Chapter 136 Sensation

Early in the morning, facing the first ray of the rising sun, Motun stepped into the Imperial College.

Recently, in order to paint the portraits for the Lingyan Pavilion, Motun had taken quite a few leaves of absence, making Qin Huaiyu and the others green with envy. Even Motun himself felt he had missed far too many classes; if he didn't show up again, Kong Yingda would probably blow his lid!

Therefore, upon finishing the portrait of Yin Kaishan, the Marquis of Xun Jie, Motun automatically assumed his task was complete and conscientiously made his way to the Imperial College. As for the portraits of the other three households, whoever wanted to paint them could go ahead; Motun was not magnanimous enough to personally visit those who had humiliated him just to offer his services.

As soon as Motun entered, he noticed the strange looks directed at him. Whether it was the guards or passing scholars, everyone looked at him with complex expressions.

Clearly, the news that Motun had been turned away three times and had accidentally fainted the widow of the Marquis of Xun Jie had already spread throughout the Imperial College, thanks to the deliberate propagation of those with ulterior motives.

A sneer played at the corner of Motun's lips. Ignoring the peculiar gazes around him, he walked on his own toward the C-block classroom.

"Prime Minister Du is the role model for all scholars of our Imperial College! Yet this scion of the Mo family actually used his pure reputation to fish for fame and complement his own standing! It is utterly hateful! Such an unscrupulous scoundrel chasing fame and fortune—I, Xiong Maolin, am ashamed to be in the same class as him."

Inside the C-block, Xiong Maolin wore a righteous expression, passionately denouncing Motun. Seeing Motun in trouble this time, he couldn't wait to jump out and strike.

"Not only that! He still hasn't given up. After being turned away by the mansions of Duke Jiang Zhong and Duke Zou, he actually extended his demonic claws to the mansion of the Marquis of Xun Jie, bullying an orphan and a widow and directly causing the Marquis's widow to faint on the spot! Such unbridled insanity—our generation is ashamed to associate with such a person."

Wang Ling chimed in, adding fuel to the fire. He was originally a scholar of the A-block, yet he had specifically run over to the C-block to wildly slander Motun.

Motun currently possessed two talismans: his identity as a marquis and his status as a scholar of the Imperial College. Zhangsun Chong's strategy was not only to attack Motun at the imperial court but also to strike from multiple directions, not even sparing the Imperial College, utterly ruining Motun's reputation so he could never make a comeback.

He had hit it off immediately with Wang Ling's father and son, leading to the scene unfolding today.

"Motun himself did nothing wrong; he was merely acting on orders. Going door-to-door to paint was his duty to begin with. You can hardly call that fishing for fame or tarnishing the pure reputation of Prime Minister Du!" Kong Huisuo frowned and retorted.

"How is it not? Where was Motun four years ago? He was probably still gnawing on bran and swallowing vegetables in the Mo Clan Village! Let alone the Duke of Xun. Motun's painting skills might be impressive, but he can't paint someone he has never laid eyes on out of thin air, can he?" Wang Ling slandered Motun unbridledly. In his view, having offended four ducal mansions all at once, Motun would never be able to turn things around this time.

Kong Huisuo and the others couldn't help but feel choked with anger. Though they wanted to argue on Motun's behalf, deep down, they lacked confidence themselves.

"Is that so? How do you know I can't paint it?" A voice rang out from behind them.

"Motun!" Kong Huisuo and the others exclaimed in pleasant surprise when they saw Motun.

"Are you alright?" Zu Mingjun asked hurriedly.

"I'm fine!" Motun gave him a reassuring look.

"Motun, how dare you still come to the Imperial College! It's one thing for you to bring disaster upon yourself, but you actually drag the reputation of the Imperial College down with you! You're simply out of your mind!" Wang Ling accused harshly.

"Motun, we have already reported this to the Libationer Lord. If you still have an ounce of shame, pack your bags and get lost!" Xiong Maolin's petty nature was fully exposed. Originally, he would cow down upon seeing Motun, but now, believing himself to be in power, he immediately flipped his face.

"Is that so? Unfortunately, I have already painted the portrait of the Marquis of Xun Jie!" Motun wore an expression of pity for the two of them.

"Hahaha! Motun, you still have the stubborn beak of a dead duck even now! If you managed to paint it, you won't even need to pack your bags—I'll pack my own and get lost!" Seeing Motun in trouble, Xiong Maolin flushed red with excitement and blurted out the words.

"Motun, this is bad! The Ministry of Punishments has come to arrest you!" Qin Huaiyu and the other two rushed in, shouting in utter dismay.

They had gone to look for Motun first, but Uncle Fu had told them Motun had already gone to the Imperial College. The three of them had hurried over, only to find officials from the Ministry of Punishments searching for Motun right outside the entrance of the Imperial College.

"Ah!" Everyone was shocked.

"Hahaha, Motun, let's see how you talk your way out of this now. If you can bounce back from this, I'll take your family name!" Wang Ling wore a savage, twisted grin.

"You're simply asking for a death wish!" Cheng Chumo didn't waste words; with a single punch, he struck Wang Ling squarely on the cheek. Yuchi Baolin joined the fray without a word, and in an instant, the C-block classroom descended into chaos.

