Chapter Nineteen: Astonishing Everyone
“Bang—”
The brocade box hit the ground with a crisp sound, but at this moment, no one paid attention to the split box. All eyes were fixed on the sudden figure before them.
Those gazes were nothing short of shock!
Surely, no one had expected the timid and cowardly Yan Ziyu to possess such swift agility. Her speed in action just now surpassed that of many martial artists. How could this not astonish everyone!
“Thank you, Your Highness, for drawing your sword to assist me. Otherwise, I truly wouldn’t have known what to do with those disgusting creatures!” Despite the shocked looks, Yan Ziyu remained composed and unshaken, calmly meeting Long Xiaoyan’s face, which was full of disbelief and disgust.
Shocked?
This was only the beginning. More spectacular things awaited you in the future. Don’t rush! We shall take our time.
A cold sneer flickered in Yan Ziyu’s eyes. Her gaze swept over the emperor and the two foreign envoys, taking in their expressions. She had her own considerations—tonight was as much their test of her as it was her test of them!
Ignoring the stunned gazes, Yan Ziyu turned back to the desk and picked up a brush, beginning to paint on the chaotic canvas that Ali and Rui had previously messed up...
“Ah! She’s using those disgusting insects to paint... Ugh...” Suddenly, a young lady exclaimed in horror.
“Oh my, won’t that paint be poisonous?”
...
In an instant, everyone’s attention focused on Yan Ziyu’s painting. They saw that she was using the dark green liquid oozing from the severed insects as ink, which made many feel nauseous.
Prince Xi and General Chen were unmoved, instead watching Yan Ziyu, head bowed in concentration, with growing interest. Long Xiaoyan suddenly realized that the current Yan Ziyu was a completely different person from the one he remembered.
She had once been timid, cowardly, and useless, provoking his disdain at first glance. But now, she was like a lotus blooming proudly atop a snowy mountain—radiating an unassailable sacred dignity, with silky black hair, snow-white skin, a detached tone, and a serene, elegant demeanor. At this moment, her figure overlapped with the beloved woman in his heart.
“Crack—”
The cup in Long Xiaoyan’s hand suddenly cracked, emitting a sharp sound.
Prince Xi sneered and glanced at him coldly. He found Long Xiaoyan laughable—mistaking a flawless jade for a worthless stone, truly ridiculous!
---
Feeling Prince Xi’s cold mockery, Long Xiaoyan shot back a fierce glare, eyes flashing with icy light as he narrowed them at Yan Ziyu.
At the same time, Yan Ziyu shivered involuntarily; a bad premonition began to spread in her heart...
...
After a long while...
“I have finished my painting.”
The Moon Princess set down her brush and smiled coquettishly, “As a newcomer to your esteemed country, I greatly admire its landscapes and scenery. I remember the day Your Highness took me to tour the lake and the beauty I saw then filled my heart with joy. Today, I have painted that scenery and hope you will not find it laughable.”
Several palace attendants carefully took the painting and presented it for all to see.
“Good, this painting is indeed excellent! I, too, have been to the place depicted, and I never imagined the Moon Princess could portray the landscape so vividly. Both the skill and memory behind it deserve praise,” General Chen spoke first, stating his opinion and glancing at Yan Ziyu, who still kept her head lowered.
Did she not care at all about the Moon Princess’s painting? Or was she confident she could surpass her?
Having seen the vividly beautiful scenery in the Moon Princess’s work, everyone’s eyes now fixated even more on Yan Ziyu, filled with a mix of anticipation and eagerness for a spectacle. Even Yan Ruoqing and others who despised Yan Ziyu were eagerly awaiting to witness her downfall, expecting her to cripple herself and become useless.
Finally, Yan Ziyu, unfazed by the intense gazes, put down her brush slowly. She lifted her head, her eyes cold and distant as they swept over the crowd. Her crimson lips parted slightly: “I have also finished my painting.”
The emperor waved his hand, and palace attendants brought Yan Ziyu’s painting forward for everyone to see. Just one glance shocked all present!
The emperor was stunned, Long Xiaoyan was stunned, Prince Xi and General Chen were stunned, and the Moon Princess’s complexion instantly paled. Everyone was shocked—
Yan Ziyu’s painting was not dazzlingly beautiful nor like a fairyland. On the contrary, it was filled with a desolate, mournful stillness. The depth of sorrow in the painting stirred the hearts of those who beheld it.
What… what kind of painting was this?
Was this hell?
If not hell, then why was there a path to the underworld, a bridge of no return? And what were the brilliant flowers blooming along this road?
Suddenly, everyone recalled the story Yan Ziyu had just told.
The path to the underworld, the other shore...
Could this be that very other shore? Truly beautiful, truly bewitching, the blood-red hue became the most striking sight on this desolate road to the underworld.
Next to the painting were a few lines of small characters. Upon closer inspection, they were a poem:
Dim, dim the road to the underworld,
Hardly meeting sun or moon’s light,
Like the distant other shore,
This life we do not meet again.
Beauty often meets a tragic fate,
Heaven and earth mourn it so.
This little poem, combined with the painting, was deeply moving, evoking a profound, ineffable resonance—something to be felt rather than spoken, beyond words.
Is this... really Yan Ziyu?
This person, so swift in movement, outstanding in literary talent, and superb in painting, really the same timid, cowardly, useless Yan Ziyu?
“Y-you are Yan Ziyu?” After a long silence, Long Xiaoyan’s cold voice carried a hint of doubt as he asked.
Yan Ziyu smiled gracefully, her eyes tinged with mockery as she looked at him. “What does Your Highness think? Could it be that you don’t even recognize the woman beside you?”
Long Xiaoyan looked at her deeply. His thin lips moved slightly, but in the end, no words came forth.