The Plot of a Concubine's Revenge

Chapter 20 Paintings and Characters

Ren Yaoyi and Ren Yaohua followed behind Ren Shimin, walking towards the main room, their pace was light but with a bit of solemnity. Ren Shimin turned his head from time to time, talking to Ren Yaoqi about his participation in the painting meeting in the capital, his voice carrying excitement and pride that was hard to hide.

“...... The one that won the top prize this time was Yan Bei Wang Shi Zi's 'Autumn Dwelling in Dong Zhuang', whose painting style is majestic and shows the royal style. But for my father's favorite, or Chen Jingyang old senior's that “over the plum forest”, really is the air bone ancient and elegant, the spirit of the elegant, make the brush without traces, ink wonderful, layout changes, coloring high Hua ...... “Ren Shimin said, eyes flashing infinite love for painting, as if the painting of a grass and a tree, A mountain and a water have all taken root in his heart.

When Ren Yaoqi saw him shaking his head and getting excited when he talked about paintings, she couldn't help but smile, and a warm current welled up in her heart. She said softly, ''Didn't father participate this time as well? I remember that it was the pair of Four Scenes of Western Mountain that you were most proud of.”

Ren Shimin's words lurched, and a hint of shy convergence appeared on her face, as if a child had been uncovered. “This is my father's first time to participate in the painting fair, before entering the capital was still full of confidence, thought that even if he did not win the first prize, the top three awards would not escape. But after seeing Mr. Chen's paintings, my father deeply thought that he was night and day ......” he sighed, his tone carrying a few points of helplessness and self-deprecation.

Ren Yaoqi shook his head at his words, a look of determination flashing in his eyes. “Old Mr. Chen is already past his prime, but you, father, are not yet in your prime. When he is your age, he may not be stronger than you, I heard people say that although painting relies on skills, personal life experience should not be ignored. Even for the same person, the autumn scenery in his eyes at the age of thirty is different from the autumn scenery in his eyes at the age of fifty. Different vision, different mentality, different paintings.” Her words revealed a deep understanding of art, as well as her infinite trust and support for her father.

Ren Shimin was stunned at her words, and even stopped his steps to think carefully. Then, he turned his head to look at Ren Yaoyao period, his eyes full of surprise and appreciation, and laughed out loud, ''Yaoyao, your words are fresh, but they are also extremely somewhat reasonable. I don't know which high ranking person I heard it from? My father must seek him out for some advice.”

Ren Yaoyao looked down and smiled, but her thoughts drifted a bit far away. It was actually quite a pity that her father's Four Scenes of the Western Mountains did not participate in this year's painting fair. This painting was the only thing she brought out of the house when she left the Ren family. Later inadvertently by Mr. Pei saw after marveling, straight asked her where the person who made the painting. When he learned that it was her late father, he was so shocked.

Mr. Pei had evaluated the painting with some of his friends and said that the person who made the painting had great aura, but only slightly lacked some fire, and in time it would surely be famous all over the world. Aura is the most precious and indispensable soul of a painter.

“Yao Yao?” Ren Shimin came over and gently patted her head, his eyes full of favor.

Ren Yaoyao was dissatisfied, “Father, how many times have I told you not to pat my head!” The tone unconsciously carried a little girl's pout, causing her to freeze herself.

Ren Shimin was already used to his little daughter's pampering from time to time, and laughed out loud, “You can be so smart at such a young age, so it's not surprising that my father is the credit for this daily pat, which is called the head of the stick!”

Looking at his self-satisfied expression, Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but smile. In the eyes of everyone in the Ren family it was Ren Yaohua who was smarter and more knowledgeable than Ren Yaoyi, her mother was no exception. Only her father felt that his youngest daughter was better than anyone else.

Since she was young, she had shown a talent for painting that was different from her peers, and in order to be different from her own sister and fight for her father's favor, she was willing to put in hard work on her calligraphy and painting. Although Mr. Pei later commented that her paintings were too craftsman-like and too hasty, and would never become a master. In her father's eyes, this daughter who could talk to him about qin, chess, calligraphy and painting at such a young age was the most like him. For this reason, he was indifferent to his other children, but only loved her very much.

