Ordinary clear day

Chapter 159 Jasmine
Shuning walks along the bamboo bridge to Her Excellency Zhenxia, ​​but sees Tongying sitting on the porch in a daze, so she greets him.Tong Ying smiled: "Sister Shu is here? I heard that Lao Duan has gone out?" Shu Ning said: "Brother went to the hillside to watch people harvest fruit. I have already asked someone to invite them. I think I will be back soon. Bottom Did anyone bring tea and snacks over? Brother Tongying, what else is missing?"

Tong Ying said: "There is nothing missing, everything is ready, I am also a regular customer, sister Shu, you are welcome." Shuning didn't see his book Tong Tianyang, so she asked him where he went, and it was said that he was behind the water pavilion Went to do the laundry, and couldn't help but stare: "Brother Tongying has clothes to wash, just leave it to our family, why let Tianyang do it?" And it's still behind the water pavilion?in the garden?Don't pollute the lake water.

But Tong Ying said: "It's his own naughtiness that stained his clothes. Of course he will be punished. If he doesn't punish him, he thinks I'm really good-natured."

Shuning saw that there was some anger in his brows and eyes, and thought of his mother saying that he seemed to be in a bad mood, so she asked cautiously: "Brother Tongying, are you angry?"

Tong Ying glanced at her and smiled: "It's okay, I'm just a little tired. Look at the lotus over there. It's blooming well and smells very fragrant."

Shuning followed his line of sight and looked over, it turned out to be the lotus in front of Linyuan Pavilion, only eight or nine of them bloomed, and some leaves had already begun to wither, in fact, it should be the last harvest of this year, in the big lotus pond outside, all the lotus roots were harvested Almost there.

Tong Ying said softly: "Actually, this flower is beautiful, its fragrance is pleasant, and it is delicious when cooked. It is a good flower. There is really no need to be angry with it, is there?"

Shuning didn't understand what he meant and didn't strike up a conversation.After a while, Tong Ying stood up, turned around and said with a smile: "Don't stand there stupidly, even though it's autumn, the sun is still bright, go in and sit down? I wanted to come over to celebrate your birthday a few days ago, It happened that my sister-in-law was in labor, which made the whole family in a hurry, the work was over, and the day was missed, and I didn't have the time until today. I specially prepared a big gift, and came to see if I like it." While speaking, he went to the pavilion Chinese calligraphy and painting room.

Shu Ning followed in and said, "Since your sister-in-law gave birth, why is Brother Tong Ying still going out?"

Tongying smiled: "It's okay, a group of maids and mothers are guarding, and my brother is also there. What can I do there as a brother-in-law? Besides, sister-in-law is afraid that she doesn't want to see me these days, so it's better to hide and be quiet .” He took out a scroll from his painting bag, unfolded it on the desk, and said, “Come and see, can you recognize what is painted?”

They actually sent paintings?That's rare, he looks pretty small.Shuning walked over to take a look, and was surprised.

It was a long scroll with a horizontal axis, titled "Pearl River Style", and it was obviously about the city of Guangzhou.Bounded by the house in the middle, on the left is the daytime street scene, shops by the river, fishing boats in the river, chariots and horses on the street, flowers and trees by the roadside, and a big boat looming in the distance, interspersed with shop assistants, customers, Workers, hawkers, fishermen, flower girls, children, old people, etc., tall, short, fat, thin, men, women, old and young, are all different. There is even a Western woman in the lower left corner leading a haba to go shopping; Night scene, a full moon in the sky, the fishing boat in the river is replaced by a painting boat, there are many drinkers on the boat, and there are singers playing the pipa, there are small food stalls selling porridge and noodles on the bank, children are running with lanterns, and a few old men are sitting on the threshold He was smoking a cigarette while chatting his teeth, and there was a little tabby cat at his feet, with black spots all over his body, and he was cute and naive.

The whole picture is line drawing, the layout is very special, and the drawing is very careful. The kapok and magnolia on the side of the road are clearly distinguishable. Shuning can even recognize the lychees and bananas that the people in the painting boat are eating. She can't help being moved. He must have put a lot of thought into preparing this gift, and said, "This painting is amazing, Brother Tongying must have put a lot of effort into it, right?"

Tong Ying smiled and said: "What's the matter? You look complicated, but it's actually very easy to draw. Others are not interested in these worldly things, as long as you like it. Moreover, this painting is also a small part of your credit." Ning asked, "How do you say that?"

Tongying took out a large paper notebook from her painting bag and showed it to her. She turned it over and found that there were pictures of Guangzhou style on it, some people or things, or houses or scenery, although they were drawn hastily, but there was something special about them. Interesting, but looking at it, I always feel a little familiar.She raised her head and looked at Tongying, only to see him smiling and saying: "See? These are the paintings you sent back to Beijing in the past few years. I borrowed them and re-drawn them. Now I put these small pictures together." , constitute this "Pearl River Style".

