After receiving his orders from his father, Hongsheng felt a mixture of trepidation and anticipation. In the royal family, a son's status was always elevated by his mother's, and vice versa. His mother was a concubine, deeply favored by his father; there was no reason for him not to be. It was all because of that fellow Hongli, who always liked to fawn over his father. Humph, this time he was determined to gain his father's attention!
With these thoughts in mind, Hongsheng made up his mind to change his father's mind this time.
Thinking of this, Hong Sheng couldn't help but feel excited. He made up his mind to do this job well and make his father look at him with new eyes.
But how could he please his father so that he could stand out? Hongsheng began to think. He thought, there is no better way to please someone than to cater to their preferences.
Hongsheng knew that the Fourth Prince had always been fond of antiques and calligraphy. In the past, many people had tried to curry favor with him during holidays by sending gifts, but all of them had been turned away by the Fourth Prince. They didn't know that the Fourth Prince detested factionalism and the use of gifts to sell official positions. However, the Fourth Prince was extremely fond of antiques and calligraphy, and some people who catered to his tastes had actually succeeded a couple of times. But that was only because they genuinely had ability, and thus were promoted by the Fourth Prince.
Having made up his mind, Hongsheng got up early the next day, hastily drank a few mouthfuls of lotus seed and red date porridge handed to him by a maid, and went out with a personal servant.
Hongsheng went to a shop in the capital that sold ancient books, intending to select a fine antique or calligraphy piece as a gift for the Fourth Prince. Although he was not favored by the Fourth Prince, Madam Nian had plenty of private money and never hesitated to spend it on Hongsheng, buying antiques and calligraphy pieces to decorate his bedroom.
Having been raised with a young age, Hongsheng was no stranger to ancient books and paintings. He knew of a shop in the capital called "Baozhen Pavilion," which had excellent quality ancient books, paintings, and antiques, including many genuine works by previous generations.
So, Hongsheng left the mansion with the silver and his personal servant.
When Hongsheng entered "Baozhen Pavilion", he saw that the shop was very large and elegantly furnished. The shop displayed a variety of calligraphy and paintings and antiques, from landscape paintings to the Four Treasures of the House, which were all available. It truly lived up to its reputation.
The shopkeeper had noticed Hongsheng the moment he entered. A seasoned veteran of the martial world, the shopkeeper was adept at discerning visitors. From Hongsheng's bearing, his refined attire, and the tone of his attendants, he deduced that the visitor was no ordinary person. The capital was a place where hidden talents roamed; the more influential someone was, the less they wanted to flaunt their abilities.
"Young master, is there anything that catches your eye?" The shopkeeper waved away the servants who were attending to Hong Sheng and personally took charge.
“Your stuff here is pretty good. Those paintings and calligraphy I just looked at, were they from the Southern Dynasties?” Hongsheng pointed to two paintings and calligraphy pieces laid out on the counter.
“Young master, you truly have a discerning eye! These two pieces are indeed calligraphy and paintings by the last emperor of the Southern Dynasty. Although our shop is small, we do have some genuine works,” the shopkeeper said. He didn’t flaunt his own greatness as he spoke, but his demeanor was one of ease and self-satisfaction.
"Do you have any genuine Tang Bohu paintings here?" Hongsheng asked directly. He knew that the Fourth Prince liked Tang Bohu's paintings, but not so much the paintings of the last emperor of the Southern Dynasties.
Upon hearing Hong Sheng's words, the shopkeeper's heart tightened, knowing that a very important customer had arrived today.
“Young master, we do have it, but we won’t show it to you. You can only see it if you really want it. Have you heard of the ‘Southern Journey Map’?” The shopkeeper’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
This book comes from
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
