A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 38 Heart-killing
The three of them crossed the street.

Duan Rong's eyes were fixed on the woman in the middle of the three people. Her temperament was something that could not be resisted!
But her face was covered with a thin veil, making it difficult to see her true appearance.

The woman had her hair in a bun and wore a moon-white lining with a light blue skirt.

At this moment, a gust of night wind suddenly blew through the street, blowing up a corner of the thin veil. Duan Rong only saw the white and tender shadow of red lips flash by.

The pretty maid who followed the woman immediately tilted her umbrella to block the wind.

The woman was startled by the wind and coughed twice.

The pretty maid immediately said coquettishly, "It was windy at night, but you had to go out. You've just gotten better in the past few days, but you're sick again."

"How can I be so delicate? Even if I'm sick, I don't need you to make soup or give me medicine. Just let me die."

"Why is Miss Lanying angry again? Hongxue means well." Seeing Lanying and Hongxue arguing again, Jiang Qingyu immediately tried to smooth things over.

Seeing that Lan Ying was angry again, Hongxue had no choice but to shut up and sulk with her cheeks puffed out.

The three of them saw it coming up to Duan Rong.

Lan Ying looked at Duan Rong and saw that he had a square face, bright eyes, a dark complexion, broad shoulders, a strong body, and was wearing a brown short suit, actually the attire of a warrior.

It has been said since ancient times that a man of culture is naturally elegant. I thought the painter who could draw that picture must be elegant, but I didn't expect him to be like Duan Rong, who was not good-looking.

Lan Ying was slightly startled, but still pulled up her skirt and bowed, saying, "Thank you, sir. Lan Ying would like to draw a picture for you!"

Duan Rong returned the greeting with a fist and said with a smile: "The stall is set up on the street to welcome customers from all directions. One hand is for money, the other for goods. I dare not ask for a word from you, young lady. Please take off your veil, so that I can paint!"

Seeing that Duan Rong was eloquent and interesting in his words, Hongxue looked at him with shining eyes.

Every woman has different criteria for choosing a man. Some like handsome and sweet-spoken men, while others like funny and smart men.

It is hard to say which type Lan Ying is, but Hong Xue is obviously the latter.

When Lan Ying took off her veil, Duan Rong's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Lan Ying and Jiang Qingyu looked like a pair of beautiful ladies standing there.

But just like the question Jiang Qingyu asked just now, Lan Ying was also a beauty with stunning beauty, so PS was completely unnecessary.

Just now, Jiang Qingyu used the painting of a young warrior that imitated the thin scholar and passed the test. Now, what should he do with this Miss Lan Ying?

Duan Rong stared at Lan Ying in a daze for a while. He saw that although Lan Ying was beautiful, her eyes and eyebrows seemed to reveal a deep and unremovable sadness.

Duan Rong felt dazed by this pair of eyebrows and eyes, as if he had seen them before.

His mind suddenly brightened, and he remembered why he felt like he had seen it before.

Duan Rong suddenly became aware of the artistic conception. This time we use a character to express the heart with emotion.

Duan Rong made up his mind, so he sat down, stared at the drawing paper, thought about the composition for a moment, and then began to write. It was as if he had a thousand words in his mind, and his pen moved freely in that small space, making people dizzy.

The painting he just drew for Jiang Qingyu was an ink painting and was not colored. But for this painting, after Duan Rong finished drawing the frame, he began to mix cinnabar dye, changed the brush and painted for a long time.

After about a quarter of an hour, Duan Rong suddenly let out a long sigh, put the pen aside, took the painting off the drawing board, and handed it to Lan Ying.

Lan Ying reached out to take it and looked down.

In the painting, there is a woman standing beside a stream.

The woman was wearing exactly the same clothes as herself. Behind her was a whole peach forest with fallen petals. Not only was the ground covered with petals, but there were also many petals floating in the stream. The woman was carrying a flower hoe with a small package on it. Some of it was exposed from the small package, and it seemed to be filled with petals.

