The room is covered with elegant and exquisite Chen. A picture of a lady is hung on the south wall. There is a nine-string guqin on the table beside the window. A lamp stand is extended on the wall, a tin lamp stand is placed, and a red candle is inserted on the table. There is a carved embroidered couch with three railings. The red silk curtain is hooked to both sides, and a thin quilt and bamboo mat. A girl looked at the newly mounted painting in a daze.

The girl is elegant and quiet, her beautiful eyes wandering in the painting, sometimes confused and sometimes amazed.

The maid on the side whispered: "The princess has been watching for an hour. Should she ask someone to send some fruits and vegetables to fill her stomach?"

The girl shook her head thoughtfully: "This man is so powerful. She has figured out Sun Wei's charm thoroughly. The pen tip can be so delicate."

The maid said suspiciously: "Is the painting made by Duke Qi's prince really so good?"

The girl shook her head: "It was not made by Mr. Zhou, there should be someone else. If this painting was not signed, I would really think it was an authentic one."

"So, is there someone else who paints?" said the maid: "Why not invite that person to meet and see who can copy a painting that makes the princess not want to have a tea or a meal."

The girl smiled slightly and said with a calm breath: "Can't see me, this person is deliberately provoking me. Well, I can't lose to him. Is the painting I copied a few days ago still there?"

"It's already closed."

The girl said, "I will send it to Duke Qi's mansion in two days. There is no need to say anything, just say it is a gift to Master Zhou."

The maid nodded.

The girl pursed her lips and continued to observe the painting.

…………………………

Liu Wen, the head of the foreign government, heard that Shen Ao wanted to compete for the book boy, and the young master personally recommended him. He suddenly became enthusiastic about Shen Ao and secretly pulled Shen Ao to the corner and said: "The young man is promising and dares to challenge the scholar. It is worthy of being brought out by me, Old Liu. A good competition is made, don't lose the face of our foreign government. You don't have to work these days. I will arrange everything. Tell me what you need quickly."

Liu Wen was too enthusiastic, but he actually had a intention. Originally, the mansion wanted a scholar, and several officials recommended their relatives. This was called "Fu water not flowing to outsiders' fields." Who knew that Zhao, the mansion in the inner mansion, had a great face and his nephew was also very powerful, so he took up this quota. Liu Wen felt uncomfortable and hated him for being in charge of Zhao.

"The struggle in the workplace is very fierce." Shen Ao sighed in his heart.

But this is good. Chief Zhao took over the quota, which made many people with good looks in the mansion lose face. Now everyone has formed a united front to support Shen Ao.

It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and finally it was evening. The afterglow of dusk swept away, the full moon was hanging high, and the bright moonlight fell. The sound of firecrackers on the street sounded crisply, and the duke's mansion was decorated with lights. With the orders of the officials to applaud the lights, lanterns were hanging high under the eaves, and the red light shone brightly inside and out.

"Walking forward is the inner mansion, Shen Ao, you have to bet for me." Zhou Heng said with a smile: "Several cousins ​​in the clan started a bet, and I bet ten bets on you to win."

Shen Ao curled his lips: "You won't bet the scholar again with twenty characters, right?"

Zhou Heng said in surprise: "How do you know?"

"Confidence!" Shen Ao shook his head regretfully for him: "It's because you don't have confidence in me. Have you heard any rumors?"

Zhou Heng had a bitter face: "I heard that this scholar is very good. He is the first in the state exam. Although I am very optimistic about you, it is still a little worse than this scholar."

Chen Ao said: "Let's wait and see, I'll open your eyes. Are the things ready?"

Zhou Heng nodded: "Everything is ready, I have given you a chance, you can take it yourself."

The two of them said as they walked, and when they passed through the attic Yue Cave, their eyes suddenly became clear. A shimmering lake water appeared in front of Shen Ao. In the lake was a pavilion connected by a trestle. The pavilion was very large, enough to accommodate dozens of people. They were silhouetted, and obviously many people were waiting.

"It's a pity that Wu Saner is not qualified to come in, otherwise he would have been shocked by the scenery." The full moon was on his head and the broken moonlight reflection in the lake was under his feet. This feeling seemed to be traveling through the fairyland.

Chen Ao really wanted to sing, so he hummed the tune: "I once saw the sound of the jade trees in Jinling, the sound of the orioles in the morning, and the flowers in the Qinhuai water pavilions bloomed early, but who knew it would be easy to disappear! I saw him raise the red building, watch him entertain guests, and see his building collapsed. I have slept with the pile of green moss and tiles, and I have seen the rise and fall of fifty years. The Wuyi Lane is not the king; Don't worry about the lake, ghosts cry at night; Phoenix Platform, birds live in the owls! The dream of the remaining mountains is the most true, and the old land is hard to lose. I don't believe this map changes the manuscript, and I miss the set of "Sad Jiangnan" and sings until I grow old."

Zhou Heng asked: "What song do you sing?"

Chen Ao was so stupid, but he didn't say anything. If Young Master Zhou knew that he was singing such a song to his Zhulou, he would have to strangle him to death.

When he arrived at Yuanting, Zhou Heng had quickly walked towards the dignified woman in the main position: "Mom..."

Chen Ao's eyes fell on Chun'er beside his wife. Chun'er has indeed dressed up carefully today, and it has added a bit of love under the light and shadow. Chen Ao blinked at Chun'er, and Chun'er's face was red and she lowered her head to play with the hem of her clothes.

