Guiguzi descending the mountain is such a story.

This story comes from the Yuan Dynasty commentary "Le Yi Tuqi Seven Kingdoms Spring and Autumn Collection": Qi and Yan were at war, and Qi led the army with Sun Bin, and the momentum was like a bamboo, beating Yan and Le Yi to the point of losing his armor. Le Yi was helpless, and invited his teacher Huang Boyang to help and trapped Sun Bin in the formation. Dongqi doctor Su Dai went to Yunmeng Mountain in person and begged Sun Bin's teacher Guiguzi to help. Guiguzi then drove down the mountain to rescue his students.

It is decorated with historical allusions, which is rare in porcelain decoration before the Yuan Dynasty. The commentaries and miscellaneous dramas of the Yuan Dynasty were particularly popular among the people, and many historical figures began to take root in the hearts of the people, and there were more such creations.

I used to hear that the ornamentation of the character story is the most difficult to draw in porcelain. Patterns such as the Eight Treasure Pattern, the Crane Pattern, and the Lotus Tree, and the Pan Cockroach all have a fixed paradigm and do not require too much brain. Even the character patterns such as the second elder admiring the moon, the five sons Dengke, and the baby play Baizi have routines to follow. And the historical story is one one, King Wen's visit to Xian is one layout, and the three visits to the thatched house are another layout, and there is no repetition between them. What tests the painter is the grasp of the details of the figures and objects, as well as the overall composition ability, and even the imagination.

What's even more difficult is that this is not a paper job, but a painting on porcelain. Blue and white porcelain belongs to underglaze color, one is not handled well, a few glaze drops are deviated, or where the glaze is too thick and fired to deform, maybe the whole story picture has been destroyed.

Therefore, the character picture jars that can be handed down to the present are all high-quality products, and if they are operated properly, the price will be 100,000 yuan. Lao Xu made so many fakes in one go, it seems that the picture is not small.

My appreciation of porcelain is an entry-level level. In my opinion, the flaws are not very obvious, and if you take them out separately for me to see, the probability of distinguishing the authenticity is only about half and half - almost the same as blindness.

Although the medicine is not said to be from the Xuanzi Sect, he has never been mixed in this industry, and his professional knowledge is probably inferior to me.

Then there must be another reason why he frowned so tightly.

I pushed a handful of pills that weren't: "What the hell is going on?" Yao didn't answer, pinched his chin, and kept staring at this row of blue and white jars, as if his eyes were firmly glued to it. After about a minute or two, he walked up to one of the large jars, reached out and touched them, then turned to the back of the jars to look at the other side, and soon turned back and crouched down to get a closer look.

I don't know his details, but I thought he was a senior expert.

The police came several times and urged that this place would be cordoned off soon, and that unrelated people should leave quickly.

Yao didn't stand up, and his face was gloomy as if he had been immersed in a basin of nitrate. He said that there were no cameras in the area, and I said that there would be forensic doctors present in this case, and they would usually have cameras with them. Then I ran out to find Director Kang, and with his mediation, I borrowed a camera.

Instead of picking up the camera, he snapped at the dozen or so bottles, then returned the camera to me, and took out a wad of dollars from his pocket: "Give it to the forensic doctor alone, let him rinse it out and send it directly to the two of us, and you are not allowed to leave the bottom or show it to others." ”

I felt like I had become his follower, but looking at his grim face, I should have made a major discovery, so I had to act on his words first.

After the forensic explanation, we have nothing else to do in this factory. After helping the police record the confession, the two of us went back to the hotel. Director Kang was particularly attentive before and after the saddle. Half of them were worried that I would be involved in the kidnapping case, and half of them were afraid that the medicine would not be divested, and the leader would not be able to explain it. It's not that Yao and I didn't make a clear statement, hanging him so up and down.

The medicine was not obviously preoccupied, and after returning to the hotel, he stopped talking to me, locked himself in his room, and kept talking on the phone. I was skeptical, but there was nothing else I could do.

It's not that I'm not unfamiliar with medicine at all, and the two of them formed an alliance entirely because of hatred. This guy is actually quite like Liu Yiming, saying that he is hiding ten, and he doesn't plan to tell you, so it's useless to ask; I'm going to tell you, you can't cover his mouth. I simply didn't think much about it, took a hot shower, called Yanyan, and asked her how her grandfather was doing.

Yanyan said that Huang Kewu's body is recovering well, the old man has been practicing martial arts all year round, and he has a good foundation, and now he can get out of bed and walk. She asked me what I was doing, and I hesitated and said I was out to help someone else make a documentary.

Yanyan didn't suspect it, and told me a few words to pay attention to safety. I asked Yanyan if Mr. Huang had confided in any news. Yanyan was silent for a moment and said, "Are you still thinking about the old court?" ”

A woman's intuition is spirit. I smiled and said that this was a great feud, how could I forget it, but now that I am alone, there is only a limit to what I can do.

Yanyan said, "I've heard that you asked them for help at the party, but no one paid attention to it, and they all scared the little medicine bottle." I know these people in my family too well, they are afraid of the soft and the hard, and they are mercenary, don't expect them to touch a real chain of interests for a person who has long since died. ”

"The five veins have changed." I sighed softly.

"No, the five veins have not changed." Yanyan said, "My grandfather recently told me a story about Xu Yicheng, do you want to hear it?" ”

When I heard my grandfather's story, my heart tightened.

The story told by Yanyan took place in the Republic of China. At that time, Zhang Zuolin was about to retreat from Beijing, and a policeman named Wu Yanwang detained the people of Wumai in the house and forced them to give the fakes a palm so that they could be sold to the wealthy merchants in the capital. This is a matter of smashing the signboard, no one in the five veins wants to go, and they blame each other, and in the end, Xu Yicheng took the initiative to ask for help, so that he was able to survive the crisis safely.

"According to my grandfather's words, the five veins of the Republic of China are also this virtue. Over the years, the quail's temperament has never changed. Yanyan commented in imitation of Huang Kewu's tone.

This story makes my heart surge, this is the grandfather in my mind! That Xu Yicheng who dares to act and dare to do things!

But I thought about it, Huang Kewu originally had the most fierce attitude towards Xu Yicheng, and his attitude changed after redressing the grievances, but he never mentioned the previous things - why did he suddenly change his personality now? And it was full of appreciation and envy.

