Ink Burns

Chapter 8: The Handkerchief Blown Away

Duan's face looked a little bad, her dimples flattened, and she looked at the painting with some disbelief.

But the acrostic poem mentioned by Mr. Zhou himself couldn't be a coincidence, right?
"Why didn't he say anything when he saw this fake painting?" Duan complained kindly, "Our head of the family even took this painting to the prefect to appreciate it."

He Shanyue smiled and said, "The Wu School's landscape painting flourished due to the late emperor's love of painting. It only has a history of more than ten years. The four masters of the Wu School, Shen, Zhu, Zhou, and Mi, were all bold and unrestrained people who did not care about the authenticity of the imitations made by ordinary people."

"Even Mr. Shen personally testified for the withdrawal of money for the counterfeit painting, fearing that his counterparts in the counterfeiting industry would lose their livelihood. He was truly kind-hearted."

"Besides, when it comes to collectibles, calligraphy and paintings, and antiques, you should be sure to keep your hands on them and bear the price fluctuation at your own risk. If you buy imitations, it's your own fault, you can't blame others."

He Shanyue talked eloquently. She was considered tall among the petite girls in Jiangnan. She stood in the hall, holding a crystal convex mirror lightly in her hand, like a gentle and beautiful canna under the summer sun.

In fact, Mrs. Duan didn't really care about the authenticity of the painting. Instead, she was more satisfied with He Shanyue's color. She asked someone to put the painting away and asked He Shanyue to sit down. "Mrs. Huang Er showed me Miss He's paintings. I am a layman and don't understand them very well, but I know beauty and ugliness. Miss He is from Suzhou Prefecture and has excellent skills. She is also popular in antique shops. Since ancient times, it is better to do business with the familiar than to do business with the ordinary. Why did you think of finding another way?"

After confirming the real kung fu, he asked He Shanyue why she came to Songjiang Prefecture to be a female teacher.

He Shanyue lowered his eyes, took a sip of tea, and said after a while: "I have no parents, no brothers or sisters, and the fields in the countryside have long been divided up by the clan. I have the skill of painting, and I have always been able to feed the whole family. The uncles and aunts in the clan don't care much about my life or death. Last month, a brother from the next room in the clan proposed marriage, but he was still short of ten taels of silver for the betrothal gift. It happened that an old boy who had been widowered for almost ten years at the head of the village was willing to take ten taels of silver to marry a housewife, so the uncles and aunts set their sights on me."

Oh, it’s to avoid kissing.

It is natural that it is impossible for Antique Zhuangzi to help the painter.

Duan nodded in understanding and asked, "Painting is a labor of love. It is hard for Miss He to paint for the antique dealer while learning the art at the same time."

This is a question about how an orphan like her could have the money and energy to learn such a high-brow art as painting.

He Shanyue pursed her lips and smiled, "I have to make a living. In this world, it's not suitable for a girl to show her face in public, and she can't do hard labor. The other thing is embroidering or weaving bamboo baskets - I've tried all of them, but they don't last long. You are an open-minded person, so I won't lie to you. My paintings are elegant things appreciated by nobles, but at the lowest level, I am just a craftsman hiding in the dark who copies paintings."

"Besides, painting is really not worth much in Suzhou. There are both good and bad 'Suzhou pieces'. A good imitation painting can be sold for half an ounce and eight cents of silver. People with less talent are lucky enough to make a living. We can't afford those precious mineral pigments. Most of them are now drawn in the sand pool with tree branches. When the drawing is almost done, Zhuangzi will give you the real thing and ask you to paint it on paper."

He Shanyue spoke sincerely and honestly, not hiding the embarrassment he had experienced.

Duan narrowed her eyes and fixed her gaze on He Shanyue's intense brows.

"We have many girls in our family, four or five." Suddenly, Duan smiled, with dimples on her lips. "They are very spoiled and difficult to discipline, and many of them are of marriageable age. If there is a chance to marry Miss He, our family will prepare a corner tower for the female teacher in the back room to stay. Unless there is something important, we don't want the female family members to go in and out of the second door often."

He Shanyue nodded to show his understanding: "That's natural."

Duan asked again: "Is there really no one at home who you are worried about?"

He Shanyue raised his eyes and shook his head: "When I left Suzhou Prefecture, I handed over all my family savings, old houses, and sacrificial fields to the elders in my clan."

Duan understood immediately after hearing this. This was a case of using money to exchange for people. Not to mention outsiders who would wipe out the entire family, the ones who were most brutally exploited were often family members.

