Chapter 28

"Hey, you little rascal, stop staring at my young lady!"

Seeing Zhao Hongrun staring at Miss Su without restraint, Lüer, who already had a bit of a dislike for him, immediately stepped forward in a huff.

"You've already met the young lady and heard her play. Now, get lost!"

She pushed Zhao Hongrun, trying to drive him away.

After all, her plan was to help her young lady find a wealthy and powerful young master as a support. In her eyes, Zhao Hongrun was too young, and his appearance did not suggest he was from a wealthy family. So why should he be allowed to stay?

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?" Zhao Hongrun was not pleased. He thought to himself, "I haven't had enough yet. My eyes were blind for fourteen years; at least let me make up for it today."

"What else? I'm telling you to leave."

"I won't."

Glancing at Lüer, Zhao Hongrun said irritably, "I paid fifty taels of silver. You want to kick me out after just a few glances? Your pavilion makes money too easily."

"Fifty taels? Once, a wealthy young master paid five hundred taels, and the young lady didn't even see him. Are you still not satisfied? Get out, get out, get out."

"Only fifty taels? You little girl, you have a big mouth."

"Little girl? You, a fourteen-year-old brat, dare to call me a little girl? I'm sixteen, you know?"

"Oh? Is that so?" Zhao Hongrun stood in front of her, revealing the fact that Lüer was a head shorter than him.

There was no way around it; the royal diet was good, making the princes develop earlier than ordinary children.

"You, you, you, you're making me so angry!" Lüer angrily tugged at Zhao Hongrun's sleeve.

Seeing this, Miss Su couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. She quickly stopped Lüer, saying, "Lüer, be respectful and step back."

Hearing Miss Su's words, Lüer reluctantly stopped, asking unhappily, "Young lady, how long are you going to keep this bad boy around?"

"How long...?" Miss Su thought to herself, "If he's a guest invited into the room, how can I drive him away?"

She couldn't help but glance at Zhao Hongrun.

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm not leaving," Zhao Hongrun said quickly when he saw Miss Su looking at him. "After all, I paid fifty taels. I've only had a few glances; you make money too easily here."

Miss Su couldn't help but smile and asked gently, "Then, what else does Master Jiang want?"

Zhao Hongrun thought for a moment and pointed to the wine on the small table in front of him, saying, "Why don't you come and have a few drinks with me?"

"Huh?"

Miss Su frowned, thinking, "How can this young master be so interested in such things at such a young age?"

She politely refused, "I am not good at drinking."

"Not good at drinking... That's fine. Can you at least pour the wine for me? I'll drink it."

"..."

Miss Su was a bit unhappy, thinking, "Is he treating me like one of those women who pour wine?"

She thought for a moment and said, "Thank you for your consideration, Master, but there are no such rules here."

"What a lousy place." Zhao Hongrun muttered, then looked at Miss Su and asked, "So, Miss Su, how can I get you to come over?"

Miss Su was taken aback. Just as she was thinking about how to deal with this troublesome young guest, she heard Zhao Hongrun clap his hands and say, "Let's do this: we just had a music competition. Now, let's have a painting competition. If you lose, you come over and have a few drinks with me, okay?"

"A painting competition?" Miss Su was slightly intrigued, thinking, "Is this Master Jiang not only skilled in music but also proficient in painting?"

"How do we compete?" she asked.

Zhao Hongrun looked around at the cranes hanging on the walls and said with a smile, "I have a good idea of your skill, Miss Su, so you don't need to paint. ... Bring me some ink and a brush."

"Is that what you mean? Are you mocking my painted cranes?" Miss Su was a bit angry, and her tone became colder. "Lüer, bring ink and a brush."

"Yes." Lüer brought the ink, brush, paper, and inkstone from the inner room and placed them on the small table in front of Zhao Hongrun with a stern face.

"I don't need paper." Zhao Hongrun waved his hand, then faced the back wall. To Miss Su's surprise, he casually pulled down all the crane paintings hanging on the wall, regardless of whether they were damaged, and threw them aside.

"You, you, you... How can you be so rude? These are the young lady's masterpieces." Lüer screamed in anger, picking up the paintings with a pained expression.

Seeing this, Miss Su was also very angry, not understanding what Zhao Hongrun was doing.

At this moment, Zhao Hongrun bent down, picked up the brush from the inkstone on the table, and turned to Miss Su with a smile, saying, "It seems you like cranes? If so, I'll paint one too."

