Tao Shaozhang's face was full of suspicion, and at first he thought they were all fakes.
But I bent down and picked up a pair at random, with a surprised look on my face. There is no doubt that it is genuine!
There is an embroidered scarf sewn under each calligraphy and painting, with the word "Qizhen" on it, which means that Nanshi Qizhen Pavilion has authenticated and sold it.
Looking at the other scattered calligraphy and paintings, Tao Shaozhang was confused, and subconsciously blurted out: "They are all genuine. If you don't pick them up quickly, don't destroy them."
The young disciple named Wuzi hurriedly bent down to pick it up, while Tao Shaozhang opened other bags and took a breath of cold air.
After all the baggage was unpacked, Tao Shaozhang looked at Chu Qing, and there were only two words on his face: Embarrassing, in capital letters, and in bold.
It is indeed a gift, and this "gift" is extremely valuable.
Although the Tao family is a famous family, Tao Yao, the head of Tao Mansion in Beijing, is an important minister in the court.
But the Tao family is different from other aristocratic families. Poetry and etiquette are passed down from generation to generation, and there are no businessmen in the family. The Tao family only owns a village in the northern suburbs and a few acres of idle land, and they rely on the salary issued by the court to survive.
So to put it more bluntly, Tao Shaozhang has never seen much of the world.
People often come to Tao Mansion and give expensive gifts, but they usually look at the gift list first, and if they are of high value, they will naturally decline.
Tao Shaozhang likes poetry and songs the most, and he always likes to go to places like Qizhen Pavilion on weekdays, but he can't afford it, so he just reads and appreciates it.
It doesn't matter if it's just a single calligraphy and painting worth a few strings, or at most a dozen strings.
But these dozens of calligraphy and paintings were all made by famous Confucian scholars in the capital. Tao Shaozhang suddenly didn't know which one to look at first, and he wished he could take his baggage and go back to his bedroom to slowly appreciate them.
The ancients were like this and had little entertainment activities. Especially these so-called literati, who only liked calligraphy and painting. Their hobbies were copying and appreciation. They were similar to the otakus of later generations who suddenly got dozens of gigabytes... dozens of newly released 3A game masterpieces.
"Oh, Mr. Chu, this... this, this, this... what should I do? It's precious, too precious."
Or maybe he was an official. After the initial embarrassment, Tao Shaozhang suddenly became warm and held his hands in his arms: "You can't do it, you absolutely can't do it. My father always teaches you not to accept heavy gifts. It's precious, it's really precious."
Chu Qing rolled his eyes.
This Tao Yao is funny enough. If you say you don't accept gifts, I can still admire you a little, but in the end you don't accept "heavy gifts" at all.
What do you mean, copper coins and silver are too "heavy", but silver notes are light.
He knew how to say polite words, and when he saw that the other party was a little more enthusiastic, Chu Qing also waved his hand in a pretentious manner: "It's not good to not bring a gift when we meet for the first time. I like to make friends. I know that the Tao family are all rich scholars. Small gifts are not disrespectful."
"It's necessary." Tao Shaozhang said seriously: "Although it is an elegant gift, it is too valuable. I accept it with my heart. This gift..."
Chu Qing was slightly disappointed, knowing that the other party really thought it was too valuable and dared not accept it. He was about to get the baggage back when Tao Shaozhang added another sentence.
"This gift... I can observe it with my father for a few days, and then return it to your Chu Mansion in a few days."
"Zhuo." Chu Qing's face was full of admiration and he said sincerely: "The Tao family is indeed a worthy and established generation, I admire you."
Qin An, who was watching the excitement, didn't expect that they were all calligraphy and paintings written by famous artists. Then he thought about it, couldn't there be so many calligraphy and paintings that could only be packed with baggage?
The old man suddenly laughed. He didn't know whether he thought Chu Qing was interesting or something. He said to Tao Shaozhang: "Young master, as a guest, I also bring gifts. It is appropriate to enter the house to rest for a while and drink a few sips of coarse tea."
Tao Shaozhang's expression changed slightly, as if hesitating, and then nodded: "Okay, then I will follow Brother Yu into the house to drink a few cups of tea."
Chu Qing breathed a huge sigh of relief.
