Denghuaxiao

Chapter 255 Extra Three (Yan Shuang): An old friend enters my dream (Part 1)

There is a painting hanging in Yan Xu’s study.

The painting depicts a sunset in the mountains, which is brilliant and bright, completely different from the dull and dull colors in his study.

Occasionally, a colleague from the imperial court came to his study. When he saw this painting, which was completely different from the style of the study, he thought he was a painter, so he spread the word. Those in the officialdom who tried to make friends with him began to search for authentic paintings by famous artists. I came to give gifts, but I didn't expect that he would disdain all the authentic works and ordered them all to be returned.

Everyone who was rejected was puzzled as to why such a painting was hung in the study if they were not lovers of painting. In fact, if you look closely, you will see that although this painting has delicate strokes and bright colors, it is still far from being a true master of calligraphy and painting. But Yan Xu loves her like a treasure.

Yan Xu turned a blind eye to outsiders' speculation.

Brush lightly with a soft broom every day, open the windows half way to avoid wind blowing, place a few desks under the wall, and turn on a heater in winter to avoid frostbite...

People in the Privy Council secretly said that Yan Xu treated this painting like a peerless beauty, but treated a real beauty with no mercy. He was a "weirdo".

Others in the court gossiped that Yan Xu had been rejected by Mrs. Zhaoning when he was young, and had resentment and jealousy in his heart, which led to his distorted temperament, and that was why he acted like this.

He always listened coldly and said nothing.

The guard came in from outside the door and whispered: "Sir, the carriage is ready."

Yan Xu said "Hmm", took back the silk broom used to wipe the hanging flowers, and turned around: "Let's go."

The carriage went to Danfeng Terrace.

When autumn comes in Shengjing, the maple leaves in Danfengtai are the best. It rained again today, and the windows of the tea house were half-opened. The drizzle was like smoke, and the red leaves on the mountains were like fire. He sat and looked at the distant peaks quietly.

"The trees in the river are falling and the geese sound sad, the red maples are covered with frost and the grass is withering... The butterflies don't know it's a dream, and they climb the cold branches with the spring scenery..." An old man with white hair murmured while offering a pot of tea and a plate of crab shell yellow. Looking at him stroking his beard, he smiled and said, "Guest, we are here again this year."

He nodded lightly.

Every autumn, Yan Xu would come to the tea house in Danfengtai to drink tea. The owner of the tea house had known him for many years and reserved a window seat for him every year. Every time he comes, he doesn't do anything, he just watches quietly, drinks a pot of tea and then leaves.

"Everyone else comes on a sunny day, but it's a rainy day when guests come." The old man sighed with a smile, "For so many years, the only one who appreciates the maples on a rainy day is the guest. Oh, no," as if remembering something, the old man added: "A few days ago, a young man came here. It was also a rainy day. When I was waiting for Zhizi in Laochan Tea House, the lights were all out."

Yan Xu lowered his head and drank tea: "Did he wait for the person he wanted to wait for?"

"I heard we've been waiting for it."

"Really?" Yan Xu put down the tea cup and said calmly: "Then he has better luck than me."

"Where are the guests? Are you still planning to wait here?"

"Can't you?"

The old man laughed.

"I am an old man. Half of my body has already been buried. There is no telling which day the tea house will no longer be open. By then, if the guests want to wait, there will be no pot of tea and snacks on the table."

He was silent for a moment and said, "I understand."

The old man stood up tremblingly, left with a cane, walked two steps, stopped again, and said softly: "The maple leaves on Danfeng Terrace are red every year. The old man still remembers the girl beside the guest. Now this crab shell No one eats Huang."

"It's common to not be able to wait for someone. After all, there are only a few people who are as lucky as that young man."

"After so many years, guests don't need to be too persistent. After drinking this pot of tea, leave early."

After saying that, he walked away slowly.

There was only one person left in the tea room again, and it was drizzling outside the window.

Next to the teapot on the table, there was a plate of crab shells baked to a crisp and orange color. He never liked eating these greasy pastries, but he lowered his head, slowly picked up one and put it in his mouth.

"Crack-"

It was like a woman's joyful laughter came from my ears: "Isn't it delicious? I'm not lying to you, the crab shell roe in this tea house is the best!"

He closed his eyes suddenly.

…

In fact, a person told him about this tea house, and that person also liked the crab shell roe.

Thanks to her, he knew that there was such a beautiful place to enjoy the scenery in this high platform with red maple leaves.

Yan Xu was born in a family of a fourth-grade civil servant when he was young. He was a concubine born to his aunt, who was cowardly in nature. He was punished for accidentally offending his mistress and suffered a cold, and soon died of illness. After his aunt died, his father treated him even colder and his mistress was mean. He couldn't stay at home any longer, so he fended for himself and accidentally became a clerk in the military room.

He was extremely skilled, always acted calmly, and had a life-threatening energy when doing things. There were many people like him in the barracks. However, when he gave up his credit to Shangfeng several times, Shangfeng looked at him. His eyes gradually changed.

He soon got the favor of Shangfeng.

A quick and sharp knife is not only capable of doing things carefully, but also knowledgeable and knowledgeable. No matter where it is, it is loved by the superiors.

He rose quickly through the ranks and gradually rose to prominence in the Privy Council.

From his father's disdain and look down on him at the beginning, to his gradual change of attitude toward him, and then to his close relationship with him later, he only felt disgusted. Later, there was a riot in the barracks, and he suppressed it alone. As a result, he was seriously injured, leaving a long scar at the corner of his eye.

