Chapter 4: Clarifying the Grievances of Painting

  In the 18th year of Xian De, in the third month, I was already 22 years old. When I had just become a Zhuangyuan, many people came to my door as matchmakers, but I politely declined them all, using the reason that I was still young and wanted to read more books to serve the imperial court better. Later on, such things became fewer. Because insightful people could see that this young Zhuangyuan had no hope of rapid advancement, and was completely immersed in the sea of books, even a bit infatuated. Such a person did not meet the requirements of those aristocratic families, so I gained rare tranquility.

  On this day, I came to the Hanlin Academy as usual to prepare for work, but saw a large crowd of people gathered in front of the main hall. I couldn't help but be surprised, because although I was also known as a Hanlin scholar, there were still high and low distinctions within the academy. As the top scorer, I had skipped over the lowest-ranking Shujishi and Jiandu, and directly became a Zhengqiupin compiler, with levels above me including Bianxuan, Shijiang, Shidu, Shijiang Xueshi, Shidu Xueshi, and Zhangyuan Xueshi. But I saw that among the crowd was Zhangyuan Xueshi Xie Xian, as well as a second-place Jinshi from my same year and a Shujishi, which surprised me even more. After all, many of the Shijiang Xueshi and above were often in attendance at the imperial court, so why would they be gathered together like this? I walked over to take a look, and saw that Yin Xueshi and Tian Xueshi were engaged in a heated debate about something, with a scroll of ancient painting on the table between them, accompanied by a red strip with seven characters written on it: "Qingshan Jushi Linjiang Tu". It turned out they were discussing the authenticity of this painting. I finally understood that since the emperor had issued an edict to establish the Chongwen Temple, many people had sent in their treasured books and paintings, hoping to have them included, but truly exceptional works were still hard to find.

  Yin Xueshi's faction said with a calm tone: "This painting must be a fake, Qing Shan Ju Shi's early works were all green and green landscapes, with a colorful style. In his later period, because of his Buddhist practice, most of his works were ink landscape paintings, and the style became elegant and beautiful. Although this painting is also an ink landscape painting, look at the sharp brushstrokes, the clouds and mist in the painting seem to be rushing towards us, the river is surging, as if we can hear it, so I say that this is not a work of Qing Shan Ju Shi."

  Tian Xueshi was not to be outdone, saying: "What you say makes sense, but look at this painting's paper quality - it's high-grade crepe paper, and although it's been well-preserved, it can still be seen that it should be a work from the Qing Shan Ju Shi period two hundred years ago. Look at this painting with the seal of Qing Shan Ju Shi on it, and there is absolutely no problem with the inscription."

  Others were divided in their support for the two sides, arguing endlessly. I became interested and carefully observed for half a day, searching my memory for half a day before finally making up my mind. At this point they also noticed me, because in recent days I had shown familiarity with calligraphy and painting appreciation, and being new here, both scholars turned to me simultaneously. The head scholar cleared his throat and said: "Zongyun, what is your opinion?"

  I walked up to the painting and took a closer look, then said: "First of all, from the signature, this painting has 'Kezi yuan brother Ya wan' on top, 'Yuanyou Hou Er Nian Jia Shen Qi Yue Chu Jiuzhao Jingzhi' at the bottom, and below that is the name seal 'Lan Shi Ningquan'. The four corners of the painting all have the seal of Qing Shan Ju Shi. The upper left corner has a red square seal with the words 'Ningquan Painting Seal', the lower left corner has a white square seal with the words 'Lin Yuan Tang Zhang', the upper right corner has a white square seal with the words 'Kui Zhang Ge Shi Lang Lan', and the lower right corner has a red square seal with the words 'Qing Shan Ju Shi'. These four seals have basically all appeared on Qing Shan Ju Shi's works, and as for identifying seals, Governor Tian is an expert in this field, so he definitely wouldn't make a mistake. From the perspective of textual research, Qing Shan Ju Shi was originally a famous scholar of the Jin Dynasty, holding the position of Qi Chang Ge Shi Lang Xue Shi, but later moved south during the Western Jin period. Qing Shan Ju Shi was heartbroken over national affairs and retreated to Lin Yuan Tang in Shu, where he lived in seclusion. It's said that at the time, the scholar was poor and couldn't support himself, but fortunately, a wealthy merchant named Ke Ming from Shu provided assistance, allowing him to get through those years of war and turmoil. You see, on the lower right corner of the painting, there are two seals with the name 'Ke', which shows that this painting was given by Qing Shan Ju Shi to Ke Ming."