Huang Kewu was about seventeen or eighteen years old at that time, and he was still a half-old child, which was the age when he had the most hero worship complex. He may have ...... out of the younger generation's natural reverence and longing for his predecessors Well? Wrong!

I grabbed the microphone: "Yanyan, why does your grandfather call my grandfather Uncle Xu?" Shouldn't they be peers? ”

The voice on Yanyan's side suddenly panicked, and it took a long time to hesitate and say, "Probably he remembered wrong." When we are old, we will definitely have problems with our speech......" Speaking of this, she changed her words, "The doctor said that we can rest for another half a month, and then we can fly back to Beijing." Don't act on your own, I'll talk about it when I get back. Even if none of the five veins are willing to help, I will be on your side. ”

I had the urge to tell her about my plan to be with the medicine. But when the words came to his mouth, he suddenly remembered that the medicine was not that cold expression, and he still held back.

Let's have an eyebrow first, I said to myself.

As soon as I put down the phone, the front desk called in and said that someone had come to deliver something. When I went downstairs, I saw that it was a forensic doctor who was on duty during the day.

The money is moving, there are colorful dollars to open the way, and the forensic doctor worked overtime after returning and developed the photos in a few hours. I opened the envelope and saw more than a dozen photographs, all of which were very clear, and there were negatives next to them - this is what I have specially explained.

I sent the medical examiner away, went upstairs with the papers, and knocked on the door of the room where the medicine was not.

The medicine is not to open the door, and when I see the information in my hand, my eyes light up. He let me in, and without saying a word, he buried his head and began to look through the photos. After a while, he suddenly looked up and let out a long sigh.

It was the first time I had seen him with such a rich expression, a little depressed, a little angry, and a little confused. This gesture means that he has decided that he wants to say something.

"Say it, I'll listen." I sat firmly on the couch, waiting to hear him speak.

Yao No's voice was slightly tired, and he handed me a photo and a magnifying glass: "Look at this photo, is there anything special about the shape of Guiguzi?" ”

I stared wide-eyed and looked at it with a magnifying glass for a long time, but I didn't think anything was wrong. If there is a problem, Guiguzi wears Song Dynasty clothes, and the carriage is also in the style of the Song Dynasty - but this is not a problem at all, the ancients are also divided into people, craftsmen have no culture, and they are used to using the things they are most familiar with to describe the ancients, and it is too normal to make some historical common-sense mistakes.

You see that the background of "Romance of the Gods" is the alternation of Shang and Zhou, and there is also a Chen Tangguan chief soldier Li Jing in it - that is the official position of the Ming Dynasty. Mr. Hou Baolin said "Guan Gong vs. Qin Qiong", there are too many such things in the antique world, and there are no flaws.

The medicine is not a flick of the fingers, let me take a closer look. I thought to myself, this guy himself doesn't understand porcelain, and what he asked me to pay attention to must be different from the insider's point of view, so I also changed my thinking and re-examined.

Since it is a character drawing, it is inevitable that there will be a large amount of depth involved in coloring. Specific to this jar, Guiguzi wears a loose cardigan, and the color should be dark blue, which is the heaviest area in the whole composition. Others, such as the spots of tigers and leopards, the clothes of the leading soldiers, the armor of the knights, the Su Dai, etc., as well as the heart of the tree trunk, etc., are all lighter than Guiguzi.

In this way, when others look at it at a glance, they will regard Guiguzi as the core of the whole picture. In terms of painting techniques, this is called being detailed and focused.

I suddenly noticed that there seemed to be a white mouth on the sleeve of the dress Guiguzi was wearing, which was narrow and subtle, and I couldn't see it if I didn't look closely. It's as if Guiguzi was wearing a cotton jacket, and a cut was made to reveal the cotton inside.

I quickly picked up the photos of several other jars and found that on each jar, there was a white mouth in this position. I don't have a physical object in my hand, judging from the photo, the edge of the white mouth is slightly smooth, obviously the dent is there before the carcass enters the kiln, not after firing the finished product and then scraping out.

In other words, it was certainly not an unintentional mistake, but it was done deliberately in mass production, with each jar strictly following a fixed standard.

It's a flaw, but what does it mean? These things are fake, we already know it.

Yao didn't say: "These dozen or so Guiguzi mountain jars are naturally fake, but judging from this unified white mouth, they must have an imitation of the original, a standard!" ”

His words reminded me that fake artifacts never exist independently, and their form must be derived from a genuine object. Therefore, there is a saying in the antique industry, which is called "all falsehoods return to truth". 10,000 fakes, tracing back to the source, the source is always a genuine thing. Now there is a term in the cultural relics profession, called standard, which means that a conclusive and undoubted genuine product is used as the standard for similar items in that era, and then other things are unearthed, and this standard is used to measure the authenticity.

Obviously, in a certain corner of this world, there is a real Guiguzi descending character jar, and the Guiguzi cuffs on that jar are cracked and there is a white mouth, so these imitations are also learned as they are when they are imitated.

Well, we can confirm that the old Chaofeng has a real blue and white figure jar in his hand, and then what?

I still don't understand, what is the significance of this discovery?

Yao didn't raise his head slowly, and his angular face showed a little stiffness. His body leaned forward unconsciously, revealing a slight uneasiness. After a long time, his voice squeezed out one by one, like a hardened toothpaste.

"In our pharmacist, there is also such a large pot of blue and white figures, which is one of the treasures in the family collection. My grandfather liked it so much that he even put it in his bedroom as a fish tank so that he could see it at any time. The medicine family knows that that is the lifeblood of the old man. ”

"Same as this one?" I breathed hard.

"No, it's not Guiguzi coming down the mountain, it's another character story pattern - Liu Xuande looks at the thatched house three times."

"Hey, so what?"

"I've seen that character jar since I was a kid, and I used to play around it and want to catch the goldfish in it. Once I moved a bench and leaned in, but I was not paying attention and almost knocked over the jar, but fortunately my grandfather held it in time to keep it from breaking. But instead of telling my father, he took me by the hand and told me a story about a thatched house. Since then, I have deliberately leaned over to the jar when I have nothing to do, and when my grandfather saw it, he knew that I wanted to hear the story again, so he would pick up a collection and tell me a little story. ”

Isn't it that when Yao says these words, his face glows with happiness, but it can be fleeting.