He Shanyue seemed to remember something: "The old woman who helps wash the brush and grind the ink when painting is a lonely person with a tragic life story. She must stay by my side."

Duan smiled and said, "It's not difficult. It's just a matter of getting an extra pair of chopsticks and pillows."

Then there is nothing to negotiate further.

Duan continued to chatter away, and mixed in a casual question: "Miss He is not young anymore, and has lived outside the clan for many years. Do you have a boyfriend or a good friend?" After asking, she covered her nose and laughed: "Don't blame me for being talkative. There are really too many girls in my family, and I always have to ask more questions to unmarried ladies."

He Shanyue lowered her head slightly, a hint of embarrassment flashing across her face: "No, if I had, I wouldn't still be waiting to be married at this age."

There was visible melancholy in her eyes: "I felt a kindred spirit towards you the moment I met you. I don't know why I want to say these words to you - I am almost 20 years old. Perhaps I can only be a lonely nun painting and ringing bells to worship Buddha in the future!"

Duan made a "tsk" sound and was about to speak when there was a sudden noise outside the back room. A while later, a maid came to look for her in a hurry. The two of them quietly went into the inner room to talk. After a while, Duan came out with a bad look on her face and served tea to see the guest off: "I was just talking about how difficult it is to discipline girls at home. Why are you here now?"

Duan raised her voice: "Huang Zhi! Huang Zhi! - Take Miss He back to the post station." She turned to He Shanyue and said: "We need to report this to the master of the house first. If possible, it will be at dusk tomorrow, and if not, it will be at noon the day after tomorrow. If it doesn't work, I will ask Huang Zhi to make up for the extra post station fee and travel expenses. If it works, when can you come to the mansion?"

"Anytime." He Shanyue said in a gentle tone: "I am a sincere person. Since I left my last company, I came here with sincerity."

Duan smiled with an ambiguous meaning, and only after she finished laughing did she realize that this smile was not as kind and friendly as before, and hurriedly said, "Okay, okay - Huang Zhi!"

The maid opened the curtain, and Duan personally escorted He Shanyue to the side door. A mule cart had already been waiting there. Duan patted He Shanyue's hand and said, "In the evening, I'll ask Huang Zhi to bring you dinner. It's not easy, so it's better to save a few cents."

He Shanyue lowered her head gracefully, revealing her cute small earlobes and perfectly curved jaw, and expressed her gratitude and embarrassment generously.

There was a constant stream of people asking for medicine at the door.

He Shanyue's voice was sincere and touching: "I have heard of the Cheng family's kindness for a long time, and today I am able to see that it is worthy of the name."

Duan laughed.

Duan saw an old woman sitting in the mule cart. She had gray hair and was thin and capable. She thought she was the old woman who helped wash the brushes and grind the ink mentioned by Miss He, so she greeted her with a dimple-like smile.

As the mule cart turned the corner, the old woman spoke: "Oh! With this scene, if you don't know, you might think it's Shennong coming down to earth to give alms! What a kind family this is!?"

The gentle smile on He Shanyue's face disappeared in an instant when he turned the corner and his figure completely disappeared into another alley. Instead, his eyes slightly drooped and a cold and fierce gaze appeared.

"good?"

"If you are really kind, why would you suggest taking Guanyin soil to someone who comes to ask for medicine for diarrhea?"

"If you eat Guanyin soil, you will die!"

"Which one of Terminalia chebula, Gallnut, and Myristica fragrans is not good? They are cheap and useful. It's just that medicinal materials cost money, while Guanyin soil is free and can also earn a good reputation."

He Shanyue lowered his head, and even his sneer was fleeting. With an expressionless face, he used a handkerchief to vigorously wipe the hand that was touched by Duan, until the base of the hand was rubbed red and peeling.

"They told people with diarrhea that eating Guanyin soil would help; they told people with coughs to eat more pears; they told people who were vomiting to sleep more. They were clearly setting up a charity hall to provide medical consultations and medicines, but they were reluctant to open a real pharmacy and give these poor people a life-saving medicine. They earned themselves the title of 'good people for nine generations' without spending a penny - the Cheng family is a bit hypocritical."

That’s great, I now have one more reason to take revenge on them.

He Shanyue stretched out his hand, and as his fingers loosened, the handkerchief was folded into four pieces by the wind and quickly blown away.

The things these people touched are really dirty.

(End of this chapter)