Chapter 99: Appreciating Calligraphy and Painting

The waiting time was boring.

Zhou You was acting as a guard for the first time; he drank several cups of tea, but Wang Yan still did not appear.

He heard an Apprentice ask Shen Sanhe, "Brother Shen, the Eldest Miss wouldn't be staying the night here, would she?"

Staying the night? How could that be?

Zhou You gave a start; if that were truly the case, he would have to stay here all day and would have no time to practice his arts.

Shen Sanhe shook his head, "Hard to say, just wait patiently!"

He was also quite helpless; being a guard meant one had to be inseparable from the charge, with no freedom.

Zhou You took a deep breath; he couldn't leave for the moment, so he had to find a way to pass the time.

He stood up and walked a few steps, seeing several paintings and calligraphies hanging on the walls of the open room, the silk surfaces of the scrolls slightly yellowed with age.

The master of this house was a famous scholar in the city, so it was normal to use calligraphy and painting as decoration.

Zhou You thought of the Hungry Tiger painting hanging in his own home and couldn't help but feel the urge to examine them.

"Hmm!"

There were several pieces of calligraphy and painting, featuring flowers, birds, insects, fish, landscapes, and wild beasts; the empty spaces were left blank, or inscribed with poems, or marked with seals and stamps.

For a martial artist, these things were meaningless, not even as enjoyable as listening to storytelling at a teahouse.

Zhou You had a foundation in literature and observed the Hungry Tiger painting day and night, so he could be considered to have some basic knowledge.

As he watched, he subconsciously traced the lines and ink strokes, feeling that some parts were vivid and interesting, while others were inevitably stiff and rigid.

He suddenly realized that calligraphy and painting were drawn by human hands, and manual work must inevitably have flaws and defects.

Those hung in the open room for public display were certainly not rare treasures.

"Hmm, this stroke is not bad!"

Zhou You gestured, his train of thought gradually opening up, and his eye for appreciation also improved.

A "ding" sound came to his ears, and the interface gave another prompt:

"New skill added: Calligraphy and Painting Appreciation Lv0."

This skill, like the pipa, had no effect on improving his strength.

The maid Dujuan came again to refill the tea, and seeing Zhou You looking at the calligraphy and paintings, she kindly reminded him, "These calligraphy and paintings must be kept away from wind and water, and especially must not be touched by hand. Just look at them, but absolutely do not touch."

"Understood!"

The Hungry Tiger painting in Zhou You's home was also kept as a precious treasure; human hands were full of oil, sweat, and filth, which were highly corrosive to rare treasures, so one generally did not touch them with bare hands.

However...

"This sister, I don't think these things are any rare treasures!"

Zhou You was just speaking the truth; the level of these calligraphy and paintings was average, with few brilliant strokes and many failures. They looked like something at a glance, but upon closer inspection, they were somewhat unbearable to look at.

Especially when compared to the Hungry Tiger painting at home, they were instantly crushed to the level of a child's doodle.

Although the Hungry Tiger painting was drawn casually by an old man with no name and cost only two pieces of dry rations, its level was extremely high.

Even though Zhou You didn't understand calligraphy and painting, he could see that the brushwork on the painting was done in one go, natural and vivid, possessing a very high artistic standard.

By comparison, the Zengjia had a reputation abroad, but the calligraphy and paintings displayed in their open room were somewhat lacking in quality.

"Zhou You, you are bold! How can you casually comment on the treasures of Ceng Fuzi's house?"

"Don't think that just because you know a few characters, you can pass yourself off as a man of letters."

Shen Sanhe seemed to bristle, pointing directly at Zhou You and scolding him.

He turned to apologize to Dujuan, "Sorry, this sister, he was just speaking off the cuff."

Unexpectedly, Dujuan was not angry, and her expression was even a bit strange.

She curiously sized up Zhou You, "This... um, little master, where are you from?"

"The fifth house to the left at the entrance of Lingdang Xiang in Paodai Jie."

"Paodai Jie?"

