Four Seasons Brocade – CH 142

Chapter 142 ☆、

When Tang Xiujin saw Ah Wu, a look of surprise also flashed in his eyes. He froze, not moving forward, until he realized that the Fourth Prince, Chu Mao, was not far away.

Tang Xiujin quickly walked down the stairs and bowed to Chu Mao, “Fourth Prince.”

“Xiujin is here too. Perfect timing. Does Xu Bai Studio have any new treasures?” Chu Mao asked. From his tone, Ah Wu felt that he was quite familiar with Tang Xiujin.

Tang Xiujin smiled. “Yes, there is, but let the host introduce you personally.”

Chu Mao seemed somewhat surprised. “Su Mao has returned to the capital?”

“Yes, upon hearing that Your Highness had come, he immediately ushered me out. He’s currently preparing tea upstairs to await Your Highness.” Tang Xiujin waved his hand somewhat aggrievedly.

Chu Mao nodded.

Ah Wu thought that this Master Su Mao, the owner of Xu Bai Studio, must be an acquaintance of Chu Mao; otherwise, he would not be so aware of his eccentricities. He would never easily sit in ordinary places, hence even ushering Tang Xiujin out. The place must be being cleaned, and incense was being burned upstairs.

Tang Xiujin bid farewell to Chu Mao and left. Aside from his initial lapse in composure, he did not look at Ah Wu once more.

Chu Mao ascended the steps, and Ah Wu naturally followed. She had long admired the owner of Xu Bai Zhai but had never had the chance to meet him; he was a man of an elusive and secretive nature.

The steward, who had greeted them earlier, stood respectfully by the stairs, seeing them off upstairs.

The second floor of Xu Bai Studio was elegantly and exquisitely decorated, with all the furnishings being antiques over a hundred years old. Even with Ah Wu’s discerning eye, she was quite surprised by Master Su Mao’s extensive collection, and the fact that such valuable items were displayed so openly was a display of grandeur beyond the reach of ordinary people.

However, when Su Mao emerged from the inner room to greet them, Ah Wu’s astonishment was even greater than when she saw Tang Xiujin. She almost lost her composure, blinking three times before calming down.

Although Su Mao was dressed as a man, she was clearly a beautiful woman. Her appearance was charming and dignified, and her male attire possessed a unique allure. She was young, around eighteen or nineteen. Upon seeing Chu Mao and Ah Wu, she did not perform the traditional female curtsy but instead clasped her hands in a respectful bow.

“Your Highness,” Su Mao then turned to Ah Wu and smiled, “This must be Princess Qi.” Su Mao made a flicking motion with her sleeves and bowed, saying, “This humble student greets you.”

Ah Wu chuckled. This Young Lady Su was quite interesting.

Su Mao led the two into the inner room. Ah Wu thought to herself, “Eh?” The room was filled with the fragrance of cold plum blossoms, Chu Mao’s favorite scent. However, this cold plum blossom fragrance was the strangest; it was extremely difficult to create such a plum blossom scent through perfumery. It must have been made from winter plum blossoms, and she wondered how many winter plum blossoms and how much time had been spent to achieve such a fragrance.

Ah Wu glanced at Chu Mao and could not help but think, “It seems that although this Prince’s future appears bleak on the surface, quite a few women are interested in him.”

“Did you find anything good on your trip?” Chu Mao sat down and took two sips of the tea brewed by Mei Shangxue.

Ah Wu also savored the tea, appreciating its lingering aroma. The tea was excellent, the water was excellent, and the brewing technique was superb.

“Your ‘Three Good Teas’ are getting better and better,” Chu Mao praised.

Ah Wu felt a little uneasy. No matter how hard she tried, she only received a simple “not bad” from Chu Mao. Surely, even if the “Three Good Teas” were good, he should not like them that much?