  I took a deep breath and continued, "These seals all have their origins, and I've read the 'Chuanshan Jushi's Chronicles of Shu' by Qing Shan Ju Shi. In the ninth volume, it records that 'on the autumnal equinox, Zi Yuan hosted a banquet, and both host and guests were delighted. As they parted ways, Ke Shi grasped my hand and asked for a humble work, moved by his sincerity, I created the "Riverbank Painting".' Later, I looked up Ke Shi's records, although he had long since disappeared, but I remembered that in the 'Shu Zhi - Shi Chong Pian' written by Tao Kai at the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it mentioned that 'Shi Chong was once a minor official under Ke Shi, who treated him poorly. Later, Shi Chong became rich and powerful, colluded with eunuchs, framed Ke Shi for treason, and his entire clan was exterminated.' You see, on the lower left corner of this painting, there's still the seal 'Jin Gu Yuan Mi Cang' by Shi Chong. Moreover, after Shi Chong's death and the destruction of his clan, most of his collection was confiscated by the government. Look, on the middle left side, there's the 'Changling Wang Yin' seal. The Changling King was a member of the royal family during the late Eastern Jin Dynasty, favored by Emperor Yuan of Jin. It was precisely Emperor Yuan who confiscated Shi Chong's property, so it's highly likely that this painting once belonged to the Changling King. From this, we can see that the transmission of this painting is very clear, which is why I believe it's a genuine piece."

  Most people nodded in agreement, but only Yin Xueshi disagreed and said: "Even if what you said is correct, how can the style of painting be explained?"

  I smiled and said, "This is my personal opinion, if there's any mistake, please correct me. Qing Shan Ju Shi's painting style was bright and intense before he moved south, so he liked to paint green mountains and rivers. However, in the year or two before he moved south, his style gradually became more subdued, mainly small green mountains and rivers, with light ink and color applied on top of a water-based undercoat, occasionally with ink landscape appearing. During his time in Shu, Qing Shan Ju Shi had almost no works passed down, until after the Eastern Jin dynasty was pacified, he began to focus on ink landscape painting, but initially still liked to use thick ink for shading, with bold brushstrokes. From this, I think that during his time in Shu, it must have been a period of transition for Ju Shi's painting style, which also fits the situation where few works were passed down. After all, immature works are often destroyed by their owners. I once saw records of Qing Shan Ju Shi burning his paintings in the seventh volume of 'Shu Zhong Ji Shi'."

  By this time, everyone had acknowledged my judgment and their eyes had become respectful and eager, after all, people like me who are knowledgeable and have a strong memory are not common.

  After this, I had more work to do. The most important thing was to go to the imperial library to sort out the imperial edicts. Originally, when the Chongwen Hall was being built, someone suggested that I should take advantage of this opportunity to sort out the vermilion endorsements and imperial edicts of Emperor Wu, which were not well recorded in historical records, and compile them into a book for the study of the imperial family and nobles. Although I thought it was meaningless, both the upper and lower levels of the Hanlin Academy recognized it, and after presenting it to the emperor, the emperor was overjoyed. However, sorting out those imperial edicts and vermilion endorsements was a very troublesome thing. Although I was new, because of my extraordinary ability, the chief scholar of the Imperial Academy, Xie Xian, decided that the most senior attendant scholar, Xia Shu, would be in charge, while I assisted Xia Shu. In fact, Xia Shu had already passed his 60th birthday and was about to retire, so I was actually in charge. After running with me for a few days, Xia Shu automatically asked for leave to rest at home. The most troublesome thing about this job was that I had to work in the library behind the imperial study, where all the documents were stored, and I couldn't look through them myself, but had to be accompanied by the librarian. So, I started my work within a hundred paces of the emperor, which is probably the interpretation of "near at hand, far away".

  The eunuch in charge, surnamed Wang, had already turned completely white-haired and was at an advanced age. He would sit for six or seven hours a day, which was almost taking his life away. So on the first day, I cleverly advised him: "Elder Wang, we'll be here for over half a month, you don't have to be so courteous, just find a quick-witted young eunuch to help out and you can come by every now and then." Elder Wang was also advanced in age and held an idle position. Although the library was close to the imperial study, the eunuchs of the Imperial Guard were all strong and favored, so Elder Wang couldn't get close to the emperor. Since he didn't have any skills to curry favor and was old, no one would bother him without reason. Therefore, he assigned a new disciple, Xiao Shunzi, who had been with him for less than a year, to help me out. This Xiao Shunzi was clever and capable, and had read several years of books, with hundreds of texts in his mind, which was already quite rare among eunuchs, after all, not everyone was like the eunuchs of the Imperial Guard who received specialized training.

