Chapter 5 Entering the Palace for the First Time

Chapter 5 Entering the Prince's Mansion for the First Time

By chance, he entered the Prince's Mansion and painted a picture to celebrate his birthday

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Besides, Boss Ren saw that there were no customers at the moment, so he was going to ask Brother Xue and the others to go upstairs. I went to rest for a while, but just as I was about to speak, I heard someone outside the door ask: "Is the store owner here? Please come out and see me!"

Boss Ren looked outside and saw a plain gray nut on the top of his head. , a young man wearing a green cloth shirt and black cloud boots bowed and bowed slightly and said: "I am the store owner, what do you do for me?"

The young man also returned the salute and said : "I am the steward of Zhenbei Prince's Mansion. It is the birthday of the princess at the end of the month. The prince wants to send a birthday painting to my wife, so I would like to ask the famous painters in the city to go to the prince's mansion this afternoon and choose a favorite one. I hired him to personally make a birthday painting for the princess; if you are free today, please take the trouble to come to the palace.”

How dare Boss Ren hear that it was a painter from the palace who was doing the painting. Not to mention that King Zhennan has a very good reputation, so he is happy to give it a try. If he is chosen to make a birthday painting for the princess, it will be a good thing to become famous. He hurriedly responded: "Since it is an invitation from the palace, how dare you not respond to it? Please leave your address information, and Ren will be invited on time."

"The prince specially explained , gentlemen are not allowed to be raped. As long as everyone is invited, the palace will send someone to drive to pick up and drop off all the gentlemen. However, I have to specifically ask the gentlemen that since there are many people invited, please bring only painting tools. Just have a servant to help you. I apologize for any inconvenience! "As expected of a servant of Zhenbei Palace, he speaks thoughtfully and politely, without any arrogance or unreasonable appearance.

"Well, Ren will tidy up here, prepare painting supplies, and wait for the palace's chariot in the shop." After that, he gave another salute.

The prince’s boy said hello, returned the gift, and then turned around and left.

After the little brother left, Boss Ren called Xiaobao and Brother Xue over and ordered: "Xiaobao, you will take a good look at the store this afternoon. If there are any painting customers, please come to them one by one." Register it in the register and deal with it when your father comes back. Brother Xue, please tidy up your painting equipment, put it in the painting box, and come with me to the palace in the afternoon."

"Dad, I am. I also want to go to the palace, and want to see if the courtyard of the palace is very big, and whether there are many exotic flowers, rare animals, and so on!" Xiaobao heard his father ask him to guard the door and take Brother Xue with him. Go to the palace and say coquettishly to Boss Ren a little reluctantly.

"Xiaobao, the palace is not an ordinary place. If you are not careful, your life will be in danger. Daddy is here to paint, not to play; Brother Xue has quick eyes and quick hands, and is smart. He is here to help daddy. , Don’t mess around,” Boss Ren scolded softly.

When Xiaobao saw his father's serious expression and serious tone, he knew that what his father said was true and was not to scare him, so he nodded. He turned around and said to Brother Xue: "Brother Xue, I'm waiting for you and dad to come back in the store. You have to serve dad well and don't cause any trouble."

Brother Xue stood aside and listened. After listening to the conversation between the boy from the palace and the boss, and now listening to the conversation between Xiaobao and his son, he already knew the cause of the matter. Uncle Ren took him to the palace, not for fun, so he had to be more solemn and not act like he was on the street. It's like selling paintings on the Internet, laughing and cursing without any formality. Seeing Xiaobao telling him this, he responded: "I know, I will come back safely with Uncle Ren."

After saying that, he went to pack his things and changed into a clean light gray gown. I combed my hair, put it back into a bun, tied it up with a peach wood hairpin, and put on a pair of black cloth shoes with white rims. After tidying up, I looked at it and found that I was quite satisfied.

Boss Ren also tidied up his clothes, washed his face, washed his hands, etc. After all, it was his first time to go to an official mansion, let alone the famous Zhenbei Palace. How could he dare to be slovenly and careless.

More than half an hour had passed before they knew it. Just as Brother Xue’s master and servant were finishing up, the sound of rolling wheels came from outside. The two looked outside and saw only one person. A maroon carriage stopped at the door. An older coachman jumped out of the carriage and saluted the two of them: "Excuse me, is this Mr. Ren's place? I am the carriage driver of Zhenbei Prince's Palace, and I am here to pick Mr. Ren up for painting." ."

"I'm here, sir. Our master and servant will come after you get the painting box!" Boss Ren replied. While talking, Brother Xue had already picked up the box in his hands and walked out of the store with Boss Ren.