After that time, he became a military officer.

Everyone in the Privy Council knew that he was such a ruthless person who would go crazy and risk his life. The long scar at the corner of his eye seemed to have become a mark. When people saw him, they would think of his ferocious appearance covered in blood when the blade of his sword passed by. Everyone treated him Keep a respectful distance.

Yan Xu didn't care. On the first day after his promotion, he asked his father to move his aunt's wooden plaque to the ancestral hall.

My aunt was of low status, and her memorial tablet was originally not suitable for inclusion in the Yan family ancestral hall.

However, rules are always determined by people.

When you reach high places, the rules can be changed by others. After his aunt's tablet was placed in the ancestral hall, he went to Danfeng Terrace. He has no hobbies and lives a dull life. When he is not on duty in the barracks, he just wants to sit alone and look at the mountains and water. Anyway, others were afraid of him and mocked him behind his back for his weird and vicious personality, but he didn't care.

The maple leaves in Danfeng Terrace cannot speak, and the autumn wind never cares about other people's business. He sat quietly and heard rustling in the grass.

He thought he was an assassin who wanted to kill him. During his time in the Privy Council, he became an obvious target and countless people wanted to kill him. He waited quietly for the assassin to make a move, and then planned to cut the opponent's throat with a knife. Unexpectedly, a long time passed and the opponent did not move.

Until there was a "pop", an angry voice came from the grass: "It's almost October, why are there so many mosquitoes!"

It was a young female voice.

He frowned and saw a woman jumping out of the grass behind him.

This woman was very young, wearing a pomegranate-colored dress, with beautiful and lively eyebrows. Seeing him, she seemed to realize that she was exposed, and she smiled sheepishly. She smiled, revealing a pair of dimples on her cheeks.

Yan Xu looked at her indifferently, and with a move of the long knife, the object in front of the woman flew towards him and fell into his hand.

"Hey, that's my thing!" the other party shouted.

Yan Xu was unmoved.

Just now he saw that the other party was secretly trying to hide this thing, with an extremely evasive expression.

When he unfolded the object in his hand, he couldn't help but be slightly startled.

It was actually a painting.

The ink marks on this painting were not yet dry, and there was a picture of maple leaves floating on it at sunset. The color was extremely beautiful, and he himself stood out above it, just a silhouette.

He couldn't see his back, so for the first time he realized how lonely he felt while sitting and looking at the shadow of the maple leaves.

"Yes, I'm sorry," the woman whispered, "I was painting here and happened to see you. I thought you were very suitable for painting, so I included you in the painting without your permission..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yan Xu tore the scroll into pieces.

"Hey!" she said anxiously, "Why did you tear the painting into pieces?"

"Who asked you to draw me?" He was cold and his tone was fierce.

Others were frightened when they saw the scar at the corner of his eye, but this young lady was very courageous. She flinched and continued loudly: "You are sitting here, aren't you just being painted by others? There are hundreds of things in this mountain, people, mountains,... Water and leaves are all scenery. What does it have to do with you if I paint my scenery?”

landscape?

Yan Xu felt incredible, what kind of scenery was he? But this woman is very confident.

She even came to pull his sleeves and refused to let him go. "You destroyed my property and you deserve compensation. Don't just let it go. My guards are not far away. As long as I call, they will rush over immediately." Come and capture you."

He didn't want to get entangled with the other party, so he threw down a piece of silver.

"You want to get rid of me with just a little money? Who do you think I am?" The other party put the money back into his hand.

"What do you want?"

"Simple." The woman said, "Just sit here and let me draw another picture."

Yan Xu was speechless.

He didn't know what the other party's obsession with painting him was. He was not just like Pan An, with mediocre appearance, but also menacing and terrifying. Ordinary women would shy away from him when they saw him, but this one showed no fear at all and took the initiative to approach.

"Impossible." He turned and left.

"Hey, don't leave," the other party followed, "You are the soul of this painting, just let me paint one."

"absurd."

Yan Xu felt that this woman had something strange in her mind.

He treated her coldly and threatened her, but to no avail. In fact, he was not good at fighting with others. In those days, a knife could cut off all entanglements.

But he couldn't kill a helpless woman with one knife here.

The woman looked at him, as if aware of his determination not to enter the painting no matter what, she finally took a step back, thought about it, and said: "Well, there is a tea house in the mountains, and the crab roe in the tea house is the best. You treat me to a pile of crab roe and forget about it."

He stood still.

"Let's go," the woman took two steps. Seeing that he didn't move, she turned around and urged, "If you're too late, you won't be able to catch the first pot."

He should have turned around and left, not wanting to talk to this person, but perhaps because of the beautiful view of the tea house she mentioned, or because he was attracted by the unrivaled tea she said, he followed her in the end.

As the woman said, there was a teahouse hidden in Danfeng Taichung. The owner of the teahouse was an old man and there were only a few guests. The woman called out the names of several dishes familiarly and sat down with him by the window.

Refreshments were served promptly.

A pot of tea and a plate of crab roe.

He picked up the tea cup and took a sip. The tea was very bitter. After using it, the fragrance lingered on his teeth and cheeks. It was indeed a good tea.

The woman put aside the messy bookcase of painted silks. After wiping her hands, she picked up a piece of crab roe and tasted it: "The first pot is indeed very fragrant! Do you want to try it?"

Yan Xu looked away.

She smiled, with sweet dimples on her cheeks.

"Let me meet you, my name is Su Ningshuang, what's your name?"