At the same time, she knew deep down that the person she had become after crossing over wanted to live a new life, one where she could be a person of justice.

Hearing Jian Xiu’s words, Mo Shanrui was momentarily stunned.

He never imagined that one day he would hear such a thing from a woman.

Even if her words were not entirely true, he was still pleased to hear them as a county magistrate.

After years of being an official, he had never heard such words from any common person.

She said she could contribute her own strength to the court.

How much courage would it take to say such a thing?

Moreover, he had just promised her fifteen taels of silver.

Given her current family situation, Jian Xiu likely understood how important those fifteen taels were to her. He knew that without her saying it.

But despite her circumstances, she could still say such words.

It was clear that she was an extraordinary woman.

After thinking it over, Mo Shanrui asked, “Jian Xiu, are you sure about this?”

His tone carried a clear hint of testing, and Jian Xiu understood.

But what she had said earlier was the truth and came from her heart.

So, without hesitation, she nodded and answered, “Of course, as a citizen of the Great Shun Dynasty, I am very clear on the meaning of what I just said.”

Don’t even mention that this is just a sketch—if it weren’t, she would still help Mo Shanrui to the best of her ability.

“Good, good, good! I really didn’t misjudge you! Hahaha…” Mo Shanrui laughed heartily.

Soon, Ruan Fengsheng really brought in the court’s artist.

The artist, a scholar in his thirties named Liu Huasheng, was surprised when he saw that it was a woman, but he didn’t look down on Jian Xiu.

Instead, he politely addressed her as “Miss.”

Seeing this, Jian Xiu’s impression of him improved. At least he didn’t hold the idea that women were inferior.

Otherwise, she would have been reluctant to teach him.

“Let’s begin!” Jian Xiu said calmly.

“Alright, Miss, please begin!” Liu Huasheng replied courteously.

“I need to explain something to you in advance,” Jian Xiu continued. “While sketching may seem simple, it’s actually quite difficult. It depends on your own understanding. If you can quickly grasp the essence of it, within a few days, you should be able to try sketching on your own. Otherwise, I’m afraid you may never learn it in this lifetime.”

She always made sure to explain things like this before teaching, otherwise, it would be a waste of both parties’ time.

“Of course!” the artist said very politely.

Jian Xiu then handed over the sketches she had completed earlier, saying, “This is what’s called a sketch, and these are the sketches I will be teaching you to draw today. Take a look!”

Liu Huasheng instinctively took the sketches from her hands.

But when he saw the portraits inside, he froze.

If he had thought earlier that the reason the magistrate had asked this woman to teach him was because her skills were already superior to his, he could at least accept it.

But now, seeing the sketches in his hands, his admiration wasn’t enough to describe what he felt.

The drawings in front of him looked as if they were of real people, not just the features clearly outlined, but even the expressions could be seen in the sketches.

Looking at these portraits and comparing them with his own previous attempts, Liu Huasheng wanted to dig a hole and hide in it.

There was simply no comparison between the two.

If he took out this portrait, anyone familiar with the person would instantly recognize it.

But his own sketches?

Compared to this one, they looked like mere rough outlines.

“How is it? Isn’t this sketch perfect for drawing portraits?” Jian Xiu asked as she noticed Liu Huasheng’s stunned expression.

“Is… is this really a drawing?” Liu Huasheng asked reflexively.

As soon as he said it, he realized how foolish it sounded.

The rice paper was already in his hands, so what else could it be but a drawing?

After a moment, Liu Huasheng raised his head, staring blankly at Jian Xiu, his mouth opening and closing, but no words came out.

“Alright, don’t be so surprised. If you study seriously, you’ll be able to produce such sketches yourself in the future,” Jian Xiu said with a smile.

She placed great importance on first impressions. If she found someone pleasant, she wouldn’t feel repulsed, but the opposite was also true.

Liu Huasheng gave her a good first impression, so she could be patient in teaching him.

It didn’t take long for the artist to grasp the key points after Jian Xiu’s explanation.

Meanwhile, Mo Shanrui hadn’t left and was quietly listening to Jian Xiu’s lesson.

In fact, he was also very interested in sketching himself, which provided a good opportunity for him to learn as well.

“Alright, try drawing yourself. You can choose someone you’re familiar with, or when you go home, you can draw based on the appearance of someone you know,” Jian Xiu said, glancing outside.

It seemed to be around noon.

When she left her house earlier, she had brought along some dried bamboo shoots and plantain leaves in the cart.

If nothing unexpected happened, she would need to visit Yuexiang Tower and Renhetang later.

Mo Shanrui noticed Jian Xiu likely still had things to do and understood that this couldn’t be rushed. As she had said, most of it depended on the artist’s own understanding.

The most important thing was that he had already taken up enough of her time.

So, he nodded to Ruan Fengsheng, signaling that it was time to wrap things up.

Ruan Fengsheng understood immediately and headed outside.

Jian Xiu didn’t notice their interaction, but she was genuinely surprised by Liu Huasheng’s talent.

She had only casually given him some pointers, but he had already grasped the essence of it.

At this rate, he would probably be able to sketch the basic outline within seven days.

“Master, this..” Liu Huasheng began, but Mo Shanrui interrupted him before he could finish.

Sure enough, right after this, Ruan Fengsheng came back inside, holding fifteen taels of silver.

“Jian Xiu, here are fifteen taels. This is part of your reward for today, as well as a reward for teaching the sketching technique!” Mo Shanrui said.

In fact, Mo Shanrui had been very tactful in his words.

He could already imagine how many cases this sketching method could solve for the Great Shun Dynasty.

Or how many wanted criminals they could catch with it.