From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Those who don't understand painting will only see it as entertainment.

But those who understand painting can perceive the coldness of the wind and snow contained in the painting, as well as the unique beauty of the plum blossoms that defy the snow and frost!

"A beautiful painting!"

Grandpa Lu praised, saying to the Wang family head, "Your painting skills are getting better and better, even better than your old man's."

"Uncle Lu, you flatter me."

The head of the Wang family laughed and said modestly, "My painting skills are only good enough to paint landscapes and plants now, but I find it difficult to paint people. However, my son has an exceptionally good talent."

After the Wang family came the Lü family.

The head of the Lü family ordered Lü Ren and Lü Ci to deliver a case of medicinal wine. Lü Ci held the medicinal wine, and Lü Ren said, "Old Master Lu, our Lü family is small, so we can only send a case of medicinal wine to help you recover. We wish you a long and healthy life."

The Lü family is famous for only one technique: the Ruyi Force.

Although it involves cultivating Qi, it also requires tempering the body. Therefore, Lüjia Village has many recipes for medicinal wines and medicinal baths.

The recipe for the medicinal bath is extremely secret, and no one else can obtain it. However, the prepared medicinal wine is highly sought after by high-ranking officials and nobles. In fact, there was a rumor fifty years ago that "Lu family medicinal wine is worth a thousand pieces of gold."

"Haha, that's so thoughtful!"

Grandpa Lu accepted it as well.

After the Lu and Wang families finished their meal, the next table was the Liu family from Xiangxi...

After five tables, it was Jiang Liu's turn. Zhang Jingqing stood up and personally delivered a wooden box. Upon opening it, they found an old ginseng root.

He said, "I hope you won't mind, Master Lu. My Celestial Master's Mansion lacks everything, but it has no shortage of herbs on the mountain and exotic flowers in the forest."

This single sentence left the other supernatural forces speechless.

But who can blame them when the Celestial Master's Mansion is so large and powerful?

Next is the Green Bamboo Garden.

The gatekeeper of Qingzhu Garden first borrowed a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from Lu Xuan, then asked for a table, spread out the paper, and splashed ink, creating a plum blossom on the paper.

Immediately afterwards, he composed another poem, which was Lu You's "To the Tune of Bu Suanzi: Ode to the Plum Blossom":

[Beside the broken bridge outside the post station, a lonely flower blooms, ownerless and forlorn. Dusk falls, and sorrow settles upon it, further burdened by wind and rain. It has no intention of vying for spring's favor, letting all the other flowers be jealous. Fallen and crushed into mud and dust, only its fragrance remains.]

"Knowing that Master Lu likes plum blossoms, I painted a picture of plum blossoms braving the snow in winter. But I also know that my painting skills are not as good as those of Brother Wang, so I composed a poem, which is Lu You's poem about plum blossoms."

"it is good!"

Grandpa Lu was overjoyed.

Without him.

Lu You, too, was a descendant of the Lu family.

Furthermore, although Lu You's poem expresses a lament for his unfulfilled talent, it also contains a noble spirit of not conforming to worldly corruption!

in this way--

How could Old Master Lu not be delighted?

However, from Jiang Liu's perspective, this poem is less about being noble and pure, and more about self-deprecating self-admiration and passive escapism.

So Jiang Liu stood up, and like the gatekeeper of Qingzhu Garden, he also took paper and brush, and splashed ink on the paper. In no time, a landscape painting appeared before everyone's eyes.

Mountain birds chatter noisily, while cranes dance gracefully in flight. Lush green grasses grow in abundance, and vibrant red flowers vie for attention. Melting snow blankets the waterfalls, creating a dazzling rainbow. A torrent of green water flows down the ravine, while misty clouds swirl around the cliffs.

See again:

Green pines and cypresses, green willows and red peaches.

A cluster of plum blossoms smiles as it observes the myriad flowers.

"What a beautiful picture of a hundred flowers blooming in competition!"

The head of the Wang family walked up and observed carefully, marveling repeatedly. "I originally thought that Chairman Jiang was only highly skilled in cultivation, but I never expected that he also understands painting. The artistic conception in his paintings is profound. Just observing them gives me a sense of vitality. They are truly remarkable!"

The others who gathered around looked at it, and even the younger generation who didn't understand painting thought it was beautiful and praised it.

But Jiang Liu did not stop. After finishing the painting, he dipped his brush in ink and, with a bold and vigorous stroke, wrote a poem on it:

The wind and rain send spring away, and flying snow welcomes spring's arrival.

These ten characters alone surprised the guests who were knowledgeable in poetry, who exclaimed, "I never imagined that Chairman Jiang could write poetry."

In particular, the head of the Qingzhu Garden, upon reading this poem and comparing it with Lu You's writings, discovered that Jiang Liu's two lines were actually filled with joy.

