Chapter Thirty-Five: Evaluating Paintings (Part One)

  "Dad, what should we do?" Lu Dong said.

  "What the Zhao family is after, I don't even know now. As for Zhao Hui, it's not worth worrying about. For the sake of the Lu family, we can only observe for now. We owe that mother and son a lot, this time, we must protect them." The somewhat aged voice in the stone room continued to say.

  "I knew I should have done this," said Lu Dong.

  "Go and help them as much as you can, mother and child." said the stone room.

  At dawn, the sky was slightly bright, Lu Shaoyou stopped his cultivation, opened his eyes, and exhaled a mouthful of turbid air from his dantian. A layer of yellowish light on his body converged into his body.

  A night of cultivation, for Lu Shaoyou now, didn't get much good results, but instead felt refreshed and invigorated.

  "It's time to go to Tianbao Gate." Lu Shaoyou thought to himself, he had borrowed 8,600 gold coins from Tianbao Gate yesterday and should go settle the account.

  After finishing breakfast, Lu Shaoyou made an excuse in front of his mother and left the courtyard for Tianbao Gate, not forgetting to be extra careful along the way.

  "Mr. Lu, you've come quite early today." The two burly men in front of the Tianbao Gate greeted Lu Shao upon seeing him.

  "Wu Zhi Shi," asked Lu Shaoyou.

  "Master Lu, please follow me. Officer Wu is on the second floor." A big man said to his left, leading Master Lu upstairs.

  This was the second floor of Bao Men, Lu Shao had never been here before. Usually, he would just go to the first floor and leave with some medicinal materials.

  Looking around the second floor, the decoration is also luxurious and grand, even the flooring is a kind of high-end smooth floorboard. Walking into a small hall, the decorations and furnishings here are even more astonishing to Lu Shaoyou.

  The small hall is decorated with valuable items, including calligraphy and paintings, antiques, and several long chairs in the small hall, which are also expensive at a glance.

  "Mr. Lu, please wait a moment, Officer Wu will be here right away." The man who led the way said, and then retreated.

  Lu Shao walked around the small hall, gazing at a mural on the wall. The mural was somewhat similar to the landscape paintings of his previous life. It seemed that there were many elements in this world that resembled those of his past life.

  "Lu Shao Ye still has some research to do on painting, why not comment on this painting instead?" Just then, Dugu Binglan's voice came in, and immediately three figures appeared, it was Dugu Binglan, the maid Xiao Cui, and Wu Zhixi.

  "I dare not, I'm just a young and inexperienced scholar, how could I speak boldly without shame." Lu Shouyou smiled slightly, in his past life, he had actually studied some modern painting, but for this kind of work similar to landscape painting, he didn't understand it at all, so how could he dare to speak randomly.

  "Master Lu, don't be polite, just give me your instructions." Dugu Binglan smiled slightly, as if she wanted Master Lu to say a few more words.

  "This..." Lu Shaoyou hesitated, he really didn't understand this type of painting.

  "What's wrong, Young Master Lu looks down on me?" Dugu Binglan's beautiful eyes gazed at Lu Shaoyou, with a slight smile, but her expression was very serious, as if she meant to make Lu Shaoyou speak out.

  "Well, in that case, I'll just say a couple of words. Miss Dugu won't laugh at me, will she?" Lu Shaoyou said softly, looking at Dugu Binglan's eyes, as if he couldn't afford to refuse, and could only manage to say a couple of sentences. This painting is also a principle that makes sense, Wan Liming thought, estimating that he wouldn't end up talking nonsense either.

  "Dugu Binglan said, 'Young Master Lu, please instruct.' At this time, the maid Xiaocui was also staring tightly at Lu Shao, with expectation in her eyes."

  Lu Shaoyou gazed at the mural in front of him, which depicted a young girl standing by a lotus pond, gazing into the distance. After a moment, Lu Shaoyou said: "The technique used in this painting is superb, with bold and unpredictable brushstrokes. It's truly one-of-a-kind. You can tell that the artist didn't sketch out a draft beforehand, but instead let their emotions guide their strokes. The way they wielded their brush, directly taking from the paper itself, was what created this effect. In terms of form, it's undoubtedly a masterpiece."

  Upon hearing Lu Shao's words, the maid Xiaocui smiled slightly and then looked puzzled, saying: "Lu Shao said so, there should be more to it, right?"

