Chapter 154 The Powerful Minister Returns to His Youth 8.
Ten miles east of Huai'an City, on the south bank of the Huai River, lies Yu Mountain. The mountain is only two or three hundred feet high, with neither rare animals nor lush flowers and trees. Yet, coincidentally, most of the talented scholars in Jiangnan love to gather here. When they climb to the top, poems fill the corridors and pavilions, and essays fill the green steps.
These strange phenomena are none other than the presence of an academy on this mountain named Weiwen, whose outstanding talents are renowned throughout southern Jiangsu.
On this day, the sky was clear and the autumn wind was blowing. The painting academy of Weiwen Academy held its "Painting Examination" again. A group of students set up tables, chairs, brushes and ink in the open space of the courtyard and gathered together to study the questions.
"Old friends in the new autumn? What does this mean?" A student frowned.
"The literal meaning is easy to understand; it simply describes autumn, homesickness, and longing for loved ones! For example, 'Letters home cannot be sent, the autumn geese fly south again,' or 'My old friend is a thousand miles away, several autumns have passed since we parted,' or 'Distant letters and dreams of returning home are both far away, only an empty bed faces the bleak autumn'..."
"If the questions for this 'Painting Examination' are just these old clichés, then it's too easy! But I think it's more than that... If you really paint according to these themes of 'Hometown Letters,' 'Old Friends,' and 'Autumn in the Plain,' you might end up with a poor result..."
"Throughout history, whether in poetry or painting, how many people have expressed their longing for loved ones and their hometown in autumn? It's easy to paint, but difficult to paint it well!"
A student who had already laid out his paper frowned and said, "To draw well on this kind of topic, you have to be able to move people with your emotions, otherwise it's just a waste of paper! But we are young, and most of us are from Jiangnan. How many of us can truly feel such homesickness and longing for our loved ones? This feeling is hard to express!"
"Why did Mr. Wen suddenly come up with this question?" someone asked curiously.
"Perhaps it was the Double Ninth Festival a few days ago that made the old gentleman miss his family and old friends..."
"Will this 'Painting Test' be the same as before, where we finish our paintings and then Mr. Wen comes back to show off his masterpiece on the same topic, leaving us feeling frustrated?"
"That goes without saying, it must be so!"
"What a strange and interesting thing..."
"Speaking of which, where is the old man?"
"The boy came by just now, saying that an old friend had come to visit..."
The students, some happy, some sad, some shaking their heads, some pondering, some lowering their eyes to write, some putting down their pens and leaving, all went about their own business after a brief discussion.
It was at this moment that Yu Shiqing entered the courtyard.
This was his third day in Huai'an Prefecture.
On the first day, he arrived in the city at dusk and only had time to settle into an inn. The next day, he went to the inn early in the morning to find the white-walled courtyard with three large willow trees, but to his surprise, the gatekeeper told him that the owner had gone out the day before and his return date was uncertain.
Left with no other choice, Yu Shiqing had to postpone the search for Ye Cangxing and came to Weiwen Academy first.
As mentioned before, the academic administrator wanted to take him as a disciple, but for some reason, he eventually gave up.
Not accepting disciples doesn't mean they don't value talent. Just like in the previous life, the education commissioner sent a letter of recommendation from Weiwen Academy through someone.
With many things still unclear and the possibility of other reborn individuals nearby, Yu Shiqing did not intend to change his old path, so he did not refuse and still came to Weiwen Academy with the letter.
In his memory, Weiwen Academy was delighted to accept him as a young scholar who had achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations. However, the dean and the other teachers hoped that he would study at the academy for a few more years to mature and not rush to the capital for the imperial examinations. This went against his plans, so in the end, he did not enroll at Weiwen Academy but only studied there as a temporary student.
This time, coming here again, it should be much the same.
Yu Shiqing pondered casually as he stepped through the courtyard.
He had only taken a couple of steps when someone suddenly grabbed him: "Hey, I've been waiting for you for ages! Why did it take you so long?"
Yu Shiqing was taken aback, not understanding why.
He had already seen the scene in the courtyard. Every ten days, the Weiwen Academy held examinations on the Six Arts of Gentlemen and poetry and painting. This was the painting academy's "Painting Examination." He knew this, and when he came in, he deliberately avoided those painting tables and walked through a quiet place with few people. However, he did not expect that he would be mistaken for someone else.
Yu Shiqing turned back helplessly to the person who had grabbed him: "Brother, I didn't mean to..."
He stopped halfway through his sentence.
