Hearing these words, Jian Xiu finally turned her attention to the Sleeping Fire Lotus in front of her and started racking her brain for knowledge.

To Mo Shanhua, it looked like she was deep in thought.

But in reality, only Jian Xiu knew what she was truly doing.

She was debating which poem to use. She had too many poems in her mind—if she chose one that was too outstanding, it might arouse suspicion.

But if it was too mediocre, it wouldn’t achieve her goal.

After much consideration, Jian Xiu selected a lesser-known poem and slightly modified it:

“At Xuewen Academy, flowers bloom in splendor,
In youthful years, beauty shines brighter.
Peach and emerald vie for spring’s glory,
Yet the Fire Lotus stands alone in its majesty.
Fragrance drifts through halls of learning,
Dreams awaken by study’s light.
Scholars’ brushstrokes make blossoms vivid,
Ancient charm and modern grace alike we praise.”

This was a poem she had learned in high school, merely refined a little.

She found it quite satisfactory.

However, what she found satisfactory utterly shocked Mo Shanhua.

From the moment he had asked her to compose a poem until now, only a brief moment had passed.

Not to mention, she had been conversing with him the whole time, leaving her no opportunity to think about a poem.

Even if she had not been speaking, composing such a poem in such a short time was enough to earn Mo Shanhua’s admiration.

Most importantly, she was just a countryside woman—possessing such literary talent was truly rare.

“Young lady, this poem… this poem is marvelous… marvelous… marvelous…”

Mo Shanhua repeated “marvelous” three times, his excitement evident.

He was so moved that he even stuttered.

“I’ve made a fool of myself before the headmaster,” Jian Xiu said humbly.

“You are too modest! Even I feel ashamed hearing such a poem,” Mo Shanhua admitted sincerely.

There was no denying it—he was thoroughly impressed by her words.

Hearing such high praise, Jian Xiu couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.

Of course, if she had actually written the poem herself, she would have held her head high.

But she had simply copied and slightly altered it.

Just as Mo Shanhua was about to continue speaking, a voice interrupted:

“Headmaster, we’re done!”

Turning around, Mo Shanhua saw Zhang Feixuan and Zhang Feiyi.

“So soon?” Mo Shanhua asked in disbelief.

Calculating the time, from when he had sent them to paint until now, barely a quarter of an hour had passed.

Wasn’t their speed a little too fast?

He glanced at Jian Xiu, only to find her completely calm.

Clearly, she had anticipated their swift completion.

Which meant—Jian Xiu had already known they would finish so quickly.

Could it be that she also had some unique insight into painting?

At this thought, Mo Shanhua grew even more excited.

If he had initially doubted Jian Xiu’s arithmetic skills, now he had a strong premonition—he might have met someone truly extraordinary today.

And that person was this woman standing before him.

With this in mind, he quickly walked toward the main hall.

Upon entering, his eyes immediately fell on two untouched brushes.

Looking at the inkstone, it was clear that neither had been used.

He recalled that when the two boys had gone behind the screen, their hands had been empty.

Then how had they completed the painting?

With this question in mind, he stepped forward and took the rice paper from their hands.

The moment he saw the artwork, he was stunned.

He had expected a simple landscape painting.

But reality always had a way of surprising people.

Today, this mother and her two sons had given him quite a few shocks.

Because what he held in his hands were two identical portraits, both of the same person, drawn with remarkable precision.

With just one glance, he could tell who the subject was.

Although the brothers had drawn the same person, their distinct styles indicated that each had done their own work.

Mo Shanhua turned to look at Jian Xiu with a complex expression.

This glance left Jian Xiu utterly confused.

Why was he looking at her like that?

“These… these were really drawn by you two?”

After a long silence, Mo Shanhua finally found his voice, his disbelief evident.

Jian Xiu: “…”

She felt like he had just asked a completely pointless question.

If they hadn’t drawn them, then who had?

There were only a few people in the room—if it wasn’t her sons, was he implying that his own grandson had drawn them?

Of course, she would never say that out loud.

Even Mo Shanhua himself stood frozen for a moment, realizing how foolish his question was.

After all, just like Jian Xiu had thought, there was no one else who could have done it.

That being said, his disbelief was understandable.

Even a seasoned artist like himself would struggle to create such lifelike portraits—let alone two six- or seven-year-old children.

The subject of the portraits was none other than Jian Xiu herself.

The two paintings were incredibly vivid, perfectly capturing her aura and unique temperament.

Most astonishingly, the similarity to her real appearance was uncanny.

As the headmaster, Mo Shanhua could hardly believe his eyes upon seeing the paintings.

He had to admit—these were two extraordinary works of art.

Even he couldn’t achieve such realism.

Let alone two young boys who had never attended an academy.

So, his skepticism was only natural.

Zhang Feixuan and Zhang Feiyi, however, responded earnestly:

“Headmaster, we really did draw them ourselves. If you don’t believe us, we can draw another one right now.”

With that, they pulled out the remaining charcoal pencils from their sleeves.

That’s right—their portraits had been drawn using charcoal.

The day before, Jian Xiu had told them that, given their limited time, learning to paint with traditional brushes was unrealistic.

So, she had taught them to use charcoal instead.

“No need,” Mo Shanhua quickly said, feeling guilty. “I apologize for doubting you. The way you captured this portrait suggests that the subject must be someone you are very familiar with. I should not have…”

Before he could finish, however, his words trailed off.

Because the moment he saw the charcoal in their hands, he froze completely.