“Thank you for your praise, Your Highness. I’ve truly brought back a fine piece this time. I’ve had my eye on a painting for ten years, but the old man in that house insisted it was a family heirloom and refused to sell. It’s quite a sad story. This time, I happened to be in Hangzhou when his family was in dire straits, and I did my best to help them. Only then did the old man finally sell the painting to me,” Su Mao said excitedly.

“It was not easy to come by, and it makes me want to broaden my horizons,” Chu Mao said with a smile.

Su Mao stood up, nodded apologetically to the two, and retreated to a room further inside. A moment later, maids brought out several long tables and lined them up in the room, then cleared away the teacups. When Su Mao came out again, she was carrying a scroll painting.

Ah Wu watched as she carefully placed the scroll on the long table on the left and slowly unfurled it; it was about five meters long by the right end.

Chu Mao and Ah Wu, somewhat impatient, approached the painting, examining it with rapt attention.

Looking at the style and composition, Ah Wu’s heart skipped a beat. Could this painting be the long-lost, legendary “Spring Outing” by Zhang Duan? Zhang Duan was a court painter of the Southern Dynasties three hundred years ago. “Spring Outing” was commissioned by him, and it was said that on the day it was completed, a thousand auspicious rays shone, a sign that a masterpiece was born. Throughout history, those fortunate enough to see it had been amazed and worshipped. Many imitations existed in the world, making it difficult to distinguish the genuine from the fake.

“Your Highness, what do you think?” Su Mao asked with a smile. Even Tang Xiujin was stunned by the painting, declaring it authentic, but Su Mao refused to part with it.

Chu Mao slowly moved closer to the painting without speaking. Su Mao did not urge him, instead turning to Ah Wu’s side: “It seems the Princess Consort is quite knowledgeable in painting.” Su Mao noticed Ah Wu’s unwavering gaze on the “Spring Outing” painting and thus made this remark.

Ah Wu smiled modestly. “I have some knowledge.”

At this moment, Ah Wu was standing at the inscription area. In her opinion, the painting, in terms of silk quality, ink color, and brushwork, was undoubtedly in the style of the Southern Dynasties, quite similar in style to Zhang Duan’s other surviving works. The painting was magnificent, the composition meticulous; hundreds of figures were depicted on a five-meter-long piece of silk—truly a “vast undertaking.” Looking at the inscriptions, there were many collectors’ seals, all confirming the painting’s authenticity.

Even the inscriptions by renowned Confucian scholars of the previous dynasty, Huang Yong and Ding Zhen, explain why Su Mao was so certain of the painting’s authenticity.

After Chu Mao had finished admiring the painting, still savoring its beauty, she turned to Ah Wu and asked, “What do you think of this painting?”

Ah Wu, who had been resting in her chair for a while, looked at Su Mao and said somewhat apologetically, “I think this painting is a forgery.”

Su Mao raised a thick eyebrow, seemingly ready to explode, and sneered, “Oh, I’d like to hear the Princess’s opinion.”

Ah Wu did not take it to heart. She understood Su Mao; if she had a masterpiece and someone suddenly claimed it was a fake, she would not be happy either.

Chu Mao raised an eyebrow slightly, his lips curving into a slight smile, as if to say, “Let’s see how you explain this.”

Ah Wu walked to the painting. “Alright, let me give my opinion first, and then Your Highness and Young Lady Su can comment.”

Ah Wu started from the inscriptions. “These inscriptions are genuine, and Master Huang and Master Dingzhen both believed this painting to be authentic. However, they both overlooked a small detail when appraising it.”

Ah Wu walked to a bustling area in the center of the painting. “Look, the waiter in this shop is making a ‘six’ gesture with his hands and saying ‘six.'”

Chu Mao and Su Mao followed Ah Wu’s finger and nodded. The waiter’s mouth shape was indeed forming a “six.”

“Is there anything wrong with that?” Su Mao asked.

“This painting would be perfectly fine in today’s world, but in the Southern Dynasty, they did not say ‘six’ ^(Liu) as we do; they said ‘Lu’.”

