CH 22

November 16, 2022

The room fell silent for a while.

Everyone in the Ren Estate knows that Third Master Ren has a gentle temperament and rarely loses his temper.

But rarely losing his temper doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a temper.

In Ren Shimin’s study, there used to be a servant who was serving brush and ink and stole one of his inkstones and went out to exchange it for silver. This servant has been by his side since he was a child, and was the nephew of his momo. He has done these kinds of petty theft a few times, and Ren Shimin has never cared much about such external things, so he turned a blind eye.

Unexpectedly, Ren Shimin was furious at that time. Not paying attention to the momo’s crying and begging, he immediately ordered the steward to beat the little servant with 50 big boards and afterward carry him to the government. The servant endured for three days and finally died in prison.

Because there is a law in the Great Zhou Dynasty, if a servant commits the crime of murdering the master, adultery, or theft, once it is verified, the master has the right to kill him. Afterward, he only needs to hand over 22 taels of silver to the government to close the case.

So even though Ren Shimin has always been amiable like a jade gentleman, none of the servants of the Ren family dared to be presumptuous in front of him.

(Jade gentleman = There's a saying 'A gentleman is like a jade', a gentleman is similar to that of a jade(inherently tenacious, brilliant, and low-key luxury). Wearing jade is to remind oneself of moral cultivation)

People who don’t play cards according to the rules are the most difficult to provoke because you don’t know what will suddenly anger them, so you can only be extra careful around them.

Ren Shimin flicked the hem of his robe and stood up: “I’m going to the study, you should go.”

Everyone got up to see off each other. When Ren Shimin walked in front of Ren Yaoqi, he turned his head and said, “Yaoyao should also come, your father wants to see how much laziness you have stolen in the past half year.”

”Father.” Ren Yaoying bit her lower lip and called out softly.

Ren Shimin turned to look at her and said gently, “What’s the matter?”

Ren Yaoying summoned her courage and said, “Father, this daughter has been practicing calligraphy and painting for the past half year. I just finished painting a snow scenery a few days ago, and I would like to ask my father for some guidance. This daughter knows that she is not as talented as Fifth Sister, but…but… this daughter also really likes to paint.”

Concubine Fang looked at Ren Yaoying and said with a smile, “Ninth Young Lady has really put a lot of effort into practicing painting in the past half year. Speaking of which, I would like to thank Fifth Young Lady for her guidance from time to time.”

”Oh?” Ren Shimin glanced at Ren Yaoqi, thought about it, and nodded, “In that case, you should come too.”

Ren Yaoqi glanced at Concubine Fang and smiled.

If Concubine Fang counted her agreement to lend her her paintings as her guidance to Ren Yaoying, she really had to accept this credit.

However, she knew that Ren Yaoying’s paintings were really not bad.

Concubine Fang was wholeheartedly planning for her children. Naturally, every step was calculated. Before the Ren family overturned, she could also persuade Old Madam Ren to let her go back to her maiden family and take the opportunity to marry her daughter to her brother’s eldest son.

”Daddy, why don’t Third Sister and Fifth Brother come together? Dragon begets dragon, phoenix begets phoenix, the son of a mouse can make a hole, then your children should be able to paint too!” Ren Yaoqi winked at Ren Shimin and said playfully.

(Dragon begets dragon, phoenix begets phoenix, the son of a mouse can make a hole = Like father, like son)

Ren Shimin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Where did you learn all this mess?”

In the end, the four children followed Ren Shimin to the study together.

The second entrance of Ziwei Courtyard does not have wing rooms, but there are two small cross courtyards. The west cross courtyard is the storeroom of née Li, and the east cross courtyard is Ren Shimin’s study.

(Wing rooms = The rooms on both sides at the front of the main room

Cross courtyards = The courtyards on both sides of the main courtyard)

The Third Master's study room is full of books and paintings. As soon as you enter the yard, you can smell the fragrance of ink.

There is a miniature pond in the cross courtyard, the water is very shallow but it's jet black, and now it has frozen into ice. After the surplus snow above was shoveled away, the miniature pond was like a bright and deep black jade.

This is the pond where Ren Shimin usually washes his brush, he named it Wenhan Pond.

(Wenhan(文瀚) = 文 refers to a poem, article, or script while 瀚 refers to pen and brush. 文瀚 means talented in writing)

Ren Yaoqi should have been the most familiar with this place, but she couldn’t help but look around after entering. Pushing open the study door, the cluttered look inside makes it hard to believe that this is a study.

Ren Yaoqi recalled that Ren Shimin’s study was the most chaotic place she had ever seen.

He doesn’t like people coming in to clean up but likes to put his books and paintings everywhere.

It’s just that he can easily locate each painting himself, and he is proud of it.

In the entire Ren family, the only person who can clearly remember every book in Ren Shimin’s study and where each painting is located, except for Ren Shimin himself, only Ren Yaoqi could.

Ren Shimin looked back at the four children behind him, frowned for a while, and finally pointed to the desk inlaid with sandalwood and marble facing the door and said, “You all sit there and don’t move.”

Ren Yaoqi knew that Ren Shimin doesn't usually use his desk to write or paint, and liked to use the short table on the right of the room. This desk is where he usually drinks tea, so it is relatively tidy.

