Volume 1, Chapter 27: Crown Princess, You Look Stunning Tonight!

The palace attendants swiftly arranged dozens of drawing desks across the courtyard, fully equipped with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. The noble ladies each chose their spots and began to concentrate on their compositions.

The theme, "Spring Scenery at the Frontier," proved difficult for most. Racking their brains, they could only manage to paint ordinary spring scenes, awkwardly adding one or two mountain passes or watchtowers in the corners to satisfy the prompt, resulting in forced and intentional-looking works.

Song Qingwan pondered for a moment before setting her brush to paper. She painted a caravan traversing the ancient road of Yangguan under the warm sun of early spring. With tender, newly sprouted greens by the roadside, the composition was clever and held a profound artistic conception, drawing many appreciative gazes.

Zhao Yurou, meanwhile, painted "Zhaojun Departing the Frontier." It featured a beauty in red, clutching a pipa, looking back at her homeland amidst a sky filled with wind and sand. Although slightly detached from the "spring" theme, the brushwork was exquisite and the figures vivid, making it equally remarkable. As she painted, she cast provocative glances toward Xiao Ningshuang.

At this moment, the focus of the entire courtyard shifted to Xiao Ningshuang’s desk.

She stood silently, not immediately picking up her brush. She merely closed her eyes, as if recalling something.

Those distant memories surged into her heart like a tide.

The wind of the Northern Frontier remained piercing, but when the ice and snow melted, there was the first touch of green emerging from the cracks in the rocks; the unknown little purple flowers blooming in spring upon the mottled city walls that had stood for millennia against the wind and snow; and the bloodstains and dust on her father and brother's battle robes, dried by the warm spring sun...

Spring there had no gentle orioles or swallows as in the south, nor the brilliant flowers of the capital. Spring there was desolate, resilient, and carried the scent of blood and fire.

She opened her eyes abruptly, a clarity shining within them.

She picked up her brush, dipped it in ink, and without the slightest hesitation, her hand moved like a dragon or a snake.

She did not paint mountain passes, nor soldiers, nor any concrete "spring scenery."

Beneath her brush, there was only a mountain—a craggy, black rock face that looked as if it had been hewn by knives and axes. Atop the rock, an ancient plum tree with gnarled, twisting branches, like a dragon or a python, blossomed with a tree full of red plum flowers in the biting wind. The red was as vivid as blood, as fire, like an inextinguishable battle flag in the dark of night.

In the corner of the scroll, using a very faint ink wash, she depicted a patch of melting snow. Within the snowmelt, one could vaguely see a touch of tender green—a nameless blade of grass, tenaciously pushing its head out.

The entire painting featured a simple composition and vigorous brushstrokes; the four colors of black, white, red, and green contrasted sharply, filled with intense visual impact. A sense of desolation, tragedy, and an unceasing, iron-blooded spirit rushed toward the viewer.

Just as she was about to complete the painting and add her inscription, an unexpected turn occurred.

Zhao Yurou, holding a cup of tea, walked behind her as if inadvertently. Suddenly, she "stumbled," let out a cry of surprise, and the entire person, along with the teacup in her hand, tipped toward Xiao Ningshuang’s desk.

If that cup of hot tea were to splash onto the painting, this "Plum Blossoms Proudly Facing the Snow" would be ruined in an instant!

"Watch out!" someone nearby exclaimed.

A smug, cold sneer already curled the corner of Li Zhan’s mouth.

However, in that split second, a figure reacted faster than anyone else.

Li Xuan had already left his seat; appearing as if he had lost his footing, he stumbled and collided with Zhao Yurou at the perfect moment.

"Ouch!" Struck by him, Zhao Yurou lost her balance instantly. The teacup flew from her hand, but instead of splashing onto the scroll, it hit the ground with a "clatter" three steps away from the desk, shattering into pieces.

"Miss Zhao, why are you so careless when you walk?" Li Xuan stood steady, looking at her with an expression of "concern," his tone laced with amusement. "If you had scalded the Crown Princess or ruined her painting, would you have been able to bear the consequences?"

Zhao Yurou’s face turned from pale to green. She had not expected Li Xuan to react so quickly, nor had she expected him to resolve the situation in such a manner. She stammered, unable to speak: "I... I didn't mean to..."

"It is good that you didn't mean to." Li Xuan smiled and stopped looking at her, turning instead to Xiao Ningshuang. His eyes landed on her painting, filled with amazement and admiration.

"A magnificent painting!" he praised sincerely. "With an iron backbone and proud spirit, braving the snow and frost. This is the true spring scenery of the frontier!"

Xiao Ningshuang looked at him, and a wave of warmth surged in her heart. The danger of that moment and his unreserved praise now sent ripples through her previously calm, lake-like heart.

Soon, the judging began.

When Xiao Ningshuang’s painting was presented on the dragon platform, the entire courtyard fell silent.

