I come to see Bai Yujing today

Chapter 71: We have to meet, but how do we meet? (Please subscribe first, please vote for me)

The sun was no longer so hot as it was getting close to evening.

The original red glow has faded to light red. From afar, the yellowish sunlight shines obliquely on Xiuba Mountain, making this summer afternoon seem particularly warm.

Even Princess Shang Qiu couldn't help but turn her head to look at the clouds in the sky when she got off the carriage.

"If Chen Zhian had not been painting a portrait of Madam Shu, it would have been very beautiful if he had painted the clouds in the sky and the Xiuba Mountain dyed red by the glow of the sunset."

A smile appeared in Princess Shang Qiu's light blue eyes.

Chen Zhian had also gotten off the carriage. Seeing Princess Shang Qiu looking at Xiuba Mountain from afar, he looked there too.

"Mr. Chen, do you know why this mountain outside Xuan Tianjing is called Xiuba Mountain?"

Princess Shang Qiu suddenly asked.

At this time, Chen Zhian was looking towards the end of Longmen Street, and even nodded slightly, as if someone there was greeting him.

He heard the princess ask and shook his head.

"There are two reasons. The first reason is that Yang Heyin, the White-robed Prime Minister of Daxi, once came to Xuantianjing when he was young. He stood at the foot of Xiuba Mountain and wrote a poem."

"Show off the nine mountains, dominate the world."

So this mountain, which was originally named [Qiyuan], was gradually called Xiuba by some people.

"The real reason why this mountain was named "Xiu Ba" is because the sword saint who inscribed the words on the ninth monument forged a famous sword on this mountain, which was called "Xiu Ba"."

"The famous sword Xiu Ba ranks third in the sword industry of the ancient monument. It is a world-famous sword, so this mountain is completely called Xiu Ba Mountain."

Princess Shang Qiu spoke slowly and Chen Zhian listened carefully.

Old Madam Li and Li Qingran came to greet them with many people.

Among them were ladies dressed in luxurious clothes, as well as stewards and maids, all of whom came hurriedly and bowed respectfully to Princess Shang Qiu.

Chen Zhian stood behind Princess Shang Qiu, in charge of the matter, and waited with several eunuchs and maids.

Princess Shangqiu smiled and said, "I haven't seen Madam Shu for about a month or two. How is Madam Shu doing recently? Is she feeling well?"

Old Madam Li said a few polite words respectfully, then welcomed Princess Shang Qiu and her entourage into the palace.

Chen Zhian, who entered Li's house with him, couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

The luxury of the Li Mansion far exceeded Chen Zhian's imagination. Even the fountain pool made of white jade was probably worth more than ten thousand taels of silver.

This is very different from the ancient dynasties in his previous life.

But when Chen Zhian thought about it carefully, he understood a little.

Dayu issued a clear order prohibiting officials from engaging in business, but most of these officials came from aristocratic families.

The younger generations of aristocratic families run the business and then give gifts to their uncles and aunts in the clan. As long as the consequences are clean, no one actually cares.

What's more, today's Dayu is the world of aristocratic families. Almost all the well-known bureaucrats and even officials come from families big and small. No one is cleaner than anyone else, so who would come to investigate?
Even if the emperor wanted to investigate, he would face numerous obstacles.

Because of this, it has become common for aristocratic families to own large tracts of land and control countless industries, and no one cares about them.

Dayu was founded by aristocratic families four hundred and eighty years ago. Nearly five hundred years have passed, and the aristocratic families have gradually become too powerful to be eliminated.

Perhaps this is also the reason why Emperor Zhou Zhaofu wanted to appoint Song Xiang.

Old Madam Li personally invited Princess Shang Qiu and Chen Zhian into the East Hall, and asked Princess Shang Qiu to sit at the top seat. Then, at Princess Shang Qiu's request, she dismissed the other women in the East Hall, leaving only Li Qingran to pour tea personally.

She exchanged pleasantries with Princess Shang Qiu for a while, and finally looked at Chen Zhian.

At this moment, Li Qingran's eyes would occasionally sweep across Chen Zhian's face, with some doubt in his eyes.

When Old Lady Li saw Chen Zhian, she was also a little dazed.

This young man seemed quite familiar to her, but for a moment, the old lady couldn't remember him.

In addition, since this person came with Princess Shang Qiu, Old Lady Li was relieved and asked, "Princess, could this young man be the new court painter who has gained a lot of fame in recent days?"

Princess Shang Qiu drank a sip of the Chu Shui Yin Shuo produced only in the old Yan land, and said with a smile: "Old Madam, don't think that Mr. Chen's skills are ordinary just because he is young. His colorful paintings have won the favor of the owner of Yufu Palace.

