The palace maid was very fast and brought Taiping's set of tools in less than a cup of tea.
Although there is no one-size-fits-all approach to painting, if you are familiar with one painting method and use another painting method, at least it will not be too ugly.
Painting a portrait is definitely not appropriate in a palace. So, under the order of the Queen of Heaven, the group came to the flower bed in front of Mingyi Hall.
There is a clump of peonies planted here, which is the queen's favorite. She usually waters it herself. In fact, a small pavilion next to it was built specifically for it. There are people here all year round to take care of the peonies for the Queen.
Standing in front of the peonies, the queen said to Li Xian who was setting up a drawing board opposite: "My mother has been feeling unwell for the past two days, so she can't stand for too long. Besides, we haven't had lunch yet."
Li Xian picked up the thinnest brush and sketched on the paper, and then replied: "Don't worry, my dear, I only need to finalize the draft, and then you won't need to stand there all the time. The weather is hot now, if It's my fault that I caused you heatstroke."
After speaking, Li Xian continued to paint.
There is no other way to draft with ink on the drawing paper. There are no pencils at the moment, so when painting, it is important to start without regrets. Without that much time, I had to make a rough draft first.
Taiping was fascinated by Sixth Brother's painting skills, so he leaned to the left side of the drawing board and waited with wide eyes to watch Sixth Brother paint.
She found that unlike ink painting, Sixth Brother quickly sketched out a human shape on the paper using various short lines, and soon, the peony shape also appeared.
After drawing these, he took a look at the lines and found that there were no disharmonious places and no areas that could not be covered by the paint. Li Xian breathed a sigh of relief and said to the tired Queen in front of Peony: "Auntie, it's okay. , you can move inside the pavilion for now, I still need to continue painting."
Tian Ping still knew about vivid portrayal, but she had never seen any painter who just drew some indifferent base drawings and made people leave.
Out of trust, the Queen of Heaven did not come to see, but took Li Xian with her into the small pavilion, and asked the eunuch to bring some ice, half of which was given to the prince who was painting outside to cool down the heat.
Since the draft can be used, there is no need to copy it again.
He took out Taiping's paints and tried the colors on a piece of white paper. After confirming the colors, Li Xian continued painting.
What is the most important part of painting a portrait of the Queen? It’s not about peonies or clothes. The most important thing is not to make people look too old.
Although the diva is good at maintaining her appearance, her body is indeed in decline.
Therefore, Li Xian couldn't help but get rid of her wrinkles, and her face shape was slightly modified, making her look thinner. As for her body shape, she also became more restrained based on the current situation.
Finally, the character's image was finalized. Taiping, who was watching the whole process, had his eyes widened and didn't know what to say.
In her opinion, the person on the paper was clearly her mother from a few years ago, and she looked exactly the same.
"Brother Imperial, how did you do it?"
"Don't interrupt me yet, I'll explain it to you later."
After hearing Brother Six's words, Taiping had no choice but to shut up, sit on a raised bed, and continue reading.
After the characters are finalized, the flowers become easier to draw. There are one or two mistakes in the flowers. If you don't look closely, you won't be able to tell.
The same cannot be said for the main subject of the picture - the human being. Including the style of clothing, the position of accessories, and the color, everything can't be wrong at all. If you get it wrong, the whole painting will be ruined.
Although he was sweating like rain while standing under the scorching sun, this was the effect Li Xian wanted.
About an hour later, the painting was completed, and Li Xian looked as if he had been fished out of the water.
Taking the cloth handed over by Taiping to wipe his sweat, Li Xian turned to look at the pavilion and asked, "Mother, do you need my son's seal signature on the painting?"
Seeing that the painting was finally completed, the queen waved and said: "No hurry, take it over first and show it to your mother."
The paint on the painting was not completely dry yet, so the two eunuchs carefully carried the painting board and followed the prince and princess into the pavilion.
When Li Xiancai entered the pavilion, Li Xian said impatiently: "Quick, quick, bring lunch. It's already afternoon. I'm starving to death."
The Queen of Heaven slapped him angrily and said, "What's the rush? Let's take a look at the painting first and then eat later."