Chu Mao and Su Mao both seemed to understand.

Ah Wu continued, “This painting depicts three or four hundred figures, each meticulously portrayed in terms of clothing, expression, and movement, with no two figures alike. Zhang Duan has no reason to make such a mistake here. Therefore, I say this painting is a forgery.”

Ah Wu exchanged a glance with Chu Mao, seeing the smile in his eyes, knowing he agreed with her assessment.

Su Mao bowed deeply to Ah Wu, saying, “Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness.”

Ah Wu quickly replied, “I dare not accept such praise.” In truth, she was quite pleased to have outshone the master of Xu Bai Studio; this vanity was one of the minor flaws she, a self-proclaimed talented woman, could not overcome.

However, even after they were back in the carriage, Chu Mao had not offered Ah Wu any praise.

Ah Wu secretly glanced at Chu Mao several times, but he did not say anything to her. Ah Wu felt a burning itch in her heart, needing someone to soothe it, but because of her pride or perhaps her literary arrogance, she could not speak up, only offering frequent hints. “Young Lady Su is truly an extraordinary woman. At such a young age, she can manage a shop like Xu Bai Studio. Your Highness and Young Lady Su seem quite familiar with each other?” Ah Wu leaned closer to Chu Mao, her face full of curiosity.

Chu Mao shifted his body slightly, moving away from Ah Wu.

Ah Wu felt a pang of annoyance. How could she have forgotten Chu Mao’s peculiar aversion to close proximity? Perhaps Chu Mao had misled her recently. Ah Wu still could not understand why Chu Mao had reached out to her that very night and could only attribute it to the anniversary of Empress Xiaozhen’s death.

Right now, Ah Wu was simply too curious, which was why she could not help but lean forward. Ah Wu felt that Su Mao must have a very legendary story behind her, which was why she disguised herself as a man and ran Xu Bai Zhai, and it sounded like she could travel all over the world. Such a carefree life was something Ah Wu could never have. Although she might not necessarily yearn for it, she was always particularly curious about things she could not have.

But just then, the carriage seemed to conspire against them. The instant Ah Wu pulled back, she heard a horse neigh, and the carriage suddenly stopped abruptly. She lurched forward uncontrollably, frantically grabbing at something to steady herself.

Ah Wu was holding onto Chu Mao’s white fox fur cloak around his knees. In that instant, she thought she was doomed; the cloak could not possibly support her weight, and she was sure to fall—how embarrassing!

But to her surprise, Chu Mao’s hand moved with lightning speed, grabbing the other end of the cloak, saving Ah Wu from a fall. She looked up from Chu Mao’s crotch, wanting to thank him; if it were not for his quick reflexes, she would have been utterly humiliated.

Before Ah Wu could even speak, Chu Mao shouted sternly, “Where are you looking?!”

Ah Wu was both startled and bewildered, not understanding the meaning of his words. She looked innocently at Chu Mao, not thinking she had seen anything she should not have. Actually, Chu Mao was giving Ah Wu too much credit. Although she was clever and quick-witted, in such a chaotic situation, she had no time to think about anything other than avoiding a fall.

Seeing the silent grievance and innocent expression in Ah Wu’s eyes, Chu Mao realized he had overreacted.

Just then, Li Yanguang’s shrill voice came from outside, scolding the coachman, “Are you out of your mind? Stopping so suddenly, what if you startle the master?”

Chu Mao looked away from Ah Wu and asked Li Yanguang outside, “What happened?”

“Your Highness, it’s nothing serious. A child was not watching where he was going and darted across in front of the carriage, startling the horses.” Li Yanguang’s voice softened when facing Chu Mao.

“If it’s nothing, then hurry up and go,” Chu Mao said impatiently.

Ah Wu, however, was still stuck on the riddle of “what she mistook,” looking completely bewildered.