Ordinary clear day

Chapter 175 Mace

After sitting down in the study, Shuning asked Yanxiang to serve tea, and Chaxiang went to Huaiyuan to accompany Nanny Cui as she did in the past. When Xiang retreated, she glanced at her, and stood still outside the door, waiting for orders.

Shu Ning asked: "Brother Tongying, how is it these days? I heard that you are very busy, and you have lost a lot of weight, so you need to take care of your body." Tongying smiled and said: "It's okay, just tired, You don’t know yet, do you? The emperor has already promised me that I will be transferred to the Ministry of War in the spring of next year. But now I have to continue to do errands in the Ministry of Rites, and I have to go to the Ministry of War to help from time to time, so I am very busy.”

"Huh? Then you got what you wanted. But why did Brother Tongying transfer to the Ministry of War?"

"It's easy to make meritorious service in the Ministry of War. I can't just rely on my laurels, can I?" Tong Ying smiled slightly, "If I have more weight in front of the emperor, it's easy to get what I want."

Huh?Shuning suddenly felt that Tongying's eyes had some other meaning, but she couldn't figure it out for a while.

"Although the work of the Ministry of Rites is decent, it is very trivial." Tong Ying quickly complained, "Why do you think these princes and ministers are so strange? In autumn, they get together like wives and concubines. In winter, But they got together to do funerals. This month, I spent at least half of the time in plain clothes."

Shu Ning looked at it carefully, and sure enough, his clothes were different from the usual white clothes. There were no decorative patterns at all, and even the purse was only wearing a blue one: "But is any noble person dead?"

Tong Ying was a little surprised: "You don't know? The imperial concubine in the palace is gone, it's the one from Niu Hulu's family." But he soon came to his senses: "Yes, you have been learning the rules at home recently. Don't you know?" He glanced at the woman at the door and whispered, "Is it hard work? I heard from your brother that you have suffered a great crime."

Shuning smiled slightly and said, "Fortunately, it was a bit uncomfortable at first, but now I'm used to it, but I'm a little tired."

Tongying touched her head, groaned a few times, took out a small box from her sleeve, handed it to Shuning and said: "There is a small bottle here, which contains a special medicine, put two or three drops into a basin of hot water Soak your feet at night, and you will feel much more relaxed the next day. And this..." He took out a blue silk bag from the other sleeve: "This is also our family's secret recipe. Take one tablet at night, dissolve it in hot water and take it, it can relieve fatigue."

Shu Ning was a little surprised: "This... thank you so much, is this medicine very precious?"

"Uh..." Tong Ying smiled, "It's nothing, you can ask me for it after you use it up. In fact, I should have delivered it long ago. I was busy with my own business and neglected your side."

Shu Ning was grateful in her heart, in fact, she was used to it now, and apart from being tired, there was nothing uncomfortable about it, but she would still accept Tong Ying's kindness.She thanked Tongying again, but Tongying just shook her hand and said no.

Thinking of the friendship between each other, Shu Ning felt that there was no need to be too polite, so she accepted it openly, and then invited Tong Ying to visit the new courtyard and give some advice by the way.

Although it was Duanning's excuse that she came here for half an hour every day, most of the work of decorating the new house was still in the hands of Changfu Ermo and his wife, but since she had this title, she couldn't do a little bit of work, so she would give some opinions.Except that the principal house was not under her control, and Changfu was in charge of several servants' houses, she intervened in other places, especially the study.She is in charge of all the layout and furnishings here, so it is extraordinarily elegant, and even the tea sets and the Four Treasures of the Study are unique.

Besides the study, what she is most proud of is the few clumps of plum blossoms planted in the yard.They were transplanted from Fangshan Bieyuan and Earl's Mansion gardens by specially invited experienced masters. Most of them were red plums, and there were also a few pink, white and yellow ones.She chose the planting location herself, so that the plum blossoms seemed to cover the entire yard.In addition, it just snowed yesterday, and a few red plums bloomed extraordinarily brightly, reflecting the white snow so refreshing.

