Chapter 388 Portrait of Biological Mother
Early the next morning.
Meng Jinyao and Gu Jingxi then set off for Deqing County.
Huzhou City is not far from Deqing County. It takes less than two hours to get there by carriage. To avoid the bumpy ride when the carriage is fast, Gu Jingxi instructed the driver to go slowly. It took a full two hours to reach Deqing County.
Although Deqing County is not as prosperous as Huzhou City, it is still a wealthy county and not far behind.
After the carriage entered the city, it went directly to the county government office. Lord Du did not have a house in Deqing County, so he lived in the county government office every day. He worked in the county government office during the day and had a courtyard in the back hall of the county government office for the county officials and their families to live in at night.
Before arriving in Deqing County, Gu Jingxi had already instructed Steward Liu to send someone to inform Lord Du.
When Lord Du learned of this, he was flattered and surprised. His deceased wife had a good relationship with the birth mother of the girl from the Meng family, so after Zhou's death, his wife would still take time to visit the girl from time to time. Later, after his wife passed away, he was sent to another place, and the two families lost contact. After many years, he never expected that the girl would still remember him and specially come to visit him with Lord Gu.
Lord Du figured they wouldn't be going back the same day they came from Huzhou City, so he had guests prepared in advance and sent the cook to buy groceries to entertain them. He himself didn't leave the county office and waited for the couple to arrive.
After waiting for a long time, the people finally arrived. Lord Du hurried out to greet them, and when he saw the couple, he was about to bow to Gu Jingxi.
However, Gu Jingxi stepped forward to greet him and respectfully performed the junior's greeting: "Yao Ling greets Uncle Yao Ling."
Meng Jinyao also bowed, saying, "Ayao greets Uncle."
Lord Du was flattered by the sight and quickly said, "No need for such formalities." As he spoke, he looked at the child from his memory and saw that the child had grown into a graceful young lady. She looked like Zhou Shi, but her temperament was different. He nodded gently, "She does, she really does. A Yao really looks like your mother."
After not seeing him for many years, Meng Jinyao still felt a sense of warmth upon seeing him, and said with a smile, "Others also say that I resemble my mother."
Lord Du then took a good look at Gu Jingxi. He was handsome and had an extraordinary temperament. Although he was a bit older, he didn't look old. He and A Yao looked very well-matched. He nodded repeatedly and said, "I was very surprised when I heard about your marriage. Now that I see you two are such a good match, I think this marriage is excellent. A Yao has suffered for so many years, and finally her suffering has come to an end."
Gu Jingxi turned to look at his young wife and said gently, "Uncle, don't worry, Yaoling will treat Ayao well in the future." After saying that, he subtly observed Lord Du. Lord Du looked like Du Sze, but Lord Du was calm and gentle, which Du Sze did not have, probably because he was still young.
Lord Du nodded and said, "Yao Ling, A Yao, let's go inside and talk."
After entering the courtyard behind the county government office, the group sat down in the hall, inquired about each other's recent situations, and got along well.
Upon learning that they would be staying here for a few days, Lord Du was naturally delighted and immediately took them to the guest rooms that had been prepared in advance, where he also helped them put their luggage away.
At this moment, a servant came to report that lunch was ready.
The three of them went to the hall for lunch. After lunch, Lord Du suddenly remembered something and asked the couple to come with him to his study.
Gu Jingxi and his wife followed him to the study, where they saw him taking out two painting boxes and then taking out well-preserved paintings from the boxes, handing one of them to Meng Jinyao.
Seeing this, Meng Jinyao was somewhat bewildered: "Uncle, what's this?"
Lord Du replied with a smile, "Ayao, open it and take a look. You'll definitely like this painting."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao took the scroll and unfolded it with Gu Jingxi. When she saw the person in the painting, her gaze froze instantly. The person who painted this painting was very skilled, and the person in the painting was lifelike and very expressive. The person in the painting looked very similar to Meng Jinyao, but their temperament was different. The person in the painting was gentle, quiet and reserved.
Meng Jinyao stared blankly at the person in the painting, her eyes instantly reddening, and she murmured softly, "Mother."