"It's a pity that I'm not interested in antiques, and I don't want to take over the mantle from my family, so I went abroad when I was in college and never came back. My grandfather's hard work was in vain, so he turned to cultivating medicine. ”

Yao didn't say this, shook his head, and got back to the point: "I'm too familiar with that jar to forget it until now." At Zhuge Liang's cuffs, there is also such a white mouth. ”

"Exactly the same?" I hurriedly asked. This is a very crucial finding.

The medicine was not pressed to the temple, and the blue tendons on his forehead appeared, and he seemed to have a terrible headache: "I don't remember the details that are too specific, but there must be a trace." I also asked my grandfather if someone else had shaved it. My grandfather just laughed and said no, but didn't explain. ”

I can understand his mood at this time. Although the meaning of this discovery is unclear, it reveals the innocence of the medicine family inside and out, and the relationship between them and the old courtiers is confusing. If you continue to dig deeper, you are likely to involve your own family first.

Fighting fakes and hitting one's own home, this is indeed a very embarrassing situation.

"It's too late today, let's discuss it tomorrow." I was relieved.

"No, this has to be clarified!"

Yao Fei waved his hand suddenly, signaled me not to go yet, and then quickly took out a small plastic medicine bottle from his breast pocket, swallowed a pill with hot water, and his face was better. He closed his eyes for three seconds, and when he opened them again, he had returned to his original gloomy appearance: "Don't worry, I won't be soft because I am involved in my own family." ”

"Oh, I didn't mean that......" I tried to explain, but he interrupted me. The medicine is not a sharp light: "If the medicine family is really the minions of the old court, then let my surnamed medicine die by himself, it is better than losing in the hands of others." Don't be in doubt. ”

Since he has said this, I can only nod my head and say that I have no doubts and continue to follow the established policy.

The two of us discussed a few words, and agreed that the top priority now was to return to Beijing and find the "Three Visits to the Thatched House" blue and white figure jar of the medicine family.

It has to be done as soon as possible.

The fall of Lao Xu will soon reach the ears of Lao Chaofeng. We have a lot of contact with Weihui, and it doesn't take much effort for him to figure out our true identity. So we agreed that the day of our return trip would be tomorrow.

Before I said goodbye, I saw that Yao was not sitting on the sofa, with his hands crossed in front of his lower abdomen, and his expression was slightly stiff. The little white medicine bottle was still resting on the coffee table, and there was a long line of English written on it, and I didn't know it at all.

I asked with concern, "Are you ...... How are you doing? The medicine is not hard to push back: "It's none of your business. I was immediately unhappy: "Your physical condition is related to our next cooperation, how can you say that it has nothing to do with me?" ”

This rhetorical question made Yao Fei silent for a while, he put away the small medicine bottle and put it back in his pocket, helped his glasses, and said tiredly: "Make a wish, there is something I have to make clear to you." ”

"Huh?"

"You and I joined forces, just because we wanted to find out the old courtier. If you have to be sacrificed to achieve this, I will not hesitate. Yakusai didn't sternly up a finger, paused for a moment, and added, "I hope you too." ”

I looked him in the eye, thought for a moment, and nodded slowly but firmly.

I shook my head and walked out of the room. The personality difference between these two brothers is really a bit big. Otherwise, the medicine is always loose and loose; His brother was always tense, and he had ten thousand things hidden in his heart. Of course, this is a good thing for me, and now I don't have the illusion of being around me at all.

Early the next morning, we got on the Mercedes-Benz that was not medicine and rushed to Beijing. Director Kang rushed over when he heard the news, and ran over to apologize and forgive, and refused to let him go. Yao didn't put down the window of the car, and said to him coldly: "If you have a heart, settle Liu Zhenwu well." The debts owed must be repaid first, otherwise you will not be able to avoid the retribution. ”

Director Kang was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but take a few steps back, not daring to move forward again. Instead of closing the window again, he said lightly to the driver, "Drive." ”

I looked at the back window, and Director Kang stood in place, as if he had lost his soul. In the incident of Liu Zhenwu in the old Xu Keng, Director Kang must have also played a key role, and he can't be caught legally at fault, so let's teach him a lesson.

This is the so-called "evil prevails over good". No matter how arrogant the counterfeiter is, he always thinks in his heart that this is not right. Some people are desperate to worship the Buddha, and some people are willing to donate a small amount of money, all out of this fear, to find a balance for themselves. Deep down in Director Kang's heart, he must also feel guilty about this matter, and this time it is a chance to make amends for him.

Reverence for the truth is a bottom line in the depths of everyone's conscience. With this line, no matter how many fakes there are, they can't overwhelm the real thing.

However, if the counterfeiter breaks through this line, it will become a very scary monster.

I suddenly wondered, could the old courtenary be such a person, a demon king without scruples and guilt? So did he come forward to see me, did he follow the call of his conscience and want to repent, or did he have other plans?

There was a driver in the Mercedes, so the two of us didn't talk about anything deeply. I looked out the window, cranky, in a daze. Yao is not frowning all the time looking at the photo, his shoulders are straight, his back muscles are tense, and he is always in a very urgent state, unable to relax.

Three generations of my family have been enemies of the old dynasty, and they have not been nervous to this point.

The distance from Weihui to Beijing is about 600 kilometers, and the road is not easy to walk. We drove all day, and it was dark before we entered the city. As I was about to enter the city, I suddenly thought of a problem: our whereabouts should be kept strictly secret from the five veins. If we just break into the medicine house like this, won't we all expose the two of us?

Yao Bu said: "What we went to is the medicine family's courtyard, that place is where my grandfather lives, he likes to be quiet, so most people don't live there." After my grandfather died, it was empty. ”

I remembered that it was there.

When I was working on the Buddha's head case, I went to the small building in the east of the city and had a conversation with Yaolai. He reminded me that after the five veins, there are still black hands, so I should be careful. If he hadn't reminded me, I'm afraid I wouldn't have gotten to where I am today.

Alas, who would have thought that things would evolve later.

We drove quickly to this annex of the Yakujia. The courtyard is still plain and elegant, with black eaves and green tiles, which is rare in today's Beijing. It's a pity that things are wrong, the owner is gone, and only an empty house remains. The security door at the entrance is locked, indicating that it has been uninhabited for a long time.

It is strange to say that it is easy to feel whether a room has been vacant for a long time or is often occupied; Whether an object has been hidden in an ancient tomb for thousands of years and has not been touched, or whether it is often coiled by people, you can see it at a glance. "Popularity" is something that can't be seen, touched, and can't be explained by science, but we can just feel it. The popularity of this house is still there, but it is very thin. It seems that once the medicine is dead, there is no one here anymore. As soon as the popularity is gone, even the temperature will drop.

