kvmb Chapter 35: I hope Ah Li will forgive my poor performance.
Chapter 35: I hope Ah Li will forgive my poor performance.
"Just deal with whatever comes your way." Seeing that she was a little nervous, Shen Li immediately reassured her, "Don't worry, even if we can't win in a battle of wits, we can't lose in a fight, right?"
"Is this okay?" Peony immediately perked up. Although she felt it was inappropriate, she was sure that what her mistress said was right.
"I'll be counting on you then." Shen Li brought her another plate of beef: "Eat more."
"Don't worry, Miss, leave it to me." Peony immediately gained confidence and was even eager to try.
"Bring me paper and pen after you finish eating."
"Miss, please don't paint at night, or you'll hurt your eyes."
"I'll make a menu, and you can send it to the new chef tomorrow."
"Huh?" Peony didn't react for a moment.
Is this still the same young lady who always recited, "A gentleman does not seek to be full when he eats, nor does he seek to be comfortable when he lives"?
Why is it that the first thing I think about when I open my eyes now is to eat?
But then again, it seems better this way; at least my stomach isn't upset, and I'm happier.
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The imperial chefs arrived at the small kitchen early in the morning. When Peony took out the menu, she also slipped two silver notes to one of the chefs. The two chefs immediately stopped finding the menu complicated and promised to do their best to prepare the dishes.
"Thank you both for your hard work. My master said that if you do a good job, you will be rewarded handsomely."
Their eyes lit up. The kitchen staff had thought this was a thankless task, assigning them, who had no connections, to this job. Little did they know they had met a lucky break.
After having breakfast, Shen Li was led into Wanbaoge by Su Mei. After passing through two locks, she entered the inner hall and saw twenty-three huge portrait paintings hanging on the three walls inside.
The hall was brightly lit, and the huge pearl reflected the sunlight onto each painting, as if gilding it with gold.
"Why are there no candles here?" Peony looked around and asked in confusion, "The Wanbao Pavilion is right next to our side hall. Last night I clearly saw that it was brightly lit inside."
Su Mei glanced at her disdainfully, then raised her head arrogantly and said, "Never seen one before, have you? This is a luminous pearl. At night, it shines much brighter than a candle."
"No wonder the shaking kept me from sleeping." Peony blurted out, "Why can't we use a light?"
Not wanting to give Su Mei any ammunition, Shen Li said before Su Mei could speak, "You don't understand. Can you smell the fragrance in this hall?"
"It has a faint scent of sandalwood. You often use this incense, but I haven't seen it burned anywhere."
Su Mei looked like she didn't want to talk to that country bumpkin.
“No incense was burned. All the wood here is agarwood. Although agarwood grows in mud, it needs to be dried to be preserved. And dried agarwood is very flammable, so it cannot be exposed to even the slightest flame.” Shen Li explained patiently.
Su Mei was also displeased to see that she knew, not expecting that these people from outside the palace had seen some of the world.
Peony nodded knowingly, thinking to herself that this hall was full of treasures besides these paintings; no wonder it was called the Treasure Pavilion.
Shen Li's gaze was more focused on the paintings. Before her, no painters of great renown had emerged during Emperor Cheng's reign. These were almost all works by court painters, and each one was painted so realistically that it was no wonder the Consort treasured them like precious artifacts.
However, in her opinion, it always lacked something beyond beauty—a certain charm. It was no different from the paintings she had made in her previous life, because she wasn't relaxed enough back then, and her paintings weren't as satisfying.
However, the Imperial Concubine was extremely satisfied and, despite wanting to keep her in the palace, couldn't bear to let her repaint.
After seeing the Wanbao Pavilion, Consort Zheng never urged Shen Li to paint again. For two days, the side hall was extremely quiet. When Shaoyao returned from outside, she was even a little incredulous.
"Miss, why have they suddenly stopped being in a hurry? I don't understand." Peony walked to the desk and muttered to herself, puzzled.
"They're probably just waiting for an opportunity to accuse me of something, the charges being nothing more than deliberately delaying, harboring resentment, and even having ulterior motives for entering the palace." Shen Li raised her paintbrush, her brows and eyes relaxing.
Indeed, a beautiful woman in a painting naturally exudes a certain charm.
"Ah? Oh..." Peony felt a chill run down her spine upon hearing this, but seeing her mistress's rare expression of joy, she didn't want to spoil the mood.
"Did you bring back the message?" Shen Li asked, putting down her pen.
“Here it is.” Peony took out a bamboo tube from her person and handed it over.
The bamboo tube was almost weightless. Shen Li pulled out a piece of paper from it. On the paper was a simple drawing, with the words "Clumsy drawing skills, please forgive my poor performance" in the upper right corner.
Looking at the familiar calligraphy and paintings, Shen Li's eyes unconsciously overflowed with tenderness. She could almost see Gu Chang'an writing these words, and she was sure he was a little shy.
In fact, Gu Chang'an's brushwork is powerful; both his calligraphy and paintings are of superior quality.
"Hey, this painting doesn't make sense, sir," Peony said from the side. "Why are these two tigers fighting over a rabbit?"
"What's wrong with fighting over prey?" Shen Li asked her with a smile.
"It's not worth it."
“But there are so many people in this world who fight tooth and nail for things that aren’t worth it, even to the point of death,” Shen Li said with a hint of mockery.
“It’s a riddle.” Peony understood the gist of it from these words and asked, “Are people fighting outside?”
"Look at the tiger's pouncing posture, it's tense but not yet ready to bite."
"Which tiger do you hope will win, Miss?"
Shen Li laughed upon hearing this: "We're neither tigers nor rabbits, so who cares?"
-----
"Your Highness, His Highness Prince Yi has sent a message: Grand Secretary Zhou Zhen is organizing a large number of officials to impeach His Highness and those who support him," a eunuch said as he entered.
"What?" Consort Zheng sat up straight on the couch, exclaiming in surprise, "Why so suddenly?"
"His Highness suspects that the Crown Prince has some leverage over him, and he's determined to muddy the waters. The things His Highness and His Highness agreed on before will probably have to be brought forward," the eunuch said. "We absolutely cannot let Gu Chang'an be on the same side as the Crown Prince anymore; this person is too dangerous."
Consort Zheng hesitated for a moment. She didn't want to start so soon, after all, the painting wasn't finished yet, and she had been looking forward to it for a long time.
"Go and tell the Prince to bring the things in. I will take care of it." Consort Zheng closed her eyes in heartache.
Although the previous painters were skilled, they were not as famous as Shen Li. Shen Li's painting is the most likely to be passed down through generations, and it is also the most likely to allow her beauty to be appreciated and praised by future generations.
Unfortunately, all of this will go with Shen Li.
"Your Highness, are we really going to take action? Won't that make Lord Gu hate us even more?" Su Mei asked, puzzled.
“We were never on the same path.” Consort Zheng rubbed her temples. “Shouldn’t he hate the Crown Prince’s family, who refused to come to our aid, more than us?”
She understood her son's intention. What needed to be done now was to muddy the waters. Once Gu Chang'an and the Crown Prince had a falling out, it wouldn't be difficult to defeat them one by one.
Su Mei admired the prince; he was truly decisive and ruthless, taking such a big step without hesitation.