Chapter 33 Portrait
Nearby was Xue Xiyang's residence. The red beams and painted buildings of the Rose Pavilion presented a charming scene. The newly sprouted roses and the buds waving on the wall foreshadowed the coming grand flower event.
Xue Xiyang was sitting cross-legged under the crabapple blossoms, playing the zither according to an ancient score.
Hearing the footsteps of a group of people approaching, he raised his eyes under the roses, and when he saw that it was Qiandeng, a happy smile naturally appeared on his face.
He stood up, holding the zither, and greeted her with a smile: "I wonder what brings you here, the county lady?"
"Excuse me, Master Xue, for disturbing you about Shangluo." His smile, shimmering in the spring sun, seemed even more charming and alluring. Qiandeng could only lower her eyelashes, avoiding his alluring gaze. "The Shang family came looking for him, but Shangluo is nowhere to be found. The guards confirmed he hasn't left the backyard. His family is extremely worried. I don't know if he's been frightened by what happened the other day, or if he just doesn't want to go home. It seems he's in hiding."
Cui Fufeng also said, "I think Shangluo should be in this courtyard. The county lady has just led people to the nearby bamboo hall where I live and searched thoroughly, but found no trace of him."
Xue Xiyang understood their implicit meaning and immediately stepped aside to signal them to come inside. "Come to think of it, Shangluo also likes to come to my place. Could it be that he really doesn't want to go home and is hiding here? Please ask the county lady and Cui Shaoqing to search carefully to prevent the Shang family from worrying."
Aunt Xuanji and others bowed to him to express their gratitude and went inside to check.
The Rose Pavilion consisted of two rooms, one large and one small. The larger one was used for daily living, its shelves filled with a variety of musical instruments: qin, zheng, pipa, sheng, xiao, guanpi, and flutes, large and small, like a music shop. However, he was a careless person, and his things were not neatly arranged. Several sheets of paper covered with music scores were scattered on the table and floor.
Aunt Xuanji and her maid went inside to investigate, while Qiandeng asked Xue Xiyang, "I wonder when and where was the last time Mr. Xue saw Shangluo?"
"It was the time at Qujiang Pond. Although we had Qingming Festival holidays these past two days, I was out on business yesterday, and Shangluo didn't go to the academy. I was away and he was inside, so naturally we didn't run into each other."
Qiandeng nodded slightly. While he was thinking, Aunt Xuanji saw that the outer room was in full view, so she turned to the small door of the inner room and looked inside.
It didn't matter that Aunt Xuanji and the two maids behind her were dumbfounded, with shock written all over their faces.
Even Cui Fufeng beside them was stunned and subconsciously turned around to look at Qiandeng.
The moment their eyes met, a thin blush covered his usually clear and bright face, and for some reason, his eyes subconsciously flickered, and he didn't dare to look her in the eye.
Xue Xiyang suddenly remembered something, his face changed slightly, and he immediately ran straight to the back of the small door.
Qiandeng knew there must be something wrong, so he rushed over to take a look. Behind the small door was a screen, which just happened to cover a secret corner in the room.
The light from outside the gauze screen shone dimly, illuminating a small portrait on the wall behind. The woman in the portrait had a face they were extremely familiar with.
It is the Thousand Lights.
However, the painting doesn't depict her in her usual state. Instead, she wears an exotic bun and a dazzling necklace, dancing gracefully amidst snow-capped mountains and lakes. The faint light illuminates her sheer, transparent silk veil, the flowing ribbons revealing her skin, revealing her slender arms and neck.
Although the people of the Tang Dynasty were open-minded and many of the Hu dancers in Chang'an dressed like this, Qian Deng blushed slightly when she saw herself like this and immediately turned away.
Cui Fufeng said in a low voice, "Xue Lecheng's behavior is rather impolite."
Xue Xiyang flew forward and took down the painting, his expression somewhat uneasy. "This is the costume for Kucha music and dance. I thought that the Prince of Changhua was from the royal family of Kucha, and if the county lady returned to her hometown one day, she would probably wear such clothes. I drew it without thinking, and I didn't mean to be rude. I hope the county lady will forgive me."
