Luo Pei Shan frankly sighed at Jing Wan’s intelligence. Yet, in his mind, he thought of even more. He even joking said, perhaps Jing Wan was a flower fairy in her past life, that’s why she was this gifted at raising plants and flowers.
“Grandfather, how about let someone bring it over for you to see right now?” Jing Wan could see his pressing thoughts.
Luo Pei Shan somewhat hesitated, “You just raised them back, to move them like this, what happens if they get injured?”
“How are they that delicate, they were fine coming all the way from Qi’an Fu to the capital. How about just bring the eighteenth scholar? Plus the ink orchid?”
Luo Pei Shan was truly unbearably itchy inside, and thus nodded in agreement.
As a result, the servant boys, as well as Jing Wan’s servant girls, were ordered to go back, and naturally, the remaining Record of Flowers can’t be forgotten.
While waiting, Luo Pei Shan was rather restless. Even facing major matters of the court, he was never this impatient.
Luo Jing De and his brothers stood watch outside the door, “It’s here, it’s here…”
Luo Pei Shan shot up and hastily walked towards the door. Soon after, like as if shielding something, he let the people carry the flowers in. The ink orchid he’d already seen before, even though it bloomed into its most beautiful state, its allure wasn’t as big as the eighteenth scholar’s at the moment.
This eighteenth scholar’s size wasn’t very big, but wasn’t small either, about as tall as a person. Because it was managed well, it appeared verdant and lush, with both big and small budding flower buds. On some buds, the flower petals could already be seen. “It’s a white eighteenth scholar.” Luo Pei Shan carefully wanted to touch it, yet also didn’t dare to. Looking to appear delicate and fragile, as if it would break with a touch. To see him like this, the others naturally didn’t dare to touch either. They were positive, if they were to touch, they would definitely get whipped.
As the only girl in the room, Jing Wan reached out and caressed it. “Grandfather doesn’t need to be this cautious.” But these words didn’t really have any affect. She had seen a lot, raised a lot, so she simply didn’t understand the mentality of these people like her grandfather.
Jing Wan was helpless. Most people weren’t able to raise these valuable breeds well. Aside from the problem of technique, it was more so because they just cared too much. Because they were overly careful, it instead produced the opposite affect. Just like with people, the more meticulously they were raised, the more carefully they were held, if not looking delicate, then they were raised into crooked saplings. There weren’t many that were able to grow up healthy and strong. When she was in Qi’an Fu, she’d also told those gardeners too, but they still weren’t able to relax their hands. Because it was valuable, if damaged, even if they put their entire family’s life on the line, they wouldn’t be able to compensate it, that’s why they were careful. It was practically a vicious cycle.
Thereafter, Luo Pei Shan placed everything aside and just circled around these two pots of flowers. And those who weren’t that fond of them took the chance while their father, grandfather, was distracted to go flip through the Record of Flowers to the side. More or less, they all could learn a few moves and could even memorize some plants and flowers that they’ve never seen before. Even if they themselves didn’t grow them, it wasn’t bad to bring it out to show off with either.
Luo Old Madam waited right and left, but still didn’t see Luo Old Master come, not seeing her sons and grandsons come pay their respects either. Seeing how the evening meal time was about to pass, she sent someone to the front study to see, and only then did she learn the cause. Luo Old Madam didn’t say much, and just had someone send the meal all to the front courtyard. This time, Wan Wan, in the Luo family, was a treasure, even if not a treasure. Afraid, the old master will probably dote on her even more than herself.
“How about just leaving this flower here with grandfather?” Seeing Luo Pei Shan still not going to use the meal, Jing Wan spoke.
“Move it back. Wan Wan, only with you raising it, does grandfather feel reassured.”
“Alright then. Someone come, have these flowers sent back to the Elegant Haitang Residence.”
“Why move it now? No hurry, move it back a bit later.”
Jing Wan looked to Luo Pei Shan with a mischievous smile, “That won’t do grandfather. If you don’t let them move it now, this granddaughter won’t be responsible for raising them anymore.”
“You little girl, even daring to threaten grandfather?” Luo Pei Shan seemingly getting angry.
Luo Rong Yan and Luo Jing Bo sweated from their palms. How could this girl become arrogant this easily from getting pampered. What kind of person Luo Pei Shan was, they naturally knew best. Just because he appears amicable, can one stroke the tiger’s whiskers[1]?
Jing Wan continued with an unchanging smile, “Mhm, grandfather won’t use the evening meal, won’t work, so don’t I have to move these ‘root of trouble’ away, trifling matters destroys the will after all.”
How could Luo Pei Shan still not know Jing Wan’s intentions, this was her worrying about his body. In the first place, he wasn’t really angry anyway, and moreover, Wan Wan was also squandering away with himself. If she starved herself, he would feel rather guilty. As for his sons and grandsons, whether or not they were also starving, a bunch of grown men, just let them starve. What could possibly happen if they missed a meal? He helplessly laughed, “Fine, carry them away then. Just, in the future, when I want to see, need to quickly send them over.”
