Chapter 121
"Who doesn't know about Madam Chang's behavior these days?" Xie's words seemed to be squeezed out from clenched teeth: "I am only disciplining a young man who behaves improperly and hurts the morals of women. Who else do I need to instruct me?"
The maid's face was paler than the paper.
Madam actually... accepted it?! The female family members looked at her with a change of heart again, causing the maid, who was used to being treated with respect and courtesy, to stagger for a moment.
Mrs. Xie trembled and closed her eyes.
It's not that she doesn't know the consequences of admitting this, but the situation is already determined, and the other party is pressing her step by step. In order to prevent this matter from expanding and spreading further...she can only grit her teeth and accept it.
But the position she had been in for many years and the infinite reluctance in her heart made it impossible for her to bow her head and admit her mistakes.
When she opened her eyes again, she looked at the girl sitting in the chair leisurely, no longer hiding the cold disgust in her eyes: "I believe you know whether the painting today is real or fake. Even if it is just a secret aid as you said, it is still an act that crosses the line!"
"You acted in a rebellious manner, repeatedly hurting others, and had no manners or conduct like a woman. This is obvious to all!"
"Presenting a banquet for all the scholars as a woman is a way to win the favor of the public and is immoral..."
“Bang!”
Suddenly, a teacup flew straight towards Xie's face and hit her forehead, interrupting her voice and causing the maid to scream.
"Who is there slandering Madam Chang?" A drunken voice cursed: "What a bunch of old, rotten words...Now women have become saints, why don't you go to Ganlu Temple to discipline our female saint!"
Everyone was suddenly startled.
Cui Lang staggered over, one hand on his waist and the other pointing at Xie: "You look like a decent person, and you speak in a very high-sounding manner... In the end, you just dare to chase after little girls and bully them! What kind of ability do you have!"
Yihu's face trembled. It's over. He... Shouldn't he have forced his husband to wake him up with cold water?
Xie, whose forehead was bruised and whose face was covered with tea leaves, was shaking with anger and demanded, "Who dares to be so rude?"
The pink-dressed young man drunkenly pointed at his nose and said, "I am Cui Lang! The sixth of the direct descendants of the Qinghe Cui family!"
"Cui Wei is my father. If you are dissatisfied, go and ask him for justice!"
Compared to the pedantic tone and not treating others as human beings, his father has never been afraid of anyone! Cui Lang's body swayed even more, and he simply sat down, turned around and hugged the legs of the young man beside him, raised his head and laughed "Hey", grinning with a drunken face and showing a mouthful of white teeth: "Brother... my trick of diverting trouble is not bad, right?"
Yihu was terrified, fearing that the eldest son would kick his own son out of Dengtai Tower! Cui Jing did not kick anyone, but said calmly to the people who were looking over: "My brother is drunk, I am sorry to make you laugh."
Seeing that the young man showed no apology to her, and only mentioned that he was drunk without even using the word "improper", Xie's face turned pale, but she could not bring herself to reprimand or blame him.
She could ignore ordinary noble families, but the Cui family was different...
"What would Madam Jie do if this teacup flew out of my hand?" Chang Suining asked calmly, "If I or another girl did this, I'm afraid Madam Jie would banish us to the eighteenth level of hell and never be able to be reborn, right?"
Yao Xia: "That's right, the so-called rules and education are only used to restrain and oppress weak women. Is this Madam Jie's way of being a teacher?"
Xie's lips trembled, and when she was about to say more, she was interrupted by the girl sitting in the chair: "Madam Xie, there is no need to bother to fabricate so many charges against me. You should have said these words directly when you first arrived at Dengtai Tower. Although it was ridiculous and self-righteous, it at least made me respect your uprightness--"
"Now that my villain's behavior has been exposed, it's unnecessary to say these things even to save face."
The girl's tone and the condescending look in her body made Xie's eyes red with anger. "Who do you think you are? How dare you talk to me like that!"
"I never thought of myself as someone else, but Madam Jie took me too seriously." Chang Suining looked at the woman who had lost her composure and said, "Just because what I did was contrary to yours, you regarded me as a scourge, a beast or an alien, as if my existence was a challenge to your authority—"
"Who is Zhou Ding, how did he die, and what is the relationship between him and me? You may not know and you don't care at all. You just want to use Mingjie, this knife that has always worked, to get rid of me as soon as possible. This knife, which has the right time, place and people, should have been easy to use, but you didn't expect that something unexpected would happen this time."
The reason why he "didn't expect it" is nothing more than being like the tiger in the painting, living in the forest for too long, being blinded by a leaf, and as time goes by, all that is left is self-righteous arrogance.
In her impression, Xie was not a very smart person.
