Chapter 166: Perfection of Painting
Li Nuo originally thought that Han Zhuo's ability was enough to cope with the imperial examination.
Unexpectedly, plans could not keep up with the changes.
His paintings are good enough to pass the imperial examination, but they are far from being the top scorer in the imperial examination.
He still needs to work harder in painting to make it impeccable.
It was too troublesome to catch people one by one, and it was even more troublesome to have to spend his life every time, so before the spring exam, he made some arrangements in advance.
He sent Butler Wu to look up the famous painters in Daxia.
If he could legally arrest them and put them in jail at the same time, his painting skills would most likely be maxed out and become permanent.
What’s a bit troublesome is that most of these masters are not in Chang’an.
Chang'an is a place of fame and fortune. Perhaps those officials in the court had some interest in painting before the imperial examination, but after becoming officials, they had no time and energy to engage in art.
This is the case even for a genius who enjoys talking once in a century, let alone those with mediocre talents.
On the contrary, those who failed the imperial examination and had to return to their hometowns had enough time and energy to go further in their hobbies.
Butler Wu always responds to the young master's requests.
Although this matter is troublesome, it is a trivial matter for Mingjingsi.
What's more, the young master has legitimate reasons for this matter.
After arresting those masters of painting and bringing them to justice, he would give them a warning and ask them to talk about their experience in painting. This way, the young master would be more confident in passing the imperial examination.
Mirror Department.
Mingjingsi is located in a prosperous area of Chang'an, but the street in front of the door is very deserted.
Originally this was a busy street, but after the establishment of the Mingjing Bureau, due to its vicious and cruel image, the surrounding shops and mansions were moved elsewhere.
Even the street in front of the door was deserted, and no one was willing to walk on it. They would rather take a detour than pass through Mingjingsi.
Steward Wu walked into the Mingjing Division with ease, greeting everyone he met along the way, and finally walked into a government office.
A young man who was sorting files looked up, stood up and said, "Manager Wu, what's going on?"
Butler Wu said, "We can close the matter I told you about last time..."
A moment later, several pigeons flew out of the Mirror Office and quickly disappeared into the sky.
…
In the next two days, the three court painters came to the Song Mansion once a day.
Li Nuo did not reject Li An Ning's kindness and listened carefully to their painting skills every time. However, from a professional perspective, Li Nuo felt that the skills of these three court painters were just that...
Those true masters of painting would not serve the court.
Art needs a free soil. The numerous rules of the court will confine them to a framework, solidify their thinking, and restrict their ideas.
In such an environment, their painting skills may improve, but they will gradually lose the soul of painting.
On the third day, the three court painters did not come.
Butler Wu walked in from outside and said, "Master, Princess An Ning is looking for you."
Li Nuo asked: "Why doesn't she come in by herself?"
Butler Wu shook his head and said, "I don't know. She asked you to go to the Ministry of Justice to find him."
A moment later, Li Nuo arrived at the Ministry of Justice.
In the government office, Li An Ning said with a dark face, "Those three court painters were reported to have left their posts without permission, so they can no longer teach you."
Although the three men came to the Song Mansion to teach Li Nuo and were indeed absent from their duties, court painters were very idle and generally no one would pursue the matter.
These people were obviously targeting them.
Li Nuo could guess who was behind the scenes and whoever least wanted him to pass the imperial examination was the most suspicious.
After all, this isn't the first time they've done this.
He said disapprovingly: "Don't worry, it's not a big problem..."
When walking out of the Ministry of Justice, Li Nuo looked up at the sky.
It should be about time.
Xuancheng.
Xuancheng is located in Huizhou and is famous for its production of Xuan paper. The paper produced is exported to several countries.
In addition to Xuan paper, Xuancheng also produced many masters of calligraphy and painting, and has produced many top scorers in calligraphy in history.
Because paper is cheap, even many children in Xuancheng can write and paint beautifully, so Xuancheng is also known as the "City of Calligraphy and Painting".