Yao Fei stood at the door of the courtyard and looked up at the small building in a daze. I thought he would be nostalgic for a while, but the medicine didn't just look at it for ten seconds before taking his eyes back. He is very restrained and will restrain his emotions every time. It takes a lot of willpower, and I can't do that.

Suddenly there were footsteps next to me, and I turned my head to see that it was Fang Zhen. Fang Zhen walked over from the other side of the road, ignored the two of us, and when he reached the door, he took out a key, put it on the ground, and then retreated into the shadow by the wall.

It seemed that the medicine was not inconvenient to show up, so he sent the door key over through Fang Zhen. I was about to say hello, Fang Zhen raised his hand: "I was just passing by, I haven't seen you, and I haven't entered the house." Then look at your watch: "You have thirty minutes." ”

Fang Zhen's position is limited, so he can only help here. Without further ado, we picked up the key from the ground, opened the security door, and stepped into the yard. The yard was dark, and I could barely see a fish pond under the window, and there was a craggy rockery in the pool, but unfortunately the pond had dried up for a long time. Three or two pine trees stood in the darkness, their unpruned branches stretched out like ghosts.

There was electricity in the house, but in order to prevent anyone from finding out, we didn't dare to turn on the lights, so we each took out a flashlight and lightly touched the entrance. The entrance section is a bit narrow, the flashlight is shaking, and you can't touch the whole situation, you can only see the cramped ceiling and the fake walls on both sides - to be honest, walking in like this, it's really a bit like breaking into the underground palace and robbing the tomb.

After the entrance, there is a small hall with a sudden open view. Our eyes adjusted to the darkness a little, and we could barely see the layout inside.

The layout here is very simple, the overall decoration style is mainly Chinese, mahogany furniture, carved railings and windows, bamboo screens, round embroidered piers, and a large solid wood bookshelf. After Yaolai's death, these arrangements have not been touched, and they have remained in place.

Yao was not familiar with the structure of the house, and led me through the small hall and directly to the second floor. The second floor leads to a spiral wooden staircase, and when you step on it, it makes a creaking sound, which is a bit like a haunted house at night.

On the second floor, the corridor is divided into two directions, one direction is the window that Yao is not the one he just saw, probably the room he lived in before, and at the end of the corridor in the other direction, there is a large door, solid wood, two bisects, wider than the ordinary door, it seems to be laid with a layer of soundproof pads, but it is decorated with two convex lotus patterns, which is very exquisite.

Didn't Yao tell me that his grandfather Yao Lai liked bright places, so even the door was made one size bigger than others, and it looked breathable and comfortable. We walked to the door, I pinched the yellow brass round handle on the door, twisted it slightly, and with a "click", the door opened.

A slight musty smell wafted out first, and I am afraid that it has not been ventilated for a long time. I walked in, flashed my flashlight forward, and with an "oops" sound, I almost sat on the ground.

I saw that in the dark, Yao Lai was hanging in the air, dressed in a royal blue Tang suit, staring at me with straight eyes. I didn't expect a supernatural event, and this isn't a murderous house!

At this time, Yao didn't hold my shoulder from behind, and said impatiently: "Look carefully, where is the ghost in this world?" ”

"But that's not your grandfather......" I was shocked.

The medicine is not to turn the flashlight to the brightest and shake it that way. Only then did I realize that it was not some medicine to revive the soul, but a huge oil painting. This is a bust of the figure hanging on the wall facing the door: Yao Lai, dressed in Tang costume, smiling and sitting on an embroidered pier of peacock and two lions, holding a blue and white goblet, sipping carefully. In front of him is a red sandalwood scroll wooden case, on which is placed a horseshoe-shaped water bowl with azure glaze, and a cricket jar with eel yellow sea tao floral pattern is hung on the tree next to it. In the background is a thatched hut, with ancient trees in the distance, and high clouds and wild cranes - it looks like a hermit in the mountains and forests.

Able to paint the artistic conception of ink painting with realistic brushstrokes of oil painting, this author is quite exquisite. But here's the problem...... Old man Yaolai, how narcissistic do you have to put such a large size of your own oil painting in the bedroom?

"You don't know, my grandfather was a prodigal when he was young, he was good at eating, drinking, prostituting and gambling, and even touched opium. is older, and his temperament has been restrained, but he is still the same person in his bones. Only he can do the matter of asking someone to paint oil paintings. He pointed his flashlight at the face of the drugged portrait and looked at it for a long time, refusing to move. The grandfather in the painting and the grandson in reality just stared at each other.

The room was suddenly quiet, I didn't rush it, I could feel his mood.

"The author who painted this oil painting for him is a friend of mine. At that time, I was abroad and couldn't come back, so I asked a friend to customize such a gift, which was a birthday gift for my grandfather. At that time, the whole family was against it, thinking that it was unlucky, but my grandfather was so happy that he called me and asked me when I would come back. Speaking of which, this is the first time I've seen this painting......"

He didn't finish what he said later, but I knew what he was trying to say. The painting is still there, but the person in the painting is no longer there.

"Sorry for the delay." Yao Fei put down his body, rubbed his face, and quickly returned to his usual tone, "Let's find something." ”

This bedroom is huge, more than 30 square meters, and there is a separate terrace outside. Our two flashlights shook around inside, looked for a few circles inside and out, and there were a lot of ornaments, but there was no blue and white jar of the "Three Visits to the Thatched House" character story. The height of this jar is nearly thirty centimeters, and the circumference of the abdomen is also more than twenty centimeters.

"Nope."

"Nope."

The two of us checked it again and reported it to each other in frustration. I said, "Could it be that your family took this character jar away?" ”

The medicine was not swept away with a flashlight, and I was very puzzled: "It shouldn't be...... My grandfather has a lot of good things here, and they all have them here. ”

I also noticed just now, this bedroom is like a treasure trove of porcelain, on the windowsill, by the bed, at the mouth of the balcony, on the bookshelf, there are porcelain everywhere, on the shelf is the carved plate of the kiln, next to it is the blue and white dragon and phoenix pattern wash, in front of the stage a tangled lotus celestial ball bottle, a cloud hook gusseted Ming Dynasty wooden table resting on the yellow ground green color cloud dragon bowl and tangled peony cricket jar, there is also a three-legged amphora stove in the corner of the wall - there are bowls and plates, there are furnaces and cups, there are many types.

