Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 666 - 502 How can such a painting have a soul?

Chapter 666: Chapter 502 How can such a painting have a soul?

In comparison to the absolutely beautiful woman in the painting, the Qionghua seems to fall short by quite a bit.

Not to mention that white has filled the middle of Qionghua, and the light ink outlining the edges is somewhat overly simplistic.

Lu Chen pondered silently, has this painting been ruined? Could it be that Gu Chengyu is only good at painting people and not adept at portraying flora?

But if he wasn’t skilled in it, why would the entire painting be composed with Qionghua? Does Gu Chengyu not know how to capitalize on strengths and avoid weaknesses?

Gu Chengyu put down the brush in his hand, waiting for the paint on the painting to dry completely.

"Mr. Gu, is the painting done? Quickly let everyone appreciate it a bit."

Qin Min, seeing Gu Chengyu put down his brush, assumed that Gu Chengyu had finished painting.

"Since Mr. Gu has finished painting, let everyone have an eyeful."

Min Feng, having watched Gu Chengyu paint for such a long time, also wanted to know exactly how high Gu Chengyu’s skill in danqing was.

Since Princess Rong Jia finished dancing, it had already been about half an incense stick’s time, and the women had been waiting for Gu Chengyu’s painting.

Because the painting hadn’t dried yet, Qin Min and the others didn’t move, everyone gathered to prepare to feast their eyes.

Upon seeing the woman in the painting, everyone was deeply shocked.

"The woman in Mr. Gu’s painting seems like a celestial fairy, unforgettable upon sight!" sighed a young lord.

Qin Min also took a closer look, and couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

Is this woman his sister? How had he not noticed before that his sister had such celestial charm?

Although her face was veiled, just from looking at the woman’s eyebrows and eyes, one could imagine how beautiful she must be. Not seeing the face only made it more breathtaking.

Qin Min certainly knew his sister was beautiful, but seeing her often made it seem ordinary to him.

Moreover, his sister wasn’t the gentle type; if there were others around, she would know to restrain herself a bit.

But in front of him, her brother, she never concealed her true temperament.

"Huh? These eyebrows and eyes seem familiar!" Zhou Yuewei also came forward to look at the painting. He had seen Princess Rong Jia, and the woman in the painting’s eyes and eyebrows greatly resembled the princess. However, there was a different degree of familiarity.

"This does look somewhat like Heir Qin!" Shao Lin also came over, not having seen the princess, yet his words woke up the dreamer.

"Oh! No wonder it feels so familiar, it really does resemble," Zhou Yuewei suddenly realized, no wonder it felt so familiar to him.

Gu Chengyu felt a bit embarrassed. Could it be that the princess’s eyes and eyebrows didn’t resemble Qin Min’s? This was somewhat awkward.

But he didn’t paint entirely according to Qin Min’s brows and eyes. Earlier, he had seen the princess’s eyes and brows too; though they were somewhat blurry, he incorporated them into the painting.

"I haven’t seen the princess and don’t know what she looks like; I’ve heard people say she resembles Heir Qin. Thus, it was inevitable to be somewhat biased when painting."

Gu Chengyu felt a bit helpless about this too. With only a vague impression, and the princess constantly dancing, he hadn’t the chance to observe her appearance.

"Cough! No, Mr. Gu painted exceptionally well. This is indeed the appearance of my sister. My sister resembles me closely; truly, today must have been difficult for Mr. Gu." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The meaning in Qin Min’s words was clear to everyone: seeing no one, yet asking someone to paint - it was indeed a tall order.

Min Feng stepped forward for a closer look. The woman in the painting was indeed impeccable, but what drew his attention wasn’t the woman.

"This Qionghua?" Everyone was originally admiring the woman in the painting, yet suddenly Min Feng brought up the Qionghua.

Everyone fell silent, actually too embarrassed to mention it. Needless to say, the woman in the painting was painted to a level not inferior to those in the danqing realm.

But compared to the woman, the Qionghua was far inferior, a flaw in the painting yet taking up more than half its space.

Princess Rong Jia had initially been thrilled upon hearing that Gu Chengyu’s painting turned out excellently.

But before long, she heard someone mention the Qionghua; could there be a flaw in the painting?

"Cough! Mr. Gu might excel at portraits, while the flora..."

Yu Ting stifled a laugh, appearing as if explaining for Gu Chengyu, though the unspoken meaning was clear to everyone.

"Oh! The Qionghua hasn’t been finished yet." Gu Chengyu was initially waiting for the paint to dry completely, otherwise, if the paint were to smudge, wouldn’t all earlier efforts be wasted?

"Oh? Jinyu, you’ve already outlined the Qionghua, what more do you intend to add?"

Lu Chen was very curious since it seemed unnecessary already; was Gu Chengyu trying to gild the lily?

Gu Chengyu only gave a slight smile, estimating the paint had dried, he turned the rice paper over to a new side.

The people were even more intrigued by Gu Chengyu’s actions, could it be he intended to paint on the reverse side?

Gu Chengyu dipped his brush in azurite and touched it onto the rice paper.

He planned to use azurite on the back of the Qionghua to set off the whiteness of the Qionghua. This technique easily rendered paintings stiff, needing exceptional skill.

Otherwise, the painting would have been ruined by him, and excessive craftsmanship would fall to a lower tier.

Qin Min somewhat understood, he seemed to grasp Gu Chengyu’s intention.

The spots where Gu Chengyu put his brush precisely matched Qionghua’s petals, suggesting a new painting technique; the effect of which remained unknown.

Qin Min could see it; naturally, others weren’t fools either.

But they hadn’t seen this kind of technique before, naturally finding it astonishing.

"Could Mr. Gu be pioneering a new painting technique? Please forgive my ignorance, I’ve never seen this before."

Zhou Yuewei also shook his head, "Neither have I seen it; perhaps it’s a new technique developed by Mr. Gu himself. We need only to wait and see; today should truly broaden our knowledge."

Yu Ting gave a cold snort, hoping it wasn’t just Gu Chengyu playing tricks.

The entire painting was five feet long; it didn’t take long for Gu Chengyu to complete it. He couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief; the painting had cost him considerable effort.

Originally, he could have chosen pale yellow rice paper for depicting Qionghua, making the white flowers easier to illustrate.

But Gu Chengyu opted for white rice paper to give the painting more impact.

Besides, Princess Rong Jia was wearing a bean green dress; using pale yellow would have greatly detracted from the character effects in the painting.

Gu Chengyu’s principle has always been that if he was going to paint, he should strive to paint it well. Painting on pale yellow rice paper was too stiff, not infusing the painting with any soul.

"Jinyu, what painting technique is this?" Zhu Pang, visiting Gu Mansion to see Gu Chengyu, had indeed seen Gu Chengyu painting a few times, but had never seen this technique.

"To paint a white Qionghua, typically there are two painting methods - one being light ink outlining, and the other using colored rice paper. However, I’m not proficient in these two methods, so I used another painting method I read in books, using azurite on the back to set off the white of the Qionghua,"

In fact, Gu Chengyu was being modest. Light ink outlining was a fundamental skill, as it had been taught during earlier painting lessons with his teacher, especially methods for painting white plum blossoms.

As for using pale yellow rice paper, he rarely used it, since each thing has different colors and spirits, and some aren’t suitable for pale yellow rice paper.