Soon, two maidservants walked in holding more than ten scrolls of paintings together.
Putting the picture scrolls on the long couch in the warm pavilion, Qin Wan and Meng Yao stood beside each other and opened them one by one to look at them.
The mother said, "All the paintings ordered by the master last time have been delivered, and there are a few paintings that the masters painted at will while looking at the scenery in the yard, and they are sent together today. The painting boy said, if the master If you like it, you can keep it, if you don’t like it, you can take it away, and he also said that Master Ning doesn’t charge for those paintings.”
Meng Yao listened and nodded, and Qin Wan asked, "How many masters did the Meng Mansion hire for the painting that day?"
Meng Yao said casually, "You just returned to the capital, and you don't know that Master Ning's painting gallery is the best in the capital. Besides Master Ning, there are more than ten painters in it. Master Ning's painting skills are naturally top-notch. However, other masters also have their own strengths and styles. Generally, when people hold a big banquet, several masters will be invited together. Some are good at flower and bird scenery, some are good at figures, some are thick and colorful, and some are elegant and subtle. In addition to the master, we also invited two others, one of whom is good at landscapes, and the other one is good at portraits."
Qin Wan had already met Ning Buyi that day, so she naturally wouldn't tell Meng Yao about it now. Ning Buyi's art gallery had been open for a long time, but when she and her parents entered the capital, she didn't tell the other nobles about it. Normally, a painter is invited for a tea party, so she doesn't know how to do it. Now that Meng Yao said it, she understood.
While speaking, Meng Yao had already opened the first painting. Once the painting was unfolded, a picture of the whole family suddenly appeared. The whole picture was set against a garden with red plums and plain snow, and it showed a family having a banquet in the garden , Qin Wan looked over carefully, although she was not familiar with the people in each room of the Meng family, she could tell at a glance that the three brothers of the Meng family were sitting in the pavilion drinking, Meng Wei stood by, and outside the courtyard, Meng Yao The brother and sister are standing in the snow with another little girl, Mencius and his wife are standing under the plum tree, and the other three wives are standing by the fence talking, a picture is full of more than ten people, but it is not obvious at all. Crowded, on the contrary, it seems that the brothers of the Meng family are in harmony with their sisters-in-law and Ding Xingwang. Qin Wan glanced at the people in the painting one by one, and felt that everyone was drawn vividly.
"This painting was written by master Ning. He is good at both figures and landscapes, and he has exquisite composition every time. In fact, we stood very loosely at that time... That day in Laba, the weather was a bit cold and snow fell. Everyone I didn't want to stay outside for a long time, so I sat in the courtyard for a while and then went back to the Mingde building."
Qin Wan nodded, "Master Ning's painting skills are indeed very good."
Meng Yao nodded with a smile, looked at the frame and the inscription, and rolled it up and put it on the other side when she felt that it was all right.
Immediately afterwards, Meng Yao opened another painting, but this painting was only Meng Zhou, Meng Yao and Meng Zichen's family of three. Meng Zichen in the painting was full of energy, especially his eyes seemed to have been painted alive.
There was some warmth in Meng Yao's eyes, "The painting is really good."
Inviting someone to paint is to leave a thought, and naturally it is better to paint vividly. Qin Wan looked at the three members of Meng Yao's family, and couldn't help but think of his own family of three. .
After finishing this painting, Meng Yao opened the third one. This one showed the three brothers of the Meng family standing on top of a small three-story building. The three brothers centered on Meng Zhou, Meng Hui and Meng Jin One left and one right, I don't know what Meng Zhou said, Meng Hui had a very smile on his face, but Meng Jin's expression was light, not only that, Meng Jin's eyes were lowered, and what Meng Zhou and Meng Hui were looking at was different. , although this picture of brothers ascending the heights is quite detached, but if you look closely, you can see that the three brothers are not really harmonious and seamless. Qin Wan couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Very much.
Meng Yao also saw the joints of this painting. If you don't know the inside story of the Meng family, you will not notice anything when you look at it. You know, this painting shows the internal struggle between the brothers of the Meng family. Meng Yao smiled wryly, "Master Ning has always been meticulous in his paintings. Second uncle obviously didn't listen to what father and fourth uncle had to say..."
Qin Wan didn't want to make it difficult for Meng Yao, so he said, "Perhaps he was looking at the scenery."
Meng Yao shook her head and put the painting away, "Second Uncle has gone, it's not good to be a junior, no matter what, we don't want anyone in the family to have an accident, Zichen was still saying that day, Second Uncle bought it for him Passed a lot of gadgets."
Even though Meng Jin is greedy, but after listening to Meng Yao's words, he also cares about the juniors very much, so many people remember him.
The first three paintings were all made by Ning Buyi. When Meng Yao opened it again, the painting style changed. The fourth painting is about the Meng Mansion after the snow. However, it can't hide the abundance of hairpin tassels in the Meng Mansion. The painters have a great layout, but they are extremely meticulous. Qin Wan has also been to many places in the Meng Mansion. Just looking at the lake scene on the painting, Qin Wan knows that the master's skill is not bad , Immediately afterwards, Meng Yao opened a few more paintings, but they were all portraits of the masters in the mansion, and then Qin Wan saw the portraits of the other houses. The youngest daughter stood next to the two of them with a bright smile, and the orphan and widow of the third room and the daughter-in-law, Xu, were also happy. The only thing that was very weird was the second room. The second wife and Meng Jin stood side by side, but the two They were not very close, although Meng Jin was smiling, the second lady had a very serious smile on her face, but Meng Wei was standing on the other side of Meng Jin with a smile on his face.
