Painting Doctor Jinhua

Two hours can be considered short, but also long. The courtyard at the backyard of the Zheng residence was already crowded with people. A group of women were anxiously waiting. At the order of Old Madam Zheng, clean clothes, medicines, and tea were delivered one after another. The maids and old women were busy coming and going, but they dared not make any sound for fear of disturbing the old madam and causing her anger. Now they just hoped that the person lying on the bed could really wake up on time.

"Ajia, look, the sun is almost overhead, and the two hours are about to end. I wonder how Shishilang is doing?" Li asked.

The old lady looked up at the sky. It was sunny today and a little blinding. She heard that there seemed to be no movement in the house, so she immediately called the old woman to come and see: "What's the matter? Is Shishilang awake?"

The old woman lowered her head, as if she was extremely frightened, and answered tremblingly, "Not yet."

"Is there no sign of waking up at all?" the old lady asked anxiously.

The old woman shook her head again.

Li's lips curled up into a smile, and she pretended to be suddenly horrified: "Oh, Ah Jia, this is bad, have we been deceived by that kid?"

"What do you mean?" the old lady asked unhappily.

Li replied, "Ajia, think about it! That lady treated our Shishilang not for fame or profit, and she didn't even leave her name. What did she want? Moreover, Shishilang had once taken someone else's things, which had already displeased that lady. Although that lady had taken back her own things, why would she treat Shishilang? In my opinion, that lady might be looking for an opportunity to take revenge on Shishilang.

Think about it again, what did Shishilang look like when he was sent out of that room? Although his mouth was not crooked and his eyes were not squinting and his body was not twitching, his face was swollen..."

Like a pig's head.

Li didn't finish the next few words, and continued, "Also, why did the young master say that Shishilang would not wake up until two hours later? These two hours are enough for them to escape!"

After Li said this, Madam Zheng, who was already suspicious and uneasy, became even more annoyed and anxious. When she thought of the word escape, she panicked and immediately called for someone to come and ordered, "Go to Taohua Village right now and capture the miracle doctor and the young master! If you can't find them, search the entire village!"

Several soldiers nodded in response and quickly ran out of the mansion.

The old lady could not help but clasp her hands together and became even more nervous. She repeatedly ordered her maids and servants to check Zheng Shishilang's bedroom, but there was still no movement after a long time.

An hour later, the soldiers finally rushed back, but they were all terrified and frightened. There was no sign of the young man or the miracle doctor.

"Please forgive me, madam. When I arrived at the village, the miracle doctor and the young master were gone. There was nothing in the house except for a screen and a painting." One of the soldiers reported.

"We also searched the village, but there is no one left in the entire village," another soldier added.

The soldier seemed to feel that it was difficult to report without any results, so he searched out a scroll from his sleeve and held it above his head, reporting, "Madam, I saw that the painting on the screen seems to be different from others, and it may be able to find out the identity of the miracle doctor, so I brought this painting."

The old lady's face turned pale. She was so shocked that she held her forehead and almost fell backwards.

"Then why did you come back? Go find them quickly and take my token to tell the guards at the gate of Sishui Pass not to let anyone out of the city."

The old lady was so angry that she shouted, snatched the scroll from the man's hand and smashed it to the ground.

"What do I need this painting for? Can a painting save my grandson's life?"

Several soldiers were also panicked and didn't know what to do. All the servants in the yard knelt down, fearing that the fish pond would be affected.

But at this moment, a scream came from Zheng Shisilang's bedroom.

"Wake up, wake up, Fourteenth Young Master has woken up!" a maid screamed.

Woke up?

The old lady was overjoyed and led a group of women into the house like a tide. They saw that Zheng Shishilang had indeed sat up, but for some unknown reason he was holding the edge of the bed and vomiting continuously.

The ground was filthy and messy.

"Fourteen, what's wrong with you? Did you eat something that made you sick?" Old Madam Zheng ran over and asked.

Zheng Shisilang vomited everything in his stomach, and then he came to his senses. He looked at Madam Zheng for a long time, and suddenly burst into tears, "Grandma, I am an unfilial grandson and I made you worry!"

