20demayo Chapter 213: Jiangshan Wanli
Chapter 213: Jiangshan Wanli
The eldest princess asked Chen Changan for his solution, but Chen Changan just kept it to himself.
Anyway, it was not a big deal to let the Imperial Medical Bureau obey Chen Changan's orders, so the eldest princess immediately ordered someone to convey her decree.
She was tired from walking, so she sat down with Chen Changan on the top floor of the Grand View Tower.
The Daguan Tower was built by an official of the previous dynasty. On the day of its completion, a banquet was held in the tower where guests were invited to drink and compose poetry, leaving behind a beautiful story.
Almost every scholar in the Great Chu who failed the imperial examination came to the Daguan Tower to leave his calligraphy, hoping that his talent would be recognized by the royal family and he could serve as an official in the court.
Sitting by the river, looking at the surging water, the princess seemed a little dazed.
After pondering for a long time, he said, "Chang'an, you are good at writing couplets. Shall we compete?"
Chen Changan chuckled, but before he could refuse, the princess spoke.
"King Jing'an, Marquis Xibo, and all kinds of other kings and marquises, if they live for thousands of years, when will they exceed ten thousand?"
Chen Changan's heart skipped a beat and he immediately fell silent.
The eldest princess's couplet is really simple, without any broken characters or complicated meaning, but it contains the internal troubles of the Chu State.
It is normal for the princes to live for a thousand years, but if they exceed ten thousand, it is clear that they want to rebel!
How long can the Chu Empire last?
Chen Changan lowered his head and said nothing. This couplet cannot be matched randomly. If it is not matched well, it will be a fatal disaster!
The princess waited for a long time, but Chen Changan didn't say anything.
She took a sip of the fragrant tea and gritted her teeth: "In front of Yan Qing, you were so versatile that Ye Lanxuan was speechless."
"Why, it's my turn, but you don't say a word?"
"Chen Changan, don't forget, I am your real wife!"
The eldest princess' voice was filled with anger, and Chen Changan could only lower his head.
"Yes, I can match it."
"In the first couplet, you said, King Jing'an, Marquis Xibo, and all kinds of other kings and marquises, living for thousands of years, when will they exceed ten thousand?"
"I will say to you in the second line, 'Long live the Xiang family and our emperor's glorious name.' The country will surely prosper."
The eldest princess shook her head and curled her lips: "What is this? Just playing the piano."
To be honest, Chen Changan’s answer to this couplet is not good.
There is no attention paid to parallelism at all, let alone the number of words, it feels like a donkey's tongue is not relevant.
"I used twelve words in the first line, but you only used eight words in the second line. How can you be fair to me?"
"Sure enough, in your heart I am not as good as Yan Qing."
Chen Changan had already let go of the princess's hand: "That's not right. We are all sensible people, so I'll say it clearly."
"Whether it's Prince Jing'an or Marquis Xibo, they have been deeply favored by the emperor for generations, but they have never thought about how to repay the country and have conspired to rebel. They are 'sorry' to the emperor."
"Princess, what do you think?"
"you……"
The eldest princess looked at Chen Changan curiously, with horror flashing in her beautiful eyes.
From this perspective, they are indeed sorry to their father, and there is nothing wrong with Chen Changan using eight characters in the second couplet.
The key to this couplet is "I'm sorry"!
The princess bit her lip, shook her head and said, "Chen Changan, you are very strange."
"You've only just come of age, but you act as if you've lived a long time. You won't leave me any room for criticism."
Chen Changan just nodded and chuckled: "Princess, it's getting late, let's go back to our respective homes and look for our respective mothers?"
The eldest princess's face darkened, and she was obviously unwilling to return to the palace.
She was about to reject Chen Changan's statement, but she heard a lot of noise downstairs. The eldest princess and Chen Changan looked back at the same time.
A group of talented people came up from downstairs, surrounding an old man dressed in beggar's clothes and with a wine gourd hanging around his waist.
"Make way, make way, the drunkard wants to teach us the technique of 'drawing sand with a needle'!"
"Prepare the paper, I don't believe it!"
"If he can really draw on sand with a needle, I will worship him as my teacher and listen to his teachings respectfully!"
Hearing the discussions of the talented men, the eldest princess looked at the slovenly old man curiously.
Cone-drawing on sand is a technique used in painting to depict distant views. The brush strokes are delicate, like the sand on which a cone is standing.
It is said that this style of writing was invented by Xiao Zhennan, my father's mentor, more than 20 years ago. However, Xiao Zhennan was later demoted to the shores of Weihai Lake to fish because he offended the emperor.
This drunkard looks ordinary, how could he learn such a writing style?
Many talented people spread a ten-meter-long scroll on the roof of the Grand View Tower and asked Zui Weng to paint.