Looking at each picture, Qin Wan also saw something inside the Meng family. Meng Yao sighed when she saw the picture of the second room, "Second aunt is a person who doesn't like to laugh. That day when the painter was painting It was rather embarrassing, but later the artist added some of his own meaning to it, and upon closer inspection, the corners of Second Aunt's lips were slightly raised."
As soon as the picture scroll was changed, this time it was Meng Ziyi and Xu's. The two of them were standing under a corridor. Mencius was holding Xu's hand, pointing to the plum blossom not far away and saying something to Xu. There are only two people in this picture, Mencius and Xu, and the painter probably saw the deep affection between the two, so there were relaxed smiles on the brows and eyes of the two in the painting, Qin Wan couldn't help but look at it. The corners were slightly bent, "The fourth young master and the young lady have a very good relationship."
Meng Yao nodded, "That's right, fourth brother is weak and sick, and suffers from stuttering. After the third uncle passed away, he and the third aunt rarely saw smiles on their faces. After the fourth sister-in-law married in, they had a room together. Somewhat popular, but maybe the fourth brother is too weak. The fourth sister-in-law has been married for two years and still hasn't seen her pregnancy. This, fourth brother's medicine has never been stopped."
Meng Yao didn't mean to hide Qin Wan's intentions, and she didn't shy away from what she saw and said. The next painting was again a painting by a few juniors or a few wives. However, there are some clues in the painting. There is nothing in the family picture. When I got here, I saw the third wife and the fourth wife standing relatively close, and the second wife was a little far away. The second wife stood alone, dissected It feels a bit fractal and alone.
Seeing this, Meng Yao said, "Second Aunt is also a hard-working person."
Qin Wan hesitated for a moment and said, "You told me that the second lady is the successor of the second master, why hasn't the second lady been out for so many years?"
Meng Yao looked a bit hesitant when she heard the words, "Actually... In fact, the second aunt was pregnant in the second year of her marriage, but later she had a miscarriage. Since then, she has been unable to conceive. Later, a doctor said that she couldn't help it. She was pregnant with a child, and since then, the second aunt has become more and more reclusive. In fact, she and the third sister-in-law got along very well before, and the fourth room was indeed not close because of the relationship between the fourth uncle and the second uncle. The third sister-in-law is very good. The third uncle is gone. Although she is a bit secluded from the world, she will treat others even better if she is kind to her. When Zichen is not sick, he likes to go to the third room to play. In the past six months, Zichen's condition has worsened, and he rarely go out."
Qin Wan listened, and looked at the withered faces of the three wives in the picture scroll and sighed in his heart. First, the white-haired man gave away the black-haired man, and then lost his husband. One can imagine how miserable he would feel.
"The second wife and the third wife are hard-working people."
Meng Yao nodded, and opened the remaining few pictures while sighing. In addition to a few pictures of visiting the garden, there was a big picture of the whole family at the end. It was the younger generation who was standing. It was a very formal family picture. Meng Yao glanced at it and rolled up the picture scroll when she saw that there were no mistakes.
"This kind of thing happened in the mansion, and two people went away at once. These words are considered masterpieces and will never happen again." Meng Yao cried because of Meng Wei's death earlier, but now she is still a little sad when she talks about it. "My big brother was very stubborn when he was young. We were all bullied by him when he was young. When he grew up, although he was still in a bad shape, it was okay when we were young. Later, he followed the second uncle. Doing business, in fact, has grown a lot compared to him before. Years ago, my second uncle and my father entrusted someone to help my eldest brother to see their marriage, and they planned to get married this year, but who knows... "
"Do you believe he committed suicide?" Qin Wan asked.
Meng Yao smiled wryly for a moment, then shook her head, "I can't believe it, it's not that elder brother hasn't been punished when he was a child, and he was responsible for the incident when fourth brother fell off his horse back then. I can't even write and eat, because my father was so angry that he beat him up first, and then locked him in the ancestral hall for two days and two nights without food. For a while, my father didn't even think about committing suicide when he was heartbroken."
After hearing this, Qin Wan affirmed her initial conjecture. Some people in this world would never think of committing suicide. On the road of death, Qin Wan can't say which kind of Meng Wei is, but he believes that Meng Wei's heart is full of unwillingness, he hasn't found the key yet, how could he die
Thinking of this, Qin Wan said again, "In this way, he seems to have been murdered..."
"The victim, who in this mansion would think of harming him." Meng Yao's eyes were slightly red, and her expression became helpless. It was obvious that everyone in the Meng Mansion was not a person who would do great evil in her mind.
"The government has already investigated this matter again, so don't think too much about it. You cannot be resurrected after death. You are weak, so don't be too sad. The young master still needs you to take care of him."