Now, the portrait that Mr. Chen painted for the owner of Yufu Palace is hung in the east hall of Yufu Palace, which shows how much my sister likes that painting. "

Old Lady Li nodded repeatedly and said with a smile: "I have met many ladies from wealthy families. These days, whenever I drink tea with them, they talk about Mr. Chen. They say that they went to invite him, but he refused to give them a portrait, which made them feel regretful.

I never thought that Princess Shang Qiu would think of me and personally bring Mr. Chen to my Li Mansion. This is a real honor."

Princess Shang Qiu looked at Chen Zhian.

Chen Zhian stood up and bowed to Old Lady Li, saying, "It is said that Old Lady Li is kind and good at managing the family, and she is well-known in the capital. Today... I finally get to meet the old lady."

Old Lady Li had heard other ladies mention Chen Zhian's name before, but she had never paid enough attention and had forgotten it a little. She then asked again, "Mr. Chen came to paint for me, but I don't know his name. It's really rude. It's said that Mr. Chen came from Sunan Prefecture, but I don't know which family of calligraphers and painters he is from. How can he have such great painting skills at such a young age?"

Chen Zhian replied, "I don't deserve the praise from the old lady. My surname is Chen, my name is Zhian, and I come from Sunan Prefecture. I am not the son of a family of painters or calligraphers. My father was just a private school teacher who taught naughty children for more than ten years."

Chen Zhian?
Li Qingran, who was standing behind Old Lady Li, was stunned for a moment, raised his head and looked at Chen Zhian.

She looked at Chen Zhian carefully. At this time, Chen Zhian was wearing a royal blue brocade robe, with his long black hair standing up high and fixed with a hairpin. A few strands of hair fell in front of his white forehead, making his face look like a jade crown and his eyebrows like distant ink.

Especially those eyes, narrow and deep...

As soon as Li Qingran saw Chen Zhian's eyes, he felt like he had seen them somewhere before.

But until this moment, Sunan Prefecture, surname Chen, name Zhian... these many words flashed through Li Qingran's mind. The disciple of Mingyuetai suddenly remembered the letter that had been passed from his hands to his aunt.

The letter said, "We'll meet someday."

But Li Qingran just thought it was the cousin who lived far away in Sunan Prefecture, comforting his aunt. Who could have thought that Chen Zhian actually came and was wearing the identity of a court painter?

"How could my aunt's son suddenly become a famous court painter in Tianjin? Or is it just a coincidence?"

Li Qingran was in a state of confusion. He was about to confirm it, but he still found it unbelievable.

"Chen Zhian?" Old Lady Li also felt that the name was familiar, but when she heard Chen Zhian say that he was just an ordinary citizen, she had no time to recall and just looked at Princess Shang Qiu in confusion.

Princess Shang Qiu spoke in a normal tone, "Mr. Chen has made contributions. He is a commoner but has made great contributions. He was rewarded with the rank of Eighth-Rank Cheyilang, which is enough for him to pick up the brush of a court painter."

Old Lady Li suddenly realized and was about to speak.

Chen Zhian suddenly bowed again and spoke with some doubt in his tone: "Princess, old lady, I just heard what the old lady said... There seems to be some misunderstanding about this matter."

Princess Shangqiu and Old Lady Li looked at him almost at the same time. He did not sit down, and said calmly: "I came to the Li Mansion because I received a letter from Miss Li Yinxi, so I came here specially. Old Lady Li also wrote a letter to Princess Shangqiu? Zhi'an was negligent. There were too many letters and he did not have time to search carefully, so he missed the letter from Old Lady Li."

Li Qingran lowered his head, becoming more certain in his heart.

"Sister Yinxi wrote you a letter?" Princess Shang Qiu was very confused.

Mrs. Li, who was standing by, shook her head repeatedly: "Princess, my daughter cannot bear for you to call her sister. It would disrupt social order and it would be bad if someone with ulterior motives heard it."

"It's just that my daughter is aloof by nature, so I was a little surprised that she would write to Mr. Chen to ask for a painting."

Chen Zhian was about to speak.

Li Qingran on the side took a step forward and seemed to have something to say.

But when the two of them came to their lips, they didn't say anything more.

The reason was that Princess Shangqiu smiled and said to the two of them, “I just wrote a letter to Sister Yinxi two days ago, in which I mentioned Mr. Chen and his words, and also attached a few excellent poems he found.

Sister Yinxi may have developed an interest in painting, or in poetry, but...it is a good thing that she can write a letter to Mr. Chen."

Princess Shang Qiu paused and said, "It doesn't matter if Mr. Chen has never seen the letter. Since you are here today, you can draw it together with Old Lady Li and Sister Yinxi."

Chen Zhian shook his head and said in embarrassment: "Princess Shang Qiu also knows that my colorful paintings are different from ordinary ink paintings, and the brushstrokes are very complicated.

