Chapter 4: The Tang Dynasty's Yi Wang Mausoleum Road Green Beans

  While eating, I chatted with Shi Tou about our childhood. Shi Tou said, "Childhood was the best, carefree and worry-free."

  I nodded in agreement and said "Yes, after studying for over a decade, I think kindergarten was actually the best time!"

  "Heh heh," Shi Tou chuckled and said, "Alright, alright, you're doing just fine. It's tough times we live in!"

  I sighed and said, "Yes, in this day and age, greenhouses mess up the seasons, young ladies mess up the generations, relationships mess up the procedures, mobile phones mess up families! In this day and age, women who are beautiful don't cook, those who cook aren't gentle, those who are gentle have no backbone, those with backbone have no femininity, those with femininity spend money recklessly, those who don't spend money recklessly aren't fashionable, the fashionable ones can't be trusted, and those who can be trusted are unattractive! In this day and age, a guy said that Beijing's subway is unbearably crowded, his pregnant wife was squeezed into a miscarriage; yesterday he asked if Shanghai's subway was any better, a Shanghainese guy said it was even worse: last month his wife got pregnant from being squeezed on the subway! In this day and age, in rural areas people are woken up by roosters in the morning, while in cities people wake up chickens at night; in this day and age...". I hadn't finished speaking when the phone suddenly rang again. I looked at the number and saw it was an old customer, so I quickly picked up and laughed, saying "Mr. Zhou, long time no see!"

  "Haha, Xiao Lin, I'm in Beijing now." A middle-aged man's voice came over the phone, with a strong Cantonese accent in his Mandarin, which sounded really awkward to listen to.

  "Oh," I picked up a paper towel to wipe my mouth and said, "Boss Zhou, are you going to buy something again? Tell me, there's nothing in Panjiayuan that I don't know about."

  "Kobayashi, you're wrong this time, I'm here to sell something."

  "Are you selling something?" I asked uncertainly. Old Zhou was a Guangdong businessman who often came to Beijing to buy antiques, and each time he came, he would find me to take him around. He was quite generous with his spending, but I had never seen him sell anything before. After hearing his affirmative reply, I hastily said "Alright, where are you? I'll go see you."

  I am in room 909 of Holiday Inn in Chaoyang District.

  "Alright, wait for me." I said, and hastily walked into the bathroom. Stone had a youtiao (fried dough stick) stuffed in his mouth, and asked "What's up?"

  "I'm washing my face while saying 'parents who provide clothes and food have arrived, time to make money!'"

  An hour later, I and Shi arrived at the Holiday Hotel. Old Zhou was a short and stout middle-aged man with a bald head, small eyes, very white skin, looking like a leather ball. He wore black trousers and a white shirt on top, always holding a white handkerchief in his hand to wipe away the sweat from his forehead and head. He looked at Shi beside me and showed a hint of vigilance, asking "Xiao Lin, who is this?"

  "This is my best friend and also my current assistant, don't you still trust me?"

  Boss Zhou hastily waved his hand and smiled, saying "Little Lin, how could I not trust you?" After finishing speaking, he pulled me in and poured a cup of tea for both Stone and me.

  I politely took a sip and then asked, "Mr. Zhou, what is it that you want to sell?"

  Mr. Zhou stood up with a smile, pulled down a gray cloth hanging on the wall. A kind of ancient and old breath came face to face, as if it was a cultural sedimentation, a cultural manifestation. A white-clothed young man stood at the top of the mountain with his hands behind his back, and behind him were vast mountains. In the sky, there were clouds like dragons, but unfortunately, many places had turned black, as if they had been soaked in muddy water. I slowly walked over, touched the painting with my hand, and then looked at it carefully.

  About fifteen minutes later, Mr. Zhou asked behind me, "Xiao Lin, how is it?"

  I've been waiting for him to ask, that's why I'm still staring at the painting so carefully, it's to make him feel like I'm both knowledgeable and serious, good way to mix business with pleasure, who doesn't get tired of standing around! I turned around and said "This should be a work from the early Northern Song dynasty."

  "How can you tell? You know I'm only interested in ceramics, not paintings." Old Zhou asked. Shi Tou also walked over and took a few glances at the painting.

