The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Painting and Dance

“Who is it?”

As this voice came, all the scholars in the Elegant Poetry Pavilion turned their heads in annoyance. They saw a young girl in a white double-breasted, wide-sleeved, long robe leisurely strolling towards them. She didn’t even have any ornaments in her black hair, but she was like a red plum blossoming gracefully amidst the ice and snow, making people’s eyes brighten and giving them a sense of shock.

But this sense of shock did not come from her appearance, but from an innate aura that was impossible to ignore.

“Prince of the Commandery, why does this Divine Physician look different from last time?” The guard peeked stealthily, also stunned for a moment, and then asked.

The man in the black robe did not speak, but only signaled the guard to be silent and continue watching!

“A’yu, you’re here!” Seeing that it was Xiao Jinyu, Xiao Yun immediately stood up with a smile on his face and walked towards her. He introduced her to the other young masters in the hall, “Come, come, this is my niece, Xiao Jinyu, who has returned from the north!”

“So it’s her!”

“She doesn’t seem to resemble her father, who possessed such breathtaking beauty. However, she has her own unique charm that’s unforgettable. She’s a beauty!” Lu Sheng, the Fourth Young Master Lu, couldn’t help but sigh.

“And her figure, so graceful and enchanting, clearly a delightful person!” The Fourth Young Master Zhu whispered into another scholar’s ear.

“Indeed, even if her looks don’t match her father’s stunning beauty, her figure reveals a captivating allure!” The scholar also whispered.

At this moment, Xiao Jinyu was still disguised as her mother. She was originally open and honest, but being scrutinized by so many sticky gazes, she couldn’t help but feel disgusted. At this time, Xiao Yun reached her and was about to grab her wrist.

Xiao Jinyu immediately withdrew her hand and took a step back. She even said, “Uncle Yun, don’t touch me, A’yu will be very scared!”

Her voice was almost coquettish when she said this, making people angry but unable to lash out. Suddenly, the hall fell silent, and then “swoosh, swoosh, swoosh,” more gazes turned towards them!

Unexpectedly, this young lady spoke so directly. Several young masters from aristocratic families couldn’t help but chuckle. Even the guard who was quietly watching from the upper floor couldn’t help but cover his mouth, afraid of laughing out loud.

Xiao Yun’s face flushed red. Embarrassed, he could only withdraw his hand and motioned for Xiao Jinyu to sit on the prepared rush cushion in the middle of the hall with a “please” gesture.

“Young Lady, what did you just say?” Lu Sheng couldn’t help but ask jokingly.

Xiao Jinyu replied, “A’yu wants to say that the matter of ‘winding stream and floating cups’ is a pleasure for refined individuals. You gentlemen were just criticizing others here. Don’t you think it’s like burning the zither and boiling the crane, disgracing your scholarly demeanor?”

“You—” Young Master Kong said with displeasure.

Lu Sheng quickly stopped him and said with a smile, “Indeed, the Young Lady is right. We were wrong to discuss Prince of Lanling just now. I’m a man who can admit his mistakes. If he were here, I would definitely apologize to him! However, Young Lady, since you’re here, shouldn’t you also have a drink with us?”

After saying that, he motioned to Xiao Yun. At this time, Xiao Yun seemed to have recovered from the previous shame and anger. He hurriedly called for a maid to bring a winged cup, filled it with crimson wine, and said with a smile, “I invited A’yu here today to apologize on behalf of my mother. This cup of wine is considered an apology. I’ll drink it first!”

After saying that, he really drank the wine in the winged cup, then ordered the maid to pour another cup and handed it to Xiao Jinyu. Seeing Xiao Jinyu hesitate to take it, he said again, “What? Does A’yu not believe in my sincerity?”

“That’s not it, I’m just not used to using other people’s things.”

As Xiao Jinyu spoke, she stopped looking at Xiao Yun and took out something from her sleeve, holding it between her thumb and forefinger and presenting it to Xiao Yun.

