The three people in the courtyard looked at Brother Zhou's departing back and looked at each other.

Xuanzang walked over and asked puzzledly, "What's wrong?" ”

Seeing that Lin Xiangdi looked at the direction where Brother Zhou disappeared for a long time and was silent, Meng Xiang told Xuanzang what had just happened.

Xuanzang frowned and listened, and after a long time, he said slowly: "I think, we should go to this Brother Zhou to ask for clarification." ”

Lin Xiangdi shouted: "I'm going too, I'm going to ask for an explanation." Just ask for money and give money, why do you want to take my Yu Yao away? ”

Meng Xiang said: "Don't worry, I haven't figured out what's going on yet." Usually this week's eldest brother is a knowledgeable person, and today's move must be because of something. Don't worry. ”

Xuanzang said: "After packing up the painter's things, we went to visit his house. ”

Lin Xiangdi hurriedly ran towards the outside of the courtyard. I was grabbed by my dream and said, "What are you going to do?" ”

Lin Xiangdi said: "Go to his house and ask for painting." ”

Meng Xiang persuaded Lin Xiangdi and said, "Don't go, I'll go with the great monk, and I will return immediately if I ask for the reason." I see you're getting angry right now, don't beat up the Svens. ”

Lin Xiangdi didn't care about Brother Zhou's words, but about the portrait of Yu Yao. He told him to get the portrait back. Meng Xiang walked out with Xuanzang and echoed: "I know, I know." You go back to the house and wait. ”

Zhou Daoqian's home is not far from Meng Xiang's house, and it takes about five or six alleys to arrive. It was a very ordinary small courtyard, but there were a lot of wooden shelves in the courtyard, and it was covered with paper.

Meng Xiang said to Xuanzang: "Brother Zhou also makes rice paper himself, sells part of it, and keeps part of it for himself to paint." ”

Xuanzang nodded in understanding.

Meng Xiang tiptoed into the courtyard. Zhou Jin's voice could be faintly heard inside, but the content could not be heard clearly.

Xuanzang said, "Let's go in." Meng Xiang felt that it was inappropriate, so he went in directly, afraid that he would be beaten.

He deliberately made a lot of noise at the door, attracting Zhou Daoqian to come out to see, he just walked to the door, and when he saw that it was Meng Xiang, he lowered his face gloomily and turned back to go in.

Xuanzang walked in after him. Looking at Zhou Daoqian's angry expression, he folded his hands, made a joint hand salute, and said to Zhou Daoqian: "This donor, we are really disturbing when we come to visit rashly. Please bear with me. ”

As the saying goes, "Stretch out your hand and don't hit the smiling man." Seeing Xuanzang's gentleness and humility, Zhou Daoqian couldn't say anything. It's just that he silently turned his head and let out a long sigh.

Xuanzang smiled faintly and said, "Donor, we don't know anything about our lives, but the poor monk has a little spell he wants to show you." ”

Without waiting for Zhou Daoqian to speak, Zhou Jin put on a disdainful face and said, "What spells can a monk have?" How dare you talk nonsense here. ”

Xuanzang just smiled and was not annoyed, he said: "The poor monk can read minds. ”

Zhou Daoqian glanced at Xuanzang quickly, and then lowered his head. Zhou Jin said: "Mind reading? I've heard that mind reading can know what the other party is thinking, but this is an evil art, how can you practice this crooked and evil thing as a monk, are you a fake monk? ”

Meng Xiang hurriedly stopped the outspoken Zhou Jin and said, "Zhou Jin, don't talk nonsense. This is a monk from the Tang Dynasty in the Eastern Soil, what a fake monk. You kid! ”

Zhou Jin pursed his lips and did not speak again.

Xuanzang still smiled good-natured and said, "Donor, I'll read your heart." You're not local, you've moved here. Since you were a child, your father was very strict with you, he taught you to paint with your heart, but he still made you read a lot of books and let you understand the world you don't know in this way. And then about your mother, I think your mother died soon after you were born......"

As soon as he said this, Zhou Jin interrupted Xuanzang and said, "Don't say it." Even if what you say is right, what does it prove? ”

Xuanzang said: "I don't want to prove anything. I just want to see what secrets your father is hiding. I wanted to see if I could decipher the secret. ”

Zhou Jin said aggressively: "There are no secrets in our family, and there are no secrets to hide." ”

Xuanzang smiled noncommittally, and his smile was quite meaningful.

Meng Xiang said on the side: "Brother Zhou, you have something to say." What the hell happened to that painting? Or do you have some holiday with Brother Lin? ”

Zhou Daoqian was silent.

Xuanzang stared at Zhou Daoqian, paused for a moment and said, "Donor, the woman in the painting is similar to someone you know, right?" ”

Zhou Daoqian turned his head to look at Xuanzang in surprise and asked, "What did you say?" ”

Xuanzang smiled faintly and said, "It seems so." ”

Zhou Daoqian asked, "What do you want to know?" ”

Xuanzang said: "I want to know, who is someone you know?" Since you were terrified when you saw that painting, and it was closely related to your life, I think you were afraid that we would see your relationship and report to the police, right? Then I think there are no more than two kinds of such people, one is a prisoner chased by the government, and the other is a sinner of the royal family. ”

Zhou Daoqian took a deep breath and looked at Xuanzang like a god. Maybe it was because he went through a lot of inner struggles, or maybe he weighed the pros and cons for a long time, Zhou Daoqian told a past that had been sealed for many years, a secret about the royal family.

