Novelas PaiPai - Capítulo 125
Previously, Emperor Zhao Xu wanted to find a painter to paint a "Bamboo, Crane and Crane" painting for the screen of the Chuigong Hall. However, he felt that the painting style of the painters in the painting academy was rigid and formulaic. He wanted to find someone with innovative brushwork to paint the screen. Empress Dowager Cao recommended Cui Bai to him, praising his excellent painting style. So Zhao Xu summoned Cui Bai to the palace, where he painted this huge screen together with several other famous painters, Ai Xuan, Ding Kuang and Ge Shouchang.
After completion, Cui Bai's work was considered the best among all the works, and the emperor was overjoyed. He immediately issued an edict appointing Cui Bai as an art scholar in the Painting Academy. However, Cui Bai, who was always free-spirited and unconventional, did not want to be bound by the Painting Academy and repeatedly declined to leave. In the end, the emperor granted him permission not to serve in the Painting Academy every day, stating that "he shall not be involved in any affairs without the emperor's decree." Only then did Cui Bai reluctantly accept and become a high-ranking official in the Painting Academy.
The current young emperor, unlike his two predecessors, is full of vigor and vitality. From the beginning of his reign, he was determined to reform and strengthen the country. Later, he appointed Wang Anshi as prime minister, and Wang Anshi implemented sweeping reforms to laws and customs, including the reform of the painting academy. As a result, Cui Bai thrived in his new environment, changing the centuries-old practice of painting academy competitions based on the style of Huang Qian and his son, and ushering in a vibrant new era for the Song Dynasty painting academy.
Since returning to the Painting Academy, I have had almost no opportunity to leave the palace. We had not seen each other before Cui Bai rejoined the Painting Academy. After a long separation, we were overjoyed to meet again. After chatting alone for a while, Cui Bai took out a scroll and handed it to me with both hands, saying, "When I left the Painting Academy, I promised Huaiji that I would give you a painting. Over the years, I have painted many, but none of them have satisfied me or been worthy of your appreciation. A few years ago, I finally finished one that is worth a look. Now I present it to Huaiji, hoping that you will accept it with a smile."
I thanked him and took the painting. It depicted a corner of the countryside, with a few autumn trees and bamboo branches and several clumps of wild grass on the hillside. A pair of magpies flew diagonally into the upper part of the painting. The female magpie was already standing on a withered tree branch, calling to a crouching wild rabbit in the lower left corner, while the male magpie followed it and was flying over with outstretched wings.
This is a masterpiece I have never seen before, employing a variety of techniques: the magpie, bamboo leaves, and autumn grass are rendered using double-outline and color-filling techniques with meticulous and delicate brushwork, while the thorns and some leaf veins are rendered using the boneless method, with washes and freehand brushwork, without using ink to establish the structure.
The tree trunks are rendered with bold, unrestrained brushstrokes, while the earthen slopes are depicted with light ink, executed with free and unrestrained strokes. The rabbit fur is even more exquisite; it lacks defined outlines and defies easy categorization by any particular technique. Each hair is painted stroke by stroke, just like real fur, with distinct layers and varying lengths. It possesses both soft, fine inner down and coarse, straight outer hairs, each meticulously depicted, making it seem as if one could reach out and feel its warm, delicate texture. The entire painting can be said to combine the strengths of various masters of the dynasty, exhibiting a harmonious blend of bold and delicate brushstrokes, a truly breathtaking work.
However, what surprised me most was his depiction of the expressions of the birds and animals in the painting. The female bird was petite, but when she bent down and spread her wings to taunt the hare, her beak was wide open, her eyes were wide open, and her expression was extremely angry, even revealing a hint of ferocity.
The male bird behind it trailed long white tail feathers, its body beautiful. Unlike the female, its expression wasn't angry; it seemed somewhat surprised and confused. Though flying towards the female, it didn't appear to be joining her in the fight against the hare, as if it hadn't yet decided what to do next. The hare, with its thick fur, looked back up, stunned by the angry female's gaze. Its right forepaw hovered helplessly, as if caught in a dilemma, unsure what to do.
As I observed the scene in the painting, I vaguely guessed the deeper meaning behind Cui's work. He then pointed to the female bird and explained, "Magpies are clever, gregarious, and have a natural instinct to protect their territory. If an intruder enters, they will fiercely call out to it in protest. This wild rabbit probably wandered into the territory of this pair of magpies while passing through the mountains, and the female bird was unhappy, so she angrily tried to drive it away..."
I nodded, a faint smile playing on my lips, and finally fixed my gaze on the tree trunk on the right side of the picture, where Cui Bai had signed: "Written by Cui Bai in the Xin Chou year of Jiayou."
xxx
I hung this "Double Happiness" painting in my room and often gazed at it silently for a long time. As a result, those past events would surface in my mind, as clear as if they were just a night's dream.
Months later, I decided to send the painting to the Secret Collection, partly to avoid touching those old wounds again, and partly because it was too exquisite, too beautiful for me to keep.
My life experiences are filled with all kinds of beautiful traces: I have seen magnificent imperial cities, elegant calligraphy and paintings, exquisite trinkets, and the beautiful women and picturesque landscapes of this Qingming era... However, none of them belong to me. My special status determines that I can only be an observer of these beautiful things. I am used to witnessing their existence, but I will not try to possess them.
