Tao Shaozhang's face was full of suspicion, and at first he thought they were all fakes.
But I bent down and picked up a pair at random, with a surprised look on my face. There is no doubt that it is authentic!
There is an embroidered scarf sewn under each calligraphy and painting, with the word "Qizhen" on it, which means that Nanshi Qizhen Pavilion has authenticated and sold it.
Looking at the other scattered calligraphy and paintings, Tao Shaozhang was confused, and subconsciously blurted out: "They are all genuine, good luck, pick them up quickly, don't destroy them."
The young disciple named Fuwang hurriedly bent down to pick it up, while Tao Shaozhang opened other bags and took a deep breath.
After all the baggage was unpacked, Tao Shaozhang looked at Chu Qing, and there were only two words on his face: Embarrassing, in capital letters, and in bold.
It is indeed a gift, and this "gift" is extremely valuable.
Although the Tao family is a famous family, Tao Yao, the head of Tao Mansion in Beijing, is a minister in the court.
However, the Tao family is different from other aristocratic families. Poetry and etiquette are passed down from generation to generation, and there are no businessmen in the family. The Tao family does not have much fertile land under its name, and they rely on the salaries issued by the court to survive.
So to put it bluntly, Tao Shaozhang has never seen much of the world.
People often come to the Tao Mansion and give expensive gifts, but they usually read the gift list first, and if they are of high value, they will politely decline.
Tao Shaozhang loved poetry and songs the most, and he always liked to go to places like Qizhen Pavilion on weekdays, but he couldn't afford it, so he just looked and appreciated it.
It doesn't matter if it's just a single calligraphy and painting worth a few guan, or at most a dozen guan.
But these dozens of calligraphy and paintings were all written by famous Confucian scholars in Beijing. Tao Shaozhang suddenly didn't know which one to look at first, and he wished he could take his baggage and go back to his bedroom to slowly appreciate them.
The ancients were like this, they didn't have much entertainment activities, especially these so-called literati, who just liked calligraphy and painting, and their hobbies were copying and appreciation, which is similar to the otakus of later generations who suddenly got dozens of gigabytes...dozens of newly released 3A game masterpieces.
"Oh, Mr. Chu, this... this, this, this... what should I do? It's expensive, too expensive."
Or maybe he was an official. After the initial embarrassment, Tao Shaozhang immediately became enthusiastic and held his hands in his arms: "I can't do it. I absolutely can't do it. My father always warns me not to accept heavy gifts. It's precious, it's really precious."
Chu Qing rolled his eyes repeatedly.
This Tao Yao is quite funny. If you say you don't accept gifts, I can still admire you a little, but in the end you don't accept "heavy gifts" at all.
What do you mean, copper coins and silver are too "heavy", but silver notes are light.
He knew how to say polite words, and when he saw that the other party was a little more enthusiastic, Chu Qing also waved his hand in a pretentious manner: "It's not good to not bring a gift when we meet for the first time. I like to make friends. I know that the Tao family are all very knowledgeable scholars.
Small gifts are not disrespectful."
"It's necessary." Tao Shaozhang said seriously: "Although it is an elegant gift, it is too valuable. I accept it with my heart. This gift..."
Chu Qing was slightly disappointed, knowing that the other party really thought it was too valuable and dared not accept it. He was about to get the baggage back when Tao Shaozhang added another sentence.
"This gift... I can observe it with my father for a few days, and then return it to your Chu Mansion in a few days."
"Zhuo." Chu Qing's face was full of admiration and he said sincerely: "The Tao family is indeed a responsible and established generation. I admire you."
Qin An, who was watching the excitement, didn't expect that they were all calligraphy and paintings written by famous artists. Then he thought about it, couldn't it be that so many calligraphy and paintings could only be packed in bags?
The old man suddenly laughed. He didn't know whether he thought Chu Qing was interesting or something. He said to Tao Shaozhang: "Young Master, since you are a guest, you also bring gifts. It is appropriate to enter the house to rest for a while and drink a few sips of coarse tea."
Tao Shaozhang's expression changed slightly, as if he hesitated, and then nodded: "Okay, then let's follow Brother Yu into the house and drink a few cups of tea."
Chu Qing breathed a huge sigh of relief.
