cloud temple phoenix hairpin

Chapter 22

Chapter 19

When Ming Yu approached him, he saw that it was a small pot carved out of bamboo roots, which seemed to be quite old.The body of the pot uses the pleats of the bamboo joints to carve two masters in long gowns who are playing chess. One of them sits cross-legged leisurely, while the other bends his knees, with a tense expression. The body and lid of the pot are very similar to a section of ancient pine. The shape is covered with pine leaves, the shape is very smooth and natural, and if you take it over and look at it a few times, you will already know it in your heart.

Bamboo has always been regarded as a symbol of nobleness. Compared with rhinoceros jade carvings, bamboo carvings are more favored by literati. Since ancient times, there have been many famous artists. It reached its peak in the Fengyuan period of the dynasty more than 200 years ago. According to the region, it is divided into "Northern Xu" and "South Cang". Two factions.

Xu He, a famous representative of Beixu, is himself a master of calligraphy and painting, so Xu's bamboo carving, using painting as the main method, combined with brushwork, created techniques such as openwork carving, relief carving, and leaving green. The layers are clear and the layout is grand. , Ivy Grass, Crane and Deer Immortals, all are lifelike and full of charm.However, the representative figure of Nancang, the native of Lingzhou, whose family name is Cangcuo, has positive characters. He likes to use the intertwined roots of the bamboo roots, and engraving with lines and scraping and grinding will make it outstanding, just like a freehand landscape.The works of the representatives of these two schools are rare because of their long history. It is said that there are several pieces hidden in the imperial palace, and even Emperor Zhengde often played with them, which shows their rarity.

This Gaoshi Matsushita playing chess pot, judging from its trend and engraving method, is obviously Nan Cang's style, with outstanding knife skills, and there is a small seal script "Hui" in the recess of the base, which is the usual mark of Cang Cuo. Coupled with the fact that the grandfather is such a treasure, it must be Cang Cuo's handed down work.

"Well, do you see it?"

Jiang Kui urged Ming Yu with anticipation in his eyes.

"It looks like it should be the work of Nan Cang's school, but it's only made by someone, but I really can't tell it."

Ming Yu smiled, and carefully put the pot back on the table.

Jiang Kui opened his eyes wide in surprise, and shouted: "You girl, are you kidding me? How can you not see this? I remember you told me last year that compared to Beixu's Gongdiao , you prefer Cang Xiangzheng's artistic conception, why can't you recognize Cang Xiangzheng's masterpiece now in front of you?"

Ming Yu let out a cry, and then said: "It's Cang Xiangzheng? The strange way doesn't look normal. It's really my granddaughter's eyesight. I'll ask my grandfather for advice when I have time in the future."

Jiang Kui sighed, with regret on his face: "I just said that your parents are so confused. A good ice and snow person insists on being arrested to take care of some housework. Even if a person has a delicate heart, he is tainted by that worldly desire. It is inevitable that you will be distracted. Wait for your father to come over and see if I can teach him a lesson!"

As Jiang Kui got older, his mentality became more and more like a child. If he has something good, he can't wait to let others know.Just now, he purposely questioned Mingyu, just wanting to show off his granddaughter's intelligence and learning in front of Xie Zuiqiao, but Mingyu made a fool of him when he didn't want to. With a strange look, he hastily explained to Ming Yu: "This Gao Shi Panasonic playing chess pot was originally hidden by An Zai Song, the grandfather of Zuiqiao Hanlin Academy. The old man is very precious. I wanted to take Dong Rui, a master of landscape in the past. I refused to exchange the authentic works of Dong Rui with him. I was overwhelmed for a while, so I made a bet with him, and I played a chess game with him. No, just lose my chess game. He has always been self-sufficient, so he should bet. Now that the one-year agreement has passed, he really can't break my chess game. Fortunately, he is still a shy person, so he asked Zuiqiao Bring me this thing."

