Not long after, an inner attendant ran in, holding a scroll.
"Your Majesty, the portrait has been brought."
With that, he unrolled the scroll, displaying it before Zhao Xu and the assembled ministers.
Zhao Xu looked at the portrait, then at Zhao Guangyi before him, his expression becoming hesitant.
It was too damn alike!
"Come, come, let me see who painted this."
Zhao Guangyi also curiously leaned closer, eager to see how he had been depicted.
Ancient painters focused on spirit rather than form. The portrait bore only a sixty percent resemblance to the actual person, but the essence and spirit captured in the brushstrokes were ninety percent accurate.
After a glance, Li Shimin sighed and shook his head. "Alas! A failure, a complete failure!"
"A dignified ruler of a nation, reduced to a depiction of a 'four unlike anything'!"
As he spoke, he took a photograph from his懷 and showed it to Li Xiuning, proudly boasting.
"Eldest Sister, how do you like this portrait of朕?"
As a mother-in-law, Li Xiuning knew more about Fang Er's assets than he did.
At the very least, she had personally witnessed how photographs were printed.
So, she smiled knowingly and took out a stack of photographs from her怀, waving them before Li Shimin's eyes.
"Sister doesn't have any? What are you showing off to me for?"
Li Shimin was stunned. He snatched Li Xiuning's photographs, each showing her in different makeup and attire.
Seductive and alluring, noble and elegant, sharp and capable, fierce and deadly~
On the photographs, she perfectly embodied these different qualities.
By the end, Li Shimin felt a pang of resentment. He asked sourly, "Did that brat do all these for you?"
"Give them here!"
Li Xiuning snatched the photos back and carefully put them away.
She wouldn't admit that these few were selected from hundreds of excellent ones.
Ouyang Xiu, who had been comparing the painting with Zhao Guangyi beside him, inadvertently saw the photographs in Li Shimin's hand and was immediately struck with awe. He strode over.
"My lords, may I see the portraits in your hands?"
The arts of Qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting were essential for scholars. Although their preferred disciplines differed, an appreciation for art was a must.
The tiny paper, so lifelike, even more realistic than one's reflection in a bronze mirror, truly surpassed his understanding.
Wang Anshi, Zhang Dun, and others, hearing this, followed Ouyang Xiu's gaze towards Li Shimin. In the next moment, they all performed the same action.
They raised their hands to rub their eyes, confirming they weren't hallucinating.
Li Shimin smiled calmly and casually handed his photograph to Ouyang Xiu.
Seeing this, Wang Anshi and the others, disregarding the authenticity of Zhao Guangyi, all gathered around Ouyang Xiu.
"My heavens! This is simply divine skill!"
"Indeed, look at the texture of the skin, and even the strands of hair are identical to the real person!"
"It is truly unimaginable that such painting skills exist in this world!"
"No, no, divine skills should only belong to the heavens. This is definitely not a technique mortals can master."
"Look at the expression in the eyes, and the subtle details on the ground. Gods, I can even see a mosquito!"
"Come, come, use my crystal lens. The finer details reveal true craftsmanship."
Ouyang Xiu said, and from his怀, he took out a wooden box. Upon opening it, a lens made of polished crystal was revealed.
Although eyeglasses did not exist yet, the magnifying glass had long been invented by artisans.
However, the materials had to be of the finest crystal, and the success rate of its production was low, so few people could afford to use it.
His large mirror was a gift from Emperor Renzong during his reign, and its handle was inlaid with gold wire and jade.
Ge Luoyang took his telescope from his waist, adjusted the focus, and walked over with a smile. "Everyone, your items are long obsolete in the divine realm. Come, use this to look."
Ouyang Xiu curiously took the telescope, examined it in his hand, and then asked how to use it.
After Ge Luoyang explained the method, he looked skeptical.
"Is it truly as useful as you say?"
While telescopes were excellent for viewing distant objects, they were somewhat less practical for close-up viewing.
However, what Fang Er had distributed to the captains was not from the workshop but exchanged from the system: a Pentax 6x21 Bug-Eye lens, with a minimum focusing distance of fifty centimeters.
Seeing Ge Luoyang smile without speaking, Ouyang Xiu picked up the telescope and looked at the photograph in Wang Anshi's hand.
Through the telescope, the object in the photograph was magnified several times, making even the mosquito's legs as thick as sewing needles.
Not only that, but even the stains on Wang Anshi's sleeve were exceptionally clear.
"Damn you, celestial ancestor!"
"You impudent brat, are you really not calculating for your old man here?"
In his astonishment, the usually composed Ouyang Xiu, unable to help himself, blurted out in his native dialect.
Ge Luoyang looked at him, bewildered, not understanding a word, but somehow feeling that something was amiss.
However, seeing Ouyang Xiu's reluctant posture, he must have been conquered by the telescope.
Heh heh heh heh, no wonder the Duke and the Emperor liked to show off; this feeling is truly exhilarating!
Li Shimin, standing nearby, understood but did not tell him. Ignorance was bliss; let the simpleton be happy.
Zhao Xu looked at the telescope in Ouyang Xiu's hand and then at the photograph in Wang Anshi's hand. The hesitation in his heart immediately dissipated by more than half.
Such divine skills, such divine objects, should, perhaps, possibly, truly be things from the immortals.
"You, are you truly Senior Emperor Taizong of Tang?"
He cautiously approached Li Shimin and asked.
He was as cautious now as he had been bold at Xuande Gate.
If this truly was Emperor Taizong of Tang, then the one whose eggs he had almost kicked were truly his own great-grandfather!
Li Shimin casually said, "I'm too lazy to explain to you. Believe it if you want!"
Seeing his attitude, Zhao Xu was not only not angered but immediately believed him.
That was right, being a divine being now, disdain towards him was only natural.
With that thought, he walked to Zhao Guangyi's side and knelt down with a thud.
"Your descendant, Zhao Xu, pays respects to Great-Ancestor. This descendant was blind earlier. I beg Great-Ancestor not to hold it against me."
He knelt decisively. Wang Anshi and the others also heard his words, but they showed no reaction.
In this short span, they had all tried the telescopes. Like Zhao Xu, they were convinced by these two items, dispelling their doubts.
Seeing his identity accepted by everyone, Zhao Guangyi immediately became arrogant again, pointing at Zhao Xu and scolding him.
"Let bygones be bygones!"
"However, when I arrived, I heard that even the darned Xia'er dared to invade the northern territories. How did you manage to be emperor!"