Dujuan's eyes lit up, and she asked, "I have a cousin who married into that area and is now a widow living at home, running a wine stall to support her family. Perhaps you know her..."

The two compared notes and it was a coincidence; Dujuan's cousin was Zhou You's neighbor, Li Guafu.

It turned out that Dujuan was also a young girl from the city, sent to the Zengjia in her childhood to be a maid for the young miss.

She was two years younger than Zhou You, so it was easy for her to speak, and she addressed him directly as Brother Zhou. "Brother Zhou, feel free to look at these calligraphy and paintings. You don't need to shy away from sharing your opinions."

"My master hangs them on the wall precisely for people to critique and discuss."

Dujuan poured a full cup of tea for Zhou You and nodded at him with a smile.

Until she left, Shen Sanhe still hadn't reacted; what was going on, how did they strike up a relationship?

This maid had been pouring tea and water without showing them any kindness, yet she was chatting and laughing with Zhou You, and had already started calling him Brother Zhou.

Looking back at his own scolding just now, he had acted the villain in vain and made a fool of himself.

Zhou You looked at the seal on the bottom left of the calligraphy; he had been translating the Seven Step Poison Sand Palm a while ago and had also dabbled in Seal Script.

The Seal Script on the seals was particular; it was not easy to carve, and often one wrong stroke would ruin the whole thing.

Scholars and refined gentlemen often considered collecting and playing with seals a refined hobby.

"Hmm, the metal and stone level of these seals is much better than the calligraphy and painting!"

He said this to himself; after all, Shen Sanhe and the others wouldn't understand.

Suddenly, a voice came from the bushes, "What did you say?"

In the Inner Courtyard boudoir, Wang Yan and Miss Zeng were chatting, giggling from time to time.

The maid Dujuan returned and mentioned the interesting event she had just encountered.

Wang Yan's eyebrows stood up when she heard this, "How rude! I'll go and reprimand him."

She felt that Zhou You was speaking recklessly, offending the Zengjia and causing her to lose face as well.

Opposite them, Miss Zeng covered her mouth and chuckled, hurriedly interjecting, "Sister Wang, not only should you not blame him, you should reward him for his keen eye."

"These scribbles of my father's were never meant to show off his brushwork, but were intended for stamping seals."

She explained that while Old Master Zeng's literary level was extremely high, he was not skilled at painting and calligraphy.

What he truly excelled at was stone and metal seal carving; his technique with jade Seal Script was exquisite and favored by scholars and literati.

The Clan Head of the Gongliang family's Qi Family admired Old Master Zeng's seals immensely and often sought to purchase them with heavy gold.

Given Old Master Zeng's temperament, using a blank sheet of paper just for a seal would be a waste of his craft, so he would casually splash some ink to go with it.

"For Sister Wang's attendant to be able to discern the quality of the painting, he must also have a foundation in literature."

Miss Zeng praised him with a serene expression.

"He is just a Commoner youth who studies boxing with my father; perhaps he just said it off the cuff."

"That is still very impressive."

The two close friends continued their idle chatter, unaware that something was happening at the same time.

In the open-air room with breezes from all four sides...

An old man darted out from the bushes; he was thin, hunched, and squinted at people, looking like an old clerk who had sat in an office for decades.

Zhou You was very surprised when he first saw him, because this old man was actually wearing a pair of glasses.

Looking closer, the frames were polished tortoiseshell, inlaid with hand-ground lenses, not of a modern style.

"You say the seal on this is better than the painting?"

Zhou You rolled his eyes; did that even need to be said!

"Old man, does that even need to be said?"

Zhou You casually pointed out several flaws and said bluntly, "If you took this level of craft to set up a stall, you'd starve to death."

"Old man, if you know the owner of this painting, advise him to change professions early and learn a real trade."

A flash of anger crossed the old man's face, and he grabbed Zhou You's sleeve.

"Tell me, what is good about the seal?"

He was used to the flattery of literati, so hearing praise from a young martial artist today felt exceptionally fresh.

It was not novel for an expert to know their stuff, but if even a layman could see the brilliance, that was truly impressive.

(End of chapter)