Chapter 28 Will Boya and Xian Tongtong think that they are lechers?
Ma Yuan's "Treading Song" had already reached the stage of completing the full-color painting, but without good daylight, he couldn't continue. That evening, Jiang Tong stopped revising the painting, instead dragging Su Guanqing into a rocking chair to watch the stars in the courtyard.
There was only one rocking chair, and the one Su Guanqing was sitting on was a small stool used for making fire in the kitchen.
The small stool was only the size of a palm, and Su Guanqing, with his long arms and legs, looked a little aggrieved when he sat on it.
Jiang Tong was so amused by what she saw that she poked his arm with her finger: "I always bully you, why aren't you angry?"
A hint of surprise flashed across Su Guanqing's face: "When did you bully me?"
"I won't talk about the past, but recently..." Jiang Tong counted on her fingers, "I locked you outside the study and nearly froze you to death. I forced you to dig bamboo shoots for me even though I knew you loved cleanliness. I drank the sweet soup you cooked all by myself and didn't even save any for you. And, today, I was even mean to you..."
Su Guanqing just laughed: "So all this counts as bullying me?"
"Don't count it?" Jiang Tong leaned forward, a sly smile flashing in her foxy eyes. "If it doesn't count, I'll be even more aggressive. Don't cry when that happens."
Su Guanqing felt her breath on his face, and his head buzzed instantly, and even his breathing stopped.
After saying that, Jiang Tong lay back down, rocking comfortably in the rocking chair and looking at the stars.
Su Guanqing didn't seem to notice Jiang Tong had left. Her hot breath still lingered on his cheek, making it tingle and numb, but he didn't dare reach out to touch it. He sat on the small stool with his hands and feet tied, clenching his knees with both hands. After a long while, he finally uttered a mosquito-like sound: "...Okay."
The sound was drowned out by the creaking of the rocking chair, so Jiang Tong didn't hear it. She rocked and asked, "Aqiao asked me to help her repair a painting. Guess whose painting it is?"
"It must be a masterpiece by a famous artist, right?" Su Guanqing tried hard to regain his composure.
"To be honest, the painter is not very famous and his works are rarely seen among the public, but his status in the painting world is not low," Jiang Tong suggested.
Su Guanqing became interested and asked, "How's the level?"
"He has a deep understanding of the brushwork of the Song Dynasty. His paintings of people are meticulous and exquisite, and his paintings of flowers and birds are also exquisite and beautiful. His style..." Jiang Tong touched his chin, "is quite detailed and gorgeous."
"From your description, it seems like the style of court painting. Could it be that he is a painter who paints exclusively for the imperial court?"
Jiang Tong clapped his hands: "Not bad!"
"Is this painter from this dynasty?"
"You can guess this?" Jiang Tong raised his eyebrows.
"I was thinking, if it was a court painter from long ago with outstanding skills, like Yan Liben, how could he not be famous? It must be a painter of this dynasty, and most of his paintings are left in the palace, so this is the reason."
"All correct!" Jiang Tong said with a smile.
Su Guanqing also laughed: "Who is the painter?"
"Shang Xi."
"It's him."
"Do you know him?"
Su Guanqing's expression darkened for a moment. "Old Shang and my father had always been in contact. Later, when the Zhengtong Emperor was restored to the throne, Old Shang directly accused the Zhengtong Emperor of being an unkind brother. As a result, he was convicted and his entire family was executed."
Seeing Su Guanqing's low mood, Jiang Tong quickly changed the subject: "So, Mr. Shang specializes in painting portraits of the nobles in the palace. His paintings are all for the palace. Unless they are given as rewards by the palace, they should not be circulated among the people."
"Could it be that Mr. Shang gave it to me privately?" Su Guanqing asked.
"Are there any common people among the Shang elder's regular contacts?"
Su Guanqing pondered for a moment, "I don't know him very well. I only know that he served in the Imperial Guard during Emperor Xuanzong's reign, and the people he interacted with..."
He shook his head. "When I met Mr. Shang, he was already a white-haired old man, and he rarely interacted with others. But when it comes to his lifelong friendships, how can a junior like me make any rash judgments?"
Seeing that they couldn't come up with anything meaningful to talk about, the two changed the topic and talked about Shang Xi's paintings.
As they talked, they moved on from Shang Xi's painting style to the style of academy painting.
Su Guanqing was so excited that he commented on the strengths and weaknesses of all the great academy painters of all dynasties.
Jiang Tong rested his elbow on the handle of the rocking chair, propped up his chin and smiled, "I knew Master Yuequan would have unique insights."
Su Guanqing was a little embarrassed: "I was too arrogant to speak so arrogantly to all the masters and national players."
"Don't underestimate yourself. You're quite pertinent! I thought you disliked complicated painting styles, but I didn't expect you to know so much about these court paintings."
"You...you know what style I like?" Su Guanqing was stunned and asked cautiously with an expression of disbelief.
"I know." Jiang Tong squinted her eyes and smiled at him, "You just like Wu Daozi's style, with his clean, flowing lines and his free and unrestrained style."
Su Guanqing's eyes shone with light, brighter than the stars in the dark night: "You! You actually knew!"
"Every time you draw something, you insist on showing it to me. How could I not know?"
"But! But I thought you never read it carefully." Su Guanqing was a little excited.
