Even though he was surprised in his heart, Yuan Xiang showed no strange expression on his face, nor did he glance around. He only whispered "yes", then silently withdrew from the crowd and went downstairs.
"The guests in the building must not be allowed to leave here easily within an hour." Yuan Xiang told his subordinates who were guarding downstairs sternly, "If anyone insists on leaving, he will secretly have someone follow him and keep an eye on him. Don't let him talk nonsense."
This is the intention of General Chang and the explanation of the Grand Governor.
Before the situation is clear, all sounds in Dengtai Tower must be blocked within this door, and no words can be heard outside.
After explaining the matter, Yuan Xiang ordered a few more confidants to follow him, and the group of people quickly disappeared into the noisy summer night.
Not long after Yuan Xiang left, a young man with a white face and no beard came to Dengtai Tower.
The bookboys guarding the first floor already knew roughly what was going on upstairs. Just when they were about to apologize for stopping the person, they saw the other person take out an invitation.
"Come here at the command of my servant..."
Si Gongtai Yu Changshi?
When the boy heard this and saw the invitation, he bowed respectfully and invited him upstairs.
The person who came was Yu Zeng's confidant, so he was definitely not a dull person. As soon as he entered the second floor, he noticed that the atmosphere was different. He saw that many people were surrounding the center of the second floor for some reason. Before he could investigate, he found Chang Kuo first.
.
"General Chang, my servant often takes care of the little guy..."
Chang Kuo was worried and suffocating and ignored him. He waved his hand to interrupt him and dismissed him: "If you have anything to say, tell Qiao Yang!"
The young chamberlain had no choice but to find Qiao Yang.
Qiao Yang stood in the innermost part of the crowd, or in other words, standing next to the desk where Chang Sui Ning painted.
Seeing the familiar waiter, he stepped back temporarily and asked in a low voice: "What's the matter?"
"My family has always sent a servant to inform me that the saint has sent the Ming Dynasty female historian to come out of the palace privately and come here to read poems..."
Qiao Jijiu understood it as soon as he heard it, and just nodded and said: "I know, just tell him to rest assured."
Some literati who think that everyone else is drunk but are sober always like to use poetry clubs to gain some untimely limelight, or they act drunkenly and speak arrogantly - after they have gone crazy, they leave the mess to their masters to clean up afterwards.
As a minister of the Imperial Academy, he knew this well, and Sui Ning had reminded him of it as early as when the apprenticeship banquet had just turned into a poetry gathering.
Therefore, early in the morning, he told those supervisors who worked hard and did not use it in vain to stay in various places and pay attention to whether there would be any crazy talk. Whenever they heard it, they needed to be warned and dissuaded. If they insisted on causing trouble, they would be warned.
Then I'll send you a short distance away.
As for the poems that have been recorded and copied, there are also dedicated people responsible for checking them to ensure that no insinuations are spread.
Seeing that he was confident that he had already prepared a plan to deal with it, the chamberlain who came to deliver a message to Yu Zeng felt relieved and had the time to ask, "Mrs. Chang, are you... painting?"
But looking at the situation, the atmosphere seems not to be simple.
"This is not painting." Qiao Jijiu's tone sounded sighing and helpless: "This is being forced to 'prove' one's innocence."
The waiter was startled when he heard this.
Before he could ask any more questions, Qiao Jijiu had already walked back.
Yao Yi, standing behind the girl who was just starting to paint in front of the desk, asked Qiao Jijiu in a low voice: "Jijiu, how is Madam Chang's painting skills?"
Qiao Jijiu shook his head.
Yao Yi frowned slightly: "Hard to say?"
Or are you at a loss for what to do?
Qiao Jijiu sighed: "I don't know."
Yao Yi: "?"
Teachers don’t even have the most basic understanding of students?
Qiao Jijiu sighed again: "We haven't been teaching for a few days yet... It's just the beginning. It's just reading history, memorizing poems, and fishing..."
Yao Yi: "..."
understood.
Especially when I heard the last one, I completely understood it.
Therefore, Qiao Jijiu, a teacher, felt the same as him at this moment——
Yao Yi looked at the girl's back worriedly.
I'm not sure what she can draw.
But he has a lesson from experience...
Most of those who are good at hitting people are a little lacking in literary skills... Of course there are those who are both civilized and military, but since they are singled out and a word is coined to praise them, it just shows their scarcity.
Yao Yi took another look at the half-rolled picture of red beans held in the man's arms.
I don't expect to be able to amaze the four people. After all, these four people are not just four people. If you want to amaze these people, you have to start as Wei Shilang.