Zhao Mansion.
There are many people with the surname Zhao in Xuancheng, but when we talk about Zhao Mansion, we generally refer to the mansion of the Zhao family.
Mr. Zhao's real name is Zhao Yuan. Although he has no official position, he has a very high reputation in Xuancheng.
He took the imperial examination three times in his early years and failed three times. However, in Daxia, each person could only take the imperial examination three times.
After his official career became hopeless, Zhao Yuan returned to Xuancheng and devoted himself to the study of painting for twenty years. He finally mastered his painting skills and became a great painter of his generation.
After he became a famous painter, students often visited him to ask him for advice on painting techniques. One of his paintings could easily be sold for hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver.
In just a few years, the Zhao family became a prominent family in Xuancheng.
One day, Mr. Zhao was painting in his room when a servant came to report that the magistrate of Xuancheng County was visiting.
Zhao Yuan put down his brush, went out to greet him, and said with a smile: "I heard the magpie calling early in the morning. It turned out that Master Chen had come. Please don't blame me for not coming to greet you..."
One is from a prominent family in Xuancheng, and the other is the magistrate of Xuancheng County. The two have actually known each other for many years.
The middle-aged man in official uniform asked straight to the point: "Mr. Zhao, do you still remember that ten years ago, someone gave you one thousand taels to improve his son's painting by two grades in the spring exam so that he could enter Xuanzhou Academy smoothly?"
Zhao Yuan glanced at him. This incident did happen back then.
But wasn't it the county magistrate himself who gave him the one thousand taels of silver?
There were other people in the field, so how could he bring up what happened back then?
But seeing his serious expression, Zhao Yuan nodded and said, "Remember."
The middle-aged man said, "Just remember it and take it away."
Zhao Yuan was caught by two constables by the arm. He was stunned and asked in surprise: "Sir, it wasn't you back then..."
The middle-aged man covered his mouth and whispered, "Don't talk nonsense. You are not an official of the imperial court. You can be released after a few days. If you talk nonsense again, you will not be released for a few days..."
Zhao Yuan nodded in understanding and immediately stopped talking.
Soon, Zhao Yuan was taken away by two constables.
The magistrate of Xuancheng County looked at the figure behind him and said in a trembling voice, "Sir, is this okay?"
The man glanced at him and said calmly, "Remember to ask him to write a summary of his painting experience in prison and give it to me before tomorrow..."
At the gate of Zhao’s mansion, the people of Xuancheng were extremely surprised.
"What happened to Mr. Zhao?"
"Why was he taken away by the police?"
"What else could it be? He must have done something wrong and was discovered by the government..."
"I don't know how serious it is. If something happens to Master Zhao, Daxia's painting art will be one less master..."
At this moment, the people of Xuanzhou did not know that a similar scene was happening all over Daxia.
In Hongzhou, an old man was taken to the county government office. He said in a panic, "I used to sell fake calligraphy and paintings, but that was thirty years ago. Now I want to pay you ten times, no, a hundred times, a hundred times the compensation. Isn't that enough?"
In Yong County, a middle-aged man grabbed the hand of the Yong County lieutenant and begged, "Sir Huang, we have been friends for twenty years. We were wrong to occupy the three-foot land of the Zhou family a few years ago. I will demolish the wall and rebuild it. Please show mercy for our past friendship..."
In Chang'an, a man with long hair holding a paintbrush looked at the group of people pouring in from outside in horror. After a moment, he squatted on the ground with his head in his hands and said in a trembling voice: "I don't know, I really don't know that they used my calligraphy and paintings to bribe... They forced me to do this, it's none of my business!"
…
Song Mansion.
Li Nuo put down the book in his hand and looked into the void in front of him.
One portrait after another appeared on the code.
Compared with Han Zhuo, these people's portraits are much brighter, because their painting attainments are much higher than Han Zhuo's.
These people are the most proficient in painting in the entire Daxia.
