Nightfall

Fragrance wafted from the Old Brush Pen Shop’s kitchen. Ning Que stood behind Sangsang and could not help asking, “Did anyone suspect that I was the one who released them?”

Sangsang did not turn around. She said, “I heard that everyone thought that I secretly sold them.”

“I’m sorry you had to bear the burden of being called a thief.”

Ning Que said shamefacedly.

Sangsang glanced at the fire in the stove and kicked the door shut while ladling out the tofu. She said, “Young master, its no problem as long as they sell well.”

Ning Que took the heavy bowl from her and said, “I hope so.”

There was a news spreading that there were seven calligraphy sections from the Old Brush Pen Shop that were about to go on sale in calligraphy and antique shops in Chang’an lately. It was rumored that these sections were stolen by a favored money-grubbing handmaiden.

Of course, it was far from the truth. Six of the seven calligraphy sections were written by Ning Que on one of the nights. He was also the one who wanted to sell them. For them to take the longer route, involve Dewdrop into the situation and had no choice but to ruin Sangsang’s reputation, it was for three main reasons.

Firstly, Ning Que did not want anyone to know that he needed a large amount of money. That’s because he did not want anyone to know what he was about to do with the money. Secondly, he was now a world-class calligrapher and regardless from whichever perspective one sees it, selling own works was an embarrassing matter.

And the most important reason of all, was that if he openly sold his calligraphy sections, His Majesty would definitely take them away shamelessly or only pay the official price for them.

The calligraphy sections that His Majesty had borrowed from the Old Brush Pen Shop had never been returned. As for the official price… it was not sufficient for Ning Que’s current needs. That was why he had thought of such a method.

Sangsang cut off the ends of some salted vegetables and placed them on the dish with chopsticks. She asked, “Do you want to put some sesame oil on it?”

Ning Que shook his head and said, “I’m so stressed up by this matter till I am getting heaty. I’d better eat lighter.”

Sangsang picked up some sesame seeds with her fingertips and scattered them in the beancurd. She asked, “I’ve done the accounts with Mr. Qi yesterday. We still need a lot of money. Will the seven sections be too little?”

“No matter how precious an object is, the value of it will depreciate if there are too many of them. It’s like the rouge of Chenjinji Cosmetics Store. If they sell it everywhere on the streets, it wouldn’t be so expensive anymore.”

Ning Que said, “I was worried that the seven calligraphy sections would cause the market value of my works to crash. But it seems that Stone House is indeed capable.”

Sangsang held up the bowl of beancurd with shiny eyes. She said, “I wonder how much they would sell for.”

Ning Que said, “The first six could probably sell for between eight to 10 thousand? The crux of the matter is the last Chicken Soup Calligraphy. I do not know for sure how much it could sell for.”

Sangsang asked, “Is that the original Chicken Soup Calligraphy?”

Ning Que nodded and looked at the pestle shaped array eye that was left on an inconspicuous corner on the shelf. He said, “That Chicken Soup Calligraphy was wrapping the pestle that Master had instructed you to hand it to me.”

Then, he said with heavy emotions, “Master is an old cheat. I am so touched.”

His words were both mocking and a lament. It was also because of the whirl of emotions he felt from the conversation he had with General Xu Shi a few days earlier. Xu Shi insisted that Master Yan Se was righteous and of the light. It was proven today, that the deceased master was a mischievous man. Ning Que couldn’t help but feel relieved.

Sangsang said worriedly, “I am worried that Grand Secretary Wang would be angry.”

Ning Que said mockingly, “He wanted to buy the Chicken Soup Calligraphy for four thousand taels of silver. Who else would master cheat other than someone so muddle-headed like Wang?”

Sangsang said, “A cheater is still a cheater.”

Ning Que thought about it for a moment before he asked, “What news have you heard?”

Sangsang said,”Grand Secretary Wang was originally from the Qing family of Chuan County. Lately, they have been planning on rebuilding their ancestral shrine and rewriting their ancestral records. The scholar’a mansion has taken to lead in doing that and have been preparing for several days.”

After eating the vegetable and beancurd porridge, Ning Que rubbed his tummy and got onto the horse carriage, which brought him to the Grand Secretary Mansion.

This was not the Mansion of Imperial Library Grand Secretary Zeng Jing, but the mansion of Grand Secretary, senior statesman Wang Shichen. Grand Secretary Wang Shichen was both highly experienced and powerful, unlike Grand Secretary Zeng Jing. Comparatively, his temper was also worse than Zeng Jing.