A few people walked through the mess on the ground cautiously and sat around the desk.

Ren Yaoqi reached out and took an upside-down cylindrical bamboo tube like a flat-bottomed bell in the middle of the desk, then couldn't help taking out a few Go pieces from the drawer under the desk and placing them inside. She wanted to shake it by her ear but was snatched by Ren Shimin who was sitting next to her.

(Go = A strategic game of grid-like board for two players to aim for more territories than the other, it uses black and white pieces)

”Daddy has said it many times, this is for Daddy to drink tea, not a toy. You are being naughty again.” Ren Shimin said with a stern face, disapproving.

Ren Yaoqi came back to her senses, blinked, and quickly blinked back the tears in her eyes.

Ren Shimin was taken aback, wondering if his tone was too harsh, and finally, he could only put the bamboo cup in his hand back into Ren Yaoqi’s hand and said helplessly: “Forget it, this cup has not been used for half a year. You play with it, Daddy will make another one tomorrow.”

Ren Yaoqi laughed while looking at the rough bamboo cup in her hand.

There are two such cups in the small camphor wood box under her bed. When she was a child, she always liked to shake the dice with the bamboo cup daddy made when he was not looking. She was caught twice but still enjoyed doing it.

A look of envy flashed in Ren Yaoying’s eyes, but her smile was seven-point naive and three-point curiosity, and any malice couldn’t be seen: “Did the Fifth Sister just play a game of gambling? I heard that Uncle is the best at this, and Fifth Sister learned it from Uncle, right?”

(Uncle = Maternal uncle)

Ren Shimin’s face suddenly sank.

Ren Yaohua’s sharp-edged eyes looked at Ren Yaoying coldly. Ren Yaoying forced a smile and couldn’t help shrinking.

The only one who can be called uncle by Ren Yaoying with great momentum is the brother of their legitimate mother.

Ren Yaoqi played with the cup in her hand and smiled indifferently: “Didn’t Aunt say that Sister has read a lot of books? Why don’t you know that rolling dice is actually a method of divination? What gambling? Where did you hear that nonsense?”

How can a child raised in a boudoir know this? Moreover, Ren Yaoying has never had contact with her so-called “Uncle”. All she knew was what she heard from others.

Ren Shimin barely held back his anger and said to Ren Yaoying in a low voice: “Didn’t you say you want me to instruct you in painting?”

Ren Yaoying bit her lip, lowered her head and took out the scroll that she had been holding in her hand, glanced at Ren Shimin, and carefully spread it out on the desk.

Ren Shimin looked up, the expression on his face softened slightly, and he nodded in praise: “Sure enough, you have made rapid progress. It can be seen that you have worked hard.”

Ren Yaoqi also took a serious look. In all fairness, it is really good that Ren Yaoying can paint this level of painting at her age. She knew that Concubine Fang was very strict with her children, and Ren Yaoying had really put in a lot of effort in the past half year.

But with Ren Shimin’s critical eyes…

As expected, listening to him say: “However, in addition to paying attention to brush and ink, in painting, you must also pay attention to composition. Yin and yang, back and forth, vertical and horizontal, ups and downs, opening and closing, locking and tying, surrounding, hooking, bridging, reflecting. It has to be ups and downs and twists and turns freely, so as to avoid a lack of rhythm. What your painting lacks is the dexterity of this composition.”

In fact, according to Ren Yaoqi’s understanding of Ren Shimin, these words are considered a high-level evaluation, because according to his temperament, he would at most subtly say “acceptable” for paintings that he did not like, and he would definitely not pay too much attention.

But Ren Yaoying didn’t know, so the smile on her face was a little stiff.

”Daddy often praises Fifth Sister for her good painting, why don’t Fifth Sister help me to see how to change this painting?” Ren Yaoying suddenly looked at Ren Yaoqi with anticipation on her face.

Ren Yaoqi remembered that Ren Yaoying had made such a request in her previous life, but she was too young to write at that time, and she was not happy with Ren Yaoying, so she immediately refused. Ren Yaoying didn’t really want her to help, so in the end, Ren Shimin helped her make some changes.

But this time, Ren Yaoqi nodded and smiled generously: “Since Sister’s paintings are all learned from me, it’s natural for me to change it for you.” She looked like doing her part.

The veins on Ren Yaoying’s forehead jumped, and she was very uncomfortable with the way Concubine Fang raised Ren Yaoqi before.

Ren Shimin glanced at Ren Yaoqi with a smile and took the pen and ink from the second compartment on the right with an obvious look of watching a good show. He was the one who taught his daughter, and he was very clear about what she was capable of. Ren Yaoqi’s level may be better than Ren Yaoying’s, but it is still limited after all.

While Ren Yaoqi set up the ink, she tilted her head to look at the painting. After the ink was ground, she picked up a brush and added a few strokes to the snow scenery, and finally, a pair of bamboo bent by the heavy snow was added on top.

Although it is only a few strokes, it makes people feel the strength of a bamboo that has already been bent, and the vigorous vitality immediately emerges from the painting.

Ren Yaoying’s original painting seems to have become the background, but on the whole, they seem unusually coordinated and not abrupt at all. The style of the whole painting immediately improved by several grades.

Ren Shimin’s expression at seeing her daughter’s jokes slowly became serious.