She had already made up her mind that several courtyards in the mansion, including her own Huaiyuan, the bamboo courtyard of the big house, the chrysanthemum courtyard of the fourth room, as well as the peach courtyard where Qingning lives and the apricot courtyard where Shunning lives, are all based on the courtyard. Name the plants grown in.Now that plum blossoms are planted in my brother's new yard, it should be called Meiyuan.

Tongying also seemed to admire the plum blossoms in the yard, and said with a smile: "Look at the red plums blooming so well, this yard might as well be called Meiyuan." Same idea.

"Oh!" Tongying suddenly cried out, which startled Shuning, only to hear him say: "What should I do? My hands are itchy. Sister Shu, you don't know, I have been practicing painting plum blossoms since the beginning of winter." , I have to draw a few pictures every day, which is the homework assigned by the teacher. As a result, when I see plum blossoms, I can't help but want to draw. Are there any painting tools here? I want to draw two strokes."

"Of course there are." Shuning said, "Although my brother doesn't like painting, the sister-in-law who is about to pass the door has learned it, so I have added a full set of painting tools and paints in this study." She found a stack of large ones Spread a piece of Jiajiang paper on the table, and spread out several painting utensils one by one. Seeing that Tongying was staring at the clump of plum blossoms in front of the house, she simply scooped water from the water tank behind the house and helped her personally. Tong Ying began to grind the ink.

After a while, Tongying had a case in her belly, and went to the case to write. Seeing that the brush was new, she took Duanning's old brush, dipped it in the ink, looked at the tip of the pen, and brushed on the paper. a few strokes.At first I couldn't see what it was, but later it gradually showed the appearance of mountain rocks, and I could recognize that they were a few strange rocks piled under the plum blossoms, but they were more imposing than the real thing.Then he drew zigzagging thick branches from bottom to top, gradually tapered, and finally closed the top with the tip of the pen, and started to draw another branch from the bottom.

Shu Ning watched him draw a cluster of plum branches, and then changed to a fine brush to draw side branches, which looked like a freehand painting of ink and wash.She glanced at the clump of red plums outside the house, and suddenly felt that Tongying might need red paint, so she found cinnabar and a few white porcelain plates, considered the amount, and mixed out half a plate of red.

After Tong Ying finished drawing the plum branch, the pen in her hand swayed slightly in the air, which seemed to be just an unconscious movement.When Shu Ning saw it, she wondered if he needed clean water, so she moved the celadon lotus leaf water container to his right hand.After a while, Tong Ying really dipped the pen into the water chamber, saw a white plate next to it, then adjusted a lighter ink color on the plate, drew a few branches that were far away, and then looked at it for a while, finally Dip the cinnabar with another pen, and light the plum blossoms.

He made a few strokes into a red plum, some in full bloom, some in bud, and some with flower buds, and the branches were covered with bright red.After he finished spotting a few flower buds, [-]% to [-]% of the paint had been used up, so he added water to the remaining cinnabar to make it light red, painted a few plum blossoms in the background, and then used a fine brush to draw ink on the stamens.

He repaired here, tinkered there, looked at it for a while, and nodded in satisfaction. When he was looking for water to wash the brush, he saw Shu Ning holding the brush and washing it in. It was filled with fresh water.He was stunned for a while, glanced at the things on the case, and smiled: "It's strange that I can draw very smoothly today. It turned out that it was because of the help of Sister Shu. It seems that you and I cooperate very well. What do you even use for me? I know everything and what color to paint.”

Shu Ning smiled and said: "Anyway, I have also learned painting. Although I am not as good as you, I still know a little bit about it. The plum blossoms in the yard are so red today. If you only use ink and wash, you will let it down." Good color. If you want to paint spiritually, you must bring out the most vivid cinnabar."