Grand Secretary Wang looked at Ning Que in the quiet study. Anger filled his slightly muddied eyes. He did not care that Ning Que was a student on the Second floor of the Academy and yelled at him shrilly. “You imprinted your seal on the Chicken Soup Calligraphy in front of everyone in my house. Why is there another Chicken Soup Calligraphy out there now? I do not care if your handmaiden had stolen it. I just want to know why there is another Chicken Soup Calligraphy!”

Ning Que felt slightly regretful that he had come here today. After a long silence, he smiled bitterly. “I did not know about this until I received Master’s remains. I was drunk when I wrote the memo in the House of Red Sleeves, so I had not recognized that was a duplicate at your mansion. I did not expect that the old man had an interest in that.”

“Interest? What kind of interest is that!”

Wang Shichen’s white hair crackled in the air as he descended beyond anger. He waved his trembling hand around and bellowed in anger. “He had taken the Chicken Soup Calligraphy from his sleeves when I went to the gambling den in Southern Gate Temple. What kind of interest is this? He had obviously planned to cheat me of my money!”

Ning Que smiled and corrected him, “My master had never thought that you would be the one to get cheated.”

After which, he said seriously, “But that Chicken Soup Calligraphy was a duplicate of my master’s and is naturally precious. Furthermore, he has already passed on, so please do not blame him.”

Grand Secretary Wang laughed coldly and did not reply.

Ning Que suddenly asked, “I heard that your family is currently rebuilding your ancestral home.”

Grand Secretary Wang looked at him oddly and nodded.

“With your status, I am sure that the Emperor would be the one to come up with the words on the horizontal inscribed board. However, do you need someone to write on the couplet boards in the ancestral hall and for the genealogy records?”

Ning Que asked.

The Grand Secretary Wang paused before comprehending Ning Que’s intentions. He was truly happy. The Chicken Soup Calligraphy might be precious, but to a scholar’s family, their ancestral halls and genealogy books were things that would be handed down to their descendants. It’d be fantastic if Ning Que would personally write on these.

“Thank you very much, I really appreciate it.”

Grand Secretary Wang laughed happily before changing the topic. “Since Miss Sangsang had taken those sections, will you take them back?”

As the senior statesman of the Tang Empire, he did not know that Zeng Jing had found his daughter. That was why he had many questions amidst the anger and bustle about the seven calligraphy sections of the Old Brush Pen Shop. He asked them to Ning Que in person today.

Ning Que smiled and did not reply.

Grand Secretary Wang understood what he meant and said indifferently, “Since this is so, I would like to buy the Chicken Soup Calligraphy. Would Sir Ning mind?”

It seemed that the sections would sell for a good price with someone like Grand Secretary Wang entering the scene. Ning Que only had eyes for money and would not mind. He smiled happily.

…

…

Chu Youxian alighted from the Horse Carriage and looked at the people walking to Stone House. The expression on his face changed slightly as he said in a tremoring voice. “My father might be wealthy, but there are so many wealthier people in Chang’an. The people in front were royal buyers from the South cities. Do you expect me to compete with those people?”

Chu Youxian’s father was a rich businessman from the Eastern City of Chang’an. He was well-known for his love for art, which was why the Stone House had sent him an invitation for today’s auction of the seven sections from the Old Brush Pen Shop. The invitation was in Chu Youxian’s sleeves right now.

Ning Que came to Stone House with Chu Youxian. He was not very interested in the sale of his calligraphy. But in order to make sure that there wouldn’t be any problems and that the taels of silver would smoothly reach his hands, he decided to come and keep an eye on it.

Chu Youxian looked at Ning Que and a worried expression flashed through his face. His father had reached out his feelers about what would happen today upon receiving the invitation. He knew about the theft in the Old Brush Pen Shop. Since the sale today was of loots from the Old Brush Pen Shop, and Ning Que had insisted on coming, he was sure that Ning Que was either here to make a fuss or to buy his calligraphy back. And no matter which of the above happened, they both sounded dangerous.

“I will not make a fuss.”

Ning Que explained, “I am afraid that someone would.”

Chu Youxian did not understand what Ning Que said. He recalled that his father had been exhilarated upon discovering his friendship with Ning Que. He decided to ignore what might happen and walked into Stone House.

A servant brought the two into the courtyard after they showed them the invitation.

Stone House was located beside a quiet lake. The slightly hot spring breeze blew gently through the willow trees and into the quiet halls. It was significantly cooler by the time it reached the building in the courtyard.

