Withdrawing from the Competition

He shook his head, sighed deeply, and said in a desolate tone, "Since that's the case, from today onwards, I, Kang Shilin, resign from my position as a judge of the painting competition. To prevent my apprentice Zhao Zhiwei, from being criticized, she will also withdraw from this competition."

He turned his head and scanned the crowd, but didn't see Zhao Ruxi and the others.

Just as he was frowning, Zhao Ruxi's voice came from another direction. "Master, you're right. I'm withdrawing from this competition. From now on, I will never participate in any painting competitions again."

This is the solution that the master and his disciples came up with after discussion.

Kang Shilin is usually in good spirits, but he is getting old. The competition venue is noisy and crowded, and Kang Family is not comfortable with him being a judge, and he himself is also unwilling to do so.

Some people, in order to help their apprentices or children win good rankings in painting competitions, instead of properly supervising their children's painting studies, take them to visit Kang Shilin and several other judges, ostensibly to get guidance from the seniors, but in reality, to flatter them.

Kang Shilin would not see ordinary people who came to visit him. However, some prominent families would come under the guise of visiting him, relying on old friendships, which made it difficult to guard against them.

Kang Shilin had the least patience for dealing with these things.

He was unwilling to be a judge in the first place. However, he was the most famous painter in the Great Jin. If the imperial court held a painting competition, the competition would lose its credibility if he, as a living advertisement, did not step forward to serve as a judge.

Because the Imperial Academy was in charge of the project, Peng Guoan pleaded with the Emperor, who then spoke highly of Kang Shilin and promised him benefits, which finally convinced Kang Shilin to agree.

This is a good opportunity to resign from this job.

Furthermore, if Zhao Ruxi had no reputation whatsoever, there would be nothing wrong with her participating in this competition. However, her paintings have fetched prices at auctions comparable to those of Kang Shilin, and even higher than those of Zuo Qiusheng from the previous dynasty. Participating in the competition is akin to a burly man competing in strength with a child; such an unfair victory would be seen as somewhat unkind by everyone.

As her teacher, Kang Shilin knew that his apprentice had such a level of skill, yet he still let her participate in the competition. Naturally, people had nothing but bad things to say about it, feeling that the teacher and apprentice were too greedy.

Therefore, when Zhao Ruxi decided to participate in the competition, she was determined to just participate without aiming for a prize. She only wanted to use this opportunity to publicly reveal her identity as the artist of the painting at the auction, in order to gain a reputation commensurate with her work.

So the master and disciple had set a huge trap, waiting for Mei Zhongjun to jump in.

If Mei Zhongjun had no intention of harming others, that would be fine. But if he did, he would have to bear the infamy of forcing Kang Shilin and his apprentice to withdraw from the competition, and would inevitably become a sinner in history.

Now that Mei Zhongjun is indeed jumping around happily, Kang Shilin and Zhao Ruxi naturally decided to play along and announced their withdrawal from the competition.

The two genuinely withdrew from the competition; it wasn't a strategic retreat. Therefore, before everyone could react in shock after Zhao Ruxi finished speaking, Kang An, at Kang Shilin's signal, stepped forward, rolled up Zhao Ruxi's painting, and took it away. Kang Shilin himself strode quickly towards the western opening, decisive and without the slightest hesitation.

Zhao Ruxi and the other two quickly turned around and joined him.

"Hey, Mister Kumu!" Before anyone else could react, Peng Guoan panicked and shouted at Kang Shilin's retreating figure, chasing after him.

The others also realized what was happening at this point. Some were at a loss, while others tried to dissuade them, and the scene suddenly became noisy.

Mei Zhongjun was somewhat bewildered by Kang Shilin's actions, but finally realized what was wrong.

Given Kang Shilin's temperament, shouldn't he have fought him to a standstill, overwhelming him with domineering force? Why did he suddenly back down, letting Kang Shilin's punch miss its mark?

People sympathize with the weak. Kang Shilin argued with him and won in the end. Regardless of the reason, everyone would think that he used his power to oppress others. As for Mei Zhongjun, no matter how bad his reputation was in the past, at this moment, people would find excuses for him and say that it was all because Kang Shilin forced him to smear him.

Now that Kang Shilin has backed down, everyone is starting to feel sorry for Kang Shilin and is criticizing Mei Zhongjun.

If his questioning hadn't been so insulting, why would Mister Kumu have come to this? The old man has suffered a tremendous injustice.

Furthermore, Zhao Zhiwei such a promising talent; at such a young age, her painting skills are comparable to those of Mister Kumu. Yet, because of Mei Zhongjun's slander, she will no longer participate in competitions, which might even affect her love and passion for painting. In that case, the Great Jin will lose a potential master painter who could stand at the pinnacle of the art world.

What a huge loss!

And he, Mei Zhongjun, became a sinner in history.

Mei Zhongjun was completely panicked.

He stood there, bewildered and at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Kang Shilin walked briskly, and Peng Guoan caught up with him a few steps before he reached the gap.

Seeing Peng Guoan catch up, he tried to reach out and pull him back, but several officials in front of him blocked his way.

Kang Shilin stopped and waved to Peng Guoan, saying, "Lord Peng, you don't need to persuade me. I'm getting old and want to enjoy a few years of peace and quiet. Please let me resign from this position as judge."

Wu Zong and the others squeezed through at this moment.

Wu Zong said, "Lord Peng, can you really bear to see my master and junior sister criticized? Therefore, the best solution is for both my master and junior sister to withdraw from the competition."

Upon Wu Zong's words, Peng Guoan hesitated.

If this painting competition hadn't been organized by the Imperial Academy, and if he hadn't been the Imperial Academy, he too would have had the urge to walk away in a huff, just like Mister Kumu.

Mister Kumu a man of great integrity; should he really swallow his pride and allow others to question his character just for the sake of a competition hosted by the Imperial Academy?

Even the officials who were trying to stop Kang Shilin hesitated.

While they hesitated, Kang Shilin had already stepped out of the gap and was being escorted outside by his apprentices.

"Master, what... what should we do?" Zhang Xiuyan, who was already nervous, was now trembling all over. He disregarded his master's habit of disliking being touched and grabbed Mei Zhongjun's arm and shook it violently.

If Kang Shilin represents the highest level of painting in the Great Jin, then Zhao Ruxi is the most skilled among all the participants in the past.

The doubts raised by the master and apprentice forced Kang Shilin and Zhao Ruxi to withdraw from the competition, severely damaging the competition's reputation. The master and apprentice would be condemned by everyone. Zhang Xiuyan's life would be ruined.

Not to mention Mei Zhongjun and his apprentice, even Xiao Yuyue, who was sitting in the private room of the teahouse next door, was very flustered.

She only sent someone to offer Mei Zhongjun benefits after seeing that neither the Crown Prince nor the Jia Family made any moves, so that he could ruin the reputations of Kang Shilin and Zhao Ruxi.

Although she was extremely careful and took many detours, the situation has now developed so seriously that the Emperor will surely order a thorough investigation. Once the Emperor takes action, her little tricks might not be able to be kept secret any longer.