Tong Ying smiled, looked at her work again, and asked: "What do you think of my painting?" Shu Ning looked at it carefully, and said: "Of course it is good, but it is slightly different from the usual plum blossom pictures. Nowadays, when people draw plum blossoms, they like to paint a feeling of coldness and aloofness, but the plum blossoms in Brother Tongying's works are in full bloom, and they look more luxuriant than real flowers."

Tong Ying said with a smile: "If the plum blossoms grow in the mountains and bloom proudly in the cold wind, it is natural to draw a thin plum tree, which feels lonely and cold. But the red plum blossoms in your house are born In a wealthy family, there are special people to take care of it every day. It would be too hypocritical if you still put on a lonely and cold appearance. Since you were born in a wealthy family, you simply try your best to bloom more prosperously, and repay the kindness of the person who takes care of it. , can also get more attention, right?"

Shu Ning said: "Hearing what you said, I feel that this plum blossom also has thoughts, more like a person." Tong Ying smiled: "You are not plum blossoms, how do you know that it doesn't have such thoughts?"

He picked up the pen and wanted to inscribe on the drawing paper, but stopped the pen again, looked at Shuning, hesitated, and said to her: "I want to inscribe a poem on this painting, but I don't know if it is suitable. May I take a look?" After saying that, he took another piece of paper, wrote a poem on it, and handed it to Shu Ning.

Shu Ning read it, but it turned out to be a poem of Qijue: "The stalks are connected and the skills are blossoming, so it is better to take a picture next to the cold pond. I only worry about the corners of the painting being blown away, and the film is the most hurtful." She has read this poem before. , is "Yuanyangmei" written by Feng Zizhen of the Yuan Dynasty, but looking at the content of this poem, she felt very strange.This poem is incompatible with painting. Even if Tong Ying is not good at poetry, she has read books for so many years and studied painting. She should have a certain ability to appreciate poetry. Logically speaking, she shouldn't make such a mistake?
Did he do it on purpose?But what is the purpose of this?

She suddenly had an idea, but couldn't believe it.Raising her eyes to look at Tong Ying, she saw that he was looking at her with a smile, his eyes were gentle, her heart moved, and she felt a little unsure.

The woman by the door coughed, Shu Ning frowned and looked away.Tong Ying ignored the woman's gaze, and still said with a smile: "But it's not good? Sister Shu just speaks out if she has something to say, so don't be embarrassed."

Well, she'll give it a try.So she said: "Brother Tongying used this poem, but it is a bit inappropriate. The plum blossoms you painted are not two branches but a cluster, and there is no pond next to it, and the plum blossoms are all gathered on the branches, not in the wind. It blows away. What's more, the poem reads a little sad, which doesn't match the prosperity in the painting."

But Tong Ying didn't care, she still smiled and said: "So, I was wrong, I just thought the title of this poem was good, so I used it."

poem name? "Yuanyangmei"?Shuning suddenly felt her heart beating a little faster.

Tong Ying took another piece of paper, scribbled a few sentences, and said: "What do you think of this poem?" Shuning read it, but it was Cai Xiang's poem: "The sun is warm and the fragrance is in full bloom. Thousands of times. How can the spring breeze be full of love and thoughts, and it will come and go with the flowers."

Her heart beat faster, and she looked at Tongying, who was still looking at her tenderly, and there seemed to be something in his eyes.She bit her lip, glanced at the mother-in-law, coughed lightly, and said, "This poem... is more suitable than the one just now, but it's the twelfth lunar month, and all the wind is blowing. Where does the spring breeze come from?"

"Although there is a cold wind blowing now, after the winter, it will be the spring breeze. As long as you wait patiently, Meihua believes that the spring breeze will always come."

This...is that what she thought?It seems that the specified object has been converted?She raised her eyes to look at Tong Ying, and saw that he just smiled and bowed his head in silence.She thought for a while, then lowered her head and said: "But when spring comes, there are countless flowers blooming. Will the spring breeze care about this plum blossom? I'm afraid that this plum blossom will also wither by then."