The auction was held in a three-story wooden building. Only the side facing the lake was completely open. There was a platform in the middle of the floor. The platform was devoid of everything else but a screen. There was a calligraphy piece embroidered on the screen. One could not be sure which famous calligrapher it belonged to from afar.

The refreshing lake breeze entered once more, causing the screen to flutter. It traveled through the attic, dispelling the heat. Even the most uncouth person would feel slightly more elegant in a place with such exquisite decorations.

There were about twenty individual rooms in the three-story building. Each room was partitioned with bamboo and silk. The gentle lake breeze caused the silks to flutter, revealing the bamboo frames. One could vaguely make out legs, but could not see who sat behind the partitions. It protected the privacy of those inside the room while ensuring their comfort.

Ning Que and Chu Youxian were brought by a maid to one of the rooms on the second floor. Ning Que looked at the platform and screen and felt that he was right in choosing Stone House.

Not much time had passed since they received the seven calligraphy pieces from the Old Brush Pen Shop and began their advertisement for today’s auction. This meant that the South Jin Kingdom and other countries and the businessmen from these countries did not have time to come for this auction. The boss of the Stone House felt a bout of regret. He thought that he should not have been in such a hurry to invite appraisers over when he first got the sections. He should have allowed time for the news to spread.

But the appeal of the seven sections, especially the Chicken Soup Calligraphy was too large. Even though the major businesses of the South Jin Kingdom and other countries could not make it today, the envoys and a few royal buyers from these countries who lived in Chang’an had all came. And they looked really interested.

Whispers sounded in the attic of the Stone House. No one doubted the reputation of the Stone House, so they all believed that the seven calligraphy pieces were genuine. The whispers were of those who were considering whether to bid and their analysis on their competitors.

The whispers died down as a middle-aged man in turquoise robes walked to the platform. The man tapped the gravel in his hands lightly, and a hushed silence fell.

“Is that the boss of Stone House?”

Ning Que asked.

Chu Youxian shook his head and pointed to the person with the fan in his hands. “That person is called Zhong Li. It is rumored that he comes from a branch of the Zhong family in Yang Guan. The relationship between him and the family isn’t good and he had not managed to become an official. He left Yang Guan angrily and started this. He had been involved in the auction market in the Kingdom of Song all this while, and is regarded as one of the greatest auctioneers. The Stone House had made such a big fuss over this today, so they’d of course have to invite him.”

Ning Que thought of Zhong Da Jun when he heard that the person was from the Zhong family of Yang Guan. He couldn’t help smiling and said, “I hope that this person is not as boring as Zhong Da Jun.”

Chu Youxian smiled, “The Zhongs of Yang Guan aren’t all useless.”

…

…

Zhong Li stood on the platform and surveyed his surroundings calmly. Even though it was a simple sweep, those in the attic felt that he was looking at them. With that, he had revealed his skills as an auctioneer.

Following that, he did something unexpected. He did not introduce the history of Stone House like he would in a regular auction. Neither did he greet the bigwigs in the attic. Instead, he began to speak. His voice was calm and his expression mild, and even slightly proud.

“It is spring, and it is when gold and jade starts selling in the markets.”

“People say that gold is common and jade is pure. However, today, jade is common because we have invited everyone here today to admire the most elegant thing in the world today. It is the most beautiful creation of ink and incense in a millennium.”

Zhong Li smiled and said, “Perhaps it might disappoint everyone, that there will not be any fancy presentation, and neither will calligraphy sections from other fame calligraphers appear. And just like how gold is common compared to jade, won’t all other calligraphies in the world become common before the seven sections of the Old Brush Pen Shop?”

With that, the officials, nobles and businessmen in the attic of Stone House gasped in surprise. The auctioneer’s words had placed the seven sections of the Old Brush Pen Shop on a pedestal. However, when they thought about it, those in the attic could not help but agree. Even though this event would boost the reputation of Stone House, it was undeniable that the great calligraphers of the past, or even famed works of the past or even works of the Master of Calligraphy could not compare to that of calligraphy from the Old Brush Pen Shop.

Chu Youxian listened to the debates and sighs of admiration and praise in the room. His eyes brightened and he had a self-satisfied expression on his face. He fanned himself lightly and glanced at Ning Que occasionally. Wouldn’t all these people be jealous of him should they know that the owner of the Old Brush Pen Shop was sitting right beside him?

…

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