Painter

Chapter 180 29: Drawing Ghosts
Most of the students in the banquet came from famous families, and they are familiar with the game of throwing pots and shooting water, and flowing cups of water in Yaji.It is not uncommon for Princess Lingbi to carry out wine orders in various receptions.In major restaurants, there are singers carrying baskets full of wine appointments.Most of those wine contracts are bamboo cards with poems engraved on them, about swords, flowers, and autumn. They are rented and sold in sets, and each set usually has dozens of pieces.The drinker draws out the bamboo card, which means that people drink wine, and there will be wine and poetry in the banquet, which is very pleasant.

But those bamboo plaques, even if they are made of ivory, can only add a third of heroism to the banquet. Talent, but it is limited to dozens of poems, compared to Xin Yuan, who can only recite [-] poems. Yi Niang, it's a mess.

That Xueyi Niang was given a cup of thousand-day drunkenness by the young Princess Lingbi, and she slept for seven days before waking up. Now, she was frightened again, and she was finally coaxed back by Princess Changle, so she hid far away between the tables. The jade pot of fine wine finally opened its golden mouth under the thousands of invitations from all living beings.

"The sparrow would rather go, but the mayfly would not return!"

After the white parrot recited the poem, someone laughed and said, "Xue Yiniang's poem is so good that it doesn't match the occasion. Even if everyone in the seat dare not pretend to be a Kunpeng, how can it be compared with a bird, a mayfly, a cricket, and a quail? It may be said that all the seats are rich. Good talent."

Tang Qingchen smiled, "Liu Lang is right, but since we agreed to ask Xueyi Niang to recite poems, let's follow the rules. Although you are not sparrows, there are people from Yanzhou in the seat." He said and looked at the people in the banquet A scholar said, "Brother Hengnian, do you want to accept your punishment, or do you want to write the first poem of this elegant collection? I have read your "Danqin Collection", which is really brilliant, especially "Ta Ge Qing Shan Xia, exhaling like a poem" Hong Ni's words, extraordinary spirit, I think you will definitely not accept punishment for drinking."

Sun Hengnian stood out from the crowd in his hometown of Yanzhou, but he was only a phoenix tail when he arrived in Yujing. Since mid-autumn, he has contributed his 41 proud works of "Danqin Collection" everywhere, and his reputation has not been tepid.This time I was invited to participate in the Xinyuan Gathering, and I was not well-known among the students, but I didn't expect Qi Wuhuang'er not only to know his origin, but also to recite his poems. Immediately introduced Tang Qingchen as a confidant, stood up and said a few words of humility, saying that he did not expect anyone to know his humble work, so he stood up happily and asked someone to bring him a pen and ink.

In Dayong Kingdom literati gatherings, there has always been the rule of "carving candles and hitting bowls". The scale is marked on the body of the candle. When the candle burns an inch, the copper bowl is hit as a time limit.This year, when Qianyuan Academy recruited students, all kinds of gatherings emerged one after another, and talented scholars played many different time-limited methods, such as melting ice on a fire plate, warming wine and composing poems, all kinds of tricks.This time at the Xinyuan Gathering, another servant brought a copper plate, burned incense on the plate, and put a copper coin on the incense.So when the incense is exhausted, the copper coins will fall, and the time limit is the sound of the copper coins falling on the plate.

Sun Hengnian recited a poem. After reciting the poem, the white parrot flew to the side of the poem, recited it several times, nodded and said: "It's okay, it's okay!"

Although Sun Hengnian was a little disappointed, he still said that it was a great honor to get Xueyi Niang, who had recited tens of thousands of poems.

When Sun Hengnian was seated, Xueyiniang cleared her throat, and recited again: "How can you be drunk with the wine poured out of the golden cup, and you can't get back with Lu Xin on your waist!"

At the moment, there was a scholar with a long sword hanging from his waist holding a cup, and being watched by everyone, he put down his wine glass with a smile.