Although he was not considered very smart in the past, he was very good at surviving and was well versed in the art of flattering the powerful and trampling on the weak. He was also cautious in his progress in the palace.
Xie is very lucky. It is rare that he has the status and prestige he has today despite his humble background.
But unfortunately, not everyone can become smarter as they grow older. If people get used to being popular, they will slowly forget how they got through the days before they were no longer popular.
Once you get used to acting arrogantly according to your likes and dislikes, you will lose your caution.
And after tonight, she will have to pay the price for her arrogance.
"You..." Veins on Xie's forehead were throbbing. She suddenly raised her hand and pointed at Chang Suining, but found that she could not utter any forceful rebuttal.
The majestic oppression she tried her best to release could not shake the girl in the chair at all.
"Today, this is my private banquet. Madam Jie came uninvited. Since the seats are full, I allowed you to enter as an exception. This is to show respect to your reputation as a female teacher. But your behavior is not worthy of the title of female teacher, and you don't know how to be a guest. So I can only take back this respect."
Chang Suining looked at Mrs. Xie and said, "Mrs. Xie can leave now."
Xie's outstretched fingers trembled.
This is to expel her! Her head was buzzing, and she felt dizzy. She was swaying and was supported by the maid.
Seeing those driving gazes away, the maid with a flushed face gritted her teeth, supported her mistress and turned to leave.
Ming Luo raised his eyes and looked at the master and servant who left in embarrassment.
"Ningning...why did you just let them go like that? That's too easy for them!" Chang Sui'an asked his sister in a low voice.
Chang Suining handed the teacup to Xier, stood up and said, "What she did was not explicitly written into the law, and she has a first-rank imperial edict. Without the approval of the emperor, the government offices cannot hold her accountable for this trivial matter."
Chang Sui'an's eyes were full of resentment.
Yao Xia also felt that it was unfair, but she still comforted Chang Suining: "Sister Chang, calm down. Although the law cannot punish her, what happened today is obvious to all, and justice is in the hearts of the people!"
Chang Suining looked at the eyes of the crowd that also felt unfair.
Today's events have developed to this point, and are no longer a minor incident.
Therefore, accordingly, justice will not only be in people's hearts.
Expelling the Xie family from here does not mean that the matter is over.
Ming Luo withdrew his gaze from the direction where the Xie master and servant left, and then looked at the girl who was quickly surrounded by people.
Not only did they humiliate him, but they also expelled him in public and destroyed the things that mattered to him the most... This was the greatest humiliation for the Xie family.
And what the lady from the Chang family said just now, every word of which was not only humiliating to the Jie family, but also stirred up public opinion - these women and literati could not withstand such incitement.
This Xie family has very bad luck today.
And the luck from now on is destined to get worse.
Chang Suining heard a lot of noise at this time.
"This Madam Jie is really just a name for herself, she actually resorted to such despicable means!"
Wang held the girl's hand with lingering fear: "I have been feeling uneasy these past two days. It turns out that I am here. This time I am able to turn danger into safety. I must go to the temple to pay my respects later..."
Qiao Yumian had been so anxious before that her eyes turned red. Only now did she feel relieved and said, "Fortunately, the painting is fake, otherwise she would have succeeded."
"Mrs. Chang has been wronged."
There were mixed voices of comfort, dissatisfaction, emotion, and relief.
"That girl... come here!" Amid the noise, an old and loud voice suddenly sounded, which was very ear-catching.
Chang Suining looked over and saw that it was Master Chu standing by the desk and waving at her.
Chang Suining had a rough idea in his mind and walked over.
Master Chu then looked at the painting intently again.
The old servant beside him sighed helplessly - at first he asked the master to get up and look at the paintings, but the master refused. When others were looking at the paintings, the master fell asleep, and when others went to listen to the fun, the master kept staring at the paintings. What should he do if he is getting more and more rebellious as he gets older?
"Come on, come on... Minister Chu is going to comment on Madam Chang's painting!"
A group of literati followed.
Feeling the crowd surging in front of her, Qiao Yumian subconsciously took a step back even though she was supported by a maid. When she stepped back, she stepped on something and let out a scream. She was so startled that she quickly lifted her foot away.
"Who stepped on my foot!" Cui Lang, who was slumped on the ground hugging his elder brother, complained with his eyes closed.
Qiao Yumian recognized his voice and breathed a sigh of relief for some reason - it was Cui Liulang, then everything was fine.
Cui Jing picked up the man who had been refusing to let go for a long time and threw him a pot: "Take him back to the mansion to sober up."
"Yes, yes, yes..." Yihu responded repeatedly.
Those scholars who had gathered around waiting for Master Chu to comment on their paintings were first asked a question.
"Is there the Dao of the Five Elements in your painting?"
