Chapter 26
"But you've only just seen this much?"
Qingfeng was somewhat surprised; she had already read the next chapter.
Mayfly casually hummed in agreement: "Yeah, could it be that you're progressing faster than me? Where are you on your reading list?"
"I saw the female lead receive her first order, it was from..."
"Stop, stop, stop! Don't spoil it! I want to read it myself!" Fuyou quickly interrupted her, afraid that she would accidentally get spoiled, otherwise what would be the point of reading the story!
Qingfeng smiled.
"Okay, I won't tell you, you can see for yourself, the rest is also very good."
As the year draws to a close, many officials who have been assigned to other posts return to Beijing to report on their work.
During this time, Yan Huaijin suddenly received an invitation from a lady, inviting her to the Du residence to paint.
Yan Huaijin was somewhat surprised.
The person who delivered the invitation to her was none other than the wife of the later famous Prime Minister Du Ruhui...
Madam Du had heard of Yan Huaijin before, but she hadn't paid much attention to him. However, the sudden rumors of a family portrait this year had piqued her interest.
Her eldest son, Du Gou, served as the prefect of Cizhou and was away from the capital for many years. She often missed him but could not see him, so she wanted to ask Yan Huaijin to paint a picture for her family.
When Yan Huaijin arrived at the Du family home, he was warmly received by Mrs. Du.
After listening to Madam Du's request, she sighed silently in her heart.
What would this loving mother feel if she knew that a few years later her second son would be executed for treason, and her eldest son, Du Gou, would also be implicated and exiled to Lingnan, where he would eventually die of illness?
It's all because Du Ruhui died so young!
If he were still alive, with his shrewdness, he would never have allowed his son to arbitrarily take sides and interfere in the struggle for imperial power.
Madam Du asked, "Does Madam have any concerns?"
Why are you so slow to speak?
Yan Huaijin quickly shook his head: "No, no, I just don't know when the Duke of Lai will have time?"
After Du Ruhui's death, the title of Duke of Lai was passed down to his eldest son, Du Gou.
Madam Du smiled and said, "He arrived in the capital a few days ago and has gone to the palace to meet the emperor. We can begin once he returns."
Yan Huaijin nodded.
After having tea in the hall for a while, she toured the Du family mansion with the steward, choosing a suitable background for her upcoming painting.
When she had finished shopping, Du Gou returned in his official robes.
He was about thirty years old, with clear features and a dignified appearance, exuding an air of integrity.
Unfortunately, not only was he implicated by his brother, but his father's influence also failed to benefit him. On the contrary, his father's brother, his uncle Du Chuke, who also participated in the struggle for the throne, was spared by Emperor Taizong because of his father's influence and was only demoted to a county magistrate.
Yan Huaijin looked at Madam Du and Duke Du Gou of Lai in front of him and asked hesitantly, "Madam, shall we only paint the two of you?"
Her second son and daughter-in-law are no longer taking care of her?
Madam Du waved her sleeve: "If they want to be painted, let them come to you. You only need to paint the two of us today."
After saying that, she turned to Du Gou and said, "You should bring Yunniang and the child back."
Yunniang was Du Gou's wife.
He didn't have time to bring his wife and children with him during his hasty return to Beijing.
Du Gou gently comforted her, "Mother, when I bring them back next time, we'll ask this Lady Yan to paint them again."
"Okay, okay."
Mrs. Du was happy.
Yan Huaijin sighed silently again, wondering if there would ever be a next time.
She led the two to a spot she had chosen in the courtyard, and Hongzhu helped her set up her easel, and she began to paint.
A painting is not something that can be completed so easily, and Yan Huaijin could not possibly make Madam Du and the Duke of Lai stand for so long. After roughly sketching out the overall outline of the two people, she let them sit on the benches to the side to rest.
Two hours had passed by the time the painting was completely finished.
Yan Huaijin's hands ached and his eyes were tired from painting, but the Duke of Lai was very interested in this type of painting, which was the first time he had seen it.
As he examined the painting, he asked, "Madam Yan, may I inscribe something on it?"
"Of course."
Now that the painting has been sold to someone else, she has no right to care what that person does with it.
"Excellent, excellent."
Du Gou was overjoyed and took the painting to his study.
Madam Du watched him walk away until Du Gou's figure disappeared into the depths of the corridor before she took the purse from the steward and handed it to Yan Huaijin.
“My wife paints very well; my son likes it very much.”
"Thank you, Madam. You flatter me."
Yan Huaijin went home with a bag full of money in his pocket.
She was listless and dispirited during the meal, which immediately drew concern from Yan Liben and his wife.
She waved her hand: "It's just that drawing is tiring."
Painting is tiring, but she used to paint before, and I've never seen her this tired.
She actually felt more of a sense of helplessness.
She came to this era and knows the future of many people. Today she met Du Gou, but she can do nothing, and doesn't even dare to give him a warning.
How would she warn you if she said your brother was going to participate in a rebellion? How did she find out that?
As the saying goes, pulling out a radish brings out the mud; if Du Gou could be convicted because of her brother, her parents could also get into trouble at any time because of a single word she said.
Since it involved treason, she could not and dared not offer any warnings.
But her conscience tormented her.
Seeing this, Qingfeng wanted to scroll down further, but to her surprise, there was nothing more.
She held her phone, looking completely bewildered.
Originally, she and Fuyou asked for a stockpile of chapters to satisfy their cravings because there weren't enough updates. But now that they've finished reading the stockpile, she feels even more cravings. She wants to know if Du Gou's fate of dying of illness in a foreign land has changed.
All right.
Once it's gone, it's gone.
Qingfeng put down her phone and walked to the window to look into the distance. She had only been standing there for a short while when she heard the mayfly's loud squeaking behind her.
