Now a distinguished guest came to Zize Garden, and all the servants came out to welcome him.
The leader was fifty years old, at the height of the Spring and Autumn Period. He was tall, with a beautiful beard, and an elegant demeanor. This man was Shi Jilun, and the person he wanted to receive turned out to be Zhao Guizhen, the prefect of Piyong City!
"Brother Zhao, please forgive me for missing the welcome." Shi Jilun took the initiative to greet him with his fists in hand.
"You and I are brothers and sisters, so if you say you want to forgive your sins or not, won't you just ignore them?" Zhao Guizhen said with a smile.
Shi Jilun looked behind Zhao Guizhen, as if he was looking for something.
"Suixian didn't want to join in the fun, so we didn't go together. Now this kid doesn't know how to be happy in that mountain."
"He is a blessed person. He obviously has a thousand things to do but he is not troubled by any of them. Unlike us who are born with a life of hard work," Shi Jilun joked.
The two of them entered the Zize Garden hand in hand. Piyong City was only a city under the Qing capital. In terms of status, Shi Jilun could be on an equal footing with the prefect of the Qing capital, but now he was deliberately half a position behind Zhao Guizhen, the prefect of Piyong City.
"I have long heard that your Zize Garden is one of the eight scenic spots in the Qing Dynasty. Now I finally have time to browse it carefully." Zhao Guizhen said with a smile.
"Brother Zhao, if you can come, Zize Garden will be full of glory."
There are many pavilions and pavilions in Zize Garden. Each one was built by skilled craftsmen who spent countless efforts. The mountains and ponds are planted with bamboo groves, which is full of elegance and elegance.
Shi Jilun took Zhao Guizhen to visit various places with beautiful scenery. The landscape of Zize Garden earned Zhao Guizhen repeated praises, which made Shi Jilun very satisfied.
Shi Jilun looked at the official Song Yingzhong and was relieved when he saw Song Yingzhong nodded.
"Brother Zhao, I know you prefer shadow murals. I just built one here yesterday. Why don't we enjoy it together?"
"The screen wall in Zize Garden is not ordinary even if you think about it."
The two of them had just followed the courtyard wall and entered the screen courtyard. In front of them, the sun was shining brightly, a rainbow of seven colors hung high, a pond full of lotus flowers swayed, and dragonflies danced among the lotuses.
Zhao Guizhen couldn't help but bent down to grab a handful of lotus flowers, but unexpectedly he caught nothing.
"Is this a shadow mural?"
Not only Zhao Guizhen but also Shi Jilun was a little surprised. Hearing that Fu Yueming had brought a young man, he was a little uneasy at first, but he didn't expect the screen wall to be so shocking.
“What a beautiful screen wall”
The scenery on this mural is extremely close to the surrounding environment, so at first glance it seems to be completely integrated.
"It comes out of the mud but not stained; it cleans the ripples without being evil; it is straight in the middle and straight outside; it does not creep or branch; the fragrance is clear from afar; the pavilions and pavilions are clean and planted; they can be viewed from a distance but not played with."
"The painting is great, and the article on the painting was written in seconds. It can be called a masterpiece that will be handed down from generation to generation."
Zhao Guizhen did not hesitate to praise the screen wall. He took a step forward and instantly moved more than ten feet across the pond to appear in front of the screen wall. Shi Jilun quickly followed.
Zhao Guizhen's hand gently touched the screen wall. There were dozens of lotus flowers on the screen wall, each with a different shape.
"The lines are soft, the colors are fresh and elegant and full of charm"
"Use the outline method to draw flowers, use ink dots to dye leaves, and do writing at the same time. This is the technique of hookwork and dotting leaves."
"Here, the leaves are dotted with juice green, which are dark and light, lining the middle of the flowers and stamens. The lines of the flower center and the hooking ribs are like iron cones, but they can turn so briskly that only an expert can do it.
There may be such a method."
Zhao Guizhen was seriously commenting on the shadow mural, and suddenly his hand was placed on the dragonfly. This dragonfly gave the static beauty of the painting a sense of movement, but the color was a bit too dark.
"Prefect Renren, the painter was disturbed when he was making this screen wall. A drop of thick ink fell on the screen wall. I thought the screen wall was ruined. Unexpectedly, the painter had the ingenious idea to directly change it into a dragonfly."
"Okay, okay, I turned the original stain into the highlight of the entire screen wall. It's so ingenious that it's admirable."
As a painter, the most refreshing thing is to see a good painting that can make him full of praise, and it also feels a little like déjà vu.
Although this screen wall is only a good product due to the low level of cultivation of the painter, it lacks charm, but it is worthy of praise in other aspects.
"This man's painting skills have far surpassed the best painting skills. He is considered a master of the generation, but I don't know which famous master in the Qing Dynasty he is." Zhao Guizhen asked.
"Not a famous artist, but a young and poor painter"
When Zhao Guizhen heard this, the eyes of a young man changed, and he immediately thought of the Zhongpinying mural in Huichun Town.
Shadow murals are the most difficult to create among all paintings of the same grade. A young man who can paint a medium-quality shadow wall is already considered a phoenix, and now he is a young man who can paint a high-quality shadow wall?
How could so many geniuses appear in Yunzhou at the same time? Zhao Guizhen had already guessed in his heart that these two screen walls might have been created by one person.
Zhao Guizhen looked at the shadow mural carefully again. The composition and layout were natural, and the brushwork was bold. It was very similar to the style of the shadow wall in Huichun Town.
Zhao Guizhen suppressed his emotions so that there was no flaw in his expression.
"Young poor painter? What's his name? Why don't I know when there was such a person in Qingdu?"
Of course Shi Jilun didn't know his name, Song Yingzhong on the side quickly replied
"Master Taishou, this person's name is Jiang Yan!"
As expected, there are not many people with the surname Jiang, and their painting style and age are so close to Zhao Guizhen that they can be concluded to be the same person.
"Where is this person now?"
"After finishing the painting and paying the money, he has already left. I will go find Fu Yueming and ask him to bring this painter to you."
Song Yingzhong was about to make arrangements but was stopped by Zhao Guizhen.
"No, I'm just a little curious. If we are destined to meet again in the future, maybe we can meet again."
He and Shi Jilun had unusual identities. Zhao Guizhen didn't want this matter to cause uproar in the city, not to mention that it would be easier to handle once he knew his name.
"I've seen the screen wall too. It's very good. Is there anything else I haven't seen yet?" Zhao Guizhen changed the subject.
“Of course there is”
Shi Jilun seemed to have something to say alone, so he dismissed everyone and took a walk with Zhao Guizhen by the lake to discuss important matters.
"Brother Zhao, have you heard about what happened in Daxuan City? Taishi Ling of Hongdu Prefecture, a family of hundreds, no one survived, and their heads were all sent to the palace gate. How dare he do it?
Yes!" Shi Jilun said angrily.
"This incident has alarmed the Confucian government. It is said that several masters are already on their way to Hongdu. Don't worry, this is Qingdu. Mr. Changli and Lei Wuchen are not the same kind of people."
"I have also met Duke Changli, but I still feel a little uneasy. I always feel that something big is going to happen."
"This is a thick sore that has been growing for hundreds of years. It will naturally bleed when the sore is removed. It is a labor pain. Just bear it and it will be fine."
Although Zhao Guizhen was so comforting, he also had a sleepless night when he learned the news.