pampering wife

Chapter 13

He Zimo was obviously surprised when he heard Qingmei's question: "Did Wei Li tell you what Yuyanlei is?"

Qingmei shook her head innocently, after all, she was a little afraid of the stern He Zimo in her heart, so she didn't dare to ask too much, and just looked at him eagerly.

He Zimo's heart softened when she saw it, he pulled the armchair beside him and sat down, told Yingzi, who was cleaning up his pen and ink, to go to work outside the courtyard, and said slowly to Qingmei: "Behind Yu Yanlei, there is a heavy story— —”

It has been three or four hundred years since the founding of Qi State. After a long period of peace, writing, ink, calligraphy and painting have flourished. Literati and painters are also very particular about the four treasures of the study. A good ink can be exchanged for a thousand pieces of gold.

50 years ago, there were four major ink-making masters in the state of Qi, among which the one surnamed Zu barely ranked among the last of the four masters because of its ink-making for generations.Later, the ancestral family came out with an ink-making genius called Zu Nianying. When he made ink, he used fine materials and excellent workmanship. The ink ingot he produced was as firm as jade and had excellent fine-grained luster. It seems to be surrounded by a thin layer of red smoke, so it is named Yuyanmo.

This jade smoke ink has been extremely sought after since it came out, and it can be said that it is hard to find. For a while, Zu Nianying became famous, and the ancestor's family also became the head of the four great masters.

But while Zu Nianying's Yuyan ink is showing great splendor, he is also envied by another master ink maker named Jia Dao.Jia Dao was a high-ranking official in the court, and he presented that square of jade and smoke ink to the emperor. The emperor couldn't put it down. two months.

When the decree reached Zu Nianying, he was immediately dumbfounded.That one side of jade smoke ink was made by him with great painstaking efforts and took three months, not to mention spending more than half a year to collect raw materials in the early stage, how could he get out ten squares of jade smoke ink in two months?
However, as a merchant, what else can he do besides accepting his fate?Relying on his official authority, Jia Dao ordered Zu Nianying to rush to work, otherwise his family would be executed for resisting the order.

Zu Nianying was busy collecting materials everywhere, burning pine smoke day and night, and mixing hundreds of spices into it.When the two-month deadline came, not to mention the ten ink ingots, even one of them hadn't been completed. On the contrary, Zu Nianying worked hard and died of exhaustion on the last night of the deadline.

The emperor was furious when he heard Longyan, and ordered the rest of the ancestral family to rush to make jade smoke ink, or they would be punished severely.But the method of making this jade smoke ink is cumbersome and complicated, and it is new, so how can anyone else in the ancestor's family do it except Zu Nianying?
Zu Nianying's wife was sad and frightened, so she cremated her husband with pine branches. Finally, the ashes and pine smoke condensed, and she added it to the ink ingot with tears in her eyes. It became a small jade smoke ink in five directions.

The five inks mixed with ashes were actually better than the original jade smoke ink, so the emperor also pardoned the ancestor's family.

Hearing this, Qingmei felt oppressed and uncomfortable, and recalled her life experience, and said bitterly: "Being an emperor is not a good thing!" After a break, she said: "But this is jade smoke ink, jade What is Yanlei, could it be the ink made from it?"

He Zimo shook his head, and continued: "These five-square inks are not only plump and greasy, but also have a strong vigor in the looming luster. There is also a special feature that is incomprehensible. Whenever you use it to grind When the ink is not wet, the ink will slowly ooze out, and the red smoke on the ink ingot will condense into drops like blood and tears. So these squares of ink have changed their name, called Yuyanlei."

Yuyan's tears, those are the blood tears of Zu Nianying and his wife...Qing Mei felt sad and depressed, and said softly: "They are so pitiful."

He Zimo hummed lightly and stopped talking.

The two were silent for a while, then Qingmei raised her head again and said, "Then Mr. He, why do you want to exchange the Jiangshan map for Yuyanlei?" It is an extremely precious thing.

"My grandfather used to be a court painter, and he had friendship with the ancestor's family." He Zi's black eyes were dark, "The wish of my grandfather in his life is to ask for a jade smoke and tears."

There are only five directions of Yuyanlei in the world, even if it is spread out from the palace, it must flow into the hands of high-ranking officials and relatives, and the painter has no way of obtaining it.But Wei Li can get Yu Yanlei...Qing Mei's heart suddenly moved, either he is a relative of the emperor, or his father must be a great official!

With such a sudden change in her mind, Qing Mei suppressed the story and doubts about Wei Li in her heart, and didn't know what to say.

He Zimo sat for a while, and gradually regained his emotions, he picked up his ruler and tapped on the table: "Wei Li is a man of considerable background, you have to be careful, don't say things like the emperor is not a good guy. "

Qingmei nodded and sent him back.

As the weather was getting warmer, the business of the tavern became more and more prosperous. Sometimes Changsheng was too busy, so Qingmei went to the shop to help.She still greeted the guests eloquently, but when the guests left for a moment of silence, her eyes swept across the empty corner, and there was an inexplicable expectation in her heart.

Wei Li said that he would be back in half a month, and Qingmei silently calculated in her heart that it was still five days...four days...three days...but the half-month deadline had passed, and Wei Li still didn't come.

(End of this chapter)