The day the "Double Happiness" painting was sent to the Imperial Library was the Flower Festival in the fourth year of the Xining era. Most of the people in the palace went to Yichun Garden with the Emperor and Empress to enjoy the flowers. The palaces were empty and there were few people to be seen.
As I approached the Jiying Hall, I glanced sideways at the palace wall connecting the courtyard to the inner palace. This was a habit formed over many years, though as soon as I turned my head, I remembered that the princess was gone, and I hadn't seen the peach blossoms on the branches for a year.
But when I turned around, the result was completely unexpected—there were four or five flower ornaments on the flowering tree on the wall, and a bamboo branch was trembling as it stretched upwards, trying to hang a butterfly-shaped ribbon on it.
In that instant, my ears rang, and I froze completely, staring at the colorful ribbons hanging from the branches. My body trembled involuntarily, and my chest ached so much that I could hardly breathe.
Finally, I completely broke free from the taboos of the past years. I stepped around the palace walls and ran at an astonishing speed through the gates, some guarded and some unguarded, towards the inner palace.
It was only a wall away, but going around it felt like traversing thousands of mountains and rivers. I ran until I was exhausted and panting, before I finally entered the inner palace, which I hadn't seen for nine years, and saw the scene under the peach tree behind the red wall.
A boy of sixteen or seventeen stood with his hands behind his back in front of the peach tree. He was wearing a red plum-colored round-necked narrow-sleeved shirt. He was tall and handsome, and was looking at the girl in front of him with a warm smile in his eyes.
The girl had her back to me. She looked quite petite and had her hair styled in twin buns, so she must have been around twelve or thirteen years old.
She was wearing a willow-colored dress and was hanging flower ornaments on the peach tree with a bamboo stick. She was delicate and shy, and her movements were as swaying as a willow in the wind.
This time, her goal was the highest point of the flower branch, but being small, she couldn't manage to hang the flower on the branch after several attempts. The young man looked at her and laughed, "Let me hang it for you."
The girl turned around and said, "No. Lady Miao said that eldest sister always hangs them herself."
As she turned her head, I saw a face that looked exactly like Qiu He's. For a moment, I thought time had reversed, and I was back many years ago, to the moment I bumped into Qiu He in Yifeng Pavilion. The same bright eyes and white teeth, the same soft voice, only this girl was younger, and had a touch more of a charming naiveté than Qiu He had back then.
Hearing her mention Lady Miao and "elder sister," I immediately understood that she was Qiuhe's daughter, Zhu Zhu, the eleventh princess of Emperor Renzong, whose current title was Grand Princess of Bin. Her ninth princess, who shared the same mother, had died in the fourth year of the Zhiping era.
Looking again at the boy's familiar features, I deduced that he was Zhong Ke from back then, now known as Zhao Yun, the fourth prince of Emperor Yingzong. Not long ago, the current emperor had just promoted him to Prince Jia.
Seeing Zhu Zhu's reply, Zhao Yun chuckled: "Who told you to be so short! I'll go back without you having to help me. I'll come back next year for the Flower Festival, and you'll still be here, reaching and reaching but still unable to reach."
His tone was casual, not at all like he was talking to his aunt; the two of them acted more like siblings.
Zhu Zhu wasn't angry at his words. She turned her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly beckoned to him: "Come here."
Zhao Yun asked, "What are you doing?"
Zhu Zhu pointed to the ground beneath her feet: "Come here and give me some footsteps."
Zhao Yun shook his head and said, "It's outrageous to ask a prince to do such a thing! I won't go."
Zhu Zhu pouted, feigning anger: "I'm your aunt!"
Zhao Yun laughed and said, "What aunt? She's clearly a pig."
Despite saying that, he still walked over to Zhu Zhu, bent down, and let Zhu Zhu step on his back.
With one hand supporting herself against the wall and the other holding a bamboo stick, Zhu Zhu carefully stepped onto Zhao Yun's shoulder, then swayed as she stood up. She then hung the flower ornaments on the highest branch, saying as she did so, "If you don't listen to me, I'll tell Miss Wang and Miss Pang about 'my hair'..."
Zhao Yun, prostrate on the ground, replied, "What do they have to do with me?"
Zhu Zhu said, "Is it unrelated? Then why did the Empress Dowager specifically summon them to the palace to admire the flowers last time?"
Zhao Yun replied, "She is choosing a new wife for my second brother; it's none of my business."
Zhu Zhu then asked, "If it's none of your business, then why did you go to them that day to say something?"
Zhao Yun's lips curled into a sly smile: "I was telling them that next time they might go to Yujin Garden with the Grand Princess of Bin to watch archery. Besides rare birds and animals and foreign envoys, there are many people worth seeing there, such as Cao..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Zhu was already shocked. She slipped and fell off Zhao Yun's back, tumbling to the ground along with the bamboo pole.
Zhao Yun quickly got up and reached out to help her. I had been silently watching from behind a locust tree for a long time, and now I also hurried over and helped Zhu Zhu up with Zhao Yun.
Zhao Yun and Zhu Zhu looked me over, both somewhat surprised.
I felt that my appearance was abrupt, so I immediately bowed and apologized, asking the Grand Princess to forgive my rudeness. Then I lowered my head and took my leave, slowly retreating to the palace gate.
As I turned around, Zhu Zhu called out to me, "Grandpa, please wait."
Her way of addressing me made me momentarily lose my composure—"Old lady?"