The two eunuchs carefully placed the drawing board, and then the Queen got up and walked closer to check.
Li Xian, on the other hand, stood aside with a smile, waiting for the Queen's evaluation.
Unlike Gu Kaizhi's paintings, he paints portraits and strives to perfectly reproduce all the details. The word "lifelike" is the most appropriate word to use in his evaluation.
Sure enough, when the queen saw the painting, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and almost screamed in surprise.
She was very clear about her own appearance. The self in the picture was clearly the same as she was when she was most beautiful a few years ago, or even more than ten years ago.
Moreover, unlike other painters, this painting is so similar that anyone who knows me can spot it at a glance.
Li Xian was also startled and couldn't help but ask: "Brother Six, how did you draw it? This, this looks so similar!"
Li Xian smiled and said: "Just put your mind to it. How about it? You didn't wait in vain."
Li Xian really didn't know what to say, so he could only show his thumbs up to express his admiration.
After a long time, the genius came back to his senses. Looking at her old self, she couldn't help but think of some things in the past. It's a pity that although I am the mother of a country, I still cannot withstand the erosion of time. Although I have deliberately gained some weight and gained some weight in order to smooth out those annoying wrinkles, this is only a temporary measure.
These days, I find that wrinkles still appear.
It is foreseeable that in the days to come, my appearance will be completely gone forever.
Now, with the painting of the prince here, it can give me a place to reminisce in the future.
Breathing a long sigh of relief, the Queen looked at Li Xian, reached out and patted his head, and said, "No wonder Taiping admires your painting skills so much. I have nothing to say. My mother likes this painting very much. You Just leave your signature and seal."
Li Xian smiled, walked to the painting, picked up a pen and wrote "Prince Xian" in the corner, and used his own seal.
Walking to the painting again to admire it, the Queen nodded with satisfaction and told the female official: "Find the best framer to frame this painting. If there is any damage, please come and see it."
Seeing what the Queen said, the female officer who was familiar with the Queen's temperament knew that the Queen really liked the painting to the core. She quickly agreed and specially called a dozen people to escort the painting away.
Watching the palace maids and eunuchs take the painting away, the Queen suddenly realized it and told Chunmei: "Go and get the bottle of wine that has been stored in the inner palace for many years."
After finishing her instructions, she looked at the prince again. The Queen felt that he was getting more and more pleasing to her eyes.
Seeing that there were still beads of sweat flowing down the prince's forehead, he wiped it with his handkerchief pitifully and said, "I'm so sorry for my son. My mother likes this painting very much. Tell me, what reward do you want?" Mom will definitely agree."
Li Xian smiled and said without hesitation: "Yesterday, I negotiated a deal with the Wang family in Taiyuan. They want to send a large amount of grain to Chang'an. I ordered my subordinates to check it out. Outside Chang'an City It would be great to have a big warehouse, but this warehouse belongs to the inner palace. Since I want to reward my son, how about giving that warehouse to my son?"
Originally, after getting the painting, the Queen had forgotten about it. Now that Li Xian brought it up again, the Queen felt no longer angry at all when she recalled the incident.
She was not angry at all, but she was still prepared to ask. After all, it was too easy to be cheated when negotiating business with a wealthy family like the Wang family.
"Tell me, why do you want to do business with the Wang family? What kind of business are you doing?"
Li Xian smiled, took out the contract from his arms, and handed it to the Queen.
"Strong liquor?"
After reading the contract, the Queen was still a little confused. She could see nothing about this contract. If the business is done as stipulated in the contract, then although the prince will get the food he wants, the Wang family will be able to make a lot of money with this. Moreover, the greater the prince's demand, the more money the Wang family will make.
He really couldn't figure out why the prince wanted to send money to the Wang family.
Li Xian took the contract and did not explain it. He just handed it over and said, "Don't worry, grandma. In this contract, I dug a hole specifically for the Wang family. However, this hole cannot be used until the right time. It will be strange if the Wang family is not angered to death by then."
Seeing what Li Xian said, the Queen stopped asking and ordered the maids to pass on the meal.
Compared to the palace's kitchen, the East Palace's kitchen only has more menus, but in terms of ingredients, there's no way to compare.
