Divine Doctor Mommy Is A True Big Shot-Chapter 171 - 173: Feng Bailing, You Plagiarized

"I shall propose the theme."

Queen Mother!

Dugu Xiaojin’s face lit up with joy.

"Princess Feng, do you know how to write poetry? Don’t ruin your dear son’s painting."

The painting itself is important, but the inscription is also significant, as it can enhance the artistic conception of the painting.

Xiao Junci teased.

"Regent King, are you perhaps reluctant to part with that one thousand gold taels?"

Feng Bailing said with a smile.

"Who says I am reluctant? Even if it were an additional one thousand taels, I would be willing."

Xiao Junci snorted derisively, delighted at the opportunity to embarrass this mother-daughter duo and to slap Dugu Wu in the face.

"These are the Regent King’s words, and I do not need 2,000 taels. If my Xiaojin’s painting and my poetry are better, I only want one thousand gold taels, and for the remaining thousand, the Regent King only needs to provide one day’s horse carriage service for the Princess’ Mansion." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

Feng Bailing said with a smile.

"It’s a deal."

Xiao Junci responded dismissively.

How could Feng Bailing possibly triumph over her Prince Consort top scorer father, as Lady Nan Feng mentioned, the old fair-faced one who penned that exquisite poem "Dedicated to Guo Jijiu."

Feng Bailing and Feng Zhanlian each stepped out to inscribe their paintings.

A moment later, they both returned.

"Let’s first present the painting by the Imperial Grandson."

Duchess Chen, having drunk some wine, had a slightly flushed face.

When the painting was unfurled, a round of applause erupted in the hall.

Xiao Junci glanced at the painting, never expecting that the Imperial Grandson of Great Chu, who inspired heavenly phenomena, actually had some talent.

He painted a scene of koi fishes frolicking among lotuses. On the canvas, the ink shades complemented each other well, the brush strokes were fluent, depicting a pond brimming with lush green and slender red lotuses in bloom, each lotus leaf outlined with thick ink, with red lotuses blossoming. Not far away, there was a bud about to bloom. Below the bud was a group of black and red koi fish encircling the lotuses, making the scene vividly jump off the paper.

Xiao Junci then noticed two lines of text in the upper left corner.

The writing was decent, albeit a bit weak, but the verse made Xiao Junci involuntarily catch his breath.

"Tender lotus leaves freshly emerge, sharp edged; dragonflies alight on them early."

The author was none other than Feng Zhanlian.

"Excellent poetry and painting."

Inside the pavilion, a wave of praises echoed.

Though merely two brief lines, they brought the summer lotus hues vividly to life on paper, inspiring boundless imaginings.

Dongfang Li was also visibly delighted; this was his father-in-law.

Feng Zhanlian beamed, his chest puffed out.

Dugu Wu’s eyes darkened—did Feng Zhanlian truly possess such great talent?

Now, what about Feng Bailing and Xiaojin...

Yet, Dugu Xiaojin was taken aback.

This verse, wasn’t it said by the Queen Mother?

Just as she was about to speak, she saw Feng Bailing shaking her head at her.

"Such talent from Prince Consort Feng, I believe we need not look at the next painting and poem, right?"

Nalan Yan’er spoke with a smile brimming with meaning.

Hearing Nalan Yan’er speak thus, Duchess Chen also chimed in.

"Such masterpieces are indeed rare in this world."

"The painting by the Imperial Grandson, the poetry by Prince Consort Feng, unparalleled in this world."

Many court officials and honored wives started sycophantically praising, their tongues as vivid as lotuses, extolling Dongfang Jin and Feng Zhanlian to the heavens and beyond.

"Crown Princess Consort, your words are misplaced. The Imperial Grandson’s painting is indeed decent, possessing some remnants of the Old Grand Preceptor’s style. Since we agreed upon a painting competition, let’s focus on the paintings. Let’s spare the bureaucratic flattery, lest the Regent King mocks."

Dugu Wu tapped impatiently on the table.

She should never have touched upon Dugu Xiaojin’s territory.

"I was wondering why it looked somewhat familiar; isn’t this similar to the ’Ode to Lotus’ that the Old Grand Preceptor gifted to Father Emperor?"

Dongfang Qi yawned, showing his annoyance with such poetry and painting, the least interesting form of affected elegance. Among all the princes, he was the one who could least tolerate Nalan Yan’er’s antics. You see, a perfectly good Imperial Grandson, taught all twisted by her.

Nalan Yan’er was taken aback, her face flushed with a mix of red and white.

Dongfang Jin also bit his lip, glaring furiously at Dugu Xiaojin.

Even if he had learned from his grandfather’s painting, so what? His grandfather had praised his painting skills highly.

Dugu Xiaojin was quite competent in other aspects of the six arts, but his painting skills were not great, lacking guidance from the masters, surely looking ugly.

"Since we’ve compared, let us compare clearly. Present Young Master Dugu and Princess Feng’s masterpieces."

Xiao Junci, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, Dugu Wu had had an affair with Nalan Yan’er, but unexpectedly, he showed no kindness or appreciation for grace, publicly embarrassing her.

As Xiao Junci spoke, Dugu Xiaojin’s painting was also brought in.

In contrast to Dongfang Jin’s colorful, bustling painting, Dugu Xiaojin’s painting caught Xiao Junci off guard with its simplicity.

Is this painted by a child?

The painting used only black and white, ostensibly depicting summer lotus, yet it lacked the vibrancy and flourishing beauty of lotus. A few lotus leaves, moderately thick, were arranged around an unopened lotus bud.

With just a few strokes, it resonated with Xiao Junci’s deep-seated emotions.

"This painting is titled ’Wild Lotus’. When I painted this, I thought of what Father Emperor once said, ’One should be like the lotus, which rises from the mud untainted; the world has many who affect elegance, but few truly embody it, so one should disregard worldly views.’"

Dugu Xiaojin explained.

The hall fell into a dead silence.

Many felt ashamed; the lotus in the painting, wasn’t it just like Dugu Wu?

His military achievements were illustrious, yet he disliked the flattering and sycophantic ways of the court and faced much ostracism, standing alone.

"This painting is indeed splendid."

A clear and bright male voice spoke, the speaker being Li Mubei.

"I don’t understand painting, but Brother Li does; he is a renowned collector of calligraphy and painting, and if he says it’s good, it surely is."

Dongfang Qi looked indifferent, for in his eyes, a painting was but a blot of ink mixed with water.

"Although the painting is good, this poem has tainted it."

Nalan Yan’er scoffed.

She had thought Feng Bailing might come up with a poem that would enhance the painting, but was this it?

Previously, everyone was focused primarily on the painting and had not noticed the few lines of tiny text on it.

"This!"

Upon a closer look, even Dongfang Qi widened his eyes.

"Tender lotus leaves freshly emerge, sharp edged; dragonflies alight on them early."

Weren’t these two lines of poetry the same as what Prince Consort Feng had just inscribed for Dongfang Jin?

"This is clearly plagiarism!"