In the third year of Xining, Cui Bai once again entered the long-lost Hanlin Painting Academy, and this time, his identity was the art of the Painting Academy.

Previously, the emperor Zhao Xuan wanted to find a painter to paint a "Oleander Begonia Crane Picture" for the screen of the vertical arch hall, and he thought that the painting style of the people in the painting academy was dull, and he was in the program, and he wanted to find a new penmanship to write, and the Empress Dowager Cao recommended Cui Bai to him, praising his painting style, so Zhao Xuan summoned Cui Bai into the palace, and several other famous painters Ai Xuan, Ding Zhen, and Ge Shouchang painted this huge screen.

After completion, Cui Bai's part of the work was the crown of everyone, and the emperor Longyan Dayue immediately ordered Cui Bai to be supplemented as a painting academy art student. In the end, the emperor promised that he did not have to serve in the academy every day, "if there is no decree in front of the emperor, there is nothing to do", Cui Bai reluctantly accepted it and became a senior official of the academy.

Today's young emperor is different from the two emperors, full of vigor and vitality, from the beginning of the throne determined to innovate, to enrich the country and strengthen the army, and later appointed Wang Anshi as the prime minister, drastically changed the law and customs, and the pattern of the academy is also in his reform plan. Therefore, Cui Bai was like a fish in water, changing the situation that the art of the academy for hundreds of years was based on the brushwork of Huang Zhen and his sons, and the Great Song Dynasty Academy entered a new era of vitality.

Since I returned to the academy there is almost no chance to leave the palace, we have not seen each other before Cui Bai re-entered the academy, we are very happy to meet again after a long absence, after talking alone, Cui Bai took out a scroll of paintings, handed it to me with both hands, and said: "When I left the academy, I promised Huai Ji that I would give you a painting. Over the years, I have painted a lot, but I don't feel very satisfied with it. A few years ago, it was finally painted into a picture, and it was a little bit of a look, but now it is given to Huaiji, and I hope that the virtuous brother will accept it. ”

I thanked him, took a look, and saw that the painting was a corner of the countryside, with a few autumn trees and bamboo branches and a few clumps of withered grass standing on the hillside, a pair of mountain magpies flying obliquely above the picture, and the female bird was already standing on the dead branches of the broken trees, chirping at a crouching hare in the lower left, and the male bird was following it, spreading his wings.

This is a masterpiece that I have never seen before, using a variety of techniques: mountain magpies, bamboo leaves, and autumn grass are double-hooked and colored, and the brushwork is meticulous and delicate, while the thorns and some leaves and veins are boneless, smudging freehand, and not using ink pens to stand on the bones. The trunk of the tree is rough, and the slope lines are made of light ink indulgence. The hare fur is a must, there is no outline of the edge, and it is difficult to describe it with a specific technique, the hair is drawn with a pen, the same as the real fur, the layers are distinct, the length is different, there are both soft and soft inner layer of fluff, there are also thick and straight outer layer of long hair, one by one the depiction is extremely detailed, as if you can feel the soft and fine touch of a piece of hand. The whole painting can be said to be a collection of the strengths of the country, the thickness of the brushwork coexists, but it can be harmoniously integrated, which is breathtaking.

However, what surprised me the most was his depiction of birds and beasts in the painting. The female bird was delicate, but when she leaned down and spread her wings at the hare, her beak was wide open, her eyes were wide open, and her expression was extremely angry, and it was a little sad. The male behind it was swaying with long white tail feathers, and his body was beautiful, and his expression was not as angry as that of the female, and he looked a little surprised and a little confused, although he was flying towards the female, but it did not seem to be fighting the hare with it, and he did not seem to have thought about what to do next. And the hare, with its abundant fur, was looking back at the female who was scolding at it, and her right front paw was raised at a loss, as if she was in a dilemma, and did not know what to do.

I observed the scene in the painting and vaguely guessed the deep meaning of Cui Bai's painting, and he also pointed to the female bird and explained: "Mountain magpies are clever, like to gather in groups, and have the habit of guarding their own territory. If outsiders break in, they will violently protest against them. And this hare may have strayed into the territory of this pair of mountain magpies when passing through the mountains, and the female was dissatisfied, so she angrily wanted to chase it out......"

