The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Cultivating Reputation

“The world all says that Han Zigao was Emperor Wen of Chen’s male favorite, but unexpectedly, he actually had feelings for Lady Xiao.” Xiao Jinyu murmured to herself unconsciously.

Fenghuang didn’t hear clearly, so he asked, “What did Qing Gege say?”

Xiao Jinyu recovered and smiled, “Nothing.” She immediately got up and looked through the box of relics left by Lady Xiao again. As expected, in addition to some ordinary ornaments and precious medicinal materials such as rhinoceros horns, there was also a small pouch. The pouch was embroidered with twin lotuses, looking extremely ordinary. The embroidery wasn’t very good either, indicating that Lady Xiao’s needlework was also very average. However, the pouch was heavy, and one could vaguely feel a strange power seeping out from it.

Xiao Jinyu opened the pouch and saw that it contained a purple-red jade ring.

Seeing this jade ring, Xiao Jinyu’s expression completely changed because this jade ring was the one she wore in her past life, and after her death, it fell into the hands of Chen Shili.

In her past life, she could peek into destiny, divine good and bad fortune, even life and death, and the fate of the nation. Originally, it was only thanks to a handwritten note left by an ancestor of the Xie family, but in order not to let people regard her as a monstrous anomaly with too much wisdom, she lied to Chen Shili, saying that the heavenly secrets she obtained were all due to this jade ring.

It was ridiculous that Chen Shili actually took her life for this jade ring in the end.

But why was this jade ring in Lady Xiao’s hands?

Could it be that the thing Chen Shili wanted to know from Han Zigao in the dream was related to this jade ring?

Seeing Xiao Jinyu tightly clutching the jade ring, frowning in deep thought, with even thick irony and anger in her eyes, Fenghuang asked curiously, “Qing Gege, what’s wrong with this jade ring?”

Xiao Jinyu then came back to her senses and said, “It’s nothing, just feel that this item left by my mother is somewhat different.”

“What’s different?”

Xiao Jinyu didn’t answer again. Instead, she asked, “Fenghuang, I remember you said you know the art of disguise. Why don’t you help me disguise myself as another person today?”

“Okay! What kind of person does Qing Gege want to be disguised as?”

As he spoke, he had already pulled Xiao Jinyu to the dressing table.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Jinyu replied, “Disguise me as my mother.” After saying that, she took out the portrait of Lady Xiao that Xiao Xian had painted last night.

“So Qing Gege asked Xiao Xian to paint in order to disguise herself, but why disguise herself as her aunt? Aren’t you afraid of being criticized by the people of Jiankang?”

After learning about Xiao Jinyu’s background, Fenghuang knew that whether it was her current appearance, which resembled her biological father, or her aunt’s appearance, it would make her a disgraceful existence despised by the world.

“If you really want to gain a foothold in Jiankang City, I’m afraid your aunt’s appearance won’t do either.”

“No, since I was born as their daughter, I can’t be ashamed of this identity. I should rise from where I fall. This is also the only thing I can do for my mother.”

From the results of her divination and her dreams, she could tell that Lady Xiao was completely framed, and Han Zigao was just a pawn used by that person. Moreover, he had sent people to protect the safety of Lady Xiao and her daughter, which showed that his character wasn’t too bad.

Since she had occupied the original owner’s body, she naturally had to shoulder her responsibilities.

At the same time, she also had to avenge the original owner and settle this blood feud.

Fenghuang was a little confused, but he nodded approvingly.

“Then what does Qing Gege plan to do? Are we going back to the Xiao family? You’re not really thinking of…”

Thinking of the conversation between Xiao Jinyu and Xiao Xian last night, when they talked about “entering the political center of Southern Chen and controlling the entire court of Southern Chen,” Fenghuang was also startled.

“I didn’t expect Qing Gege to have such great ambitions.” The boy said jokingly.

Xiao Jinyu then asked, “Then what are your ambitions? ‘Famous teachers and great generals, don’t be complacent, thousands of troops and horses avoid the white robe.’ Do you want to be a famous general like Chen Qingzhi?”

Mentioning the song he sang last night, Fenghuang couldn’t help but blush slightly and nodded secretly.

“Okay, then let’s be famous generals.”

Suddenly hearing this sentence, Fenghuang looked up in astonishment, both surprised and delighted, “Can I really be a famous general?”

