Gong Xue has bandits

Chapter 27 Ji Painter

The setting sun was pouring down, and Zhao Qinghe stood at the intersection, hesitating for a long time, and finally took a step.

This is a back alley next to Zhuxiu Academy. There is a Wanbaozhai. Most people will not set foot in it. Those who can touch it are high-ranking officials and nobles, and many of them are children of palace school.

Because Wanbaozhai's products are really good, but they are also really... expensive.

This is why Zhao Qinghe lost his mind for a long time today. No, to be precise, it was here yesterday that she bumped into Ji Wenjing, who came to Wanbaozhai to buy painting tools.

At that time, he was picking out painting tools, so he didn't notice her in the corner, but she heard him and the boss clearly.

Ji Wenjing took a fancy to an ink ingot, but it was very valuable. The boss refused to give up an inch, so Ji Wenjing had to go away in frustration. Before leaving, he looked at the ink ingot again and again, asking the boss to keep it for him. When he saved enough money, he would come to buy the ink ingots, but the boss said that the things in Wanbaozhai can never be kept, so if you want to buy them, you have to hurry, otherwise you will be bought by other distinguished customers.

After Zhao Qinghe went back, she thought about it all night, but she couldn't forget the look in Ji Wenjing's eyes. It's not that she hasn't heard some anecdotes about Ji's Marquis Mansion, but seeing it with her own eyes, she still couldn't help feeling sad.

It is said that the ancestors of the Ji family were not nobles, and the position of Marquis had no foundation, and it was all due to a skillful painting, or... it was an ulterior relationship.

At that time, the ancestor of the Ji family was a court painter, and the reigning Emperor Xian was also good at calligraphy and painting, and loved his paintings very much. He often talked with him at night by candlelight, and stayed in his own palace, not even going to the concubines. .

Over time, some ugly words began to spread from the government and the public and the people, saying that the painter Ji not only had good skills in brushwork, but also in other places.

These words finally reached the ears of Painter Ji. Although he looks like a spring flower and has an extremely beautiful face, he is a proud and arrogant master. At that moment, he entered the palace and broke into the court hall, in front of all civil and military officials. , Facing the person on the dragon chair, he broke his brush with his own hands, saying that he would never touch Danqing calligraphy and painting again in his life, and voluntarily asked for an order to leave the imperial city and go to Mobei to join the army.

Emperor Xian turned pale with fright, repeatedly tried to persuade him to stay, and actually vomited blood in the hall, and was shocked all over the court, so the painter Ji couldn't make it, so the matter was shelved and left alone.

Since then, no one has dared to talk nonsense anymore. On several important occasions, Emperor Xian brought Master Ji to attend, and his words were sonorous and forceful, saying that the two of them are friends of gentlemen, and that the friendship between the two is like mountains and rivers, and there is no room for villainy. slander.

Everyone naturally toasted and nodded in agreement, but what they thought in their hearts was another matter. In short, no one dared to offend Painter Ji anymore. Everyone knew that Emperor Xian valued him more than his own life .

In this way, Master Ji married a wife and had children, lived in peace, painted for a lifetime, and accompanied Emperor Xian for the rest of his life.

Before Emperor Xian died, the last person he saw was Painter Ji. No one knew what they said, only that Painter Ji fell ill after returning home and burned the paintings he had made for many years, and none of the portraits of Emperor Xian were preserved. Keep.

This was a rebellious act, but no one dared to blame him, because Emperor Xian left a decree, not only granting the Ji family the title, but also protecting Ji's painter and her descendants. In other words, although Ji Shi's descendants were not born in a noble family, in a sense, they were luckier than real nobles.

But at the same time, it is also doomed that the Marquis of Ji's Mansion is an empty shelf. It is easy to get there, and there is no foundation to gain a foothold. There will be no great achievements in the career of contacts and official career. When it is passed to brother Ji Wenjing, it can be called "" Poverty".

Because Ji Wenjing's elder brother likes to gamble, there are only so many cases in the Hou's Mansion every month, he removed more than half of the gamblers, and the rest has to be used to support the entire Hou's Mansion, and buy all kinds of expensive items for Ji Wenjing. Twelve months a year, the Hou Mansion was in short supply for painting materials and pigments for ten months, and was once reduced to the laughing stock of the big families in the imperial city.

