Chapter 169: The Name of Hidden
When the Gou Ye jade ring came out at the charity auction held by the Zhen Yi Foundation, Jiang Wu said that the jade ring was fake and had really been broken into pieces. At that time, he did not know that the man next to him was the national teacher who was reborn from the Great Zhou Dynasty a thousand years ago, so he asked him how he knew that. Jiang Wu said that a friend who studied history told him. The friend's name was Cao Wu Yue.
Later, when he found out that the other party was an ancient person who was reborn from thousands of years ago, he went to search for Cao Wuyue and indeed found a court painter from the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Cao Shi, also known by his courtesy name Wu Yue, was a court painter during the reign of Emperor Zhaowu of the Zhou Dynasty. He was skilled in court painting and became famous at a young age. The people in his paintings could be seen talking and laughing, and the birds and animals could be heard making their voices, all of which were lifelike. However, he was arrogant because of his talent, and even the princes and nobles of the time could not get a portrait of him. Only Emperor Zhaowu could summon him to the palace to paint.
Historical records also say that Emperor Zhaowu treated Cao Wuyue very well. He used red gold silk given by Yu for his paintings and Longquan ink for his seals. These two items were used by Yu, and if ordinary people used them, they would be considered treason. It also indirectly became a means of verifying the authenticity of Cao Wuyue's works.
In addition, the person in the painting has a pair of eyes and a short strand of hair behind his left ear, which is exactly the same as Jiang Wu's. Therefore, he can almost be sure that the person in the painting is Jiang Wu from a thousand years ago.
Those who knew about the subject present were immediately excited. Compared with Zheng Xiaoxu, Cao Wuyue's paintings were worth tens of millions of times more. They were genuine antiques. Back then, an imitation of a flower and bird painting could make the unknown Zheng Xiaoxu worth over 100 million yuan, which shows the importance of Cao Wuyue.
Han Zhong asked, "The three words Jiang Hegui were not mentioned in the small words you just said."
"Because these three words are hidden in the scroll of the original painting."
“…”
Han Zhong paused. Since he was the national teacher and the regent king, he should be in a position above everyone else. Why should the name of the portrait be hidden in the scroll?
Sure enough, someone soon asked his question, "You are not a traitor, why do you hide your name in the scroll so obscurely?"
Moreover, if he was a traitor, this painting would not exist at all, and the painter Cao Wuyue would be beheaded. However, in history, Cao Wuyue died of natural causes.
This method sounds like... the person in the painting is a criminal who cannot speak out.
Han Zhong inexplicably felt a little uneasy in his heart. He suddenly remembered that he had asked people to search all the historical documents but could not find any record about Jiang Wu. Even the Wujiang Palace and the Zhaixing Tower were only mentioned in passing. He thought that the historical documents on the Internet were just incomplete, but now he suddenly realized that maybe it was not that the historical documents on the Internet were incomplete, but for some reason, all traces of Jiang Wu in the history books were completely erased.
"Can I see the original painting?" Han paused and added, "Uncle Qin."
Everyone was speechless for a moment, thinking that if there really was an authentic work of Cao Wuyue passed down, it would be a national treasure, the kind that could be put in the first exhibition hall of the National Museum, a truly priceless item. If such a thing could be easily taken out, Qin Jiawang would not have specially asked Zheng Xiaoxu to copy one to show off to them. It was really embarrassing that President Han actually made such a request.
However, what was unexpected was that Qin Jiawang actually agreed with a smile, "Of course, the painting is in the collection room. I'll take you there after the banquet is over."
Taking "you" with me does not mean taking "you all" with me. The guests present were all smart people from the upper class. After hearing this, and then seeing Qin Jia looking at Han Zhong's pleased and satisfied expression, they knew what was going on. They said that how could Old Master Qin, who had just recovered from a serious illness, hold such a low-key birthday banquet? Among the other three major families in Linhai, only the Han family came, so it was a family banquet.
They subconsciously glanced at Qin Yuyan standing behind Qin Jiawang, and then looked at the handsome and promising Han Zhong. It seemed that old man Qin was in really poor health and was anxious to find a backer for his daughter, so he planned to join forces with the Han family.
Everyone laughed and passed the topic over, looking as if they knew everything.
Qin Yuyan, who was standing aside, frowned as she looked at Han Zhong's calm face. She had indeed heard Fang Zhiyi telling people a few days ago that Han Zhong and the little star around him had broken up, and the little star had moved out of the villa in Ziyuan, and the two had not met again.
