You rascal, stop right there!

White peas haven't seen process elements for three years.

He was thinking about which restaurant to book today so they could have a meal together.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Su declined politely. He kept saying that he was so busy with official business that he had no time to eat, drink and have fun.

A certain man deeply despised this.

It turns out that once you become an official, you become more disciplined.

"Forget it!" Bai Wan laughed and punched the man on the shoulder.

The two of them were so close that it seemed like they had too good a relationship.

The person in the wheelchair behind Bai Wan said softly:

"Abai, now that you have registered, you can go back and ask Brother Qi Tu to think about what you will need for the exam."

He spoke calmly, but one could tell there was some force in his words.

Bai Wan looked at him, seeming to feel that something was not right.

But he still nodded.

Okay! What Brother Zichen said also makes sense.

……

Zhengzhou City.

It's called the Yuequanjian Restaurant.

Ling Shumo deliberately chose a remote corner and even his outfit became much more low-key.

The person opposite had a complicated expression and deep eyes.

Ah Yan looked at the two silent people and couldn't help but said, "Master, I'll be waiting outside the door."

"Cheng Zhiyuan is from Chengjiazhuang?" he said calmly.

Cheng Su looked at Ling Shumo, who was smiling and lowering his eyebrows in front of him: "Minister Ling, I changed my household registration in order to take the exam."

Ling Shumo frowned and thought deeply: "Cheng Su is Cheng Huan, one of the people who survived the plague in Chengjiazhuang."

"Yes, I felt that the name Cheng Huan wasn't very nice. So I changed it!" Cheng Su said with a smile.

Looking at this person's smile, it's not as bright as Bai Wan's.

Instead, it makes people feel a little unhappy.

The man in the wheelchair took a sip of tea seemingly unintentionally.

"You changed your name and took the imperial examination! Don't you feel wronged to work in a place like the Painting Academy where you have no real power?"

Cheng Su echoed and drank a cup of tea: "Then Minister Ling quit his job as a painter, stopped writing and took the imperial examinations to become the Minister of Rites. Doesn't seem to feel wronged at all?"

It's really painful to hear this.

Ling Shumo also suddenly felt that what he had just said seemed a little inappropriate.

He looked at the person opposite him calmly and said, "Actually, Ling is not looking for you to be unhappy with today. I just want to ask you something."

Cheng Su finally became serious and looked at the man carefully with indifferent eyes.

……

"Back then, there was a painter named Bai who went to Chengjiazhuang to draw a coffin for the deceased. Where did he go after that?"

"And you, since you met him three years ago, why didn't you tell him his true identity?"

"Are you the one who found him in Baiyun City a long time ago?"

……

The snow fell silently.

Ling Shumo is always calm, but he is a little flustered.

These three questions in a row made him feel as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest.

Cheng Su looked slightly relieved: "Five years later, there are still people who are still asking about this matter. Minister Ling and Painter Han are really as close as the rumors say, and their friendship is deep and loyal!"

So he put the teacup in his hand on the table.

He immediately took out a red brocade box.

The brocade box is very exquisite, and when it is opened, there are some scattered sketches and manuscripts inside.

All of them are drawings of ordinary people, beggars, performers, or peddlers.

He looked at the paintings and said:

"There was a sudden plague in Chengjia Village that year, and the officials had no time to take care of it. They left us to fend for ourselves. There wasn't even enough staff to help with the burial..."

Cheng Su's eyes seemed to be reminiscing about the past, and her speech gradually slowed down:

"Painter Han passed by. His alias was Bai Yue. He claimed to be a rural painter. He painted funeral portraits for the dead in Chengjiazhuang while helping to treat the sick."

Ling Shumo learned all this from Yinniang.

But, when he picked up these paintings.

The characters are lifelike, their people's lives are clear, and every stroke reflects the artist's thoughts at the time.

These paintings really make people's eyes tear up.

"Back then I was just a scholar who had failed the imperial examinations for many years. Because I couldn't pass the exams, I became a hooligans on the streets."

Cheng Su lowered her eyes slightly: "During the plague in Chengjia Village, he saved many villagers, but my mother and my brother died in the end."

"Later, he drew coffin pictures for my mother and brother, and gave me money to encourage me to take the imperial examination."

Ling Shumo chuckled: "He seems to be like this to everyone."

Brother Yuebai has been like this since he was a child.

Even if he becomes a gangster and changes his appearance, he is still the same person deep down.

This is one of the reasons why Ling Shumo has always admired Han Miaoran.

Cheng Su found it a little ridiculous and shook her head helplessly.

"At that time, no one knew that this rural painter Bai Yue who suddenly appeared was actually the Great Ying Painting Saint, the court painter Han Miaoran."

"I remember that year, he was very excited and said that he wanted to draw the best picture in the world."

The best picture in the world?

Ling Shumo quietly looked at the drawing in his hand, looking a little uncomfortable.

Brother Yuebai did tell me about this matter back then.

But which painter has not wished to win this sentence?

But no one has been able to do it so far.

Cheng Su continued with a bitter smile: "After he left Chengjiazhuang, he told me that he was going back to some temple in the capital. I don't know anything else!

Since he was returning to Beijing, how could he disappear on the way?

Ling Shumo felt like a failed confidant who was completely unaware.

"The last time I saw him was three years ago."

Cheng Su's tone suddenly became deep:

"At that time, he was beaten by a few hooligans with dishevelled hair and dirty face. Not only were his clothes torn, his right hand was disabled, and he had no memory of the past. He also stole half a piece of white sugar cake that had been bitten by a rat in an alley."

His hands touched the drawing and he looked intently at Ling Shumo.

The expression of the person opposite him kept changing, and it seemed as if he felt a heavy pain in his heart.

"Or, Minister Ling, have you ever seen a stray cat that can't find its home?"

Cheng Su's eyes suddenly changed, as if he was not stating a fact, but a past that he did not want to recall.

"He couldn't remember who he was and was powerless. After being beaten and covered in wounds, he just randomly grabbed someone and asked, 'Do you know me?'..."

Cheng Su remembered how crazy and miserable this man's tone was at that time, and it was too painful to look back on it.

Ling Shumo felt that he couldn't bear to listen any longer, and his throat ached.

His wheelchair was held so tightly that flesh was almost dug out.

However, he still had to continue listening.

"He didn't recognize me at all, and he became a weakling who couldn't read, draw, or speak." Cheng Su continued, "So I taught him how to fight, use hidden weapons, and use medicine powder."

"At that time, he actually wanted to recognize me as the big brother! He was the little brother!"

It turns out that Bai Wan likes to make others his younger brothers. Is this how he learned it?

Ling Shumo felt a little amused.

"My hometown is not in Chengjiazhuang. Back then, in order to return to Zhengzhou City to take the exam, I only stayed in Baiyun City for three months." Cheng Su sighed.

"Don't mention it. Little Pea is a very talented fighter."

Then, Cheng Su slowly poured the tea from the teapot.

This water flow,

Like crying,

If you sue,

Sad and confused...

……

Maybe no one thought...

A painting saint who once painted a painting like "White Autumn Moon on the River" and wanted to paint the best painting in the world with amazing talent.

After years of bedridden illness, amnesia, and being beaten by ruffians...

His wish was to become the top rogue and scoundrel in a remote town...