Master Chu pointed at the painting and asked the girl who was approaching.
"Yes, Master, you have good eyesight."
After hearing this conversation, everyone hurried to look at the painting again.
As expected, he soon saw the Five Elements hidden in it——
"The green of the forest is wood, and when you see a tiger, you will start a fire..."
"There is a stream, and the color black represents water. The girl in this painting is wearing black clothes... The whole painting shows the dark tones of the mountains and forests, so it can definitely overcome the fire!"
"So this is what Madam Chang meant when she said the answer is already in the painting!"
The answer is that the tiger cannot hurt the girl in the painting! Everyone suddenly realized it and looked at the painting again, inevitably gaining a new understanding.
There is a deep meaning in this painting...
Did Madam Chang paint this tiger tonight to imply that rumors are more ferocious than tigers? And the tiger's pupils are even more ironic.
Someone then said with emotion: "In Madam Chang's paintings, water overcomes fire... Tonight's incident was also about evil not prevailing over good, which is a perfect match."
Someone else whispered, "If the girl in the painting is Lady Chang, then the troublemaker is the evil tiger... Who is the monkey on the tree referring to?"
The person asking the question and the person being asked looked into each other's eyes for a moment.
——The monkeys are them! "The monkey is gold, and it can also overcome the wood that produces fire." Chang Suining's voice sounded, and he smiled at everyone: "Thank you all for bearing witness to justice for me today."
Laughter was heard all around.
This monkey isn't annoying at all, at least he's a good monkey! "So, we're also included in the painting!"
"It is our honor..."
There was constant joking and the atmosphere was harmonious and joyful.
"Before, I thought that Qiao Jijiu accepting Madam Chang as his apprentice was nothing more than a joke... but now I know that I was too narrow-minded! Madam Chang's talent is beyond reach, and we are ashamed of ourselves!"
"The chief priest really has a keen eye."
Hearing these praises, Qiao Jijiu had an unfathomable smile on his face.
It should be said that he, like everyone else, had just realized that he had accepted such a decent student...
Qiao Jijiu looked over with satisfaction, and saw the girl smiling and saying without any modesty: "I said I would not dishonor the teacher's name."
It's more than just not humiliating!
Master Chu sighed and looked at Qiao Jijiu: "It's clear that he is marrying above his station."
Qiao Jijiu disagreed: "Taifu, what you said... This is my own daughter, what does my family say about marrying up?"
The Grand Tutor might be jealous that he has a good student who allows him to win easily!
At this moment, Master Chu looked at Chang Suining and asked, "Who did you learn painting from?"
When Chang Suining met those old eyes, he knew that his teacher had indeed seen through him.
She was good at using two different handwriting styles, switching between them easily and without anyone noticing any flaws, so she was also good at hiding her true self. When she painted this picture, she also tried her best to hide it.
But she could hide it from everyone except her teacher.
Since she started studying calligraphy and painting, she has been taught by a teacher. The teacher knew her secrets and even taught her personally how to better hide her original handwriting.
In other words, this bowl of rice was brought to her by the teacher. She just changed the bowl to hold the rice and added something else to the rice, but the teacher could still smell a hint of odor.
"I don't have any proper teacher." She took out the words she had prepared when she was painting: "But I once copied the calligraphy of Princess Chongyue by chance--"
She had already told this lie to Duan Zhenyi, and Wei Shuyi also knew it. Now that the mother and son were present, it was not easy for her and there was no need for her to come up with another excuse.
Words and paintings are interconnected. She can write "Chongyue" words, and her paintings are "similar" to them, which makes sense.
After hearing this answer, Master Chu looked at the girl in front of him and came back to his senses after a moment.
That’s right…
This is the only possible explanation.
What other possibilities are there?
After brushing off the feeling of loss that he couldn't explain, Master Chu returned his gaze to the painting again: "I was wondering why there was a similarity. It turns out that you, a girl, learned the calligraphy of my student."
Although he was the prince's teacher, all the princes and princesses in the palace had received his instruction when they were young, so no one would think too much if he called Chongyue a student in public.
After hearing this, there were voices of emotion and discussion all around.
Who here has not heard of Princess Chongyue, who was the twin sister of the former Crown Prince, married Beidi in exchange for three years of peace in Dasheng, and then committed suicide before the war? Looking at Chang Suining again, Cui Jing's eyes seemed to have changed a little.
Behind the thin veil, Ming Luo's eyes were filled with sarcasm and coldness.
really.
She had seen through the scriptures in Dayun Temple before that this person clearly wanted to imitate others.
As expected, now that I had this opportunity today, I couldn't wait to speak it out in front of everyone.
But is she just doing this to get these people's attention?
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Good night everyone~ (End of this chapter)
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