I don't know much about porcelain, so I can't tell you the doorway of these things, but as an antique player, I naturally have an intuition that everything here has a history. They were probably Yakulai's favorite collection during his lifetime, so they were kept in the bedroom and could be enjoyed at any time. If the family is packing up their belongings, they should not only touch this one. If you are a thief, it is impossible to leave those tea cups, plates and bottles and steal a large jar.

"Looks like I'm going to have to ask my family where the hell this jar went—let's get here today." ”

We were just about to leave when we suddenly heard a movement downstairs, and we were all shocked. Yao didn't go to the window, leaned out to look, and then shrank back: "It's a little troublesome, it's our medicine family who came, it should be my second uncle Yao Youguang and cousin, I don't know why they suddenly came here." ”

I remembered that both of them had gone to the banquet that day, but they didn't say a word.

"Oops, the door wasn't locked when we came in, right?" I slapped my thigh.

We are not afraid of being regarded as thieves, but when we look at it like this, the medicine is not a matter of joining forces with me, and it is completely exposed. Yao didn't make a reassuring gesture, saying that he didn't have to worry. We peeked out from the balcony on the second floor and saw his second uncle and cousin standing in front of the security door, but instead of exclaiming that there was a thief, we took out the key, opened the door and walked in.

It seems that Fang Zhen reopened the door after we entered. This guy is thoughtful and fills the loophole quietly.

"Come, go to the room across from you." Medicine is not for me. I just remembered that there were two rooms on the second floor, and there was another room directly opposite the Yaolai bedroom.

We tiptoed over, pushed, the door was unlocked, and hurriedly entered. As soon as they closed the door, they heard the lights downstairs "click" on, and the sound of their footsteps going up the stairs could be heard.

The room we were hiding in was very different from Yaolai's bedroom, a very ordinary room, with only a double bed and a dresser, and nothing else. If those two Yao family members were coming for this room, Yao and I would have no way to escape.

Fortunately, the footsteps of the two people stopped in the corridor on the second floor, first the lights were turned on, and then a young man's voice came through the crack in the door: "Dad, is it so appropriate?" ”

Another voice immediately replied, "What's wrong with that?" We borrowed it for a few days to fill the façade, not stole it and sold it. ”

“…… However, didn't grandpa explain before his death that things in the bedroom should not be moved? ”

"Don't mention this, I'm angry when I mention it. If he dies, let's follow his last words, no two words. But you also know how he died, and everyone in our medicine family can't raise their heads. He left a lot of trouble, and he still took possession of these things, so that we could drink the northwest wind? The voice was full of resentment.

The cousin who was not the medicine was silent, and his father was still chattering: "Besides, I'm not the first to take it, so I won't borrow it if they are borrowed by outsiders?" ”

The two walked to the bedroom, twisted the handle, and the door opened. Yao Youguang didn't seem to want to go in: "Son, you go in and get it, remember, just take the eel yellow cricket jar, don't move anything else, otherwise you won't be able to tell it in the future." ”

His son answered, went into the bedroom, and came out in a short time. Yao Youguang checked the small jar and praised it: "Son, you learn a little." Don't look at this thing as small, but Ziyu's handwriting, there are few in the world. Put this thing in our shop, and make sure that it can stop those dirt buns. ”

His son was puzzled: "I just looked around, there are a lot of objects in my grandfather's bedroom, and there are only seven or eight of them that can really be regarded as masterpieces, and although the rest are all good things, they are a little cold in this bedroom." For example, the carved plate of the fixed kiln is not a particularly good thing. ”

Yao Youguang said disapprerovingly: "Who knows, the old man is nostalgic, maybe there was something in the past and he left a souvenir." He urged again, "Put the cricket jar in your pocket, don't fall, let's go." ”

The two of them said as they walked up the stairs. Suddenly, his son asked, "What is this room opposite?" Will there be objects in there too? As he spoke, he held the doorknob to twist it.

Yao and I didn't immediately become very nervous, and we looked at each other, and we didn't dare to gasp.

Yao Youguang said: "This is a guest room, usually a guest stays, and there is nothing in it." He heard his father say this, "oh", and then let go again.

"Let's go, this place is heavy and yin, so it is not suitable to stay for a long time." Yao Youguang urged.

So the two of them walked down the stairs, and the lights were turned off one by one. After making sure that there was no one in the house, Yao Bucai sneered: "My second uncle can be regarded as a treasure in the family, nicknamed Iron Drill Bit, no matter what happens, I have to do everything possible to drill something cheap." ”

We opened the door and headed back into the hallway. From the conversation just now, it can be heard that Yaolai made a will before his death, and the objects in the bedroom cannot be moved. But after he accidentally committed suicide, his family began to stir. Before their father and son, someone had already come here to "borrow" something - it was probably the blue and white character story jar we were looking for.

Yao didn't say: "You understand now, why I don't trust the five veins, right?" I'm not surprised what those people did. He looked around again and shook his head slightly, "Let's go, there's no use here." I'll go back and ask who removed the lid jar, and I should be able to find out. ”

I squinted my eyes and made a wait-and-hold gesture. Yao Fei didn't look moved: "What did you find?" ”

"Hmm......" I didn't rush to answer, but walked quickly to Yaolai's bedroom and unscrewed the door again. I took my flashlight and swung it around the bedroom, aiming the aperture at the painting. The medicine wasn't standing behind me, a little confused.

"When did you give this gift?"

The medicine didn't say a time, it happened to be during my time in Chafo's head case.

"Who asked for the portrait? Who decides the content? Was it you, the artist, or your grandfather's idea? ”

"I don't have that time. I asked the artist to contact my grandfather directly and the two of them agreed on the details. ”

"Do you still have contact with this artist?"

Medicine is not a short answer with one word: "Yes." However, his face was unexpectedly embarrassed, but fortunately it was not obvious in the dark.

A slight feeling of pleasure floated in my heart, and it was your turn to be inexplicable. The flashlight in my hand was raised: "Do you remember what your second uncle said just now?" Yaolai is a nostalgic person, so there are some things in this bedroom, although they are not worth much, but because they have a story, they are also put in. ”

The medicine is not the brain's reaction is so fast, he didn't wait for me to sell out, he raised his head and looked at the oil painting.