Shuning suddenly realized that it was so.She carefully compared the drawing book in her hand with the big picture, and found that it was indeed a masterpiece. No wonder she always felt something was wrong.In the daytime picture, the big boat is copied, and the basket of the flower girl is the same as that in the painting book, but the face is the face of the little girl selling olive fruit; The tea sheds in the nearby towns were exactly the same, but the layout of the kitchen was a bit like the noodle stall of A Yin's family in the past, and even the cook who was in charge of the spoon had the same hairstyle as A Yin.The rest is also borrowed here and used there. Even the old man smoking the hookah, his posture of knocking on the pipe is very similar to that of an old Wu.

She said: "It turned out to be a jigsaw puzzle, no wonder something is wrong." Pointing to the painting, she smiled and said, "How could kapok and magnolia bloom at the same time? What the vendor sells are rice dumplings, and the flowers in the basket are jasmine flowers." and chrysanthemums, the foreigner girl wears what looks like a winter hat; also, look at the full moon and children’s lanterns, could it be the Mid-Autumn Festival? But the banquets on the boat are obviously summer seasonal fruit lychees. This painting It’s like sweeping Guangzhou all year round.”

Tong Ying's face turned red when she heard this, and she coughed lightly: "Please save face, I've put my mind to it anyway." Shuning smiled and said: "Could it be that Brother Tong Ying will be angry if I tell the truth? ?" Tong Ying thought for a while, then touched her head: "No. You are correcting my mistake." Shuning nodded with satisfaction: "Then, I will tell you the biggest mistake. The name of this painting is wrong, The Pearl River is outside the city, but the scenery you describe is clearly inside the city."

Tongying's eyes widened: "No way..." Shuning smiled at Mimi: "Yes. This scene is more like a jade belt moat, which is not what it looks like on the edge of the Pearl River." Tongying sighed: "I should have What I thought of, something I haven't seen with my own eyes, is really not good to draw." Shu Ning said: "Actually, Brother Tongying, there is no need to underestimate yourself. If you don't pay attention to details, this painting is very good. It reminds me of reading A poem from the past."

She took a blank piece of paper, and Tong Ying helped to sharpen the ink, and she wrote with a pen:
Guangnan is rich and prosperous, and the world hears that the four seasons are like spring.In Baiyunli, a hundred pheasants on the Great Wall, there is a spring river under the city. ...Youth are happy everywhere, and the south of the city is more prosperous. ... Min Jiyue's female face is like a flower, and she sings wildly and hoarsely.On the day of A'e's big ship reflecting the clouds, there are thousands of customers and thousands of families. ...You Ye lingered and looked back, the lights of the Qianmen Gate were shining brightly.Visitors pass by brocade formations, and when the son is drunk, the embankment is full of flowers. ...Danli, Loquat, Huoqi Mountain, Suxin, Jasmine and Tianxiang Country.Don't come here to talk about the bad atmosphere, the few autumn flowers are facing the wine bottles.Looking back at the old singing and dancing place, the westerly wind is slanting and the sun is light and dusk.

After finishing writing, Tong Ying took it to read, and felt that most of the paintings matched with her own, so she asked whose poem it was.Shu Ning smiled and said: "This is "Guangzhou Song" by Sun Jin, and it is about Yudaihao. This Mr. Sun was a figure in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties, and he was the head of the five gentlemen of the Nanyuan Poetry Society. Sister Zhenzhen and I both I like the poems of the Nanyuan Poetry Society. When my brother and I were in Guangzhou, we often went out with sister Zhenzhen and the others. I went to Nanyuan a few times. I burned a kang screen with a Nanyuan poem and gave it to my brother. The word 'Nanyuan' is the secret code for the four of us, and we knew it was each other when we saw these two words."

"Four?" Tong Ying's heart moved, "Could there be Chongli?"

Shu Ning nodded: "At first it was just me and Sister Zhenzhen going out, but my brothers were worried, so they followed."

Tong Ying smiled and said: "This poem is not bad, how about writing it on the painting? Sister Shu wrote it herself?" Shu Ning was a little hesitant, Tong Ying said: "What's the matter? Anyway, I gave it to you, and no one else will." I will know." Shuning thought about it, so she picked up the pen, pondered for a while, and wrote the poem.

Her original handwriting was actually delicate, but now it is slightly rounded at the turning point, giving people a rich and leisurely feeling, which matches the picture perfectly.Tong Ying praised a few words, but Shu Ning said: "Actually, it's nothing. I practice calligraphy almost every day. Sometimes when I get bored, I change the font a little to make it more interesting to write."

Tong Ying was silent for a while, then smiled slightly and said: "Yes, one can't just be satisfied with one style, and should try other things occasionally." He turned to Shu Ning and said, "Sister Shu, I and a Mr. Jiao has been studying painting for nearly a year, and a month ago he suddenly asked me to relearn flowers, birds, landscapes, and said that if I only concentrate on figures, I will not be able to achieve anything. I didn’t quite understand it at first, but now I seem to understand.”