They are considered to have some power in their respective places, and having power, it is natural that they will bully others by taking advantage of it.
Li Nuo's eyes were fixed on the code.
Finally, when the ninth portrait appeared, new changes finally appeared in the code.
Including Han Zhuo's portrait, the nine portraits that appeared today suddenly flashed, and then quickly merged together, turning into a ball of light and pouring into Li Nuo's body.
At the same time, Li Nuo's mind also contained a lot of information about the art of painting.
Soon after, four new portraits appeared on the code.
But as soon as they appeared, they turned into spots of light and entered Li Nuo's body.
It took nine masters of painting, plus Han Zhuo before, to turn painting into a permanent ability.
And Le Dao only used one person.
The value of Liu Shang is still rising.
Li Nuo took a look and found that the portrait of Phoenix was still there.
He just noticed that the portrait of the Phoenix flashed, and her painting ability should have been integrated.
Perhaps because her talents were not limited to painting, her portrait has not disappeared.
What Li Nuo already knew was that in addition to painting, Fenghuang was also good at flower arrangement. Apart from this, he had not yet found out whether she had any other specialties.
There were footsteps outside the yard.
Li An Ning stood at the door, looked around, and found that Song Jiaren was not there. Only Li Nuo was sitting in the yard, so he led an old man with white hair and beard in with confidence, and snorted coldly, "If you don't let me invite the painters who work in the palace, I will invite those who are no longer in the palace. Let's see what they have to say!"
She looked at Li Nuo and spoke again: "Painter Chen is an old painter in the palace. He left the palace ten years ago. I spent a lot of money to get him to teach you..."
Li Nuo sighed and said, "Why waste this money..."
Li Anning waved his hand and said, "Stop talking nonsense. Painter Chen said that in recent imperial examinations, most of the subjects were landscapes and figures, and none were flowers and birds. This year, they will be tested. Draw a picture for him..."
Li Anning was so enthusiastic that Li Nuo didn't want to spoil her fun.
He walked back to the room, and after a moment, he came out with a painting of flowers and birds, and said to the old man, "Please give me some advice, Master Chen."
The old man stroked his white beard and said proudly, "I have retired for many years. If Your Highness had not come to visit me personally, I would not have made an exception. But I have to say that my comments are always sharp. I hope you don't mind..."
Before Li Nuo could say anything, Li An Ning said, "Advice is unpleasant to the ear. If there are any shortcomings in his painting, please let Master Chen know. He won't mind."
The old man nodded, took Li Nuo's painting with one hand, and said: "In this case, I will tell you straight away, this painting..."
He looked up, his expression gradually changed from indifferent to serious, and then to solemn, muttering: "This painting, this painting, this painting..."
Li Anning was a little anxious and asked, "What's wrong with this painting? Tell me!"
Painter Chen looked calm, but he was actually sweating profusely.
What did he say...
This painting not only reached the pinnacle in terms of technique, but also achieved the artistic conception of transcending nature and arousing imagination. He saw the shadows of several great painters in this painting, but also more than just their shadows.
Zhao Yuan's meticulous brushwork, Liu Qian's use of ink, and Chen Nian's freehand brushwork...
This painting can be said to be a culmination of flower and bird paintings, combining the strengths of various schools while avoiding their weaknesses. It has already reached the pinnacle of flower and bird paintings. Is he worthy enough to comment on such a painting?
Is it also he who commented on the painting master who was able to create such a work in such a short time?
Painter Chen held the painting in both hands and handed it back to Li Nuo tremblingly. Then he bent down and said nervously: "I am blind and offended the master. I am not talented and still a little confused about the art of painting. I wonder if you can give me some advice..."
“Eh…”
Li Anning stared blankly at Painter Chen who suddenly became extremely humble, her rosy little mouth opened into an "O" shape in surprise.
Wasn't he asked to guide Li Nuo? What is he doing now?
(End of this chapter)
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