I have been in the capital for so long and have never been out of the house. I don't know these things. I am really ignorant."
Mingyu looked at Sima Lian, who seemed to have no other reaction to the Prince of Qin, and couldn't help asking, "Don't you... think he... His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, looks a bit like someone?"
Sima Lian secretly glanced at the Prince of Qin across from him and shook his head in confusion, "Who does he look like? I can't think of it."
"Like..." Mingyu couldn't help but blurt out, then swallowed it back.
How could Sima Lian not be familiar with her elder brother? Mingyu herself thought they looked alike, but Sima Lian could not connect the two together. Mingyu lowered her thick eyelashes. In fact, the two looked alike, but it was just her illusion.
"Who does he look like? Tell me quickly!" Sima Lian's interest was aroused by Mingyu, but Mingyu kept silent at the critical moment, which made Sima Lian very dissatisfied. She shook Mingyu's arm and asked more questions.
"I remembered it wrongly." Mingyu calmed down and said with a smile, "You don't recognize that person. He was my brother's classmate in Lu'an. They were both tall and fair-skinned. At first glance from the back, they look quite similar."
When Sima Lian heard this, she lost interest and said, "Is that so?"
After Xu Mingrui finished talking to the person next to her, she turned around and saw that the two were still discussing the Prince of Qin. She couldn't help but lower her voice and whispered to Mingyu's ear: "Don't talk about him, he's just like an ignorant country bumpkin! Don't underestimate him, the reputation of the Prince of Qin is actually not good!"
"Why is it not nice?" Mingyu's heart tightened and she asked, is he a playboy? He spends his nights partying and sleeping with prostitutes? He doesn't look like that. If he was really like that, how could he catch the eye of Master Qi and be accepted as his disciple? Besides, in this world with a distorted outlook on life, isn't it a good thing for a man to be romantic? If he is really a playboy, he should be hanging out with those playboys.
Mingyu's heart was pounding and she was extremely nervous. She tried desperately to think of reasons to explain to Prince Qin. She always felt that such a clean and elegant young man would not do anything obscene.
Xu Mingrui glared at Mingyu, afraid that the people around her might have heard what she was saying, and said angrily, "Why do you care so much? Just know it, it's none of your business!"