“Of course. As long as you want it, nothing is impossible.” Xiao Jinyu smiled, “However, if we want to gain a foothold in Jiankang City, what we need most is reputation, cultivating prestige, and connections.”

✿✿✿

“But we’ve just arrived in Jiankang, we have nothing?”

“Yes, we have nothing, so we need to create it ourselves.”

“Then how do we create it?”

Xiao Jinyu was very clear about her current situation and status. She was no longer the noble lady of the Xie family from her past life, so she no longer had the inherent noble identity that people looked up to. Her network was almost non-existent, and even her current identity would be ridiculed and mocked by the world. Therefore, it could be said that the difficulty of making a name for herself in Jiankang City was a thousand times greater than in her past life.

But if she wanted to revive the Xie family, she had to enter the political center of Southern Chen. The first step to entering officialdom was naturally to cultivate prestige. Although it was no longer the Wei and Jin period, and scholars were no longer like the famous scholars of the Jin Dynasty who “embraced the teachings of the ancient sage-kings but rejected Confucius, transcended conventional morality and embraced nature,” daring to criticize the emperor and curse Han Fei,

the current official selection system still followed the nine-rank system of the Wei and Jin period, which assessed candidates based on their filial piety and integrity. However, since the Xiao Liang Dynasty, although the criteria for evaluation were still family background, influence, and talent and appearance, family status was no longer as crucial as it was in the Wei and Jin period. If commoners truly had talent and were appreciated by some officials, they could also have the opportunity for promotion.

There were also some commoners who directly entered the court because they were appreciated by the emperor, such as Han Zigao.

Of course, whether it was the Wei and Jin period or the Northern and Southern Dynasties, appearance was still one of the criteria for evaluation.

Therefore, even if she disguised herself, she couldn’t make her appearance look too ordinary.

While she was pondering, she heard Fenghuang say, “Qing Gege, I’m done. How does it look?”

Hearing this, Xiao Jinyu looked into the mirror and saw that the face reflected in the mirror was exactly the same as the portrait painted by Xiao Xian. This was a bit unexpected for her.

She had only heard the boy say that he had learned the art of disguise from someone, but she didn’t expect his skill to be so advanced.

“Very good, I didn’t expect Fenghuang’s skills to be so good.”

The boy seemed very happy to be praised and asked, “Then what will Qing Gege do with this face next?”

“Naturally, go out and meet people.”

The boy was stunned, then heard her continue with a smile, “Alright, let’s go out for a walk! And see if there are any good places to eat and have fun in Jiankang.”

Hearing about good places to eat and have fun, Fenghuang’s eyes lit up. Xiao Jinyu couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. After all, he was still a ten-year-old child, with a childlike innocence.

The boy quickly packed his things, and the two of them went out. As if thinking of something, Xiao Jinyu asked, “By the way, I forgot to ask you last night. Did you find out what kind of people those who followed Xiao Xian were, and who sent them?”

Fenghuang replied, “I didn’t ask, I just beat them up. But I don’t need to ask to know who sent them. It must be Princess Yunyin. I’ve seen many stepmothers who mistreat their stepsons. Maybe Xiao Xian’s leg was broken by her.”

Xiao Jinyu smiled, “Not necessarily, what if it was someone else?”

“If it really was someone else, then there are too many ghosts and monsters in the Xiao Residence!”

Xiao Jinyu smiled again and didn’t answer. Although the original owner’s memories she obtained were incomplete, she could roughly understand what kind of dragon’s den and tiger’s lair the Xiao Residence was.

As the two were talking, they had already walked onto the main street. They saw that the street was still bustling with carriages and pedestrians, very lively. Seeing those young men wearing wooden clogs, chatting and laughing as if they had walked out of 《late spring,》 Xiao Jinyu couldn’t help but feel a surge of warmth in her heart. Unconsciously, she thought of her brothers from her past life.

“Yuqing, look what Second Brother brought you. These are snacks from Jinxin Restaurant, your favorite.”

While she was lost in thought, a sudden commotion broke out on the street, with a hubbub of voices. The crowd slowly surged towards one place, becoming very crowded. Among the people running back and forth, a little girl almost fell to the ground in the jostling.

Xiao Jinyu’s expression changed, and she swiftly turned and walked quickly, taking the little girl into her arms.