Burning incense and falling into the copper room, Chu Sheng recited poems and composed fus. Whenever the poems were completed, Xueyi Niang shook her head and recited some poems.Although this white parrot has a high vision, fortunately all the creatures are quite talented, and there is nothing "unsightly".

During this period, every time it was a person's turn to appear on the stage, Tang Qingchen could call out his origin, alias, and tell his proud lines, calligraphy and paintings, which made people feel like a spring breeze.

When the white parrot finished saying "I don't eat a thousand millet, but only two pears", the servant brought the dishes.

At this time, it was the turn of Cui Mingyi from the Cui family of Fu Li to compose a poem. After the famous family glanced at the dishes that had just been served, he saw a bowl of tofu soup and a plate of four-color fish cakes, and said with a smile: "I'm not talented, I can't do it right now." To write a poem, let’s draw up a couplet.”

As he said that, he asked the servant to spread the paper, and took a pen to write: "Swallow the North Sea into a cup, and drink the Wujiang River with fish in four colors."

After writing, Xueyi Niang tilted her head to look at it for a while, shook her head and said, "Swallow the North Sea into a cup, and drink the Wujiang River with fish in four colors! Not satisfactory, not satisfactory!"

Then Cui Mingyi got an unsatisfactory evaluation, so he just laughed.

Tang Qingchen said with a smile: "After all, Xueyi Niang doesn't know the goods, this couplet is really wonderful. Brother Mingyi is more knowledgeable, the hexagonal sea dragon, silver dragon fish bones and other eight-flavored ingredients that must be used in making this white jade tofu soup, Known as the Eight Treasures of the Beihai, this bowl of soup has tasted all the flavors of the Beihai. As for the four-color fish sticks, they use the four fresh fish from the Wujiang River. Unexpectedly, these four fresh fish have been peeled and cut into slices. Brother Ming Yi still looks at it at a glance out."

Someone laughed and said, "The four fresh fish in the Wujiang River die half an hour out of the water. They have to be slaughtered while they are still alive to taste delicious. The Wujiang River is [-] miles away from Yujing. It is really not easy to transport live fish here."

Another person said: "It's not easy. Among the four delicacies, Dangzi and Yinbei are more docile, while Baiji and Daoguan are fierce and can't be in the same tank with other fish. What's more, Wujiang River is in the south, unlike Yujing, where the weather is cold, transporting fish To do this, not only does it require a lot of manpower, but also the 'tank man' to enter the water with a mantra to keep the water in the tank warm. Even so, even if the fish travel thousands of miles, there will still be no one in ten."

Everyone was amazed, and suddenly someone said: "Nowadays there is a food shortage in many places, is this a bit..."

Before he finished speaking, someone said seriously: "It is precisely because of the food shortage that the people in the drought-flooded land have no fields to cultivate and nowhere to make a living. The rewards for transporting fresh fish are high, especially for tankers. If you get twenty pennies, how can this fish transport not feed many households?"

The man pondered for a while, then said with a smile, "I'm narrow-minded. Such a rare delicacy must be tasted carefully, so as to live up to the twists and turns behind this fish cake." He said with a piece of fish cake, and was about to eat it. , but heard Cui Mingyi say: "Hey, don't be impatient."

"These four delicacies have traveled thousands of miles, and they need to be cut by an untrained beauty with a golden knife to avoid the fishy smell." Cui Mingyi picked up a chopsticks of fish until he closed his eyes and sniffed lightly, opened his eyes and nodded, and said with a smile: "As expected It's Meng Zhu Tang's family." He looked at the two princesses sitting up, "It's such a delicacy, please try it first."

Princess Lingbi smiled lightly at Princess Changle: "This is quite an elegant person."

Everyone ate the fish sticks with Lingnan red bud ginger. A servant in green clothes passed by the corner and saw the young man in green robe and black boots not moving his chopsticks. Seeing that the crane on Lingqiu next to him didn't put down his chopsticks, he asked again: "But where did you neglect?"

