Chapter 9: Falsification
"Master!"
"Young Master!"
"Third Master!"
The followers outside the room saw Song Qianzhao and Fan Zhiyu leave the room and immediately stepped forward.
Looking at the way Xun Jiu and Fan Zhiyu's followers were glaring at each other and sneering at each other, it was obvious that the two of them were not getting along.
Song Qianzhao nodded to Xunjiu and the other one.
Fan Zhiyu raised his hand and shouted, "Let's go home!"
"yes!"
Those burly men glared at Xunjiu viciously, responded in a rough voice, and then pushed their way downstairs with their arms crossed, like a group of domineering crabs. In a few seconds, they pushed away the people who were blocking their way in the corridor.
"Young Master..."
The Song Mansion's attendant approached her and coughed lightly in her ear, as if to remind her of something.
Song Qian laughed and shook his head at Fan Zhiyu, saying, "It's probably not appropriate to go out at this time. It's curfew at this hour."
After hearing this, Fan Zhiyu curled his lips in contempt, "The Imperial Guards are all under my father's command. Do they dare to stop me?"
Fan Zhiyu's words fully revealed his playboy temperament.
Not only did Song Qianzhao not feel disgusted, but he looked at him with interest.
If you don't know how to use your power, it will become useless once it expires.
Fan Zhiyu's unbridled style is exactly what Song Qianzhao longs for the most.
It’s a pity that even though she had a towering tree behind her, she couldn’t get any shade.
Under the leadership of Fan Zhiyu, Song Qianzhao and his three followers left Hongxing Tower.
The night in the capital was as still as water. The lights in the streets gradually dimmed, leaving only a few lanterns hanging in front of government offices, swaying gently in the night breeze, casting flickering shadows. The faint sound of the night watchman's clapper came from afar, three long and two short, echoing through the empty streets and alleys, making the night even quieter.
But this silence did not last long as it was broken by a group of armored men wielding swords.
"Who are you? The city is under curfew, and you dare to wander outside? Catch them!"
Song Qianzhao and his group were spotted by the imperial guards. At the leader's shout, a group of people approached with swords in hand.
"Bang!"
Fan Zhiyu grabbed the other person's collar and kicked him hard.
"Open your dog eyes and see clearly who I am!"
The Fan family's followers raised lanterns to illuminate Fan Zhiyu's face.
The imperial guards were kicked in the head and were about to get angry, but when they saw Fan Zhiyu's face clearly, their expressions changed in an instant.
He bent his waist, a flattering smile on his face as he said, "Oh my! It turns out to be the Third Young Master of the General's Mansion. I'm blind and didn't recognize you. I hope you won't blame me!"
He suddenly turned around and shouted to the crowd behind him, "You bastards! What are you still doing here? Get out of here!"
If the Third Young Master loses even a hair because of you, I will peel off your skin."
Upon hearing this, the imperial guards immediately made way.
Fan Zhiyu kicked him again in disgust and shouted coldly, "Who do you think you are? You're just a barking dog!"
When the captain heard this, he was not angry, but even more flattering, "Third Master is right, I am just a dog raised in your house."
Fan Zhiyu smacked his lips and said impatiently, "Find someone to clear the way for me. I don't want to be stopped again."
"Please, I will personally clear the way for you, sir."
The imperial guards stopped patrolling and led a group of imperial guards to escort Fan Zhiyu and his party to the Fan family.
Fan Zhiyu stopped under the plaque of Fan Mansion, but was not in a hurry to go in. Instead, he came to the winery opposite his home, knocked on the door, and invited Song Qianzhao and his three followers to go in and wait for a while.
Before Fan Zhiyu returned home, Song Qianzhao reminded him, "By the way, prepare the Chengxintang paper and the four treasures of the study."
"clear."
Fan Zhiyu responded and hurried back home.
Fan Zhiyu left in a hurry and returned in a hurry.
He was holding a wooden box about a foot and a half long in his arms, and was looking around furtively, like a thief.
After rushing into the restaurant, he hurriedly urged the owner to bolt the door.
It was not until he heard hurried knocks on the door and shouts outside that he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten two guys carrying the four treasures of the study outside.
"Let them in. I'll go up first so no one can see me."
Fan Zhiyu told the shopkeeper to open the door and welcome the guests, while he himself carried the wooden box and quickly went upstairs.
Song Qianzhao was sitting at two tables put together. Seeing Fan Zhiyu's sneaky look, he couldn't help laughing and said, "You take things from your own home, how can you act like a thief?"