"Little girl is shy." Chen Ao felt secretly happy and then turned his eyes elsewhere. Next to his wife was a generous girl. She saw the girl's ice-skinned and jade-like bones, and the gardenia-like face exuding the nobleness and purity of a princess, and her cold and gorgeous face, like a lotus from the water.

"This is Miss Zhou. Last time I was far away and couldn't see clearly. I looked closer and more beautiful than before." Chen Ao was stunned.

But when he looked away, he saw a man standing beside Miss Zhou. The man had a mature and steady face, showing a warm smile, his hawk-eyed eyes showed domineering eyes and his strong body gave people a proud aura.

"Why did this servant think it was not a good thing when he saw this man?" Chen Ao felt sour and looked at the man provocatively, but the other party obviously did not take him to heart and did not even look at him directly.

A few more officials were there, and Liu Wen sent Chen Ao an encouraging look. Another official attracted Chen Ao's attention. He was about forty years and glanced at the goatee's beard, looking very kind, with a smile that was not revealed. Standing with him was a thin boy. The boy's skin was a little pale, but he could detect a sense of a sense of arrogance. Obviously, although his family was poor, he was somewhat conceited.

Chen Ao walked to his wife and said, "Hello, Madam."

"Okay." The lady said with a smile at him, "All people are here, and the Duke's Mansion is no better than the ordinary people's homes. At this time, the Duke always goes to the palace to accompany the emperor to enjoy the moon."

She paused and sighed: "Others' families are reunited, but we have no reunion day, so I call you here and have fun together. It just so happened that the mansion was about to pick up a book boy, but there were two candidates I like. Today I will throw in the bricks and jades first and ask the two young heroes to compete one or two."

She pursed her lips and her eyes fell on the pale-faced boy. She was obviously very satisfied with him and said, "Wenqing, you are the number one scholar in the state examination. You must be a high school student in the future. It won't be a small scholar in the house to be a child, right?"

The young man said politely: "Wenqing can't complain if he can accompany the young master to study."

"Okay, then the first game will begin."

In the center of the pavilion are two desks, with pen, ink, paper and ink.

A chief sang loudly and said, "In the first competition, I will paint, please prepare for the two talents. The title is: The highest mountain."

The boy and Chen Ao walked to the center, and Chen Ao hugged him: "It's Shen Ao."

The boy smiled dismissively: "Just Zhao Wenqing."

This kind of politeness is naturally on the surface. The eyes of the two people are in contact, and the provocation is very strong.

Zhao Wenqing was a self-righteous child prodigy and the number one talented man in the state examination. Naturally, he would not take a servant from the Zhou family seriously. He was not very polite, so he immediately picked up the pen on the table and flew on the white paper.

Chen Ao was not in a hurry at all. He slowly picked up the pen, but frowned.

"The highest mountain? What kind of mountain is the highest?" This is obviously not just as simple as painting, but more like an intelligence test.

Chen Ao glanced at Zhao Wenqing's copywriting and saw a contour that had been drawn. Chen Ao could see at a glance that this was a picture of Yin Feng from Liang Bai during the Jin Dynasty. This painting is not famous, but it is better to paint the majestic nature of Hengshan. Among the famous mountains in the world, Hengshan is the highest, and Zhao Wenqing's Yifeng map copied by Liang Bai is naturally the highest mountain.

"Do you have to draw Mount Everest? No, no one knows even if you draw it. But you can't imitate Yifeng's picture anymore, otherwise you will lose it. It seems that you really have to think about it."

On one side is a pen dance, dragon and snake, while on the other side is a stubborn and undecided, and the right and wrong are judged immediately.

Chun'er and Zhou Heng both seemed a little worried, especially Chun'er, staring at Chen Ao with beautiful eyes, and her concern was beyond words.

The lady looked at Chen Ao quietly, then her eyes fell on Zhao Wenqing again, and a trace of appreciation flashed through her eyes.

The kind-hearted Master Zhao also showed a hint of joy at this moment, and obviously felt that his nephew was sure to win.

Time passed quickly, Zhao Wenqing sighed, finally put his pen down, and said, "Madam, it's done."

Chun'er walked over and carefully held the painting for her wife to show her. The wife said, "It's a good painting."

Zhao Wenqing said with a hint of gratitude: "The world's famous mountains are the most famous. Although this Yifeng picture is a imitation, it just caters to the main theme."

The lady nodded and her eyes fell on Shen Ao again. She only saw that Chen Ao had not started writing and her eyebrows were furrowed: "Time is coming."

Chen Ao nodded and smiled, "It's going to be done soon." He moved his wrist and outlined a few random strokes on the drawing paper, and said, "It's done, please give me a thumbs up."

Chun'er went to Chen Ao's desk to get the painting again. Chen Ao pinched her hand while someone was not paying attention. Chun'er suddenly panicked, staggered, and held the painting to show her to her wife in a blush.

Just outline a few strokes at will. The people in the pavilion looked a little weird when they saw Chen Ao, just like monkeys watching the zoo together.

The lady didn't like Chen Ao either: "This person doesn't look like Wen Qing and Zhuang Zheng, and always has a bit of evil spirit. Wen Qing has a focused temperament when painting. But this person called Chen Ao is casual. Could it be that he knows that his paintings are not as good as Wen Qing, and he deliberately outlines a few strokes to perfunctorily?"

Zhao Wenqing also felt that he was sure to win, so he looked at Chen Ao with disdain: "Brother Chen is so free and easy. Can you draw a mountain with just a few strokes?"
Chapter completed!