Chapter 20: Outer Branches

"Do you think I'm a good painter?"

Wen Ning nodded.

"I heard from Madam Xue that the Marquis could practice calligraphy at the age of three, copied the Lanting Preface perfectly at the age of five, and could draw mountains with impressive momentum at the age of seven. Madam Xue also said that she had seen the portraits he drew, and they looked as if they were real people."

Xie Jinglan breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this, but she didn't expect the nanny to tell her everything.

Then, he curled his bony fingers and took the wolf-hair brush from the boss beside him, saying slowly, "Since that's the case, I'll paint it, and you guess."

The name of the dish given by the boss is: Linglong Peony Pickled Fish.

Xie Jinglan sat down with his pen in hand, and gently swirled the wolf hair brush three times in the inkstone. Then he lightly tapped the rice paper, and the ink color spread layer by layer from light to dark.

The difficulty of this painting lies in the fact that the fish pickle, which is shaped like peony petals, must have an appropriate shade of ink, so as to depict the crystal-clear texture of ice-like skin and jade-like bones, while retaining the warmth and smoothness of fat jade.

In a short while, the wolf hair brush was lying quietly on the green jade pen mountain, but the peony fish pickle on the paper was still damp.

Xie Jinglan's heart suddenly tightened. He stood up abruptly and looked around, and sure enough, Wen Ning was nowhere to be found.

"Have you seen where the woman who was with me just now went?"

The shopkeeper was holding a fine painting, contemplating the beauty of Qiong Yao and the reflection of snow. Hearing Xie Jinglan's chilling question, he quickly replied, "I was so engrossed in admiring the young master's painting that I didn't notice where the woman was going."

There was a dark tide surging in his dark eyes, and wherever his gaze went, it seemed to dispel all the darkness.

Xie Jinglan put his finger to his lips, and a clear whistle sounded through the air.

Before the whistle had faded, several dark shadows appeared in front of him, clasping their fists to their foreheads.

Qing Feng and several secret guards appeared at the same time. Seeing that Miss Wen was not beside the Marquis, he whispered, "Master, is Miss Wen in danger?"

Xie Jinglan's eyes were as cold as iron, and he sternly uttered two words, "Find someone!"

Wen Ning escaped from Xie Jinglan and could only move forward in panic.

By the end of the long street, her fingertips clutching the hem of her skirt had already turned white. She didn't know where she got the courage from to run away in front of him!

But she really had no other choice. If she didn't take this opportunity to escape, she was afraid that the fetus in her belly would be exposed. The only thing she could do now was to find a hiding place and then make plans.

The crowd behind me suddenly stirred, and I heard someone whisper, "The guards are coming! They're going to close the street."

Wen Ning bit her lower lip tightly, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck.

She looked around and saw a pleasure boat about to leave the shore. Without giving it time to think, she hurriedly stepped onto the sandalwood steps.

The two maids in front of the screen door were thought to be the daughters or relatives of some powerful family. They stepped lightly on tiptoe and stood by with their heads bowed.

This pleasure boat is twenty meters long, with three layers of gilded eaves and octagonal palace lanterns, reflecting a golden glow on the lake.

In addition to the storage compartments on the ground floor, there is also a kitchen and a rest area for servants.

The second floor is the brocade cabin, with twelve screens inside the cabin separating the seats for men and women.

There is a viewing cloud pavilion on the third floor. The gauze curtains around the pavilion are gently fluttering, and beautiful music accompanied by the fragrance of tea lingers under the octagonal palace lanterns.

However, Wen Ning did not notice that there was a huge lantern hanging on the mast of the food boat with four big characters written on it - Wen's Food Boat.

After Wen Ning's father passed away, the entire Wen family was managed by the eldest wife, Ning.

Ning had a pair of children, the eldest son Wen Chi and the second daughter Wen Rao, who were twin siblings and one year older than Wen Ning.

Even after Master Wen passed away, the Wen family was able to continue to undertake royal business and maintain the title of "imperial merchants" thanks to their complex connections with these powerful people.

Just like today, banquets are the "stepping stones".

When Wen Ning was a child, she didn't understand why her mother could carve radishes into peonies, make brown rice smell like lotus, and even carve the menu of the Wen family restaurant with all her elegance, but she never raised her head in front of the eldest lady.

