Calculating eyes watch as I slowly bend down and pick up the painting from the ground. The handmaid had thrown it at my feet. How could the Empress Dowager be made to lay eyes on something so horrendous?

I take a look for myself at the ruined work. Ah, I can no longer make out the serene landscape. Strong, messy ebony strokes have washed over the painting, like stones plunging into a pond formally at ease, its surface no longer glossy and clear as harsh ripples take over the reflective landscape.

There's no time to dwindle over who is responsible. I have no proof to present; this mess is pointed towards me. How do I salvage this situation? The landscape is unrecognizable, and the character it is supposed to represent is distorted in black. There is no erasing. The spilled ink is permanent.

"Concubine Zhao..." the Empress Dowager draws out, "what do you have to say for yourself?"

Lowering my head would induce joy and satisfaction from the harem; it is an admission of defeat.

I lower my head. And bow.

"Forgive me, Empress Dowager, but this painting is not finished." Best to make them think that this ruination is intentional.

"That much is evident, Concubine Zhao" Imperial Noble Consort Li's voice rings through the banquet hall for the first time. A voice that seems part of a distant memory — it is heard so rarely.

She seems genuinely concerned and confused about why I would present an unfinished piece. Or she is just confused as to where I am getting at and is speeding up the process by edging me on.

"I have a good reason."

"Oh?"

"I prepared a live painting show for your majesty."

Honestly, I was just spouting out words. Painting live? How in the world am I to accomplish that? There has to be an element of trickery for an audience to approve that it is a good show.

And I do not know the trickeries of a live painter.

Well, I do not see how else to salvage this situation. I suppose I can only put my skills to the test.

"Concubine Zhao... it is not wise to waste our time, let us move on. The painting is obviously unsalvageable; the ink is permanent," Imperial Noble Consort Li recedes, seeing through my facade, knowing that I am just hanging by the thick of my skin.

"I will be conjuring a new image out of old," I direct a smile and her, refusing to admit defeat. I look at Empress Dowager for approval, and she nods. I turn and walk towards the table that has been set up - center stage.

Ink and brush are waiting for me, neatly and patiently placed, ready to be ruined by my hands.

I dip the point of the brush in ebony ink, pause, my eyes trace the painting, finding the old lines to create the new.

There needs to be a purpose. The intended piece was a mountain landscape with Chinese characters weaving through, wishing the Empress Dowager a long life. The product must be more memorable than the ruined one before me. Or there's no point in putting on this extravagant show.

I suddenly am aware that the ink is unusually thin... ground so thoroughly and meticulously that it's as watery as the ripples of ebony ink that stain the painting.

I dunk the brush further into the ink, the black pool swallowing the white hairs whole.

Gasps amongst the crowd.

What I am about to do will be made into a mockery... but I'm going to do it anyway. You won't know until you try, right? Gosh, my stupidity has reached a new level.

My paint strokes are long, and... well, there's not much to detail. I cover the entire piece with ink. Solid black.

The reaction amongst the crowd is not so great.

"She's losing her mind; she's so desperate."

"Gosh, I know. What is she thinking? Dishonoring the entire art!"

"I'm afraid that she won't sit long on the throne before she ends up found hanged... pity she's not very bright."

Someone snickers. "That is if she isn't dead before she has the opportunity to sit on there."

I calm my breathing, realizing that I'm taking these comments too personally. Just focus on the task at hand.

Something I learned when you don't have a variety of colors at your disposal and only black ink to work with, bringing ink to life requires a new type of... ingenuity.

There's no value scale pre-curated for you, so you have to create it yourself.

I found that if you paint strokes the right amount of distance apart, utilize the shape of the brush to create a variety of lines, layer the right amount of times, create movement with consistent lines in different directions, you create give the image values, and movement and life.

Of course, I have only tried this technique with painting, in other words, creating something out of ink that wasn't already on the canvas.

But now, my entire canvas is covered with ink. I betted everything on this technique working the other way around...

I need something sharp and thin. I reach behind my head and pull out one of my hair ornaments. Unluckily for me, this had to be the ornament that was holding up the bulk of my hair, resulting in the black strands to unravel and tumble down my back.

It is considered unrefined and improper for a woman to have her hair down in front of so many people, especially during such a prestigious and honorable occasion. A plain head of hair is reserved only for resting hours.

And here I am—painting and hiding behind my hair, with hundreds of onlookers.

More gasps and comments meant to sneer at my character are heard and ignored by my ears.

One comment stuck out, though.

"No... it can't be. She's not going to end her life over the embarrassment, is she?"

Horror fills my mind. Is that the consensus amongst the crowd?

I make a show of bringing the sharp accessory as far away from my neck area as possible, angling it towards the working paper.