But Han Zhong's words "Uncle Qin" just now made her suspicious. This marriage was originally sought by her for help from the other party, and it was impossible for him to lower his posture for this marriage. She even felt that he was only after the authentic painting of Cao Wuyue.
Thinking of this, she tilted her head to look at the person in the painting. She inexplicably felt that the person in the painting looked a little familiar, especially the way he was lying sideways with his long hair tied up high and blowing in the wind.
Before she could think about it, Han Zhong had already followed her father to the collection room. She subconsciously wanted to follow him, but suddenly she received a call from security, saying that the surveillance camera saw a suspicious figure.
Her expression changed, and after giving a few instructions to the housekeeper, she hurried over to the security department.
Han Zhong looked at her hurriedly leaving back, raised his hand and tapped the mini Bluetooth headset on his left ear, and said softly, "Qin Yuyan has passed by, be careful."
Rong Anzhou's casual voice came from the other end of the headset, "Don't worry, even if she is caught, she won't dare to do anything to me. But you, do you really want to sell yourself for a painting?"
Rong Anzhou heard the conversation just now through the headphones and was also very curious about what was painted in the painting.
"Nothing, I just want to know something."
"Okay, knock three times if you need anything."
"Um."
After hanging up the phone, Han Zhong followed Qin Jiawang to the corridor. On both sides of the wall were simple and plain wall lamps, on which hung framed photos, from the color high-definition photos at the beginning to black and white photos, and then to oil paintings, gouache, charcoal sketches, and exquisitely painted fine brushwork, all of which were lifelike.
"These are all the ancestors of my Qin family."
The noise outside the hall gradually faded away. In the quiet corridor, the only sound was Qin Jiawang's old voice, echoing from the sound of his staggering footsteps with his cane tapping on the ground.
Han Chong originally thought that someone who loved antiques and paintings like Qin Jiawang would hang famous paintings and calligraphy on the wall, but he didn't expect that they would hang self-portraits of the Qin family's successive patriarchs. Moreover, looking closely, there was a time mark in the lower right corner of each photo and portrait, spanning from the last fifty years to more than a thousand years ago.
More than a thousand years ago...
He suddenly paused and stopped on the weathered old portrait. It was a very detailed portrait. The man in the painting was wearing heavy armor, was tall and sturdy, and had a pair of drooping eyebrows that fit the standard of military generals in modern romance novels. The long sword at his waist was deliberately placed in front of him, probably as a symbol of honor.
However, what attracted Han Zhong was not the appearance of the person in the painting, but the time in the lower right corner: eight years of the Great Zhoutian.
"He is the first generation ancestor of the Qin family. He was appointed a first-rank cavalry general and a close guard of the emperor. The sword was given to him by Emperor Zhaowu when he was appointed a general." Qin Jiawang's deep voice was filled with a bit of pride that was difficult to conceal.
Han Zhong looked at the people in the painting and felt that something was wrong. He pondered for a moment and suddenly remembered something. He turned around and looked at the portraits behind him, and finally found a problem.
The life spans of the characters in these portraits are very consistent, even identical: they all lived to be fifty-five years old, without exception.
He felt something strange and turned his head to look at Qin Jiawang, only to see that his cloudy eyes were staring straight at him. He took a step back imperceptibly and said, "The collection room looks a bit far away. Maybe I can wait for my brother. He has a bad temper and will make a scene if he can't find me."
Qin Jiawang seemed to be unable to hear his words. He continued to look at him straight, his voice also revealing a bit of emptiness. "From him on, no one in the Qin family can live past fifty-five, because he was only fifty-five when he died. Generation after generation, no one has a good ending. Do you know why?"
Without waiting for Han to speak again, he just said, "Because of the curse."
Han Zhong narrowed his eyes and took a few steps back. "It seems that today is not a good day to appreciate paintings. Goodbye."
He turned and walked away, and the next moment he heard someone shouting from behind, "Wait."
The next moment, a dozen bodyguards in black appeared from both ends of the corridor, blocking the roads on both sides. However, Han Zhong still strode forward, but his right hand had already touched the lower back, where there was a bulge, a hard object with sharp edges.
"Don't you want to know what happened to Jiang Hegui back then?"
“…”
Han Zhong's hand holding the gun paused, then he suddenly turned around and pointed the gun at Qin Jiawang in the middle of the corridor. The cold voice echoed in the silent corridor.
"Take me to the collection room."