Chapter 160: A New Job
Xie just came back to see him and told him that he had called the painter back early this morning, but the painter said he couldn't paint this as soon as he heard it. He hasn't learned the skills to paint portraits based on listening.
Xie replied that he had no knowledge of calligraphy and painting, and then he thought of his father who was attending the third-day baptism banquet at Shen's house today. His father was in the Hanlin Academy and had some research in calligraphy and painting. He wanted to ask his father if he had anyone to recommend.
In the past, when he looked at Manman's paintings, he could only see that her paintings were beautiful, but he could not see more. However, he knew that Manman was very interested in the case, so he thought that maybe he could let Manman give it a try.
If that doesn't work, he will go to Jingzhao Prefecture to borrow a painter. If that doesn't work, he can only borrow from the Ministry of Justice... This is a scene that no one in the Dali Temple wants to see.
Shen Yun went to see Xie Yuan again, told him about Xie Hui's idea, and asked him if he had any painters to recommend.
Unexpectedly, Xie Yuan said after listening to me: "Isn't this painter far away in the horizon and close at hand? His style is very different from the current mainstream. Maybe he is more suitable for portrait painting."
"Dad, look, Mr. Xie also said so. Let me try it."
"good."
Finally, Shen Yun made the final decision and agreed. Although the painters in the Dali Temple were employed by the government, they had no rank and their appointments were not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel. The Dali Temple had to approve the decision itself. Now that he was the Minister of the Dali Temple, all he had to do was agree.
Afterwards, Shen Yun, Xie Hui and Shen Yuan went back to the Dali Temple to have their portraits painted. Miss Zi Yan from Yihonglou was already waiting for them at the Dali Temple.
"Sorry for the wait."
"I didn't feel it was long. It was only thanks to you that I was able to get out of the building."
Zi Yan was considered a witness, so the Dali Temple specially sent a carriage to pick her up. Since the Dali Temple wanted someone, the madam of Yihonglou naturally didn't dare to stop them.
On the road from Yihonglou to Dali Temple, Zi Yan begged the driver to go slower. Along the way, she secretly lifted the curtain and looked at everything outside almost greedily.
"When she comes to draw the portrait later, tell her that this is Mr. Cheng's appearance."
"Hello, sister. My name is Shen Yuan." Seeing Zi Yan was stunned, Shen Yuan thought she thought she was too young to be reliable, which was normal. She added, "Don't worry, I will try my best to draw it well."
"No, no, no, I don't mean that. I just envy you for being so amazing at such a young age."
"Every profession has its own specialties. You must be better than me in some areas."
This made Zi Yan blush. What good could there be about her as a prostitute?
Shen Yuan picked up the brush and tried it, but she didn't think it was very effective, so she turned to her father and said, "Master Temple Minister, I want to use charcoal."
She had learned to draw with charcoal when she was a child, but her teacher said it was an unorthodox method and would not let her do it.
"Yes."
Shen Yun asked someone to prepare charcoal sticks. Shen Yuan wanted to pick them up directly, but was stopped by Xie Hui. He first wrapped them with a handkerchief several times and then let Shen Yuan hold them.
Shen Yuan tried it and thought it was okay, so he said to Zi Yan, "You can start now."
Zi Yan recalled and described the man's appearance to Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan listened and drew on the paper.
Shen Yun watched his daughter's movements from the side. Seeing her confidence and determination when she wrote, he, as a father, felt infinite pride in his heart.
A quarter of an hour later, Shen Yuan put down the carbon strip and said, "Okay, do you think it looks like this?"
"Like!" Zi Yan was stunned at the first sight, "It's exactly the same, girl, you are amazing."
Shen Yuan was also very happy. She looked at her father, then looked back at Xie, as if to say, "Praise me quickly!"
“Is there anything else that needs to be changed?”
"Here, I remember, this side of his face is wider than the other side." Zi Yan pointed to her right cheek.
Shen Yuan took out another piece of paper and this time finished it in one go. After showing it to Zi Yan, he said there were no other problems.
After finishing the portrait, Zi Yan had nothing to say for the moment and could only go back to Yihonglou.
"Qiuqi... do you want to see her again?"
Shen Yun said this because he took into consideration that Qian Qian had no relatives, and it was reasonable to let his good friend Zi Yan come to identify the body.
In fact, Zi Yan had guessed it early on that something must have happened to Qianqian, but she didn't get the definite news, so she still had a glimmer of hope. Now when she heard these words, she was sure that Qianqian had really been harmed by someone, and she immediately collapsed to the ground.
Then he knelt down again and kowtowed, "I want to go see her, please help me."
"Okay, I'll have someone take you there."
Shen Yun called a female detective and took Zi Yan to identify the body.
Shen Yuan looked at the elegantly dressed female detective with shining eyes, "Dad, am I considered a member of the Dali Temple now? Do I have an official uniform?"
Shen Yun couldn't bear to pour cold water on his daughter, so he said nothing.
Shen Yuan understood immediately, "Okay."
Painters can copy Shen Yuan's paintings, but they can only use a brush, which makes it impossible to capture the original charm.
If one wanted to find someone, the more portraits the better. Shen Yuan spent an entire afternoon painting in the Dali Temple. Xie Yuan came later and brought two friends with him, both of whom were colleagues from the Hanlin Academy. They also learned how to draw with charcoal pencils from Shen Yuan and soon got the hang of it.
(Small drama insert: Dali Temple painter: Oh no, I feel like I’m going to be unemployed.)
When Zi Yan saw the corpse, she burst into tears.
She took out all the jewelry and small change she had on her body and tried to give them to the female detective who brought her to identify the body.
"I am going back today, but I am helpless and cannot even bury her. Please, can you help me buy a thin coffin and bury her properly? She is timid and if she goes to the underworld, she will be bullied if she doesn't even have the money for the coffin."
"I can't make the decision on this." The constable helped Zi Yan up, "I'll ask the master for you."
She had never come into contact with prostitutes before, but today she was moved by their friendship and sympathized with the girl named Qianqian, so she wanted to help.
If there was no family member to claim the body at the Dali Temple, they would be taken to the charity cemetery and buried in a random hole dug on the mountain.
The constable went directly to ask Shen Yun for instructions, and Shen Yun agreed because he thought it was not a big deal.
"Your Excellency has agreed, but I am on official business and cannot accept your money. I will buy a coffin for her and choose a good place to bury her. After the burial, I will come back to you and pay you the money you want."
The constable also took out a document and said, "My name is Xu Buhuan. I will go to Yihonglou to find you when the time comes."
"Thank you, Lord Xu."
Xu Buhuan scratched his head, "How can I call you Master Xu? Just call me Buhuan."
Afterwards, it was Xu Buhuan who escorted Zi Yan back to Yihonglou. The two of them also took the opportunity to eat a bowl of soup cake on the side of the road.
Zi Yan returned to the Yihong Building, which was decorated in red and green, and to her small room where she could not see the street. She remembered what Constable Xu had said to her when they were eating soup cakes on the roadside.
"I have two older sisters, both of whom were sold by my parents. I was very strong and capable since I was young, so my parents were reluctant to sell me. Later, my master took a fancy to me and taught me martial arts. I was admitted to the Dali Temple. Before, my name was Xu Huandi, but my master changed my name to Xu Buhuan. People will not be like this all their lives, and the same goes for you, Ziyan."