Just like that, he looked at them one after the other. Jing Wan didn’t disturb him either. When he finished looking through all forty pieces, quite a bit of time had already passed. The people surrounding the desk all had their necks stretched. If it wasn’t for the fact that the thing was in Luo Pei Shan’s hands, afraid they would’ve already reached out and snatched it.
Jing Wan had already retreated to the side, admiring the various decorative items in the study.
Then he saw the ‘Record of Flowers’ below, two volumes, each volume about two fingers thick. Luo Pei Shan flipped through two three pages, before suddenly closing it shut. This was a good thing, a treasure, have to leave it to slowly look at by himself. Lifting his head, he looked to his sons and grandsons. Suddenly feeling impatient, he waved his hand, “Move aside.”
Although they felt unwilling, they still didn’t dare to disobey Luo Pei Shan’s words, so they obediently moved to the side, just those eyes kept persistently glancing to the desk.
“Third girl, come come, come over to grandfather’s side.” Luo Pei Shan had a face full of smiles.
Facing the solemn and stern grandfather, Jing Wan could still accordingly handle, but now that he was smiling like an old fox, Jing Wan hesitated a little. If Luo Pei Shan were to know Jing Wan’s thoughts, he’d probably be depressed to death. He was clearly smiling warmly, yet unexpectedly scared his own granddaughter.
“Third girl, where did these come from?”
“I drew them myself. I didn’t know what I should give to grandfather. Aside from those flowers I raised, this was the only thing I’m able to give out. Because there were only a few pots of flowers that were brought to the capital, and because during the bumpy ride, in addition to my body not being well, they were neglected, some don’t look too well and need to be taken care of for a period of time. Thus I chose this, hoping grandfather don’t disdain them.”
How could he disdain? Even Gong mama was able to think of the value of these Record of Flowers, how could Luo Pei Shan not think of it? Moreover, he thought of even more. Forget the future, even if it was brought out to give as a gift now, the worth in gold was still considerably high. Or, if it were to be gifted to those people, who loved art, loved flowers, then it would truly be priceless. “Didn’t expect that third girl also had this talent in painting. Is this painting style of your own creation?” A new kind of painting style will certainly spread throughout the ages. Although it cannot reach the founding ancestor’s great heights, it was still enough for the later generations to remember.
“Eh? Isn’t this painting style very common?” Jing Wan was slightly a bit stupefied.
Luo Pei Shan immediately understood. That was his old wife trying to protect this granddaughter, and thus had this matter concealed. The title of a ‘talented girl’, may not necessarily be a good thing. If this matter were to happen to a guy, then, he would undoubtedly gain fame and fortune. But to a girl, she perhaps would only attract the peeping gazes of others and be measured just like a commodity. The ways of the world were precisely just this unfair. He saw Jing Wan faintly frowning, clearly she’d already understood the crucial point within. “Is there any paintings that leaked out?”
“There isn’t any.” She’d always only ever painted flowers, and she herself wasn’t someone that liked to show off either. In addition, she’d thought that outsiders all knew how to do this, so naturally, when she was in Qi’an Fu, aside from a portion of people in the manor, no one else knew she could draw.
Luo Pei Shan nodded, if there really were any, his old wife would have also taken care of it. “Any thoughts?”
Jing Wan didn’t think much, and just with a faint expression, casted her gaze onto her own father, Luo Rong Yan, paused for a bit, then lastly looked towards her older brother, Luo Jing Bo.
Luo Pei Shan nodded. As expected, she was a clear-headed child. Such a good opportunity to become famous, yet she was able to not get tempted, understanding the stakes at hand. Don’t say someone at her age, even many people who’ve experienced the ups and downs of the worldly affair all may not necessarily be able to hold onto their original heart. Everyone else present also understood. This was her wanting to pin this achievement onto her older brother’s head. It’s not that she can’t give it to her father. Just, this kind of new painting style, once spread out, the honor and prestige it will bring, with her father’s uncaring personality towards fame and fortune, it was better off given to Luo Jing Bo to earn some capital.
“Next, properly learn how to paint from your younger sister. If you can’t learn well, how do you have the face to take her things?” Luo Pei Shan said to Luo Jing Bo with a stiff face. Just like Jing Wan, he didn’t asked for Luo Rong Yan’s opinion. Luckily, Luo Rong Yan really didn’t care. Just, towards those orchid paintings and Record of Flowers, Luo Rong Yan equally coveted very much too.
For such a good thing to fall onto his head for no reason, Luo Jing Bo also felt unsettled inside, “Grandfather, this doesn’t seem too good, it’s too disadvantageous for younger sister.”
“This is the best way to deal with it. These things, I don’t really care about, so third brother shouldn’t mind too much either. If you really feel guilty accepting it, then in the future, third brother can just be a little better to me.” Jing Wan smilingly said.