It was too strenuous to enter the gate of Tao Mansion, but luckily, I was able to get in.
With false politeness on his lips, Chu Qing followed Tao Shaozhang into Tao Mansion through the side door.
The gate is large and the courtyard is small, this is the Tao Mansion.
The door looked quite big from the outside, but when I entered the mansion, I realized that it was not as big as the Chu Mansion inside.
The courtyard at the third entrance and the east and west wing rooms have a pleasant view, but the wall tiles are mostly worn and mottled. There is a main room and two side rooms, and the back should be the residence of the female family members. At a glance, you can tell that the area is relatively small, which is not suitable for the prince's young master's background. A second-grade official position.
Not to mention the high-ranking officials from the second rank, or the humble officials from the eighth or ninth rank in Beijing, there are also many people in mansions that are more than ten times wider than this.
After leading Chu Qing all the way to the small pavilion outside the east wing, Tao Shaozhang smiled and said, "My father is waiting for guests, so why don't you, the foolish brother, sit with the wise brother for a while."
Or say that you are short-handed, and after a while, you are both a foolish brother and a wise brother.
Chu Qing also figured it out. It was estimated that the other party was not planning to introduce Tao Yao to him at all, so he did not tell the truth and just smiled and said a few polite words.
Qin An didn't follow. The servant brought tea and the two sat looking at each other. Fu San stood aside, looking around with a sense of superiority on his face.
I don’t know what makes him superior. The Chu Mansion is big and impressive. The problem is that Chu Wensheng is the minister of the Ministry of Works. He is asked to take back the scraps left over from the construction of various palaces and official residences by the Ministry of Works. The family is renovating the Chu Mansion. Today they carry two bricks and the day after tomorrow they kick in a bunch of nails. How can that not be impressive?
Tao Shaozhang smiled and said: "Have a cup of coarse tea, the Tao family is neglecting you."
"You're welcome." Chu Qing imitated his father and took a sip of tea, feeling that his mouth smelled of Saturn.
This tea is quite thick, and the tea leaves in it look like sawdust.
Tao Shaozhang also picked up the teacup and blew the foam from the tea leaves, but did not drink it.
Then... nothing happened. Neither of them knew what to say first.
The atmosphere was so awkward that Fu San used his toes to dig out another north wing for Tao Mansion.
The two put down their teacups and looked at each other, feeling really embarrassed.
There is nothing to talk about. One is a notoriously evil young man in Beijing, known as a living beast, and the other is a young and talented man with outstanding literary talent. He is in a high position at such an age. The two of them are basically different.
Chu Qing was a little anxious.
This is my future brother-in-law or brother-in-law, so I can't just talk about everything.
After clearing his throat, Chu Qing had nothing to say.
"Brother... well, it's not that Brother Tao is hanging around... It's not that Brother Tao is working somewhere high."
"Brother Yu works in Dali Temple as Shaoqing."
"What do you usually do?"
"Nothing happens on weekdays, just doing the temple service."
Chu Qing was stunned for a moment: "What happened to the master of ceremonies? Why did you stab him?"
Tao Shaozhang cleared his throat and didn't understand for a moment.
"Hmm... By the way, I wonder what kind of errands my brother does on weekdays."
"I am a homeless person with nothing to do. I spend my days living in a fish and meat town, oppressing and bullying..."
Chu Qing stopped in time and suddenly remembered.
This is my own personality. It’s nice to say but not nice to hear. Why are you nagging me about this?
After thinking for a while, Chu Qing said in a deep voice: "Experience life."
“What does it mean to experience life?”
"It's just to understand the sufferings of the people. How do you say that? Yes, the rich people's bones are frozen to death due to the smell of wine and meat."
After finishing his words, Tao Shaozhang's expression changed slightly, his lips moved a bit, then he suddenly stood up and actually gave a heavy salute to Chu Qing.
Before Chu Qing, who was confused, could react, Tao Shaozhang turned around and shouted: "Come here, let's exchange tea and serve fragrant tea!"
Chu Qing cursed her repeatedly in her heart.
This guy really looked down on others. No wonder the tea had a earthy smell. He even suspected that the teapot was filled with sawdust. He didn't bring serious tea leaves to his feelings.