"Motun, go now, we'll hold them off for you!" Taking advantage of the chaos, Qin Huaiyu hurriedly dragged Motun toward the exit. The three of them coordinated with tacit understanding, but they suddenly realized Motun wasn't budging an inch.

"Don't worry, I've already painted it, nothing will happen to me!" Deeply moved, Motun told Qin Huaiyu the truth directly.

"What?"

Qin Huaiyu stared at Motun in disbelief. Even Cheng Chumo and Yuchi Baolin, who were in the middle of the brawl, froze, and the chaotic fight ground to a halt.

"Hahaha, Motun, you truly refuse to shed tears until you see your own coffin. I hope you remain this tough when you enter the prison of the Ministry of Punishments!" Wang Ling wiped a bloody nose and laughed maniacally.

"Don't you worry about it. Remember what you both said!" Motun's expression remained completely unchanged as he pointed his finger at Xiong Maolin and Wang Ling.

"Let's go! I'll go see what the Ministry of Punishments wants with me!" Motun walked straight toward the entrance of the Imperial College, and the people of the C-block followed closely behind.

"I am Motun." As soon as he reached the main gate of the Imperial College, he saw two bailiffs from the Ministry of Punishments waiting anxiously. He stepped forward directly to declare his identity.

"Greetings, Lord Marquis." The two of them were overjoyed and bowed. "Lord Marquis, please step this way. Our superior has requested an audience!"

"Your superior?" Motun asked in puzzlement.

"Our superior is Lord Li, the Minister of Punishments!" said the slightly taller bailiff.

The shorter bailiff waved his hand, and a carriage immediately pulled up to the entrance of the Imperial College.

"Lord Marquis, please get in the carriage!"

"What is the meaning of this? The scion of the Mo family tarnished the reputation of four ducal houses. With such a grave crime, shouldn't he be fitted with cangues and chains?" Wang Ling questioned loudly.

"Who told you that Lord Marquis tarnished the reputation of the dukes? Lord Marquis has long since finished the portrait of the Duke of Xun. This time, Lord Li is inviting Lord Marquis precisely to borrow his peerless painting skills to sketch the portrait of a heinous criminal!"

"He finished it?!" The words of the Ministry of Punishments bailiffs struck like a peal of thunder, dumbfounding everyone in the Imperial College!

"He finished it? How is that possible?"

"How could it not be? The scion of the Mo family is simply divine. Facing the entire Yin household proudly, he said: 'This humble person has indeed never set eyes upon the Marquis of Xun Jie, but I can paint him through your very eyes.'"

A loiterer pointed at his own eyes, recounting the scene vividly and with great flair.

"Ah! The scion of the Mo family actually possesses such divine methods!" Exclamations burst from the surrounding listeners. Although the government and the Mo Gazette constantly advocated breaking superstitions, legends of deities and ghosts could still not be eradicated. For the exact same event, a plain narrative versus one embellished with supernatural elements generated completely different levels of sensation.

"You've got that wrong. That was not ghost or god sorcery at all. If one hadn't witnessed it with their own eyes, I'm afraid no one would believe it. My cousin's neighbor happens to be a servant in the Yin household and saw with his own eyes the scion of the Mo family's heaven-defying, peerless divine skill. At that time, Old Madam Yin and several of the Marquis's personal guards personally recounted the details, and the scion of the Mo family moved his brush as if possessed by spirits—scratch, scratch, scratch—and based merely on a few words, he brought the Marquis of Xun Jie to life on paper, looking as though the Marquis were standing right before their eyes." The loiterer danced with excitement, looking as though he had been present at the scene.

"But why is Chang'an City spreading rumors that the scion of the Mo family frightened the widow of the Marquis of Xun Jie until she fainted?" a listener asked doubtfully.

"Frightened unconscious? Not at all! Ever since the Marquis of Xun Jie passed away, Lady Yin had fallen ill from overwhelming grief. Catching a sudden glimpse of the Marquis's portrait, she fainted from sheer agitation. Upon learning of this, the scion of the Mo family was deeply moved; he worked through the night to repaint another portrait specifically as a gift for Lady Yin. It is said that Lady Yin has now recovered without even needing medicine." At the height of his excitement, the loiterer gestured wildly, and the crowd listened, utterly spellbound.

Lady Yin's miraculous recovery without medicine might have been an exaggeration, but it sideways confirmed that the scion of the Mo family had indeed created an unbelievable miracle: simply through oral descriptions, he had painted someone he had never seen before.

Old Madam Yin acted with utmost integrity. Knowing how much unjust criticism Motun had suffered, she not only sent Yin Yuan to the morning court to personally lend Motun a hand of support, but she also sent people to spread the word across Chang'an City to clear Motun's name.

Clearly, the loiterer before them had been instructed by the mansion of the Marquis of Xun Jie; otherwise, how could he have obtained such detailed information? Such loiterers were scattered all over Chang'an City. Before the morning court had even concluded, the news of Motun completing the portrait of the Marquis of Xun Jie had already spread through every street and alley.

"Utterly miraculous!" Everyone who heard it was filled with yearning.

"I knew it! That is the scion of the Mo family we're talking about! How could people like us ever fathom his limits?"

A young man in his early twenties slapped his thigh in excitement. In Chang'an City, Motun had repeatedly created miracles.