They saw that the object was shaped like a lotus flower at the top, but the bottom was a slender, transparent colored glaze, looking like a cup with “legs,” but also like a blooming lotus flower standing gracefully in a pond.

“What is this?” All the scholars couldn’t help but ask curiously.

“A wine cup!” Xiao Jinyu answered without hiding anything. “However, A’yu has a low tolerance for alcohol and I’m afraid I can’t drink much, so I’ll use this cup as a measure. I won’t drink more than this, but I won’t refuse less. What do you gentlemen think?”

“There’s no problem with that. It’s already an honor for us that the Young Lady is willing to give us this face. Don’t you agree?” Lu Sheng laughed again and said, “Young Lady, please drink!”

His gaze once again fell meaningfully on Xiao Yun. Xiao Yun also smiled and personally took the wine pot, pouring the crimson wine into Xiao Jinyu’s cup.

“Please—” He looked at her and said.

Xiao Jinyu slowly brought the cup to her lips. At this moment, even the guard on the upper floor became nervous and couldn’t help but whisper to the man in the black robe, “Could there be drugs in the wine?”

There were no drugs in the wine, it was just wine produced in the Western Regions. Xiao Jinyu had already come to this conclusion when she smelled the aroma.

“However, Uncle Yun, did you invite me today just to accompany these gentlemen in drinking?”

The words “accompany in drinking” didn’t sound very pleasant. Was he treating her like a courtesan to entertain his group of dissolute friends?

Xiao Yun repeatedly denied and waved his hand, saying, “No, A’yu has traveled thousands of miles from the north to our Southern Chen. You probably haven’t gotten familiar with the beautiful scenery and customs of Jiankang in the south. You also just said that ‘winding stream and floating cups’ is a pleasure for refined individuals. Isn’t there a saying, ‘The two elegant families of Wang and Xie in Kuaiji, Prince Zi falls for Lady Xie’s sorrow’? Although the Wang and Xie families have declined and are no longer here, the elegance of the aristocracy still remains. So today, Yun invited A’yu here to let you experience what aristocratic elegance is like.”

Hearing the phrase “The two elegant families of Wang and Xie in Kuaiji, Prince Zi falls for Lady Xie’s sorrow” and the words “Although the Wang and Xie families have declined and are no longer here,” Xiao Jinyu felt as if a knife had pierced her heart.

At this time, Xiao Yun even leaned close to her ear and said, “Also, A’yu, don’t keep calling me ‘Uncle.’ Look, I’m not that much older than you. Aren’t you making me sound old by calling me that?”

✿✿✿

Taking a step back with a flick of her sleeve, Xiao Jinyu asked teasingly, “Then what should I call you? Xiaolang?”

“Calling me Xiaolang is not out of the question!”

“That’s right, why call him ‘Uncle’? Just call him Xiaolang! We’re all in the prime of our youth, don’t you agree?” Lu Sheng shouted again, and all the scholars immediately followed suit!

“Come on, A’yu, let’s play the game of ‘winged cups following the waves’!”

Xiao Yun’s excitement suddenly rose, as if he had completely forgotten the previous embarrassment. To be honest, he had tried many times to manipulate this young girl, but until now, he hadn’t even touched a single hair on her head.

However, he wasn’t in a hurry. Since she had come today, there was absolutely no way he would let her leave here unscathed!

“Can you compose poems?” Xiao Yun asked again, finding a soft couch to sit on.

“What kind of poems?”

As if he hadn’t expected her to ask this, Xiao Yun was stunned for a moment, then sat up straight and gestured to the scholars sitting around the pond pavilion.

“Come on, let’s give Young Lady A’yu a few poems, just to start things off!” He shouted.