"Holy crap!"
"How could February stop here?!"
That's too cruel.
The mayfly couldn't stand it.
She held her phone, tapping the screen repeatedly, and soon a series of her angry messages appeared in the three-person group chat.
*
Xu Ying has something to do and needs to go out today.
She set an alarm for the morning, but before she could even get up, she saw the message from Fuyou. So she lay in bed and chatted with her and Qingfeng for a while.
However, they didn't chat for long before she quickly got up and sent the draft of "The Great Tang Female Painter" to the group.
Her task today was to take Grandma Wang and Grandpa Li to the hospital.
It wasn't that they had any health problems, but they had a habit of having routine check-ups, and it was almost time for them this year. Since she knew about it, she naturally had to go with them.
Since breakfast wasn't allowed during the physical exam, Xu Ying followed suit and didn't eat either.
We arrived at the hospital.
She took the two elderly people to various departments for examinations, and by the time all the examinations were completed, it was almost noon.
Xu Ying was exhausted from running around the hospital.
For some tests that require laboratory work, the nurses are only responsible for drawing blood, and the patients' families have to handle the rest, such as sending the samples for testing. The problem is that the blood drawing and the sample sending are not even in the same building, so it's really exhausting to go back and forth several times.
Xu Ying ate only a few bites of food at noon before quickly going to sleep.
The last thought that crossed her mind before she went to sleep was that perhaps she was the one who should have a physical examination the most out of the three, since she looked the most tired and weak.
Xu Ying slept very soundly. When she woke up, it was getting dark and evening had already arrived.
She yawned.
I didn't expect to sleep for so long; I haven't written a single draft today!
She sighed, picked up her phone, and saw another long message from Ephemeral. For a moment, she was a little dazed, almost thinking she was dreaming. Otherwise, why would the same thing happen twice in one day?
She opened the group chat with a slightly confused look on her face.
The group chat is full of complaints from other users about how she's so good at blocking people from entering the game, blocking them to death, it's practically killing her.
Finally, she started asking for the latest drafts.
Mayfly: I woke up this morning and have written three, four, five or six chapters by now. Let me see.
Xu Ying was amused by her.
This person's way of speaking has never changed!
February Sky: Sorry, there isn't a single chapter.
Mayfly replied instantly.
Mayfly: How is that possible?!
Mayfly: You must be lying to me. You're so diligent, you must write at least two chapters a day, right?
Normally it would happen, but today is a special case.
February Sky: There really isn't one.
February Sky: I accompanied my elderly family members to the hospital for a check-up today, so I didn't have time to write anything.
February Sky: I slept all afternoon, and just woke up to reply to your message.
The mayfly felt like the sky had fallen. She waited and hoped all day, only to receive the devastating news that hadn't been written.
Mayfly: It cried.
Mayfly: Please write it quickly QAQ.
She used to be the only one with writer's block, but today she experienced the bittersweet feeling of waiting for updates.
February Sky: Good.
Xu Ying agreed but did not start writing immediately.
She looked at the time on her phone and figured it was time to eat, so she slipped on her slippers and went to Grandma Wang's house.
Grandma Wang prepared a very lavish dinner.
She went to the supermarket in the afternoon and bought beef bones. Despite the name, these beef bones actually have a lot of meat attached to them. She bought them, chopped them into pieces, and stewed them with star anise, cinnamon, angelica, and other spices. They were incredibly fragrant!
As soon as Xu Ying entered the door, she smelled the aroma of meat.
"It smells so good!"
"It smells delicious, doesn't it? I learned this recipe from someone else. I never used to buy beef bones. I thought, what's so great about beef bones? It was only after a colleague told me that braised beef bones are the most delicious that I decided to give it a try!"
I fell in love with it after just one try.
Now she stews it every now and then.
Grandma Wang used a rice cooker to stew the beef bones, which didn't stop her from cooking other dishes on the gas stove at all.
She was chopping vegetables right now. Besides beef bones, she had also bought lotus root today, which was perfect for making a spicy and sour vegetarian dish to cut through the richness. Finally, she made a cold salad with cucumber and onion slices, and that was it.
Xu Ying watched her cook the whole time from the kitchen; she was so quick and efficient that she felt ashamed of herself.
If I ever want to write about food in the future, I'll probably have to ask my grandma for advice.
As Xu Ying was lost in thought, Grandma Wang had already served the dishes, and she quickly took them and carried them out.
"Eat up, try this meat and see if it's delicious!"
"Um."
Xu Ying picked up a piece of beef bone. The beef bone had been stewed for a long time, and the beef on it was very tender. It almost separated from the bone with one bite. It had a rich sauce flavor and tasted incredibly delicious.
Xu Ying couldn't resist and ate a lot of it.
The lotus root slices are also delicious, with a sour and spicy flavor. If you get tired of eating beef, have a couple of lotus root slices, along with some cucumber slices and onion shreds... These onion shreds are also different from ordinary onions; they're not as spicy, have a hint of sweetness, and are especially crunchy.
Grandma Wang said this is a fruit onion.
"It's delicious, and the onions are delicious too," Xu Ying mumbled, chewing the last bite of her steamed bun.
The staple food for this meal was steamed buns.
During this meal, she not only ate a lot of dishes, but also finished a large piece of steamed bun.
After she swallowed the last bite of food, her stomach was already round and full, and she couldn't eat another bite.
"Eat some more, there's still some in the pot."
Xu Ying waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no, I can't eat. Grandma, I want to go downstairs for a walk. Do you want to come?"
Grandma Wang ate quite a lot, but she didn't want to move right now.
"I'm not going, I need to rest."
"Alright," Xu Ying could only go down alone.
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