In Chapter 40, the money was tricked into going from the employer's pocket to the employer's wife...
Zhu Yi, who usually argued with her endlessly, was now blushing and rushed out without saying a word.
He walked silently into the courtyard, gradually stopping, raising his right hand, staring blankly at it, trying to recall, as if he could still faintly feel its soft touch…
Qingduo clung to the doorframe, glancing sideways at Zhu Yi, who stood motionless in the courtyard. She shook her head and sighed, "Alas! What is love, Zhu Yi, that it makes one so infatuated!"
She turned around and deliberately asked, "Sister, am I right?"
Lu Nong said that "right" wasn't quite right, and "wrong" wasn't quite right either. The little girl had dug a "trap" for her to fall into! Look at her smiling face; when she's being naughty, she can't hide anything on her face!
"I should take my medicine." She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but her fingers were tightly clenched together.
Qingduo smiled, knowing it was best to stop now. Her dear older sister was very shy. So she obediently brought the medicine to Lu Nong.
As she raised her arm, her sleeves slipped down, revealing two wrists adorned with carved jasmine flower bracelets.
Lu Nong stared intently at the bracelet and asked, "This can't be..."
"Hmm! I guessed it was you who bought it for me, since you don't usually like flowers or pinks!" Qingduo replied.
"I already damaged it, take it off, and I'll buy you a new one when I'm better."
“No,” Qingduo raised her arm, looking at the flattened flower bud, as if speaking to Lu Nong, or making a vow to herself, “I want it to remind me at all times. Sailinfu owes us so much, and I will make him pay it all back!”
*
Qingduo is a very busy person.
During the day, she had to take care of Lu Nong, and at night she had to brew medicine for Zeng Zhengqing. She also had to send someone to deliver it to his study each time, leaving her no time to study painting. Ever since she decided to learn painting, her father had strictly controlled her. If she missed a day, he would come to her house for a feast, and when asked why, she would stammer, "..."
"I just 'landed' at home, and from afar, I heard someone beating drums. Out of curiosity, I followed the sound, and guess what?"
"What?" Qingduo had a vague sense of foreboding, but she spoke too quickly and couldn't take her words back.
Tang Li patted her shoulder: "What did I think it was! It turns out, it turns out it's Miss Tang's most skilled 'retreat drum'! It was pounded so loudly, so fiercely, so loudly... boom boom... um!"
Qingduo bit her lip, raised her wine glass, and insisted on pouring the wine into his mouth to seal it.
How disgusting! They eat her food, drink her drinks, and even make fun of her. The maids around her are all laughing. Where is her dignity as the young mistress?
What's even more terrifying is that the next time, after Zeng Zhengqing accompanied her father for drinks and returned to her room, she was busy painting the pine tree that her father had arranged by lamplight. He stood aside watching the painting and suddenly burst out laughing.
Qingduo was taken aback: "What are you laughing at?"
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing, haha,” Zeng Zhengqing waved his hand, unable to stop laughing. “It’s just that seeing the ‘tree’ reminded me of an old story my father-in-law mentioned at the dinner table. He heard that when Madam was young, she loved climbing trees, but her parents strictly forbade it, so you secretly went to climb one. Unexpectedly, that day you climbed to a high place, were terrified, and dared not come down. Ashamed to show weakness, you simply clung to the trunk and remained silent…”
Qingduo's face turned bright red. She jumped up and covered Zeng Zhengqing's mouth, shouting repeatedly, "Forget it! Forget it! Forget it now!"
Zeng Zhengqing dodged her hand while laughing, "Luckily, a servant happened to pass by and rescued you. But when you landed, you were still stubborn: 'It's not that I couldn't get down! I was just enjoying the view!'"
Qingduo let go of her hands helplessly, resting her head on Zeng Zhengqing's chest, refusing to let him see her blushing face, and occasionally feeling his chest tremble as he laughed.
Good heavens! Quickly turn her into a mole and make her dig a hole and burrow down!
"You bastard Tang Ali!" Qingduo thought angrily. In order to force her to persist in learning to paint, he actually revealed her embarrassing secrets. Did he think he would surrender to her because of this?
The shadow of the green grapes fell on the paper, and Qingduo stared intently at the tip of the pen, carefully dotting the tip of the chrysanthemum with crimson.
"When you're dyeing the gaps in the petals later, you have to dye them one by one. Don't try to fool me!" Tang Li lay on the rocking chair, swaying back and forth leisurely.
"Hmph, of course I'll draw well! I respect my paintings!" Qingduo retorted defiantly.
"Then how come the pine tree had ink spots last time?"
Qingduo was speechless for a moment, and she mumbled, "It's just... there were some, some unexpected events."
In the end, it's all because of you!
Qingduo sighed, feeling like Sun Wukong, unable to escape the Buddha's palm, firmly pressed under the Five Elements Mountain, with no monk from the Tang Dynasty to remove the seal and rescue her.
"Ah Zhao! I cooked some red bean dumplings. You've been drawing for so long, you should take a break and come out for a bowl!" Zhu Niang called out.
Qingduo was overjoyed. Hey, say "Tang Seng," and "Tang Seng" is here! She stood up abruptly and quickly responded. Then she heard Tang Li say behind her, "Finish the painting before you eat."
"Huh?" Qingduo glanced at the painting and muttered, "By the time it's finished, the dumplings will be too thick!"
"Finish drawing before you eat!"
Tang Li's words carried an unquestionable authority, and Zhu Niang outside remained silent. Qing Duo had no choice but to sit down, and said to Zhu Niang with a sense of resentment: How can there be such an unresolvable "Tang Monk"!
Finally, after finishing applying the flower petals, the task was accomplished. Behind her, the snoring grew louder and louder. Qingduo tiptoed out quietly.