The father who was driving the car put the footboard under the door, and let the boss and the servant get on the car one by one. Then the father put away the footboard and asked: "Sir, sit down, we will set off to the palace now." Come on." He whipped up the whip, and with a crisp "snap" sound, the carriage moved forward smoothly, not too fast nor too slow, and the master and servant were comfortable sitting in it.

After driving like this for about half an hour, I heard the driver say "Oh...oh..." twice. When the vehicle stopped, the driver said: "Sir, we are here."

The two people got off the car and saw a majestic gate in front; golden glazed tiles as eaves, unknown small animals hanging on the corners of the eaves, white marble columns of the same color, and dragon patterns carved on the columns. There were two large stone lion beasts, each holding a sparkling jade bead in their mouths. There were dozens of steps in front of the door. Four armored doormen stood on them. When they saw the groom coming up with the master and servant, they made a routine inspection. items and let them in.

The coachman led them in through the gate and went around a long corridor on the east side toward the inner courtyard. Looking at this corridor that was dozens of feet long, Brother Xue couldn't help but marvel at the luxury of the palace. Each beam is painted with paintings, including landscapes, flowers, birds, fish and insects, character allusions, etc. I secretly thought to myself that this palace is truly unique, with countless pavilions, elegant, simple, beautiful, and majestic. If you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes, who would have dared to believe that this palace relied on Tianhu Mountain, one of the two mountains in the city. And built.

Continue to move forward and reach the end of the corridor. Turn right and go down the steps and pass through a side door. Facing you is a garden lake, which is formed by the Yudai River formed by the streams in the mountains. The lake surface is about There is a long embankment in the lake with a radius of one hundred feet, winding from northwest to south. The West Dike and its branches divide the lake into three waters of varying sizes, each with an island in the middle of the lake. These three islands are arranged in a tripod on the lake. There is a large waterside pavilion built in the middle water of the three islands, which is connected to the three islands by a wooden bridge corridor. The islands have green waves and weeping willows, and there are green algae and green lotuses in the lake. The natural scenery is broad. The beautiful mountain shape and the peak of Tianhu Mountain a few miles outside the park are reflected in the lake under the sunlight.

Spring jasmine is planted near the water, and its slender branches hang gracefully. The goose-yellow petals bloom shyly on the branches. As the breeze blows over the water, it is like a girl taking a mirror and taking a picture of herself, still wanting to speak. shame. The bright sunshine shines through the blooming cherry blossom trees, casting shadows on the river. The mottled tree shadows ripple on the river. The spring breeze brings the snow-like cherry blossoms, flying, spinning... flying all over the sky, and finally drifting reluctantly. Looking to the distance, falling into the mortal world, if there is a seemingly non-existent fragrance floating in the air, it attracts people's reverie; the gentle and clear chirping of birds is dotted among the shadowy trees and flowers, ethereal and cheerful;

Just in the snow Brother lingered and watched, and when his mind wandered too much, he unknowingly arrived at the waterside pavilion in the lake. There was a sacred wooden plaque on the waterside pavilion, which read: "Shuiyuetian" in three large characters, with vigorous writing and elegant fonts.

On the pavilion, there were dozens of people seated, divided into guests and hosts. Sitting on the high platform was a man in his fifties, with a majestic appearance, thick eyebrows, big eyes, a beautiful beard, and angular facial features. Clearly, there is no need to guess that it is the King of Zhenbei himself. Next to him is a noble lady with kind eyebrows, dignified appearance and countless manners. When she was young, she must have been a great beauty with a graceful appearance.

There is a little girl in the madam’s arms. She is eating fruit and teasing the white pet beside the table. She occasionally raises her head to say something to the madam.

Brother Xue looked a little familiar to the little girl, and although the little beast couldn’t see clearly, he vaguely felt that he and Xiaobao had taken a fancy to the beast shop on Play Street some time ago. The little white Skywalker was somewhat similar, but I didn’t think much about it. After all, there were too many similar pets.

There is a handsome young man sitting on each side of them. The young man on the left has starry eyebrows and sharp eyes, and is extremely cold. He is wearing yellow silkworm chainmail and black gold tapestry boots; the young man on the right is gentle, elegant, handsome, and looks On the contrary, he is much softer than the one on the left. He is wearing silver animal pattern armor and white Soaring Cloud boots. His appearance seems like he has seen it before somewhere.

However, seeing such a big scene for the first time, Brother Xue was more cautious and didn’t have much time to think about anything else.