So, I just hope what she tells is the truth...
I'm afraid that only the truth can break this situation now.
Yao Yi looked at Chang Sui Ning worriedly.
He naturally knew that a woman's honor was very important, but what he knew even more clearly was that for her, there was something far more important tonight than a woman's honor——
That is, she must not ruin the word "faith" in front of the scribes, leaving a messy impression to these scribes who were exposed for lying and sophistry.
How crucial this point is, she may not yet know at this time.
Since she said that the red bean picture was not painted by her, then it must not be painted by her.
otherwise……
This apprenticeship banquet would become a broken bridge, stopping her right there, leaving her with no possibility of moving forward.
In this way, he no longer had to choose, he only had to keep her safe and sound.
Thinking of this possibility, Yao Yi had mixed feelings in his heart. Although he couldn't tell which of the two choices was right or wrong at the moment, it would always be a pity if he had no choice earlier.
Although the onlookers were curious, they were still measured and did not get too close to the girl who was painting, so as not to disturb her.
At this time, Chang Suining was surrounded only by Yao Xia and a few other girls who were responsible for pen and ink writing.
But even though they were not close, some people could tell that the girl who was painting had first sketched a simple line outline on the rice paper that was spread across the entire desk.
Those outlines should also fill the entire rice paper.
When everyone saw this, they made assumptions.
The structure is so big, is it necessary to paint an ink landscape?
Is it to deliberately avoid the red bean colored ink painting of a girl with a strong boudoir vibe?
Mrs. Xie stood in front of a group of women, quietly looking at the girl who seemed to be carefully drawing a long outline.
I want to get closer to the majestic mountains and waters, so I choose ink instead of colored ink. Isn't this a guilty conscience?
It would be too naive to try to muddle through based on this alone.
"Does Sister Chang need anything else?" Yao Xia asked in a low voice when Chang Suining stopped writing temporarily and looked at the desk.
"Cai Mo." Chang Sui Ning said.
Chang Sui Anli, who was standing by, said: "Caimo... I'll go find it!"
Mrs. Xie frowned almost imperceptibly because she felt something was different from her guess.
There was a burst of unexpected discussion from all around.
"I still have to do color and ink paintings..."
"It is not easy to spread color and ink on such a huge landscape..."
When people painted landscapes, especially large-scale landscapes, they mostly used ink and wash.
Firstly, this is the mainstream of landscape painting at present, and secondly... color and ink are rare and valuable, and cannot be afforded by ordinary poor literati, let alone spending them on huge paintings.
When the art of painting first began, there were only ink and wash colors.
After that, there were more common plant colors such as blue and green.
As for the spread of colored ink, it only happened within a few decades.
Although it is no longer rare, and there are many outstanding color and ink paintings, what people at that time were really good at was ink painting, especially when painting landscapes -
Ink landscapes are more likely to create natural artistic conception. If it is a painted landscape, the color matching is particularly important. If the color skills or natural aesthetics are insufficient, not only will it fail to add color, but it will also be more likely to appear cumbersome and confusing, which is really superfluous.
Just looking at the picture of a girl with red beans, the use of colors is not very clever, but it is just bright. To be fair, the painting skills are not too surprising. You can tell at a glance that it is a boudoir work.
But now this girl who is in the whirlpool of "self-certification" has chosen a huge color and ink landscape - if she wants to truly paint such a painting, her experience in color and ink painting and her talent for aesthetics are probably both indispensable.
Let’s not talk about how much ability we have, but in front of everyone, this courageous posture is the first to stand up!
Having courage is not a bad thing, but if your courage cannot be supported by your skills, you will inevitably end up overestimating your abilities and making people laugh.
Listening to the discussion around, Wei Miaoqing became inexplicably nervous. Then she looked at Chang Sui Ning, who was being watched by countless eyes, and felt a cold sweat for the other person - if it were her who was painting, so many people would be staring at her.
Look, I'm afraid she can't even draw a bird poop!
Thinking that once the things Chang Suining draws are not what they look like, she will already suffer from the disease of embarrassment for others!
But it’s embarrassing and light…
This painting is about Chang Sui Ning's reputation and innocence.
Thinking about this, Wei Miaoqing couldn't help but said: "Brother, why don't you go and take a look?"
"What am I going to do? With so many pairs of eyes looking at me, I can't paint for her." Wei Shuyi looked relaxed: "If there are too many people around, she will feel uncomfortable."
He noticed that Mrs. Chang's calmness didn't look like she was pretending.
Therefore, in his eyes, there will be no second result.