Why?

Until her parents died, the eldest lady went crazy and broke into the courtyard where she and her mother lived, smashing it to pieces.

She clearly remembered what the eldest lady said before she sent her to Zhuangzi:

"I married your father when I was sixteen. He was still a scholar at that time. He was very handsome and graceful, like a bright moon and a gentle breeze.

I love him so deeply that I forget myself. I hope to grow old with him and live in harmony with him.

Although your father and I were not in love, we treated each other with respect. It was a pity that he met your mother at a small noodle stall. Your mother was an orphan with no one to rely on.

He let your mother in despite my advice.

Your mother was born beautiful and gentle, and she passed the ancestral recipe to your father. Since then, our family has prospered, so much so that she ignored the existence of me, her legal wife, and became increasingly indifferent to me.

I tried every possible way to get pregnant with twins, and my heart longed more and more for my husband's love. That day, I went to the temple with my big belly, kneeling all the way, just to pray that he would look at me more.

When I returned home in the rain, dragging my soaked body, I saw that he had made an oil-paper umbrella for your mother with his own hands!

Fortunately, God was merciful and she died of illness. I was grateful and thought my husband would change his mind. However, I never expected that he loved her so deeply that he became sick with lovesickness and followed her away within a few days.

Leaving you here is really a torture for me. Every time I see you, it's like seeing your mother!"

It was then that Wen Ning understood why her mother was always unhappy. She said that she had snatched someone else's marriage... She didn't go to the mansion to be a concubine, not because she was afraid of being wronged, but because she saw another woman crying.

If Wen Ning could see the four big words on the lantern at this moment, she would never get on this pleasure boat.

At this moment, Ning was bringing her daughter to pay respects to all the ladies. In addition to paving the way for her son, today's banquet also concealed the intention of choosing a good husband for her daughter among the powerful and wealthy.

The room was full of ladies who were looking for sons-in-law or daughters-in-law for their children. The place became a secret "son-in-law selection platform" amidst the clinking of glasses.

Wen Ning entered the screen door and found that this was actually a brocade cabin. She walked with her head down, afraid of attracting other people's attention, and just wanted to find a place to hide quickly.

Whatever is terrible is what is born. A plump and beautiful lady saw Wen Ning who was quietly avoiding people at a glance.

Her eyes lit up, she reached out and pulled, but she said in a booming voice, "Whose daughter is this? She is so outstanding in appearance."

In an instant, everyone's eyes were fixed on one place, and at the corner of the screen, some young men came over following the reputation.

She was wearing a moon-white silk dress that trailed lightly like flowing clouds, accentuating her willow-like waist, barely slender enough to be held in one hand. Her eyes were like the wind scented with peach blossoms. Her natural curves and the brilliance of black jade were more beautiful than anything else in the world. Her whole being was so pure and gentle that it took one's breath away.

The smiles on the Ning mother and daughter froze on their faces. After confirming that the woman was Wen Ning, years of jealousy suddenly surged in their eyes, and their gazes were like silver needles soaked in poison.

Wen Ning couldn't believe that she had met Ning's mother and daughter by accident.

Wen Rao whispered in her mother's ear, "Mother, didn't she marry into the Liu family for her daughter? Why is she here? Could it be that Young Master Liu died and she secretly ran away from the Liu family? Is she trying to take this opportunity to embarrass us in front of everyone?"

There was a thin layer of ice in the eldest lady's shrewd eyes. She patted Wen Rao's hand, signaling her not to make a sound.

Wen Ning just wanted to leave this place quickly. She lowered her head and said to the noble lady in front of her, "I have come to the wrong place. I don't want to disturb your pleasure. I will withdraw now."

She bowed again in the direction of the eldest lady and was about to leave through the screen door.

But when the noble lady heard this, she held her back and wouldn't let her leave.

She raised her eyebrows slightly. With such appearance and character, calling her a servant must mean she is blind.

"How could a servant be so beautiful? Tell me, which family's daughter is she?"

Everyone became interested and started talking one after another, trying to guess the reason.

"Let me answer this for you ladies."

Wen Rao first sighed softly with pretended hesitation, then walked forward, as if the next words made her very embarrassed.