When Jiang Kui said this, he was so proud that he burst out laughing, and suddenly he covered his head with an ouch, thinking it was touching the wound on his forehead.

Ming Yu was slightly taken aback when she heard An Zaisong's name.An Zaisong also knew this in her previous life. Not only was she the crown prince and Taifu of Emperor Zhengde back then, but a closer relationship happened to be her former mother-in-law, the father of An Shi, the wife of the third room of Jingyonghou's mansion.Na An Zaisong was in charge of astronomy and astrology in the Imperial Academy, and he was proficient in Pythagorean mathematics. His temperament was completely different from that of his grandfather.

Ming Yu naturally knew about the personal relationship between the two of them, but she didn't know that there was such a bet.Just as he was in a daze, he heard his grandfather cry out in pain, and hurried forward to help him. Behind him, Xie Zuiqiao also rushed forward. Seeing that Ming Yu had supported Jiang Kui, he stopped again and took a step back.

"Old man, my nephew delivered the things my grandfather entrusted to me, so I took my leave. When my nephew left Beijing, he just brought a very good wound medicine, which was from the imperial hospital in the palace. After living in Jiangcheng, I sent someone to bring it to hope that the old man will take care of his body and get healthy soon."

Xie Zuiqiao smiled at Jiang Kui.Seeing Jiang Kui thanking him, he thought for a while and said, "My nephew has one more request. My grandfather told me that my nephew must seek a way to break the situation from the old man. I have been thinking about it day and night for a year, and I have devoted myself to it. , but still defeated, although he has hatred, he is willing to admit defeat, and only hope that the old lady will tell him the way to break the game, so that he can feel at ease."

After Xie Zuiqiao relayed An Zaisong's words, Ming Yu saw his grandfather's eyebrows twitching again.She has been with him for many years, so she naturally knows that he will show this expression whenever he is extremely proud of something.

Jiang Kui coughed, waved to Xie Zuiqiao, and said, "Come here with your ears."

Xie Zuiqiao leaned over according to his words, and bent down.

Ming Yu saw Xie Zuiqiao's face was solemn at first, but after hearing a few words from his grandfather, his expression froze, then his brows were raised high, with an expression of disbelief, and after a while, he became dumbfounded look like.

Ming Yu was puzzled, but saw his grandfather wink his eyes at Xie Zuiqiao, and proudly said: "You can tell him as I say, Xiushu. Thinking of Old Man An's appearance after he finds out, I can't wait to fly to Beijing to see it for myself. Look, haha..."

Xie Zuiqiao coughed, bowed goodbye to Jiang Kui, turned around to leave, paused slightly, glanced at Ming Yu, as if to say something, but finally did not speak, just nodded to her with a smile.Ming Yu hurriedly returned the salute, and Xie Zuiqiao strode away.

Xie Zuiqiao was sent out of Bailuzhai by Liu Shenghe, Yu Da and others who were waiting in the court. When he returned to Jiangzhou with his entourage, the words of Old Master Jiang seemed to be still ringing in his ears.

"Your grandfather was stingy and pedantic. I just picked out a few broken games from the Xinghuaquan chess record, cut off the ends and stitched them together. It was a random game. How can I solve it? It's ridiculous that he was so stubborn that he didn't know how to change it. He really thought it was some kind of rare mystery that I was looking for. He actually studied this mess for a long time, and finally I tricked him into this bamboo pot. I used to ask for it He exchanged, but he ignored it, he didn't even let me take another look, as if I would steal it, but now with a random game of chess, he willingly sent it to the door, do you think it's funny? "

Although Xie Zuiqiao knew that the old man Jiang's actions were unkind, and it was his grandfather who was being teased, he really shouldn't laugh as a junior.It's just that everyone is on the road now, but the more I think about it, the more amusing I feel.Thinking about how the usually very rigid grandfather would really be ashamed to death if he knew that he had been cheated by this old man Jiang's game of chess for a year, and finally put in a bamboo carving pot that was as precious as love.I'm afraid that it may not be impossible to find him so angry that he will fight for his life.Although the old man Jiang's words and deeds are quite unexpected, they are simple and funny, without losing the heart of a child, which makes people feel close to him.