The drunkard just laughed, took a few sips of wine, sprayed them on the drawing paper, and then poured a basin of thick ink directly on it.
The talented people burst into laughter. How the hell can this guy paint?
I saw the drunkard walking unsteadily, with a paintbrush in his hand, painting on paper.
As time went by, the laughter from the crowd disappeared, replaced by a look of shock!
The painting was gradually completed in the hands of the drunkard.
The rushing mountains are like surging waves, half covering the peaks, and sometimes thinning out, like misty ribbons, gently brushing across the mountains.
The mountains are shaded by lush green trees, with towering ancient trees and vigorous branches.
The river is surging and mighty.
There are white sails dotted on the river, going upstream. There are jagged rocks on the river bank, some look like crouching tigers, some like coiled dragons, and some like fairies descending to earth, in all kinds of shapes and forms, all lifelike.
In the distance, the horizon meets the sky, and a few birds are flying in the sky.
The best one, Zui Weng wielded his brush and wrote: A picture of a vast country!
The painting was just finished, and the drunkard laughed out loud: "Bring me some wine! This painting alone is worth three great whites!"
The talented scholars had no time to pay attention to him and quickly gathered around the painting.
"Oh my god, it really is the technique of drawing with a needle on sand!"
"I haven't seen this for many years. The depth is so great, and it is so close yet so far away. It is truly a masterpiece in the world!"
"Drunkard, I bought this painting for a hundred taels of silver. Would you sell it to me?"
Many talented people turned around and looked at the old man arrogantly.
Although the painting is good, the old man is not famous and is probably a master hidden among the people.
One hundred taels of silver is already a lot.
The drunkard looked at the many talented people jokingly and smiled: "Nonsense, how dare I charge money for my paintings? I'll give them away for free!"
"It's just that I feel a little empty here. There's a huge blank space here. If someone can write a poem or a lyric that suits my taste, I will give this painting to the destined person."
"Come on, let me see the talent of the talented man from the Imperial Capital!"
When the talented scholars heard the Drunkard say he didn't want any money, they all laughed out loud.
At least the drunkard still has self-awareness.
There was indeed a poem missing from the painting, and many talented people raised their hands.
"Drunkard, if that's the case, let me show you my ugliness first, and let me explain it to you clearly!"
A talented scholar in blue clothes was also drunk. He looked at the painting with indescribable love and blurted out the words immediately.
"Carrying the blue sky on my back, I travel thousands of miles, and I travel all over the country.
The towering peaks are accompanied by clouds, and the rushing rivers make noises.
The scenery of the four seas is within sight, and the grandeur of the nine provinces surges in your heart.
The heroic spirit is like the Yangtze River, rolling and endless! "
Many talented people gave a thumbs up.
This young man is truly talented, as he was able to create such magnificent poetry in such a short period of time.
The drunkard shook his head and said, "It's just a straightforward description of the mood in the painting, but it doesn't reflect my state of mind... Alas, it's not up to standard."
The talented scholars recalled the poem again, and it seemed that it was exactly what the drunkard said.
But it doesn’t matter, there are still many talented people here!
"Look at my wild and clean sandy shore, the high sky and bright autumn moon!"
"The river is like a blue silk belt, and the mountain is like a jade hairpin!"
"Mine, mine... the vast landscape unfolds on the painting screen, and the thousands of years endow the heroic spirit!"
The talented men of Baidi were all crazy about showing off their talents, and Zui Weng's expression gradually changed from expectation at the beginning to disappointment.
These people focused on describing the scenery. I reminded them of the state of mind but they couldn't understand it... It's a bit sad.
"Princess, it's getting late. Shall we go back to the palace?"
Chen Changan did not participate in these matters, but just lowered his head and urged.
The princess gritted her teeth and said, "This drunkard must be an extraordinary person. Chang'an, can you show him?"
“It has nothing to do with me.”
Chen Changan shook his head: "What state of mind? Who knows what state of mind he has? I just want to fulfill the princess' request as soon as possible. Please divorce me."
The eldest princess turned around angrily and stared at Chen Changan.
Divorce, divorce, so many people have begged to see this princess but they are not allowed to, and you are still not satisfied?
Divorce, right?
I tell you to get divorced!
"Chen Changan, I regret this!"
The princess looked depressed and angrily shouted: "Asking you to earn 1 billion silver for me is just the first thing!"
"You need to promise me three things before I agree to divorce you!"
Chen Changan’s eyes widened immediately, and he wanted to go up and slap the princess twice.
Over and over again, are you ever going to stop?
Besides, you are the eldest princess!
"Don't tell me anything about the royal family or honesty. I won't listen!"
The princess pointed at the painting of a vast country and mountains and said, "Go, bring it back to me, or you can forget about the divorce!"
"I don't agree!!"