Chapter 46 Chapter 46 Other Thoughts...?
The words finally came out.
Xue Yuanyin felt as if a weight had fallen from her chest. Seeing Zhang Jingxuan slowly calm down, even with a somewhat cold look in his eyes, she inexplicably felt a fearlessness, like a dead pig fearing boiling water. She coughed lightly and spoke the rest of her words smoothly:
"How about it? Master Zhang, would you consider it?"
Zhang Jingxuan's eyes fell on her face, as if he was trying to understand her thoughts, his eyes were a little dark. As if he was about to sneer, as if he felt it was ridiculous, he said softly:
"Is this the portrait you've always imagined? A nude painting of me?"
He slowly approached her. Thanks to her startling question, he calmed down completely. Standing in front of her, he looked down at her, the corners of his lips twitching slightly, and said in a cold, sarcastic voice:
"I heard that the Marquis wanted to find a lover for you, to help you learn about the world... Do you think of me as your lover?"
Xue Yuanyin had not had this idea before hearing this, but after hearing it, she was shamefully shaken.
But now was obviously not a good time to persuade Zhang Jingxuan to be her lover. She suppressed it with difficulty and returned to the topic of the portrait, saying patiently:
"I won't paint for nothing. I can pay you money, just as if it were a business deal. I can give you up to five hundred taels of silver."
Princess Ning Yan hasn't used the five hundred taels of silver yet, so wouldn't this come in handy?
Seeing Zhang Jingxuan still had a cold expression, she thought for a moment and added:
"If you have other conditions, feel free to bring them up. I sincerely want to make this deal with you."
"You'd better give up this idea as soon as possible."
Zhang Jingxuan said coldly, "I won't agree to be your nude model."
Xue Yuanyin was not willing to accept it and tried to persuade him:
"Is there any chance you'll change your mind? Think about it, we're business partners now. We're so close, I've even touched your pecs and abs... ahem, what's wrong with drawing a picture of you naked?"
Zhang Jingxuan glanced at her and said, "These two things are not the same thing."
Xue Yuanyin was a little discouraged.
That's true. One is that it was a private transaction, and if the bottom line is not broken, there will be no evidence left. At most, it will be a brief pleasure. But if it is drawn on paper, it will definitely leave a big handle on him.
If the naked body of the eldest son of the Zhang family was found to be drawn on paper, and the painting was exposed, it is hard to imagine how much humiliation and impeachment he and even the entire Zhang family would suffer from the outside world.
It is one thing to think clearly in your mind, but it is another thing to be unwilling to accept it so easily.
Xue Yuanyin pressed on, "Why? Can you give me a specific reason? I'm just starting out in painting, and I want to keep it for collection, so no one can see it."
Zhang Jingxuan's eyes dimmed slightly and he didn't answer.
Taking off all his clothes, being watched, and then being sketched without moving... He couldn't do such a shameful thing. At least, not yet.
Xue Yuanyin didn't wait for his answer, sighed to himself, said "Okay", and then said:
"Then think about it again. If you change your mind, remember to tell me."
This idea of hers had been formed for a long time and was deeply rooted in her heart. She felt that she would never find anyone more suitable to be a nude model than Zhang Jingxuan.
Zhang Jingxuan said calmly, "I won't change my mind."
Xue Yuanyin didn't feel discouraged for too long. Although this experience made her feel embarrassed, she also felt happy. She said a little uncomfortably:
"Your...abs look pretty good. I hope you keep it up."
Zhang Jingxuan responded with a look that seemed to be neither smiling nor not smiling.
Xue Yuanyin curled her lips.
Alas, Zhang Jingxuan looks better when he takes off his clothes. At least his emotions fluctuate more and he is more honest.
She didn't stay long, went to the clean room to wash her hands, and then said goodbye to Zhang Jingxuan. She left the yard through the side door and returned to the carriage, which the driver had already repaired.
She found an excuse to fool the driver, but the driver didn't think much of it and drove the carriage towards the original destination.
