Chapter 189: A Stroke of Genius

‘He is the youngest son of the prime minister of Nan Jiang and his legal wife, and he is also the brother-in-law of their prince. Every soldier who has defended the border between us and Nan Jiang knows about him!’ Yuan Fangfei said softly.

Murong Xue nodded and understood. Such noble status certainly made him qualified for the emissary of Nan Jiang!

‘I also heard that he is an eccentric of uncertain temper, and he slaughters without blinking his eyelids.’ Yuan lowered her voice in a mysterious manner, and her eyes gleamed with fear.

Murong Xue smiled and thought, the aura surrounding Cang Qiong suggests an evil rendering. Anyone can see with half an eye that he was born from darkness. Ferocity is in that kind of people’s nature. So how can he ever be good-tempered?

The Emperor in his golden chair looked down at Cang Qiong in a condescending manner and asked indifferently, ‘ What are you here for, Cang Qiong?’

‘I was entrusted with our Emperor’s mission to present our gift to the Emperor of Qingyan Kingdom.’ Cang Xiong smiled in a mysterious and creepy way.

‘A gift?’ The Emperor’s stare was intense. The war between Nan Jiang and Qingyan Kingdom broke out, and ended in great losses suffered by Nan Jiang. The intense hatred harbored by their emperor would not allow their gift to be anything good.

He looked up at Cang Qiong, who took out a scroll and rapidly tore it open, in which a picture was gently unfolded before everyone’s eyes. On the paper there was a golden dragon with five claws. Its eyes were bright, its beard was long and its claws were sharp, looking powerful and mighty.

However , only half of the dragon’s body was painted, and the other half was blank, as if it had been smashed by something.

The dragon represents the royal prerogative. Cang Qiong’s intention for the Emperor’s disability and early death was exposed thoroughly by giving a mutilated dragon to him as a gift.

Minister Du, who sat at the end of the table rolled his eyes and rose to his feet, ‘ How dare you, Cang Qiong, disrespect our emperor!’

He was the first to scold Cang Qiong, so the emperor would remember him. And he felt certain that when everything is settled, he would be rewarded according to his merits.

Regardless of the angry reprimands that drilled into his eardrum, and hit his heart directly, Cang Qiong took a casual glance at Minister Du and responded in an unhurried way,’ Please explain in detail how I was disrespectful to your Emperor.’

‘This mutilated dragon you drew is a dead giveaway for your disrespect and evil intentions!” Pointing at the dragon on the picture, Minister Du angrily rebuked him in a harsh voice.

‘ This is clearly a powerful five-claw golden dragon, a gift to wish your Emperor’s health. What makes you think it’s mutilated?’ Cang Qiong stared at him up and down with contempt in his eyes. ‘ But we can’t blame you for misjudging. After all, it’s inevitable for a man at your age to get dim-sighted.’

‘Old fellows like you can hardly contribute much in the imperial court. You should retire, return to your native place and give up your position to a young and talented person. But you are still stubbornly holding onto it. Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at?’

‘How dare you!’ Minister Du pointed at Cang Qiong, whose words had rendered him speechless. What a crafty bastard! He was clearly on the right side, but not only did he fail to teach Cang a good lesson, on the contrary, he was the one being ridiculed. Damn!

He pushed himself forward as the first to scold Cang Qiong, drawing the attention of the Emperor as well as all civil and military ministers. But now he failed, and the emperor must be extremely disappointed with him for the shame and irony he brought about.

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Cang Qiong claimed that the full body of that dragon was included in his picture, so if he hold onto the former excuse, he would definitely be despised to a greater extent. So what kind of a pretext can he use to beat Cang at his own game and win the Emperor’s favour back?

Su Nanxiang stood beside the platform and stared at the scroll with her eyes slightly narrowed up: the scroll was mounted merely with Chinese art paper without gimmicks, so indeed only half the body of a dragon was contained therein.

Cang Qiong insisted that the full body of that dragon was included. So as long as she can complete the golden dragon and make the painting perfect immediately, not only Cang’s arrogance would be restrained, but also the dignity of our kingdom would be maintained. And the emperor’s face would therefore light up with pleasure.

However, judging by the color and texture of the picture, it must have been done for a long period of time. No matter how skillful she is or how light-colored her inkling is, nothing drawn by her would ever match the upper part of the body. Any sort of inappropriate match would destroy its beauty and harmony, and in that case, instead of showing her skills, she would be embarrassing herself.

The haughty glance of Cang Qiong swept over ministers, generals and celebrities as he raised his voice, ‘Who else thinks this painting only includes half the dragon body or represents misfortune? Please, come forward and testify!’

The defiant look on his face was responded with the Emperor’s piercing stare, which lasted briefly before disappearing.

Su Nanxiang rolled her eyes anxiously, but no solution could find its way through her chaotic thoughts.

Ouyang Shaochen sips leisurely from the wine glass in his hand with a distant look, as if nothing could bother him, not even the collapse of the sky.

The civil and military ministers looked at one another in dismay, shook their heads and sighed. The deep frown on their faces showed that none of them had figured out a solution.

Cang Qiong looked about at the silent crowd on the square with obvious mockery in his eyes,’ Now that no one thinks there’s anything wrong with this painting, I’m presenting it as our gift to your Emperor, ha ha ha!’

Cang Qiong laughed triumphantly, and out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a girl slowly come over with a brush in her hand. She gently made a simple mark and said in a clear voice,’ Thank you for your gift. Our Emperor will surely love this magnificent painting with auspicious signs.’

The laughter of Cang Qiong stopped abruptly as he looked down. A mountain of simplicity appeared under the body of the golden dragon. From afar, it looked like a golden dragon flying in the mountain stream, with half of its body covered by the mountains.

‘A dragon soaring in the clouds! Its implication is indeed propitious and exquisite!’ Minister Xie swept his admiring gaze over Murong Xue, and made no effort to hide the mockery of Cang Qiong, ‘Yes indeed, thank you, honorable Cang Qiong, for this valuable gift!’

‘We really appreciate the Emperor of Nan Jiang and Cang Qiong’s solicitude towards our Emperor!’

‘It’s not the stroll that counts, but the thoughts behind it!’

‘We are grateful for your benedictions. Our Emperor will certainly live to a healthy and ripe old age as you wish.’

Satire coming from civil and military ministers mercilessly took over his breath. Cang Qiong’s face was as black as thunder, he narrowed his eyes and turned to Murong Xue,’ Who are you?’

A young girl raised in her boudoir ruined days of his painstaking efforts and defeated his purpose merely with a brushstroke. How abominable!

Murong Xue glanced at him and said coldly, ‘A girl from Qingyan Kingdom!’

‘What I am asking is your name!’ She was the first person in the entire world who had iron nerves to destroy his painting, and he would never let her go easily.