Li Chengye gazed at the painting for a long time without speaking. He seemed to see the wind and snow of the Northern Frontier, and the unyielding spines of the soldiers defending the country.

"Good! A truly magnificent 'iron backbone and proud spirit'!" The Emperor slapped the armrest of his throne, praising loudly, "This is the spring of our Great Zhou! Resilient and unceasing! Reward her!"

General Xiao Yuan was even more moved, his eyes brimming with tears. His daughter’s painting had captured the soul passed down through generations of the Xiao family!

In this round, Xiao Ningshuang won another victory with an absolute advantage.

Zhao Yurou was so angry her face turned livid, and Li Zhan’s expression was so dark it seemed as if ink could drip from it.

Following this, the third round, the musical competition, began.

This time, everyone felt that Xiao Ningshuang’s luck had run out. Painting might rely on artistic conception, but playing the zither required real, solid childhood training. What kind of decent melody could a woman raised in a military camp possibly play?

Song Qingwan was the first to take the stage. She sat gracefully before the ancient zither, her delicate hands raised, and a melody of "Night on the Spring River by the Flower Moon" poured forth like flowing water. The notes were clear and melodious, filled with poetic charm, transporting everyone present into a tranquil and beautiful night. When the song ended, she raised her eyes and gazed at Li Xuan with profound affection; the thousand words in her eyes made even Li Xuan feel a hint of discomfort.

The courtyard erupted in applause, and even the Emperor nodded in praise: "As expected of the capital’s number one talented woman; such music belongs only in the heavens."

The performances of the few noble ladies who followed seemed dim in comparison.

Finally, it was Xiao Ningshuang’s turn.

Amidst the gazes of those who were sympathetic or waiting to see a show, she slowly walked onto the stage and sat before the zither.

Li Zhan lifted his wine cup, preparing to enjoy the sight of her making a fool of herself in public.

Xiao Ningshuang took a deep breath and pressed her hands onto the strings. She closed her eyes, and what appeared in her mind was not small bridges and flowing water, nor romantic moonlight, but the clash of metal and horses, the thunderous gallop of thousands of troops, and the chilling aura of two armies facing off!

"Zheng—!"

A sharp, urgent note, like a sword unsheathed, instantly pierced the gentle atmosphere of the scene.

Everyone was shocked.

Immediately following, a rapid, murderous melody rang out like a violent storm! She was not playing some refined, dainty tune, but the famous ancient masterpiece—"Ambush from Ten Sides!"

Her fingering might not have been as skillful and soft as Song Qingwan’s; it was even a bit raw and rugged. But every note she struck was filled with power! The music was at times like armored cavalry charging, the clash of weapons ringing out; at times like the sound of war drums and horns, with the cries of men and horses; and at times like hidden soldiers emerging from all sides, the air thick with the spirit of slaughter!

All the civil officials and ladies present felt their hearts race, as if they were standing on a brutal battlefield. Yet the martial generals, such as Xiao Yuan, felt their blood boil with excitement!

They did not hear mere music; they heard the soul of war!

As the song ended, Xiao Ningshuang pressed down on the strings, and the entire courtyard fell into a deathly silence.

She stood up, performed a standard military salute to the Emperor on the dragon platform, her voice clear and resonant, echoing throughout the courtyard: "Your daughter-in-law was raised on the frontier since childhood. I do not understand soft, decadent music; I only know the affairs of the nation. I dedicate this piece to all the soldiers who guard our Great Zhou’s borders!"

"Good!"

Someone shouted first, and then all the martial generals stood up, breaking into thunderous applause!

Li Chengye looked at the daughter-in-law standing tall with a resolute gaze, his heart filled with overwhelming shock. For the first time, he realized that this woman, who seemed as cold as frost, harbored such a fiery soul within her body.

He laughed heartily: "A magnificent 'I do not understand decadent music; I only know the affairs of the nation'! The Crown Princess has the world in her heart and is a model for the daughters-in-law of our imperial family! Reward her handsomely!"

The wine cup in Li Zhan’s hand shattered with a "pop" as he crushed it. Wine and blood mingled, dripping through his fingers, yet he felt nothing.

He had lost, and he had lost thoroughly. The stage he had painstakingly designed had instead become the backdrop for Xiao Ningshuang to shine brilliantly.

Xiao Ningshuang walked off the stage and returned to Li Xuan’s side.

Li Xuan looked at her, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration and pride.

He leaned toward her ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Crown Princess, you were truly... incredibly cool tonight."

This modern-style compliment made Xiao Ningshuang’s heart tremble. She looked up, meeting his astonishingly bright eyes, and a charming crimson flush bloomed upon her cheeks.

Under the lamplight, their eyes met.

The "Alliance of Ice and Fire" between them seemed, at this moment, to be forged into something entirely different by the stirring music and the fervent gazes.

Next came the final round, the most crucial one—the poetry duel.

A much greater storm was brewing.