Chapter 177 Fire
Ji Changqing's landscape masterpiece, which combined grandeur and delicate brushstrokes, slowly unfolded. When it caught the emperor's eye, he was shocked and blurted out, "What a divine brushwork!"
"I have been observing paintings for fifty years, and have never seen such exquisite workmanship, capable of capturing the universe on a single sheet of paper and concealing Mount Sumeru within the tip of a brush!"
"Ji Qing is truly the living Sage of Painting!"
This long scroll of landscapes painted in gorgeous colors perfectly fits his imagination of a prosperous and flourishing era.
It also implies the auspicious sign of "eternal stability of the country".
How could he not be delighted?
He immediately ordered people to remove the "Ten Thousand Years of Spring" hanging high behind the dragon throne and replace it with Ji Changqing's "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains".
All the ministers, even the censors who reported to Ji Changqing every day, were deeply shocked by this green landscape painting.
"I didn't expect that Lord Ji is not only an outstanding writer, but also a master of painting. He is truly talented."
"This painting has a majestic aura, and the villagers and characters are clearly depicted in great detail. It can be said to be a masterpiece of nature."
"With such talent, it's no wonder His Majesty loves Prime Minister Ji so much."
…
Ji Changqing walked back to his seat with a calm expression, perfectly interpreting the four words "unmoved by praise or criticism".
The ministers were envious but also felt melancholy.
With Ji Changqing as an example, the Ruyi, bonsai, lacquerware, embroidery... that they presented to Your Majesty would probably not be to His Majesty's liking.
Ji Changqing was clearly a catfish in a goldfish pond, stuffed into the court by the emperor to trap them.
It's a pity that they are in such a difficult situation. Not to mention their political achievements and reputation, even their understanding of the emperor's intentions are far behind this guy.
It makes people hate it so much.
But there is nothing I can do.
As they expected, apart from a few rare birds and animals presented by friendly countries, which made His Majesty slightly amazed, the rest of the birthday gifts did not cause any ripples.
So much so that the palace banquet, which had a total of 108 dishes, was tasteless to them and felt like chewing ice and charcoal.
The queen was even more hungry than them.
She frequently looked up at the painting "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" hanging in the middle of the hall, and only touched a portion of each dish with her chopsticks before putting it down.
The temperature is quite high today, and it is noon now, which is the time of the day with the highest temperature and the most heat.
Although there were ice jars in the hall, there were so many people, so many dishes, and so many palace lanterns that it was still hot enough to make people sweat.
There were several palace lanterns around the painting "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains". Logically, the temperature was not low, and large characters that would have caused Ji Changqing to be confiscated and exiled should have appeared before the banquet.
However, there was no change in the painting's heart.
What went wrong?
She frowned, turned around and motioned the eunuch to bend down, whispered a few words in his ear, and the eunuch took his orders and left.
After a while, a palace maid added charcoal to the incense burner near the dragon throne.
The emperor, his officials and their families were so engrossed in the dance music composed by the Jiaofangsi that they did not notice the movement. Only Ji Changqing and Feng Qingsui noticed it.
A smile appeared on both of their faces at the same time.
Seeing this, Qi, who was sitting next to Feng Qingsui, asked with a smile, "Do you like this crab stuffed with orange?"
Feng Qingsui nodded.
Qi picked up the crab stuffed orange that she had not touched and placed it on her table.
"Mom doesn't like this, you eat it for me."
Feng Qingsui smiled and said, "Thank you, mother."
Then he picked up two snacks and placed them on Qi's table: "Your favorite."
Qi smiled, said "OK", and concentrated on eating the snacks.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law enjoyed the delicious food while commenting on the singing and dancing performances. They were the most relaxed and happy people in the entire birthday party.
The Queen was the complete opposite of them.
After the palace maid added charcoal, the painting "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" remained the same as before, without any change, and the darkness in the eyes became increasingly darker.
The secret guard watched Bi Yue'er's grandfather write those words, and he personally verified them to make sure that they would appear as long as the temperature increased slightly.
Why hasn’t it appeared yet?
Was it because the temperature was not high enough, or did Ji Changqing notice something and delete those words?
Or maybe Bi Yue'er pretended to obey but actually revealed everything, ruining her plan?
If that were true, she would make sure that the entire Bi family would be killed without a burial place!
The anger in her heart was rising higher and higher, and just as it was about to burst into her face, a sudden scream came from behind her.
"Look, there's a fire!"
She subconsciously looked up and looked at "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains".
The painting is as usual.
There is no trace of burning.
Her face quickly darkened.
Just as he was about to scold the concubine for shouting and yelling, a ball of fire suddenly came into view.
The embroidered screen with double phoenixes and rising sun that she gave to the emperor caught fire!
The fire was in the shape of a skull!
The huge golden skull swayed on the embroidered screen like a ghost, making the peaceful embroidered screen gloomy, terrifying and ominous.
It was as if the underworld had suddenly descended.
She froze in place.
It took him several moments to react.
"Go put out the fire!"
She gave stern orders to the palace attendants.
The palace maid hurriedly picked up the teapot and ran towards the embroidered screen.
The emperor, clan members, officials and female relatives had all seen this scene. Everyone stopped and stared at the flaming skull in amazement.
“Puff! —Pah!”
After the water from the pot was poured onto the embroidered screen, the flaming skull was not extinguished, but instead sparks flew out and burned even more fiercely.
The palace maid's face turned pale and she took two steps back.
The queen almost bit off her silver teeth.
Without caring about maintaining her composure, she stood up, snatched the teapot from the palace maid's hand, and poured all the remaining water onto the embroidered screen.
The fire finally went out.
The flaming skull disappeared.
Instead, there was a black, hideous skull remaining on the embroidered screen.
It is even more weird, eerie and ominous than the previous fire skull.
The queen's eyes went dark.
Almost fainted.
"Don't withdraw yet!"
She snapped.
The palace maid came to her senses and tremblingly went forward with other palace maids to move the embroidered screen away.
The Queen pinched her palms tightly and knelt before the Emperor: "Your Majesty, someone deliberately damaged the birthday gift I gave you. Please investigate thoroughly."
The emperor's face was gloomy.
After a silence of more than ten breaths, Fang said calmly, "Get up and have dinner first."
The queen's heart sank.
She slowly stood up and walked back to her seat.
The concubines and female relatives behind him were silent, looking at each other, and no one raised their glasses.
Only Feng Qingsui and Qi, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, drank their soup as they should and ate their snacks as they should, as if nothing had happened.
The women around him twitched their eyes.
Such a huge skull, didn’t you see it?
How on earth can I eat this!
Feng Qingsui: It’s rare to have an imperial meal, so I have to taste it twice.
Qi: The snacks in the palace are really good. I’ll ask Changqing to learn a few of them.
Seeing that they were so calm, the other female members of the family gradually relaxed, picked up their chopsticks and soup spoons again, and savored the food as if nothing had happened.
——It’s quite embarrassing to just sit there and do nothing.
Only the queen sat in her seat like a wooden figure.
It was not until the birthday banquet ended and the emperor left that she woke up as if from a dream, stood up from her seat, and quickly chased after the emperor.
"Your Majesty, I have absolutely no intention of cursing you. Please understand!"
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