  However, I saw that Xiao Shunzi was stunned, because if I remembered correctly, that kid was the one who sold himself to bury his father when I first arrived in Jianye. How did he become a eunuch now? Probably something sad happened, but I didn't dare ask him. Anyway, he didn't recognize me either, so I just treated him as a stranger. But this kid is actually quite good, not only is he skilled at handling the four treasures of the study, but whenever I asked him to find a certain memorial or imperial edict, he could locate it with incredible speed. So we worked together harmoniously, and at this rate, it seems that the workload originally scheduled for twenty days can be completed in about twelve or thirteen days.

  On the third day at noon, I was drinking a cup of clear tea after lunch and preparing to rest for a while before continuing. Suddenly, Wang Gonggong burst in with two small eunuchs attending him, shouting: "Xiao Shunzi, Xiao Shunzi, where is this little slave?" I looked at him in confusion, what's going on?

  Wang Gonggong saw me and changed his expression to a smile, saying: "Jiang Zhuangyuan, you're here too?"

  Nonsense! I'm not here, where am I? This place doesn't even allow me to go home for a nap. In my heart, I thought, and with my mouth, I said: "Father-in-law, what's wrong, what made you so angry?"

  Wang Gong said angrily: "This little rascal Xiao Shunzi has stolen my beloved snuff bottle, which was given to me by the previous emperor."

  Xiao Shunzi widened his eyes, and with a loud thud, he knelt on the ground, saying: "Absolutely not! I, a slave, don't have such a big nerve to dare steal something bestowed by Your Majesty." He had been castrated for over a year now, and at the age of 14 or 15, his voice was already high-pitched due to puberty. At this moment, he was panicked and his voice became even more ear-piercing.

  The little eunuch next to him shouted in a shrill voice: "You dare to be tough, do you think we don't know? You were originally a criminal who committed robbery. The thing that the king's steward lost, I thought it was definitely you who did it. The public official searched your room and found it."

  Xiao Shunzi's face turned pale, and he repeatedly kowtowed, saying: "It wasn't me, it wasn't me who did it, someone must have framed me."

  "Are you saying I framed you or was it Xiao Fuzi who framed you?"

  Xiao Shunzi broke out in a cold sweat, suddenly turned around and rushed to my side, pleading: "Lord Jiang, you are an educated man, please help me reason with the Duke, I've been serving you these past few days, where would I have had time to steal anything?"

  I was originally watching the good show with great interest, that little Fu Zi is a good actor, but I heard his breathing was a bit urgent, his heartbeat accelerated, and he had been framing someone from the very beginning. However, Xiao Shun Zi's background wasn't clear, so there was no way to defend himself. I didn't plan on getting involved in the palace affairs, so I just glanced at him lightly without making a sound. Xiao Shun Zi was anxious like crazy. Wang Gong saw that I didn't speak up and sternly said: "You guys tie him up for me and send him to the Jing Shi room, beat him to death, I'll let him dare to steal things, this is a capital offense in the palace."

  My heart skipped a beat, no way, I'm going to kill him. Xiaoshunzi was so scared that he hugged my legs and cried: "Please, sir, considering Xiaoshunzi's good service, please spare his life, he really didn't steal anything."

  I suddenly remembered the miserable look on his face when he sold himself to bury his father, and my heart softened. After all, it wasn't a big deal, and he was indeed innocent. With a flicker of my eyes, an idea came to mind, and I said calmly: "Wang Gonggong, I think this slave is crying quite hard, perhaps he's really innocent?"

  The king hesitated for a moment before saying, "The thing was found in his room."

  I laughed and said: "This kid has been following me for days. When did Grandpa's thing get lost?"

  "Yesterday evening it was still being used, but by noon today it's gone."

  I furrowed my brow and said, "This is indeed difficult to distinguish. Let me put it this way, I'm quite skilled in the Book of Changes, and I can tell a person's fortune or misfortune, as well as discern whether someone is innocent or not. Consider this a lesson."

  The eunuch Wang Gonggong, due to the hardships of his life, was extremely superstitious. His eyes lit up as he said: "Sir will divine, good, old slave will go get the divination rods."

  I waved my hand and said, "A small lesson, no need to calculate. This way, since it's a case of injustice, anyone who is wronged must have an upright heart. I have a method here, let Xiaoshunzi and this informant Xiaofuzi each eat one of my specially made golden pills. After I pray to the heavens, if they are innocent, nothing will happen to them, but if they are guilty, they will experience abdominal pain." After finishing speaking, I took out a jade bottle from my bosom, poured out two glittering golden pills, and handed them to the two small eunuchs.