"I used to be childish, and sometimes I went too far. Don't be angry with me. In fact, I have always wanted to say that you paint very well. Especially the painting 'Double Immortals', the brushwork is so smooth and flowing that it is not an exaggeration to say that you are the reincarnation of Daozi." Jiang Tong looked at him softly, with sincere praise in his eyes.
She was young and ignorant at the time, and it was only when she recalled the past later that she realized how amazing Su Guanqing's talent was.
Su Guanqing felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He used all his strength to steady his voice: "I, I thought you didn't like it."
"Oh - I disliked you at that time because you drew me shorter than you, but later I thought about it, I don't blame you, I was just a little kid back then." Jiang Tong said, and saw a strand of hair scattered on his forehead, which fluttered in the wind when the breeze blew. She couldn't help but pull it gently.
Su Guanqing suddenly felt something hanging on his hair, and subconsciously reached out to touch it. Unexpectedly, he just happened to hold something soft and warm.
Jiang Tong's hand was suddenly held by him, and an electric feeling came from Su Guanqing's hand. She should have pulled her hand away, but she just stared at the person in front of her in a daze, without moving or speaking.
At this moment, Su Guanqing seemed to be half floating in the air, and he even forgot who he was. He held Jiang Tong's hand and rubbed it on his face unconsciously. It was not until he touched the bandage on her fingertips that he realized what he had pinched and immediately let go of his hand as if struck by lightning.
...I actually did that!
...Did I just smile in a lewd way? Would Tongtong think I was a pervert?
"Tongtong, I'm sorry, I, I, I didn't mean to offend you. Don't be angry." He stuttered after his apology and pricked up his ears to listen to Jiang Tong's reaction.
But there was no response.
The touch of his cheek was still lingering on her fingertips, and Jiang Tong subconsciously wanted to touch it, but her hand stopped just a finger's distance away.
Her eyes were still glued to Su Guanqing's face, but she finally slowly put her hand down.
Su Guanqing couldn't wait for her response, and couldn't see her expression, so he felt even more panicked: "Tongtong, are you angry? Tongtong? If you are angry, you can hit me or scold me, but don't be silent, Tongtong..."
At this moment, a cry suddenly came from the yard.
Jiang Tong suddenly came back to her senses and quickly covered Su Guanqing's mouth as he was still apologizing.
"Shh! It's my mother. Don't make any noise."
As she spoke, she tiptoed to the door of the main house and put her ear to the crack.
The couple in the room were arguing.
Although Jiang Tong asked Zhong Wanci not to mention the land deed to Jiang Huaishan, she kept holding it in and couldn't control herself in the end.
Just as Jiang Tong expected, Jiang Huaishan insisted that the money was used to save Jiang Tong.
Zhong Wanci was so angry that she even talked about divorce. But Jiang Huaishan agreed without hesitation.
This led to Zhong Wanci's hysterical cry.
Jiang Tong didn't know what had happened before, but he had a rough idea. Later, the voices inside could no longer be heard. Jiang Huaishan was buzzing and no one knew what he was saying, and Zhong Wanci kept crying.
Jiang Tong took a step back and looked back at the sky with disappointment.
The moon is full and the stars are bright tonight, but it will be waning tomorrow night.
Su Guanqing heard Jiang Tong's heavy and stagnant footsteps stop in front of him. He stood up and called her nervously, "Tongtong?"
"It's okay, I'm not angry," she patted his arm soothingly, "It's getting late, you should go to bed early."
But tonight, it was a sleepless night for everyone in the Jiang residence.
Su Guanqing lay straight on the bed, with Jiang Tong's voice ringing in his ears.
“You draw very well.”
"I really like the painting 'Double Immortals'."
"Of course I know what you like."
"It's not an exaggeration to say that Daozi is reincarnated."
"Master Yuequan is indeed very insightful."
"Your writing style is as smooth as flowing water."
…
Su Guanqing stared blankly with his eyes open, his left hand tightly holding his right hand, as if the numb feeling still lingered in his palm.
He refused to let himself indulge in sentimentality, but a thought kept popping up in his mind -
...Look at her, will she like me a little bit?
As he thought about it, he turned over again and buried his head hard with the pillow.
...Impossible, how could this be possible? Tongtong, she has always liked strong and powerful men, not a useless scholar or blind man like me.
...Yes, Tongtong must be coaxing me out of sympathy. That must be the case.
...But, what if? Tongtong's personality has always disdained to hide her likes and dislikes. Even if she felt sympathy for me, she wouldn't coax me to this extent.
Just as Su Guanqing was tossing and turning in agony, Jiang Tong sat at the head of the bed, staring at his hands in the moonlight.
Although she had just separated from Guan Qing, she really wanted to go to the study to find him.
Probably because of the troubles at home.
Guan Qing's temper is like still waters running deep. Whenever I am with him, the irritability in my heart can be easily soothed.
But she didn't want to trouble Guan Qing with these things at home. If he knew, it would only add to his worries.
Jiang Tong took a deep breath and exhaled fiercely.
After living a new life, it seems like everything is different.
Even Jiang Meng is not the worst person, and her father is probably hiding some big secret.
Jiang Tong clenched his palms into a hard fist and thought to himself—
No matter what the future holds, no matter what my father wants to do, since I was reborn, it is God's love. I will never let anyone destroy the happiness of our family, not even my father.
After deciding everything, Jiang Tong lifted the quilt, covered himself, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
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