Below them were three rows of guest seats. There were fruits and other food on each small table. There were also several serving maids and servants standing next to them. Boss Ren and the two were led to the last row. They were arranged to sit down at the table on the right, and after another quarter of an hour or so, King Zhenbei said: "The end of this month is the birthday of my princess. I would like to borrow the hands of all of you gentlemen to draw a painting for the princess." I invite you all to come here today because I want to choose a favorite. Please forgive me for any rudeness. I, the King and Princess, thank you all!" As he said this, he and the Princess stood up and bowed to the painters. A gift;

Everyone below quickly returned the gift: "Your Majesty, you are serious. It is our great honor to celebrate the birthday of the Princess. It is not too late to rejoice." They exchanged greetings with each other.

"Then I would like to thank you all. For all the gentlemen who came to Humble House today, regardless of whether they are selected or not, the palace will prepare a generous gift, so I won’t waste any more time here. , gentlemen, I will now use this lake scene as the theme and use your masterful painting skills to make a painting. After completion, the princess and I will select the most favorite painting, which will be the winner. It is limited to one hour, everyone. Let's get started."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" After everyone answered, they started painting. Brother Xue was helping Boss Ren, and all the painters were focused on the Huguang drawing paper.

One hour is actually a short time for painting. After all, to paint a good painting requires detailed observation, which is extremely time-consuming. It depends on the level of each painter and how to do it. Painting a work that is eye-catching in such a short period of time is the difference between a painter and a painter.

The hour came quickly, and less than half of the completed paintings were completed. Naturally, unfinished paintings were not included in the selection. These people were taken out of the waterside pavilion by the servants, received their gifts, and left.

Some of the remaining dozen people painted mandarin ducks playing on the lake, some painted the weeping willows on the island, some painted the red carp in the lake, and some painted the shadow of the island in the lake. Boss Ren’s framing was very simple, and what he painted was The green algae in the lake is paired with red lotus. The green algae symbolizes dedication, while the red lotus symbolizes the joy of rebirth.

After all the paintings were put away and sent to the prince and his wife, they admired each one one by one, nodding in approval from time to time. The mandarin ducks are said to fly together, and the carp is said to be able to fly over the dragon's gate; The two looked at it for a long time, and finally finished the dozen or so paintings. Finally, they turned around and stopped in front of Boss Ren's "Red Lotus and Green Algae". Needless to say, the one who chose it was Boss Ren.

Just listen to the prince say: "The princess and I have looked at the paintings of the gentlemen, and several of them can become masterpieces. Today, we will keep them in our private collection. Of course, we will not treat you badly; in the end, we The gentleman who painted the painting "Red Lotus and Green Algae" was chosen to make a birthday painting for the princess. Mr. Ren will stay for now, and everyone else can go ahead. The servants will prepare gifts to send everyone back. "Mansion!"

Boss Ren had no hope of winning, but unexpectedly he won the first prize. When the prince called him, he went out to salute.

The prince called him over and discussed the birthday picture with the princess for a while. Brother Xue was waiting in the distance. After everything was over, the steward of the palace took them out of the palace and got on the carriage. I was given a large bag of Huang Lingshi as a deposit.

Boss Ren was still sitting here, feeling that happiness came too suddenly. Inexplicably, he had an extra bag of money in his hand. He looked at Brother Xue dubiously and asked: " Brother Xue, look at this Huang Lingshi, is it real? Please pat me, I’m not dreaming.”

Brother Xue couldn’t help but smile when he heard Boss Ren’s words. I was also surprised when I got a bag of Huang Lingshi. After all, I had never seen Huang Lingshi before. The most they collected in the store were usually blue Lingshi. After all, it was a small business. However, when I saw the palace’s luxurious mansion in the afternoon, I suddenly felt that Huang Lingshi didn’t count. What a rare thing.

Then he said to Boss Ren: "Uncle Ren, this is true. Look at the 50 Huangling Stones. We have made a fortune this time, but Uncle Ren, should we close our doors during this period? After all, It’s only half a month. If you want to make a birthday painting for the princess, we can’t be careless.”

“Yes, that’s right. Then we’ll close the business for the next half month. You and Xiaobao will give it to me as usual. Let's start by buying some paints and groceries." After Boss Ren was delighted, he felt a little uneasy.

After all, there is still a birthday picture to draw, and you must concentrate on it, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable. After all, it is a prince's palace. When the prince is happy, he will be gifted with thousands of gold, and when the prince is angry, he may have his head missing. .

"Sir, we're here!" The master and servant had seen something so dreamy today that they arrived at the door of the store before they knew it. After they got off the bus, Boss Ren gave the coachman a blue spirit stone as a thank you.

Then I discussed with Brother Xue and Xiaobao about the plans for the next half month, and wanted to give Brother Xue a portion of Huang Lingshi, but Brother Xue refused. Finally, the boss insisted, and Brother Xue didn’t. As a result, only 5 were left and saved.