Eight hundred and fourteenth chapter newly hired west seat
Liu Caichun followed the maid to Princess Xue Tao's study. She walked up to the third floor of the main building. Xue Tao greeted her and said with a smile: "How is the residence? Are you satisfied?"
Liu Caichun quickly bowed and said: "It's very good, the scenery is picturesque, it's simply beautiful. Thank you Princess for the arrangement!"
Xue Tao smiled and said: "Go to my study and talk!"
Xue Tao led her into the study, and Liu Caichun was a little surprised. It is rare to hear that women have study rooms, but of course it is not absolutely impossible. She also has a study room herself, and her father specially arranged a cabin on the ship for her to use as a study room.
The princess's study room is very grand, divided into two by a six-leaf white jade and red sandalwood screen. Chen Shaoyou also has a four-leaf nanmu screen. He often boasts that it is a priceless treasure, but compared with the princess's screen, it is completely different.
, no matter the jade quality, wood, height, width, or quantity were far inferior, and she discovered that the painting on the screen was actually the original work of Yan Liben and Wu Daozi, with the calligraphy inscribed by Zhang Xu.
She was immediately attracted. She walked up and looked at it carefully. She was almost obsessed.
coming."
Only then did Liu Caichun remember that this was the princess's study. She reluctantly looked away. When she heard that he had snatched it away, she asked curiously: "Isn't the prince angry?"
"Why are you angry?" Xue Tao was puzzled.
Liu Caichun said cautiously: "You just said you would snatch it away. He... wasn't he angry?"
Xue Tao chuckled, "It's useless for me to be angry. You can't argue with me, and you can't beat me in a fight. No matter how reluctant you are to let me go, you can only give it to me. I said I just like this screen, but he has no choice but to give it to me."
On my back, I don't like other men entering my study, so he can only work for me personally."
Liu Caichun heard this and was a little confused. This was completely different from what she had seen and heard!
Xue Tao saw the confusion in her eyes and knew that she was confused, but she couldn't explain this kind of thing clearly, just like her mother still couldn't understand it, and she didn't bother to explain it.
"My study has three large rooms, two of which are library rooms. I won't take you to see them. Let's sit outside."
The two walked out of the room. Outside was a pavilion. It was not big, but it could enjoy the view of the lake. The floor was covered with a soft carpet. There was a large couch on the carpet, which could accommodate three people. In the corner was
A bronze incense burner with an animal head, with frankincense burning faintly inside, and smoke curling up to repel mosquitoes.
The two sat down on the soft couch. In front of them was a table with several fist-sized exquisite jade stones placed on wooden plates. The crystal white and greasy jade stones had bright red skin on the surface.
"Is this jade?" Liu Caichun pointed at several pieces of jade and asked.
Xue Tao smiled and nodded, "This is Kunlun jade seed material. My husband calls it Khotan seed jade. It is produced in Yutian Town. It is different from the jade pendants and rings we usually see. This is a natural rough stone that has not been processed through any process."
Carved and polished, it is a flawless mutton-fat jade, and the red leather is as bright as the morning glow."
Liu Caichun picked up a piece and looked at it carefully, and exclaimed: "It's really as white and greasy as mutton fat, and it's as beautiful as jade!"
"If you like them, I will give you a piece later. My husband has collected many of them, but most of them belong to me. I also like them very much. They are the condensed essence of heaven and earth."
"Then thank you, Princess!"
The maid brought them fried tea. Xue Tao smiled and said: "Try the tea from Chang'an. How does it compare with Jiangnan?"
Liu Caichun picked up the tea cup and tasted it carefully. She was surprised and said: "This is Master Jiaoran's tea!"
"You can actually taste it?" Xue Tao's eyes were full of approval and curiosity.
Liu Caichun said with a smile: "I often discuss poetry with Master Lu Yu and Master Jiaoran. Master Li Zhi is also here. When discussing poetry, I must drink tea. Master Lu Yu's tea is very important to water quality and must use water from mountain springs. The tea brewed has a certain
In terms of spirituality, it would be better to use the tea pot from the Yue Porcelain Official Kiln.
Master Jiaoran’s tea pays more attention to the quality of the tea itself. He often uses well water, which has a mellow tea flavor. He usually uses white porcelain, which makes the tea look like ink, while the porcelain is as white as snow. Black and white complement each other, so you can tell it after tasting it.”
"Listening to your words is worth ten years of studying. It turns out that we need to pay attention to the unification of water, tea and utensils. All the tea we drank before was in vain. My husband prefers to drink milk tea from a bamboo tube, just like drinking from cows."
