The cannon fodder stepmother dressed as the villain Zai Zai

Hearing Taoist Wu's words of praise for his wife, Xuanhe was a little confused. When did her wife learn to recite poems and compose poems?How come I've never heard of it before.

Xuanhe didn't hide it either. This girl was outspoken. If she had anything to say, she would ask her face to face:

"Madam, can you also write poetry?"

Seeing Xuan He's surprised look, Xu Yaqin said calmly:
"It doesn't matter if I do nothing in my spare time, but I am really happy to be able to catch Mr. Wu's eyes."

Can you invite Taoist Wu over if you do it randomly?

Xuan He would not believe this even to death. The reputation of Taoist Wu in Yandu City was so great.Even the articles written by many champions in the court and those Confucian scholars were criticized by Wu Daoren as nonsense.

How could my wife win such high praise from Taoist Wu by just writing two poems?
Not right.

There is definitely a big problem here!
Seeing Xuan He's frowning and puzzled look, Taoist Wu on the side was also amused. He burst out laughing and solved her doubts, saying:

"You're an interesting girl. I've been with your wife for so many years, but I didn't even know that she wrote such good poems."

"And Mrs. Xu, with your talents you should write more poems and spread them in the poetry world for eternity. How can you spend your life hiding in a boudoir and a building? Isn't this a great talent wasted?"

Xu Yaqin smiled and said:
"Taoist Wu praised her very much. The little girl only occasionally had a sudden flash of inspiration and came up with an excellent piece of poetry. How can she be compared with those great poets?"

Wu Daoren waved his hand and said firmly:
"No, no, no, what are these words?"

"Mrs. Xu, please don't be modest. In my opinion, this poem of yours is definitely a masterpiece, and it contains a hidden meaning of cultivating Taoism. I didn't expect that Mrs. Xu, a rich lady, would actually have some insights into the matter of cultivating Taoism?"

Hearing the two people rejecting each other and complimenting each other, Xuan He couldn't stand listening anymore. She became more and more curious about Xu Yaqin's poems, so she urged Wu Daoren and said:
"The Taoist Master is really anxious. You'd better bring that poem to me quickly. I'm also curious about what good poems my wife can make."

"Okay, okay, don't be in a hurry."

Seeing Xuan He's anxious look, Wu Daoren took out the kit from his sleeve.

Xuanhe took it with both hands respectfully, took out the note from the brocade bag, looked at the four lines of poetry on it, and murmured to himself:

"The body has been refined to look like a crane, and two scriptures are written under a thousand pines. I came to ask, but I said, the clouds are in the blue sky, and the water is in the bottle."

Unlike these ladies, Xuanhe was originally from a martial arts background and did not receive much education in school.

When I read these four lines of poetry, I just thought they were catchy and pleasant, but I didn’t understand the true meaning contained in them.

But Taoist Wu, the Taoist priest of Xuandu Temple, loved this poem very much.

Xu Yaqin was no longer used to being there, and said to Xuan He:
"Okay, Xuanhe, stop joking around and don't be rude in front of Mr. Wu. Don't forget that we invited Mr. Wu to come because we have serious business."

Wu Daoren also became interested at this time, his expression changed slightly, and he respectfully asked Xu Yaqin:

"I wonder if Mrs. Xu asked me to come here. What advice can I have?"

Xu Yaqin went straight to the point and revealed her true thoughts.

"I'm not afraid of Mr. Wu's jokes. I wonder if Mr. Wu remembers that he made a portrait of the late wife of the Marquis of Qingdu many years ago."

"Oh, is there such a thing?"

Wu Daoren frowned and fell deeply into thought.After a while, his expression became more solemn, he looked up at Xu Yaqin and replied:
"Oh, I remembered, it seems that this is the case." "The Marquis and his wife are talented and beautiful, and the wife has a dignified temperament. She is elegant and has a good image."

Speaking of this, Taoist Wu paused and continued to ask:

"But what does this have to do with Mrs. Xu coming to see me?"

Xu Yaqin's eyes sparkled and she said calmly:
"I would like to ask Mr. Wu to paint another portrait of the late Madam. I don't know, is it possible?"

"This...Mrs. Xu, do you want to listen to what you are saying?"

Xu Yaqin's request really put Wu Daoren into a dilemma.

Although he himself is a famous figure painter in Yandu City, any painting must have a reference. Of course, his figure paintings need to be painted against real people.

The late Madam of the Hou Mansion had passed away for many years, and everyone in Yandu City knew that painting for a dead person... Wu Daoren really didn't know what to do for a moment, so he could only express his worries with a troubled expression. Out:

"Mrs. Xu, you are really embarrassing me."

"The late madam has been dead for many years. I only had a brief encounter with her, but the past is so deep that even if I wanted to paint, I really can't think of the specific details of the late madam's appearance..."

"I really don't know how to draw. How can I draw?"

Xuan He on the side also felt puzzled. She was still thinking about why the madam asked her to find Mr. Wu here before, but she didn't expect that she actually wanted to paint a painting for the late madam.

She also felt that her wife's request was a bit overwhelming. Since it was a portrait painting, how could she make portraits of people without even people?
Xuanhe also echoed and said:

"Yes, madam, what Director Wu said makes sense."

"I know you want to use this method to make the Marquis feel better, but although Daochang Wu is a famous painter, he is also a human being and not a god. How can he do this kind of thing."

Xu Yaqin had not considered their two worries. She had already made plans in her mind.

"That's not the case, Mr. Wu, I know this request is indeed a bit difficult, but what I mean is, do you think I have some similarities with Mrs. Na?"

"Ah You……"

Originally, Wu Daoren had not noticed this, but after hearing Xu Yaqin's reminder, his eyes suddenly lit up and he looked directly at Xu Yaqin.

He looked around carefully from front to back, left and right, looked up and down, narrowed his eyes into a line, was silent for a moment, and then said:
"If Madam Xu says so, according to experienced observation, Madam, you do have some resemblance to the late Madam, but they are just statues of gods, not similar in form."

Xuanhe listened and understood.

My wife wanted to use herself as a model and ask Mr. Wu to repaint a portrait of the deceased late wife based on her portrait, but could this kind of thing really be done?
Even Xuanhe also had a question mark in his mind.

Xu Yaqin was a little happy and said excitedly:
"Then I would like to ask Mr. Wu to paint a portrait of a divine elephant. It doesn't need to be an image, it just needs to be able to convey the feeling of the late Madam. I wonder if Mr. Wu understands what I mean?"

When Wu Daoren heard this, he couldn't help but look at Mrs. Xu with admiration when he met her for the first time.

He laughed and said happily:
"Okay, okay, Mrs. Xu, you are still the first person to ask me to paint a statue of a god without asking for an image."

(End of this chapter)