Unparalleled
Seeing that the two had agreed to have their portraits taken as a memento, and that the painter Bai had not only brought paper and brushes but also volunteered to greet them, the steward immediately felt relieved and said with a smile, "The three of you can chat as you walk; I won't get in your way here." He then gave a few instructions to his servants, wiped the sweat from his brow, and hurriedly took his leave.
People of high status are always difficult to please; a single wrong word can cause trouble for the master. The person before him is clearly someone of great importance; the fact that his own third young master sent someone to escort him in a carriage is a blatant warning. As a mere steward, he would rather avoid trouble.
A servant carrying a lantern led them around the screen wall and through a long passage. The painter, still speaking gently, said, "I was originally from Wu, but later migrated to the southwest and made a living by painting. May I ask where you and your wife are from?"
This time, it was A Qiu who answered, "We have lived in the capital for generations." She knew that Gu Yi would never answer that question.
Few people in the world know where Gu Yi came from; even A Qiu doesn't know, and never dares to ask.
Even the person in charge just now probably wouldn't dare ask Gu Yi and A Qiu this question. This is because when a noble person asks a question, the lowly simply need to answer. In the imperial examinations, only the emperor would politely ask about your place of origin and the well-being of your parents; you would never turn around and ask the emperor about his ancestral home or the Empress Dowager's health.
At this moment, the group had moved to the backyard, and A Qiu saw a spectacular sight he had never seen before in his life.
Within the nearly acre-wide courtyard, hundreds of colorful lanterns hang, as dazzling as the Milky Way in the sky.
Below, rows of looms stood, and everyone was bent over their desks. The rhythmic sounds of spinning and drawing silk filled the air, dense yet orderly.
This seemed like another world, secluded and isolated, filled with the tranquility and warmth of a paradise. The weavers were all focused on the warp and weft before them, and even with their stunning looks and otherworldly bearing, no one paid them a second glance.
The painter, holding paper and brush, followed them closely, smiling slightly. "Diligence leads to mastery. Whether it's analyzing colors, matching silk threads, or creating patterns, it all requires focused attention on the smallest details. Therefore, the more focused and undistracted one is, the greater the achievement. Tiangongfang gathers almost all the best weavers in the entire southwest region. Their brocades, such as Moonlight, Rain Silk, Clear Mist, and Washing Flowers, are elegant and exquisite, conforming to our Han aesthetic. I'm sure you've seen them in the capital. In addition, we also produce colorful brocades with unique ethnic styles and vibrant colors, but these are mostly for the clothing and bedspreads of local barbarian noblewomen."
A-Qiu carefully observed the varying shades and subtle gradations of color on the loom and casually asked, "What's the difference between this brocade and the white silk fabric from the Wu region?"
The painter was sketching the beauty's face with his brush. With a few delicate strokes, the image of a woman, graceful as the wind and ethereal in her demeanor, leaped onto the paper.
Upon hearing A-Qiu's question, she paused slightly, a hint of longing and nostalgia appearing between her beautiful brows, before gently replying:
"First, the raw materials for these two are different. White ramie is a summer cloth woven from white ramie, which is also very light and soft, but it is far less precious and luxurious than the mulberry silk used for brocade, and it has a smooth feel. Second, the processes are different. To weave white ramie, only the raw white ramie silk is needed, but to weave brocade, the silk needs to be dyed separately and the warp and weft threads matched. Weaving white ramie does not require a pattern or changing the thread; it is simply woven back and forth with the weft thread. However, the most complex part of brocade weaving is designing the pattern and constantly changing the colored threads to form the pattern."
She succinctly summarized: "In terms of both materials and craftsmanship, brocade is a more high-end and exquisite product because it is more time-consuming and labor-intensive."
A Qiu touched a piece of woven moonlight brocade with her hand, and saw a faint shimmering light and glittering gold threads. She couldn't help but say, "But the white silk and white dance costumes we used for our dance back then seemed to feel similar to brocade. They were smooth and thin, and felt as light as if they were nothing to the touch. Moreover, at a glance, although they were plain, they were radiant and dazzling, just like moonlight."
The painter frowned and said, "I also grew up in the Wu region and have often seen weavers washing silk. If you say that white hemp is like moonlight, pure white and light, that is true. But if you say that it is shiny, I dare not believe it. The biggest difference between hemp and silk is that silk has a distinct luster, while hemp can also reflect light, but it is almost negligible compared to silk. The price difference is also due to this."
She turned her gaze and pondered, "Or perhaps, when the palace was making dance costumes for the girls, they changed the original material of the white linen and added other fibers."
Gu Yi coughed slightly behind them and said, "The dance costume and white silk you wore at that time were made by the Imperial Household Department under the personal supervision of the Imperial Household Department Director. They are different from the ordinary white silk in Wu. They are made of pure raw silk with silver and gold threads, making them more elegant, light and shiny. When you wave them, they are like white clouds emerging from the mountains and thin mist crossing the river."
He knew this because Zhao Lingying had specifically asked him to stay and say a few words about it. To this day, he still didn't know why Zhao Lingying had made such a big deal out of it, but he never expected that this knowledge would come in handy now.
A-Qiu suddenly realized and said, "So that's how it is."
The painter smiled knowingly and said, "I guess that's how it is. Historically, the things made in the palace, even if they are the same as those made in the common people, are always more exquisite and magnificent than those made in the common people."
Her hand paused on the pen, her eyes lit up, and she tentatively asked, "The Imperial Library? Is that the same Lady Feifeng from the previous generation, whose poetry and prose were unparalleled and who was known as the 'Master of Brilliant Writing,' and who is also the most talented woman in our Great Yan, Zhao Lingying, Zhao Zhaorong?"
