ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 118

Prince Sheng’s Palace.

A steward dressed in a blue long robe quickly walked through the corridor and arrived at the study. He said to the maid waiting at the door, “I have urgent business. I wish to see the County Lord.”

The maid went in to report, and soon came out to welcome him inside. The study was s.p.a.cious, with two pear wood bookshelves standing by the wall, and two rows of antique racks displaying various exquisite items—celadon vases, jade carvings of pi xiu, coral decorations, and so on. Each item was very precious, reflecting the owner’s considerable wealth.

Xiao Man was seated behind the desk, working on an abacus. When she saw the steward, she looked up and noticed what he was holding. “Did you get it?”

“Yes,” the steward replied, holding out a scroll. He stepped forward and placed it before Xiao Man, explaining, “It arrived this afternoon. Since you had instructed me to pay special attention, I kept a close eye on it. This is the painting sent by the Grand Princess’s residence, which has been mounted.”

Xiao Man carefully unrolled the painting. It was a landscape of distant mountains, layered and stretching endlessly, almost forming a line, conveying a sense of vastness and grandeur. In the sky, a pair of egrets flew away, and the setting sun cast a western glow. The painting had no inscription but was filled with a sense of desolation.

Similar to the previous “Cold Sparrow Watching the Plum Blossoms” she had seen, this painting had large areas of blank s.p.a.ce, with rough strokes. The artist did not deliberately embellish the details, yet it was still awe-inspiring.

Xiao Man gazed at it for a moment before instructing, “Someone, go and invite Mr. Liu Ling here.”

…

Soon, the day of the gathering arrived. Li Zhizhi traveled by carriage to the suburbs of the capital. The meeting place was at the w.a.n.gfu villa on Luoxia Mountain, where Prince Ning’s son, Xiao Wen, often hosted scholars and literati for poetry and painting.

When Li Zhizhi arrived, immediately a servant came forward to greet her, respectfully guiding her into the manor. Though the manor appeared modest from the outside, it was surprisingly s.p.a.cious and elegantly decorated inside. There were pavilions every five steps and pavilions every ten steps, with exotic flowers and plants everywhere. Li Zhizhi even saw two snow-white peac.o.c.ks leisurely preening their feathers.

As the servant led her further into the manor, Li Zhizhi asked, “How much farther?”

“Replying to the Princess, it’s just ahead.”

Li Zhizhi looked up and her heart sank a little. The place was actually on a pavilion in the middle of the lake. She instinctively stopped in her tracks, and her maid Haitang, following behind, also showed a worried expression. “Mistress, what should we do?”

The servant leading them seemed to sense something and also stopped, asking in confusion, “Does the Princess have any instructions?”

Li Zhizhi was very afraid of water. Since her rebirth, she had never approached the water’s edge, and now being asked to go to that pavilion on the lake was absolutely out of the question.

At this moment, she suddenly heard a cold voice from behind, saying, “Su has a slight fear of water. Could you please inform the heir that it might be possible to change the location?”

The voice was very familiar. Li Zhizhi instinctively turned around and looked at the speaker in surprise. “Second Young Master?”

The person was strikingly handsome, with well-defined features, though his face was slightly pale. This made his eyebrows appear even more distinct, reminiscent of ink on rice paper. It was Su Qingshang.

He had a hint of a subtle smile in his eyes and said, “Miss Li, long time no see. How have you been?”

Li Zhizhi quickly replied, “Everything is fine. How has your health been, Second Young Master?”

“Thank you for your concern, Miss Li. I am doing well.”

After a few pleasantries, Li Zhizhi couldn’t help but smile and said, “I never expected that the Second Young Master would come today.”

Su Qingshang looked at her and said, “I seldom attend such gatherings.”

“Eh?” Li Zhizhi was a bit surprised. “So why did you accept the invitation today?”

Su Qingshang smiled slightly, and his somewhat sickly appearance became lively. He said, “I was bored, and it’s fortunate I came today; otherwise, how would I have met Miss Li?”

At that moment, a maid hurried over, bowed to the two of them, and said, “Princess, Young Master, I have just consulted with the heir. The venue for the gathering has been changed to the Shanhai Pavilion. Please follow me.”

Su Qingshang nodded slightly. “Thank you. Please lead the way.”

The maid blushed slightly, a bit shy, and turned to the side. “Please, both of you.”

The group then changed direction and headed towards the Shanhai Pavilion. Li Zhizhi let out a sigh of relief and quietly said to Su Qingshang, “Thank you, Second Young Master.”

Su Qingshang smiled faintly and replied quietly, “You’re welcome.”

Before long, they arrived at the Shanhai Pavilion, which was beautifully decorated. The main hall featured a landscape embroidered screen and various potted plants. Other attendees of the gathering arrived one after another, mostly dressed as scholars, and they all came to chat and exchange pleasantries with Su Qingshang.

Li Zhizhi had heard that Su Qingshang was renowned in the capital for his exceptional painting skills and was highly regarded. Seeing him in person, it was indeed as she had heard.

His expression remained indifferent, with no sign of a smile, neither displaying self-satisfaction nor excessive friendliness. To others, this might seem somewhat “arrogant.”

However, none of the people present minded or dared to show any disrespect. Scholars often have this trait; there’s a term called “relying on talent and looking down on material things.” When someone with real ability is proud, it is seen as a mark of character and distinction, making them more worthy of admiration and friendship.