Perhaps the river is still young and untouched by hardship.

"No, just as the head of Qingzhu Garden wrote Lu You's poems, I also wrote other people's poems, not my own."

Jiang Liu shook his head and smiled at the praise, explaining that it was also someone else's poem. He then wrote the second line:

Even on a cliff of ice a hundred feet high, a flower branch still blooms beautifully.

In an instant!

The head of Qingzhu Garden put aside his contempt and realized that Jiang Liu was not inexperienced, but rather optimistic!

As for his claim that it was someone else's poem...

If it really belonged to someone else, how come the head of Qingzhu Garden has never heard of it?

Yes!

[Could someone who could establish a Confucian society in such a chaotic world and suppress so many petty villains have been unskilled in the face of hardship?]

We can only be optimistic!

# Chapter 958 Lu Family Birthday Banquet (Part 4) Deceitful Heart

Under the watchful eyes of the Qingzhuyuan gatekeeper and the others, Jiang Liu picked up his pen again and continued writing:

It is beautiful but does not vie for spring's favor; it simply announces spring's arrival.

When the mountain flowers were blooming, she smiled in the bushes.

hum-

Those present who understood poetry were all startled, for just by reading the text, they could imagine a cluster of plum blossoms standing among a hundred flowers.

This perfectly matches the meaning conveyed by Jiang Liu!

It perfectly matches the scene of winter turning into spring!

wonderful!

Wonderful!

Absolutely brilliant!

Some guests present who were familiar with the Confucian Association even believed that the poem contained the association's development philosophy!

Extraordinary people, or rather, most large families and sects, do not get involved in the internal strife of the Central Plains. Even if they do get involved, they can only do so in their personal capacity, not in the name of their family or sect.

But the Confucian Society is different.

Having established such a large scale, they should have blended in with the Taoists, Buddhists, and the extraordinary individuals from various families, but instead they chose to get involved in internal strife and cooperate with the Gong faction. Moreover, no one present dared to say that their path was more righteous than theirs!

But it is precisely because it is too upright that the Confucian Society, despite being a supernatural force, seems to be out of place in the entire supernatural world.

However, they also have to admit that, judging from the ideas and ways of doing things of the "bowing faction" and the "pot-making faction," it is clear to anyone with eyes that only the "bowing faction" can lead China to truly enjoy a peaceful world.

But the problem is—

The pot pie is even stronger!

Large troop strength!

Advanced equipment!

How could the Gongpai sect compare?

If we were to present them with a trolley problem, and force them to side with one side, most of them would choose the pot-and-stick faction rather than the trolley faction.

Therefore.

Apart from Jiang Liu and his group, most of those present were also deceiving themselves without realizing it...

After Jiang Liu finished the last stroke, he wiped the scroll to dry the ink before handing it to Old Master Lu, saying with a smile, "Old Master Lu, please forgive us. Firstly, we came in a hurry, and secondly, we didn't know what you liked..."

exactly.

Seeing that the gatekeeper of Qingzhu Garden paints and writes poetry, I knew that the old gentleman loved plum blossoms. So I also painted a picture of winter plum blossoms welcoming spring and wrote a poem by an old friend whom I have long admired but have never met. I hope the old gentleman will not find it offensive.

"How could I possibly dislike it? I'm overjoyed!"

Grandpa Lu took the painting scroll, carefully examined it, and exclaimed in amazement, "Your painting skills are extraordinary, already surpassing... no less than the Wang family's painting skills. And this poem, tsk tsk, I have always thought that plum blossoms are elegant, noble, and proud of snow and frost, but I never thought that they are also the messengers of spring!"

Good! Good! Good!

As he spoke, Old Master Lu said "good" three times in a row, "Incredible! A young man as composed as you, yet still full of youthful vigor, is a rare find in the world. You are truly a sage!"

"I am not worthy of the title of 'sage.' I am merely seeking personal gain while incidentally seeking the benefit of others; that's all," Jiang Liu said with a smile.

"This isn't a saint yet? Hahaha!"

Grandpa Lu laughed heartily, then said to Lu Jin, "Jin'er, I used to worry that he might have kidnapped you."

But look at it now!

Good guy!

If I were twenty years younger, I'd want to join the Confucian Society too!

Amidst laughter, Old Master Lu carefully put away the Winter Plum Welcoming Spring painting, and after presenting the congratulatory gift from the San Yi Sect on behalf of Li Muxuan, everyone took their seats.

Next, the guests at the sixth table presented their gifts.

The guests at the sixth table were not from any special forces, but rather local merchants who had long cooperated with the Lu family. Their gifts were much simpler, consisting of gold, silver, or jade carvings…

After everyone had presented their gifts, the birthday banquet officially began.

And the process?

It was no different from the wedding banquets of ordinary wealthy families.