The smile on the corner of Xie Zuiqiao's mouth hadn't stopped yet, and suddenly the beautiful eyes of Miss Ruan's family with red phoenix eyelashes appeared in front of her eyes, but she couldn't help feeling a little confused in her heart.Just now, when Old Master Jiang was questioning her about the bamboo pot, he was on the sidelines. He clearly saw that she was looking at the pot with a focused expression. When he was expecting her to tell the truth, she said she didn't know the origin when she opened her mouth, which made him almost think that the moment of her spiritual light he saw just now was just a wrong eye.

If viewed from a distance, this female doll is demure and dignified, with self-restraint in words and deeds, which is not much different from the ladies he is used to in Beijing.When I got closer, I always felt that she was not as simple as she appeared on the surface.Yesterday, he went to the mountains to search for Jiang Kui, and just rescued his injured grandfather. This action made him think a little bit, but when he was questioned about the carved bamboo pot,... Could it be that because he, an outsider, was present, he deliberately suppressed his aura and concealed his clumsiness?
Xie Zuiqiao shook his head suddenly, and laughed himself, shaking off the unreasonable speculation in his mind.It's just a girl doll who is a year or two older than her sister, where did she get so many twists and turns?It was just now that she noticed that she had changed her pair of boots, and they felt a little tight when walking.Thinking about taking good care of your feet on weekdays, yesterday you suddenly soaked in the ice and snow for a day, so it may not be frostbitten.

"What are you thinking, young master? Tell everyone to have fun together."

Seeing him shaking his head and laughing at himself, Gao Jun, the guard of the General's Mansion nearby, couldn't help asking curiously.

Xie Zuiqiao chuckled, grasped the reins of the horse and accelerated sharply, galloping forward against the biting cold wind blowing on his face.

In Bailuzhai, Jiang Kui repeated those words again, Ming Yu's eyes widened in surprise, and it took him a long time before he couldn't help but let out a "chi" laugh.Knowing that my grandfather has a weird temper and does whatever he wants, but he never thought that he would use such a crooked brain, and it actually allowed him to succeed.Only then did I understand why that Xie Zuiqiao lost his composure after listening to the whisper just now.

Mingyu laughed so much that he fell beside Jiang Kui and cried out, but he stopped laughing easily and thought of a serious question: "Master An will be so angry when he finds out, aren't you afraid that Grandfather will come to seek you out? "

"My chaotic chess game, even if I show it to someone with a rough knowledge of chess, they will know that it is an unsolvable game. However, Mr. An is extremely conceited and has a stubborn temper. He would never have thought of me coming to this game in his dreams. So my random chess is tailor-made for him. I am Jiang Taigong who sits firmly on the Diaoyutai, and he is the fish who voluntarily wants to bite the bait, so what can I do?"

Jiang Kui was elated and beaming with joy.

Ming Yu shook her head and sighed with a smile: "Although I say that, it's just that this thing is the love of his heart. It's not kind of grandpa to cheat me like this."

Jiang Kui picked up the carved bamboo pot and played with it for a while, then smiled and said: "Silly girl, is your grandfather greedy for small profits? It's just that he is not used to him, and he is just playing tricks on him. I really hope that he will come over." Apologize, ask him to solve a chess game again. This time, it is not because of his random chess, but a new game that your grandfather and I have just painstakingly pushed out. Bicker with him, play chess, and pour him a few mouthfuls of myself If you return this pot to him for the steamed old shochu, he will be reluctant to leave for fear of driving him away." As he spoke, he suddenly seemed to remember something, and hurriedly changed his mouth, "By the way, girl Yu, I was originally I also want to use you to let my old face shine a little more, so that the younger generation from Beijing can also see the eyesight of my daughter of the Jiang family. Throw it away, I don't want my good granddaughter to only know about oil, salt, sauce and vinegar in the future, wouldn't that be too boring?"