  Lu Shao Yu smiled lightly and said: "In terms of form, this painting is a masterpiece, but it also has some shortcomings that make people regret."

  "Oh, Master Lu, please enlighten me." Dugu Binglan was slightly taken aback, glanced at her maid Xiaocui beside her, and then asked.

  "The facial expression of the woman in this painting is stiff and lacks vitality, only having form but no spirit. The brushstrokes used for the lotus pond are too sharp and not thick enough, so the ink and brushwork lack spirit, and the density is not quite right. The composition seems a bit unbalanced, with some parts being too light and others too heavy. The outline also seems to be not delicate enough. It can be seen that when this painting was created, the painter must have been preoccupied with thoughts. Adding to that, the expression of the girl in the painting, I think the painter must be a woman." Lu Shiyong said lightly: "This youngster is talking nonsense, please don't mind it, Miss Dugu."

  "Lu Shaoyou has a good eye for things, it's really broadened my horizons." Yatou Xiangxiang said lightly, her expression filled with a hint of surprise as she gazed at Lu Shaoyou.

  "It's a bit ugly." Lu Shaoyou said lightly, and suddenly saw the corner of the mural in front of him, with several small seals of inscriptions. Upon closer inspection, it was written "Dugu Binglan" in small letters.

  "It turns out that this painting was done by Miss Dugu, I was too presumptuous." Lu Shaoyou's heart skipped a beat, this painting was actually the work of the chaste and solitary Dugu Binglan, which was truly unexpected.

  "Mr. Lu is being polite, please sit down." said Dugu Binglan, with a hint of surprise in her expression.

  "Lu Shao-yu has arrived at Tianbao Gate so early, there must be something." Everyone sat down, and Wu Zhi-shi said.

  "We owe Tianbao Gate a huge debt, and we will naturally come to repay it. However, there's no way to clear the debt all at once, so we can only repay it slowly." Lu Shaoyou said with a faint bitter smile.

  "A few thousand taels of gold are nothing to be concerned about, Master Lu needn't worry." Wu Zhi said.

  "But I still owe you a debt, and it's been weighing on my mind." Lu Shaoyou said with a smile.

  "If Lu Shaoyou is willing, why don't you join Tianbaomen instead?" said Dugu Binglan with a faint smile.

  "This..." Lu Shaoyou's expression changed, but he quickly smiled again: "I'll join the Tianbao Gate. I can only waste their food, and won't cause any trouble for them."

  "Master Lu is joking, if Master Lu wants to come, Tianbao Gate welcomes you at any time." said Dugu Binglan.

  "Right, I also have some Guanding Dan here. Make a note of it, Wu Zhi Shi. I'm using this to settle the account. Give me two portions of this dan medicine and 50 portions of the previous dan medicine materials." Lu Shaoyou handed over a dozen or so Guanding Dan to Wu Zhi Shi.

  "No problem, Young Master Lu will wait." Wu Zhi Shi took a glance at the prescription handed over by Young Master Lu and left the small hall.

  "Lu Shao Ye, this elixir was refined by myself." Dugu Binglan gazed at Lu Shaoyou and said.

  "Look at me, do I look like a spirit?" Lu Shao Yu said with a glance at Dugu Binglan. Today, Dugu Binglan was wearing a long dress, her figure was slender and elegant, paired with delicate features, she was indeed an absolutely beautiful woman.

  But Lu Shaoyou couldn't help but gaze at the little maid, Xiao Cui. Her jade-like face was carved with exquisite features, her eyes were clear and seemed to see through everything, her small nose was delicate, and her cherry-like lips were thin and light as a wing. Together, they formed an absolutely beautiful face, but because of the red birthmark on her cheek, it made people sigh. What a pity that such a beauty had this mark, if only she didn't have it, how good would it be?

  "Lu Shao Ye is really hard to see through." said Dugu Binglan lightly.

  "Mr. Lu, everything you asked for is ready." A moment later, Wu Zhi Shi had already arrived at the small hall with two packages of medicine.

  "Thank you, I'll take my leave first. I'll come back next time to settle the account." Lu Shaoyou said, and then got up and left.

  "Lu Shao Ye, slow down." Wu Zhi Shi said.

  "Wu Zhisishi, what do you think?" said Dugu Binglan after Lu Shaoyou left.

  "We received news last night that Lu Shao killed a martial slave of the Zhao family, and severely injured another one. It's quite shocking to everyone." said Wu Zhi Shi.