Shuning guessed a little bit, and then said: "I believe Brother Tongying will be able to learn well, at your current age, you have already drawn characters so well, as long as you put more effort into it, other things will be fine. "Tong Ying smiled: "Thank you, I accept your good words."

Shu Ning smiled, and said softly: "I also want to thank brother Tong Ying for the gift. I like this painting very much. It looks like returning to the old days in Guangzhou." Tong Ying paused and asked "You miss those days very much?" Shu Ning nodded: "At that time, I went out whenever I liked, and I did whatever I liked. Although I am very comfortable here now, it's not as relaxed and happy as it was then." Tong Ying said with a smile : "You are also unlucky. The first time you return to Beijing to meet the national funeral, the second time you come back, you have to observe filial piety. You haven't really played in Beijing, have you? In half a month, you will be able to visit Beijing freely. By then How about I take you to play?" Shuning said with a smile.

She put away the painting, looked at the sky outside the window, and said in surprise: "So it's almost evening, why hasn't my brother come back?" At this moment, she saw a bottle of jasmine on the table in front of the window, and looked at it as if I grow it myself, but this kind of flower is rarely used in vases, how could it be here?

Seeing her looking at the flower, Tongying said hurriedly: "This is when I went to the garden earlier and saw the flowers blooming well, so I asked Tianyang to cut a few branches and put them in the vase. Please don't take offense."

Shu Ning quickly shook her head and said: "It's nothing. Our family grows a lot of jasmine. I just think that the flowers are set against the small blue bottle. Although they are beautiful, they are a bit plain. And there is lotus fragrance here, the fragrance of jasmine Mixed inside, it doesn’t show up.”

Tong Ying smiled and said: "Although lotus is fragrant, it will get tired after smelling it for a long time. I like the smell of jasmine more. It is fragrant and elegant. You can only know its benefits when you get close. I am planning to put it in the bedroom when I go to bed at night. ..." He was stunned, and suddenly stopped.

Shu Ning was smelling the flowers, when she heard that he suddenly stopped talking, she turned her head to see what was going on, and saw that he was staring at her in a daze with complicated eyes, so she asked: "Brother Tongying, what's wrong with you?"

"No, it's nothing..." Tong Ying lowered her head, tidying up the four treasures of the study on the table, a little flustered, "By the way, why did that kid Tianyang take so long to wash? Could it be that he is being lazy? Ah, old man, really, I Come, he will not come back sooner."

Shu Ning was a little strange, glanced at him, saw that he seemed to be thinking about something, and said: "It's getting late, I'll go and see how the dinner is getting ready. Is Brother Tongying here for dinner tonight, or will he be with us?" eat?"

Tong Ying said without raising her head: "It's fine here, just ask someone to deliver the rice to Linyuan Pavilion, and I will let Tianyang get it." He put the pen and paper on the left to the right, and put the pen and paper on the right I put the inkstone on the left, and I don't know what to think.

Shuning looked at him strangely, seeing that he didn't seem to want to continue the conversation, and it was very late, so she took her leave and left. Before leaving, she specially took the bottle of jasmine to a place away from light so that it would not be disturbed. Then be exposed to the sun, although now it's just the setting sun.

After walking a certain distance, she looked back and saw Tong Ying patting her head non-stop, wondering if he suddenly lost her nerve.

Have a safe night.The next day, Tongying appeared in the front house, she behaved very naturally, Shuning didn't have any suspicions.

With Tong Ying's consent, Tong revealed to Ta La that the little father-in-law lived in the backyard for a while, but also made it clear that the other party didn't like others to disturb him.He Tara agreed knowingly.

But when Tongying sent someone to invite her daughter to chat, she enthusiastically dressed up her daughter and gave many instructions.It's a pity that she didn't expect that for Xu Xu, her admiration for Tong Ying has long since passed away, and now she just treats him as a great friend.Xu Xu also slightly guessed her mother's intentions, and was very embarrassed. Although she agreed with her, when facing Tong Ying, she was only a little embarrassed at first, and then returned to her original state.His calculations of Tara's were in vain.

Tong Ying came here just to change her mood, so she stayed for two days before leaving.He felt bored, so he took his daughter back to his mansion.Although the house had been vacant for some time, and she didn't stay in Beijing for long this time, but the precious daughter was very unwilling to go back to the Earl's Mansion, so she had no choice but to go home.

As soon as she left, Zhang Bao's family breathed a sigh of relief, and even Xiao Bao was happy that "aunt" would no longer roll her eyes.Tong asked the whole family to "take the time" to relax for a few days.On the third day of September, the whole family took a carriage and returned to the Earl's Mansion in the capital.

(Actually, I quite like that poem, but in order not to be said to make up the word count, I deleted about a third of it...)
(End of this chapter)