With that, he lifted the brush and started painting directly on the white wall. His brush moved freely, as if he didn't need to think, and in no time, he sketched a crane spreading its wings, ready to fly.

Unlike the cranes Miss Su had painted, this crane was so thin it seemed to have only bones, but this made it even more ethereal and divine.

"That's... "

Miss Su couldn't help but clench her fists.

What did she see?

On the white wall, in just a few moments, a lively and divine crane appeared, standing on one leg in what she considered mud, stretching its neck and spreading its wings, as if about to soar into the sky toward the rising sun.

It was so lifelike, almost like a living creature.

With a few more strokes, Zhao Hongrun added a line of text on the left, with a style that was both elegant and dynamic.

"The crane's call resounds in the deep marsh, heard in the heavens."

After writing this line from the Book of Songs, Zhao Hongrun casually threw the brush aside and turned to look at Miss Su.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

Looking at the painting, Miss Su felt her heart pounding.

"Does... Does he understand my heart?"

Her whole body tensed, and her lips, which were usually inviting, were tightly pursed.

Her eyes were fixed on the crane, which was about to spread its wings and soar into the sky toward the rising sun.

"Even with one foot in the mud, it can still call to the heavens and soar into the sky...?"

Miss Su turned her gaze to the rising sun, accompanied by the morning clouds, and her heart pounded even more.

"Is... Is he comparing me to this crane? Then... Is he the rising sun for me?"

She couldn't help but let her thoughts wander, and her cheeks began to flush.

"Why... Why did you choose this line?" Miss Su's voice was slightly trembling.

Because she felt that the line "The crane's call resounds in the deep marsh, heard in the heavens" pierced her heart like a sharp spear, making it impossible for her to maintain her usual calm and composed demeanor.

"What's strange... What is she doing?"

Zhao Hongrun was puzzled by Miss Su's sudden agitation and shrugged, saying, "Because I think this line is the most powerful, don't you think so, Miss Su?"

"Powerful?" Miss Su was taken aback, and her heart sank, feeling a wave of disappointment.

"Ha, he doesn't understand. After all, he's just a fourteen-year-old child... How could he understand?"

"I have lost."

Sighing deeply, Miss Su slowly stood up and gracefully walked to the small table in front of Zhao Hongrun, kneeling down opposite him.

At such close range, even the palace-dwelling Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but be amazed by her beauty, truly fitting the description of a radiant and luminous beauty.

Looking at the fourteen-year-old young master in front of her, Miss Su became even more curious.

"How long have you been learning painting, Master Jiang? Not just half a month, right?" She poured wine for Zhao Hongrun and asked curiously.

"Painting? I've been learning for three months!" Zhao Hongrun also sat down.

"Three months to achieve such skill?"

Miss Su felt a bit bitter but smiled and asked, "Why did you learn music for only half a month but painting for three months?"

"Of course, there's a reason for that." Zhao Hongrun sat down, picked up his wine cup, and took a sip.

"What reason?" Miss Su asked curiously.

Zhao Hongrun stared straight at Miss Su and suddenly said with a smile, "If you have a few drinks with me, I'll tell you."

Miss Su glanced at the rising sun on the wall, then at Zhao Hongrun's smiling, youthful face, her eyes showing a hint of hesitation. Finally, she said softly, "Lüer, add another wine cup."

"Eh?"

Lüer stared at her young lady, unable to understand how a fourteen-year-old poor and mischievous boy could make her young lady accompany him with wine.

But since her young lady had spoken, she had no choice but to pout and fetch another wine cup from the inner room, placing it in front of Miss Su.

Miss Su lifted her hand to pour herself a cup, then looked at Zhao Hongrun with bright eyes. Seeing him staring at her, her cheeks turned slightly red, and she took a small sip, barely touching the wine.

"Oh—oh—"

Watching this, Zhao Hongrun felt his whole body ignite, as if electrified, feeling a pleasant tingling sensation.

Perhaps this was what they called "not the wine that intoxicates, but the person."

"I've had my drink as agreed. Can Master Jiang tell me now?" Miss Su's cheeks were increasingly flushed as she saw Zhao Hongrun staring at her.

"Sure, I can tell you. The reason I learned painting is to... capture such beautiful scenes in my paintings." He lifted his hand and gently touched a small strand of Miss Su's long, flowing hair, saying calmly.

"Eh?"

Miss Su froze, her beautiful eyes widening in disbelief as she looked at him.

"Am... Am I being teased by him again?"

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