Ren Yaoqi looked over to Ren Yaohua on the side, Ren Yaohua was very silent along the way, in fact she had always been very silent when facing Ren Shimin. She was not close to her father. There was a hint of detachment in her eyes, as if she was in two different worlds from the father-daughter duo in front of her.

In between jokes, they had already arrived at the main room.

Sister Zhou has long been poking her head at the door, seeing the three of them come busy smiling and coming forward to salute: “Master, you finally came back, Mrs. and the two young ladies have been thinking about it. I heard that the snow blocked several roads outside the city, many merchants are blocked on the halfway, know that you have already departed from the capital Mrs. anxious, sent several sets of people to probe the news ...... “ her words with a hint of worry, but also revealed a kind of joy like a weight off his shoulders.

Ren Shimin nodded slightly towards her and led the way into the main room.

Li had already learned of Ren Shimin's return, and had already had her hair combed and changed into brightly colored clothes, sitting against the bed. When she heard the voices outside, she fixed her gaze on the curtain, a flash of anticipation and nervousness in her eyes.

When the father and daughter trio came in, Li Clan busily sat up straight and looked at Ren Shimin with some restraint, “You, you're back.”

Ren Shimin smiled faintly and nodded, then found a chair closer to the bedside and sat down, and said gently, “I heard that you are sick, has the doctor come to see you? What medicine did you take?” There was a hint of concern in his voice, yet he maintained a just-right distance.

Li answered carefully one by one. As husband and wife asked and answered, Ren Shimin was like a routine, thoughtful but indifferent. Li was careful in answering every word, afraid of which word was not used appropriately.

When Ren Shimin finished his questioning, the husband and wife had nothing more to say. One lowered his head to drink tea, while the other looked at his clasped hands and froze. The main room fell into silence for a moment, with only the sound of the wind gently rattling outside the window.

Sister Zhou watched from the sidelines, dry and anxious, one after another, winking at Li, eyes full of anxiety and helplessness.

Seeing this, Li bit her lip and finally gathered the courage to take the initiative to pick up the topic. “I heard earlier that you would not arrive until a few days later, but I didn't want to come back today.” There was a hint of trembling in her voice, yet she struggled to remain calm.

Sister Zhou couldn't help but secretly stroke her forehead, muttering in her heart: how did that sound like she wasn't happy to have someone come back so early?

Fortunately, Ren Shimin didn't mind, putting down his tea bowl and nodding his head, “I just happened to meet the Han family's people, there are many of them and it's convenient to open the way.” His tone carries a hint of faint explanation without going into too much detail.

Li said naively, “Oh, the Han family ah.” There was a hint of confusion in her voice, clearly not knowing much about the Han family.

The Han family is newly moved to White Crane Town, Li seldom went out to socialize before, and went to the manor for a year, so there is no impression, this will not be able to continue.

Sister Zhou busily said, “Then we should prepare a gift to send to the Han family to say thank you.” There was a hint of eagerness in her words, clearly wanting to relieve Li of her burden.

Li also immediately nodded, “Yes, yes, yes, Sister Zhou ......”

Ren Shimin frowned slightly, seemingly interrupting Li's words with some displeasure: “You don't need to worry about this, I've already prepared a gift.” His voice carried a hint of unquestionable firmness, causing Li's words to come to an abrupt halt.

Li was busy nodding her head, a flash of gratitude in her eyes, and a hint of apology in her eyes as she looked at Sister Zhou. Sister Zhou was busy waving her hand, signaling that she didn't need to care.

The atmosphere in the main room momentarily fell into silence again, with only Ren Yaoqi occasionally raising her head to look out of the window, a hint of thoughtfulness flickering in her eyes. It was clear in her heart that the relationship between father and mother was not as harmonious as it appeared on the surface. Although father was still polite to mother, that politeness carried an unspeakable sense of distance. And mother's awe and caution towards father made that sense of distance even more pronounced.

She secretly sighed in her heart, but knew that the complexity of this family relationship could not be changed overnight. She could only hope that in the days to come, her father and mother could have more communication and understanding, and less disconnection and misunderstanding.

At this moment, Ren Yaohua remained silent, her gaze always resting on her toes, as if there was some secret there that attracted her. Her inner world seemed to be even more complicated and deeper than the atmosphere in this main room.