Liu Caichun covered his face with a smile and asked, "Why don't you see His Royal Highness King Jin?"
"Normally I don't see him during the day, but he comes back for dinner in the evening. If there is a war, it is common not to see him for several months."
Having said this, Xue Tao put away his smile, pondered for a moment and said: "This time I invite you to stay in my house for a few days. Actually, I have something to ask for."
"But it's about the young master?"
Liu Caichun had already guessed that he must be invited here because of Guo Weiwei.
Xue Tao nodded, "I would like to ask you to teach my little girl painting. She has loved painting since she was a child, and I taught her. But I feel that her style is different from mine. She is more suitable for ink painting. I am good at figure painting, and I know Miss Liu's style."
The ink painting is pretty good, can you give me some pointers?"
Liu Caichun was a little embarrassed. If she came to the palace to be a teacher, she would not be able to perform in Chang'an, but the princess was so kind that she could not refuse, and she also liked living here very much.
Forget it, let others sing! There are several singers in their troupe who can sing, and they are also very famous in Jiangnan, so let them have the opportunity to become famous in Chang'an!
She thought for a while and said: "It can only take a month or two at most. It's too long. We have to go back to Jiangnan."
Xue Tao smiled and said: "Then it's settled. In two months, I'll pay the girl a thousand gu to polish the pen."
Liu Caichun was startled and waved his hands quickly, "There are too many, one hundred strings is enough!"
"Don't worry about this. You should still have the maid's luggage! Pack it up and move it here."
"It's already packed. There is only one personal maid, called Little Carrot. The princess will just send someone to pick her up with her luggage. I will write a letter to daddy explaining the situation clearly."
At this time, Xue Tao thought of the most critical question, "Is the girl already married and has a husband at home?"
Liu Caichun is already twenty years old. There are very few unmarried people at her age, but Xue Tao has a woman's intuition, and Liu Caichun is still a virgin.
Liu Caichun blushed, shook his head and said, "I was originally engaged to a son from the Zhou Jia Ling Troupe in Yuezhou, but the relationship between the two families deteriorated due to competition. The Zhou family simply broke off the engagement last year. I am not yet engaged."
Xue Tao breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Okay! I'll ask Weiwei to come over and become my apprentice."
.........
Guo Song returned to the mansion very late. He participated in the discussion in the Counselor's Building about the arrangements for the imperial examination next spring. This is the top priority in the spring of next year. Everyone discussed it until the evening.
He returned to the study and sat down tiredly. His body was not tired, but there were too many things that gave him a headache.
At this time, Xue Tao came in with a cup of hot tea and asked with concern: "Have you eaten yet? I'll ask the kitchen to bring it over."
Guo Song waved his hand, "We have eaten. We all had a light meal. We are not very hungry, so there is no need to be busy."
He picked up the tea cup and took a sip of hot tea, and said a little surprised: "Why is it white porcelain?"
"I just learned today that when drinking Master Jiaoran's tea, you need to use white porcelain. The tea soup is like ink and the white porcelain is like snow. It tastes more elegant."
"It's a good match. Who taught me this?"
"Liu Caichun, has your husband seen her?"
"It's that famous Jiangnan singer. I've heard of it but never seen it. Zhang Lei said that she will perform in Chang'an for a month."
"I'm afraid she won't be able to perform."
Xue Tao smiled and said: "She lives in our house now!"
Guo Song was stunned and said for a long time: "My lady, please invite her to sing?"
Xue Tao was angry and laughing at the same time. It was obviously her husband who suggested inviting her to teach Weiwei how to paint, but now he forgot again. He meant it but didn't mean it!
"She is a famous talented girl in Jiangnan. She not only sings well, writes poems well, but is also excellent in ink painting. I have officially hired her as a teacher to teach Weiwei painting for two months."
Only then did Guo Song remember that he seemed to have said this. He hesitated and asked, "Is Weiwei willing?"
"Weiwei admires her very much. Classes have started this afternoon. The two of them get along very well. She lives in Baihe Building. Would your husband like to go and see her?"
As soon as Guo Song turned around, Baihe Building was right next to his study, more than ten feet away. Through the window, he saw the lights on in the Baihe Building that had been idle. It seemed that someone was moving around, making the bed.
"It's too late now, let's wait another day! I'll visit her another day. After all, she is Weiwei's master. I should meet her."
Xue Tao was secretly amused, as her husband did not understand the joking meaning in his words.
Guo Song didn't take Liu Caichun seriously because Zhang Lei told him that Liu Caichun was already in his thirties, and he was probably not interested in women over thirty except Ying Caihe.