What else could Luo Jing Bo say? Naturally, he could only guarantee again and again, even having the stance of losing his head and spill his blood for Jing Wan.
Thus, the matter was settled. The others, whether envious or jealous, could only hide it in their hearts. Towards the outside, they can’t say a single wrong word.
And Luo Pei Shan, similarly as a flower fanatic, was more concerned about, “Third girl, this Record of Flowers, just these two volumes?”
“Completed, there are eighteen volumes. And there’s also some that aren’t completed.”
Luo Pei Shan rather didn’t think that Jing Wan gave him too little, “Lend the other ones to grandfather to look at. I’ll have someone make a copy, don’t need yours.”
“I’ll go back and have someone send them. It’s fine if grandfather keeps them. I can just make another one. I was originally planning on giving all of them to grandfather anyways. Just, because there was a lot and quite heavy, I couldn’t bring it all at once. Besides, what if grandfather doesn’t like it, then what will I do? So that’s why I didn’t bring all of them.” In Jing Wan’s eyes, it’s not like these were single-use items anyway. If they were gone, she can just make more.”
Don’t like? How could he not like them? Forget a lover of flowers, as long as one was a scholar, there was nothing to not like. Luo Pei Shan pondered for a moment. These Record of Flowers perhaps may have great use, thus didn’t refuse. However, he couldn’t just take this many good things from his granddaughter for nothing. Even if this old face has to go all out, he still needs to get some more pots of valuable breeds for her. Let him think, which family had all kinds of rare breeds?
The Head Cabinet Minister, Ruan Rui Zhong, that old fool claimed to have gathered all kinds of chrysanthemum in the world. And the various chrysanthemum he brought out at every year’s Chrysanthemum Admiring Banquet indeed made people endlessly drool. Just that old fool is someone who doesn’t move unless there’s a benefit. To want to get something from his hands, the difficulty level was rather high.
The Judicial Court’s Head Magistrate Diwu, that effeminate old fool, has the most camellia in his house. But he usually has his family’s famous breeds tightly guarded. It was very hard for others to even have a glance. To want his camellia, one would have to use other valuable breeds in exchange.
Also, the Head Minister of Works, not even forty, yet already occupied a high position, his home has the most plum flowers planted. The variety was even more than second son’s courtyard. In fact, there were even a few valuable rare breeds. A shame he was a smiling tiger[1], to want to dig up one of his plum trees was also difficult.
Then there was the Ding Duke Manor’s Sun Yi Lin; that brat seems to have collected all of the four great rare breeds of peony in his hands. The Ding Duke Manor, there was nothing they couldn’t get. That’s why as that brat’s gem of his heart, no matter what the conditions were, the other party won’t give them up. Those were truly the ones hardest to get. However, that brat also has quite a few other name breeds in his hands, perhaps can think of a way.
Luo Pei Shan pondered on one side, while he admired the orchid paintings. The more he looked, the more wonderful it seemed. This level of vividly lifelike details, yet also was like a dream-like fantasy. However, “Third girl, why does this grandfather feel this orchid is quite familiar.”
“Grandfather just gave it to me a few days ago, and already don’t recognize it anymore?”
“That ink orchid? It actually bloomed!” Can’t blame Luo Pei Shan for not recognizing it, mainly because the backdrop was too breathtaking. Of the people in the room, which one hadn’t seen that pot of ink orchid before, yet not a single one recognized it.
However, with Jing Wan saying it as such, they seem to feel no matter where they looked, it was similar.
“I’ll let someone bring it over for you to see together with the Record of Flowers?”
“Good, good, good.” That ink orchid hadn’t been in Luo Pei Shan’s hands for very long. From what he knew, before it came to him, that flower had already been budding for a very long time, but it just didn’t seem to bloom. Because it was this ink orchid’s first time blooming, the people that grew it didn’t know what the situation was either.
After that, Jing Wan once again began briefing Luo Pei Shan, from the orchids various breeds, characteristics, to growing methods, including using what kind of soil, how to change pots and divide the trunk, as well as their flowering period, and even some little techniques to prolong the flowering period.
Of course, these weren’t all knowledge accumulated from her past life either. After all, it was two completely different eras. On a timeline, there was probably a couple thousand years difference. In fact, different worlds, might even affect the species’ evolution. What Jing Wan said, was a combination of her past life’s experiences and this life’s, concluded after flipping through countless books. There will never be a non-applicable situation.
The people in the study stared blankly as they listened. If they were to go by Jing Wan’s explanations, even a person, who completely didn’t understand orchids, would still be able to become an orchid raising little expert in a blink of an eye.
[1] Smiling Tiger – Smiles on the surface, malicious intentions inside.