But even so, Ji Wenjing never wanted to sell paintings.

Yes, he inherited the wonderful painting from his ancestors. A painting is worth a lot of gold, but he has never sold it. Even if his brother lost the bet and got red-eyed, he would rather tear up the painting and leave coldly. Like his ancestor who broke his pen in the court, he would rather bend than bend.

As a result, Ji Wenjing's elder brother had no choice but to rely on other places, for example... accepting a lot of money to send Ji Wenjing to Qingzhou to redeem people.

That time when Sun Zuoyang came to the door, Ji Wenjing's elder brother was very happy. The Ji family had a unique position in the imperial family. went up.

The Zhao family gave a large sum of money, and when Ji Wenjing knew about it, his elder brother had already accepted the money and agreed to it. Even if he was reluctant, he could only go to Qingzhou for a trip, but after bringing him back, the Zhao family returned. When he came to give the thank you gift, he threw all the gold, silver and jewels away, and his brother was too scared to take it, so he could only send the Zhao family away with a smile on his face.

These things were told to her by Zhao Qinghe's third elder brother. At that time, the third elder brother had not yet obtained the post of school lieutenant, and followed the grain escort team to Qingzhou. After talking to Zhao Qinghe, he sighed a few times: "Long Sheng The dragon, the phoenix begets the phoenix, the younger brother seems to be the ancestor, but the elder brother seems to be picked up, except for that face, there is nothing like Ji's family, really interesting."

Zhao Qinghe heard it in his ears, remembered it in his heart, and instantly remembered Ji Wenjing's cold voice in Qingzhou that day: "I am no son of a bitch, stop following me, I am not willing to save you, if you want to thank you, thank your family." Qian, thank you for the power of the Sun family, thank you for having a good big brother who can flatter you!"

It turns out... that's the case, no wonder he said that, Zhao Qinghe silently recalled that Leng Jun's face, and felt heavy in his heart for a moment, not knowing what it was like.

Seeing him again in Wanbaozhai now, she had mixed feelings, and she couldn't help but think that the money paid by the Zhao family was actually quite considerable, enough to last the entire Hou Mansion for a year or so. It would not be a problem, but judging by his current situation , Come to think of it... His brother lost all the bets again.

Zhao Qinghe didn't know why his chest was congested, he was sad and distressed, after Ji Wenjing left, he came out in a strange way, and whispered something to the boss.

After she went back, she was worried all night, and she didn't know if she was doing the right thing, as if she always...does bad things with good intentions?
Just like the Fang Yantai she sent to Ji Wenjing last time out of thousands of choices, she intended to thank him, but in his view, she insulted him again invisibly and used "money" to suppress him Once?

This was something she came up with after she realized it, and regretted it so much that she wished she could hit her head with an inkstone, but this time... Was she right or wrong?Will it be messed up again?
She was restless throughout the day, and at the same dusk, she finally couldn't bear it and came to this back alley again.

The setting sun covered the roof inch by inch. When he was waiting in the corner of Wanbaozhai and saw that handsome figure stepping through the door, Zhao Qinghe's eyes lit up and his heart rose.

He's coming, he's really coming!Sure enough, he still couldn't let go of that ink ingot, but would she...be self-defeating again?
When Ji Wenjing walked to the counter, he didn't even notice that there was a gaze in the dark behind him, casting a secretive and burning gaze at him, he was only focused on the good piece of pine ink.

"Young master, you took a fancy to this piece of pine smoke ink yesterday, and you came here again today? But did you bring enough money?"

The boss was different from yesterday's attitude, with a smile on his face, he even took out the piece of pine smoke ink for Ji Wenjing to examine carefully.

Ji Wenjing looked reluctantly, but after seeing enough, he shook his head at the boss: "I haven't saved enough money yet, so please save a little longer for me, sir."

The boss smiled and raised his hand: "It's okay, I see that you are also a person who cherishes ink, so let me ask you a few questions first, I wonder if you can answer them?"