Tong Ying said softly: "No matter how many flowers there are in spring, how can they compare with the only plum blossom that blooms in winter? In the whole winter, it is the only one that decorates the world. Even if it doesn't bloom for a while, it still exists, waiting for the next one. It will open again in winter. The spring breeze is the most affectionate, so naturally it will not forget its contribution."

Shuning's heart beat fast, she bowed her head and remained silent.Tong Ying didn't say any more, and directly wrote a poem on the painting with a brush, but it was another poem: "The ink marks on the paper are fresh, and the plum blossoms are the most lovely at a few points. May the wind blow far away, and every family lane It's all spring." With one stroke, he signed "Tong, Master of Moyuan", and then took out a private seal from his purse to stamp it on, and said to Shu Ning: "Sister Shu, I will give this painting to you."

Shu Ning glanced at it, then asked: "I don't seem to have read this poem before, Master Moyuan... Is this your new name?"

Tong Ying suddenly blushed, coughed a few times, and recovered her normal complexion, before saying: "It's nothing, it's just a sudden whim, does it sound good? That poem was written by someone else, and I don't remember where it is I have seen it, and I will borrow it now."

Although Shu Ning thought it was strange, she didn't think much about it. She just thanked her solemnly and put away the painting in embarrassment. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of the hem of Tong Ying's clothes being damaged, so she asked what was going on.

Tong Ying said indifferently: "Probably because it was hung on the stirrup when dismounting from the horse. It's nothing, just mend it later." He paused, then touched his head again, and said a little embarrassedly: "I forgot, no one at home will help I have to mend it, so I have to replace it with a new one, it’s just too wasteful, this is a new dress that was made last month.”

Shu Ning asked: "Isn't there anyone in your family who takes care of your clothes?" Tong Ying said with a wry smile: "I, Ama, dragged my family back to Fengtian a while ago, and now only my elder brother and I live in the Beijing Palace. Now, my brother is busy coaxing the children with his sister-in-law as soon as he comes home every day, so how can he have time to pay attention to me? The only people serving me are Tianyang and a few rough girls, but those girls are not good at sewing." There was a pitiful look on his face, which was unbearable to see.

Shu Ning originally wanted to say to help him make it up, but she glanced at the woman at the door, but she still didn't say anything, she just changed the subject and said, "Brother, what happened today? It's so much later than usual."

A trace of disappointment flashed across Tong Ying's face, but he quickly answered the question: "He probably has some errands to do? They've been very busy recently, and they have to deal with the accumulated official documents before the New Year's holiday."

Shu Ning was about to say something, but she heard the mother-in-law say: "Girl, it's getting late, it's time to go back and learn the rules." Shu Ning looked at the sky, it was already half an hour, looked at Tong Ying, a little Difficult.

But Tongying smiled and said: "I think it's better to say goodbye first. Anyway, today is just to see the layout of the new courtyard, so as to get some good calligraphy and paintings for your brother. You tell him later, so that he can rest assured. I know it well. Keep him satisfied."

Shu Ning knew that he was familiar with famous calligraphers and painters in Beijing, and this task was very easy for him, so she also laughed and offered to send him out of the second school.Tong Ying responded with a smile.

The two were walking outside, when they approached the second gate, they heard a commotion in front, a male voice said: "I want to see your second girl, do you want to stop me?" The people around looked at each other, one of them was older The old man went forward and called Qian'er, and said, "Fifth elder brother, please serve tea in the hall, and the younger one will pass it on immediately." Then everyone stepped out of the way.

Tongying frowned, pulled Shuning past her, took a few steps back, and hid behind the bushes.

(Will it be too cryptic? I'm really not good at writing this kind of scene... I really feel more and more pressure recently...)
(End of this chapter)