Fan Zhiyu curled his lips, sat down opposite Song Qianzhao, and placed the box on the table gently. "You say it so easily, but is this an ordinary thing? If something goes wrong with this thing, not only will my father not let me go, but the queen will not let me have an easy time either."
Xunjiu couldn't help laughing out loud when he heard what Fan Zhiyu said.
Fan Zhiyu just glanced at Xun Jiu unhappily, but did not treat him the same way as he treated the head of the imperial guards.
It was just because Fan Zhiyu had developed some feelings for Song Qianzhao.
When two people do good things, they may not necessarily become closer, but when they do bad things, they are more likely to feel close to each other and become closer.
"Open it and take a look."
Fan Zhiyu looked up at him warily, "Don't move, I'll open it and show you."
Under Song Qianzhao's sight.
Fan Zhiyu opened the box lid with bated breath and took out a scroll as if he was holding a rare treasure.
He slowly spread out the scroll along the edge of the table.
Song Qianzhao looked over.
Just a moment.
Fan Zhiyu then said, "Have you finished reading it? If you have, I will return it."
Song Qianzhao smiled and said, "No rush. The painting has already been taken out, so it won't matter if we keep it for another hour. Xunjiu, help me grind the ink."
"Here I am, Master."
Xun Jiu stepped forward quickly, snatched the four treasures of the study from Fan Zhiyu's follower, and spread them on the table.
Seeing this, Fan Zhiyu frowned and said, "Are you trying to forge a painting? It will take only a few days to finish the imitation."
What Fan Zhiyu said makes sense.
The followers behind Song Qianzhao and Xunjiu twitched their lips when they heard this - among all the people present, they were the only ones who knew that Song Qianzhao was just taking advantage of the power of others.
The brothel owner was surprised and asked, "You want to meet that liar?"
Chen Ming'er nodded and said, "He dared to blatantly impersonate someone from the Song Mansion. He must have some backing. It's not appropriate for you to deal with him, Mom. I'll put him in my room for the time being. Please send someone to inform Erlang and let him deal with it."
"Ming'er is still good to mom. Mom's love for you is not in vain." The brothel owner said and walked out quickly.
The brothel owner walked out of the room and glanced at Song Qianzhao coldly: "Go in! The girl is waiting for you inside."
Song Qianzhao was stunned, not understanding why the brothel owner suddenly turned hostile, but she didn't care. No matter how her attitude changed, it had no effect on her. She left Xunjiu and the other two waiting outside the door and stepped into the room.
Chen Ming'er sat at the round table in the room. With her slender fingers, she lifted a silver spoon and scooped a pinch of sandalwood powder into the gilded incense burner. The flames ignited, curls of green smoke rose, and the air was filled with the uniquely refreshing fragrance of sandalwood. As Song Qianzhao watched, she placed the silver spoon on the table, bowed, and said, "I am Chen Ming'er, greeting Master Song."
Song Qianzhao held a folding fan in her hand and bowed in return: "Thank you for your courtesy, young lady."
"Sir, please take a seat." Shen Ming'er walked over slowly and sat down beside the tea table. She looked at Song Qianzhao for a moment without leaving any trace, and asked softly, "Sir, would you like to drink tea or wine?"
"Enjoy the tea." Song Qianzhao paused, then added, "Just brew the tea leaves with hot water, and don't add anything else."
The way of drinking tea in ancient times was different from that of modern times. The most popular tea at that time was ball tea, which had various condiments added to it. The taste was very different from that of pure tea. Modern people may find it salty, spicy and strange.
Chen Ming'er asked in surprise, "Master, you don't like tea?"
Song Qianzhao pulled the corner of his mouth: "I am a country bumpkin, I am not used to drinking this."
Shen Ming'er nodded and lit the small charcoal stove to make tea for Song Qianzhao. Song Qianzhao sat quietly by the side and waited. When the tea was ready, Shen Ming'er placed the teacup in front of Song Qianzhao and whispered, "I now believe that you are the son of the Song family. I guess your purpose in coming to Hongxinglou is not for me."
Song Qianzhao was stunned, and said with a smile: "What do you mean?"
Chen Ming'er smiled and said, "Others who come to this place of pleasure cannot take their eyes off me the moment they see me, but you, Master, have only glanced at me briefly since you entered, always observing proper etiquette and not overstepping the bounds in the slightest."
"Just this? What if I'm being serious?"
Shen Ming'er shook her head in denial, "Young Master is of noble status, and there's no need for him to put on airs in front of me. Therefore, I can conclude that Young Master isn't coming for me, but for Erlang, who's behind me. Young Master is being so polite to me because he doesn't want to cause any friction with Erlang." She paused, her bright eyes fixed on Song Qianzhao, "Young Master has a request for Erlang."