The three of them were looking at the painting. Jiang Qingyu and Hongxue didn't understand what the woman in the painting was doing.
But Lan Ying understood it immediately!
The moment she understood, her heart seemed to be pierced by something.

On the edge of the painting, the title of the painting is written: Burial of Flowers.

Next to the title of the painting are four lines of poetry: Three hundred and sixty days in a year, the wind and frost are pressing hard; how long can the brightness and beauty last, once it drifts away, it will be hard to find.

"Burial of Flowers..." Lan Ying murmured the name of the painting, and before she knew it, a tear had rolled down the corner of her eye.

Looking at the four lines of poetry again, every word was like an arrow, piercing her heart like a thousand arrows.

On the surface, this poem seems to be talking about peach blossoms, which are bright and beautiful, but are forced by the wind and frost to wither sooner or later...

If you savor it carefully, every word is talking about herself.

Although she was extremely beautiful and ranked among the four great Huaying in Huaying Tower, she wore silk and satin and ate the best delicacies from land and sea.

But weren't those patrons the ones who tortured her with cold and harsh swords every day for 360 days?
People spend money to buy smiles, but she is so sad, how can she smile?
Fortunately, there is someone like Jiang Qingyu, who is willing to coax her even if she is a little bit temperamental? But he is from a wealthy family, and she is just a prostitute, after all, it is just a fleeting love affair!
How can it last forever?

When she grows old and loses her beauty, and has no way to make a living, who knows where she will end up? Isn't she just like these petals that drift away?
Although Jiang Qingyu didn't understand the meaning of the painting, he understood it after reading the title and the poem. He smiled and said, "I'm afraid this painting is a little crazy. The flowers have all withered, so why bury them?"

"What do you know?" Lan Ying glared at Jiang Qingyu angrily.

When she saw this painting, she used the falling flowers as a metaphor for herself. The woman in the painting was burying the flowers because she hoped that one day, when she died, someone would bury her like they buried the flowers.

She had been quite affectionate towards Jiang Qingyu, but she didn't know that Jiang Qingyu didn't notice her feelings at all and even mocked her. She suddenly felt resentful and thought to herself, "The flowers have all withered, why bury them? When I lose my beauty, will you also say that you are old and ugly, why should I care about you?"

Lan Ying couldn't stop her tears from rolling down her cheeks when she thought of this. She took out a banknote from her sleeve and placed it on the crossbar of Duan Rong's easel. She pulled up her skirt and bowed, saying, "Sir, this painting is so heartbreaking!"

After Lan Ying finished speaking, she took the painting, covered her face with one hand, and left crying.

Seeing Lan Ying crying and leaving, Jiang Qingyu felt very distressed. He looked at Duan Rong with a reproachful look, as if blaming Duan Rong for angering the beautiful woman!

Lan Ying was crying, but he didn't know how long it would take for her to stop crying. He really shouldn't have shown her the painting!
Jiang Qingyu immediately chased after him. He had just taken two steps when he saw Hongxue still standing in front of Duan Rong's stall. He turned around and asked, "Hongxue! What are you still doing there?"

"It's already out. I want to paint one too!" Hong Xue said coquettishly, holding up a flower umbrella.

Jiang Qingyu was slightly stunned, and asked with concern: "Do you have any money?"

"Yes. Isn't it ten taels of silver?"

Jiang Qingyu suddenly realized and thought: This girl is really honest. Then he turned around and chased after Lan Ying.

He and Lan Ying both gave one hundred taels, and he mistakenly thought that the painting was worth one hundred taels per piece.

Duan Rong took the banknote given by Lan Ying, took a look at it, and put it into his lapel pocket.

"Is it ten taels?" Hong Xue asked Duan Rong playfully.

"It's ten taels." Duan Rong pointed to the sign beside him.

"Then draw. They are stupid. They only gave me 100 taels. Do they think I am stupid too?"

Duan Rong smiled upon hearing this and said, "They are not stupid, they are just foolish."

Hearing this, Hong Xue was stunned for a moment and said, "Sir, you are right. He is an idiot!"

(End of this chapter)