-
Zhang Jingxuan returned to the Zhang Mansion, entered the study in Zhanyun Courtyard, and bolted the door.
He took out the scroll from the wooden drawer, slowly unfolded it, spread it flat on the desk, prepared the pen and ink, and sat down at the desk.
Although he was distracted many times during the process... he finally measured the waist and hip circumference. He marked them one by one and then put the scroll away.
Immediately he walked out of the study, left the Zhang Mansion, and took a carriage to the East Palace.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had been waiting for him for a long time. Seeing him coming, he smiled sincerely: "No need to be so polite, get up quickly."
Zhang Jingxuan stood up and reported slowly, "The Minister of Revenue is loyal to Your Highness. Your Highness need not worry about this anymore."
The Crown Prince smiled broadly and said, "It is because of your outstanding ability that I was able to win over the Minister of Revenue. It is also because you are not soft-hearted towards your enemies that I have been able to sit firmly on the throne of the Crown Prince for all these years."
He looked at him with a smile and said slowly, "Jingxuan, you have lived up to my trust."
Zhang Jingxuan was silent for a moment and did not answer.
The Crown Prince sighed softly and said, "I know that the girl from the Xue family was your childhood sweetheart, so naturally our friendship is extraordinary. Furthermore, you experienced life and death together in Quanyang County, which may have further strengthened your feelings for her... But you must know that she is loyal to Prince Yu's faction and is a stranger to us."
After a slight pause, he slowed his tone and said earnestly, "When I ascend the throne, you will be my most trusted minister. Jing Xuan, you must not harbor any other thoughts about your enemy."
Zhang Jingxuan suddenly raised his eyes and calmly looked at the crown prince at the top of the table. He said in a gentle tone with a hint of indifference:
"Your Highness, I will not do that. I am worried too much."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looked at him for a moment and said with a smile, "That's good. I trust you."
Zhang Jingxuan bowed his head.
After bidding farewell to the Crown Prince, he slowly left the East Palace, got into the carriage, and ordered, "Return home."
The carriage slowly drove towards Zhang's house. He looked at the scenery outside the window with a gentle face without any expression, seeming too calm and dull.
It was not until he returned to the Zhang Mansion that he stepped into the mansion.
The Crown Prince's voice just now echoed in my mind again and again. I tried my best to drive it away, but it wouldn't go away.
Other thoughts...?
He pulled the corner of his lip in a somewhat sarcastic manner.
After a moment, he stopped and his lips slowly straightened, but he couldn't smile.
Zhang Jingxuan looked at the sky. It was a little dark, but there were still a few rays of light.
He retracted his gaze, waved away his servants, and did not return to Zhanyun Courtyard. Instead, he walked slowly, looked at the ancestral hall in front of him, and walked in.
There is a huge Buddha statue enshrined in the Zhang Mansion Ancestral Hall. It has kind eyes and a slight smile, as if it carries a holy light that can save all living beings.
Zhang Jingxuan did not believe in Buddhism, and he rarely visited the Zhang family ancestral hall except when necessary.
He stared at the Buddha statue for a while, lowered his eyes, and took out a small golden shrine from his sleeve.
The small golden shrine, no bigger than half a fist, had been brought back from Nantang Temple and given to him by the abbot. The abbot had said it had been blessed, and because he had come of age, the abbot had bestowed Buddhist teachings on it as a gift to him.
But the small golden shrine did not conform to the regulations, so it did not need to be worshipped. He just treated it as a small toy and put it in his sleeve pocket. He did not pay much attention to it and forgot to take it out.
Buddhism was prevalent at the time, and he just went about his business, reading a lot of relevant scriptures. He remembered a Buddhist verse:
All the evil deeds we have committed in the past were caused by greed, anger, and ignorance. All the sea of karmic obstacles arises from delusion. *
The small golden shrine is empty and no Buddha statue has been placed in it.
Perhaps they don’t know what kind of Buddha statue to put, one with a green face and fangs, or one with a compassionate heart.
Zhang Jingxuan looked at the small golden shrine.