"Recently I've been feeling windy and cold, and I can't feel the fishy cold."

The young man in green robe shook his head, the servant took it seriously, removed the fish sticks, and was about to take it away, the young man asked again: "Where do you want to take this?"

The family law of the rich family is strict, in order to prevent the servants from wasting food, the servants are not allowed to eat leftovers, the servant in Tsing Yi thought that this green-robed man was asking this, and quickly explained: "Of course it is poured."

The young man in green robe was taken aback, and stared at the fish sticks for a long time, finally asked the servant to take the fish sticks away.The atmosphere in the banquet was lively and cheerful, and no one paid attention to such trivial matters.The Xueyi Niang over there recites poems referring to people. People who participate in the gathering often have to make painstaking preparations before they come for the moment when they speak out in front of others. Some people flicked their sleeves and played the piano when they were in high spirits, while others sang and played harmoniously.

After Xueyi Niang recited the sentence "In the past it turned into a towering crane, but now it hides a Dharma-protecting dragon", Princess Lingbi who was sitting at the top said softly: "This sentence contains a lot of Buddhist principles. Is there anyone here who is proficient in Buddhism?"

Even if the people here have no intention of cultivating Buddhism, none of them have read Buddhist scriptures, but although Princess Lingbi asked a question, she looked at the handsome young man with a smile on his face at the banquet, who was Lingchang Yuanhu.

Cui Mingyi beside him felt sour, but he still smiled and said: "If you talk about the profoundness of Buddhism, of course it is Brother Xixuan."

That Lingchang Yuanxiu studied under Zen Master Baizhang, a great virtue of Zen Buddhism. He said he was a monk, but he was not shaved. Princess Bi's blue eyes gave her a slight smile, "The Xin Garden is as warm as spring, and the little monk saw lotus flowers blooming beside the Binxiang Pavilion just now, and I really feel a little bit touched."

After all, I asked the servants of the Tang family to spread out a piece of yellow silk and write the next article "Speaking of Lotus".

Tang Xian and Pan Gu sat in the west of the pavilion, just watching from the sidelines, and did not participate in the contest of literary talents of the younger generations. Kumara; put it on and it will fall..."

After reading it, he asked, "What does Pan Weng think?"

Pan Gu smiled and shook his head, "I don't understand Buddhism, but this young man looks like a monk or not a monk, or a Taoist or a non-Taoist, but his handwriting is very good, and he has learned the great treasure Shenglunti of Zen Master Baizhang to the point of perfection."

Lingchang Yuanhu in the pavilion wrote a short essay, and everyone applauded and praised it.Princess Lingbi looked at it, nodded and said: "This character is beautifully written, and the word Lianhua is also beautifully written."

Princess Changle smiled slightly, "It would be even better if you could also draw the lotus outside the pavilion, Yuan Huan, do you know how to draw?"

Yuan Huan nodded his head and raised his palms, with a faint smile between his eyebrows, like a Buddhist sculpture in a temple, solemn but gentle, "The little monk is stupid, he doesn't even understand Buddhist scriptures, and he doesn't understand the slightest bit of art."

"It's a pity." Princess Changle glanced at Princess Lingbi and joked, "Lingbi, you know how to paint, why don't you come and paint."

"How dare you let the princess condescend to you?"

Yuan Huan lowered his eyebrows and refused, but Princess Lingbi smiled.

"I do have some interest."

After all, he ordered people to prepare pens, inks and paints, hang his jade arms low in the pavilion, and draw with pens. In a short while, he drew a green stem and a lotus flower, which are not yet in bud.

Tang Xian, who was on the west side of the pavilion, saw the painting and said with emotion: "The words are like the person, and the painting is like the person. The lotus painting painted by Zhao Xuezhou back then was pure and noble, but the lotus painting of Princess Lingbi was graceful and luxurious. After all, she is the daughter of a nobleman. "

But Pan Gu looked at the lotus flower and chuckled, "Princess Lingbi's paint is very skillful."

