Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 27 Extra: Yan Mingming

It was late at night and everyone was asleep. Yan Mingzhang was painting at his desk.

Mo Yun entered the room and was about to speak when he saw his master still painting. He stood aside, awaiting a response. Mo Yun couldn't see clearly from his distance, but it looked like the painting was of a woman. The woman had a graceful figure and an extraordinary temperament, but her face was unclear.

The more he couldn't see, the more curious he became. Mo Yun had no choice but to stretch his neck to see which girl the painting was about. His master had finally gotten the idea.

"Come over if you want to see it!" Yan Mingzhang rubbed his temple with his left hand, picked up the brush with his right hand, and added a few strokes to the painting.

The portrait was very lifelike, especially the eyes, which were particularly lively. Mo Yun couldn't help but smile when he saw it. He said in a sarcastic tone, "Sir, isn't this Miss Rong? You... this is..."

Yan Mingzhang ignored Mo Yun's sarcastic tone and continued drawing: "How's the thing I asked you to do going?"

Mo Yun suppressed his smile and replied, "Don't worry, sir. We have arranged everything and we can set off early tomorrow morning."

……

Mo Yun saw that the master was painting seriously, and he was embarrassed to interrupt. After waiting for a while, he couldn't help but said: "Master... I still have something unclear, I don't know whether I should tell you or not."

Yan Mingzhang didn't even raise his head. He dipped his brush in cinnabar and continued painting: "If you don't want to talk about it, don't talk about it."

Mo Yun chuckled, a little embarrassed: "That still needs to be said."

Yan Mingzhang laughed helplessly: "You want to ask me why I let Miss Rong be my mentor, right?"

Mo Yun touched the back of his head and smiled: "My Lord is really very smart, he is really the worm in my stomach..."

Yan Mingzhang rolled his eyes at him, then casually picked up a book and knocked him on the head with his left hand: "If you don't know how to speak, then don't speak. You're becoming even more unruly..."

Having said that, Yan Mingzhang still patiently explained, "I have my reasons for doing this. First, look at her clothes today. If I'm not mistaken, the material should be Yuezhou Liaoling. And that kesi handkerchief, as the saying goes, every inch of kesi is worth an inch of gold."

Yan Mingzhang sketched out the intricate pattern on the dress. It was the exact same pattern as the one Rong Wanyin wore during the day, not a single mistake. And then there was the small compass in his hand. Although he had seen it many times before, Mo Yun couldn't help but marvel at the master's incredible memory. Once he remembered something, he never forgot it.

Yan Mingzhang was unaware of this and continued slowly, "Secondly, she has a Beijing accent, and given her knowledge of the city, she must be from there. So, she's either a royal relative or a member of a high-ranking official's family. Thirdly, she's of high status, yet she doesn't even have a maid. There are only two possibilities: one is that her family suffered a disaster, and the other is that she ran away on her own. Seeing her look normal, with no trace of grief, she must be the second."

Yan Mingzhang kept moving his hands. "Fourthly, she knows some martial arts skills. How could a noble lady learn these skills? Only a lady from a military family would learn them. Finally, she said her last name was Rong. There are only a handful of noble families with the last name Rong in the capital. Rumor has it that Prime Minister Rong had three sons in a row before having a daughter in his later years. She was very doted on. Madam Rong was born into a military family, so it makes sense for her to teach her daughter some martial arts skills to protect herself."

"So, this Miss Rong is most likely the daughter of Prime Minister Rong? Since she is the daughter of Prime Minister Rong, wouldn't it be even more inappropriate for her to be a legal advisor?" Mo Yun didn't quite understand.

"The Rong family has some friendship with our Yan family. If she is really the daughter of the Rong family, I have to take care of her. The capital is far away from here. It takes half a month to go there by horseback at full speed, and at least a month to go back and forth. If the weather is bad or there are bandits fighting, it will take even longer. If I don't keep her for this reason, how can I keep her with her character? If something really happens to a girl at that time, what will happen? ... I have written the letter. Let the messenger send it to Prime Minister Rong's Mansion in the capital as soon as possible. When the painting is dry, take the painting with you and ask the housekeeper of the Rong Mansion to recognize it privately. After confirmation, send the letter in. Don't be abrupt." Yan Mingzhang said.

"So this painting is... I thought you were in love with Miss Rong..." Mo Yun suddenly realized and nodded repeatedly, "Then how did you know Miss Rong would agree?" In love? Yan Mingzhang sneered, and his mind flashed to a picture of a cute little figure in a goose yellow skirt, peeking out from behind the door. And the way she softly called him Brother Mingzhang... Yan Mingzhang's heart moved, and his face felt a little hot.

I haven't forgotten it for so many years. Does that count as admiration?

No! Absolutely not! It's just that I have a good memory. Yes, it's just that I have a good memory!

Yan Mingzhang coughed lightly a few times, looked over to see if Mo Yun noticed, and continued.

"She has lived a life of luxury since she was a child. She doesn't look tired at all after coming here from the capital. I guess she ate and slept well along the way, which naturally required a lot of money. Now... she has even started to cheat for food and accommodation. She must be short of money. If she doesn't agree, I have other ways to keep her here." After finishing his painting, Yan Mingzhang washed his hands carefully and wiped them dry with a cotton towel.

Mo Yun shamelessly asked, "Sir, so you knew it from the beginning, right? I'm telling you! Our master has a plan that leaves nothing to chance!"

Yan Mingzhang looked embarrassed and pretended to cough: "Ahem... well... the painting is dry, why don't you leave quickly!"

Yan Mingzhang wasn't actually telling the truth. He was so sure because he'd seen her before and remembered her... When he saw her again, she said her name was Rong Wanyin, and all those memories came flooding back. As Yan Mingzhang reminisced about his childhood, he picked up his brush and wrote on the edge of the painting: "There is a beautiful person, clear and graceful. She whispers softly, gracefully and elegantly."

He wrote the calligraphy with great care. After finishing it, Yan Mingzhang looked at the painting for a while, added some flowers and plants on the side, and then nodded with satisfaction.

Mo Yun has read some books in recent years and has been with Yan Mingzhang for so many years, so naturally he can understand these lines of poetry.

Mo Yun lowered his head and chuckled, "If Miss Rong didn't speak and just sat there, these lines of poetry would be very appropriate."

Yan Mingzhang glanced at Mo Yun, and Mo Yun was so scared that he immediately fell silent. Unexpectedly, Yan Mingzhang glanced at the painting, thought about it, nodded, and laughed out loud. What he said made a lot of sense.

Mo Yun shrank his neck, and decided to quit while he was ahead. As soon as the words were dry, he immediately rolled up the scroll and replied cheerfully, "Sir, I'm leaving first!"

"Wait a minute!" Yan Mingzhang looked a little embarrassed. He took the portrait back from Mo Yun, opened it, and rolled it up again.

Mo Yun asked with a puzzled look on his face, "What's wrong, sir?"

Yan Mingzhang's face flushed slightly, his eyes flickering: "Uh... you didn't roll it flat..."

Mo Yun: "..."

Mo Yun complained inwardly: My Lord, you have this problem again...

(End of this chapter)