"Eat up, I reckon it's about time, it's freshly made."
Qingduo thanked Aunt Zhu, happily scooped up a spoonful, blew away the heat, and put it in her mouth. The red bean paste was smooth and soft; with just a gentle touch, it slid into her mouth, carrying waves of sweetness that surged through her mouth. The small glutinous rice balls were soft and chewy, and as she stirred them, the aroma of rice wafted out, adding a touch of fragrance to the sweetness of the red bean paste.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—" Qingduo hurriedly scooped up a spoonful, blew on it rapidly, and wished she could put it in her mouth immediately.
Zhu Niang looked at her lovingly and quietly asked, "A Zhao, do you still want those paintings in the house? A new painting shop has opened nearby and they're buying paintings! I heard that a poor scholar in the neighborhood sold a painting for several hundred coins!"
Qingduo paused for a moment, then continued blowing hot air, looking completely unconcerned: "Those are all my practice pieces. You can sell them if you want. They're just taking up space anyway. But don't have high expectations. My paintings... my paintings... aren't worth much..." Her voice grew softer and softer as she stuffed the spoon into her mouth, as if she was only speaking softly because she was eating.
Zhu Niang didn't take it seriously: "Well, he doesn't usually sell for much, but that shop just opened and he's in a hurry to collect flower and bird paintings, so the prices are a bit higher than other shops."
Qingduo's eyes lit up, and she mumbled, spoon in her mouth, "Are you there?"
She's going! She's going! Even if her paintings are priced similarly to sugar paintings, she can earn a little more now. Every penny counts, and who would turn down money?
*
Qingduo sat awkwardly in the painting shop, surrounded by the familiar smell of paint. She stared blankly at the shopkeeper's beard. The shopkeeper opposite her seemed to be pondering some difficult problem, his mouth pursing and his goatee swaying up and down like a goat chewing grass, as if he was about to bleat contentedly at the next move.
Sailinfu's beard looks like a shrimp's whiskers, while his looks like a goat's. Does that mean only those with beards resembling animals can open a painting shop?
"Ahem," Manager Fang cleared his throat, and Qingduo immediately straightened her back, looking ready to listen attentively. She leaned forward slightly and asked nervously, "Manager Fang, could you please take a look? What price do you think we should give this chrysanthemum painting?"
Shopkeeper Fang looked down at the painting, then at Qingduo: "Madam just said your name is 'Tang Qingduo'?"
Seeing Qingduo nod emphatically, he tentatively asked, "Do you know Mr. Zeng, the owner of 'Qingyuan Bookstore'?"
Qingduo blinked and said, "Yes, we know each other. We're quite familiar. He's my husband."
That's it! Manager Fang remembered Zeng Zhengqing's instructions: if Qingduo came to sell the painting, the price must be double what it deserved. He stroked his beard and smiled, "How about one hundred coins?"
A strange expression appeared on Qingduo's face, but she remained silent.
Was the price too low? Manager Fang pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up and smiled, "One hundred and twenty coins, is Madam satisfied?"
Qingduo gasped, but remained silent.
It seems this price still doesn't satisfy Madam Zeng. Should we add a little more? But... that would be too much of a waste. Manager Fang thought for a moment, anyway, the shop belongs to the Zeng family, the money is just going from the owner's pocket to the owner's wife's purse, what difference does it make! Just don't arouse Madam Zeng's suspicion.
He held up his palm, making a "five" gesture, and said firmly, "One hundred and fifty coins!"
"Bang!" Qingduo slammed her hand on the table and stood up, leaning on it with both hands. She said in a deep voice, "One hundred and fifty coins, is that right?"
"...Uh, yes, yes." Manager Fang wiped his sweat upon seeing this. "If Madam is not satisfied, then..."
"Satisfied, satisfied, satisfied!" Qingduo's expression instantly changed, revealing a fawning smile. "Manager Fang truly has a discerning eye; I couldn't be more satisfied!"
One hundred and fifty coins!
One hundred and fifty coins!
Even if she painted erotic pictures, she wouldn't charge such a high price! Especially since it's flower and bird paintings, which she's not particularly good at!
The painting shop is called "Mingzhu Yazhai," and in her opinion, the name couldn't be more fitting.
Finally, someone has recognized her talent and talent!
*
“Brother Zeng, this is not a good matter!” Chen Nian, the owner of Chen’s Bookstore, sighed.
"The plagiarism of vernacular stories is indeed not limited to 'Huatangchun' alone. I just managed to persuade a few people to come forward a few days ago, but then the news of Miss Lu Nong being kidnapped spread. Now look what happened! These guys are like mice seeing a cat, and they refuse to come out no matter what I say! Sigh, I've really wasted all my effort!"
What a brilliant plan to kill two birds with one stone! Zeng Zhengqing sneered inwardly. If he could truly please Sai Linfu, on the one hand, he could force Lu Nong to admit that he was not the author of "Hua Tang Chun," blaming a deer for a horse and turning black into white; on the other hand, he could terrify those who had been plagiarized, keeping them silent. In this way, his Shouzhentang would "legitimately" steal the hard work of others and become the exclusive bookstore for many vernacular stories.
“Fear is human nature, but as the saying goes, ‘a great reward will surely bring forth brave men.’ Has Mr. Chen ever tried to entice him with benefits?”
"Give them a commission?" Chen Nian pointed at himself and said angrily, "After I stood up for them and cleared their name, I only took a small portion of the fee as payment, and the rest was theirs. Isn't that enough? Do you expect me to pay them extra?"
"I, Old Chen, won't do this kind of unprofitable business!"
Zeng Zhengqing smiled, picked up his teacup and took a small sip before slowly saying, "What Boss Chen said makes sense. I have thought of a way that won't lose money. I wonder if Brother Chen would be interested?"
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