"Oh?" Tang Xian raised his eyebrows and carefully observed the lotus painting.For a while, he didn't see what Pan Gu said.

But after Princess Lingbi finished painting the lotus, she ordered two maidservants to hold the picture.She breathed lightly on the painted lotus, and the budding lotus bloomed slowly, with white petals and pink tips, trembling.

She said: "The remnants of alchemy made by the national teacher will change color due to cold and heat. I used it as paint by this palace, but it is overkill."

Everyone praised in amazement, and Princess Lingbi looked at the girl in white at the table with bright eyes, and said with a smile: "Wuhuo, you have been learning painting from Mr. Xu for more than a year, and I haven't seen you paint yet. It's rare at this time today. Let me see, too, what have you learned?"

The girl in white was looking at the lotus picture with her arms crossed, she nodded and said something, and looked at the lotus pond outside the pavilion. There were some koi in the pond, and they made ripples when they swam.She dipped in the paint, and with a few simple strokes, she drew a tail of white scales.The koi in the pond have a leisurely posture, and the white scales look vigorous.

On the west side of the pavilion, Tang Xian looked at the white scales, his brows furrowed and relaxed, and he said in a low voice: "The painting skills are not perfect yet, but the painting spirit is..."

Immortal Mo hesitated, "A carp in the pond seems to be at ease, but wanders around a square inch, controlled by others, unable to get out of trouble. In her writing, it has the potential to turn against the water and transform into a dragon."

The two looked at each other and didn't say anything more.

After the "Speaking of Lotus" and the picture of a lotus and a fish, all the students in the pavilion drank wine.

The Xueyi Niang recited more than [-] poems, and read out a line: "Yuhu is on the Chi Road, Zhumen is near Yugou".This verse seems to be referring to Xin Yuan.At this point in the banquet, most of the guests have already appeared, reciting poems, writing poems, painting and playing the piano.Every time someone appeared on the stage, Tang Qingchen would introduce his favorite works to everyone, showing his profound knowledge and elegance.All of a sudden, everyone earnestly invited them, and after some evasions, Tang Qingchen finally "boldly showed his ugliness" and wrote a "Preface to Xinyuan Banquet Collection".

Everyone praised it, and when it was circulated, Pan Gu praised: "This article is amazing. It is said to be a tribute to the predecessors, but it is self-contained, magnificent, and gorgeous. I am afraid that it will be famous in Yujing within a few days."

Tang Xian was silent, and smiled happily. At this moment, Xie Ningzhi, the "Scholar of Chu Tower", stood up, "Xie is not talented, and I would like to make a preface."

The atmosphere in the room froze, and Pan Gu looked at the scribe in Tsing Yi in surprise.It's normal for a feast to have multiple prefaces, but when Xie Ningzhi said this, it didn't seem to be done in a whimsical way, but it seemed to be a competition.

However, the few months before the Spring Examination of the Qianyuan Academy, it was the time when the elites were competing for fame. Although the concubine Tang frowned slightly, Immortal Mo was very interested and felt that this elegant gathering was even more interesting.

Xiwuhuang'er in the pavilion was startled for a moment, not displeased, and said with a smile: "Xie Lang is famous far and wide. I like your sentence asking about Chulou sitting with pearls and jade very much. I heard that Xie Lang cherishes ink, this time It is really exciting to make an exception, the ink in the inkstone has been used up, come on, let me grind the ink for Xie Lang."

"That's not necessary." Xie Ningzhi smiled, thanked Tang Qingchen, and strode to the side of the pavilion.

Everyone was curious about the actions of this outstanding scholar from the Chu Tower, and when they came out to watch, they saw Xie Ningzhi coming to the pool beside the pavilion, drawing out his long sword, and swiping the sword like a brush, the water surface was turbulent, the koi were scattered and wandering, and the water and swords were intertwined. Pavilion flower shadow.

