I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 157 The Finishing Touch
Jiang She always went to bed late.

The emperor had left, leaving behind the Prince of Qi and his son in Yanzhou. With the burden lifted, the governor of Yanzhou perked up and invited the Du family to a banquet.

Tonight, we won't hear the Du family reading aloud.

The cat can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He was talking to the man he had met when he first arrived in Yanzhou, and the man said happily:
"My wife is feeling much better these past few days. I asked the doctor, and he said it's because her blood and qi have been replenished. As long as she continues to eat more meat and rest more, she'll be just like a normal person."

And said:

"I never expected that the Sage would grant Yanzhou a three-year tax exemption. We must thank Goddess Stone Goddess."

The man was beaming; he had been exempted from taxes for three years, and those three years had been much more comfortable for him.

"I heard that the Stone Goddess is also effective in granting marriage requests. My cousin has been unable to find a wife, so I'll go and pray to her. I can also pray to my eldest son while I'm at it. It's sure to work out."

Li Bai was surprised.

"Fan Er, your eldest son seems to have been born not long ago, only one or two years old?"

The man was worried.

"We still need to prepare in advance."

He told the group, “To get married, you have to give betrothal gifts, gifts to the matchmaker, betrothal gifts, and a banquet. It will cost at least several dozen bolts of silk, which would be worth tens of thousands of coins. I think it would be more than ten or twenty thousand coins.”

Fortunately, he had saved money on food and clothing in the past few years and had a house to live in; otherwise, the whole family would have had to build a house, which would have cost a lot of money.

"I only earn a few dozen coins a day after work."

The man said, "If we don't plan ahead, our eldest son won't be able to find a wife when he gets old."

As he spoke, the man glanced at Li Bai and Yuan Danqiu.

These two young men are in their twenties or thirties. If they were to get married, the older one would be considered too old, and in their original village, they wouldn't be considered good catches.

I wonder how much it will cost to become related to someone.

The men were worried for the two of them.

Li Bai didn't notice, but Jiang She was watching with great interest.

The man was still beaming with joy, talking about the three-year tax exemption, and couldn't stop smiling.

Fine snowflakes drifted down from the sky. This year, Yanzhou has had a small snowfall every three to five days. It not only freezes insects to death but also moistens the soil, hoping for a better harvest next year.

Jiang She brought him two skewers of cured meat from the kitchen.

The man was taken aback and dared not answer.

"Why did you give me this, sir?" His face flushed slightly, regretting that he had been talking about money for so long, thinking that he was being treated like a beggar.

The man declined, saying, "I can earn money myself, sir, you don't need to give me any."

He often helps people carry things, and he is very strong, so he doesn't dare to push them too hard for fear of making them fall.

Jiang She handed him the cured meat and led him to the kitchen. "This was a gift from someone. It was too much. There are only four of us, we can't possibly eat this much. It would be a waste."

In the kitchen, many strips of cured meat were hanging.

The strips, tied to the roof beams, almost formed a curtain that smelled of meat.

The man opened his eyes wide.

"Sent?"

Which family is so rich? They can afford to give away so much cured meat. It looks like mutton.

Jiang She nodded.

This was something the Pei family had asked Li Bai to send, supposedly as a New Year's gift. When Jiang She saw it, he was shocked to find that countless sheep had died and had been sent over by the Pei family.

Taking advantage of the moment when the man, Fan Er, was stunned.

Jiang She said, "I'll give you two of them; they'll help ease our burden."

The man thought of his wife and tiptoed to take it.

With a flushed face, she said to Jiang She, "Thank you, sir... If you ever need anything in the future, or if there is any work to be done in the garden, just give me a word, and I, Fan Er, will come over."

After everyone left, he went to sleep at a friend's house in the same neighborhood.

Li Bai laughed from the side: "Sir, you've gotten rid of a major worry."

Jiang She counted the cured mutton in the kitchen, which was also called dried meat or "ba" at the time. The strips hung there one by one, and he had a bit of a headache.

"Tomorrow, give two strips to the Du family, and leave half for those rats..."

The cat meowed in agreement.

They couldn't finish the rest.

Yuan Danqiu asked, "Why did Pei Ze send so much cured meat?"

Li Bai sighed helplessly. He muttered to himself, "I didn't expect there to be so many."

The three of them simply cut a strip of cured pork into slices, grilled it on the stove, and dipped it in sauce; it tasted delicious. Old Deer Mountain God also ate with them for a while.

When you roast cured pork like this, it's natural to pair it with wine.

Jiang She, being mischievous, let the cat have a taste as well.

Watching the black cat stagger across the snow, walking unsteadily, he asked gently, "Are you drunk?"

Cats are strong-willed.

"I'm not...drunk!"

Jiang She nodded: "I see."

The cat took the opportunity to retract the paw that had been accidentally stepped on, and walked away unsteadily as if nothing had happened.

Let's go chat with the mice.

Drinking wine on a snowy night is truly delightful.

While drinking, Li Bai mentioned that he had recently bid farewell to a new friend, "I recently made a new friend, Abe no Asomi Nakamaro, whose Chinese name is Chao Heng."

He said, "He was a student sent by Japanese envoys to Tang China. He studied at the Imperial Academy and even passed the imperial examination."

Yuan Danqiu asked, "A Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination)?"

The imperial examination was extremely difficult. Not to mention foreigners, even people from the Tang Dynasty rarely passed it.

Li Bai nodded, his face beaming with pride for his friend. He raised his cup and drank it all in one gulp. "He was granted an official position this year. When I go to the capital in the future, I can also find him for a drink."

The old deer mountain god held a wine cup.

He laughed and said, "As long as it's not Mr. [the owner's] wine, I'm fine with anything."

Last time they drank together, they were drunk for months.

Li Bai imagined that if they drank the master's wine and got so drunk in the capital that they would scare everyone around them to death.

He laughed out loud too.

"That would be interesting."

Jiang She picked up a piece of roasted cured meat with his chopsticks.

The flames draw out the oil, resulting in a crispy, caramelized exterior and a soft interior, with an irresistible aroma.

"Click."

It's really delicious.

As he listened to their conversation, he suddenly sensed a disturbance and placed his wine cup on the table. Li Bai and Yuan Danqiu were drinking and didn't notice, but the Old Deer Mountain God glanced at him.

……

……

Chen Hong was itching to get his hands on it.

He was also a master, and the lack of that one bit of divine brilliance was so unsettling to him that it made people feel agonizingly uncomfortable.

Elsewhere, a few rough strokes are acceptable, but this immortal painting, though ethereal, lacks the crucial finishing touch.

He had also heard of Zhang Sengyao of the Southern Dynasties painting the dragon's eyes.

Most of them are rumors and fabrications.

The servant outside saw the firelight appear and a figure vaguely emerging from outside the tent, assuming that the young master had gotten up to look at the painting again, engrossed in the emperor's duties. The servant, feeling extremely sleepy, urged him on:
"There's no rush for Wu Sheng to take it back. We can just point out the problems in the next couple of days. Why is there such a hurry, young master?"

"You should go to bed earlier."

He knew it.

My husband gets seasick as soon as he sits in a carriage, and he's not as strong as a military officer. After riding a horse all day, his bones feel like they're going to break.

Chen Hong gave a casual reply.

By the light of the fire, he dipped his brush in ink.

Hold your breath.

Paint a deity on it, and add the eyes.

Two tiny ink dots, yet their charm flows instantly.

Before Chen Hong could even catch his breath...

He then saw the eyes move. There was clearly no wind in the tent, but suddenly a gentle breeze drifted by.

【Ask for monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)