Chapter 511: Does the Imperial Master have a connection with his mother?

The location of this painting is not conspicuous, but it is hung on the wall at an angle. Less than half an arm's length away from it is a black lacquered cabinet with rounded corners inlaid with precious stones. It not only blocks the view of the painting, but also blocks the light, making it difficult for people to notice the scroll.

Even if someone noticed it, they would just glance at it and not look at it carefully.

The reason why Zhao Yi noticed it was because this painting was too similar to the "Early Spring Picture" in Guangling Palace.

The only difference is the pavilion at the foot of the mountain.

In the pavilion, there was not a vague figure, but a dignified and beautiful woman, holding a heart-protecting mirror in her hand, hanging it on the man's chest.

However, the figures in the pavilion are painted with soft and delicate strokes, not as vigorous and powerful as the landscapes.

It's clear that they were not drawn by the same person.

Same landscape, different characters.

The only connection is the woman in the pavilion, who must be the same person.

As for who this person is.

Zhao Yi thought of someone, but felt it was impossible.

The Northern Qi Emperor noticed Zhao Yi's pause and immediately looked over at him. He saw him staring at something, slightly lost in thought. Following his gaze, he saw a painting hanging in the corner of the wall.

"This is 'Early Spring,' casually sketched by the Imperial Master. The style is light, mellow, and elegant, yet graceful and graceful. It's truly divine." The Northern Qi Emperor, upon first seeing the painting, was stunned. He slowly approached it. As he clearly saw the figures in the pavilion, forgotten memories flooded back, and he felt a sudden pang of melancholy. "This painting is quite old, a little older than you are."

Zhao Yi couldn't help but think deeply. If this painting had nothing to do with him, the Emperor of Northern Qi would not have mentioned that this painting was older than him.

After all, the calligraphy and paintings in the inner hall are very old, as can be seen from the mounted scrolls.

When he saw the painting for the first time and thought of the paintings in Guangling Palace, he guessed that the woman in the pavilion was his mother.

There are almost identical paintings, one in the Guangling Prince's Palace and the other in the hands of the Northern Qi Emperor.

If it weren't for my mother, it wouldn't be hanging in the Guangling Palace.

However, the Northern Qi Emperor's attitude towards his mother made him somewhat uncertain.

After all, the Emperor of Northern Qi was cruel to his mother, so how could he hang his mother's portrait in his resting place?

Now it seems that it is very likely the mother.

Moreover, it was painted by the Emperor of Northern Qi himself.

Zhao Yi thought about this and asked, "The figures in this pavilion don't look like they were painted by the Emperor's teacher."

"You have good eyesight. You can tell the difference right away." The Northern Qi Emperor reached out his hand, as if to touch the scroll, but just as he was about to touch it, he abruptly withdrew his hand. "The people in this painting were painted by me personally. It depicts me and your mother."

Zhao Yi looked at the Emperor of Northern Qi in feigned surprise.

The Emperor of Northern Qi looked at Zhao Yi's surprised expression, but he was not surprised.

Given his attitude towards Yizhen, no one believed that he would paint a picture for Yizhen and hang the painting in his resting place.

As for the reason behind his doing this...

The Emperor of Northern Qi gradually fell into memories.

In those days, the late emperor held the Spring Search Ceremony. The empress, who was still the Crown Princess at that time, was frail, so he asked the emperor to take Yizhen with him to the Spring Search.

Although the late emperor was dissatisfied with him taking Yizhen into his room, he turned a blind eye when he saw that he did not give Yizhen a status and just treated her as a toy to entertain himself.

He had no qualms and took Yizhen and Shufei with him.

However, on the way to the spring search, Empress Mingde suddenly fell ill and had to temporarily change her route to go to the temporary palace.

The palace is at the foot of the mountain in the hunting ground.

Empress Mingde's illness came too suddenly, and it was unknown when she would fully recover.

The prey obtained in spring must be used for sacrifice.

