Chapter 43 Secret Painting: Who Says a Moment of Passion is Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold?
Who cares!
Qingduo angrily said, "I don't want a kiss! What kind of compensation is this! I want a different one!"
She grabbed Zeng Zhengqing's arm and pulled at him unwillingly, shouting, "Compensation! Compensation! Compensation! Compensation!"
Zeng Zhengqing, worn down by her persistent nagging, finally had no choice but to ask, "What do you want?"
Qingduo was speechless for a moment. She thought and thought but couldn't think of anything. She said, "Just put it in the account for now, and I'll tell you when I think of something."
After lying down again, she thought to herself: If she hadn't discovered this, she would have almost been fooled by Qingqing! She thought he was a serious and stubborn person, but she didn't expect him to have such a cunning side. Humph, what a "little rascal"!
Exhausted after a long day, she fell into a deep sleep as soon as she lay down on the unfamiliar new bed and had a sweet dream: in her dream, she was a great painter like her father, whose paintings could sell for thousands of gold coins. Soon, she and her father moved into a mansion—just like the Zeng family mansion now—and they lived a life of unparalleled comfort!
One day, her father found her and said, "Ah Zhao, you were actually engaged to Zeng Zhengqing, but the Zeng family has fallen on hard times and we haven't been in contact for a long time. Whether you go through with the marriage or break it off is up to you!"
The scene shifts to a light drizzle. She stands outside a house. The dilapidated thatched hut looks very familiar, as if she had lived there for a long time. Looking at the roof, she thinks, "The thatch is so sparse, it must leak."
Just then, someone approached from afar. She turned her head and saw a handsome scholar with refined features. Judging from his appearance, Qingduo nodded secretly. The man carried an oiled paper package and walked towards her. As he approached, he bowed and said, "May I ask who you are looking for, young lady?"
Qingduo smelled the familiar aroma of braised chicken legs and knew from the smell alone that it was the cheap stuff that Uncle He at the alley entrance braised himself.
Strange, how come I'm so familiar with this area?
Her gaze was fixed on the oil paper package, and she casually said, "You must be Zeng Zhengqing? I'm here to fulfill my marriage contract."
His face flushed red, and he said, "My family is poor, and I am afraid I am unable to marry you, young lady."
"It's alright!" Qingduo waved her hand. "I'm rich, I can marry you!"
So, amidst the banging and banging, the sedan chair carried the "new husband" into the house. Qingduo took the scale from Fangqing, her heart filled with satisfaction for her new husband. She thought that those newlyweds who married blindly must be extremely nervous at this moment, unlike her, who had already checked the goods beforehand and was full of confidence.
As the veil was lifted inch by inch, Qingduo glanced at the person beneath her and felt increasingly uneasy. She remembered that he had never grown a beard, so why did this person in front of her have a mustache like a shrimp's?!
A sense of foreboding washed over her. Qingduo stared dumbfounded at the person before her. Her hand moved erratically, and the scale beam struck her foot. She jumped up and down, clutching her foot, shouting:
"Salinfu! Salinfu!"
Suddenly, she felt the air was thin, and the scarlet veil flew over and covered her face. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remove it, and it held her firmly in place. Qingduo felt as if she was sinking into water, unable to breathe. She reached out and grabbed wildly, and suddenly felt a lightness on her head. The restraints were released, and air rushed in. Someone kept shaking her, and she gradually pulled herself out of the nightmare.
Qingduo's heart pounded wildly. She gasped for breath, staring at Zeng Zhengqing who had woken her up, and complained, "Where did you go?"
Zeng Zhengqing was taken aback and said, "I've been by your side the whole time. Madam was having a nightmare. She kept calling out 'Salinfu.' What's wrong?"
Qingduo paused for a moment, her thoughts racing, and she understood everything. She felt that the dream of "marrying Sailinfu" was too shameful and didn't want to tell him. But then she felt a heavy weight on her chest. Looking down, she saw a quilt pressing on her chest, like the bell on the chest of a stone lion guarding the house.
When Zeng Zhengqing saw her looking at the quilt, he reached out and unfolded it, covering her again, and said, "You don't sleep well. With the quilt wrapped around your head, your mouth and nose are stuffed in and you can't breathe. Maybe that's why you have nightmares."
Qingduo sighed. It was understandable, but the dream was just too vicious! Afraid of seeing Sailinfu's "shrimp whiskers" again if she fell asleep, she whispered, "Qingqing, hold my hand." She wanted to pull him into her dream!