In that oil painting, in addition to the medicine, there are also four things, and these four objects are placed in the bedroom: peacock double lion embroidered pier, blue and white high-legged chicken bowl cup, azure glazed horseshoe-shaped water bowl, eel yellow Haitao flower pattern cricket jar.

There are so many objects in the bedroom, why did you choose so many four pieces for the painting?

There is one more problem. Judging from the time, the medicine came to pose during the Buddha's head case. At that time, Yaolai had already had contact with Lao Chaofeng, and was coerced by him, where did he get the mood to play with oil painting?

So did he have an ulterior motive for finding someone to paint such an oil painting?

You must know that Yaolai committed suicide under the pressure of the old courtiers. There are many secrets that he can't confide in before his death, and maybe he will try to leave a record for someone who cares. But the old court's power is all over the sky, and he will definitely take action to smooth out the traces left by the medicine one by one. If Yaolai wants to convey the news to those who have a heart, he must think of a very secret method.

So Yaolai made a will in advance before his death, and the things in the bedroom were not allowed to be moved. In fact, this is a plan to repair the plank road and secretly Chen Cang, attracting the attention of the old courtier to the things in the bedroom, and the real clue was put in the oil painting by him.

I guess the porcelain that appears in these four oil paintings is the message that Yaolai wants to express. Why did he deliberately choose oil paintings? Oil painting is realistic, and more porcelain details can be reflected than freehand ink painting.

"Now that your grandfather isn't here, then we'll have to go to the painter to figure out what's going on."

I gushed this inference and looked back to ask for medicine is not an opinion. But as soon as he turned his face, he saw that the face of the medicine was red, and his breathing suddenly became heavy, as if there was some strong emotion surging under the skin, trying to break through the concrete face.

I was startled, thinking that he had fallen into an evil spirit, or that he had become ill again. Before we could ask, there was a sudden sound of "clang" slamming the iron door downstairs, which was Fang Zhen reminding us that it was almost time.

I looked at the medicine again, and his emotions had calmed down. He turned his back and said let's go, his voice hurried, as if trying to hide something. I thought to myself that it would be a vain question to ask, so I'll talk about it later.

So I took one last look at the oil painting and went out of the medicine house together. Yao and I didn't return the key to Fang Zhen, and hurriedly got in the car and left.

Theoretically, I was still in a state of "business trip", so I couldn't go back to Si Regret Fast, and I couldn't find friends to spend the night, and there was nowhere to stay in the huge Beijing. I asked where Yao didn't live, didn't Yao Mo for a while, and said that there was still time, let's go find the author of the oil painting.

I was stunned, so anxious? Look at the time, it's almost ten o'clock in the evening. The medicine is not and does not explain, and muttered an address to the driver, the driver nodded, the steering wheel hit, turned around and left.

The car drove very fast, and there were high-rise buildings outside the window for a while, and the compound for a while. I couldn't tell the direction of the black light, and when I looked at the side of my face, I didn't look ahead with my eyes, my hands were staggered in front of my lower abdomen, and my fingers were constantly fiddling.

In the antique business, one of the most important talents is to observe words and looks, and I am in this circle, so I have some experience. Medicine is not a state at this time, it is called a hundred claws scratching the heart, and it is an action that people will subconsciously do when they are particularly nervous. At first, I thought it was because of the painting, but then I found out that it wasn't.

Yao Lai hid a hint in the oil painting, and the reaction of the medicine was not agitation. But at this time, his reaction was uneasy, obviously nervous about what was about to happen. I couldn't guess for a long time, so I had to close my eyes.

After about 20 minutes of driving, the car stopped. I got out of the car, glanced around, and hey! Isn't this the Old Summer Palace?

To be precise, it is a village in the south of the Old Summer Palace, called Fuyuanmen Village, close to Fuhai.

This village is famous in Beijing, not because of antiques, but because of the trendiness. In those years, Beijing's avant-garde painters, avant-garde singers, and wandering poets all liked to gather here to rent villagers' houses to live, and slowly formed a small community. These people are not accepted by the mainstream, and they don't have much money, so they live in the village to create, vent, and seek companions, similar to the hippies in the West - it is said that there are also fans who smoke fans.

A friend of mine played rock and roll, stayed for a while, and according to his evaluation, there were many crazy people and geniuses in it.

I stood at the entrance of the village and looked inside, this is a very ordinary small village on the outskirts of Beijing, with rows of brick houses and fenced courtyard walls, firewood stacks and brick piles on the roadside, and the wires on the telephone poles are like cobwebs. But other villages are quiet at night, but here it is very lively. At ten o'clock, I could still hear a mandolin in the east, a drum kit in the west, and a few horns from time to time, and I don't know whether it was singing or fighting. There were figures and flickering lights, as if there was a small dance party in a certain courtyard.

I waited for the medicine to come down, but I didn't move for a long time, and I turned around and knocked on the car door. Yao didn't "hum" and pressed the electric window, looking embarrassed: "I'll give you the address, you can go yourself." ”

"Huh? Isn't it your friend, why don't you go along? ”

"If you want to go, you will go." The medicine didn't lift the car window, and the stiff face was slowly engulfed in glass.

I shrugged, I spent a lot of time with this kid, and I got used to it. I took the address and entered the village, and like a ghost, I touched a private house, knocked on the courtyard door, and an old lady poked her head out for a long time.

"The Imperial Army does not rob food...... Hey, that's wrong, Auntie, are you happy? "My tongue almost flashed. If I stay with medicine for a long time, I'm about to take medicine.

It is estimated that the aunt is used to seeing such people: "She went to paint on the shore of Fuhai." ”

"Now?" I looked up at the sky, and it was as dark as something.

My aunt looked left and right, leaned over and whispered to me, "Comrade, go and see her." Happy that the boy has been going out every Sunday night for more than a week, and saying that he wants to paint while it gets dark—do you mean that? Don't be irritated by anything, right? There are a lot of weirdos in this village, and it's a good kid......"

I saw her holding my hand and chattering, so I quickly said goodbye and went to Fuhai.

The name of this blessed sea is the sea, but it is actually a lake, and now it is not even a lake. It was originally called East Lake, and it was excavated on a large scale in the Yongzheng Dynasty, renamed Fuhai, and it was the central lake of the Three Gardens of the Old Ming Dynasty. The lake is extremely vast, surrounded by ten islands, the scenery is picturesque, and it is the most famous scenic spot of the Old Summer Palace. The British and French troops burned the Old Summer Palace, which gradually degenerated into reed ponds and rice fields, and there was no longer the scenery of the day.