Ming Yu stepped forward to take a carved pot from him, and moved the young couple aside together, then smiled and said: "Just now Mr. Xie was on the side, I restrained myself for a while, and I couldn't remember it. It’s still like a mirror. If Grandfather is worried, you can test me one by one. It’s just not today, I will let you take the test after you recover from your injuries.”

Jiang Kui didn't sleep much last night due to the pain in his wound, and today he passed the morning in a state of excitement. Now that he has walked the Xiezui Bridge, the order for the medicine he drank just now gradually came out, but he did feel a little tired, so he let out a hum. Chunyuan hurried forward, together with Ming Yu, supported him to lie down slowly, covered him with the quilt, and saw that his eyes gradually closed, the two of them came out and closed the door lightly.

Liu Shenghe was waiting on the porch outside.Seeing Mingyu coming out, he hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "When I came out the day before yesterday, I told my wife that I had seen the old man and returned. When will the girl come back?"

Ming Yu lowered her voice and said, "Grandfather is injured, so I won't go back. I'm afraid my mother will be anxious to wait, so the housekeeper can take someone back first and report to my mother."

Liu Shenghe nodded and said: "I think so too. Since that's the case, I'll go back first and leave a few people here for the girl to order. Fortunately, the road is not far away. I'll come see the girl and the old man tomorrow."

"Boss, my grandfather's injury, it's better to speak lightly when reporting to my mother, otherwise I'm afraid she will be too worried."

Liu Shenghe turned around and was about to leave, Ming Yu hurriedly ordered again.

"Don't worry, girl, even if she doesn't say anything, I know how to measure."

Liu Shenghe laughed.

Xie Zuiqiao and several of his attendants were all good at riding. They galloped all the way, but they rushed back to the south gate of Jiangzhou in half a day. Mrs. Xie said a few words about Jiang Kui, only concealed the young lady of the Ruan family, and said that it was a coincidence that both Xie and his wife were lucky and sighed endlessly.Seeing that Xie Zuiqiao was in the cold, he hurriedly called him back to the courtyard to have a meal and rest.

Since Xie Zuiqiao helped his deceased mother's coffin to be buried in the ancestral grave a few months ago, he, his younger sister Xie Jingzhu and his cousin Pei Wenying have been temporarily living in his uncle's magistrate's mansion.The magistrate's house is a government office, and the back house for family members is not big.However, Sanjin's courtyard lived with his husband and wife, two concubines, cousin Xie Yilin, cousin Xie Mingrou, a son and a daughter from concubines, plus some servants, it was not spacious at all, but now there are three more people.It turned out that he was busy every day and didn't have time to think about it.Now that I am gradually free, I think that I have to keep my filial piety for 27 months, and I can't go back to the guard camp.If he lived here for a long time, it would not be a long-term solution to stay in his uncle's house all the time. It would be up to him to discuss where my sister would live. She could find another house and move out, so that it would be easier to get in and out.I just know that if I mention it now, my uncle and aunt will definitely not agree, so I simply keep it a secret and report it when everything is settled.

Xie Zuiqiao made up his mind, and his steps towards his residence became much lighter.Suddenly I heard Mrs. Xie calling again behind me. Looking back, I saw her chasing up, handing over a letter, and said with a smile: "Look at my memory. There was a letter from you in the official document from the post office yesterday. I was afraid that the boys would lose it carelessly, so I kept it on purpose, and I forgot to pass it to you just now."

Xie Zuiqiao answered and said thank you, went back to the house and looked under the lamp, and saw that the seal was covered with large characters painted with iron and silver hooks, and the ink was dripping. Although it was not signed, he recognized it immediately.He took out the letter and read it quickly, pondered for a moment, suddenly seemed to remember something, received the letter and headed towards Xie Jingzhu's room.

(End of this chapter)