Unconvinced
Now that they know Zhao Ruxi is in first place, no one shows it on their faces, but everyone has their own thoughts.
Fifth Miss Zhao is indeed talented; otherwise, she wouldn't have caught the eye of Mister Kumu. But I've heard that her painting style is completely different from the current style in the Great Jin Dynasty. She uses charcoal and paints portraits.
Her painting style is completely different from Mister Kumu's style. If she wants to learn painting from her master, she has to start from the very basics.
If she won first place with a charcoal portrait, naturally no one would be convinced. The drawing techniques are completely different; how can anyone say her drawing is necessarily better than everyone else's?
But if she uses the painting style she learned from Mister Kumu to compete... she's only been learning from Mister Kumu for half a year, right? Half a year of learning, and she's already better than everyone else and won first place?
The second-place winner, a young man surnamed Zhang, is named Zhang Xiuyan. He studied under the famous flower-and-bird painting master, Mei Zhongjun.
When Zhao Ruxi started her sketching training class, Kang Shilin helped her find students who were willing to learn and had good character. He didn't even ask Mei Zhongjun about it.
Mei Zhongjun's name sounds like that of a noble and virtuous person, but his character is not very good.
Although Gong Cheng studied under Kang Shilin, he later developed his own style and forged his own path. He is most famous for his paintings of flowers, birds, insects, and fish, which is the same as Mei Zhongjun's painting specialty.
In recent years, in order to suppress Gong Cheng, Mei Zhongjun not only tried his best to improve his painting skills, but also resorted to all sorts of underhanded means behind the scenes. Among those who were directly scolded by Kang Shilin, Mei Zhongjun ranked first.
As the saying goes, "Birds of a feather flock together." Zhang Xiuyan's willingness to become Mei Zhongjun's disciple suggests that his character is similar to his master's.
His painting skills are quite good among the younger generation, and he has always been praised at painting exchange meetings. He becomes very proud and can't stand seeing others do well. Once someone else receives praise and shows signs of surpassing him, he, like his master, uses all sorts of methods to suppress them.
Zhao Ruxi won first place in both the preliminary and semi-final rounds this time, and Zhang Xiuyan was furious when he heard the news.
The friend who had passed on the message to him was acting under Xiao Yuyue's orders and had ulterior motives. Seeing this, he stirred things up a bit more, telling Zhang Xiuyan that four of the five judges had close relationships with Zhao Ruxi. Zhang Xiuyan then concluded that Kang Shilin must have manipulated the rankings to promote his apprentice.
Even when he had no leverage, he would create leverage to ruin people's reputations; now that he thought he had leverage, he was determined to pull Zhao Ruxi down from the top spot and also ruin the reputations of Kang Shilin, Peng Guoan, and others.
Seeing the strange expressions on everyone's faces, Zhang Xiuyan said in a very low voice, "As you all know, Mister Kumu is the judge. I've heard that Mr. Zhou Wenbai and Mr. Fang Jingye are both from the Northern Painting School, and they learned the charcoal portrait drawing technique from Miss Zhiwei."
Seeing everyone's shocked expressions, he continued, "I heard that the Imperial Academy, Lord Peng, is also a judge in this painting competition. Miss Zhiwei's older sister is married to Lord Peng's second son."
This was a lot of information, and everyone's expressions were somewhat stunned.
Seeing this, Zhang Xiuyan spread his hands in a seemingly generous manner. "Of course, I believe that with the reputations of Mister Kumu and Libationer Peng, the judging should be fair and impartial. Perhaps Miss Zhiwei's charcoal figure drawing is exceptionally good, even better than ours. In that case, it wouldn't be surprising if she won first place."
The fourth-place person was named Zhong Lei. He was straightforward and outspoken, and not very shrewd.
Hearing this, he sneered and said, "Brother Lin is also skilled at drawing figures. Even if Miss Zhiwei's charcoal figure drawings are good, it can only be said that they are each in their own way. It cannot be said that hers is better than Brother Lin's, right? That judgment is probably unfair."
"Brother Zhong, you shouldn't say that. If someone hears it and it gets back to Mister Kumu and the others, it won't be good," Lin Yunshen, who came in third, quickly advised him.
Zhong Lei was about to say something more when he heard the person in the twelfth row, who had been watching them talk, call out, "That person is here."
Following his gaze, everyone saw a beautiful woman in a red dress walk over. After asking the students of the Imperial Academy who were maintaining order for her seat, she sat down in the first seat on the far right.
This woman was strikingly beautiful and elegant, with a confident and poised demeanor. One could immediately tell she came from a good family and was exceptionally well-mannered. One couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill towards her.
The four boys who had been gossiping in private immediately straightened up, sat up straight, and became serious and composed in front of this woman, completely different from their previous whispering demeanor.
Zhang Xiuyan was closest to Zhao Ruxi Zhao Ruxi. He gracefully bowed to her and said loudly, "Is this Miss Zhiwei? I am Zhang Xiuyan, a disciple of Master Mei Zhongjun. I have long Miss Zhiwei's name, and meeting her today, I can see that her reputation is indeed well-deserved."
Lin Yunshen also cupped his hands in greeting and introduced himself, saying, "I've heard so much about you."
Among the contestants present, there were very few women; out of thirty, only two were women.
Besides Zhao Ruxi, the other woman was in her twenties, a middle-aged woman, and was located in the lower left corner of the competition area, indicating that her ranking in the semi-finals was among the lower tiers of the thirty participants. In addition, her appearance was unremarkable, and she was wearing a light blue dress, which was similar in color to the clothes of the male participants around her, making her very inconspicuous in the crowd.
As for Zhao Ruxi, Lady Zhu thought that most of the participants in the competition were young men, including many unmarried young talents. If someone took a liking to her daughter and came to propose marriage, perhaps she would find a suitable marriage partner, and she wouldn't have to worry about her daughter's marriage. Therefore, she forced Zhao Ruxi to wear red to participate in the competition today, wanting her daughter to appear in front of everyone in her most beautiful form.
Zhao Ruxi has striking features and a dignified demeanor; her bright red dress further accentuates her beauty.
Therefore, among the many men's shirts in shades of cyan, gray, and white, Zhao Ruxi's red dress and beauty stood out. Furthermore, her table was the first seat, making her the center of attention. As soon as she arrived, everyone present noticed her.
At this moment, seeing Zhang Xiuyan and Lin Yunshen step forward to chat, the others also took the opportunity to step forward and greet them.
Leaving aside the fact that Zhao Ruxi is a beautiful woman, just the fact that she is Mister Kumu's apprentice and the first place winner in the semi-finals is enough to make her worthy of everyone's acquaintance.
Zhao Ruxi greeted and chatted with everyone in a graceful and generous manner.
Zhong Lei, on the other hand, was true to his word. He had just expressed his disdain for Zhao Ruxi in front of everyone, but he didn't step forward now.
Zhao Ruxi knew that with so many people, there would be a lot of gossip and trouble. Besides, she was the first place winner, and many people were not convinced. If she arrived early, she would definitely cause trouble. So she only arrived a little before the start time of the competition.