Chapter 89 Painting Her Portrait Again
The government office in Luozhou had been flooded, and traces of silt remained on the walls. The room smelled musty.
This is still considered good.
Throughout Los Angeles, countless houses were destroyed, with only a few houses belonging to the wealthy and powerful able to withstand such a violent impact and prolonged soaking.
Few people return to their hometowns. Walking on the streets, everything is empty, with ruins everywhere. A few shops are open sporadically, and the shopkeepers wait numbly for people to come and buy things.
But there were even more beggars on the road.
Their eyes were blank, empty, numb, as if they were dying.
Zhan Xingzhuo had a sullen face. If he were in the capital, he would be laughed at for three days and three nights for his disheveled appearance, but here, no one paid any attention to him.
Suddenly, a pair of hands tightly hugged his ankles, unbothered by his muddy clothes. The woman's desperate eyes stared at him: "Grandpa, please give me some food, please—"
Before the man could finish speaking, Minglu stepped forward and kicked him away, saying, "Get lost, can't you see we're busy?"
The emaciated woman couldn't withstand such a kick. She rolled several times, curled up, and didn't get up for a long time, but she still stared at them pleadingly.
Zhan Xingzhu was in a bad mood and had no patience for anyone, but the woman's eyes—she was so thin that her eyes were unusually large.
Her striking features reminded him of someone he hated; yet, she had never begged him or yielded to him.
The man lowered his eyelashes, stared at the woman for a while, and then instructed Minglu, "Give her the leftover pancakes from lunch."
Minglu complied.
The woman took the cake and wolfed it down, stuffing her mouth full of food.
The biscuits were too dry and had no water, so she choked and pounded her chest. Seeing a puddle of water on the ground, she ignored the dirt and started licking it.
Minglu curled his lip in disdain.
But then they heard Zhan Xingzhuo say, "Take her back to the manor."
"Huh?" Minglu was taken aback, not understanding what his master was doing.
However, they did not bring any maids with them to Luozhou this time, as the mansion was short of someone to clean and cook.
Minglu took the person back.
Liu, the clerk of the yamen, was used to seeing Lord Zhan return from his trips in a dirty state, but he noticed that there was a woman with him today.
"Lord Zhan, are you here to see someone, or to plead for justice?"
Since the government office opened for business, people have come looking for people almost every day. They just keep a record, but no one goes looking for them. As for pleading their grievances, that's even more out of the question. Who in this land hasn't been wronged?
Zhan Xingzhuo ignored everyone with a stern face and went straight back to the inner courtyard.
He took a cold shower, changed into clean clothes, and without resting for a moment, wrote a letter, which he also sent back to the capital by carrier pigeon.
Minglu brought in the woman, who had been washed clean, and reported, "Second Master, I've asked her, her name is Liao Cuixiang."
Zhan Xingzhuo glanced at the woman. After she had washed up, apart from her eyebrows and eyes, he couldn't see anything special about her except that she was thin.
He waved his hand, telling Minglu to make the arrangements, and Minglu took the person away.
As they reached the door, Zhan Xingzhuo called them back.
The woman glanced at Minglu, then quickly walked a few steps to Zhan Xingzhuo, bowing obsequiously and saying, "Sir, please tell me what you need, I'll do anything you ask."
As long as she has food to eat and a bed to sleep in, she doesn't care what she does; her only fear is being kicked out and ending up back on the street.
Zhan Xingzhuo looked at her fawning expression, her eyes full of flattery; in her eyes, he was like a savior from suffering.
The man's mood improved, and he looked at her with haughty eyes: "From now on, your name will be Hongying, remember that?"
People with given names generally don't like to change them, but the woman kept bowing and thanking him, saying, "Thank you for the name, sir. I will remember it."
Zhan Xingzhuo suddenly frowned slightly and said, "Don't call me 'Master,' I'm 'Lord Zhan.' Also, from now on you have to call yourself 'Servant.'"
He instructed Minglu to teach the woman manners, then waved his hand again, and Minglu took the woman away.
The room fell silent immediately.
Zhan Xingzhuo glanced at the blank paper on the table and remembered the painting Yao Qingling had mentioned in Lian Chengtai's letter.
At that time, only a few months had passed since their marriage. Yao Qingling's heart and eyes were filled with him, and she obediently did whatever he said.
When he offered to paint her portrait, she was delighted and shy, unaware that he intended to tease her.
He didn't like her at all; in fact, he hated her.
Why should she replace Zhou Zhining as his wife?
What an idiot, he's fooled you without you even realizing it.
But seeing how deeply she loved him, he was very satisfied.
He really enjoyed the feeling of controlling other people's emotions.
However, Yao Qingling had cut off all her feelings for him; she actually started flirting with other men and got together with them.
Zhan Xingzhu clenched his fist tightly, as if he were snapping someone's neck, or as if he were holding onto something tightly.
He heaved his chest a few times.
Just you wait and see, Yao Qingling!
When he gets back, he'll make her kneel on the ground and beg for mercy!
The man took another deep breath, picked up the brush, and sketched a few lines on the paper.
He still remembered the way Yao Qingling lay on the rock, so charming and gentle, her eyes full of affection...
His posture and expression were all carefully trained.
After drawing for an unknown amount of time, the man's lips curled up slightly.
The woman lying on the boulder leaps off the page, with a large expanse of wisteria blossoms behind her.
He called her a fairy, and she playfully hit him, but the punches didn't hurt at all; it felt more like a massage.
Minglu brought in dinner and saw that her master was painting. She didn't disturb him, waited a while, and then peeked out slightly.
The woman in the painting has no face; it's blank. But just by looking at her figure, you can tell she must be a beauty.
Back then, when Zhan Xingzhuo painted a portrait of Yao Qingling, Yao Qingling was shy and wouldn't allow anyone around. So Minglu only knew that Zhan Xingzhuo gave a portrait of the young mistress to Prince Xin, but didn't know what it looked like.
Minglu thought, "I've been in Luozhou for many days now, and I don't have a woman to serve me."
But where can you find a beauty in this wretched place?
The prettier women in the brothel have all run away. Now, those who do business there are all old and ugly. How could they possibly wrong the esteemed Master Zhan?
However, in the past few years, the Second Master has never sought out women outside the mansion, nor has he taken in any maids or concubines within the mansion.
They must have been having a tough time and feeling too stifled here, so they needed to vent.
He'll go to the neighboring prefecture another day and find some prettier women...
Seeing that Zhan Xingzhuo had put down his pen, Minglu stepped forward and said, "Second Master, this is the dinner that woman made. Please try it."
Zhan Xingzhuo glanced at the simple side dishes, but didn't seem to mind. After washing his hands, he took them and ate them.
The painting was still lying on the table, waiting to dry.
Minglu tilted his head to look at the painting.
"Second Master, you miss Miss Zhou, don't you?"
He thought Zhan Xingzhuo was painting Zhou Zhining; only she could make his master so unforgettable.
Upon hearing this, Zhan Xingzhuo's face darkened as he looked at the portrait, the ink of which was still wet.
Yes, he should have drawn Zhou Zhining, why did he draw Yao Qingling instead?
He must have been really angry with her.
Yes, that must be it.
He paints her portrait, remembering vividly how she betrayed him!
He also wanted to hang the painting up so that he would always remember that the day he returned would be the day Yao Qingling knelt down and begged for mercy from him!
Zhan Xingzhuo said coldly, "Go find someone to frame this painting."
Minglu responded, "Yes."
Then he took a letter out of his pocket.
It was still delivered by carrier pigeon.
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