“Alright, I’ll go first! ‘By the north window, I casually rest my head, the south eaves are not yet shaded by the sun. Reaching up, the hook falls from the silk screen, plucking the strings, I play the pipa. In my dream, I smile, revealing my charming dimples, my sleeping hair pressed against fallen flowers. The mat pattern appears on my jade wrist, fragrant sweat soaking the red gauze.'”

Lu Sheng started, and other scholars also chimed in:

“‘Taking off my robe, I don’t wait for persuasion, resting my head, I need to be held even closer. I fear others might see, my shyness revealed by the candlelight.'”

“‘Relying on love, she wants to advance, shyly she hesitates. From her red lips, a charming song emerges, her jade fingers play the delicate strings.'”

“‘For nights, she doesn’t comb her hair, her silken strands drape over her shoulders. She twists and turns on her lover’s lap, how can she not be pitied?'”

For a time, the air was filled with the sounds of sensual poetry and laughter. How could Xiao Jinyu not know that these poems were simply depicting the shyness and sadness of courtesans with an appreciative attitude? The style was extravagant and sensual, represented by the palace-style poetry of Emperor Jianwen, Xiao Gang, mostly describing the daily life of palace women and the love affairs between men and women. Over time, it became the decadent sound of a fallen nation.

“The literary style of Jiangzuo is immersed in metaphysical discussions, mocking the ambition to achieve great things, and advocating for the pursuit of carefree detachment.” This was the famous scholar Liu Jingyan’s evaluation of the situation during the Southern Liang Dynasty. It was precisely because of this that when Hou Jing rebelled against the Liang Dynasty, the thousand-year-old aristocratic families collapsed in an instant!

Indeed, their fighting spirit on the battlefield had been eroded! No wonder these scholars who couldn’t even tie up a chicken were called “two-legged sheep”! Hou Jing was able to conquer the entire Southern Liang with only eight thousand troops!

But what surprised Xiao Jinyu was that twenty years later, these Southern aristocratic families still admired this luxurious and sensual style, indulging in poetry, wine, and pleasure, without any ambition.

“How about it? What do you think of these poems?”

Just as Xiao Jinyu was lost in thought and even clenched her fists in anger, Xiao Yun suddenly leaned over and asked.

Xiao Jinyu’s mind focused slightly, and she loosened her grip, smiling, “A’yu really doesn’t understand the minds of men. Such beautiful words, even Zuo Si might not be able to match! Forgive A’yu’s ignorance, I’m not good at this kind of poetry!”

As soon as she finished speaking, all the scholars showed disappointment on their faces. Lu Sheng even thought to himself: She’s just a superficial woman with nothing but looks!

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he heard her say, “However, although A’yu is not good at poetry, I’m good at painting. If you gentlemen don’t mind, A’yu can present you with a painting and dance performance!”

Painting and dance? What is painting and dance? Could it be some kind of sensual dance created by a famous courtesan from a house of pleasure?

Lu Sheng sneered in his heart and said, “Alright! What kind of painting can you do, Young Lady?” He immediately urged Xiao Yun, “Hurry up and have someone bring paper, ink, brushes, and inkstone for this Young Lady!”

“Yes!” The maid bowed and retreated.

“Wait!” Xiao Jinyu suddenly called out to the maid, adding, “For the paper, I want seven-foot brocade. For the brushes, I want two three-foot Zhang Zhi brushes. In addition, I want ten boxes of rouge and ten peach blossoms!”

The maid looked up in astonishment, but saw Xiao Yun’s gaze fall upon her with a meaningful look. He said, “Go and get them! Give them to her!”

Everyone was a little puzzled. Lu Sheng even jokingly asked, “Young Lady, what are you going to do with these? Could it be that you’re going to give us a surprise and paint something extraordinary?”

At this time, Xiao Jinyu had already stood up. She stood gracefully, her gaze meeting Lu Sheng’s, then sweeping across the aristocratic sons. Her cherry lips parted slightly as she said, “That’s right, today A’yu will paint an erotic painting for you gentlemen. How about it?”