  Wang Gonggong smiled and said: "Good, let me see the real skills of the top scholar. You two still don't eat."

  Xiao Shunzi swallowed the golden pill without hesitation, while Xiao Fuzi hesitated for a moment before pretending to put it in his mouth. With a quick movement, the pill rolled into his sleeve. What a clever trick! I couldn't help but admire him. Then, he pretended to pray to heaven, and before even one incense stick had burned out, Xiao Shunzi suddenly turned pale, let out a cry of pain, and fell to the ground, clutching his stomach in agony. Meanwhile, Xiao Fuzi was completely unaffected. He said with a smug expression, "It's true that you stole it! The blessing of the Number One Scholar is indeed effective."

  The old man looked at me hesitantly, just about to give an order. I smiled slightly and said: "Although I have some talent, I don't have the ability to ask the gods to punish you. This golden elixir is specially made by me, used to clear the intestines and stomach. Yesterday, I heard the old man say that he was getting older and often had indigestion. If an elderly person takes this medicine with lotus seed soup, it will be effective. But if a young person with vigorous blood and energy takes it directly, they will have severe abdominal pain like being strangled to death." Little Fu Zi was so scared that he retreated repeatedly, only to see the old man take a step forward, lightly pinch his wrist, and lift him up. Little Fu Zi immediately felt pain and turned pale. The old man easily found the golden elixir in Little Fu Zi's sleeve. Then, he let go of his hand, and Little Fu Zi fell to the ground, scared out of his wits. The old man said calmly: "Xiao Shun Zi, why don't you go to my room? There is a bowl of cooled lotus seed soup on the table."

  Xiao Shunzi nodded, and in an instant he rushed out, but returned in a moment, with a refreshed face. Wang Gonggong smiled with narrowed eyes, saying: "Thank you, Zhuangyuan Gong, for thinking of this old slave." As he spoke, he almost snatched the medicine bottle from my hand. He bid farewell and left, and soon two middle-aged eunuchs came to take away Xiao Fuzi. Xiao Shunzi knelt down in front of me with gratitude, thanking me profusely: "En Gong saved me twice, even if I were to work as a cow or a horse, I couldn't repay this great kindness." I stared at him with wide eyes, and after a while, I said: "You still remember me?" Xiao Shunzi looked embarrassed, saying: "Actually, I recognized Zhuangyuan Gong at first glance. Back then, the master was generous and helped us out, and it's still fresh in my memory."

  "I curiously asked: 'Then why didn't you say it earlier and remember me?'"

  Xiao Shunzi hesitated for half a day before saying: "I was wrong, I was wrong to sell myself to bury my father at first."

  My eyes widened even more. Xiaoshun said: "I was originally a bookish family, but after my father's death, my uncle secretly sold me to an opera troupe in order to seize the property. I have been wandering around since then, because I couldn't bear the humiliation of the troupe leader, so I escaped with several brothers. We had no way to make a living, so we begged and stole everywhere. That time when we met you, sir, I was partnering with an old beggar, he pretended to be my father, and I acted as his filial son. You generously gave us money, but my two companions were blinded by greed, secretly following you..."

  He became even more embarrassed, and I immediately understood who had knocked me unconscious at the time. However, I asked in confusion: "You have so much silver, enough to live on, how...how..." I couldn't bring myself to say it.

  Xiao Shunzi laughed and said: "Perhaps it's retribution, we were forced to become thieves, but unexpectedly got caught by the government soldiers. We robbed a member of the imperial family, and since we were all seasoned thieves, we were sentenced to death. However, since we were still young, the presiding judge said that if we were willing to enter the palace as slaves, our lives would be spared. My two brothers were stubborn and ended up on the execution ground, but I was timid, so I entered the palace."

  I sighed and said, "You're not timid, you're brave. Life is full of hardships, but we must struggle to survive. You've managed to live on and can even laugh about past events - that's what makes a true hero. Those who treat life and death lightly are often not heroes, but rather people who shirk responsibility."

  Xiao Shunzi suddenly knelt down again and hugged my legs, hurting so much that I suspected he was going to repay kindness with enmity. Then I felt water droplets soaking through my official robes.

  After that, the little boy served me with all his heart and soul. Later, I heard that Master Wang was a master of martial arts, and Xiao Shunzi was learning from him. At that time, I admired this little boy's perseverance, so I secretly brought in a copy of "The Brocade Pouch". Xiao Shunzi looked at it silently, only solemnly accepting it.

  Half a month later, I left the imperial palace with the sorted-out imperial edict and the greatest gain - an additional friend who would often visit me in the dead of night.