After hearing his explanation, Qian Deng's anger dissipated slightly. She took the painting from Xue Xiyang and carefully examined the costumes. Although the dance clothes were thin, the style and patterns were undoubtedly Kucha style.
"In that case, Master Xue, please give it to me. However, such groundless conjectures..."
"Yes, Xiyang will be cautious in the future and will never overstep the line." Xue Xiyang promised.
But his eyes had already returned to their bright glow, and the tone of his words of assurance rose, sounding insincere.
Qian Deng glared at him helplessly and tightened his grip on the scroll, feeling both depressed and shy.
Aunt Xuanji shook her head secretly, indicating that there was no trace of Shangluo here. As Qiandeng turned to leave, his eyes suddenly fell on the scroll beside him. He hesitated, pulled out a scroll, and opened it casually.
It was too late for Xue Xiyang to stop her, so he could only watch her open the scroll and see the contents of the painting -
The person in this painting is still her, but this time she is holding a white rabbit in her arms, caressing it with a smile, her lowered face full of tenderness.
"County Lady..." Xue Xiyang saw that her face was not very good, so he gritted his teeth and called her softly.
Qiandeng said nothing as he stuffed the scroll into Aunt Xuanji's arms, then took out a few more paintings and opened them one by one.
On scrolls of all sizes, there are paintings of pavilions, towers, and hills and wildflowers. But no matter how the background changes, there is always a thousand lanterns standing or leaning against a pillar or holding their chin in the middle...
Her face and expression in the painting were lifelike, and it was obvious that every frown and smile of hers were deeply rooted in his heart, enough for him to reproduce them exactly with his exquisite brush.
This person actually described her thousands of times in secret.
From Qian Deng to Cui Fufeng, everyone was silent and the scene was very awkward.
Seeing he couldn't hide it, Xue Xiyang became frank, and a light cough broke the silence. "My Lady, the art of painting requires maintaining your touch. If you don't practice for a day or two, your hand will become rusty. And I'm in your backyard, so who better to paint than you? So I occasionally paint a small portrait of you to keep my touch. I hope you won't blame me for overstepping my bounds."
Everyone looked at the pile of portraits in front of them and wondered if this was just a coincidence.
At this point, Qiandeng could only remain calm and signaled Liuli and the others to copy all the portraits.
Aunt Xuanji advised, "Xue Lecheng is famous throughout the world and has a wide circle of friends. If the portrait were to leak out, it would damage the county lady's reputation..."
Xue Xiyang vowed, "Yes, from now on, without the County Lady's permission, I will never paint her face. Otherwise, I will be ruined and condemned by thousands of people!"
I just checked the first young man, and he behaved so absurdly that Qiandeng was speechless all the way.
Coming out of the Rose Pavilion and turning around the willow trees along the shore, Xiliuwu is in front of you.
When Mingjiu had forced himself to live in her backyard, he had immediately fallen in love with this sheltered building and praised its wonderful location.
The guard who led him in saw that there was nothing special here and asked in surprise, "Where is the best place?"
"Look, this place is hidden and hard to find, and there's only one narrow way in. Isn't that what you Han people say, 'Even ten thousand men can't get through with just one machete?'"
"One man can hold the pass against ten thousand?" Ji Linyou, who was nearby, asked, "This Xiliu Fort must have been built by the Crown Prince in remembrance of the former Xiliu Camp of the Han Dynasty."
"Xiliu Camp?"
"Yeah, the one with Zhou Yafu."
Upon hearing that it was related to the famous Han general, Mingjiu's eyes lit up and he immediately said, "Stay here and move your things over to me!"
Mingjiu settled in Xiliuwu. Because it was secluded, no one passed by it all day long. Of course, he was happy to live in peace and quiet. Apart from going to the front yard to bother Qiandeng, no one knew what he was doing on a daily basis.
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