The Seventh Princess Insists on Making Me Live Off Her - Chapter 12

A trace of astonishment flashed through A-You’s eyes. Chen Yu, the Chancellor’s daughter, was far too arrogant.

Although the princess and her consort were indeed married in name only, Chen Yu could gossip about it behind their backs if she wished. Did she truly have to say it directly to their faces?

Chen Yu sneered inwardly. She wanted to see Lian Liejin become so furious that she lost her composure. Better yet, she hoped Lian Liejin would act impulsively and humiliate herself.

“Chen Yu, my affairs are not yours to criticize.”

Gao Jingxi’s phoenix eyes curved slightly, but the smile at the corners of her lips disappeared. In its place emerged the imposing dignity of someone accustomed to standing above others.

“Do not spoil my enjoyment of the paintings.”

“Your Highness, Yu’er was wrong.”

Chen Yu obediently lowered her head, taking on a pitiful and delicate appearance.

“The Princess Consort has always been generous and tolerant. I hope she will not bear a grudge against me because of this.”

Gao Jingxi resumed her usual noble, elegant, and gentle smile.

She had not expected Chen Yu to possess such a sharp tongue. If Lian Liejin argued with her now, it would make Lian Liejin appear narrow-minded and petty.

Still, Gao Jingxi genuinely wanted to see how Lian Liejin would react.

Everyone present began waiting expectantly for her response.

However, after looking around for quite some time, they could not find Lian Liejin anywhere.

“Your Highness, the Princess Consort… She was clearly still here a moment ago.”

“Why are you panicking?”

Gao Jingxi swept her sleeve aside and said calmly,

“The Princess Consort may simply have taken a different path from us.”

A-You nodded and immediately sent several servants to search for Lian Liejin.

Moonview Tower was enormous. Paintings hung on every wall, depicting mountains and rivers, flowers and birds, great waterways, and even beautiful women.

When Chen Yu approached earlier, Lian Liejin had already walked back to the entrance of Moonview Tower alone and instructed a servant from the Princess’s Residence to retrieve Gao Jingxi’s medicine from the Princess Consort’s Residence.

She did not want the princess to continue forcing herself to endure the pain.

However, just as she turned to reenter Moonview Tower, she overheard two burly men saying that the medicinal ink produced by Guanxie Residence was completely ineffective.

For the sake of her pharmacy’s reputation, Lian Liejin stepped forward and cupped her hands.

“Excuse me, brother. Please wait. May I ask what evidence you have for claiming that Guanxie Residence’s ink is inferior?”

The tall, muscular man turned around and saw a slender, elegant young woman smiling as she called out to him.

“Isn’t it obvious? Those paintings were completed only recently, yet their colors have already faded. There must be a problem with the product’s quality.”

To a certain extent, Moonview Tower was a treasure pavilion.

It displayed and auctioned paintings, calligraphy, antiques, and other works created by artists who had signed contracts with the establishment.

Only the finest works were allowed inside, so Moonview Tower’s approval represented an extremely high standard of recognition.

Because Moonview Tower purchased enormous quantities of brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and pigments each year, it supplied the best materials to all its contracted creators.

As a result, Moonview Tower had also become an institution for authenticating and evaluating writing and painting supplies.

Following the direction of the man’s finger, Lian Liejin looked over and curled her lips slightly.

“Those paintings were not made using ink from Guanxie Residence.”

“Hmph! Who do you think you are? Just because you say it wasn’t, does that make it true?”

A fierce expression appeared on the man’s dark face. He had not expected someone to interfere with his scheme.

He had deliberately used inferior ink to create several paintings, then submitted them to Moonview Tower so he could frame Guanxie Residence.

Now that this blind fool Lian Liejin had appeared halfway through his plan, he immediately wanted to drive her away.

The middle-aged man in a blue robe beside him was Steward Liu of Moonview Tower.

He raised a hand slightly to stop the burly man, though his face carried the same contemptuous expression.

“Then may I ask how this young lady intends to prove that the paintings were not created with ink from Guanxie Residence? After all, the original artists have already admitted that they used it.”

Strictly speaking, Guanxie Residence, which Lian Liejin managed, was a pharmacy. Its primary business was selling medicine, though it occasionally released other products.

Its medicinal Four Treasures of the Study had been a seasonal product launched for only one quarter the previous year, so the quantity produced had been limited.

“What could be difficult about that?”

Lian Liejin took a completely black brush from her robes and smiled lazily.

“Allow me to broaden your horizons.”