After a moment, he slowly placed it on the altar.
-
Xue Yuanyin prepared generous gifts and went to visit the home of the Minister of Revenue, but naturally returned empty-handed. The Minister of Revenue had already stood in the Eastern Palace, and his words were full of courtesy, and he was unwilling to change his position easily.
She didn't feel discouraged, as she felt it was within her expectations. However, she thought that His Royal Highness Prince Yu and her father would not be very happy if she returned like this.
But there was nothing she could do even though she was unhappy, so Xue Yuanyin returned to the Xue Mansion with an expressionless face. Just as she arrived at the front yard, she heard the conversation between her father and Prince Yu coming from the central hall.
It would be too abrupt to barge in directly, so she stopped on the corridor and waited for them to finish talking.
Then she heard what Prince Yu had said himself, some details about Prince Yu's glorious campaigns that Zhang Jingxuan had previously told her—
He was speaking in a deep voice in the central hall: "Exchanging a small number of civilians for a city is a necessary sacrifice. Even if it were to happen in the court today, competing for the crown prince, I would do the same."
After a pause, he comforted Xue Chang and said, "But the Xue family is my right-hand man. If I ever take that position, I will never sacrifice the Xue family."
Xue Chang said slowly, "I am willing to follow His Royal Highness Prince Yu."
Xue Yuanyin stood outside the corridor, listening to the conversation inside with a cold expression.
Although she already knew what kind of person Prince Yu was, hearing it with her own ears still made her world view collapse and she was even greatly disappointed.
I originally thought that although His Royal Highness Prince Yu loved to conquer and was ambitious, he was at least a brave and resourceful hero. But now it seems that he is not a hero at all.
People in the capital said that the prince was too kind, and some even said that he was not good at either literature or martial arts, and was simply mediocre to the extreme.
But such an ordinary person worked diligently to find ways to enrich the national treasury, comforted the people during the cold winter, and never treated anyone with a cold face. He was a rare person of generosity.
If the prince ascends the throne, he will certainly not start a war easily and will be a benevolent monarch.
So... is Prince Yu really worthy of ascending the throne of the Supreme Being?
Xue Yuanyin has always told herself to stick to her original intention, but she has been doubting this idea frequently in recent days, especially today, she is wavering in her heart.
She didn't know when it ended, nor did she remember how she went in to report. She only remembered the cold and disappointed eyes of His Royal Highness Prince Yu, and her father's surprised expression.
After thinking it over, Prince Yu gave her another important task:
"In the previous dynasty, there was a great scholar who specialized in painting landscapes. One of his masterpieces has been lost in the capital. Please find it for me. I will personally visit the Minister of Revenue and present the painting to him."
Xue Yuanyin agreed.
As soon as Prince Yu left, Xue Chang's face darkened and he got angry at her.
Xue Yuanyin couldn't quite hear what he was criticizing her for, and only heard one sentence: "Father is very disappointed in you."
She lowered her head and said nothing.
Xue Chang calmed down his anger and said coldly, "Since you can't handle your job outside, then come back and get married. I've already set my sights on a young man from a humble family who was once one of the best students in the Imperial College. You can meet him later and after we've agreed, we can choose an auspicious date for the wedding and have a boy with the surname Xue as soon as possible."
Xue Yuanyin felt a surge of long-suppressed anger rising up. He suddenly raised his head and shouted at Xue Chang with a trembling voice:
"I don't want to get married! I don't want to have a son with just any man! You want to control me forever? You're dreaming!"
After saying that, she turned and ran out, leaving Xue Chang yelling at her angrily behind her without looking back.
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The author has something to say: *“All the evil deeds I committed in the past were due to greed, anger, and ignorance.” The original sentence is “All the evil deeds I committed in the past were due to greed, anger, and ignorance from the beginningless time.” It is from the “Great Repentance Text of Worshiping the Buddha”, which comes from the “Avatamsaka Sutra”.
"All the karma and obstacles are born from delusion." From the "Sutra on the Practice of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva".
These two sentences are very famous Buddhist verses.
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