Ink Burns

Chapter 15 The Locked Third Floor

He Shanyue's gaze subconsciously shifted to the raccoon wood carving on the museum shelf.

Almost everyone succumbs to the word "habit". The force exerted by the same hand is basically the same at all times. Even the strength of force, the pause points, and the ending arc will become surprisingly consistent after years of practice - this is also the most fundamental trick in appreciating paintings.

The same hand is used to use the pen and the knife.

From the few strokes of the raccoon cat, He Shanyue judged that the wood carving and several of the paintings of cats were created by the same person.

Moreover, he is a man with very strong hands.

He Shanyue pulled out a picture of a cat with the most obvious handwriting: "This one is a little different. Although the handwriting is a little unfamiliar, the cat's expression is the most vivid and gentle."

Zhou Liniang came forward, pursed her lips and smiled, with endless tenderness in her eyes, and spoke more fluently: "Really? I like this one too. Look, it's a picture of dark clouds covering snow, with a gray back and white paws. It's so lively and peaceful."

He Shanyue glanced at Zhou Liniang.

The light grey linen gown, two snow-white wrists and a plain little face made her look like a dark cloud covering the snow, which was not very pretty but endearing because of its timidity.

The best paintings in the world are those written with love.

He Shanyue calmly placed the painting on the table, chatted with Zhou Liniang about trees and cats, and finally discussed the course of tomorrow's teaching: "When we were young, we learned to paint. Our family was poor, so we were always eager to succeed and make money, so we learned in a hurry. The young lady of the Cheng family doesn't need to beg for food to support the family so early, so we will take it a little slower."

"I've seen that you are good at line drawing and outlining. You can teach me step by step from the simplest plum blossoms, their branches opening, petals falling, and stamens. You just need to draw and you don't need to talk too much. Let me teach you how to appreciate and appraise paintings."

Zhou Liniang was stunned. Seeing He Shanyue staring at her, she nodded heavily.

The slightly bald head became a frequent target of attention.

He Shanyue turned around and went back to the house.

When night fell completely, Miss Wang Er lived in the outer room and He Shanyue slept in the inner room. They were not far apart, but they were still considered two rooms.

Miss Wang Er closed her eyes and turned over: "If you are ruthless and let that bitch teach, she will make a big fool of herself. When the boss sees that she can't even speak clearly, she will be fired tomorrow!"

What's up?
He Shanyue said "Hmm?" softly, indicating that he didn't understand.

Miss Wang Er explained: "It's that Zhou Liniang - we Sichuan people call the dumb cat "Mameer."

He Shanyue:
He Shanyue also turned over and didn't answer.

After a while, in the darkness, Miss Wang Er said, "You don't want to see her make a fool of herself, do you?"

He Shanyue still didn't answer.

Miss Wang Er turned over again, half-raised her back, and changed the subject: "You and that bastard are completely opposite. You paint grand landscapes, while she paints a few lines. You are an orphan, while she has eight children buried in her house. You are tall, while she is short. You are as beautiful as a painting worth a hundred taels of silver, while she..."

Without judging the girl's appearance, Miss Wang Er paused and said, "Why would the Cheng family compare you two together? What is there to compare?"

Darkness, silent darkness.

There was no sound from the inner room.

Miss Wang curled her lips. No wonder the “Guoqiaogu” group never invited her to eat hotpot together for all these years - to the outside world, she had a beautiful face without any flaws, and was friendly and gentle to others; but in private, she was like an ice cellar, so cold and hard that it was impossible to warm her up at all.

Miss Wang Er turned over again and after a long while, she was almost falling asleep in a daze when she heard someone speaking from the inner room.

"There is one trait that she has that I don't." He Shanyue said.

Miss Wang Er opened her eyes as if she was sleepwalking: "Ah?" "Cowardice."

A cool, calm, and uneventful voice came from the inner room.

She was selected at the same time as Zhou Liniang, and her advantage is obvious at a glance.