Zhou Daoqian that year was a royal painter, although there was a war outside, and the old king went out to fight, but the dozen or so concubines in the harem were not idle at all. They always summon Zhou Daoqian to the garden and the harem portrait. Because Zhou Daoqian is the most handsome young painter, the paintings he paints are more aura than those bad old men. The concubines wanted to wait for the return of the old king and dedicate it to the old king.

After returning from the war that year, Lao Wang brought back a woman who had fallen into the country and the city, and it was said that she was a palace maid who had lost the country. Admiral Wang accepted her as a concubine, and she loved her like something, holding it in her mouth for fear of melting, and holding it in her hand for fear of falling. How many harem women's eyes have been envied, and how many harem women's hearts have been stabbed.

One stone stirs up a thousand waves.

The first to be calmed down were those old ministers, who said some pedantic and withered words, and then the harem concubines, none of which made the old king change his mind.

The queen didn't say anything, but when the old king went on another expedition, she called Zhou Daoqian to the palace. That time made Zhou Daoqian completely abandon the name of the painter in the capital and escape.

Because of that time, Zhou Daoqian was called by the queen to paint a nude portrait of the woman. Presented on the canvas in an extremely humiliating pose. Women know best how to humiliate women.

The queen turned her back to the desperate woman and said to Zhou Daoqian: "You pack your baggage now and get out of the capital, never come back, if you dare to say a word to others, I will kill you." ”

I don't know where the queen hid the painting.

His wife was nine months pregnant and was about to give birth to a baby, but he had no choice, and the only way to escape from here was in the midst of the troubled harem battle. That night, he fled with his family.

On the way to escape, he had an idea, and the car turned, and went to the opposite path of the queen, where he feared that in the darkness there were countless swords that were cold.

In this way, they fled all the way here, changed their faces, and lived again.

The night Zhou Jin was born, her mother died.

Their father and daughter depend on each other and take root here.

At the age of three, Zhou Jin showed a talent for painting. Although Zhou Daoqian didn't want Zhou Jin to learn painting, he couldn't stop talent from doing so. After a few copies, Zhou Jin was able to create independently. Moreover, in her later studies, she realized an unusual way of painting, she painted by listening to other people's descriptions and adding her own feelings, which was often more similar than directly describing the other person's image. But he still hoped that no one would find out about this secret, so that the queen would not notice it, so that he and his daughter could spend their lives here in peace.

Zhou Daoqian said: "The woman in the painting is too similar to the person I have seen. ”

Xuanzang asked, "What's her name?" ”

Zhou Daoqian said: "Jieshu." ”

Xuanzang asked: "How did she happen later?" ”

Zhou Daoqian said: "It was burned to death by fire, and it was ordered by the old king to burn it." It is said that the fire burned for three days, and on the third day a heavy rain extinguished the fire. ”

Several fell silent.

Before leaving, Meng Xiang said to Zhou Daoqian: "Brother Zhou, don't worry, I will never reveal half a word to others." ”

Zhou Daoqian sighed, took out the painting from the house, handed it to Meng Xiang, and said, "It's been so long, and the boulder that weighed on my heart can finally be put down." It's just that I think the woman is pitiful, so I don't mention it, I don't mention it. I hope the woman in this painting will have a good outcome. ”

Xuanzang said to Zhou Jin, whose face was full of questions: "Mind reading is actually not a spell, but only through careful observation. For example, I see that you have a lot of books in your house, and they are scattered and as messy as the paint you painted, so I guess they are the ones you read, and that's it. ”

Zhou Jin looked at Xuanzang in surprise. Xuanzang smiled at her and whispered: "If you look closely at life, you will find a lot of interesting things." ”

Return to Meng Xiang's home. Meng Xiang closed the door and told Lin Xiangdi all this, and gave the portrait to Lin Xiangdi.

Lin Xiangdi sighed: "It turns out that everyone has an unbearable past. ”

Meng Xiang said with a heavy heart: "After being a neighbor for so many years, it is the first time I have heard about Brother Zhou. That woman named Jieshu is so pitiful. ”

Xuanzang said: "Right and wrong cause and effect have long been predestined. The most pitiful and terrible thing is the human heart. ”

That night, Lin Xiangdi fell asleep holding Yu Yao's painting.

In the dream, they returned to reality, they threw their hats at the school gate to celebrate graduation, Yu Yao kept a smile on his face, took off his bachelor's gown, he was surprised to see Yu Yao wearing an ancient long dress with crimson gold ornaments, smiled at him and said, "Lin Xiangdi, haven't you found me yet?" I'm here, come on, come to me quickly......" Yu Yao flashed and disappeared. In the dream, Lin Xiangdi looked for Yu Yao everywhere, from the basketball court to the library, from the cafeteria to the dormitory, but there was no shadow of Yu Yao. Suddenly, the wind blew and a sandstorm came. After a gust of wind,

And he fell into the desert, and the yellow sand was boundless, and he wept in his dreams.