Lobster! Especially from the taste point of view, it is still fresh, which is outrageous. Chang'an is inland, so I don't know how this thing was delivered.
Although Li Xian was a prince, this was his first time eating it, and he couldn't even talk while eating it.
Although the imperial chef cooked it with sake, something was wrong, but Li Xian, who had never eaten lobster in his life, really didn't know how to evaluate it.
Seeing that the brothers and Taiping both enjoyed eating, the Queen also smiled.
If you want to send this thing back to Chang'an from Lingnan, it is more difficult to send than some fruits. The shrimps are raised in a cabin filled with sea water and sent north, especially because going upstream requires the use of a large number of trackers along the way.
Countless people worked day and night to transport them, and even then, when they were transported to Chang'an, 60 to 70% of the shrimps were lost. As for those who are still alive, they are all here.
Such extravagant expenditure is just for the sake of food and drink. If the courtiers find out about it, they will definitely impeach him. Therefore, she ordered the inner government to fund this transportation, so even if someone knew about it, it would be nothing.
As for the reason for her arrangement like this, it lies with Li Xian.
Now, this child has become the prince. If he wants to maintain his transcendent status in the future, he will naturally need this child's support.
If there was nothing to do with the Wang family, the shrimp should have been sent to the East Palace today as a reward.
However, because of today's painting, it is appropriate to use it as a reward.
Seeing that Li Xian and Taiping were really happy after eating, although Li Xian felt it was fresh, he still didn't eat too much and stopped when he was seventy full.
Seeing that the prince put down his chopsticks, the queen said: "I know you are facing your younger brothers and sisters, but there are still a lot of shrimps, so there is no need to stop."
Li Xian shook his head and said: "It's past noon now, so you shouldn't eat too much, so as not to affect your appetite for dinner. Auntie, please take a look at the matter in the warehouse..."
The Queen smiled: "It's a small warehouse. Even if you ask for it on weekdays, my mother will agree. Don't worry, if you send a steward, he will take over today. As for your painting for my mother, you only reward the warehouse, which is too stingy." Well, let's do this, your East Palace will soon have three more Liangdi, and as a mother-in-law, I naturally can't be stingy. Come on..."
The female official Chunmei came out and waited for the Queen's orders.
"This is Hou Yi's decree to raise the imperial edict to the wife of Xiao He, a member of the Ministry of Rites, the wife of Kong Zhiyue, a scholar of Hongwenguan, and the wife of General Qi He of Yunhui. When passing on the edict, remember to tell them that they are tainted The light of the prince."
The Queen is in charge of the imperial edicts of the world, and it is within her scope of authority to raise the imperial edicts of women.
Although this is only an honorary reward, there is no doubt that these three people who receive the order will laugh like crazy. And they will definitely have a good impression of the prince. As for my daughter, when she left home. Inevitably, they will give them some advice.
Li Xian didn't expect that the queen would actually play such a trick, but a reward is better than nothing.
This matter concerns Liang Di. As the prince, he does not need to thank her.
Seeing that the queen stood up and wanted to go out, Li Xian quickly got up and followed. As for the two foodies, Li Xian and Taiping, they are still eating.
The scenery in front of Mingyi Hall is naturally one of the best places in the palace.
While walking on the path, the Queen of Heaven said to Li Xian: "Actually, one of the things that worries me the most is how you two get along. Although Li Xian had that incident, looking at it now, He is quite respectful to your elder brother. As for Taiping, my mother has only one daughter left now, so she is spoiled to the point of spoiling her. Don’t be annoyed by her. As an elder brother, you should always be more tolerant."
Any parent would worry about the relationship between their children, and emperors and empresses were no exception.
Li Xian smiled and replied: "Don't worry, grandma, I know what to do with my son. Although Taiping likes to have some fun, she will not come and disturb my son when he is busy."
The Queen of Heaven nodded, then turned around and asked: "What about Li Dan? Since you returned to Chang'an, you only said a few words to Li Dan at your brother's funeral. After that, you never talked to him. , why is this?”
"...."
Li Xian didn't expect that the queen would suddenly mention Li Dan, and he didn't know how to answer for a while.
