Ye Laosan followed Cheng Chang'an to the backyard. In fact, he was very familiar with this place. He and Master Lu had been in seclusion here to make wood carvings before.

This time when I revisited the old place, I couldn't help but feel emotional when I thought about the efforts we made together.

But as soon as he entered the room, he was frightened by Master Liu's condition.

If Cheng Chang'an was just haggard and tired, then Master Liu seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

So the first thing Ye Lao San said when he entered the room was: "Master Liu, how long have you not slept?"

Master Liu heard footsteps and the sound of a door just now, but he thought it was Cheng Changan who came back and didn't pay much attention.

Hearing Ye Laosan's voice, he was startled and thought he was hallucinating, so he stood up suddenly and looked towards the door.

But Master Liu hasn't slept much for several days.

Standing up so suddenly, I felt dizzy and my vision went dark. My body swayed twice before I fell backwards.

Cheng Changan and Ye Laosan were both startled and rushed towards him.

Fortunately, Ye Lao San was a little closer, so he grabbed Master Liu's arm and pulled him to his side.

Cheng Changan rushed over right after him and quickly supported Master Liu's other arm.

It took two people working together to hold the man down.

After helping Master Liu lie down in the inner room, Cheng Changan said, "Brother Ye, please keep an eye on Master Liu here for me. I'll go get the doctor."

Master Liu, who had woken up at this time, grabbed Cheng Changan's arm and said, "It's okay, don't bother. I'm just a little nervous. I just need to rest for a while."

After Master Liu finished speaking, he turned to look at Ye Lao San and asked expectantly, "Did you make it?"

Facing Master Liu's gaze, Ye Laosan shook his head with difficulty.

"I tried several times, and I feel the difficulty lies in the position where the ribbons cross." Ye Lao San sighed, "Master Liu, is this wood carving so important that we have to do it?

"If you continue like this, your body will be ruined."

Upon hearing this, Master Liu sighed and said, "Forget it, you are not an outsider, so I won't hide it from you.

“In fact, the drawing I showed you is only a part of this wood carving.

"Chang'an, go show him the complete blueprint."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Chang'an stood up, went to the outer room, brought back a scroll, and unfolded it for Ye Lao San to see.

Only after Ye Laosan read the complete drawings did he understand why Master Liu wanted to make such a ribbon-shaped wood carving.

No wonder he always felt that this wood carving was weird and couldn't figure out what it was trying to express.

It turns out that this cross-curled ribbon is only part of a complete wood carving.

The entire wood carving is a statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva, and the ribbon is part of the hem of the dress.

"This..." Ye Lao San scratched his head, still puzzled, "Can't they just change the pattern of the ribbon in the picture? Why do they have to stick to this?"

This is the disadvantage of the overall wood carving. If one detail is not done well, the entire wood carving will be ruined and must be started over again.

It was because Master Liu had a lot of experience and a keen eye that he could tell at a glance that the difficulty of the entire wood carving lay in the ribbon.

Therefore, we must first overcome this difficulty before we can start working on the entire wood carving.

But what Ye Laosan didn't understand was, wasn't the main body of the wood carving Guanyin Bodhisattva? Why did the ribbon have to be in this shape?

This time, Master Liu didn't need to say anything. Cheng Chang'an sighed and said, "This painting was painted by the Crown Prince himself and given to the Chief Architect to be made into a wood carving. It will be presented to the Empress as a gift at the Empress' birthday banquet next year."

After hearing this, Ye Laosan understood.

Apart from the Emperor and the Empress, who else would dare to alter the Crown Prince's paintings without authorization?

Such a large wood carving would take at least several months to make.

But now it was stuck by a small ribbon before it even started. No wonder Master Liu was so worried that he became like this.

Master Liu saw that Cheng Changan had explained the situation clearly to Ye Lao San, and he also sighed deeply and said, "All the difficulties must be resolved before the twelfth lunar month, and then we must start working on the entire wood carving as soon as possible, otherwise it will be too late."

Before the twelfth lunar month?

Doesn't that mean it's less than two months away?

Unexpectedly, time was so tight that Ye Laosan didn't care about anything else. He hurriedly told Master Liu all the problems he had encountered and the situations he had figured out in the past few days.

Master Liu was originally a little bit expectant, but the more he listened, the more frustrated he became, because the problem Ye Lao San encountered was almost exactly the same as his.

But thinking about it again, he himself has been stuck at this place for more than a month, and Ye Laosan has only been in contact with the drawings for a few days, but his progress is almost the same as his. This shows how talented Ye Laosan is and how much thought and effort he has put into this.

"We both face similar problems, and I haven't come up with any good solutions yet."

Ye Lao San hesitated when he heard this, not knowing whether he should tell Wang Ge about his suggestion.

Master Liu was immersed in disappointment and didn't notice, but Cheng Chang'an saw that Ye Lao San had something else to say.

"Third Brother Ye, Master Liu has already told you everything. There are no outsiders here. If you have anything to say, just say it."

When Master Liu heard this, he immediately looked up at Ye Lao San.

Although he didn't say anything, his eyes and expression seemed to be saying, "Don't hide anything from me, kid!"

Ye Lao San scratched the back of his head and said, "It's not a big deal, actually. Wang Ge reminded me this morning that all the woods I tried were hard. If I use softer wood, will I be able to make it?"

Master Liu frowned when he heard this.

"But you have to know that soft wood is easily damaged and difficult to preserve for a long time!"

"Yeah." Ye Lao San touched the tip of his nose awkwardly, "I know that too, so I was just hesitating whether to say it or not."

When Master Liu heard what Ye Lao San said, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

After all, Ye Laosan is not the supervisor of the works, nor is he his apprentice. He is just helping out of kindness, so he shouldn't speak to him in such a tone.

"I'm sorry, I was so impatient." Master Liu sighed. "If nothing works, I can only admit to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince that my skills are limited and I really can't restore the elegance of the Guanyin Bodhisattva in his painting."

Cheng Changan's eyes turned red when he heard this.

If Master Liu really responded to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in this way, it would be equivalent to destroying the reputation and prestige he had accumulated for most of his life, and his position in the Ministry of Works would also be greatly affected in the future.

Master Liu would definitely not make such a decision unless it was absolutely necessary.

Master Liu closed his eyes tiredly and said, "All of you go out. Let me rest for a while."