Chapter 700 Qiantang Meng Xuebin
Bi Yuntao laughed. Xue Ruyue was frightened when she saw his face glowing with lust. She hurriedly took a few steps away from him, her heart pounding. This evil man's eyes were so annoying.
Bi Yuntao was thinking about it when he heard the old man suddenly clapped his hands and said happily: "Yes."
His voice was very loud, but it startled everyone who was thinking. The old man's face was full of excitement. He took a small brush and wrote a line of big characters on a piece of white paper: "Li Liliu" "
After reading it, Bi Yuntao was stunned. This old man is really quite capable! In the short time of half a stick of incense, he actually thought about the same article.
When everyone saw that the old man had come out, they breathed a long sigh of relief, but they were also a little disappointed. Their dream of getting the "West Lake Misty Rain Picture" was completely shattered.
The old man's face was full of joy, and he looked at Bi Yuntao eagerly and said: "Brother, what do you think of my article "Li Lili"?"
Bi Yuntao saw that his temples were pale, but he was as surprised as a child at this moment. He nodded and smiled and said, "The old man is so talented. This kid is so impressed by him."
"Wrong, wrong, wrong!" The old man stroked his beard and said with a smile: "This little brother can write an article with just the same pronunciation. He is really a genius."
Bi Yuntao didn't know how to write the word shameless, so he readily accepted the old man's approval.
"Thank you, sir, let's talk to each other." Bi Yuntao laughed.
The old man said with great interest: "I used to paint with people, but I never wrote seals. I never thought that I would meet such a talented person as my little brother on the bank of Qiantang and Su Di Bridge. It’s an exception.”
Bi Yuntao smiled and said: "Thank you for the award, old man. In fact, your painting is very good. It should be able to sell..."
Xue Ruyue glared at him hastily, and Bi Yuntao suddenly realized, oh, he almost spilled the beans in the moment of joy.
The old man didn't take this at all, and there was no sign of anger on his face. Instead, he smiled and said, "Is this little brother going to sell my painting?"
Bi Yuntao smiled coquettishly and said: "The old gentleman is so righteous. If I lie and deceive you, it would be disrespectful. To be honest, old gentleman, I only have half-knowledge about poetry and painting. This painting is in my hands." It’s also a waste here, why not set a price and sell it to someone who really appreciates it, wouldn’t that be mutually beneficial?”
The literati of this era attached great importance to their calligraphy. Many people were unwilling to associate their works with money, thinking that it would be tainted with the smell of copper and demeaning themselves.
Bi Yuntao's words made Xue Ruyue tremble with fear, and thought to herself, you are usually a spirited person, why are you so reckless today.
Although Xue Ruyue had some knowledge of people, she was not as good as Bi Yuntao. Bi Yuntao saw that this old man was luxuriously dressed but very peaceful, so he had no need to hide it from him, so he told him directly.
The old man smiled heartily and said: "My brother is indeed a man of integrity. I admire him very much. If this painting can be turned into real gold and silver, it will be a great thing. Business is to turn things into money. Yes, if everyone in the world has a mind like my little brother, why should we, China, be unhappy?"
This sentence made Bi Yuntao very happy. Listening to the meaning of the old man's words, he was not only not ashamed, but also happy. It seemed that he had no rejection of doing business, which was rare.
"Little brother, are you in business?" the old man asked.
Bi Yuntao nodded, and the old man smiled and said: "Since you are doing business in Jiangnan, maybe we will meet one day. Today I want to ask for the seal."
He took the small regular script and wrote five small characters on the corner of "Picture of Misty Rain on the West Lake", then smiled, threw away the pen, and left.
Damn, this old man walks quite coolly. Bi Yuntao looked at his back and thought to himself, then he looked at the picture of smoke and rain. The ink on it was not yet dry, but it was - Qiantang Meng Xuebin.
Needless to say, Qiantang is the place where he is standing now. However, with the fall of the previous dynasty, the place name Qiantang became history. It really became the former Tang Dynasty and was changed to Zhejiang.
But, who is this Meng Xuebin? Not only is he good at painting, he is also very talented in literature. Bi Yuntao felt a little regretful. He could have received two copies of "Pictures of Smoke and Rain in the West Lake", but the old man did have some skills and actually wrote a homonymous text. It was a pity that he had only one copy of "Pictures of Smoke and Rain in the West Lake".
Bi Yuntao didn't feel anything when he saw the words Qiantang Meng Xuebin, but the officials next to him exclaimed: "Qiantang Meng Xuebin? He is Mr. Wen Chang, Master Meng of Wenhua Palace."
"You are ignorant. You are still a bachelor of Wenhua Palace!" said an official: "After the death of the late emperor, Master Meng was promoted to the left prime minister."
Ga! Bi Yuntao's smile froze on his face. The surname Meng was not common, so I said something was wrong. It turned out that the old man just now was the left prime minister! But why did the old man, whom we hadn't seen for several months, pick up the fashion and go to Korea for plastic surgery?
Xue Ruyue hurriedly came over, looked at the small regular script, and said happily: "It seems that the handwriting is really that of the left prime minister. But why is it different from the ones I have seen?"
Bi Yuntao now also wants to ask the old man Zuo Xiang what method he used to change his face.
That old man, the left prime minister, is really bad. He called Xue Ruyue as his wife in front of him. According to the old man's character of repaying his flaws, I am afraid that he has offended him completely this time, and I don't know what method he is secretly thinking of to deal with himself.
"Sister Xue, don't be excited." Bi Yuntao rolled up the scroll and said: "Prime Minister Zuo is not here just to paint for you and me. Prime Minister Zuo is busy with government affairs and should be in the capital. Why did he suddenly appear here? What about the West Lake? How could someone so leisurely come here to paint the misty rain of the West Lake?"
Xue Ruyue is also an astute person. She was surprised when she heard this: "You mean, the left prime minister is here to attend the annual meeting of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce?"
Bi Yuntao nodded and said: "Sister Xue, you have also said that Jiangsu and Zhejiang are the first merchants in the country, with an unparalleled status. Every year there are important people in Beijing at the annual meeting, and this year will be no exception. Now the left prime minister is so lucky Appearing on the shore of the West Lake, other than that, it’s hard for me to imagine what else he could do for him?”
Xue Ruyue said excitedly: "If it is true, with the relationship between Zuo Xiang and you, our Xue family will definitely be able to suffer less criticism."
Bi Yuntao said: "Sister Xue, don't be too happy. It's all our guess now. We still don't know why the left prime minister came to Hangzhou."
After some thinking, Bi Yuntao had some idea of the purpose of Prime Minister Zuo's visit. But seeing the joyful excitement on Xue Ruyue's face, Bi Yuntao refrained from throwing cold water on her.
The old man Zuo Xiang is here in person, probably because of Meng Ruoxi's matter. What father would be happy if Meng Ruoxi went out to Beijing and was eaten up and wiped clean by herself? Just now, he had spoken to Xue Ruyue about his wife, and he could hear everything clearly. He still didn't know how the old left prime minister was going to make things difficult for him. Bi Yuntao thought sadly.