But for a moment, he retracted his sword back to its sheath, the water waves subsided, and the frightened carp calmed down a little. On the unfinished ripples, lines of words, as if carved in gold and stone, printed on the water, still did not dissipate. The intention is vertical and horizontal, which makes people's eyebrows tingle.

"Excellent swordsmanship, the sword leaves traces through the water, Xie Lang's supernatural powers are really unfathomable!" Tang Qingchen seemed to be overwhelmed, but he did not hesitate to praise and admire him, and then smiled: "But Xie Lang really cherishes ink so much, I would rather Even if you spend so much time writing on water, you won’t leave calligraphy behind.”

On the west side of the pavilion, Pan Gu looked at the water surface with a surprised expression on his face, and raised his voice, "Have you ever been to Lishan, Mr. Lang?"

Xie Ningzhi bowed his hands to Pan Gu, "Last autumn, I went to Lishan to watch the sword book."

Pan Gu praised: "Your sword book really has three points of Wang Danyang's meaning."

Xie Ningzhi smiled: "Thank you Pan Weng for your praise, Xie has always cherished ink, but he wants to ask Pan Weng for a good ink."

"It's impossible."

Immortal Mo in the west of the pavilion readily agreed, and Xie Ningzhi, who had covered four seats with a sword book, thanked him loudly, strode back to the pavilion, and sat down to eat and drink.

In the southeast corner of the pavilion, Li Chan looked at the water surface, thoughtful. This outstanding scholar of Chu Tower has advanced cultivation, and I am afraid that he has glimpsed the threshold of the realm of knowledge.

The water sword book gradually dispersed, but was transcribed by the viewers.

The banquet continued, and the parrot was still reciting poems line by line, such as the "Speaking of the Lotus", the white scales, the preface to the phoenix phoenix, and the masterpieces like the swordsmanship of the Chu Tower. After all, there are only a few of them. , reciting poems and composing lyrics, praising the luxury of banquets and the beauty of delicacies.It is also effective to imitate the holy painters, and then paint "Xinxin Garden Yaji Tu" to describe the grand scene at this time.

In the southeast corner of Binxiang Pavilion, the young man in green robe and black boots barely moved his chopsticks. The servant only said that he was suffering from a cold, and brought him a bowl of five-flavored soup. The food and drink before the case piled up. He looked at the Mo Immortal in the west of the pavilion from time to time. .Just when a scholar was reciting the sentence about the golden knife and jade bottle, the white parrot shook his head, commented "not satisfactory", and shouted: "now I am also a chai sangyin, and I only use the lotus clothes as green robes!"

It is not uncommon to see people in Tsing Yi present here. Tang Qingchen glanced across the southeast corner of Binxiang Pavilion and saw a young man.Before the gathering began, he had memorized everyone's names and his favorite works, but Li Dan, Qingling of Lizhou, didn't seem to have any outstanding works, so his eyes didn't stop there.

He looked at a scholar in the east of the pavilion, and was about to speak, when suddenly, Princess Lingbi, who was sitting on the seat, also looked towards the southeast corner of the pavilion, and suddenly remembered the conversation with his friend just now.Seeing that the food and drinks on the table were barely moving, she said softly, "This is a man in a green robe, why is he facing a table of delicacies without moving?"

The young man in green robe was suddenly attracted by everyone's attention, he raised his eyebrows in surprise, and smiled again, "People from rough places have poor fate, so they are not blessed to enjoy these delicacies."

Princess Lingbi smiled, "That's an interesting thing to say, I heard that you are from Qingling, Lizhou, and your name is Li Dan?"

Not only Li Chan was a little surprised, but Chu Sheng in the seat was also surprised how Princess Lingbi recognized this taciturn fresh face.Li Chan said yes, and Princess Lingbi said, "Since you're wearing a green robe, according to the rules, it's time for you to compose poetry."