She once had a portrait of her mother, which was also very lifelike, but it was destroyed by Meng Jinyu. Later, Sun Shi had someone paint a replacement for her, but it couldn't capture her mother's spirit, only her appearance. It couldn't capture the tenderness in her eyes, but the painting in front of her could.
When Gu Jingxi saw the painting, he was also stunned for a moment. He quickly realized that the painting did not depict A Yao, but rather A Yao's mother, his mother-in-law. But why would this cousin-in-law have a portrait of his mother-in-law?
Could it be that Du Sze-ze likes A-Yao, while his uncle likes A-Yao's mother, which is why he kept A-Yao's mother's portrait?
When Meng Jinyao came to her senses, she was also puzzled as to why her uncle had a portrait of her mother, and why it was so well preserved.
She asked softly, "Uncle, how...how did you get a portrait of my mother?"
Lord Du probably realized that the couple had misunderstood something, so he quickly said, "This is your aunt's keepsake. This portrait was also painted by your aunt. Look at the signature below; Jing'an is your aunt's maiden name. Because it's your aunt's keepsake, I couldn't bear to throw it away. Moreover, this painting is one of her most treasured works. What she valued, I valued too. I've always kept it with me and kept it safe. A couple of days ago, Yaoling sent someone to say that you were coming, and that's when I remembered this painting. Finding it and giving it to you is the best home for it."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao understood and quickly thanked him, "Thank you so much, Uncle. I really like this painting, I really like it." As she spoke, her voice choked with emotion. Although it was not the same painting as before, she felt as if she had regained what she had lost.
Seeing this, Lord Du knew she was thinking of her mother, and gently comforted her, "Good child, don't cry."
Gu Jingxi gently wiped away the tears that welled up in her eyes and helped her put the painting away first, so that she wouldn't lose control of her crying and ruin the painting if her tears wet it.
Meng Jinyao sniffed, forcing back her tears, and then looked at the other painting. Since her uncle had brought out two paintings, he would definitely show her the other one as well. So she asked, "Uncle, what is that painting about? Is it also for me?"
Lord Du said gently, "I can't give you this painting, but your uncle can show it to you."
After he finished speaking, he unfurled the scroll on the table, revealing the figures in the painting. It depicted a pregnant young woman and a young girl in a garden full of spring flowers. Judging from their expressions, they seemed to be talking. The young woman's belly was about eight months along.
Meng Jinyao recognized them at a glance: her aunt and her mother. At that time, her mother was not yet married and had not yet styled her hair in a married woman's bun. However, judging from her aunt's belly, her cousin was about to be born, which proved that her mother's wedding was also approaching.
Lord Du gently stroked the pregnant woman in the painting, his expression tender as he said, “This is the only portrait of your aunt during her pregnancy. Your aunt was painted by your mother, and your mother’s portrait was painted by your aunt. They created this painting together. Their painting skills are excellent, and I can’t compare to them. So even if I try to copy it, I can’t capture its spirit.”
Meng Jinyao originally liked the painting very much because it depicted her mother before she got married. However, after hearing her cousin-in-law's words, she felt it was inappropriate to take what others liked, so she turned her attention to her husband, who was skilled at painting.
The meaning in her eyes was clear. Gu Jingxi met her gaze and knew what she wanted. He said gently, "Uncle, may I borrow this painting to make a copy? I want to make one for Ayao."
Lord Du nodded: "Of course."
Gu Jingxi had other things to do, and since he had some free time, he thought he should get this matter settled now. So he said, "Uncle, could you please prepare the painting supplies? I'd like to make a copy right now."
Lord Du was somewhat bewildered, not understanding why he was in such a hurry, but he didn't ask any further questions. He had someone prepare painting tools for him and asked him to copy the painting. He originally wanted to see how good his painting skills were, but unfortunately, the clerk had come to find him and he had other things to do, so he left first.
Only Meng Jinyao and Gu Jingxi remained in the study.
Gu Jingxi was copying a painting, and Meng Jinyao stood beside him watching, both of them focused intently. He was focused on painting, and she was focused on watching him. When a maid passed by, she looked in through the window and saw this scene, and was instantly mesmerized.
He was the scenery in her eyes.
And yet they are a sight to behold in the eyes of others.
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