Madam Zheng patted his shoulder and said, "It's good that everything is fine. It's good that everything is fine."

Zheng Shisilang held onto the edge of the bed, looked around, and suddenly looked at the old lady and cried, "Grandma, you must seek justice for your grandson. Those two bitches really bullied me too much last night!"

"Last night?" The old lady was slightly surprised. "How did they bully you?"

Zheng Shisilang recounted everything that the boy had done to him last night, including punching and kicking him and saying. He was too embarrassed to say that he had drunk horse urine, because if the boy hadn't been disgusted and thought it was dirty, he might have really stuffed some horse manure into his mouth.

As a young master of a noble family, he had never suffered such abuse before. This was intolerable.

"Grandma, although my grandson is ill, his mind is still very clear. These two slaves humiliated my grandson and our Zheng family so much. How can we let them go like this?"

Madam Zheng was also shocked and angry after hearing this. She stood up and was about to find someone to look for him. At this time, a voice came from outside the door: "The master of the family has returned!"

The head of the Zheng family, Zheng Daozhong, was the prefect of Xingyang County and was also known as the "Northern Saint of Calligraphy" in Qi. Although their branch was not a prominent branch of the Xingyang Zheng family, they were also highly valued by Qi Lord Gao Zhan.

When they heard that the head of the family had returned, the women naturally went forward to greet him and pay their respects.

But as soon as Zheng Daozhong entered the room, he asked, "Where is Shishilang?" Then he rushed into Zheng Shishilang's bedroom angrily and slapped him in the face.

Zheng Shisilang was a little confused after being beaten, and said aggrievedly: "Why did grandpa beat me?"

Zheng Daozhong seemed to be filled with anger, and he scolded: "Don't you know what you have done? A month ago, didn't you rob a girl? You also bullied women, seized good farmland, and kidnapped people as concubines. Did you do these things?"

Zheng Shisilang covered his face and tried to explain himself but was speechless. Zheng Daozhong then ordered his men to pull Zheng Shisilang down from the bed and make him kneel down, causing Zheng Shisilang to howl loudly.

Madam Zheng came over to help: "What are you doing? Shishilang has just recovered from a serious illness! Besides, whether Shishilang really did these things has yet to be ascertained. The government also needs evidence to settle a case. Moreover, this is our family. How can we just listen to the rumors that slander Shishilang?"

Zheng Daozhong snorted coldly, and threw a piece of silk from his sleeve into Madam Zheng's hands: "Look for yourself!"

Madam Zheng looked carefully and saw that the silk was written with Zheng Shishilang's newly signed confession, admitting all his evil deeds such as bullying innocent people, seizing good farmland, and forcibly abducting women as concubines. There was also a sentence written on it: If his virtue is applied to benevolence, then I will be benevolent. If his virtue is applied to false benevolence, then I will not be benevolent. Hope you will be good and take care of yourself!

The old lady couldn't help but sweat in her hands, and thought to herself: It turns out that the miracle doctor had already anticipated that the Zheng family would repay kindness with enmity, so she had already written a letter to the head of the Zheng family, asking Zheng Daozhong to come back at this time to help them out. What a careful calculation, this letter is a warning to them!

"Do you know the surname of the lady Shishilang offended?"

The old lady was still angry, and then she heard Zheng Daozhong ask.

"Last name?"

"Xiao!"

"Xiao? So what if your last name is Xiao?"

Madam Zheng asked back, and then her heart trembled. She looked at the Zheng family's patriarch in surprise: "Could it be Xiao from the Lanling Xiao family?"

No matter whether people in this world have read the genealogy of aristocratic families or not, I am afraid that everyone knows the Xiao family of Lanling. As an aristocratic family of immigrants who crossed the Yangtze River during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, perhaps in the Jin Dynasty it was far less famous than the Wang family of Langya, the Xie family of Chenjun, the Wang family of Taiyuan, or even some aristocratic families in the south. However, after the establishment of the Southern Dynasties, the Xiao family rose rapidly and became prominent in the world. Not only did the family produce many talented people and high-ranking officials for generations, but it also replaced the Liu Dynasty and established the later Xiao Qi and Xiao Liang.