Qin Wan comforted, Meng Yao touched the corners of her eyes and nodded, "Don't worry, I know."
While talking, Qin Wan looked at the two books that Meng Yao had placed in the corner of the couch, changed the subject, and talked about Meng Yao's love poems and books. Speaking of this, Meng Yao felt less grief, while Qin Wan Although Wan is not as good at poetry and books as the noble ladies in the capital, she likes to read and knows a lot. The two talked about the time for two cups of tea. Naturally, they had a very happy conversation. Early in the morning, Qin Wan got up to say goodbye, and Meng Yao sent her out with some reluctance.
"Because of this illness, I seldom go out with other girls. It's been a long time since I talked with people like today. Ninth Miss, thank you so much today."
Qin Wan smiled, "Since you and I are friends, there is no need to thank you. Both of you sister and brother are taking the medicine first, and you can see it after three days."
Meng Yao hurriedly said, "After that three days, I will take Zichen to the Hou Mansion to find you, lest you make an extra trip."
Three days later, it will be the tenth day of the lunar new year, Qin Wan thought about it and nodded, "That's fine, it should be around Chen in the afternoon."
The two made an appointment, Meng Yao had a relaxed smile on her face, and insisted on sending Qin Wan to the gate of the mansion, "You came with His Royal Highness Prince Rui, how do you go back now?"
Qin Wan said casually, "Your Highness is still in the mansion, I have to go find him."
Meng Yao hurriedly said, "Well, I'll take you there, I want to come to the second bedroom." Meng Yao said, "Are you very familiar with His Highness Prince Rui's son?"
Qin Wan felt that Meng Yao's words had a deep meaning, so he said, "I met her in Jinzhou earlier, but I'm not very familiar with her, what's the matter?"
Meng Yao took a step closer to Qin Wan, "Do you know the name of His Highness Prince Rui's son?"
Qin Wan was puzzled, "What name?"
Meng Yao glanced around, and said in a low voice, "The name of the Demon King—not only that, but some people say that his fate is hard, and there is evil spirit in his fate—"
Qin Wan smiled wryly in her heart. She didn't know how the name of Yan Chi came back. When she didn't see Yan Chi back then, she was as pale as Meng Yao and other ladies. She nodded slightly, "I've heard of it, but , I have known His Highness for a long time, and found that he is not as rumored."
Meng Yao was slightly relieved to hear her say this, "You are smart, if you say he is not like that, then you really are, but...but you should be more careful."
There was a lot of concern in Meng Yao's eyes, and Qin Wan's heart warmed up, and he felt a little funny, and said, "I know, don't worry, I was a little afraid of him at first, but when I get to know him well, I don't feel it anymore, and he's so old Helped me the first time."
Meng Yao seemed relieved, "That's good, that's good—"
The two of them were talking, and walked along the corridor to the courtyard of the second room. As a result, Qin Wan saw that the mansion of the Meng Mansion was well-regulated. Suddenly, Qin Wan saw a small building, and she thought Shicai hurriedly asked the scene in the painting, "Is this the Mingde Building?"
Meng Yao followed her to look over and nodded, "Yes, this small building is close to the main courtyard. It is used for banquets and other things on weekdays. Sometimes we juniors go to play alone, and it is not very open on weekdays."
Qin Wan nodded, and took a special look at the window on the third floor of the small building. In that painting, the three Mengzhou brothers were standing in front of the window and pointing Jiangshan, "So that's how it is. This is where the painting was drawn just now."
Meng Yao nodded, "That's right, Laba hired people to paint and painted for a whole day. These painters are very experienced. If someone else had painted the dozen or so paintings, it would have taken a long time, but they have their own methods. "
When Qin Wan was looking at the paintings at that time, he was thinking, how could there be so many paintings in one day, those figures and scenes could not be completed overnight, and if he left the Meng Mansion, wouldn't he forget what he saw earlier? And in that painting, the exquisite details are really staggering.
"The painters each bring two painting boys, and the painting boys can also draw. They trace a prototype of the scenery, and the figures are drawn by the painters. For a painting, they go from drawing the characters to the layout. It only took about an hour, and the rest of the painting and scenery were done after returning to the art gallery. This is not the case every year in our mansion, so this year we asked everyone to paint it once. In some mansions, only one or two pictures were drawn. , the artist alone completes it from the beginning to the end, this kind of work does not care about time, the processing is very delicate, and the price is naturally more expensive."
"Master Ning never dared to be negligent when he came to the palace to paint." Meng Yao raised her hand and pointed, "Master Ning followed my father and the others, and my father and the others walked around very casually. Master Ning Seeing a beautiful scene, he told his father how to paint. After his father listened to it, Master Ning drew a rough outline first. The other two painters, one followed the three aunts, and the other followed us. Choose a landscape to paint."
Qin Wan only felt novelty when he heard it. It turns out that this is how nobles hire painters to paint.
After talking, the two of them went to the courtyard of the second room. More than a dozen guards in black were standing outside the courtyard. When they saw Qin Wan approaching, they all saluted. Meng Yao was a little surprised to see this scene, and soon, Yan Chi came out from inside. .