The person before me was dressed in brocade robes and a jade crown, with a round face and round eyes, and was chubby. Although he looked completely different from the Qing Dynasty scholar I would later become, I could still see some resemblance to him.
“Bao Shaojie?” Yu Shiqing asked.
“Yes, that’s me,” Bao Shaojie nodded hurriedly, glancing around furtively before pulling Yu Shiqing further into the shade of a tree. He then reached into his pouch and pulled out a small silver ingot. “The broker told you the rules, right? This is the deposit. You can paint here, cover it with white paper when you’re done, and leave. I’ll be right back when I see you. The balance will be paid after the ‘Painting Examination,’ I promise I won’t renege…”
Yu Shiqing raised an eyebrow slightly.
Bao Shaojie, courtesy name Mintao, was a native of Beizhili. He went south to study in his youth and passed the imperial examination at the age of thirty. In his previous life, he served as the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Southern Jiangsu. He was one of Yu Shiqing's few good friends after Yu entered officialdom.
He knew that Bao Shaojie loved to paint, but his painting skills were poor. The two of them became friends because of painting. However, he really didn't know that when they were young and studying, Bao Shaojie secretly spent money to find someone to cheat in order to pass the "Painting Examination".
Although the poetry and painting exams at Weiwen Academy are merely for cultivating character and not part of the actual academic assessment, cheating is absolutely unacceptable. Being caught and expelled from the academy is a minor matter.
"Hiring someone to write for them is incredibly audacious."
Yu Shi glanced at the still-young, chubby boy and tossed the silver ingot back to him. "Just draw it properly. It won't affect the branch office, so what are you afraid of?"
Bao Shaojie's eyes widened: "Hey, I paid you to come here, and you're lecturing me now! Are you going to paint or not? If you don't, I'll have you thrown out. You're not a scholar, yet you're wearing scholar's robes and sneaking into the academy. That's an even bigger crime!"
This old rascal was such a scoundrel when he was young.
Yu Shiqing wasn't afraid of him. He shook his head and smiled. Just as he was about to speak again, his eyes darted to the side and caught sight of the title hanging on the screen in the courtyard.
Old friends, new autumn.
Yu Shiqing's gaze immediately paused.
In that instant, if Yu Shiqing hadn't known that the secret of his rebirth was unknown to anyone else, he would have truly suspected that this question was posed for him. Few old friends reincarnate, how many new autumns have passed? It was all just a fleeting moment.
Looking at the unrestrained cursive script title and the vibrant fragrance of ink filling the courtyard, Yu Shiqing suddenly changed his mind.
"...Let me tell you, my father is the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Southern Jiangsu. You, you mustn't be ungrateful. A mere painter...no, brother, elder brother, you really have to help me. My father is here today, I can't very well paint two big chrysanthemums and embarrass myself...please...more money, I'll give you more money!"
Bao Shaojie was still rambling on.
Yu Shi glanced at him, then walked to the painting table, laid out paper, and ground ink.
Bao Shaojie paused, then his face lit up with joy: "Brother, you've agreed to help me?"
Yu Shiqing said indifferently, "I won't help. Your father knows perfectly well how good your painting skills are."
“怎么可能！”包少杰一惊，“他爱画，立志要把我培养成大画师，至少也是可比唐寅的那种，我画不好，他就揍我，说我偷懒，所以我惯常都是买画回家的，我的真画他可没见过……”
"We've used up enough ink," Yu Shiqing put down the ink stick, adjusted the paint slightly, and said casually, "Maybe he just wants to beat you up and is just looking for an excuse. Think carefully, before he beats you up for painting each time, is there anything else or any sign?"
“Impossible! My dad… tsk, it doesn’t seem entirely impossible…” Bao Shaojie frowned, as if remembering something.
The sounds around him gradually subsided, leaving only the sound of the wind and birdsong. Yu Shiqing lowered his eyes slightly, his mind calm, and with a flick of his sleeve, he picked up his brush and wrote his first ink mark on the fine Xuan paper.
Everyone in the Great Qi court knew that Yu Shiqing preferred practical matters, but few knew that he also appreciated romance and nature, especially his painting skills, which were unparalleled. The painting "A Thousand Mountains," which was once sold for a fortune, was created by him under the pseudonym Xue Lu Shan Ren.
Studying is expensive, and since the family was poor, they needed more income to support themselves. This was Yu Shiqing's initial motivation for learning to paint. However, he unexpectedly possessed some talent and was able to make a name for himself.
However, he hasn't painted in a long time.
Judging by the timeline, it will take at least twenty years.