Thus, when Gao Jingxi and the others received a report from the servants, the attendant replied with a peculiar expression,

“The Princess Consort is already on the third floor…”

Chen Yu’s eyes filled with ridicule.

“The Princess Consort certainly is impatient. Could she have rushed ahead to evaluate Master Wu Zuozi’s masterpiece and secretly memorize a few phrases she believes sound sophisticated?”

However, the moment Gao Jingxi heard where Lian Liejin was, she immediately headed toward the third floor.

Once again, Chen Yu’s mocking words struck nothing but cotton.

When the rest of the group arrived on the third floor, they were all stunned.

Moonview Tower, usually renowned for its quiet elegance, was now as noisy as the theater next door.

“Excellent! The medicinal brushes and ink from Guanxie Residence truly can fill an entire room with fragrance!”

“Hahaha! Steward Liu, once this young lady finishes painting, you may have to compensate her with your entire fortune today!”

A group of refined scholars stood crowded into one corner of the room, completely disregarding their appearances as they applauded and cheered.

Someone even used a table as a drum, accompanying another person’s zither playing. The music they performed was intended to match the movements of the person standing in the center of the room.

Nineteen sheets of white paper had been hung across the northern wall of the third floor.

The black-robed woman holding a brush was none other than Lian Liejin.

Winter sunlight fell across her frost-like profile, while her long black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall.

She appeared to be casually writing and painting across all nineteen sheets, with another brush held between her teeth. She resembled an uninhibited scholar singing while intoxicated.

Every movement flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water.

For a moment, people almost believed she held not a brush, but a sword.

The blank paper before her became a bamboo forest in which she practiced her swordsmanship.

Amid flashes of blades and shadows of swords, every brushstroke became a technique, every line a movement. The brush moved like a dragon and snake, and the force of the writing seemed to penetrate the paper.

As the zither and drumming came to an end, Lian Liejin completed her final stroke.

Without turning around, she tossed the brush behind her.

“In ancient times, lotus flowers bloomed beneath every step. Today, pear blossoms appear beneath every stroke.”

The white sheets contained sketches of beautiful women in various poses.

Most astonishingly, tiny white pear blossoms were embedded throughout the black ink.

Truly, the beauties resembled flowers, while the flowers seemed like dreams.

“As everyone has personally witnessed, the medicinal brushes produced by Guanxie Residence are made from honeysuckle, chrysanthemum, cassia seeds, and other medicinal herbs through a specialized process.”

“Whether used for writing or painting, they allow the user’s brush to bring flowers to life and create unexpected charm. Most wonderfully, their fragrance calms the mind, promotes sleep, and benefits both physical and mental health.”

The painting had taken only two ke.

Yet when everyone looked closely, the women in each of the eighteen portraits appeared so lifelike that it almost seemed as though they might step directly out of the paintings.

“Young lady, you truly possess extraordinary talent.”

Steward Liu stepped forward and cupped his hands.

“This one failed to recognize your ability. The brushes and ink from Guanxie Residence are indeed exceptional, and your painting skill has reached a divine level. I will honor my promise. You may freely choose any item from Moonview Tower’s collection.”

Lian Liejin waved her hand with carefree elegance.

“That will not be necessary. I painted nineteen pictures and wish to take only one of them. Is that acceptable?”

“Of course. These nineteen paintings rightfully belong to you.”

“I see.”

Lian Liejin nodded in sudden understanding, then said in a serious voice,

“In that case, as for the remaining eighteen paintings—”

She turned toward the crowd and smiled slyly.

“One tael for two, two taels for three. Purchase quickly. First come, first served.”

Everyone froze for two seconds before pulling out their silver and surging forward.

A faint smile lingered at the corners of Lian Liejin’s lips as she avoided the crowd.

“Steward Liu, keep the money here for now. I will return to collect it another day.”

A light breeze slipped through the gap in a window that had not been fully closed, lifting the loose strands of hair beside Lian Liejin’s forehead—

She stood there in the full splendor of youthful confidence, open and bright as a clear sky after rain. High within the tower, she swept her brush across the paper, painting freely with graceful hands and expressing exactly what lay within her heart.

At that moment, she happened to notice Gao Jingxi standing five steps away.

“Your Highness, this humble subject dares to present this painting to you.”

Lian Liejin walked toward Gao Jingxi and offered her the rolled painting in her hands.

A-You accepted the scroll with both hands and opened it.

“How do you possess something from Guanxie Residence?”

Gao Jingxi had almost no interest in admiring the painting. Instead, she stared sharply at Lian Liejin, her gaze blazing.