I nodded, smiled lightly, and finally fixed my eyes on the trunk of the tree on the right side of the picture, where Cui Bai signed the letter: "Jia Yu Xin Chou Nian Cui Bai Pen." ”

I hung this "Double Happiness Picture" in my room, and often stared at it in silence, and when I saw it, it was like a long time, and those past events also came to mind, as clear as if I had only been dreaming for a night.

A few months later, I decided to put the painting in the Vault Collection, both so that I would never touch the scars of the past again, and because it was too beautiful to be something I could keep.

My life experience is full of all kinds of traces of beauty: I have seen the glorious imperial city, elegant calligraphy and painting, exquisite playthings, and the beauty of the Qingming era, the picturesque rivers and mountains...... However, none of them belong to me, and my special status determines that I can only be a spectator of these beautiful things, and I am used to witnessing their existence, but I will not try to have them.

The day of sending the "Double Happiness Map" into the secret pavilion is the flower festival of the fourth year of Xining, most of the people in the palace went to Yichun Garden with the emperor to enjoy the flowers, and the palace was empty, and it was rare to see people.

When I walked outside the Jiying Hall, I looked sideways at the palace wall connected to the harem in the courtyard. This is a habit that has been formed over the years, although as soon as I turn my head, I already remember that the princess is gone, and the blossom on the peach blossom branch has not been seen for a year.

But this time, the result was completely unexpected—there were four or five pieces of flowers on the flower tree at the head of the wall, and a bamboo branch was trembling upwards to hang a butterfly-shaped ribbon.

At that moment, my ears roared, and I froze completely in place, staring directly at the colorful threads hanging from the branches, my body trembling involuntarily, and my chest was so painful that it was difficult to breathe.

Finally, the taboo of many years was completely thrown away, and I stepped around the palace walls, and ran through the heavy gates of the temple, manned or unguarded, and ran towards the harem.

It's just a distance separated by a wall, but if you really go around it, it's like you've crossed thousands of mountains and rivers. Exhausted and out of breath, I entered the harem after a nine-year absence, and saw the scene under the peach blossom tree behind the red wall.

A sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy stood in front of the peach blossom tree with his hands in his hands, wearing a red and plum round-necked narrow-sleeved shirt, with a tall posture and a handsome face, and was looking at the girl in front of him at the moment, with a warm smile in his eyes.

And the girl had her back to me, and she looked very petite, and she had a girl's beard, and she should have been twelve or thirteen years old. She was wearing a willow-colored dress, and she was holding a bamboo branch to hang flowers on the peach blossom tree, coquettishly, and acting like a weak willow supporting the wind.

This time, her goal was the highest part of the flower branch, but she was too small to be able to hang the flower on the branch several times. The young man looked at it and smiled, "I'll help you hang up." ”

The girl looked back and said, "Don't." Miao Niangzi said that the eldest sister hangs it by herself every time. ”

She turned her head and let me see a face that resembled Qiu He. In an instant, I thought that I had gone back in time, and I had returned to the moment when I met Qiuhe in Yifeng Pavilion many years ago. The same bright eyes and bright teeth, the same soft tone, but this girl is even smaller, two more coquettish than the autumn and the year of Qiuhe.

Listening to her mention Miao Niangzi and "Big Sister" again, I immediately understood that she was Qiuhe's daughter Zhu Zhu, the eleventh princess of Renzong, and now her title is the eldest princess of the country. The ninth princess, who was the same mother as her, died in the fourth year of Zhiping.

Looking at the young man's similar eyebrows, I also surmised that he was Zhong Ke back then, and now he has changed his name to Zhao Hao's fourth prince of Yingzong. Not long ago, Jinshang just entered and named him King Jia.

Seeing Zhu Zhu answer like this, Zhao Hao snorted: "Who made you so short!" If you don't want me to make a move, I'll go back, and come back next year for the Flower Dynasty Festival, you must still be here, enough to come and go or not to reach. ”

His tone was casual, not at all like he was talking to his aunt, and the two of them got along like brother and sister.