To paint an old lady like Mrs. Li, you need a special brush to paint wrinkles and forehead lines. I thought I was going to paint Miss Li, so I didn’t prepare this brush. ”

Princess Shang Qiu recalled briefly and remembered that Chen Zhian had indeed used several kinds of pens when painting Sister Linglong's portrait.

So she nodded gently and said, "It doesn't matter if you are missing a paintbrush. I will ask someone to get it. When you finish painting Sister Yinxi's picture, the paintbrush will be brought back naturally."

This princess is really stubborn.

Chen Zhian was a little helpless, but he agreed.

The princess is a princess after all. Even if she seems easy to talk to, it is not a good thing if she is repeatedly offended and the royal majesty is aroused.

"Just draw something casually when the time comes."

"Besides..." Chen Zhian glanced at Li Qingran: "Maybe by then, this old lady Li won't want me to paint anymore."

He thought so in his mind.

There was some displeasure on Old Madam Li's face, but with Princess Shang Qiu here, she still tried her best to suppress it.

"Mr. Chen chose to paint Yin Xi when he had so many nobles from wealthy families to paint."

Old Madam Li thought so, but then she remembered that her daughter was also a world-famous beauty, otherwise the young general of the Si family would not have come to propose marriage again after so many years. She began to have some guesses in her mind.

"It seems that Mr. Chen is an expert in this field. He has already painted Princess Linglong, and now he is painting Yinxi, hoping to gain a better reputation through the painting of a beauty."

The old lady of the Li family thought about it for a while, and then went to the backyard with Li Qingran, Princess Shang Qiu and Chen Zhian.

Although it is called a backyard, the backyard of Li’s mansion is actually composed of several courtyards.

Among them, Li Yinxi’s Hongdouyuan is at the deepest part.

Along the way, we passed through rockery and flowing water, passed many carved railings and painted buildings, and saw many precious trees, flowers and plants.

Chen Zhian finally arrived in front of Hongdouyuan, and he couldn't help but take a deep breath.

The chaotic memories in his mind and his repeated dreams of that white dress made Chen Zhian more and more uneasy.

Even his pace slowed down a bit.

Li Qingran was walking behind him, and when he saw the young man's back, he suddenly felt some sympathy.

I was separated from my mother when I was an infant, and now eighteen years have passed.

If we want to meet, how should we meet?
Li Qingran admired this young man very much... There was a lot of distance between Sunan Prefecture and Xuantianjing, and there was even more distance between ordinary people and the doorstep of the Li Mansion, as if there were a huge mountain between them.

It just so happened that this young man, with just a few paintbrushes, made Princess Linglong famous. Princess Shangqiu invited him to her home, and he flattened the mountains and stood in front of Hongdou Courtyard.

It was because of this admiration and sympathy that when asked by Old Lady Li just now, Li Qingran wanted to speak and wanted to say that he was the one who told his aunt the news about Mr. Chen and the colorful painting.

"It's just... what can we do if we meet so quickly?"

"A court painter is nothing more than a painter."

Li Qingran sighed in his heart, thinking that this was the reason why Chen Zhian was timid.

But at this moment, Chen Zhian took a deep breath, straightened his back, and strode into Hongdou Courtyard with his head held high!

Li Qingran also came to his senses and followed him in.

The furnishings in Hongdou Courtyard are simple, with just a few houses, three pavilions, and many flowers planted.

It’s not shabby, but it’s a world apart from the other courtyards in the Li Mansion.

Princess Shangqiu looked around and couldn't help but ask Old Lady Li: "Sister Yinxi still doesn't want to move to another courtyard?"

Old Lady Li smiled awkwardly and nodded slightly.

Princess Shang Qiu remained silent.

After the incident eighteen years ago, sister Yinxi's husband was said to have left Xuantianjing and went to Jiangnan.

Sister Yinxi can't leave Xuan Tianjing, but she doesn't want to be supported by the Li family anymore.

She protested several times and was unable to live farther away, so she used her savings to buy the yard next door and lived alone.

Two or three years later, for some unknown reason, Minister Li became furious again and demolished the wall of the neighboring courtyard and incorporated the Hongdou Courtyard into the Li Mansion's land.

In addition, Sister Yinxi has been using her own savings to pay for the food, clothing and other expenses in the courtyard for many years, and it seems that she is completely disappointed with the Li family.

Once upon a time, the young Princess Shangqiu once asked the elder sister who had taught her to play the piano...

How can we repay the kindness of our parents?
Princess Shang Qiu clearly remembered that Sister Yinxi shook her head stubbornly at that time.

"Suicune and I extended his life, so that should be considered repayment."

Princess Shang Qiu's thoughts were in turmoil as she looked at Li Yinxi who was sitting in an octagonal pavilion.

"But Minister Li and General Li don't seem to think you've paid it back."

(End of this chapter)