Qingduo closed her eyes again, silently chanting, "Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva, what I want is this 'little rascal,' not that 'big rascal'!"
After a prayer, she entered the dream again, returning to the moment before the veil was lifted. Fangqing handed her a scale, but Qingduo didn't take it. She looked left and right, glanced at her hands and feet, and although the figures seemed similar, she was still uneasy. She approached and quietly asked, "Zeng Qingqing, is that you?"
The man, wearing a red veil, nodded slightly. Qingduo felt relieved and lifted the veil, revealing her rosy-cheeked husband. Qingduo looked at him with a smile, feeling extremely satisfied.
Now that only the two of them were left in the room, Zeng Zhengqing said in a low voice, "Madam, please rest!"
Qingduo's smile vanished abruptly. Why was he like that man, always thinking about this kind of thing! She said unhappily, "I'm not resting, I'm going to paint!"
Who says a fleeting moment of pleasure is worth a fortune? Her paintings are truly worth a fortune!
She turned to leave, when she suddenly heard Zeng Zhengqing say slowly behind her, "Since Madam likes painting, I have bought one of my works. I wonder if Madam would like to appreciate it together?"
A painting? Qingduo was curious and turned her head to see him taking out a scroll from somewhere. She couldn't help but lean closer to take a look. Hmm, it was on the bed...
In bed?
Qingduo felt her ears burning; she sensed something was wrong, yet she couldn't resist the temptation. She swallowed hard, her eyes glued to the painting. As the scroll slowly unfurled, a man and a woman sat on a bed. The man had his back to her, his moon-white nightgown loosely draped down to his waist, a prominent red mole on his waistline; the woman faced her, her thin veil revealing her skin, a glimpse of her beauty peeking through the camellia blossoms…
She had a vague idea in her mind. Sure enough, when Zeng Zhengqing fully unrolled the scroll, the woman and the man's lips met. Those eyebrows and eyes were clearly hers, and the man was Zeng Zhengqing without her having to say anything!
Qingduo shuddered. There were clearly only the two of them in the room at the time, and the doors and windows were tightly closed. Who was hiding and peeping? And who drew it so realistically?
She stammered, "Who drew this?"
"You don't know, madam?" he chuckled. "It's you, madam! Aren't you skilled at painting erotic pictures?"
Qingduo was shocked: "No, that's not right. I painted in my past life, but in this life I've reformed and turned over a new leaf, living an honest and upright life, and painting diligently. I've never painted! You, you, you don't wrong me!"
No matter how she explained, Zeng Zhengqing insisted that she was "unfaithful" and left without looking back. Seeing her handsome husband slip away, Qingduo was furious and shouted after him:
"Women who paint erotic pictures are considered morally deficient, but why is it that no one says men who paint them are 'not upholding male virtue'? We're all human, so why use different standards to judge us?"
"Hmph! You won't let me do it, but I'll do it anyway!"
...
Amidst the soaring calls of birds, Qingduo opened her eyes. The morning light filled the room like mist, and for a moment she couldn't tell whether she was still dreaming or had returned to reality.
Qingduo stared blankly at the ceiling, savoring the dream she had just had. She envied the person she was in her dream, who had the ability to support her family and the courage to stand firm in her beliefs without fear. In reality, she had neither the ability nor the courage.
She recalled her past, when whether painting erotic art or selling her paintings at art shops, she always did it secretly, afraid of being caught. After all, erotic paintings were hardly respectable, especially since she was an unmarried girl at the time. Now that she was the young mistress of the Zeng family, it was even more inconvenient. If this matter were to be exposed, the Zeng family would likely not tolerate it, so how could she dare to make a fuss! She only planned to hone her skills, settle her father's debts, and then never engage in this profession again!
only……
The picture she had shared in her dream floated into her mind, and she couldn't help but turn her head to look at Zeng Zhengqing, who was fast asleep beside her. He was lying on his side facing her, having a wonderful dream. All the burdens between his brows were lifted, and a faint smile played on his lips, like a clear lake.
She used to not understand the meaning behind these sweet nothings between men and women; she just copied what they did, trying to earn a meager living. Qingduo gently stroked his face, now recognizing a bit of the romance. If she hadn't sold them to the public, but instead kept them as a private collection for the two of them, so that they could reminisce about their old days together when they were old and gray, wouldn't that be wonderful?
The more she thought about it, the more interesting it seemed. She couldn't wait to put yesterday's scene into words. So she got up, picked up her cloak from the ground, put it on, and quietly went out.