Zhu Zhu didn't get angry when he heard what he said, he thought about it sideways, and suddenly beckoned to him: "Come here." ”

Zhao Hao asked, "What for?" ”

Zhu Zhu pointed to the ground under his feet: "You come over and give me a cushion." ”

Zhao Hao shook his head and said: "It is really unreasonable to let the prince do such a thing!" I'm not going. ”

Zhu Zhu pursed his lips and pretended to be annoyed: "I'm your aunt!" ”

Zhao Hao smiled: "What aunt, it's obviously a pig." ”

Having said that, he still walked towards Zhu Zhu, leaned over and bent over, and really asked Zhu Zhu to step on his back.

Zhu Zhu held the wall with one hand, and the other hand holding the bamboo branch pressed Zhao Hao's shoulder, carefully stepped on his back, and then stood up slowly, and hung Hua Sheng towards the highest branch, and said while hanging: "If you don't listen to me, I will tell Miss Wang and Miss Pang about 'my hair'......"

Zhao Hao knelt on the ground and responded, "What do they have to do with me?" ”

Zhu Zhu said: "Isn't it irrelevant? Then why did the Queen Mother specially invite them to the palace to enjoy the flowers last time? ”

Zhao Hao replied: "She wants to choose a new wife for her second brother, but it's none of my business." ”

Zhu Zhu asked again: "It's none of your business, so what did you say to them that day?" ”

The corners of Zhao Hao's lips were raised, and a sly smile was hooked: "I told them, next time you might as well go to Yujin Garden with the eldest princess of the country to see the bow, where in addition to rare birds and beasts, foreign envoys, there are many people worth seeing, such as Cao ......"

Before he finished speaking, Zhu Zhu was already shocked, his feet slipped, and he fell from Zhao Hao's back, and even fell to the ground with bamboo branches.

Zhao Hao hurriedly turned over and reached out to help her, I silently looked behind a locust tree for a long time, and at this moment, I also hurried over and picked up Zhu Zhu with Zhao Hao.

Zhao Hao and Zhu Zhu looked at me, both a little surprised.

I felt that I had appeared suddenly, so I immediately bowed and apologized, asked the eldest princess to forgive me for being abrupt, and then bowed my head and retreated, and slowly retreated to the palace gate.

When I turned around, Zhu Zhu opened his mouth and called me: "Old man, please wait." ”

The way she called me made me lose my mind for a moment - old man?

I'm forty years old, and I'm already an old man in her eyes?

As if to answer this question, I looked down and saw my own shadow on the ground, hunched over, like an old man.

Zhu Zhu walked up to me and handed me a scroll: "This is what fell out of your sleeve when you helped me just now." ”

I took it with both hands and bowed down to thank her. She looked at me with pity, suddenly withdrew the jade bracelet on her wrist, called Zhao Hao again, tore off the jade pendant hanging from his waist, and then stuffed it all into my hand.

I was stunned, not knowing how to react. And Zhao Hao probably thought I was worried, so he smiled at me encouragingly: "Take it, this is the eldest princess rewarding you." ”

I didn't say much, just bowed my head, thanked respectfully, took the jade bracelet and jade pendant into my arms, and retired again.

When I was about to go out, I looked back at the pair of young and beautiful children, they were there talking and laughing and hanging flowers, the golden sun was swaying on their heads, and the surrounding was surrounded by sunny silk, and the colorful silk and peach blossoms were dancing in the spring breeze, and when I saw the falling flowers drifting like rain.

I bowed my head silently, holding the "Double Happiness Picture" step by step out of this deep courtyard full of spring and the peach paradise where Fangfei is in full bloom. An attendant arrived, closed the door behind me, and locked the red dust in my lost space, and I didn't look back, just continued to walk, indifferently embarking on the undecided journey home.

As he walked away, the laughter of the talented young man had disappeared from his ears, and in the distance, the sound of music from the teaching workshop came faintly, it was three or five women who were singing a poignant song:

"Mistakenly, Taoyuan Road, thousands of miles of smoke and twilight. If you don't stay, you have to go, and the autumn moon and spring breeze are leisurely. The peach blossoms are scattered like red rain, and the human face does not know where. ”