Song Qianzhao was very surprised. She didn't expect that the women in this red-light district could see the clues from her behavior. She couldn't help but look at Shen Ming'er for a moment, nodded and praised: "I really didn't expect that in this red-light district, there would be a woman as beautiful and intelligent as you."
Chen Ming'er curled her lips. "I can't say she's beautiful or intelligent. To be honest, sir, when I was talking to my mother just now, I mistakenly thought you were a liar. Now it seems that I was blind."
Song Qianzhao took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "Miss, you didn't have to tell me directly."
Chen Ming'er held the kettle and poured a refill of tea for Song Qianzhao. She smiled faintly and said, "I'm used to hearing lies. It's rare to meet someone who is willing to tell the truth, so naturally I don't want to deceive them with lies."
"The girl is so different from others, why is it that..." Song Qianzhao was interrupted by Shen Ming'er before he could finish his words.
Shen Ming'er covered her lips and chuckled softly, her eyes moving: "Sir, do you want to inquire about my background, or do you want to persuade me to become a good person?"
When Song Qianzhao heard this, his face immediately turned red.
Chen Ming'er smiled and said, "It seems that you don't come to places like this often. People who have just been to brothels always like to ask about the girls' backgrounds and even more like to persuade us to become good people."
Song Qianzhao clasped his fists and bowed, then said with an embarrassed smile, "I'm sorry for the offense."
Shen Ming'er pursed her lips and smiled: "It's okay."
The two of them were silent for a while. Song Qianzhao sipped her tea while Chen Ming'er, smiling, refilled her pot with water. When the tea in the pot was gone, Chen Ming'er was about to boil water again when she heard a commotion outside the door.
"I want to see who dares to snatch my woman from me!"
"You can't go in, my young master is inside..."
"Get out of here!"
Chen Ming'er gave Song Qianzhao a mischievous smile: "Erlang is here."
Just as he finished speaking, the door was suddenly kicked open, and a young man of about sixteen led a group of ferocious servants in. The young man was short, wearing an elegant green Shu brocade gown. As he entered the room, he glanced at Song Qianzhao and was stunned for a moment before he shouted arrogantly, "You are the one who is trying to steal my woman?"
Song Qianzhao held the tea and said calmly: "She is not your woman."
"You little bastard, are you tired of living? How dare you speak to our young master like that!" A burly follower following behind the young man roared ferociously.
"Get out!" A roar rang out, and it was the young man who spoke. The follower rolled out of Shen Ming'er's room in an instant.
The young man suddenly rushed over to Song Qianzhao and, before she could react, grabbed the tea bowls on the table and smashed them to the ground. "You little brat, how dare you snatch a woman from me? Don't you think you're worthy enough?" He smashed two of the four tea bowls on the table. Although he kept cursing at the top of his voice, his face didn't show any anger.
Shen Ming'er had walked to the door and closed it before she pulled out a plate of bowls from under the bed and threw them around helplessly. The bowls flew around the room, making a crackling sound. It was obvious that this wasn't the first time she had done this.
The young man sat down in front of Song Qianzhao, picked up the teapot on the table and took a sip. He frowned and said, "It's so bitter!" He raised his eyes and looked at Song Qianzhao directly, saying, "I know you!"
It only takes a few hours to paint a picture.
However, to imitate a painting, even the spirit must be copied exactly, and it often takes more time to make the fake look real.
While Song Qianzhao was talking, Xunjiu spread out the paper and ground the ink.
Song Qianzhao casually picked up a high-quality wolf hair brush, moistened the brush with ink, and began to write.
"For me, it only takes an hour."
As soon as he finished speaking, Song Qianzhao had already written a few strokes on the paper.
Fan Zhiyu didn't know how to paint, but when he saw Song Qianzhao's calm and confident look, he felt relieved.
Song Qianzhao was painting while talking.
"I have to say, your father's painting is really well preserved. It's clearly from decades ago, but the paper looks almost as good as new. If you didn't know the year, you wouldn't be able to tell.
Just paint a new painting, bake it over a fire, and then place it in a ventilated place to dry, and it will be difficult to distinguish it from the imitation.
It saves me the trouble of aging the paper, and gives me an extra day to relax."
Fan Zhiyu watched Song Qianzhao's writing flow smoothly and asked, "And then?"
"Then, you, a prodigal son, went to Xiangyun Pawn Shop to sell paintings."
Fan Zhiyu frowned, "It's easy to be seen through like this."