Li Chan said with a smile: "I don't have any poetic talent, I only know some paintings, so use a pen."

He stood up and came to the pavilion.The servant quickly lit a new plate of incense on the copper plate, and carefully placed copper coins on it.

Everyone saw that the young man in green robe had a fresh face, but his demeanor was free and easy, and because Princess Lingbi recognized him, they were a little curious about his identity. For a while, the pavilion became quiet, and all eyes were focused on the square inch of white paper.

Then I saw the brush strokes, there are autumn mountains, isolated villages, city walls, markets, ancestral halls...

There are mass graves in the mountains, hungry people under the walls, children and women sold in the city, people cannibals in the temple...

This painting is completed in an instant, and everyone looks at the painting, as if they are in the scene, and feel cool in their hearts.

Princess Lingbi on the seat also felt a little uncomfortable: "What are you drawing this for?"

The young man in green robe smiled, "There are more people who draw elegant things, so if you draw something different, it will catch people's attention."

"Although the painting is good, it is out of date." Princess Lingbi frowned slightly, "You go."

Zhu Sheng secretly thought that this young man in green robe was really ignorant of current affairs, and missed the opportunity to meet Princess Lingbi, but saw the young man in green robe resign with his hands and went straight out of Binxiang Pavilion.

When all the students were stunned, someone suddenly laughed and said: "This painting is very good, I will write a poem."

Everyone followed the sound and saw Bai Weizhi.This Lingqiu Crane is quite talented, but he is too noble to get along with. He sits in the Binxiang Pavilion, although most people know him, but almost no one talks to him.I saw the crane in Lingqiu, regardless of others, strode into the pavilion, wrote a poem with a brush, and walked away.

A young man in green robes, a crane on the Lingqiu, seemed to have rushed into the warm pavilion. Although it had already left, the lingering coldness silenced the pavilion for a while.

Only that Xueyi Niang, unreasonable, flew to the edge of the paper, reciting poetry very sharply:

Stepping on the snow into the dust, inside the wall is positive spring.

The east wind is on the Jiadi, and the purple air is shining on the Zhumen.

The talented people in the seat are full of pride.

The hairpin tassel is covered with splendid embroidery, and its appearance is as bright as a god.

Falling copper is used to write essays, and poems are made to lift Yaozun.

The golden knife cuts the rare roti, and the jade pot exhales alcohol.

Talk and laugh at the guest in the tank, and thank you for sending the fish.

Gyeonggi is snowing, Guanzhong cannibals!
The incense in the copper plate just burned out at this time, and the copper coins fell.

Ding!
A scholar looked outside Binxiang Pavilion and said in a low voice, "Pretending to be a noble person."

There were turbulent discussions in the cabinet.

Only the white parrot shook its head beside the paper, shouting "Good poem, good poem!" It was drowned in the discussion.

……

It was snowing outside the Tang Mansion, Li Chan led the black donkey, and was about to leave Zhenchen Lane, when suddenly a voice came from behind: "Brother!"

Bai Weizhi walked over, the bamboo slips around his waist swayed with his footsteps, Li Chan wondered, "Why did you come out?"

One of Bai Wei touched his stomach, "I'm really hungry."

Li Chan smiled, "There is a mutton soup in West Market. I heard it tastes good. Try it?"

Bai Weizhi said to go, walked two steps, and said: "I have to sell two gourds of wine."

Li Chan pondered, "It's only two people, half a gourd is enough."

Bai Wei was taken aback for a moment, his eyes glanced at the silly donkey, and he said with a smile: "I invite you!"

Li Chan smiled, "How embarrassing."

In Zichen Lane, the spring is still warm inside the wall.

At the end of the alley, two people and one donkey were lost in the wind and snow.

　The update is a bit late, but this chapter has 6K words.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)