It was too strenuous to enter the main gate of Tao Mansion, but luckily, I was able to get in.
With false politeness on his lips, Chu Qing followed Tao Shaozhang into Tao Mansion through the side door.
With a large door and a small courtyard, this is the Tao Mansion.
The door looks quite big from the outside, but when you enter the mansion, you realize that it's not as big as the Chu Mansion inside.
The courtyard with the third entrance and the east and west wing rooms are quite pleasant to see, but the walls are mostly worn and mottled. There is a main room and two wing rooms, and the back should be the residence of the female family members. At a glance, you can tell that the area is relatively small, which is not suitable for the prince's young master's background.
A second-grade official position.
Not to mention the high-ranking officials from the second rank, or the humble officials from the eighth or ninth rank in Beijing, there are also many people in mansions that are more than ten times wider than this.
After leading Chu Qing all the way to the small pavilion outside the east wing, Tao Shaozhang said with a smile: "My father is waiting for guests, so why don't you, the foolish brother, sit with the wise brother for a while."
Or you might say that you are short-handed, and after a while, you will become a foolish brother and a wise brother.
Chu Qing also figured it out. He probably didn't intend to introduce Tao Yao to him at all, so he didn't say anything and just smiled and said a few polite words.
Qin An didn't follow him. The servant brought tea and the two sat looking at each other. Fu San stood aside, looking around with a sense of superiority on his face.
I don’t know what makes him superior. The Chu Mansion is big and impressive. The problem is that Chu Wensheng is the minister of the Ministry of Industry. He has to shoulder all the scraps left over from the Ministry of Industry’s construction of various palaces and official residences.
I went home to repair the Chu Mansion. I carried two bricks today and kicked a bunch of nails the day after tomorrow. How could that not be grand?
Tao Shaozhang smiled and said: "Have a cup of coarse tea, the Tao family is too slow."
"You're welcome." Chu Qing imitated his father and took a sip of tea, and found that his mouth smelled of Saturn.
This tea is quite thick, and the tea leaves brewed in it look like sawdust.
Tao Shaozhang also picked up the tea cup and blew the foam from the tea leaves, but did not drink it.
Then... nothing happened. Neither of them knew what to say first.
The atmosphere was so awkward that Fu San used his toes to dig out another north wing for Tao Mansion.
The two put down their teacups and looked at each other, feeling really awkward.
There is indeed nothing to talk about. One is a notoriously evil young man in the capital, known as a living beast, and the other is a young and talented man with outstanding literary talent. He is in a high position at such an age. The two of them are basically on the same page.
Chu Qing was a little anxious.
This is my future brother-in-law or brother-in-law, so I can't just talk about everything.
After clearing his throat, Chu Qing had nothing to say.
"Brother... Well, no, where is Brother Tao hanging out... No, where is Brother Tao doing a good job?"
"Brother Yu works in Dali Temple as Shaoqing."
"What do you usually do?"
"Nothing happens on weekdays, just doing the temple service."
Chu Qing was stunned for a moment: "What happened to the master of ceremonies? Why did you stab him?"
Tao Shaozhang cleared his throat, but didn't understand for a moment.
"Hmm... By the way, I wonder what kind of errands my dear brother does on weekdays."
"I am unemployed and have nothing to do. I spend my days living in a fish and meat village, oppressing and bullying..."
Chu Qing stopped in time and suddenly remembered.
This is my own personality. It’s nice to talk about but not nice to hear. Why are you nagging about this?
After thinking for a while, Chu Qing said in a deep voice: "Experience life."
“What does it mean to experience life?”
"It's just to understand the sufferings of the people. How do you say that? Yes, the rich people's bones are frozen to death due to the smell of wine and meat."
After finishing his words, Tao Shaozhang's expression changed slightly, his lips wriggled a bit, then he suddenly stood up and actually gave a heavy salute to Chu Qing.
Before Chu Qing, who didn't know what was going on, could react, Tao Shaozhang turned around and shouted: "Come here, let's exchange tea and serve fragrant tea!"
Chu Qing cursed her repeatedly in her heart.
This guy is really looking down on others. No wonder the tea has a earthy smell. I also suspect that the teapot is filled with sawdust. I didn't bring serious tea leaves to my feelings.