Taohuaxi

Chapter 38 The Court Painter
The relationship between the eldest mistress and the Jinyiwei Mullin family has become increasingly close.

After I washed up and went to the main courtyard to pay my respects to the old lady, the old lady told me that the eldest young lady had gone to Mu's house again.He also brought a cart full of gifts and carefully selected them. He went to Suzhou and Hangzhou and bought several beautiful girls to send them over.

After Liu Shou, the former commander of the Jinyi Guard, was executed, Mulin changed his position and became very popular for a while.

The old lady said: "Yuzhen is too eager for quick success. She used to be so close to Liu Shou. As soon as Liu Shou fell, she went to flatter Mullin. Can people buy it? From the bottom of my heart, I don't want her to be with Jin Yiwei. People are so close to each other. Yuzhen always wants to compete with her second wife, and everything I say to her is ignored."

She worriedly said: "Shu'er has been in the palace for so many days. I don't know what's going on. I have felt pitiful about that child since she was a child. She is wooden, can't speak, and is not popular in front of her elders. When she was a child, I originally wanted to take her She is being raised in the room, but she obeys her mother and refuses to come. If not, I can train her so that she won't be like this."

I sat down next to the old lady and said: "Mother, children and grandchildren will have their own blessings, so don't worry too much. Although our Miss Sun is not clever, she is an honest person. I think there will be no trouble in the harem."

The old lady said to me: "Sang Yu, you said that Long Live Lord was not implicated in Liu Shou's downfall. What does this mean? I always feel that the calmer it is, the weirder it is."

Although I was also confused in my heart, I had no choice but to comfort the old lady at this moment and said: "I think the contact between the eldest brother, sister-in-law and Liu Shou does not involve the fundamentals, so it is not a problem. Isn't the eldest brother doing a good job in our family's customs clearance business? The tea from the imperial court Yin also sends out as usual. Mother is at ease."

At noon, the eldest mistress came back. She came to the main courtyard first and reported to the old lady: "Mother, Mr. Mu is really a kind person. Today I introduced Wang Tianrui, a member of Jinyiwei Baihu. Mother, guess what? Who is Wang Tianrui?"

The old lady used the tea lid to scrape the tea foam in the cup and said, "Which new Buddha did you worship again?"

The eldest mistress said: "Mom, you are so confused. Wang Tianrui's daughter was originally a lady of the Empress Dowager Li, the Empress Dowager of the Ci Sheng. She was blessed by the Lord Long Live a few days ago and she is pregnant! The Empress Dowager Li of the Ci Sheng was extremely happy. Wang Tianrui and Mu Lin have a close relationship. Okay, now he is a famous man! If the Queen Mother gives birth to a prince, he will be the eldest son of the royal family! The rule of this dynasty is to establish the chief. The Wang family will rise to the top in one step!"

The old lady said: "The child hasn't been born yet. I don't know whether it is a boy or a girl. It is too early to say that he will reach heaven in one step."

"Mother, I want to ask the Queen to help our Shu Yao a little bit. If Shu Yao can also be happy, oh, that would be really..." She rubbed her hands, as if the hope in front of her had come true, and she didn't know how to be happy. good.

The old lady said seriously: "The Queen is pregnant, and she must be a very eye-catching figure in the harem now. You must keep Shu Yuan away to avoid trouble."

The eldest mistress said: "Mom, even if I tell you these things, you don't understand. Anyway, just leave it alone."

Just as he was talking, someone from the palace came to deliver a message that Miss Sun Shu Yao had been promoted to the fifth rank of talent.

The old lady and I both looked heavy and panicked.

Although Cheng Shuyao has a pleasant appearance, he is not outstanding. He has no talent or scheming. How could he rise so quickly in such a short period of time?
Was it someone who was adding fuel to the flames, or was it intentional?
In the evening, Cheng Huaishi came back.

It was rare for him to come back so early.

"Madam, I brought you jujube cakes. When I came back today, I passed by Donghua Gate and saw the delightful color of the jujube cakes in front of the hawker stall, so I thought of you."

I took the jujube cake and saw that the jujubes on top were huge and bright red. When I took a bite, my heart felt like honey.

"I asked Xiaoyin to leave soup for you." I said softly.

He waved his hand: "Thank you madam, I have eaten. In the evening, His Majesty suddenly summoned me and asked about the taxation of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Mr. Zhang was also there. After reporting the matter, Your Majesty left us to have dinner at Qianqing Palace."

The king's gift of food is a great honor. To ordinary people who tend to follow people's influence, they would not know how happy they are.But he mentioned it so lightly.He was originally a person who took wealth and power very lightly.When I became an official, I was thinking about how to do official business well and how to do practical things for the people.I didn't try hard to climb up.This is what makes him different from ordinary people.

He looked at me: "Is the jujube cake delicious?"

I nodded.

He whispered in my ear: "Jujube means giving birth to a child early."

I blushed and spat at him.

He took the pen on the dressing table and said: "Han Shou steals fragrance, Shen Yue thins the waist, Xiangru steals jade, and Zhang opens the thrush, these are the four great romances of talented people in ancient books. I will also learn from them today. Zhang Chang, painting eyebrows for Madam."