People at the time said that Xue Lushanren was best at painting landscapes, flowers and birds, but in Yu Shiqing's own opinion, that was precisely what he was not good at.
He considered himself good at painting people, but he only painted people. In his youth, he mostly painted stories and portraits, which were very utilitarian and vulgar. He felt unworthy to paint the people in his heart. In his youth, he was busy and hardworking. Occasionally, he would have a burst of inspiration, but even though his brushwork was just beginning to take shape, he dared not paint it, because the people in his heart were already in heaven.
That winter, however, he painted many people.
Young people, young adults, those in brocade robes, those in armor, those with playful smiles, those with stern and cold demeanor...
Many people, of many ages and with many expressions, share the same eyes and brows.
"Ye, Zang, Xing..."
The spacious study was filled with vibrant paintings, but Yu Shiqing, at the age of twenty-four, felt as if he were in a desolate prison.
When autumn came and the list of successful candidates in the prefecture was published again, he went to the imperial tomb to see him. A hundred paintings, along with the paintbrush, fell into the fire pit.
The flames were fierce, like fire in the golden autumn.
Of all the millions, none of them are him.
"What...what are you drawing?" Bao Shaojie, who had come to his senses at some point, leaned closer to look at the painting. He should have looked first, because what he saw shocked him. "The title is 'Old Friends, New Autumn,' do you understand? Don't just scribble!"
Yu Shiqing's mind and body were completely immersed in the painting, swept up by a kind of emotion as gentle as a stream. Although he heard the sound, he seemed not to hear it at all.
"Hey you..."
Shh! Don't disturb this gentleman!
Bao Shaojie tried to stop Yu Shiqing, but was pulled back by someone else. He was taken aback and turned around to see that some students had noticed them and were coming over. His eyes trembled, he swallowed hard, and hurriedly stuffed the silver ingots in his sleeve deeper, not daring to say anything more.
He'd already found this secluded corner, so why was someone still coming? It's all that little artist's fault for pulling on him!
"Is this also one of our classmates from the academy?"
"Judging from his age and clothing, it should be him. Every year after the provincial examinations, there are always new students who come with recommendation letters..."
"Watching him paint is like watching a master painter!"
"Truly extraordinary..."
The commotion in this corner grew louder and louder, attracting many students in the courtyard to either crane their necks to look or come over to investigate.
"They say there's someone with extraordinary painting skills?"
"good!"
"Is this the topic for this year's 'Painting Examination'? It doesn't seem like it..."
The murmurs lingered, and more and more people gathered around. Bao Shaojie was initially just uneasy, but after hearing what was being said around him, he realized that something seemed wrong, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.
He glanced around furtively, trying to find a chance to slip away, but he couldn't find a gap. He could only stand by the table with his head stuck out, like a pheasant with its neck being strangled.
Upon hearing someone say it didn't seem like the topic for this assessment, he quickly chimed in quietly, "Yes, yes, I also think it doesn't seem like it. Perhaps it was just a casual sketch, something done on a whim, and has nothing to do with this 'Painting Exam'..."
"No, I feel that this painting is exactly what the topic is." The speaker wore a jade hairpin and was tall, which surprised the surrounding students.
"It's Yan Xun!"
"The academy's calligraphy and painting are both superb!"
"He even came to see me..."
Those who were acquainted with Yan Xun asked, "What do you mean by that, Brother Yan?"
The students made way for Yan Xun, who walked up to the painting. Gazing at the slowly taking shape, his expression, which had been one of surprise and amazement, gradually changed, becoming one of desolation and melancholy.
“I…I can’t say it, but this painting…”
Before he finished speaking, an old man sighed from the side: "Students, you have read, 'There is a loquat tree in the courtyard, which my wife planted in the year she died. Now it stands tall and spreading like a canopy.'"
"This painting, this sentiment, is just like that!"
The students were startled and turned around. Mr. Wen from the painting academy, dressed in white, appeared at the table at some unknown time. Beside him was a young man with a willow-green hair ribbon hanging down like swaying branches on a riverbank. The young man was also looking down at the painting, but his eyes seemed too low, so low that no expression could be seen in the flickering light and shadow.
As Mr. Wen finished speaking, a soft sound rang out, and Yu Shiqing stopped writing.
Golden osmanthus, lonely sky, bright flame, cold ashes, no one, wind.
Three years after the reign of Emperor Qianlong came the first year of the reign of Emperor Jiahe. In the first year of Jiahe, the new emperor held a memorial service for his former comrades in the early autumn.
Author's Note:
I'm late! *bows*
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