This painter in the capital is surnamed Su. Four generations of his family have been scholars. However, his generation has fallen into poverty and can only make a living by painting for people.
When Du Wanchun and Zhou Ruiyuan first met him in the capital, he was still selling paintings in an alley.
Painter Su liked the picture of the golden boy and jade girl he painted for Xiao Mianmian and Xiao Qing'er very much, so he painted another one when he came back.
He hung the paintings in his shop and would take a look at them from time to time every day.
On this day, the old eunuch from the palace came to his shop to pick up the painting.
A few months ago, because the emperor missed his three sons too much, he specially found the painter Su and drew his three sons based on his dictation.
"Painter Su, how did you do with that painting?" the old eunuch came over and asked.
"Eunuch Zhang, wait a minute, I'm going to get the painting right now." After saying this, Painter Su immediately turned around and went to the back room to get the painting.
The old eunuch stood in the room, looking up and around, and his eyes accidentally fell on the portrait of Xiao Mianmian. ?.?????.???
He didn't know why, but the people in this painting gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity, and he couldn't help but be attracted to this painting.
"Eunuch Zhang, the painting is done."
Painter Su came out of the back room and handed him the painting in his hand.
The old eunuch was still looking at Xiao Mianmian's painting.
Painter Su called a few more times, "Eunuch Zhang, paint."
The old eunuch finally came to his senses, looked down at the scroll in his hand, and pointed at the painting of Xiao Mianmian, "Painter Su, who is the child in this painting?"
Painter Su raised his eyes and said with a smile, "This is the daughter of an old friend of mine."
The old eunuch still looked at her intently, "I always feel like I have seen her somewhere."
Xiao Mianmian looks like her mother. Painter Su smiled and said, "This child looks like her mother. I guess you had a chance encounter with her when they were in the capital."
The old eunuch asked quickly: "I wonder who this lady is?"
Painter Su smiled and replied: "That's Shopkeeper Du of the Zhou family."
The old eunuch suddenly realized, "It turns out to be Shopkeeper Du. I thought it looked so familiar. It turned out to be her daughter."
Although little Mianmian looks like her mother, the older her eyes grow, the more she resembles her father, especially those eyes that are brighter than ordinary people.
Although the old eunuch said this, looking at Xiao Mianmian's eyes, he always felt a chill all over his body.
The feeling of familiarity is still there, and it has not been broken because Painter Su said Du Wanchun.
He felt really uncomfortable and quickly shook his head and took the painting handed over by painter Su.
Painter Su sent him out.
Before the old eunuch had time to open the painting and look at it, he returned to the palace.
The emperor's condition worsened, and he was treated with thousand-year-old ginseng by the imperial physician. He looked much better.
He sat up, stretched out his hand towards the old eunuch and said, "How's it going? Have you got the portrait?"
The old eunuch handed him the portrait respectfully, "Your Majesty, here is the portrait."
The emperor took the portrait from the old eunuch with slightly trembling hands and slowly opened it, only to see three children slowly appearing in front of them.
"Yuan'er! This is Yuan'er!"
The emperor looked at the taller child inside and was very excited.
The old eunuch was stunned for a moment. This child looked exactly like the prince when he was young.
The emperor's eyes were red, and he reached out and gently brushed the face of the child in the painting, "It's really him, my Yuan'er."
The old eunuch looked at the other two children.
The other two are somewhat similar to His Highness the Second and His Highness the Third, but they are not as similar as His Highness the Crown Prince.
He couldn't help but praise: "Painter Su is really amazing. He was able to draw the young Crown Prince with just a few words from us."
The emperor held the scroll carefully, wiped away his tears and said: "Reward, reward, later, you can reward him with all the best Four Treasures of the Study in my study."
The old eunuch saluted and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
The emperor held the painting tightly in his arms, his face full of regret, and his red eyes had long been filled with tears.
The reason why the Su painter was able to paint Zhou Ruiyuan's childhood portrait so closely was because he saw several well-behaved children in Du Wanchun's family that day in Cheng'an County.
I drew the three children now in the painting according to Yi'er Yu'er's appearance.
Yi'er already looks similar to Zhou Ruiyuan, but if the painter Su Su adds some things based on the emperor's dictation, it will be even more similar.
The emperor was immersed in the joy of getting the portrait and had no doubts about it.
However, the old eunuch still felt that Xiao Mianmian's portrait was a bit strange.
At night, the old eunuch dreamed of Xiao Mianmian's paintings and then of Zhou Ruiyuan's childhood paintings.
Finally he suddenly woke up. He clutched his chest and gasped and said to himself: "Yes, yes, those eyes are exactly the same as those of His Highness the Crown Prince. They are so similar, so similar."