  I pointed to several lines with my finger and said, "First look at these strokes, they are all very well done." Then I withdrew my hand and continued, "When appreciating a painting, the first thing to look at is the 'brushwork'. This is key. The level of skill in brushwork can reveal the artist's level. The skills acquired from decades of artistic training and those from just a few years are vastly different, and this difference can be seen in the brushwork. When distinguishing between good and bad brushwork, one must examine each stroke to see if it is well done. It is clear that these strokes are all very well done. Next, look at the 'ink'. Look at the layers of ink, whether the front and back strokes can be distinguished, whether the heavy and light strokes are appropriate, and whether there is a sense of rhythm, like the lingering sound of a zither string. This painting has also achieved this. Then let's take a look at the use of color," I said, pointing to several places in the painting, "Mineral pigments become more beautiful with age and will not fade, while plant-based pigments will gradually fade over time."

  Boss Zhou nodded continuously and said, "Well, it seems this is the real thing."

  I also nodded and said, "Although it's not a masterpiece by a famous artist, it is indeed an authentic Northern Song Dynasty piece. The painting from the Tang Dynasty has a strong sense of three-dimensionality, with grandeur being its beauty. The scenery depicted in the painting is also very majestic. During the Northern Song period, it was slightly subdued, but still mainly focused on the overall landscape. In contrast, the Southern Song period focused more on partial views. This painting seems to be a figure painting, but actually, it's still mainly focused on the overall landscape, with mountains, water, and clouds all present."

  "Haha, now I can rest assured. Come sit down." Mr. Zhou made me and Shi Tou sit on the sofa again, he seemed very excited.

  "I couldn't help but ask another question, 'Boss Zhou, do you know who the person in the painting is?'"

  Mr. Zhou nodded and said, "Of course I know this, but it was a fellow collector who told me, unfortunately he only understands ceramics, not paintings." He wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued, "He said that this person is the last prince of the Tang Empire, and seems to be called Prince Tang Yi."

  "What?" I exclaimed.

  "What's wrong?" asked Old Zhou.

  I hastily shook my head and said "It's nothing, it's nothing. Can Old Zhou give me a detailed introduction?"

  "No problem," he seemed to be in a good mood, "Tang Yi Wang was called Li Yu. At that time, the Tang Empire had lost its former prestige, and the vassals were divided and on the verge of collapse. However, Li Yu was exceptionally intelligent from childhood, able to write and fight, and grew up to be a talented person. He was good at riding horses and writing with his brush. His emperor brother feared that he would affect his own position, so he was made Yi Wang, and his fiefdom was the Yunnan-Guizhou region at that time. The Yunnan-Guizhou region had many ethnic minorities, and various tribes were not subject to imperial rule. However, since Li Yu arrived in Yunnan-Guizhou, the leaders of the various tribes did not dare to resist him, and they looked up to him as their leader. Unfortunately, ten years after he arrived in Yunnan-Guizhou, the Tang Empire was finally destroyed. The people of Yunnan-Guizhou thought that he was a ghost sent by Yan Wang Ye (the king of hell) because no matter how secretly the graves of their tribesmen were hidden, or how many mechanisms they had, as long as Li Yu wanted something inside, he could get it? This is also why nobody dared to resist him. However, he seemed to have died very early."

  I and Shi Tou both understood that he was no ordinary person, but a master tomb raider. I thought for a moment, then asked "Where did you get this painting?"

  "Haha," Old Zhou became even more excited, almost dancing with joy, saying "The Tibetan friend who told me about Tang Yiwang's matter is from Guizhou. The other day I went to his place for business and while strolling through the antique market, I met a mountain villager who had this painting in his arms, which I bought for 5,000 yuan."

  I cursed inwardly, scoundrel, he himself eats meat and doesn't even leave a little soup for others, and still has the nerve to say that five thousand yuan is fine. But my face didn't show it, I smiled and asked "Didn't he tell you who he is?"

  Boss Zhou wiped his sweat and looked at me saying "What's the point of asking this?"

  I smiled and said "I want to go collect some goods."

  Boss Zhou smiled and said, "That's great, I'm just too lazy to move. Otherwise, I would have gone back with him. He said many people there have picked up antiques! If you get a good one, you'd better sell it to me cheaply."

  My heart skipped a beat and I hastened to nod, "That's definitely it." It seemed that there must be a tomb over there, perhaps even the tomb of Tang Yiwang.

  Boss Zhou leaned forward, his body closer to mine, and smiled, "Well, I'll tell you then......!"