I'm in the Red Mansion

Chapter 40 Licking the Dog
Soon, Xue Baochai quietly walked behind Lin Daiyu.

But he discovered that Lin Daiyu was painting a vase.

The way of painting Lin Daiyu is completely different from ink painting.

It is very rare to depict a vase alone in ink paintings. Even if a vase appears in the painting, it is mostly just an embellishment.

In the painting of Lin Daiyu, there is only a vase.

And although this portrait has not yet been completed and is only a little more than half painted, the image is already vivid on the paper.

It looks like a real vase standing on the table.

This style of painting was clearly the same style used by the young painter who painted her portrait.

I don't know where Lin learned this from, or did she figure it out on her own?
If she figured it out on her own, her talent is truly amazing.

You have to know that I have been thinking about it for a long time, but still can't get the point.

Thinking of this, Xue Baochai could not help but ask, "Sister Lin, which school of painting did you use for this portrait?"

Lin Daiyu was so frightened that she almost jumped up.

She held her chest for a long time before she could breathe smoothly. She couldn't help but look back at Xue Baochai with resentment and asked, "Sister Bao, are you silent when you walk? Do you know that scaring people to death can be fatal?"

Xue Baochai laughed and said, "I walked without making any sound. It's just that you were so immersed in the painting that you didn't hear it."

"You remember that you scared me like this last time, and now I'm scared back at you. It shows that every sip and every bite will bring retribution."

These words made Lin Daiyu laugh as well.

She couldn't help but say, "My painting method is called sketching. The method is to use light and shadow to highlight the three-dimensional effect. The so-called three-dimensional means that the painting looks real and has a sense of layering."

After hearing Lin Daiyu's words, Xue Baochai suddenly felt as if she had grasped something, but when she thought about it carefully, she felt that something was missing.

Xue Baochai couldn't help asking, "Sister Lin, is this painting method something you figured out on your own?"

Hearing this, Lin Daiyu couldn't help laughing and said, "Sister Bao, you think too highly of me. How could I have such a talent? I learned this painting method from someone else."

Xue Baochai couldn't help asking again, "Who did Sister Lin learn from? The painter in the front street? How did Sister Lin ask this painter to teach you to paint?"

After hearing this answer, Xue Baochai became even more curious.

As far as she knew, Lin Daiyu couldn't go out easily.

Xue Baochai really couldn't figure out how Lin Daiyu left the house and how she learned painting from a strange man.

Lin Daiyu thought about it and couldn't help but smiled and said, "Sister Bao may not know that this painter is far away in the sky and very close to us. He is now in Rongguo Mansion!"

Lin Daiyu originally wanted to conceal it, but then she thought again that such a thing could not be concealed.

Even if she didn't say it now, it wouldn't be long before Xue Baochai would hear the truth from outside.

By then, it will cause resentment among them.

Since that's the case, it would be better to tell her now.

After hearing what Lin Daiyu said, Xue Baochai became even more curious. She couldn't help asking, "Now that Sister Lin said that, I remember it now. No wonder I felt like I had seen that painter before when I saw him that day."

"I didn't expect that he was actually from this mansion. Dear sister, please tell me, who is this painter?"

Lin Daiyu hesitated for a moment and said, "Sister Bao, this painter is actually the third brother Cong from the mansion. It's fine if you know it yourself, but don't tell anyone."

After thinking for a moment, Xue Baochai asked, "Third Brother Cong? Could he be the half-brother of Second Brother Lian from the eldest house?"

Lin Daiyu nodded and said, "That's right. Third Brother Cong had to paint a portrait for someone in the front street because he had to treat his mother's illness. If this gets out, Third Brother Cong will be held accountable again, so please don't let anyone know."

Xue Baochai laughed and said, "Sister Lin, you don't know me yet? How can I be such a talkative person? Such news will never leak out from my mouth..."

Before Xue Baochai finished speaking, she heard someone outside laughing:
"Sister Bao, you may not tell anyone, but I heard it now. You should think carefully about what you can do to let me keep the secret for you."

Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu were startled and looked back, only to find that the person who was speaking was Jia Baoyu.

Although Jia Baoyu was talking to Xue Baochai, his eyes were actually looking at Lin Daiyu.

Xue Baochai sighed inwardly and asked, "Brother Bao, when did you come? How come you walk without making any sound?"

Jia Baoyu clapped his hands and laughed, "Sister Bao, I only came a little later than you. When I saw you quietly enter Sister Lin's study, I knew you wanted to scare her."

"So I quietly hid at the door and listened to your conversation. If I really heard your secret, what do you say now?"

Without waiting for Xue Baochai to speak, Lin Daiyu said with a stern face: "If Master Bao spreads this matter, he may also spread the things in our boudoir."

"Wouldn't this ruin our innocence? So please don't come to our house again in the future, Master Bao. If you can avoid meeting each other on weekdays, then don't meet each other again, so as to avoid any rumors."

Hearing Lin Daiyu say this, Jia Baoyu hurriedly swore, "Sister Lin, I was just joking with you, how could I really let it out?"

"If Sister Lin doesn't believe me, I swear to heaven. If this matter leaks out from my mouth, I will become a monk and will never be able to talk and play with the sisters again."

Xue Baochai said hurriedly: "Brother Bao, we didn't say we didn't believe you, so why did you swear? Don't stand at the door, come in and sit down and talk."

Hearing this, Jia Baoyu walked in.

He saw the vase painted by Lin Daiyu again and could not help but exclaim in amazement:

"I heard in the past two days that a master of painting appeared in the capital and created a new school of painting."

"I originally thought they were just spreading rumors and didn't really believe it. But now that I've seen the brushwork used in Lin Daiyu's portrait, I realize that it really created a new school of painting."

"Just now I heard Sister Lin say that this genre is called sketching, which uses light and shadow to present a three-dimensional effect. I don't know exactly how it is presented. Sister Lin, can you teach me?"

Jia Baoyu is a broad-minded and loving person. He likes both the sister and the younger sister.

Well, as long as they are pretty girls, he likes them all.

However, he still prefers Lin Daiyu, who is cold and indifferent to him.

If Lin Daiyu could agree to teach him painting, he would come here every day in the future.

At the thought of being able to stay with Lin Daiyu every day in the future, Jia Baoyu's heart almost melted, and he couldn't help but become infatuated.

(End of this chapter)