"So I have to help you make a few more paintings, so that it's hard to tell whether they're real or fake, so that I can fool others."
Fan Zhiyu's brows relaxed, and he said with a smile, "As long as you are prepared."
He thought for a moment and continued, "How could you be sure that Wang Yang would be deceived by you?"
"Listen more and watch more."
Fan Zhiyu curled his lips.
Song Qianzhao explained with a smile, "I've heard from the people in the market that Wang Yang has accumulated a lot of wealth during his years as an official. He has bought several shops, including a grain store, two cloth stores, a gambling house, and three pawnshops."
The pawnshop's revenue is far less than that of the other four shops. It often runs into deficit and has to rely on other businesses to supplement its operations.
Fan Zhiyu immediately understood the problem and asked in confusion, "That shouldn't be the case! But this pawnshop's business is surprisingly good, how could it be losing money?"
"There is indeed a problem. I have thought about it carefully, and the only reasonable explanation is that Wang Yang is obsessed with antiques and calligraphy and paintings, so he often uses the pawnshop to help him buy calligraphy and paintings. This has led to serious losses in the pawnshop and made it difficult to continue.
Wang Yang's three pawnshops were constantly in the red, yet he had no intention of closing them down, which perfectly illustrates this point."
Fan Zhiyu grinned, "This is like finding Wang Yang's weakness. He has no choice but to be fooled."
"good."
As he and Fan Zhiyu were talking, an hour passed in a flash.
A painting of "Brocade Calligraphy, Clouds and Geese" was completed in this way.
Fan Zhiyu stared at the newly completed painting on his desk, smacking his lips in admiration. "The brushwork and spirit are both excellent. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought it was the original! But..."
Song Qianzhao put down his brush and wiped his hands, then smiled and said, "The ink stains are not dry yet, so naturally there are some differences. Once they are baked and dried, they will definitely be exactly the same."
"Then what are you waiting for? Bake and dry it in the shade."
Without waiting for Song Qianzhao to speak, Fan Zhiyu turned around and called the restaurant owner to prepare the stove.
Wait until things are ready.
Song Qianzhao personally baked the ink marks on the painting.
When it was 70% dry, Song Qianzhao found a place, set up the painting, and let it dry naturally.
Fan Zhiyu looked at Song Qianzhao with interest, and his eyes never left her no matter what she did.
Finally, he stayed beside the fake "Brocade Book, Clouds and Geese" and watched it dry naturally.
Song Qianzhao knew clearly that he was not interested in the fake painting, nor in the skill of forgery, but was attracted by the profits that forgery could bring.
After Song Qianzhao finished one painting, he did not stop and prepared to continue painting.
However, when she started painting again, she asked the owner of the tavern to arrange two rooms for Song's entourage and Xun Jiu to stay in.
"I want to accompany the young master..."
Xun Jiu shook his head stubbornly and refused to go to the guest room. He looked at Song Qianzhao and pretended to be pitiful.
Song Qianzhao looked at him and said with a smile, "If you don't obey, I will deduct your rations tomorrow."
Xunjiu suddenly panicked and ran to the guest room.
The attendant didn't say much, just reminded Song Qianzhao not to forget to call him tomorrow morning.
After watching the two leave, Song Qianzhao returned to the drawing table.
Picking up the paintbrush again, Song Qianzhao couldn't help but sigh.
I thought that after becoming a young master of an official family, I would enjoy endless wealth and glory and live comfortably for the rest of my life. Unexpectedly, I picked up the business of counterfeiting again.
Forging paintings is not Song Qianzhao's specialty, but she is confident that in this era, no one can tell the difference between the fake paintings she makes and the real ones.
When she started painting again, Song Qianzhao did not paint "Brocade Book, Clouds and Geese" again, but started painting directly based on the few paintings she had copied in her memory.
An hour later, another painting was completed.
When Song Qianzhao was baking and drying the paintings, he found that Fan Zhiyu had fallen asleep in the corner where the paintings were drying.
After drying the painting, Song Qianzhao hung it on a rack and turned back to continue painting.
I finished four paintings in one go.
But a painting alone is not enough, a seal is also needed.
She went to ask the shopkeeper for some radishes, but saw him napping on the counter.
Song Qianzhao didn't disturb him. He went to the kitchen alone to find some radishes and took out a small knife from the counter.
He took the radish back to the drawing table and began to concentrate on carving the seal.
In the busyness, time passes silently.
When the sky in the east turns pale and the first rooster crows.
Fan Zhiyu woke up in a daze, stretched, and found that the easel was empty. He was immediately panicked.
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