“Hmm? I took it directly from there.”

Noticing Gao Jingxi’s unusual expression, Lian Liejin wondered whether the princess also believed that Guanxie Residence’s medicines and other products had quality problems.

Seeing that Gao Jingxi intended to continue questioning her, A-You hurriedly stepped forward.

“Your Highness, it is already time. The Poetry and Literature Gathering is about to begin.”

Those words brought Gao Jingxi back to her senses.

She looked at Lian Liejin with a complicated expression and temporarily buried her suspicions.

She could only question her carefully after today’s events were over.

Chen Yu and Feng Zhi stood to one side with extremely awkward expressions.

Chen Yu in particular looked as though flames might burst from her eyes.

They had never expected this pretty-faced Princess Consort to attract so much attention again today—and even allow the princess to witness it personally.

Their expressions were almost identical to that of the burly man who had framed Guanxie Residence earlier.

The man was now slipping away from the third floor in disgrace.

Lian Liejin’s eyes curved slightly as she memorized his appearance. Outwardly, however, she merely smiled and let the matter pass.

Youlan Waterside Pavilion, where the Poetry and Literature Gathering was being held, was only a short tea’s journey from Moonview Tower.

When Lian Liejin slowly emerged from the building, the wind and snow were extremely heavy. Heaven and earth had become a vast expanse of white, and the road ahead was almost impossible to see.

“Little Sister, you came as well.”

A weak voice sounded from ahead of Lian Liejin.

The approaching woman had gentle features and a mild, courteous manner. She looked so frail that her clothes nearly seemed too heavy for her.

She was Lian Liejin’s elder sister, the eldest daughter of the Lian family—Lian Pingyou.

Although Lian Liejin was the legitimate daughter, seniority still mattered.

No matter how little affection she had for the Lian family, she still had to bow properly.

“Elder Sister, why are you here? I thought you were supposed to participate in the Poetry and Literature Gathering.”

Lian Pingyou spoke slowly, her expression gentle.

“I heard that Her Highness the Princess came to Moonview Tower, so I came here from Youlan Waterside Pavilion.”

“Her Highness is about to leave for Youlan Waterside Pavilion. Elder Sister arrived too late.”

“Then where is Her Highness?”

In her anxiety, Lian Pingyou nearly lost her composure.

“She just boarded the carriage.”

Compared with Lian Pingyou, Lian Liejin appeared much more unruly and proud. Even her peach-blossom eyes could not conceal the distance in her expression.

“I missed her. I missed her again…”

Lian Pingyou murmured, her expression filled with indescribable loneliness.

Ignoring Lian Liejin, she turned and walked back in a daze.

Lian Liejin narrowed her eyes.

She had previously heard that her elder sister had long harbored feelings for the princess, but she had not believed it.

After seeing Lian Pingyou’s behavior today, however, she refused to believe the rumors were entirely baseless.

“Princess Consort, why have you still not come to the carriage?”

After helping Gao Jingxi inside, A-You shouted toward Lian Liejin from a distance.

Because the journey was so short, they had barely settled inside the carriage before arriving at Youlan Waterside Pavilion.

After stepping down, Gao Jingxi coughed lightly and sighed.

“I will go change my clothes first. Princess Consort, wait for me in the banquet hall.”

The moment Lian Liejin entered Youlan Waterside Pavilion, a young maid stepped forward to guide her.

The path was lined with carved railings and painted buildings, along with jade sculptures of coiling dragons and hornless chi dragons. Every detail was exquisitely carved, creating an atmosphere of unsurpassed magnificence.

However, the maid led Lian Liejin around for a long time without ever reaching the proper path.

Even someone slow-witted would have realized that the maid was deliberately taking her in circles.

Lian Liejin therefore decided to find her own way.

Inside the banquet hall, Gao Jingxi had already changed into a bright-red brocade robe embroidered with cloud patterns.

She reclined on a fur-covered reed mat, holding a jade cup filled with fine wine and gently swirling it. The liquor inside reflected a mesmerizing glow.

Seated in the first row below her were none other than the Fifth Imperial Princess, Gao Qing, and the First Imperial Prince, Gao Hu.

In a brazier beside the hall, pine, cypress, and orchid grasses were burning, releasing a refreshing fragrance.

Lian Pingyou was about to approach Gao Jingxi and begin a conversation.

Unexpectedly, Gao Jingxi immediately noticed Lian Liejin entering from outside.

She smiled seductively.

“Princess Consort, come to my side.”