It was not until more than eight years that the ruins park was built here, but the lake shrank too much, such as "Fanghu Shengjing" and "Pengdao Yaotai", and only a pile of stone foundations remained.

It's cloudy today and there is no moon. There are no street lights on the shore of Fuhai, and it is dark all around, and there is no one. I walked there with one foot deep and one foot shallow, surrounded by broken walls or ruined walls, as if I could play the scene of a ghost movie at any time. I have heard the old man say that Fuhai is haunted here, and when the British and French troops came in, the minister in charge of the garden was called Wen Feng, who jumped into Fuhai and drowned. Later, someone always bumped into a wet black shadow, wearing the robes of Qing Dynasty officials, and asked the emperor when he would come back.

I muttered to myself, isn't Yao this friend, what are you doing here?

Almost to the edge of the blessed sea, the moon shows a little edge. From a distance, I saw what seemed to be a man standing on the embankment, holding a pen and scribbling on a large drawing board—how could she draw so dark?

I took a few steps closer and craned my neck and shouted, "Are you happy?" Medicine is not for me to come to you. ”

The figure put down his pen and jumped down from the embankment, his movements clean and neat. I looked at the girl, a tall woman, with short ear-length hair, a floral cape, a pair of legging jeans, and a pair of flip-flops on her bare feet.

"Medicine, not? He's back? The happy girl asked with interest. Her eyes are very large, always with a sense of joy, and her name is correct.

"Uh, yes, but he didn't come in at the entrance of the village, so let me come and ask you something."

I was happy when I heard it: "After so many years, he is still so thin-skinned." He doesn't want to see me, I have to go and see him, go. She tapped me on the shoulder, and I couldn't say no. I had no choice but to take her out of the village, and on the way I couldn't help but ask, "What are you painting here?" ”

Happy stretched out his hand and painted: "I'm trying, don't be bound by the light." I let the sensation flow down the arm to the tip of the pen without passing through the eyes. Do you know? Blindfolded, human hearing and touch will be several times more sensitive, and what is drawn in this way is extremely pure. ”

She said very seriously, I couldn't understand these avant-garde arts, so I had to change the subject: "Don't you know medicine?" ”

Happy Dafang said: "The two of us were in love before, but then our personalities did not match and we separated. He was always worried about it, and he said that he would help me go abroad. I have arms and legs, ID and passport, can I use him? ”

I'm not surprised by this, it's a miracle that the two of them have become such personalities.

"He's that guy!" I nodded in agreement.

"It's divided, what a big deal, and I'm ashamed to not want to see me. Well, I'll go find him, right? Said happily.

I'm happy that this girl has no unhappiness on her body at all, and it's not hypocritical to say anything. In her opinion, there is nothing to worry about in this world, and there is no one to rely on. She's just a stray cat, and she doesn't get tired of you anywhere, so it's so comfortable to chat with her.

The two of us walked to the car while chatting. The medicine was a little caught off guard when she saw her coming, and the face was stretched faster than a straight-necked bottle. I spread my hands and looked innocent: "The girl has to come, I can't stop it." ”

Happy bent down and put his forehead in front of the car glass: "The medicine is not, quickly lower the window." Do you have the ability to inquire about my address, but don't you have the ability to meet? ”

Yao didn't put down the car window in embarrassment, but refused to come down: "The address given to me by Wang Sheng." How did you...... Where to live? ”

"Hey, I didn't have a job after graduation, the rent here is cheap, and a friend introduced me and came over."

"I can ...... if you need it"

"Here we go again, I don't need it." Happy glanced at him, "What are you doing?" Look at me and I feel pitiful and want to give alms? I'm pretty good right now, and I can draw whatever I want. It's annoying you like this, you don't think that others are like you to be happy. ”

Don't look at the medicine, he doesn't have a deep and assertive face, and in front of happiness, he is deflated. Yao didn't have to get to the point: "We came to you to ask for one thing, you painted oil paintings for my grandfather." ”

When he heard this, he took out a cigarette from his bosom, struck the fire with a match, and spit out a round smoke ring: "Say, what do you want to know?" ”

"The whole process."

I'm glad that she hadn't graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts at that time, although she hadn't broken up with Yao, she still agreed to the commission very readily - in her own words, buying and selling is not benevolent and righteous - Yaolai likes this refreshing little girl very much, one old and one young are not in shape, the old one calls the small "granddaughter-in-law", and the small one calls the old "old antique".

I'm glad to ask the medicine to come, what do you want to draw. If you want to make a little foreign, come to an oil painting, and be happy that it is this major, and the two hit it off.

But the two of them had a dispute over what to draw and how to draw it. The medicine is instructed in great detail, and there are detailed instructions for what to draw and what to draw. Happy but unhappy, think that this is not the job of a painter, find a camera and can't shoot all of them? I don't want to do it anymore. The medicine came but insisted, she had to be.

Although he was happy and free-spirited, after all, it was not as good as medicine to ** lake, and finally reluctantly agreed. But she resolutely refused to sign, saying that I had done a painting job, and that this was yours, not mine.

When I heard this, I asked happy: Why did Yaolai choose the peacock double lion embroidered pier, the blue and white goblet, the azure glazed horseshoe-shaped water bowl, and the eel Huang Haitao flower pattern cricket jar, is there anything particular?

Happy to say she didn't know either. Supposedly, in terms of composition, these collocations are not suitable, but the old man has to use them.

"Hey, the old man guesses that he was not in a stable mood at that time. Often one day is out, and another day is another. These four things were not set at the beginning, he originally put another thing, and suddenly told me that I had to change it, so I had to apply it and re-add these four things. "I was happy that after smoking a cigarette, the butt of the cigarette flicked, like a small fiery red meteor, and flew into the ditch next to it.

"What was the original drawing?"

"It's a jar, I don't remember exactly."

Didn't Yao and I be stunned for a moment at the same time, didn't Yao take out the photo of Wei Hui Lao Xu's lid jar and hand it to Xingxing: "Is that so?" ”

"The appearance is similar, but the pattern is different."