He carefully drew on my eyebrows, as seriously as writing poems and rhymes.

When I looked at his appearance, my heart felt like a pool of clear water.

"Second Master, do you know that our Miss Sun, Shu Yao, has been promoted to a talented person?"

His hands stopped for a moment, then he started drawing again.

"I know. I didn't agree with Shu Yao entering the palace, but the end is done and I can't do anything. Today, His Majesty said something meaningful to me."

"What?"

"He said that he values ​​Shu Yao, firstly because of me, and secondly because of his admiration for Jin Yiwei."

"Didn't Shu Yao come to the imperial court arranged by Liu Shou? Liu Shou is already dead. Could it be that your Majesty is talking about Mu Lin?"

"After Liu Shou's death, Feng Gao became the most influential figure among the internal officials. Although Mullin is Feng Gao's subordinate, His Majesty certainly doesn't want to see someone who stands out. Promoting Mullin is the king's way of balancing. I always I don’t want to pay attention to these things. I just go about my errands with peace of mind. I will not interfere with the turmoil in the fame and fortune market, nor will I get close to it. I am the same as Mr. Zhang, facing the light, not the dark. "

He didn't want to mention it any more.

Xiaoyin fetched water, and I handed over the handkerchief. He wiped his face and said, "Madam, I remembered something and felt strange." I looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

He said: "Yesterday, when Mr. Zhang recommended you to be a court painter, he said that you have been loyal and good for many generations, a lone hero, and a hero of the Han people. Then he told me to treat you well. I didn't think much about it at the time, but later I clicked my tongue and felt something was wrong. Although my father-in-law served as a seventh-grade official, he still can’t live up to his reputation as a loyal and lone hero..."

I laughed: "Master Zhang must not be talking about my family. Or he just happened to think of an old friend. The words were rushed and connected. I don't know."

He nodded: "Yeah, that makes sense."

Xiaoyin retreated.He blew out the light and hugged me to bed.

He was like a cicada who had unintentionally uncovered the honey pot, and he was so absorbed in it that both wings were willing to accept it.

Outside, the wind and moon are getting thick.

On the couch, the husband and wife are loving each other.

The next day was the tenth day, and it was also the first day I entered the palace as a painter.

Cheng Huaishi specially ordered Heming to go to the Yamen to take leave of absence, and sent me to the palace gate before rushing back to do business.

The palace walls are majestic, the gardens are picturesque, and the gates are decorated with tiles.

The head of the imperial prison came up to me, smiled at me and said, "Painter, please follow me to Renzhi Palace."

All painters who enter the palace must first be assessed by the Twelve Prisoners before they can be retained for imperial use.

I followed him and walked inside.I saw that there were five steps to the first floor, ten steps to the pavilion, the waist of the corridor was unobtrusive, the eaves and teeth were high, and the Tianjia was grand and grand.

When I arrived at Renzhi Hall, I saw Feng Gao sitting on the throne.He is sitting in the middle position.

I drew a landscape according to the title.

Feng Gao made the decision, and the others quickly agreed, with all kinds of complimentary words.

Some palace attendants brought official uniforms and seals, and some young eunuchs took names and entered them into the book.In good order.

From then on, I was a registered court painter.

After everything was done, Feng Gao took me into an inner room.It can be seen that he is now extremely powerful.Everyone looked at him with respect and fear.

"Sister, Zhang Taiyue is so good, why would he recommend you to be a painter?"

"Probably because, last time, he was quite satisfied with the portrait I painted for him in Zhang's Mansion."

"Sister, since you are willing to do this job, I will definitely help you. As long as my sister is happy. However, Zhang Taiyue has been at odds with Dongchang for many years, but it has become very strange recently, and I have to be careful." His fingers were rubbing back and forth. .

"How strange?" I asked.

He said: "I arrested an official in charge of water transportation late at night. If it was normal, he would have tried every means to remonstrate with me. But this time, he didn't. He went to Dongchang to find me in person and talked to me. He said a lot of soft words. This has never happened before. He also asked me who is in the family and what items I like. I casually said that I like bracelets, and he actually gave me a pair of yellow pear wood ghost eye bracelets last night. It’s worth a lot of money. I suspect he has a conspiracy. But for the time being, I can’t find out what the conspiracy is.”

"Maybe Mr. Zhang wants to ease the relationship with Dongchang." I thought.

He clenched his fists and frowned: "Sister, he looks at me very strangely. In short, I have to prepare early. If I have to, I will fight with him."

I hurriedly said: "Don't make a rash decision yet. We'll wait and see what happens next."

He thought for a while and nodded.

When I came out of the inner room, I saw an old man with white beard coming from Renzhi Hall.When he saw me, he stared at me closely.

Feng Gao introduced: "This is Painter Liao who was called to paint for the Cisheng Queen Mother today. Painter Liao has been in the palace for more than 30 years."

I nodded: "I've met senior."

Painter Liao never looked away. For a long time, he sighed: "This lady reminds me of someone. She looks like her! She looks like her!"

Painters have the best memory for human faces.

Since he said it was like the extreme, there must be a reason.

My heart moved and I asked: "Who is the person that the senior is talking about?"

(End of this chapter)