Yuan Zhisheng and Su Yujin exchanged a look whose meaning could be understood but never put into words.
Wang Qiezhi, Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, walked back and forth, checking the progress of the twenty-odd finalists. The allotted time was one hour, and everyone had to finish their drawing within that limit. Hu Xiaotian handled the task with effortless ease and finished first. Wang Qiezhi picked up his portrait and handed it to the two chief examiners.
Yuan Zhisheng and Su Yujin looked up to find a spirited young woman's portrait on the white paper. It was none other than Princess Yingyue, so lifelike that she seemed ready to leap off the page. Yuan Zhisheng was a renowned calligrapher and painter in the Fragrant Kingdom, yet even with his experience, he had never seen a technique that captured both form and spirit so perfectly. Visibly excited, he stroked his beard and exclaimed, "Excellent! Excellent!"
With even a chief examiner openly praising the work, the other finalists naturally felt disheartened. Not everyone had a talent for drawing; three of them had not even touched their pencils.
Hu Xiaotian laughed inwardly. Who would have thought victory would come so easily today? Xiyue really does understand me, and she cares for me so deeply. What virtue or ability do I, Hu Xiaotian, possess to deserve such favor from a beauty? She really went to great pains to devise this charcoal-sketching test to eliminate the others.
The hour soon passed, and everyone handed in their work. Yuan Zhisheng selected ten reasonably decent drawings and had a palace maid take them to Princess Yingyue for her decision. Those whose work had not been selected naturally became the first group to be eliminated.
The results soon came back. Another five of the ten drawings