Medicine and I didn't look at each other for a moment, and our eyes were shocked. I grabbed Xingxing's wrist and pulled it into the car, pushing the car door with a very tacit understanding. Happy and surprised: "What are you doing?" Yao didn't say, "You have to go somewhere with us, it's very important." Happy glared at him: "Have you asked for someone like this?" But I still took the initiative to get into the car.

The car drove back from the Old Summer Palace back to the Yaolai Courtyard. The courtyard door was locked tightly, and it was too late to find Fang Zhen now. The two of us gritted our teeth and said to Xing Xing that we should go over the wall. Happy and happy: "Call me here to be a thief?" It's new. ”

She was probably the master of going out over the wall in the Academy of Fine Arts, and she was faster than me and the medicine. The three of us forced our way through the courtyard wall, into the small building, and then into the bedroom to the painting.

"Is this it?" Medicine or ask.

"That's right." Happy recognized it at a glance.

"And where's the old painting?" I asked.

He smiled happily and touched my head: "Little guy, you haven't studied art, have you?" I "uh", not knowing what she meant.

Glad to tell us that oil painting is not the same as ink painting. The paint of the oil painting will pile up uneven heights on the canvas, so if there is a problem somewhere on the canvas, you can scrape off the repainting layer and cover the original one. Therefore, many famous oil paintings in the West often find another work superimposed under the painting. For example, Farmeier once had a painting "The Woman Who Chose Jewelry", which caused a great sensation when it was published. Later, X-rays revealed that the counterfeiter had repainted on one of his discarded canvases, fooling almost all the experts.

I heard it with relish, it turns out that in ancient and modern times, Chinese and foreign, the methods of counterfeiters are similar. This trick steals the sky and changes the day, and it is the same as taking ancient bronze fragments to recast artifacts in China.

Happy to say to Yao, "You want to know what the original painting looks like, right?" ”

"That's right."

Happily jumped on the bed, and she happened to have a spatula with her and began to scratch on the oil painting. I was a little nervous to see if the medicine was not, and if I did this, the oil painting would be completely wasted. The medicine is not holding it with both hands and looking at it seriously.

Soon a large piece of the oil painting was scraped off, and he clapped his hands happily, pulled up the canvas and said look.

We took a closer look and found that under the canvas, there was indeed another mystery. As the large pieces of paint were scraped off, the posture of painting the medicine completely changed, no longer raising a glass and sipping, but leaning on a large jar, which was the lid jar of the "Three Visits to the Thatched House" figure. Yaolai's two-handed posture is particularly strange, the back of the left hand is facing up, the four fingers are bent downward, the thumb is pressed on the index finger, the thumb and index finger of the right hand are stretched out, and the jar is compared to a "five".

I and the medicine are not, and at the same time fell into shock.

The left-hand gesture of medicine came to the pawnshop, which was often used in pawnshops in the early days. Whoever is a thing, the counter court will put the money in the penitential remedies - as the name suggests, take the money from the repentance, and you can no longer regret it. Then with this gesture, the court will pull the pawn object upside down and into the counter - from this moment on, the thing is the pawnshop. Therefore, this gesture is called the Chao Feng Button. In the antique business, this gesture is also used to indicate that the transaction is completed and there is no regret.

And the gesture of the right hand is much clearer, pointing to the lid jar, comparing a "five" character.

The two hands together make the meaning clearer. The key to holding the old courtroom lies in this lid jar, and this lid jar is not one, but five!

In the past, I didn't just have a vague feeling with the medicine, and the character story jar may be related to the old court, but now it is finally confirmed.

For the first time, the path to the truth of the old pilgrimage is clearly unfolded in front of us.

I looked at Yao No, and he was also shocked, but the reason was different from mine.

He looked happy, and his expression was unprecedentedly serious: "Did my grandfather say anything when he was redrawing those four things?" Happy thought about it for a while, and replied: "I didn't say anything special, but he did mention it, saying that this is your filial piety, and you have to paint it more exquisitely." ”

A heavy sigh rolled out of the throat that was not medicine. Before Xingxing and I could react, he made a "coo" and fell to his knees.

I hurriedly went to get the medicine, but I knelt down and didn't move, and my voice was hoarse because of excitement: "In the past, every time I came to my grandfather's place to play, he would tell me a story about buying antiques. These four things happen to be four of my favorite stories, and only I have ever heard them all. ”

I understood it all at once.

The hint is very obvious and very subtle.

A person who understands antiques will naturally pay attention to antiques. Only people who don't understand antiques will put aside the utensils and look at this oil painting.

Only medicine is not known which four antiques are what medicine likes.

Only when his ex-girlfriend was happy did he know that there was still a secret hidden at the bottom of the oil painting.

Under these restrictions and filters, the only thing that can discover the mystery of oil painting is medicine or not - no one else can do it.

This is clearly a directed will left to Yao, who pinned his hope of revenge on this grandson who was far away abroad and refused to inherit the family's mantle before he died.

He never gave up the expectation that medicine was not, and this expectation even exceeded that medicine was not.

It is understandable that medicine is not agitated in the heart at this time.

Happy jumped out of bed and stood a few steps away from me. Yao didn't respectfully kowtow to the damaged oil painting three times, all of them very loudly, and his forehead was bruised. But he never cried, even though his lips kept shaking, no tears flowed. Happy shook his head and muttered in a low voice: "This guy is always like this, boring." ”

The three of us left the courtyard overnight, and before leaving, we simply moved the oil painting together.

The painting has been peeled away, and anyone who comes in will find its mysteries, so it must not be kept. Fortunately, there are very few people who usually come to this courtyard, and as long as no one comes for three days, there will be no flaws. Happy that in just three days, she will be able to complete the repair.

We took the oil painting and went to the China Resources Hotel, where the medicine was not staying.

I've gathered my thoughts along the way, and now it's clear. There are a total of five pieces of this blue and white character story lid jar, which is closely related to the old court. "Guiguzi Descending the Mountain" is the first piece, "Three Visits to the Thatched House" is the second piece, and there are three other character jars, which are missing.

Between these five jars, there must be something closely related to the old court.

We went into the room, and the medicine was not sitting on the sofa, and we took out a small medicine bottle and gave ourselves a pill, and our faces were a little wrong. I was happy to pat him on the shoulder and said that this problem was not cured in the United States? Then boiled some water for him.

Before the water boiled, Yao Wei suddenly said, "My grandfather once told me the story of those four utensils. I guess I should let you know. ”

Yao is not sitting on the sofa, his voice is tired, but his eyes are burning and full of high fighting spirit.