The pretty maidservant raised her head and was about to speak when she realized that she still had some pastries in her mouth. She was afraid that she would be disrespectful to Young Master Xu and quickly swallowed them down. She reached out her finger to wipe off the pastry crumbs at the corner of her mouth. The maidservant's eyes were naturally filled with love. She smiled softly and said, "Young Master, just give me your orders. Chun Nong will prepare them for you tomorrow."
Hsu Fengnian smiled and nodded. He reached out his hand to wipe off the pastry crumbs that were not actually wiped off. He squinted his eyes and teased, "It's here."
The maidservant gave him a charming look and lowered her head, not daring to look at him.
Qiushui knocked on the door and entered. She saw this scene and blushed. She brought over more than ten famous calligraphies and paintings. Old Master said that he wanted Young Master Xu to examine them to determine their authenticity. Most of the calligraphies and paintings were made of copper or red sandalwood. They were not light. Hsu Fengnian stood up and helped to move them to the table. Qiushui saw that Chun Nong was still in a daze and secretly tapped her forehead. She softly reprimanded, "Don't you know how to add oil for Young Master when the lamp is dark?"
Chun Nong pouted her lips in grievance. She saw Qiushui's slight glare and quickly went to add oil for a white jade Guanyin vase style oil lamp with a smile. Hsu Fengnian did not care about this small fuss. He wiped his sleeves with both hands. After Qiushui moved the food box away, he slowly spread out a calligraphy and painting on the table. He smiled. It was Chen Chun's "Painting of Flowers in Hot Summer" from the previous dynasty. Unfortunately, the original work was in Beiliang Palace. He was not in a hurry to reveal the truth and rolled it up again. He opened the second scroll. It was Lu Ji's "Painting of Birds in Cassia and Chrysanthemum Mountain". The colors were bright and the strokes were delicate. The blank space for three hundred years was densely covered with the seals of later collectors. This was enough to prove the rarity of this calligraphy and painting. Hsu Fengnian had been influenced by Minister of State Li Yishan for many years. Even without the dazzling array of seals, he knew that it was undoubtedly an authentic work. He closed the scroll again and opened the third scroll. It was the "Painting of Plum Blossom Hengqin" by the late emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty. However, it was a fake. What was interesting was that the latter was obviously better in terms of strokes.
After Hsu Fengnian finished reading it, he said softly, "Qiushui, Chun Nong, bring paper and brush."
Qiushui pulled up her sleeves with two fingers and ground with the other hand. Chun Nong did not dare to be lazy and helped to put a paperweight on the calligraphy. Hsu Fengnian's strokes were slow and leisurely. Qiushui and Chun Nong looked at each other and saw the amazement in each other's eyes. They obviously did not expect Young Master Xu's calligraphy to be so beautiful. It was to the point of concealing it. They admitted that they would not be able to write something like this even if they worked hard for ten years. Out of the eleven paintings, Hsu Fengnian purposely could not tell if three of them were real or fake. He pretended that he did not dare to speak carelessly and mistook two of them as rare. The remaining six were all accurate. The last eight had detailed reasons as to why they were real and fake, as well as their relative valuations. Among them, the valuations and the real situation were both wrong and right. Since the old fox Wei Feng wanted to test him, His Royal Highness could not be too honest. As for the small regular script of more than a hundred words, of course he would cover it up. This kind of trick would not be exposed no matter what. After the ink was slightly dry, Qiushui could not bear to let go of the small regular script in her hands. She carefully put it into her clothes and bent down to pick up the heavy calligraphy. She was about to go back to her master to hand in the work.
Hsu Fengnian smiled at Chun Nong and said, "Go help Qiushui. She doesn't need to warm the bed today."
Chun Nong was half relieved and half disappointed. She opened her eyes wide and looked puzzled.
Hsu Fengnian gently patted her cheek and said, "We'll talk about it after the Qingming festival."
Qiushui and Chun Nong walked out of the room together with the calligraphy. There was a servant girl of the same age who came to hold an umbrella for Qiushui in the corridor. She was shocked to see Chun Nong and her initial jealousy faded a little. The smile in her eyes immediately became more sincere. Actually, there was no need to hold an umbrella to block the rain from her master's study to here. It was just that the calligraphy in her arms was worth a lot and she had to be serious about it so she had an extra umbrella. The three servant girls walked back together. Naturally, there was a lot of teasing and teasing between the girls. Qiushui and Chun Nong came from the same family and they were like sisters. There was a subtle gap between them and the servant girl who came from a different background. However, when intelligent girls interacted with each other, they naturally wore a thick mask with heavy makeup.
Hsu Fengnian closed the door and sat cross-legged on the bed. This was the second time he traveled with Li Chungang's clay figurine. As long as there was a bed to sleep on, most of them would be in this position asking for trouble. Moreover, if they didn't take off their soft armor, the room would be adjacent to or facing the Old God of Sword Li. It was easy to imagine how afraid His Royal Highness was of death.
