The Tyrant's Beloved Empress

27

Carrying the painting back to the main room, An Chang Qing wandered around to find a good spot to hang it. Xiao Zhige followed behind him and frowned, "This painting's not good. Let's hang the next one."

"I think it's pretty good." An Chang Qing held the scroll up to an empty stretch of wall and said, "And after you've drawn the next one, we can always hang that here as well." Having said so, he had someone come in to hang up the scroll.

"Too bad I don't know how to draw," An Chang Qing said as he directed the servant to the right position to hang the scroll, "Or else, I could draw a portrait of Wangye and hang our pictures together. Or we can find a painter to draw the two of us."

Watching An Chang Qing speak with glee, Xiao Zhige's eyes flickered when he heard his words.

After re-adjusting the scroll's position on the wall several times, An Chang Qing was finally satisfied and told Anfu to serve him and Xiao Zhige tea.

"Did Wangye learn to draw before?" An Chang Qing looked at the habitually quiet man and asked curiously because, adding up two lifetimes, he found that he knew not much about his husband. Take this for example, in his previous life, he had never seen Xiao Zhige draw with a brush. Those rough hands always looked like they were born to wield only weapons; him holding a brush was quite unimaginable.

"I learned it when I was little," Xiao Zhige looked down and said faintly.

Although he was spurned by the Emperor, Xiao Zhige could still attend classes with the other princes. The first Emperor of Da Ye was said to have been Heaven's favored son. He was a wise monarch gifted with both literary and martial skills. As his descendants, it was mandatory for the princes to not disgrace themselves by way of ignorance. In addition to the necessary teachings, they also had to be familiar with playing the qin, chess, calligraphy and painting on top of practicing martial arts.

When he was young and naive, he only knew that his father was not fond of his mother and him but not the reason. After seeing his elder brother being praised for his excellent academics, he did his best to learn, all for the hope that his father would come to visit them. Unfortunately, he did not have the aptitude for these literary pursuits and did not gain a single compliment even after pouring his heart out.

After his mother passed away, he grew to be more sensible, no longer yearning for meaningless attention and focused his efforts on learning the art of war and training his body.

Xiao Zhige did not want to cause An Chang Qing unnecessary grief and simply said, "All the princes had to learn."

An Chang Qing was indeed spared the heartache. He continued to inquire happily, "What else does Wangye know?"

"Chess, music, painting. A little of everything, nothing extensive."

It was surprising that the brutish Northern Warlord knew these scholarly skills. An Chang Qing was further convinced that he knew too little about Xiao Zhige. And the more he knew, the more he felt that the man was like a piece of raw jadeite. The surface may have seemed rough and dull but with each layer being polished off, it revealed a stunningly priceless piece of jade.

"As for me, I don't know anything," An Chang Qing made a sulking look and said with melancholy, "Other than having done a lot of reading, I don't know anything else. Will Wangye be displeased with me?"

The An family's teachings only revolved around the eight-part essay for their main purpose had always been to prevail in the Imperial Exams. If they had wanted to learn something else, a teacher would be invited to personally coach them. However, as an unfavored son, An Chang Qing did not even have the privilege to study in the family classroom, much less have a personal tutor.