“Rest assured grandfather, I promise they will come as soon as you call.”
After Jing Wan left, Luo Pei Shan also ordered, ‘In the future, the greenhouse in the manor will be given to third miss to take care of. Just do as she says.’ Only a few people knew that the greenhouse, in Luo Pei Shan’s eyes, was equally as important as the study.
Luo Pei Shan was really in a good mood today, even finding his useless sons and grandsons very pleasing to the eyes. He didn’t reprimand them either, just nicely said a few words and had them leave.
When they’d gone far, Luo Jing Ming suddenly spoke, “In the future, when grandfather gets angry, how about calling third younger sister over to extinguish the fire?”
Luo Rong Ping heavily coughed, “What nonsense are you saying.”
Facing his own old man, Luo Jing Ming withdrew his neck.
Luo Rong Yan reached out and pinched Luo Jing Ming’s neck. “Some words, it’s better to keep in your stomach. It’s no fun when it’s said out loud.” It goes without saying, the meaning implied. This meant that even the indifferent Luo Rong Yan was actually scared of his own old man(Luo Pei Shan) too.
The last time Jing Wan went to the front study, because no noise was made, the others just watched on with a cold eye. But this time, it was completely different. All the important male masters in the Luo family were there. What kind of attitude Luo Pei Shan held, they all saw very clearly. Right now, the two with the highest positions in the Luo family both held her in their palms. In addition, Jing Wan herself possessed value, who would still dare to take her lightly? Even if they don’t try to fawn or curry favor with her, at least they won’t openly pick at her.
One has to know, once the heart leaned, then even if she was in the wrong, it was still the other person’s fault.
Jin Qinwang Manor’s main courtyard. Inside the brightly lit bedroom, compared to the luxurious extravagance of the other places in the Jin Qinwang Manor, this place instead relied mainly on comfort and warmth as the focus. If Jing Wan was here, she would certainly see some traces of familiarity, because the arrangement shared some similarities with her boudoir. One can imagine, to what levels of insanity has he, Li Hong Yuan, reached in spying on Jing Wan.
At the moment, Li Hong Yuan was quietly sitting atop the arhat couch. And on the small jade table on the couch displayed a pot of a blooming Chinese rose. Because it wasn’t in its peak flowering season, the flower petals that opened weren’t a lot. But every flower was still tender and beautiful, not having the least bit of flaw. And every leaf had also gone through meticulous care, not likely to find the slightest signs of withering.
And this pot of flower, if Jing Wan were to see, she would definitely be surprised. It was precisely the one she sent away before leaving Qi’an Fu.
Li Hong Yuan lightly used his finger to poke the flower petals, lost in thought for a very long time, unknown as to whether he was really looking at the flower, or looking at the face of the person that raised the flower through the flower. Only Eunuch Mu and a few others knew that the various plants and flowers that Jing Wan gave away or sold in Qi’an Fu, regardless whether it was rare or common, in the end, nine out of ten all ended up in Li Hong Yuan’s hands. A small number of them were all presented to the few big name flower lovers in the capital during the transfer by the people below. If it weren’t for the fact that he couldn’t get them in his hands through other means, and it wasn’t good for Li Hong Yuan himself to become enemies with them either, and if he forcibly demanded for them, he was also afraid he would attract suspicion, tracing back to the bottom through layers and layers of investigation, possibly finding some clues, otherwise he would have long personally gone and snatched them back.
The Record of Flowers that Jing Wan meticulously made, and also those orchid paintings that took days and nights to paint, all completely ended up into that old fox, Luo Pei Shan’s hands. Relying on the fact that he’s Wan Wan’s blood-related elder, rather have let him gain such a huge advantage. However, those things sooner or later will all be his. Luo Pei Shan best preserve them well for him. If there’s even a tiny scratch on them, he might just let him suffer a bit in the future.
That gongbi painting style, in his past life when it debuted, Li Hong Yuan really thought it was actually created by Luo Jing Bo. And in this life, when Jing Wan first started drawing, he already knew just whose hands it actually came from. Another bunch of people taking up Wan Wan’s things, yet he equally couldn’t have them chopped up as he wished.
When the gongbi paintings just debuted, because it was remarkably true to life, it was chased after by everyone. Although originally there was similar styles, but because they weren’t methodical, the results far couldn’t reach that level of fineness. Very quickly, it became prevalent. There was even that period of time where it even surpassed the freehand style. Only after a year or two, did it finally gradually reached a balance.
And as for Luo Jing Bo, because he was the ‘original creator’, even if not long after there was already someone that far surpassed him in skill, when mentioning the gongbi style, no one was able to shake his position. It can be seen how high of a reputation he obtained.
(T/N: The two painting styles in side by side comparison below.)
Freehand Gongbi
[1] Stroking the tiger’s whiskers – Do something very daring towards someone very powerful
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