Knowing that Gu Yi wouldn't engage in such idle talk involving other people, A Qiu interjected, "Yes, it's Zhao Zhaorong. She's not only talented, but also extremely beautiful." The image of Zhao Lingying, holding her judge's pen, standing with her hands behind her back at the palace gate, awaiting her attack, immediately came to mind. Zhao Lingying's bright, lively eyes, as beautiful as a phoenix rising in the morning sun, also instantly appeared in her mind.
She still remembered that Zhao Lingying had solemnly instructed her to come to Jiaolan Office to find her after Li Chongyu's matter was over.
But now, she is far away, and she doesn't know if she will ever have the chance to return to the palace. This promise has become a distant dream.
That night, her master, Wan Qiqing, openly appeared before the emperor and nearly crippled her martial arts with two blows. Even if Xie Lang and the others didn't recognize Wan Qiqing at the time, they would surely find out later. And from that clue, it wouldn't be hard to guess her background. Her senior brother, Gongyi Xiu, would certainly try his best to cover for her, but he couldn't withstand the many clever people in the court. Zhao Lingying, Consort Chen, and even Xie Lang himself were not fools.
Gu Yi made a decisive move and immediately took himself away on a long journey. This was also to give these intelligent people time to think things through.
Not only Zhao Lingying, but also Crown Prince Xie Tiao and her senior brother Gongyi Xiu had made plans to meet her again in the palace before "Yan Shining". They all had high expectations for her and hoped to fight alongside her in the future. However, when she thought of those people in the palace, the first person who came to her mind was Shangguan Yuqi, who trusted her implicitly and had once saved her from death.
If she could never see these people again, she would surely feel regret.
At this moment, the painter Bai is depicting a golden hairpin on the beauty's head. While she has sketched the folds of other garments simply with a few strokes, here she focuses her brush intently, meticulously outlining the interlocking yin and yang scroll patterns on the hairpin.
Even Gu Yi glanced at her paper, then his gaze fell on the gold hairpin in A Qiu's hair, and he said in a clearly displeased tone, "What is this?"
Before leaving the palace, A-Qiu had always lived with him. Aside from the tasseled floral ornament she often wore on her forehead, she never wore any other hairpins or jewelry. The only set of blue-green shimmering gold jewelry she owned was a gift from him, but as a palace lady-in-waiting, she rarely wore it to avoid attracting attention. Now, with a gold hairpin of unknown origin suddenly appearing in her hair, it was naturally an eyesore.
Ah Qiu said awkwardly, "This is... a gift from someone else."
At that moment, when Zhao Lingying was attacking her so fiercely that she was caught by a golden hairpin flying out of her hand as a hidden weapon, forcing her to catch it with her bare hands. This revealed her "ruthless, vicious, steady, and accurate" assassin fighting style. However, she did not point it out afterward. Instead, she said nonchalantly, "This golden hairpin is for you." and left calmly.
Since this gold hairpin was thrown by Zhao Lingying, whether it was a good or bad gift, it was still a gift from an elder and she dared not refuse it. She had been carrying it in her bosom, but later found it cumbersome and simply pinned it in her hair, which was more convenient. Unexpectedly, it caught the eye of this female painter and also attracted Gu Yi's attention.
A-Qiu felt as if the air froze after she finished speaking.
But it was the painter Bai's calm and gentle voice that broke the frozen air. Her words seemed to be an answer to Gu Yi's question: "This is a honeysuckle pattern. It is meant to symbolize that the plant does not wither in winter and that life continues. It is commonly seen in the Wu region, but this is the first time I have seen this pattern here."
A Qiu immediately replied, "This hairpin was indeed a gift from Consort Zhao." At the same time, she breathed a slight sigh of relief and glanced at Gu Yi.
Upon hearing this, Gu Yi's fierce aura immediately diminished by three points.
The painter's eyes lit up, and he said with a mixture of surprise and envy, "Is this the Zhao Lingying Zhaorong? May I take a look at this hairpin, young lady?"
A-Qiu did as she was told and handed her the gold hairpin. In fact, apart from being made of pure gold and quite heavy, the gold hairpin was decorated with continuous honeysuckle patterns, but it had no phoenix or flower ornaments, nor any gemstones or pearls. In short, it was excellent as a hidden weapon or for suicide, because it was heavy enough and hard enough to withstand damage.
The painter ran his fingers over the patterns on the hairpin and said softly, "It is said that Zhao Zhaorong is a talented woman of her generation, with a clever mind and beautiful features, and she is very insightful. But judging from this hairpin, she is a person who is deeply patient and reserved."
Looking back on her experiences dealing with Zhao Lingying, A Qiu thought that this person's cunning could only be described as unfathomable, certainly not the pretty and lively person she appeared to be on the surface. She couldn't help but nod in agreement, saying, "What the painter Bai said makes a lot of sense. Every word and action of Zhao Rong has a profound meaning, and she is not someone that can be easily guessed."
Gu Yi's voice rang out calmly, "The painter Bai mentioned Zhao Zhaorong twice, as if he was particularly concerned about her."
The painter suddenly realized what was happening, and personally reached out to place the gold hairpin back into A Qiu's hair. He smiled and said, "Who among the scholars and painters of the world does not admire Zhao Zhaorong's talent and elegance, her poetry and prose so exquisite? I have also admired her for a long time. After all, we are both women. I am proud that Zhaorong is able to enter the imperial court, to judge the literature of the world, and to control the style of an era."
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