Although the majestic Tao Qianzhi was dressed in a civil official's robe, it was difficult to conceal the aura of a general that had crawled out from a pile of bones. The study room was simple and crude. Many of the antiques and treasures that had been purposely left behind by the previous City Magistrate were all pawned on the first day. All the gold and silver that had been obtained were distributed to the remaining City Magistrate's soldiers, while the civil officials and scribes did not receive a single copper coin. During this period, there was an official who took advantage of the convenience of his duties to secretly embezzle two hundred taels of silver. After he was arrested, thirty elite soldiers of the City Magistrate's Mansion broke in. His head dripping with blood was hung on the flagpole of the martial arts field. This official had some background. His clansmen reported this matter to the Deputy Head of Dragon Waist Province's County Magistrate.
Tao Qianzhi did not bring his family with him, but this former fourth-rank Chongsu general was not a rigid man. Every few days, he would spend money to invite the most popular women of the city's brothels to his manor. No matter how much money was spent, he would not skimp on it. At first, some of the brothels did not dare to accept and were forced into his hands. After a period of fear and trepidation, the city overseer did not show any signs of settling accounts. Only then did they feel relieved. In addition, the heroic deeds of this Chongsu general continued to spread throughout the city. Gradually, Tao Qianzhi's reputation rose like a tide. Many brothels took the initiative to send their top courtesans to the city overseer's manor. Originally, they could earn dozens of taels of silver a night, but when they opened their mouths and asked for only dozens of taels of silver, Tao Qianzhi did not fuss over the details. He appeared more and more like a general, making the people of the city who were originally afraid that thieves would come and clean.
In the continuous drizzle, Tao Qianzhi sat in the empty and shabby study, reading a military book by the light of a lamp.
A trusted officer from Gusai Province stood at the door and respectfully said, "Princess Hongyan of Jade Toad Province has come to visit in the rain."
Tao Qianzhi frowned and said indifferently, "If she enters the manor alone, I will not see her."
A plump woman with a mink hair covering her forehead appeared beside the officer. Behind her was an old man dressed in brocade with his hands in his sleeves. She stepped over the threshold and placed her hands on the jade belt bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor. She said sweetly, "Oh, General Tao, you put on such airs. Or are you afraid of attracting gossip?"
The extraordinarily valiant city overseer frowned and put down the book. He was not the least bit afraid of this imperial relative with a Xianbei hairstyle on her waist. He sneered and said, "Princess Hongyan's beauty is known far and wide. She likes to keep male companions. A mere city overseer like me would not dare to enter her eyes."
The old man in brocade snorted coldly.
The corner of Tao Qianzhi's mouth curled up and his eyes were full of disdain. Princess Hongyan, who was holding a satin umbrella and a mink hair covering her forehead, laughed wantonly. She waved her hand to indicate that the old retainer of the county overseer should not mind. She stared at the rude and unreasonable middle-aged city overseer and said with her charming eyes, "General Tao, I originally did not want to enter this manor. I have to kill people every day and the Yin Qi is too strong. I am not as vigorous as General Tao and I am afraid that I will be haunted by ghosts. It is almost Qingming Festival …"
Tao Qianzhi said coldly, "If Princess Hongyan does not have any important matters to attend to, please forgive me for not seeing you out."
This plump beauty, who was one of the wealthiest in Jade Toad State, was offended several times, but she still did not show any anger. She smiled and said, "Alright, I won't beat around the bush with General Tao. Someone asked me to pass on a message to General Tao. Eight words: tomorrow morning, don't go out."
Tao Qianzhi, who felt that he was being teased, was furious. The study was filled with murderous intent.
The brocade-clothed old man's sleeves billowed like waves.
The princess patted her cheeks lightly and said apologetically, "Oh my, my stupid mouth. What nonsense did I say? I was wrong. It is indeed eight words: Qingming Festival tomorrow, do not go out. General Tao, please believe me. I do not dare to disobey the person who said these eight words. "
Tao Qianzhi turned around and said coldly without any fluctuation in his tone, "I will not see you out!"
Princess Hong Yan swung the silk satin umbrella that was soaked in rainwater and said with a smile, "This princess will remember Lord Tao's hospitality today."
Under the eaves of the courtyard, the brocade-clothed old man, whose martial power was definitely higher than Tao Qianzhi's, took the umbrella and opened it. He tilted it towards his mistress and said angrily, "Princess, why don't you let me teach this insignificant fifth-rank city overseer a lesson?"
The mink hair covering woman, who was not in a hurry to step into the rain, reached out her hand to catch the rain. She did not answer the question but said with blurred eyes, "Why is God crying?"
Early in the morning two days later, the rain was getting heavier and the road was full of mud. City Overseer Tao Qianzhi led thirty riders out of the city to visit the grave of a comrade who had died in battle.
It was raining heavily on Qingming Festival.
It was not easy to burn paper, but it was easier to die.
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