"Do you know the difference between pine smoke ink and lampblack ink? What are the steps in making pine smoke ink? How many winters and summers does it take? How to prevent insects during storage?"

Ji Wenjing frowned. Although he wondered why the boss asked such a question, he still said in detail: "Pine smoke ink is deep but not charming, and oily smoke ink is charming but not heavy. The characteristics of pine smoke ink are thick black and dull, fine and easy to grind. It is easy to melt in water, so it is suitable for painting human figures, feathers of birds, wings of butterflies, and distant mountains.

"As for the production process of pine smoke ink, they are cutting pine branches, burning smoke, sifting smoke, melting glue, pounding with pestle, hammering, etc. During this period, it needs to go through three winters and four summers. To prevent moths, a lot of spices and tobacco leaves have to be added. Wait, only in this way can we make the best pine smoke ink."

When Ji Wenjing said this, he paused, then stroked the ink ingot in his hand, "Like this piece of pine ink from Wanbaozhai, it is at least made of pine wood that is more than a hundred years old, and its texture is so fine that it is rare in ink. It would be great if it can be used on Danqing paintings, no matter what, I will save enough money to buy it, and ask the boss to wait for me."

"No need to wait," the boss clapped his hands and smiled, and sighed to Ji Wenjing who looked up in surprise, "Young master is indeed a person who understands ink, if this piece of pine smoke ink can recognize you as the master, it will be considered a good thing." Zhuang, I will fulfill the relationship between you and it today, how much money you brought, don’t forget if it’s not enough, as long as I give you a discount, what do you think?”

"Boss, you, are you serious?" Ji Wenjing was a little caught off guard, and the boss smiled brighter, "Of course, although I'm a businessman, I'm in the business of books, and I don't want my hands to smell like copper. Mo is quite spiritual, I can feel that it has recognized you as its master, how can I be that villain who spoils the scenery, it just depends on whether you are willing to pay for it and bring it home?"

"Yes, of course I am willing!" Ji Wenjing shook his head, nodded excitedly, a rare look of joy appeared on his cold face, and Zhao Qinghe in the corner couldn't help but pursed his lips and smiled when he saw it, his heart was warm.

Zhao Qinghe walked out after the person happily left with the ink ingot, and admired the boss in front of the cabinet: "Uncle, your acting is so lifelike, Mo has a spirituality, and I almost believe it Woolen cloth."

The boss stroked his beard proudly, "Isn't that why I read the book for nothing? I have always liked Jin Ye very much. I have read every story of his many times, and these deceptive words come at my fingertips."

Hearing the word "Jin Ye", Zhao Qinghe stammered inexplicably, and smiled guiltyly: "Yes, yes, you are still uncle, uncle, you are amazing, I will, I will make up the price difference for you..."

As she said that, she took out a purse, and when the boss counted it, she continued to stammer: "So, I will pay for everything he buys in the future, and I will make up the difference. This money, this money should be enough for a period of time." Time, uncle, don't, don't say it..."

When he walked out of Wanbaozhai's door, the sun was already setting outside the house. Zhao Qinghe narrowed his eyes slightly, and walked briskly in the alley. Thinking of Ji Wenjing's uncontrollable joy, he couldn't help lowering his head and pursing his lips to show a smile, but At this moment, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind——

"Hey, Zhao Qinghe, I saw everything!"

Huo Ran turned his head away, Zhao Qinghe's face turned pale, and Sun Mengyin stepped in front of her step by step, "Tsk tsk, I really didn't expect to encounter such a good show."

She circled around Zhao Qinghe twice: "You said that you are a pitiful son who can't even afford a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and has to be subsidized secretly by a woman. Isn't it ridiculous? If Ji Wenjing finds out by himself, will he not Will you become angry and smash all those things in front of your face?"

"No, don't, don't say it, please..." Zhao Qinghe got excited and grabbed Sun Mengyin's sleeve, his eyes were full of panic, Sun Mengyin flicked her away, and said with a crisp smile:

"It's okay if you don't say it, it just so happens, you can do something for me!"

(End of this chapter)