“This autumn chrysanthemum is extraordinary. Even though it is pressed down by external factors, it still stands proudly on the branch and blooms happily. This shows the painter’s state of mind.”
An old man with a white beard was examining the painting of chrysanthemums with admiration on his face. It was obvious that he liked the painting very much.
On the other side, a gentle-looking man with a thin beard was staring at a picture of frosted leaves in a trance. He said, "Sure enough, the frosted leaves are redder than the flowers in February. The setting sun is like blood, and the frosted leaves are like fire, as if they are going to burn away all the filth in the world. Ambitious people should do the same."
Jiang Miao squeezed in the crowd, watching them evaluate these paintings one by one. He felt that they were over-interpreting them, but who knows, maybe these literati just liked to express their own feelings in an obscure way and present them in their various works.
As the paintings on the table decreased one by one, Jiang Miao suddenly became a little nervous. It was Pei Che's turn to draw the painting soon, and he didn't know how they would comment on it. He turned his head to look at Pei Che beside him and found that he didn't seem to be worried at all.
"What's wrong?" Pei Che noticed his gaze.
Jiang Miao asked: "Aren't you nervous? What if they say your painting is not good?" Compared to these meaningful paintings, the ideas he gave to Pei Che seemed a bit tacky.
"Oh, I've heard this kind of comments before, I'm used to it." He noticed Jiang Miao because he was very upset by the teacher's comment that his paintings were just form without spirit. Now he doesn't think there's anything wrong with it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Who says that everyone in this world has to have the same preferences
Jiang Miao glanced at him with some sympathy. Have you become fearless after being criticized so many times
While the two were talking, the people commenting had already cast their eyes on Pei Che's painting. There were many things in the painting, but the most eye-catching thing was the golden rice field in the middle of the picture. The heavy rice ears bent the straw and bowed their heads modestly. At the end of the rice field, there were three or two old farmers holding farm tools. Their faces were filled with the joy of a good harvest, and their mouths were slightly open, as if they were saying something.
As soon as this painting appeared in front of everyone, it caused a burst of laughter. At that time, people always liked to use paintings to commemorate their memories. Plants with a strong character, such as plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, were their favorites. Who had ever seen others paint rural scenes? Could it be that his ambition was to be a farmer working in the fields
"I'm afraid it's because he's been with his wife, who comes from a merchant family, for too long that he's become so worldly." Someone whispered, with a tone full of sighs of "You're a beautiful woman, but why do you become a thief?" Jiang Miao was speechless.
"I think he knows that he is not capable enough, so he took a different approach and painted a picture like this to cover up his shortcomings. Look, now no one says he is spiritless." This person was Pei Che's classmate and seemed to be very familiar with his shortcomings.
The onlookers were analyzing Pei Che's intention in painting this picture, and only Jiang Miao was appreciating it. Although the painting depicts a rural scene, it is a very good work in terms of painting skills, layout and color. There are not many characters in it, but the joy they exude is vividly expressed on the paper, making people feel that autumn is no longer a synonym for desolation and sadness, but a symbol of hope and joy.
The reviewers were silent the whole time. When everyone gradually quieted down, the old man with white beard asked, "Prince Pei, can you tell me why you painted such a picture?"
Pei Che bowed politely to the old man and said, "After autumn, as long as you leave the city gate, you will see this scene everywhere. The people are very busy all year round, but they are also full of joy during the autumn harvest. Farming is the foundation of a country. When I think of autumn, this scene naturally emerges in my mind, so I painted it."
The old man stroked his beard and said, "A pure heart is especially valuable."
The elegant man looked at the painting, picked it up, and said with a sigh: "How many winds and rains does it take to plant a grain of millet in spring before you can harvest ten thousand grains in autumn? The sweat that the people shed on this is something we can never imagine."
Jiang Miao was somewhat impressed. This group of people were really professional in their ability to interpret things. They were indeed literati. They could even deduce from this picture to the society and people's livelihood. But there was one good thing. After hearing what they said, other people who wanted to sing a different tune also stopped. After all, once it comes to this thing, you still have to be careful about what you say.
This autumn landscape painting, which was completely different from others, was ultimately rated as top-notch. Even though others were not convinced, they could not find any reasons to refute it and could only give up.
Next, it is time for the highlight of this Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival - "Using Poetry to Express Autumn Feelings".
After the previous preparation, everyone had a clear idea of what kind of poems they had to write. As soon as it was announced, those who were sent out to participate in the competition bent over their desks and started writing. From their smooth movements, it can be seen that they must have made sufficient preparations.
Pei Che was originally attending this event, so he also occupied a table and wrote. Jiang Miao stood on the periphery. It was unknown what he was writing, but from his writing movements, it could be seen that he was slower than others and seemed to be choosing his words carefully.
As the incense stick was about to burn out, Jiang Miao thought to himself, "You are too noble for not asking about the questions in advance!" But the expression on his face reflected his uneasiness.
"time up!"
Everyone in the room stopped writing and filed out, leaving only their own poems inside. Pei Che walked in last, and as soon as he came out, Jiang Miao approached him and asked, "Have you finished writing?" He looked anxious, like a parent accompanying his child to take the exam.
Pei Che nodded and joked with a smile: "Why are you so nervous? I didn't expect A Miao to have such a strong desire to win." Since his last competition, Jiang Miao has been in this nervous state.