And Zhou Liniang must have something that the Cheng family needs more, which is why the Cheng family would ignore all the differences and drag the two of them onto the same line for comparison again.

Cowardice usually means being timid, and being timid usually means being obedient.

The Cheng family wanted an obedient female teacher.

Although He Shanyue is unable to understand the Cheng family's purpose for the time being, this is the absolutely correct conclusion she came to after meeting Zhou Liniang.

Miss Wang Er floated in and out of sleep, and answered in a daze: "Then what are you going to do? Put your head down and pretend to be a turtle, or pretend to be a gourd with a sawed mouth?"

“I don’t necessarily have to get the highest score.”

"Just make sure your opponent gets zero points."

"I won."

He Shanyue said softly.

On the second day, there was still some sunlight in the morning, but it started to rain after noon. Huangqi, a first-class maidservant beside Duan, invited Zhou and He to go to the "Zigui Hall" in the southeast corner.

The small Cheng family actually built a private school in the inner courtyard where the female members of the family lived, which was specifically for girls to attend.

The school is not big, but it has three floors. There are eight eucalyptus low tables on the left and right of the first floor. There are zithers, pipa, zheng, flutes and several scattered music scores on the second floor. The small door on the third floor is locked with a copper lock, and no one knows what is inside.

Huangqi Fushen: "Although our Cheng family is a family of merchants, we are also honored with the name of imperial merchants. We attach equal importance to the education of men and women. Poetry, literature, music theory, etiquette, and the 'six arts' of a gentleman must be carefully learned. Today's class started. According to the old practice, our wife should have taught it. Who would have thought that my uncle's daughter suddenly felt unwell and was tripped. So I will teach the two girls in detail about the study at home."

"Miss Uncle is not in good condition" - For some reason, He Shanyue suddenly remembered the sudden noise coming from outside the main hall on the first day she came to Cheng's house.

"Except for my uncle's daughter who suddenly caught a cold, there are now four girls studying. The oldest is the niece of Mrs. He from the second branch of the Cheng family. Her surname is He and she is called Yao Niang. The second and third are both girls from the Cheng family. One is called Qiaozhi and the other is called Xiaozhi. The youngest is the daughter of an old acquaintance of our wife's father. Her surname is Lin and she is called Yueyue."

He Shanyue asked: "The Cheng family, isn't it that the Cheng Laoye and Cheng Erye who live in this house don't have daughters?"

Huang Qi smiled and said, "Of course there are. The master's two daughters are not very old, one is nine years old and the other is seven years old. The eldest daughter is the wife's daughter, and the second daughter is the concubine Gu's daughter. The third daughter, the second master's daughter, is even younger. Now they are studying the Four Books in the outer courtyard with my husband."

He Shanyue lowered his eyes slightly, hiding the sharpness in his eyes.

Huangqi's smile was dignified and proper. The pure silver chrysanthemum-welcoming-autumn hairpin inserted in her bun was heavier than all the jewelry of Huang Zhi and Huang Lian combined.

He Shanyue did not ask any more questions. Instead, Zhou Liniang stammered, "Why are they all girls from other families? What's the logic?"

Huang Qi smiled and said, "Miss Zhou, you are wrong. The Cheng family provides free medical treatment and medicine to the outside world, cures the sick and helps the weak. Internally, they set up a family school to recruit talented people. They are well-known both inside and outside the city."

"It doesn't matter which family these girls come from, whether their surname is Cheng or not, as long as they are determined to study, the Cheng family will kindly support them and never take a single grain of rice from them. This is the true act of kindness, kindness, and good deeds."

Huangqi's words made Zhou Liniang blush, as if she was a mediocre person who only knew how to calculate.

He Shanyue smiled and said, "You still dare to ask what is locked on the third floor? But is it our studio?"

　I've been watching too many live broadcasts recently: Dear family members, please use your money-making hands to invest in Mo Ran's new book!!!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)