In order to show respect to the gods and ancestors, the late emperor specially ordered the Imperial Astronomical Observatory to select an auspicious day.

So there is no time to delay.

The late emperor left his female relatives in the palace and took his sons to the hunting grounds.

Yizhen sent him to the foot of the mountain and gave him a heart-protecting mirror in the pavilion.

It was this heart-protecting mirror that saved his life.

The Northern Qi Emperor pulled himself out of his memories and said quietly, "Back then, your mother gave me a breastplate. She said the men of Northern Qi were very brave and skilled, and that they would surely show their prowess in the hunting grounds. She worried that I would be accidentally injured by stray arrows while searching for prey in the woods, so she asked me to wear it for self-defense. And to my surprise, her prediction came true. I was hit in the chest by an arrow, but this breastplate saved my life."

Yizhen rarely spoke to him on her own initiative, and it was always a question-and-answer session.

Occasionally she would give him some advice, but he would pretend not to listen and deliberately go against her advice, hoping in his heart that Yizhen would coax him and talk to him more.

In fact, whether he listened or not, Yizhen would not mention it to him a second time, let alone coax him with soft words.

He felt more and more anxious, but he couldn't do anything about Yizhen, so he thought of a stupid move. He started to treat her coldly and allowed the people in the mansion to bully her, just to force her to bow her head and show weakness in front of him.

But that time, he was inexplicably led to listen to her.

It was because of Yizhen's words that he was able to save his life.

"If it weren't for your mother, I would have died in the hunting grounds long ago." The Northern Qi Emperor turned and looked intently at Zhao Yi. "That hunting trip was very fruitful, and the Imperial Tutor was also in a good mood. He casually painted this picture during the feast. I had just escaped death, and when I saw this painting, I was deeply moved. I asked the Imperial Tutor for this 'Early Spring Picture' and painted the scene of your mother putting the heart-protecting mirror on me. I hung it in my study in the latent residence."

At that time, because of this heart-protecting mirror, he mistakenly thought that Yizhen loved him but was just not good at expressing it.

So he hung the painting in the study. In addition to pleasing Yizhen, he also wanted to take this opportunity to let Yizhen express her feelings for him.

Until he saw Yizhen smile at another man, the smile was very light and disappeared in an instant.

Even so, this scene was still very dazzling in his eyes.

Because Yizhen had never treated him like this before.

This made him realize clearly that Yizhen was not unable to express herself, but that she simply did not love him.

He is the crown prince and the future emperor. What kind of woman can he not want?

Why bother with a lowly outcast like her?

His self-esteem suffered an unprecedented blow and he completely despised her.

After he ascended the throne, the eunuchs moved all the calligraphy and paintings in the study of the Prince's Mansion to the Qinzheng Hall and the Yangxin Hall.

This painting was hung here by the eunuch.

At that time, he was busy consolidating his regime and did not pay attention to these trivial matters.

Who would have thought that it would be left hanging for more than twenty years.

If Zhao Yi hadn't noticed it, he would never have noticed this painting at all.

Thinking of this, the Northern Qi Emperor became irritated and said, "I am tired, please leave."

Zhao Yi left the inner hall.

He never expected that the Emperor of Northern Qi would hang his mother's portrait in the inner hall because his mother gave him a heart-protecting mirror and saved his life.

However, the Emperor of Northern Qi did not take his mother's life-saving grace into consideration and protect her. Instead, he repaid her with hatred and killed her.

Zhao Yi clenched his fists, barely able to contain the surging emotions.

It was not until he stood under the scorching sun and the sunlight stung his eyes that he slowly lowered his head, suppressed the emotions raging in his heart one by one, and slowly came to his senses.

At the same time, Zhao Yi realized a problem.

The figure in the pavilion of the "Early Spring Picture" in the Guangling Palace was actually painted by the emperor's teacher.

But why did the imperial teacher include his mother in the painting?

Could it be that he has a connection with his mother?