Jiang Miao rolled his eyes: "I'm just afraid that you'll be embarrassed if you lose." He himself was not particularly obsessed with winning or losing. In his previous life, he heard slogans most often like "Friendship first, competition second" and "Participation is the important thing, friendly competition" and so on.
Jiang Miao felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by him, so he pulled his hand back and cursed, "Are you crazy?" Pei Che was not annoyed by being scolded, and continued to tease Jiang Miao with words.
Han Qin had been paying attention to their movements. Seeing this scene, he couldn't help but find it a little funny. Two people with completely different identities and personalities were getting along like this. And in his opinion, his good brother Pei Che seemed to be the one who was more deeply trapped.
Because the poem was different from other poems, it needed to be carefully analyzed in terms of rhythm and style before it could be judged. If many people were watching from the side, it might disturb their thoughts. So the Marquis of Xinyang ordered his servants to set up refreshments in a flower hall not far away and asked everyone to go over and take a rest first.
Jiang Miao followed them and found that there were at least 10 to 20 kinds of snacks, as well as a lot of dried fruits and candied fruits and seasonal fruits. While others were drinking tea and chatting, he tasted almost everything on the table, as happy as a mouse that fell into a rice jar.
In fact, Jiang Miao could afford these things, but he was always frugal and would never buy so many kinds of food at once to keep at home. There was no refrigerator here, so it was difficult to store food. If you bought too much at one time, it would go bad. Jiang Miao learned his lesson immediately after suffering a loss. From then on, he would buy only as much as he could eat and would never buy more.
"Look at him!" someone whispered, "He looks like he hasn't eaten anything."
"People who come from humble backgrounds naturally pay more attention to their appetite." The other person seemed to understand, but in fact he acted condescendingly.
"Is the Duke Zhong's Mansion so destitute that they can't even prepare food for their wife?" someone asked.
Just as they were discussing with great interest, a voice suddenly sounded in their ears.
"Don't worry about my wife. I advise you to learn to sit quietly and reflect on your own mistakes. Don't talk about other people's faults in idle chats." Pei Che's face was full of mockery as he looked at these people who liked to gossip about others behind their backs.
The person who had just spoken froze and retorted, "To correct others, you must correct yourself first. If you hadn't corrected your inappropriate behavior, how could you have caused criticism from others?"
"What do you mean by inappropriate behavior?" Pei Che's face darkened.
"When taking a break, one should quietly enjoy the fragrant tea and cultivate one's body and mind, and should not pay too much attention to the desire for food. This is the demeanor of a gentleman. Ling Zhengyi came in and started eating non-stop. This kind of petty behavior is really unsightly." The man spoke eloquently, and his remarks actually attracted many people to agree.
Jiang Miao saw Pei Che being surrounded by people and squeezed over. He just happened to hear these words and was startled. Then he asked, "Are you talking about me?"
This person was talking to Pei Che. Although he didn't know what Ling Zheng meant, he could guess that it should be something like your wife. Isn't this talking about him
"You are quite self-aware." The man snorted coldly, trying to cover up the embarrassment of being overheard by the real person who was gossiping behind his back. The movement here attracted the attention of others. Everyone was observing the situation here silently. Seeing Pei Che's dark face, they thought that a dispute was about to break out!
"No, I want to ask you, aren't these things on the table for eating? If you don't eat it, he doesn't eat it, and I don't eat it either, who will eat it? Should we throw it away?" Some people also said something about eating. Jiang Miao was very depressed. He didn't even say they were wasting food!
The man choked and said, "The leftovers can naturally be given to the servants as a reward."
"Are you crazy? You spent a lot of money to buy things and gave them to the servants without eating any of them. Why don't you just give them the money and let them buy things themselves?" It was really incomprehensible. Aren't these things bought and put on the table to entertain them
"Why are you swearing?" the man said anxiously.
"Didn't you also talk about me?" Jiang Miao found it funny. "Are you allowed to talk about me behind my back, but I can't talk about you? You think I eat a lot, but I think you don't cherish food! Just now when we were looking at the painting, the gentleman said that food is hard to come by. You can recite the poem "Song of the Peasants", right? Do you know what it means that every grain of rice on the plate is the result of hard work? It's your business if you don't want to eat, but it's none of your business if others eat more or less? Why are you so talkative?"
This series of words left the person on the other side speechless. He wanted to refute but didn't know how to start. He could only say "vulgar" to express his contempt for Jiang Miao.
Another person said, "How can it be considered a waste if you give it to the servants to eat? You have no compassion at all, so how can you expect them to work for you willingly?" The person seized on a point in Jiang Miao's words and began to criticize him.
"You give away the food you don't eat to others, and you want others to be grateful to you? Every time I eat, I will prepare more and let them eat together." Jiang Miao has never eaten alone, and he will not throw the food he can't eat to others and expect others to be grateful to him. If you really have a benevolent heart, then forget it. Since you want to win people's hearts, don't set yourself up with such a lofty personality.
The other people all looked unhappy. It seemed that they had all done something like this before. In their opinion, it was okay to give the food to the servants without even taking a bite. After all, with their status, how could they afford to eat such food? How come Jiang Miao's words made them the ones to blame
Pei Che watched Jiang Miao debate with the scholars, his expression slowly turned from gloomy to bright. Looking at the silent crowd, he slowly said: "Looking back at the ancient sages, countries and families succeeded because of diligence and thrift, and broke because of extravagance. Che and everyone should encourage each other."
(End of this chapter)