"There is a mother-in-law leaving at the back door, and the lady personally sends someone to the door?" Yu Xijiao listened to Mama Xu's report and thought thoughtfully.

Before she left the house, she asked Mama Xu to stare at the back door more.

"The old slave saw that the mother-in-law guarding the back door was sweating profusely, and then the lady came, and then took someone to the side door and entered the Zhengyuan Marquis's Mansion, and then the lady has not left and waited." Mama Xu said, "In the end, Madame sent that mother-in-law to leave through the back door of our house." ”

"It should have been sent from the palace." Yu Xijiao thought for a moment and said.

"Girl, the old slave also thinks it may be." Mama Xu was worried, "Girl, the relationship between Madame and the palace is so good, will it ...... Not good for the girl? ”

Yu Xijiao shook her head: "Not for the time being." ”

"And what about after that?" Mama Xu said cautiously.

Yu Xijiao hooked her lips: "I'll talk about it later, how happened to Aunt Zhou who asked you to inquire before?" ”

"The slave maid inquired, Aunt Zhou is the concubine of the Hou Ye, I heard that she is still the daughter of Xiucai, when she entered Beijing with her father to catch the exam, she had no choice but to arrive in Beijing because of the water and soil, and her father died because of the water and soil, Mama Zhou had no money to bury her father, so she could only sell herself, and it happened that the Hou Ye passed by and saw her pitiful and bought her back home, which made her rich to bury her father, and then mentioned as an aunt."

Mama Xu said.

"After Aunt Zhou entered the house, she was quite liked by the Hou Ye, and later she was pregnant, but she was ...... Later, the child was gone, Aunt Zhou was sick, and then her health has been bad, Hou Ye didn't want her to think about the child's affairs all day long, and asked her to help Mrs. take care of some things in the house, she didn't have the heart, she only missed the lost child every day, and her body became more and more bad. ”

This happened the year before last, and some things are inconvenient to say, and Mama Xu didn't ask for the specific reason.

"Girl, you give the old slave some more time, and the old slave will inquire about the specific things." Seeing that Yu Xijiao was silent, Mama Xu hurriedly said.

"Mama, you don't have to ask." Yu Xijiao shook her hand, "If you inquire again, it will seem deliberate, if my father knows, I am afraid it will not be beautiful." ”

Mama Xu has also inquired for a few days, but it is still unclear, which shows that someone has instructed that no outsiders are allowed, and if she insists on inquiring again, people may find out.

"Girl, among the several aunts, only Aunt Zhou can take care of things, if all the affairs are in the hands of the lady, I am afraid that it will be unfavorable to the girl in the future." Qingyue said worriedly.

"It's okay, the most important thing in this matter is Aunt Zhou." Yu Xijiao said slowly, her long eyelashes fluttered twice, thoughtful.

"Mama Xu, you can help me check, Aunt Zhou generally likes to go where and do anything, and besides, there is no need to inquire about the original matter." Yu Xijiao commanded.

"The old slave obeys." Mama Xu said.

While he was talking, a maid ring reported outside: "Third girl, Master Hou invites you over." ”

Yu Xijiao glanced at Mama Xu, Mama Xu understood, picked up the curtain and walked out, looking at the maid ring under the corridor with a smile: "Master Hou has something to do with our girl?" ”

"Master Hou got a painting, saying that he wanted the three girls to appreciate it." Yahuan said respectfully.

"Okay, our girl will be right over." Mama Xu was full of smiles, and Yahuan saluted her and went back to her life.

Mama Xu turned around and picked up the curtain and came in: "Girl, Master Hou got a painting, saying that he asked the girl to enjoy the painting." ”

"Okay, I'll go now." Yu Xijiao smiled, stood up and walked to the dressing table, Qingyue stepped forward to freshen up for her, and after tidying up a little, she took Qingyu to Yu Ruiwen's study, and it just so happened that she also wanted to find this father to talk about the matter of Xinkang Mansion!

When I arrived at the study, I found that Yu Yuxi was already there, admiring a painting on the table with Yu Ruiwen.

Yu Xijiao entered the door and saluted, and before she could speak, Yu Ruiwen had already beckoned her over: "Jiao'er come and see, is this painting real?" ”

Yu Xijiao took a few steps forward and walked to the bookcase.

"Look at the back, you don't see it very clearly." Yu Ruiwen pointed to the position next to him and said, Yu Yuxi's eyes flashed, her eyes darkened a lot, and she was the only one who could be called by her father to enjoy the painting in the past.

Only she can really know how to paint, know how to appreciate paintings, and is the closest to her father, no one in the house can compare to her.

Now, her father actually went to call Yu Xijiao over, and she wouldn't allow anyone to share this kind of thing.

Thinking so in his heart, his feet stepped back: "The third sister came to me, I can see more clearly here, I just go to the side." ”

"Xi'er doesn't have to go, you two sisters take a look at it together, this painting ...... It looked real, but I felt a little suspicious, and I really couldn't tell it for a while. Jiao'er was influenced by the Xie family in Jiangnan, and the Xie family is most famous for calligraphy and painting, you can help your father take a good look. Yu Ruiwen stopped Yu Yuxi, and retreated to the side, making way for a place.

Say no, in fact, Yu Ruiwen thinks it's true, this will be full of joy, he has always liked to collect the original paintings of this book and picture.

