You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 35 The Luo Party
"Is Madam Zhao here to buy calligraphy and paintings?"

Chen Shao asked with a smile.

Li Qingzhao wore a scarlet silk dress, her figure graceful. Beside her stood a maid in green, who looked to be thirteen or fourteen years old, with a delicate face without makeup, elegant and innocent.

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Chen Shao's calligraphy and paintings.

"This is a peony painting by Xu Xi of the Southern Tang Dynasty. You can tell it's an authentic work at a glance!"

It was clear that she really liked it; she stared at it intently, unable to tear herself away.

Xu Xi was a man of bold and unrestrained character, with lofty aspirations. He was skilled at painting the flowers, birds, insects, fish, fruits and vegetables of the rivers and lakes. He often visited gardens to observe the state of plants and animals.

His bird paintings are delicate and graceful. His flower and tree paintings depart from the previous methods of fine brushwork and color blending. Instead, he used thick brush and dark ink to sketch branches, leaves, calyxes and stamens, and applied a few mixed colors. The colors did not obscure the ink or cover the brushstrokes. This style is known as "ink-dropping flowers".

Li Qingzhao became increasingly engrossed in the reading, and couldn't help but bend down to examine every detail closely.

As she bent over, a patch of white skin was revealed, and Chen Shao stared wide-eyed at it.

The beauty before me is extraordinary; it's not just about size and whiteness, but also about its extremely high artistic value.

After all, she is a once-in-a-millennium talent, with a mind full of knowledge and a refined air about her.

The maidservant noticed something amiss and quickly tugged at her mistress's clothes.

The moment Li Qingzhao's thoughts left the painting, she noticed Chen Shao's staring gaze across from her. She quickly straightened up, put her hands on her hips, and spat, "Where are you looking? Be careful, or I'll slap you across the face!"

"Madam, this is a lecherous man. Let's go."

"Don't be afraid, this is my gambling buddy, and he's a loser."

Chen Shao laughed and said, "With such talent as Madam Zhao, how can you look at me with worldly eyes like a commoner?"

"Do you think you're right?"

“Madam Zhao, have you not heard of the biography of Ruan Ji in the Book of Jin, which records: ‘A beautiful young woman next door sold wine at a counter. Ruan Ji often went to drink there, and when he got drunk, he would lie down beside her. Ruan Ji did not feel ashamed, and his husband, upon observing this, did not suspect anything.’” Chen Shao laughed and said, “Although I am not talented, I am willing to follow the example of the sages.”

"Pah!" Li Qingzhao said, hands on her hips, her face flushed. "No matter how eloquent you are, I've really lost out this time, and you can't fool me. How about this, you give me this peony painting, and we'll be even."

After she finished speaking, she couldn't help but laugh.

It's not that she didn't take it seriously; the social atmosphere at that time was still quite open.

This is why, in the summer when the weather is cold, the streets of Bianliang are covered in white, no less than Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty.

"It's fine if you don't want to send it. Let me take it back and look at it for a couple of days. I'll return it to you after the Jinshi Society in Luoyang."

"The Golden Stone Society?" Chen Shao asked. "What is that?"

"It was a gathering of scholars in Luoyang, where everyone came together to appreciate calligraphy, paintings, bronze and stone inscriptions, and rubbings of inscriptions."

As Li Qingzhao spoke, she asked, "Your collection is truly remarkable. Where did you acquire it?"

"It's a family heirloom, a family heirloom."

"How much does your peony painting cost?"

"Two hundred strings of cash."

Li Qingzhao sighed inwardly. Two hundred strings of cash wasn't expensive, but she really couldn't afford it.

After all, the prime minister's monthly salary was only about 300 guan.

Despite the fact that Li Qingzhao's father, Li Gefei, served as an assistant minister in the Ministry of Rites, and Zhao Mingcheng's father, Zhao Tingzhi, served as a vice minister in the Ministry of Personnel, both of them were high-ranking officials in the imperial court.

Although the couple came from a "noble family," they lived a very frugal life because "the Zhao and Li families were poor and frugal."

However, this price was indeed very reasonable; Chen Shao had specifically inquired about it. It was about ten strings of cash cheaper than the market price. If Chen Shao had charged a little more, Li Qingzhao wouldn't have been so conflicted.

For Li Qingzhao, this price was such that she was reluctant to buy it, fearing that such a good deal wouldn't be available again; but buying it was indeed a difficult decision.

"How about this, I'll go back and try to gather the money. Could you please not sell it for now?"

Chen Shao looked troubled. "How about this, you pay a deposit and I'll hold it for you."

Li Qingzhao rolled her eyes and grumbled, reluctant to leave.

Finally, she took off the hairpin from her hair and held it out to Chen Shao, saying, "I'll leave this with you as collateral, so don't lose it."

"No problem, no problem. I live in Xing'er Lane. If you've raised enough money, and I don't have a stall here, you can just go find me."

Li Qingzhao nodded. She thought this person was not bad because he had good sportsmanship when gambling.

After Li Qingzhao left, Chen Shao's eyes gradually became unfocused, and three words kept replaying in his mind: Jinshi Society.

Such gatherings of scholars and intellectuals typically require very influential people to organize.

Luoyang is a very special place.

Sima Guang's Garden of Solitude, Wen Yanbo's Guild of Elders in Luoyang, and Shao Yong's Peaceful Abode in Luoyang.
These were all sacred places for scholars in Luoyang. Even after retiring, these high-ranking officials still exerted a strong influence on the court through their networks of students and former subordinates.

This is what is commonly known as a 'pure stream'.

It is highly likely that one of them is the one who is manipulating Li Shishi behind the scenes.

These people in the court are currently at their lowest point because of the concentration of imperial power and Zhao Ji's heavy reliance on people like Cai Jing, which has led to severe suppression of the "Luo Party" and the "Old Party".

They may have quieted down for a while, especially after Cai Jing pulled out all the stops and erected a monument to the traitors.

But after all, they have a history spanning over a century. Huang Chao has already provided the correct answer as to the only way to truly eliminate them.

For this kind of 'upper-class aristocracy', they have long since broken into smaller groups, sneaking in under the cover of night, subtly influencing the people, and quietly taking root among the common folk, secretly controlling a vast amount of power.

Shortly after the Jingkang Incident, many private armies with astonishing fighting power emerged in Luoyang.

Most of them were henchmen of these Luo Party members, originally there to guard their homes, but when the fighting started, they were all armed and ready for battle.

They were even able to fight in open battle against the heavily armed Jin soldiers, and their record was not bad. They even once recaptured Luoyang. It would be hard to believe they didn't train their dogs regularly.

For so many years, the Song Dynasty has shared the world with the scholar-officials, yet you scholar-officials have been secretly training troops. Who are you guarding against?

Sitting in front of his stall, Chen Shao felt a little powerless.

Even if he knew exactly who the mastermind was, he wouldn't be able to avenge Li Shishi at all, and he might even have to be careful not to be harmed by that person.

Go back to the Northwest, carve out your own territory, and train your own troops.

This idea has become more urgent than ever before.

Perhaps people living in this era, especially ordinary people in a bustling metropolis like Bianliang, could not see the true nature of the Song Dynasty's weakness.

But Chen Shao was different. He had a God's-eye view and understood long ago that the Song Dynasty was rotten and could not be relied upon.

The Southern Song Dynasty, which remained in a precarious state after the Jingkang Incident, was, in a sense, in league with the Jin army.

They shared a common enemy: those military generals who were determined to launch a northern expedition and recover lost territories.

To achieve something, the first thing to do is:

Start from scratch!

(End of this chapter)