funbook-pk Chapter 214's plot twist was brilliantly planned!
Chapter 214's plot twist was brilliantly planned!
The visitor was a guest retainer of the Han family in the capital, one of the scholars who helped the Han family find a solution.
A slender, refined-looking scholar with fair, pale skin, exuding the air of a sickly, scholarly man.
He bowed to Xia Mo, who was disguised as Si Ya, and said, "My surname is Zhou, my given name is Li, and I am one of the guest elders invited by the Han family."
"Oh, may I ask what brings you here, Mr. Zhou?" Xia Mo, disguised as a maid, spoke in a simple and honest voice, giving the impression of a naive and simple-minded girl.
"Since I met you yesterday, I have wanted to get to know you. I wonder if you would give me the chance?" Zhou Li quickly glanced at Siya, who had an ordinary appearance and was even somewhat unpresentable, and then spoke again with a sincere expression.
Xia Mo, disguised as a maid, nodded with an innocent look and said, "Ah, you said you were going to seduce me, make me fall in love with you, and then let you do whatever you want to me, and I heard that."
Zhou Li was taken aback at first, then his eyes widened, he felt a tightness in his chest, his face turned bright red, his scheme exposed. Ashamed, he raised his hand to cover his face and ran away.
A mocking glint flashed in Xia Mo's eyes as she strode forward.
As Xia Mo walked through the area, his divine sense, like a plow, swept over all the information he could find in the places he passed.
There are quite a few interesting things I've discovered.
Hee hee
Disguised as a maid, Xia Mo walked onto Dongda Street, one of the dozen or so bustling streets in the capital.
East Street was very large. In addition to the stalls on both sides, there were also pedestrians walking orderly on both sides. In the middle, there were lines drawn with pebbles to pave the road, which was specifically for horse-drawn carriages and fast horses to come and go. Pedestrians rarely crossed the road directly to the other side.
The arrival of late summer is inconspicuous, easily lost in the flow of people.
After walking for a while, there were noticeable pedestrians lingering on that stretch of road, all looking into the shops along the roadside.
Xia Mo also stopped in her tracks. Instead of peering out, she found a wall, leaned against it lazily, and guided her consciousness into the store to get the best view of what was happening inside.
The shop that was being watched was very large, with five storefronts. On the elegant walls, there were paintings and calligraphy, and there were also some exquisite counters with expensive or precious writing implements on them.
This shop is a calligraphy and painting studio, and the paintings and calligraphy displayed on the walls are not ordinary ones. Inside the shop, there are also specially hired martial arts practitioners to guard the place.
The reason for this sensation is that Ms. Yuanshan's third calligraphy work has reappeared.
Originally, Ms. Yuanshan was a controversial figure, attracting many onlookers but few who were truly willing to pay for her calligraphy and paintings. However... Huangfu Qian secretly made his move.
Those who were equally captivated by Ms. Yuanshan's calligraphy and paintings couldn't resist making a purchase.
Thus, the dramatic scene intensified.
First, they arranged for someone to denigrate Ms. Yuanshan's calligraphy to the point of being worthless, which led to more derogatory remarks. However, this only provoked onlookers and calligraphy enthusiasts to stand up and speak out in her defense.
That's roughly the situation right now.
Inside the calligraphy and painting studio—
"Regardless of whether these two lines of poetry were written by a man or a woman, just based on these two lines of powerful and majestic characters, one cannot say that the calligraphy is unworthy of being presented to the public," the middle-aged man with a goatee said loudly.
“Of course you support Ms. Yuanshan. After all, you spent two thousand taels to buy one of her paintings and calligraphy, didn’t you?” Someone immediately stood up to refute.
The shop was divided into three groups. The first group believed that any calligraphy written by a woman was not respectable and that women should not be elevated to such a high status. They thought women should stay at home to support their husbands and raise their children. What did they need to read or write? They only needed to know the Three Obediences and Four Virtues!
The second group, disregarding the woman's identity, focused solely on her beautiful calligraphy.
The third option is to remain neutral or take sides, depending on which side is right.
“I can read good characters, so aren’t these good characters?” the goatee-bearded man retorted sharply.
"No matter how good the calligraphy is, if it comes from a woman's hands, it's worthless!" someone immediately jumped out and shouted.
"Women should be well-versed in the 'Admonitions for Women' at home..."
That is, at this moment—
A fourth faction emerged, or rather, those who engaged in heated debates with them.
"I wonder if Mr. Yuanshan has any intention of selling this calligraphy and painting that reads 'One should be a hero in life and a ghost in death'?"
Dissenting voices emerged from the debate.
Inside the calligraphy and painting studio, there was an eerie silence. Everyone turned their gaze in unison to the middle-aged man who had just stepped into the studio.
The middle-aged man, being watched by so many people, bowed to them, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and, unable to contain his excitement, tried his best to explain: "I am but a humble merchant, not very well-educated, and don't understand much about principles. But, I just... after seeing this calligraphy and painting, I was inexplicably shocked and moved. I just wanted to buy this painting and keep it as a treasure at home!"
After nervously explaining, the middle-aged man looked nervously at the shopkeeper beside him.
“Mr. Yuanshan has said before that he wants our shop to act as his agent for selling calligraphy,” the shopkeeper of the calligraphy and painting studio nodded.
The middle-aged businessman got excited when he heard that it could be bought and sold.
"I'm willing to offer two thousand taels of silver. Would you mind selling this calligraphy to me?" The middle-aged merchant's eyes were red with excitement.
Although the middle-aged businessman really liked the calligraphy, his businessman nature remained; if he could buy it at a low price, he wouldn't offer a high price.
"Hmm..." The shopkeeper began to think seriously.
"No, I'm willing to pay two thousand two hundred taels for this painting!" The middle-aged man with a goatee, who also had his eye on Xia Mo's painting, couldn't sit still any longer.
He bought the previous painting by Mr. Yuanshan, but he bought it on behalf of someone else. This one, he wanted to buy himself!
Looking at the painting, he felt a strange surge of emotion, and he couldn't bear to miss it.
"You, you..."
The group of people who had belittled the painting from a woman's perspective glared angrily at the person who had offered to buy it.
That is, at this moment...
Among those who belittled the painting because of the woman, one person stepped forward and said, "I'll offer two thousand four hundred taels!"
The group of people who were belittling the painting because it was made by a woman suddenly turned around and glared at the man among them who was offering a price.
“Yes, I do think the woman’s painting is not good, but Mr. Toyama is different. As for me… the reason I’m joining in the denigration is simply to buy the painting at a lower price,” a man among those belittling the woman stepped forward and frankly admitted his purpose.
"His-"
The crowd blocking the entrance gasped in shock.
“Unfortunately, my idea can’t be realized, but I don’t want to give up on this calligraphy, so…” The man surnamed Zhao shrugged and said, “I can only try to pay for it.”
Those who genuinely came to belittle the woman from the distant mountains were so angry that their lips trembled and their whole bodies shook. They stared intently at the man surnamed Zhao who had stepped forward.
Outside the calligraphy and painting studio, Xia Mo, leaning lazily against the wall, thought to herself, "Huangfu Qian's plot twist was brilliant! So interesting!"