After a while, it seemed that most of the guests had arrived. Li Zhizhi looked around; including herself and Su Qingshang, there were as many as thirteen people, both men and women, even one dressed in the attire of a Taoist priest, indicating the wide circle of friends of the Prince Ning’s heir.

As she pondered, a group entered from outside, led by none other than Prince Ning’s heir, Xiao Wen. Everyone stood up and greeted him.

Li Zhizhi’s gaze, however, fell on the woman beside Xiao Wen. Her pupils subconsciously narrowed, and her brows lightly raised as she met the woman’s gaze.

It was none other than Li Suwan, whom she had not seen for months.

Li Suwan’s appearance had changed drastically from before: her face was heavily made up, her lips painted bright red, and her eyebrows finely shaped. She had lost the youthful innocence and gained a more seductive, worldly aura. She was intimately linked to Xiao Wen’s arm, looking over with a provocative gaze.

Li Zhizhi was somewhat surprised. She hadn’t expected that after the fall of the Li family, Li Suwan had entangled herself with Xiao Wen again. She wondered what had transpired between them.

As Li Zhizhi’s thoughts whirled, she suddenly realized. Li Suwan must have put in quite a bit of effort to arrange today’s event. No wonder the gathering was held at a pavilion surrounded by water—clearly, it was prepared for her.

Xiao Wen approached and said with a smile to Li Zhizhi, “I heard from Wan’er that the Princess is an excellent painter and quite skilled in poetry and literature. That’s why we specially invited you to join the gathering. I hope you don’t find it too abrupt.”

Li Zhizhi glanced at Li Suwan and smiled at Xiao Wen, “How could I? It is a great honor to be invited by the heir.”

Xiao Wen laughed heartily, greeted everyone, and then arranged for them to take their seats. Li Zhizhi sat next to Su Qingshang, and the gathering officially began.

Li Zhizhi was attending such a gathering for the first time, and she was somewhat in the mood to watch the excitement. She didn’t speak much unless the topic came to her; she preferred to stay in the background. Perhaps due to her ident.i.ty and being a newcomer, others didn’t specifically address her. Su Qingshang, on the other hand, wasn’t so fortunate. People frequently approached him with questions, asking for his opinions.

Su Qingshang always responded briefly and succinctly. If he spoke too much, he would cover his mouth with one hand and lightly cough. Everyone knew he was in poor health, so they quickly stopped questioning him further.

Halfway through the gathering, they finally reached the painting appreciation segment. Everyone took out their own paintings, starting to critique and admire them with great interest. Soon it was Li Zhizhi’s turn. Two maids held up the scroll, slowly unrolling it, revealing a landscape painting to the audience.

“This painting is marvelous!”

Someone exclaimed in admiration, even standing up to get a closer look. “It seems simple, but it’s not. Especially the setting sun and the reflection in the river—remarkable, absolutely remarkable!”

“Adding a few more strokes would be too much, and taking away any would lose the essence. What a great painting!”

Everyone praised it, and Li Zhizhi only smiled faintly. Suddenly, she noticed a gaze directed at her. Turning her head, she saw it was Li Suwan, sitting next to Xiao Wen, with an expression of unwillingness and jealousy in her eyes. Li Zhizhi didn’t care much and instead smiled at her, her lips moving silently to form the words.

“Jester.”

At that moment, Li Suwan nearly lost control and wanted to tear Li Zhizhi’s face off!

She used all her strength to prevent herself from losing her composure on the spot, clenching her fists so tightly that she broke her well-maintained nails.

Xiao Wen was still praising, “Earlier, Wan’er said that the Princess’s painting was good. I didn’t quite believe it, but seeing it today, it’s indeed so.”

Li Suwan suddenly took his arm and said with a smile, “Actually, Lord, you may not know this, but the Princess not only paints beautifully but also dances very well. She’s much better than I am.”

“Oh?” Xiao Wen’s eyes lit up with interest. “Is that so?”

Li Suwan replied with a hint of reproach, “How could I deceive you? If you don’t believe me, you should ask the Princess to perform a dance and show everyone her skills.”

As soon as these words were spoken, some people began to cheer in agreement, while others remained silent and looked around. Only Su Qingshang frowned, turned to Xiao Wen, and said in a soft voice, “Lord, since ancient times, elegant gatherings have included qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine, and tea. When did they start including singing and dancing?”

Xiao Wen also thought it was somewhat inappropriate. “This…”

Someone laughed and said, “Young Master, why are you so conservative? Qin, chess, singing, and dancing are all part of the same family.”

Su Qingshang glanced at him and said, “Your surname is Xun?”

The person was taken aback. “Indeed.”

Su Qingshang smiled slightly and said, “Xun and Gou are similar; I see that Xun and dogs are also inseparable.”

The person was unexpectedly insulted and immediately flushed with anger, slamming the table and shouting, “You—”

Just as it seemed about to turn into an argument, someone hurriedly entered and reported to Xiao Wen, “Lord, His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived.”

Xiao Wen was taken aback and said in surprise, “He… Why is the Crown Prince here?”

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of footsteps came from outside. Then, a tall and slender figure stepped in. Xiao Yan was dressed in a deep green outfit today, with slightly furrowed brows and his beautiful phoenix eyes lowered. His straight nose and handsome appearance made him look like a refined gentleman, as if he were meticulously carved and polished.

His gaze first fell on Li Zhizhi, then glanced at Su Qingshang beside her, and finally swept around the room. He said, “It’s really lively here.”