What scared me was that if I was to do what they think I was about to do... no one tried to stop me. No one cried out or reached out. They just stood there, gasping to themselves.

My life holds no weight nor bears any meaning to anyone here. Not even to him.

Looking ahead at the task at hand, my hand glides across the paper, following the curves and crevices of the underpainting — the original piece. Luckily the top layer applied as I expected. I almost feel bad for wasting such meticulously rendered ink. It is so thin!

I begin using the sharp and bare end of the ornament to scratch away at the ink. Handling the accessory as if it were a brush, imagining white ink in replacement of black ink being applied, I begin to recreate the image with the underpainting as my guide.

I didn't consider how meticulous this process would be. This is a much too boring show.

I put down my tool and stand up, bowing to Empress Dowager.

"I am afraid that I have failed to put on an entertaining show. The process of Art is indeed frustrating, but the final product is what is spectacular and rewarding." My present doesn't have to be the best; I just have to deliver something that looks intentional and without offense. "I welcome any onlookers to keep watching. But please, do not let me halt the celebration."

The Empress Dowager nods, and I sit back down to resume my work.

Music resumes, and the harem begins presenting their presents, followed by the guests. I pay no attention as I am honestly unsure if I will be able to finish this piece on time. I'm working as efficiently as I can. Every once in a while, I look up and find a few eyes still on me and my work. Consort Qin being one of them — she is staring in my direction with hawk eyes, probably on the ready to catch any cheating. If so, the jokes on her. She's going to spend hours practically watching paint dry.

I can't help it when my eyes wander to the Emperor. This unexplainable pull or attraction compels me to him.

He's already looking at me as our eyes meet.

I shake my head out of the clouds and drop my eyes to my work. But for the entire event, I can't shake off the feeling that I know he's watching.

~

A couple of hours later (I assume), the entire hall has finished presenting their presents. There is only one present that wasn't presented finished, and it is now my turn to present the final part.

Luckily, I had finished the piece! Not sure if I can call it a painting anymore. If I had more time, I would have been more careful and paid more attention to the quality of fine lines and details. But I must admit, I did a pretty good job. Overall, I am happy with this new technique that I tried out.

Everyone's heads turn to me, expectingly.

I grab the two opposite sides of the paper and stand up, approaching where the harem sits and stoping at the highest platform.

I bow and hold out the piece, laying flat on my palms.

"Zhao Xiulan wishes the Empress Dowager longevity and a healthy life."

The Empress Dowagers' handmaiden retrieves and rolls it up and instructs two other girls to pull at opposite ends, first revealing to the Empress Dowager and then turns it around to the crowd.

I hear gasps and murmurs. And I think they are mostly positive!

"She inverted the original piece!"

"What is this art form called? It is certainly interesting."

"Who knew you could rework ink to be so meticulous?"

"Concubine Zhao," the Empress Dowager's voice booms. Her voice softens as she continues, "I have never seen this done before. You transformed plainly inked linework into images with life! Pray, where did you learn this technique?"

"Responding to Empress Dowager, before I arrived at the palace, I could not afford paints and only had ink available to paint with. But I wasn't satisfied with the limited capabilities of ink and, through trial and error, found a way to manipulate it to imitate the varieties of color, minus the colorful part."

She nods with a smile on her face, satisfied with the outcome of my contributions to the events this day.

Imperial Nobel Consort Li speaks up, "I wonder, Concubine Zhao, why you didn't present this to us originally, leading us to misunderstand you." Her tone is apologetic.

"Responding to Imperial Nobel Consort Li, the piece is inverted. Black lines are now white lines. So I had to show the original to demonstrate the effects of inversion."

She furrows her eyebrows. "And the ruination of the original?"

I smile. "That was purely for show — to show that you can erase spilled ink, in a way, and confine mess into neat lines. Much more of a dramatic contrast, don't you think?"

I look to Empress Dowager, and she is nodding along to my words.

"Concubine Zhao, I am much in love with this treasure that you have given me; it is unique and found nowhere else. What should I reward you with? Hm... increase your monthly salary to 100 gold taels per month, I will reward you with a family heirloom from the Emperor's maternal side to be delivered to your residence, a set of paints, very precious I must add, there are many pigments that workermen have died for, and...

I promote you to fourth-ranking — Consort Zhao."

~

I don't know if I described the technique very well in my writing. But for any fellow artists out there, the method I was trying to convey is hatching, stippling, scrumbling, (pen techniques) et,c. Except imagine that she is applying it inverted.

For everyone else, basically imagine professionally done scratch art. Honestly, that might've been an easier way to describe it to everyone.

So for example, this:

...But inverted:

Also disclaimer: I have no idea how the currency for ancient China works. So I don't know if a 100 gold taels is too much or too little for the salary of a imperial consort.