The so-called "two emperors and nine prime ministers" is a family of great prosperity unprecedented in ancient times. It refers to the Xiao family of Lanling. The glory of the Xiao family during its heyday may not be even as great as that of the two great families of Wang and Xie in those days!

"But so what? After the Hou Jing Rebellion, the Xiao family and the other noble families in Jiankang were almost wiped out. Should our Zheng family be afraid of a noble family that is about to decline? Moreover, the people of the Lanling Xiao family are now in Jiangling or Jiankang. Why did this young lady come to Qi alone?"

After Madam Zheng said this, the patriarch of the Zheng family fell silent. He took out something from his sleeve and looked at it again and again, revealing some hesitation and confusion.

While he was pondering, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a painting spread out on the ground. He picked it up and looked at it. At first, he didn't think much of it, but he became more and more absorbed in it. Gradually, his eyes became filled with an incredible look, and he muttered to himself, "How...how is this possible?"

"What's wrong with you, my husband? Is there any mystery in this painting?"

Old Madam Zheng also came over to take a look out of curiosity, but she saw that it was just an unfinished scroll with only a few lines and outlines. She couldn't tell what was so fascinating about the painting, but the poem on the right side of the scroll was a little different.

"As long as the flying general is in Longcheng, the Hu horse will not be allowed to cross Yinshan. This poem is well written, but this painting..."

Zheng Daozhong shook his head repeatedly, "No, you haven't seen this painting, you haven't seen the situation at that time. This painting was once painted by two people in the court of Southern Liang. It was called "extremely wonderful, with spirits, the best painting, unprecedented in ancient times" by Emperor Wu of Liang and all the civil officials at that time. Many famous artists wanted to see this painting all their lives. It's a pity that this painting has been treasured by Xiao Yi, the King of Xiangdong in Southern Liang. Later, Xiao Yi proclaimed himself emperor in Jiangling. After proclaiming himself emperor, Xiao Yi was so arrogant that he didn't want to bow down to the king of Zhou. The army of Zhou took advantage of the civil strife in Southern Liang to attack Jiangling.

Seeing that there was no hope of saving the country, the madman Xiao Yi actually burned all his precious paintings and calligraphy in order to prevent his treasures from falling into the hands of others. Ancient paintings, calligraphy scrolls, and letters, 140,000 scrolls were burned! "

Thinking of this, Zheng Daozhong even beat his chest and stamped his feet, as if he had witnessed the situation that day with his own eyes. He wished he could jump into the sea of ​​fire and rescue all those famous calligraphy and ancient paintings from the fire.

Madam Zheng had naturally heard about the burning of books when the city was broken by Emperor Yuan of Liang, Xiao Yi. Although she also felt it was a pity, she was not as heartbroken as Zheng Daozhong was about the burning and loss of ancient books.

"But what does it have to do with this painting? You just said that all the ancient paintings were burned by Emperor Yuan of Liang. How could they be left behind? Even if they were left behind, it couldn't be a half-finished painting like this, right? Besides, in my opinion..."

"No—" Zheng Daozhong interrupted immediately, "Although it is only a half-finished painting, the lines and contours in this painting are enough to show his painting skills. What's more, I was there at the time and I happened to have seen this half of the painting. It reminds me of someone."

"Who?"

"The eldest daughter of the Xie family." Zheng Daozhong replied, his voice paused, his eyes filled with unusual admiration, and then he sighed with regret, "What a pity..."

"What's a pity?"

The old lady asked, but Zheng Daozhong shook his head and stopped talking.

The courtyard fell silent for a moment, with only Zheng Daozhong's lament of "what a pity" echoing over and over again.

It was in this silence where one could hear a pin drop that a maidservant suddenly screamed in fear.

"Look, this painting, this painting..." She shouted, pointing at the unfolded scroll in Zheng Daozhong's hand.

Zheng Daozhong and the old lady also came back to their senses. When they looked at the painting, they saw several black spots the size of ink appearing in the painting. Soon the black spots grew larger and larger, and finally it seemed as if flames were burning.

Zheng Daozhong was so frightened that he quickly let go of the painting that he had been loving so much. The maids surrounding the room all screamed and ran away in fear.