*
Chen Nian found three other authors whose works had been stolen by Shouzhentang, making a total of four including Lu Nong. Zeng Zhengqing proposed signing them all as exclusive authors for the bookstore, without needing to bribe them with money. They would simply write stories for Chen's bookstore, which would then be fully responsible for selling them and recovering the previous losses. This idea of forming an alliance and using them for his own purposes without spending a penny was exactly what Chen Nian wanted, and within a few days he had persuaded the three authors, except for Lu Nong, to sign contracts.
When discussing the matter of "Huatangchun" that day, Zeng Zhengqing instructed Qingduo: "From now on, Lu Nong and the others will be signed by the bookstore, and the bookstore will also seek justice for them. You should not interfere anymore."
When Qingduo heard that Lu Nong's matter had been resolved, she was overjoyed. The next day, after her painting class, she rushed to Lu Nong's house to tell her the good news. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw a woman hanging clothes in the yard. Qingduo stopped and stood at the door in a daze when Zhu Yi came out of the house and called out, "Sister, is the medicine ready yet?"
"Can't you see for yourself? Why are you asking?" Zhu Can said irritably.
Just as the two finished speaking, they noticed Qingduo standing blankly at the door. Zhu Yi called out, "Hey, Qing Xiaoduo, what are you daydreaming about! Go! Check if the medicine is ready!"
"Your sister asked you to go and see, why are you ordering me around?" Qingduo pouted, then smiled brightly at Zhu Can and greeted her warmly, "Hello, sister!"
"Hmm!" This time it was Zhu Can's turn to be stunned. Her gaze followed Qing Duo as she walked into the house from the doorway, and she was thinking to herself: Last time she naturally called her and her husband "sister and brother-in-law", and this time it was the same. What kind of relative was she?
She grabbed Zhu Yi, who was about to enter the kitchen, and asked in a low voice, "Tiger, is this 'Qing Xiaoduo' a relative of ours? I don't recognize either her name or her appearance at all."
Zhu Yi opened his mouth and said, "She's not..." He paused and then said, "If you think about it carefully, she's only three-tenths related to our family, no, too many, but only one-tenth!"
Zhu Can opened his eyes wide and said with dissatisfaction, "What kind of talk is this? Relatives are relatives, what's with all this talk of a penny or a fraction! Speak properly, or are you itching for a piece of your own flesh?"
Zhu Yi took a step back and muttered, "I didn't say anything wrong! I, I..."
He blushed and said shyly, "If in the future, if Miss Lu Nong marries me and she treats Qing Duo as her own sister, then wouldn't we be relatives?"
"But, but, alas, if it takes a ten percent chance to get Lu Nong to marry me, I only have a one percent chance right now. So, I only have a one percent kinship with her."
Zhu Can was both amused and annoyed by his words. She spat out, "What a silly boy!" Then she sighed. Lu Nong was well-educated, intelligent, and quick-witted, while her younger brother was foolish in every word and deed. In her opinion, he probably had no chance at all!
Zhu Can felt sorry for her silly younger brother and said softly, "Alright, if you say one cent, then one cent. I'll go check if the medicine is ready. You can go in and talk to her more to get to know her better." With that, she turned and went into the kitchen.
Zhu Yi wasn't used to his sister's sudden gentleness. He scratched the back of his head, feeling that something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Just then, someone patted him on the back, and Qing Duo jumped out from behind him, her eyes gleaming with mischievousness.
“Brother Zhu Yi, it’s been a long time since we went out to spread the word about Sailinfu’s evil deeds. Sister Lu Nong isn’t fully recovered yet, so let’s go together!”
"I'm not going! It's too tiring, and last time I dragged Lu Nong into this mess. I'm not going!" Zhu Yi refused.
"What! You have to finish what you start. Besides, you said before that Shi Chun is adamant about not being instructed by Sailinfu. Your brother-in-law and the others are keeping an eye on Sailinfu. Sailinfu will definitely not dare to make any rash moves at this time. So we have to keep up the good work and make sure he has no business to do!"
"I'm not going." What she said made sense, but she still wanted to spend more time with Lu Nong. Zhu Yi was about to go inside when Qing Duo quickly blocked his way, looking pitiful.
"Brother-in-law~ I'm your 'family member'!"
"Can you bear to let your frail wife's younger sister sing clapper talk all by herself?"
-----------------------
Author's note: Qingduo: Guess when I'll be promoted to Zhu Yi's "second-generation relative"?
A. Next life B. The life after that C. Never possible
I thought about it slowly, and then I ran ahead. Zhu Yi caught up with me.
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