Deng Tai Tower is not a shabby place, Chang Sui'an quickly found a full range of colorful ink for her sister.
Chang Kuo urged the servant beside him: "What are you doing standing still? Why don't you quickly bring a chair?"
"What kind of chair should I move?" Qiao Jijiu glanced at Chang Kuo, an amateur, and said, "You have to stand and paint."
The painter can only stand and look at the outline and composition.
At this time, a book boy came over quickly and saluted, and said in a low voice: "To offer wine, the Ming Dynasty female historian is here... But she came in ordinary clothes, saying she didn't want to disturb the guests in the building."
Qiao Jijiu had just gained the trust, and now he didn't react much. He just said: "Then there is no need to make any announcement, just invite the people up."
"yes."
The book boy quickly went downstairs to invite someone.
The slim-figured woman, wearing an autumn-colored dress and a gauze veil on her head, walked up to the second floor with her maid.
Someone upstairs took a second look, but they had no time to explore the woman's identity.
Behind the hanging gauze, those eyes scanned the scene in the building.
No one was discussing poetry, and few people were even drinking. Everyone was standing or standing here and there, but most of their attention was obviously on the fenced-off area in the center of the building.
Mingluo sat down, his eyes fixed on the messy man holding the painting, and he didn't know what happened.
The maid next to her understood and soon found out the details from the crowd.
The maid turned back and explained what happened to Mingluo in a low voice, and finally said: "...Right now Madam Chang is painting to prove her innocence."
After Mingluo heard this, his eyebrows moved slightly behind the veil.
Mrs. Chang's behavior is too public, and it is inevitable to offend others... It is not surprising that she encountered such trouble today.
She subconsciously looked around at the people present.
Seeing that Mrs. Xie was there, there was a hint of thought in her eyes.
The next moment, as her eyes moved slightly, she saw a familiar young figure.
Mingluo's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
She was not a person with little information, so she naturally knew that Cui Jing had come to the apprenticeship banquet, but what she never expected was that he had not left yet.
He has never been a person who likes to join in the fun, and it is rare for him to stay in such hustle and bustle for a long time.
But this is not the first time he has made an exception——
At this time, two supervisors came over and blocked her sight.
They obviously got Qiao Jijiu's explanation. Although they knew Mingluo's identity at this time, they did not reveal it. They just put the poems in their arms on the small table in front of Mingluo and whispered: "This is what all the guests have written today."
I also invite female historians to appreciate the poems."
Mingluo nodded slightly: "Thank you."
The two of them saluted and left.
She did not forget her errands for this trip and calmed down to read the new poems.
After reading dozens of articles in succession, Mingluo had some concerns in his mind.
Too clean——
Whether it was these poems or the act of holding these poems in front of her.
But it can't be so clean and beautiful.
Obviously he took great care to avoid trouble.
This is not surprising. Qiao Yang offered wine to the Imperial Academy. Although it seemed to be a bit inconspicuous on the surface, how could a person who once served as a staff and military advisor under the former crown prince as the number one scholar, be so sensitive about some sensitive matters?
They are careless and reckless people.
Mingluo closed the book of poems, and a silent sneer flashed across his eyes.
The saint asked her to come, and his original intention was just to check for leaks.
Since Qiao Jijiu is so beautiful, she can communicate with the saint better, which is naturally not a bad thing——
Mingluo looked towards the place where everyone was gathered.
What made her want to sneer was that no matter how some people acted willfully, there was always someone behind the scenes to take care of everything for that person.
Whether this apprenticeship banquet has turned into a poetry gathering, or whether he has acted arrogantly before, in the final analysis, it is just because someone is willing to support him.
But what's really funny is that Yuan is just an orphan.
Just because it was picked up by His Royal Highness, the former Crown Prince, he received these benefits and favors that others could not touch.
What good luck...
But no matter how much good luck you have, it will be wasted if you don't know how to cherish it and make good use of it.
For example, at this time——
She was very curious whether the other party's good luck could support the other party to break through this predicament that he was obviously prepared for.
Mingluo sat quietly and waited.
Until she heard some surprised and curious sounds above her head.
"Huh……"
"this……"
On the second floor, although everyone gathered around, none of them got too close to Chang Sui Ning, so they couldn't really see what she had drawn.
In contrast, those who were looking down on the third floor had a clear view of the images written by the girl.
At this moment, those surprised sounds came from their mouths.
The reason why people are surprised is because they see something unexpected -
Qiao Jijiu and Yao Yi, who were standing behind Chang Suining, both noticed the difference and took a few steps forward in unison, looking intently at the drawing paper spread out on the desk.