Yu Xijiao took a few steps forward, and happened to stand between Yu Ruiwen and Yu Yuxi, and after looking at it carefully for a while, she deliberately touched the corner of the painting, and then asked, "Father, what do you think?" ”

"I think it's true, the signature on this is also the right one, and I have collected several paintings of this man before, and the same is true."

Yu Rui Wenzhi said with satisfaction, this time he said his true feelings, and stretched out his finger and pointed to the seal on it.

"Father, can you show me the old paintings?" Yu Xijiao said.

"Okay, it's here, I'll go get one." Yu Ruiwen said happily, turned around and went to look for it on the bookshelf, and after a while, he came over with a scroll, spread it out, and it was another painting of a landscape painting.

The two paintings are placed in one place, and the signature is exactly the same.

"Jiao'er, look here, is it the same on this? The seal used, the words on the print are all like this, this is the work of the painter in his later years, the works at this time have the atmosphere of a hermit, this painting is also very famous, but I have never seen it. ”

Yu Ruiwen said with great interest.

Yu Xijiao stretched out her hand and gently touched the two square seals, checked the corners of the painting, and finally returned to the place where she signed off, looking thoughtful.

"Jiao'er, do you see something?" Seeing that she was silent, Yu Ruiwen said eagerly.

"Father, don't worry, let me take a good look first." Yu Xijiao said softly.

"Okay, okay, let you see it first, I won't speak, you take a good look, since your calligraphy and painting have been praised by your uncle, they must be good." Yu Ruiwen's voice lowered and he smiled.

The Xie family is a family of Confucianism, or there is some lack of seeking official power, but in terms of talent, there are really few people who are not good, can be praised by the Xie family, and the talent of the youngest daughter must also be excellent, which is why Yu Ruiwen got the painting, and the first thing that came to mind was the reason why the youngest daughter.

The youngest daughter has a good journey in calligraphy and painting, and has been praised by her uncle, which is what Le's said to him.

Yu Yuxi looked very bad, in the past, in her father's study, only she could appreciate the paintings with her father, and her father would inevitably let herself appreciate any paintings first, let herself appreciate them, and let herself evaluate them, but now she actually let a rural Yu Xijiao rob it, and she couldn't help but be annoyed, a little girl from the countryside knows what to paint.

"Father, this should be true, it is the same as my father's previous paintings, and my father has already made people appreciate them, they are true."

Yu Yuxi smiled, and finally inserted into the conversation between Yu Xijiao's father and daughter.

"What Xi'er said is that my father thinks so too, and it just so happens that your sister is now being tested." Yu Ruiwen said with a grin.

Yu Xijiao smiled silently, and finally reached out and pulled the paper before saying, "Father, the one before you is naturally a genuine work, but this one is not." ”

The other two people who said this were stunned.

Yu Yuxi reacted quickly, stretched out his hand and pointed to the two paintings, and his smile grew cold: "These two paintings are sealed, and the handwriting is clearly the same, and they are also in line with the mood of Zhang Lao's final retirement and return to his hometown, whether it is from the composition or other aspects, they are completely similar, why is it not genuine?" When the third sister was in Jiangnan, had you seen the authentic works of Zhang Lao? ”

"Jiao'er, are you mistaken?" Yu Ruiwen retracted the smile on his face and looked solemn.

"Father, daughter can vouch, this is fake." Yu Xijiao stretched out her hand and pointed to the previous painting.

"How is this possible, the same print." Yu Ruiwen was anxious, and stretched out his hand to point to the two seals.

"Father, can't the seal be fake? There are many people in this world who imitate, they can imitate handwriting, they can also imitate seals, and just when their daughter goes out of the house, she is doing a thing of imitating seals. Yu Xijiao smiled and said casually.

Yu Ruiwen was stunned for a moment, and was about to ask if something had happened, but heard Yu Xijiao say, "Father, you touch this paper." ”

"What's wrong with this paper?" Yu Ruiwen subconsciously touched it as he spoke.

Yu Yuxi also reached out and touched it, and then sneered: "The third sister wants to say that this paper is a little different?" They all use raw Xuan, do the third sisters think they use Shu Xuan? Zhang Lao has always liked to use Shengxuan, this is something that everyone knows, doesn't the third sister know? ”

After saying this, Yu Yuxi showed a trace of ridicule on her face, she couldn't even tell the difference between Shengxuan and Shuxuan, and dared to say that she knew calligraphy and painting, so only her father believed in a girl from the countryside, and thought that she really had some ability.

Yu Xijiao smiled slightly: "Father, these two paintings are the works of Zhang Lao in his later years, right?" ”

"Yes, it was all in his later years, and his mood in his later years was much calmer, and he was no longer bent on fame, but he was already in a degraded state at that time, and he didn't come back after going to Shudi, and finally died in Shudi." Yu Ruiwen smacked his lips and sighed a little.

Although this Zhang Lao has a very high reputation in the painting world, but the evaluation of him in history is also half discredited, all say that he is young and keen on fame, and even participated in the rebellion, and has done some things that make people feel that it is a big right and wrong.

It's just that this Zhang Lao is not very good in character, but his paintings are really good, especially his works after his later years, after he no longer pursues fame and fortune, it makes people feel that there are a few tranquil people who have seen through the world, but the last days are extremely painful, and they can be regarded as falling and dying.