Chapter 42: Came to Understand (1)

As the discussion continued, the examiner on the stage had already shown the painting to everyone to show the fairness of the outcome.

Fan Liu’er and Zhao Yan’s paintings were the same kind. They were both scenes of autumn chrysanthemums blooming in the garden. To be honest, they were quite beautiful. It was just that they were too mediocre, so they naturally couldn’t get first place.

Qin Qing, on the other hand, drew a large rose arey. This was probably a kind of chrysanthemum that she was most familiar with. In the painting, there was only this chrysanthemum flower, and it was vivid and lifelike. However, the test was not only about painting skills, but also about the message the painting conveyed. Therefore, no matter how beautiful this chrysanthemum was, it was only ranked third.

Soon, it was Shen Yue’s turn. Shen Yue bit her lip and sat beside Chen Ruoqiu. She barely maintained a smile on her face, but her fists were clenched tightly. Normally, she would be smiling, accepting everyone’s sincere praise. But now, with a second place, she felt like the looks people threw at her were filled with mockery.

Shen Yue painted a withered chrysanthemum. In the wind and rain, many of the chrysanthemum petals had fallen, but the remaining ones were still firmly attached to the branches. They were upright, like a king who refused to surrender to the army.

This message the painting was trying to convey was high and lofty. Generally speaking, from the painting, one could tell that the painter had a similar quality. The examiners liked such a talented and noble student the most. If Shen Yue couldn’t even get first place in this painting, it was really impossible to imagine what Shen Miao had drawn.

“Why did such a beautiful painting only get second place?” Bai Wei exclaimed. “I really don’t understand.”

Chen Ruoqiu was also puzzled. At first, she thought that Shen Yue was a little nervous today and didn’t paint well. Unexpectedly, as soon as the painting was shown, she knew that her daughter had given her best shot. Just like the tests in the past, she was indeed a top-tier painter.

The examiner on the stage ordered the two assistants to open Shen Miao’s painting, and the commotion stopped.

The paper was very big, and Shen Miao left a lot of it untouched. Her painting skills were not outstanding, so she only drew a distant scene, but it looked very grand.

In the painting, there was sand and a blood-colored sun. A broken sword was standing in the yellow soil, and under the sword was a white chrysanthemum.

In this painting, the chrysanthemum seemed to be just a decoration. It was so small that even the petals could not be seen.

Everyone present was silent for a moment. Through the pen and paper, they seemed to be able to feel the desolation and misery as well as an useless struggle the painter tried to convey through the single chrysanthemum.

That was war.

Chen Ruoqiu and Shen Yue trembled at the same time. After seeing what was drawn on the painting, they knew that there was no way to turn the situation around.

Shen Yue’s painting was indeed interesting and elegant, unlike the mediocre ones. However, Shen Miao’s painting was completely different in that it was associated with something much grander than a chrysanthemum. It was associated with war and a nation.