At his words, Yuan Zhong nodded firmly.
As the person in charge of the Painting Gallery, he had taken on the challenge many times. He had imagined countless possibilities, but had never succeeded. He knew all too well how difficult it was to conjure up the right image from just five eyeballs.
"I just sent someone to look into this scholar. What I learned was that he sold copies at Su Zhe's Painting Rain Pavilion," Yuan Zhong added.
"Sold copies?" The hint of expectation on Liu Sitong's face vanished at once. "If he sold copies, his painting skills can't be anything special."
Copies were worth very little silver. Painters wouldn't sell them; only students who hadn't yet reached a painter's level would do that.
"All right, you may leave," Liu Sitong and Feng Yuan said, losing interest in the scholar.
Ever since they had set up the Five-Eyes Diagram challenge at the Painting Gallery, painters from outside Baiyuan County had come to try their luck every so often. Not one had ever succeeded, and they had grown used to it.
"Yes." Yuan Zhong withdrew respectfully.
Only County Vice-Magistrate Liu Sitong and Registrar Feng Yuan remained in the courtyard.
"Lord Liu, it's been more than a year. Is there really anyone who could figure out that the Five-Eyes Diagram came from the Five Kui Oxen Painting?"
Feng Yuan's expression was solemn. His gaze seemed to pierce the courtyard wall and fall upon the Painting Gallery.
Liu Sitong, too, put away his earlier nonchalance and shook his head. "Not likely. The Five Kui Oxen Painting was never established as an authentic work, so few people paid attention to it in the first place."
"And the Five-Eyes Diagram shows only the eyeballs from the five Kui Oxen's eyes, with their order scrambled."
"On