vrcanaries Chapter 993 Who is that woman?
Chapter 993 Who is that woman?
In order to climb up the ladder, all the women in the palace had to go through numerous hardships and even nearly lose their lives countless times.
Since entering the palace, Concubine Chen has been in great favor! The speed of her promotion is unknown, but it is unprecedented.
Who wouldn’t be jealous?
Don't you want to pull her down and step on her?
Don't want to replace it?
Now that this opportunity is right in front of us, how can everyone not be excited!
Of course, not all concubines think this way.
There were still many people frowning, worried about Shen Zhinian.
They are either good friends with Shen Zhinian.
Or someone who had received her favor.
Either they have no ambition and just want to live out their days in the palace.
To be fair, since Concubine Chen has been fair in her dealings and has been assisting in managing the six palaces, their lives have become much more comfortable and peaceful than before.
If the harem rashly replaced the new director, who knows what would happen...
Somehow, Princess Qingyang subconsciously glanced at Gu Jinxiao.
His eyelashes were thick and long, and he had a pair of cold eyes with an indifferent look, without a trace of emotion.
Princess Qingyang suddenly felt that she might have been overthinking, and withdrew her gaze in annoyance.
Prince Jin sat upright in a chair, with an indifferent look on his gentle face.
He spent a lot of money and effort to get this painting. Doesn't he know whether it is real or fake?
Prince Jin was confident of victory, but for some reason, looking at Shen Zhinian's confident look, his brows unconsciously frowned...
Concubine Chun had dealt with Concubine Chen so many times in the harem, but she never got away with it. Prince Jin knew very well how cunning and difficult this woman was.
Concubine Chen is the woman he wants to beat the most in his life!
If that’s the case, would she really be so stupid as to accuse him of giving a fake to the emperor without any evidence?
At this moment, King Jin suddenly felt a little shaken...
But soon, he narrowed his eyes slightly and became determined again.
No matter how cunning Concubine Chen was, she was just a palace lady. When she was in the Shen family, she had never received any proper education. She couldn't even distinguish between famous paintings and calligraphy, let alone distinguish ancient books.
Perhaps Concubine Chen read a few sentences about "Fishing Alone on a Cold River" in some miscellaneous book and thought that the painting he presented today was a fake, so she wanted to make a small profit for a big gain.
Almost everyone's eyes were focused on the painting "Fishing Alone on a Cold River". However, there was a man in the crowd who looked at another person.
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the editor of the Hanlin Academy was only a seventh-rank official. Such a small official should not be qualified to attend the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet.
However, as we all know, the Hanlin Academy is an extremely noble place, and it is also the emperor's close minister, with unlimited future! We cannot judge their future by their current official positions.
What's more, Zhou Yuhu is the runner-up in this imperial examination and is extremely talented!
Most importantly, the emperor likes young people.
Therefore, in addition to the top scorer Jiang Lingzhou who was sent abroad, the second place Zhou Yuhu and the third place Bai Mufeng were all qualified to attend the banquet.
From the beginning of the palace banquet, Zhou Yuhu's gaze would occasionally fall behind Shen Zhinian and look at a woman.
At this moment, he smiled and said to his good colleague: "Who is the woman behind Concubine Chen? She looks so calm and dignified, not inferior to some daughters of small families."
The person who was talking to him had a sister who was a concubine in the palace, so she naturally knew who Zhou Yuhu was talking about. She sighed and said, "That's Miss Fuqiu, the head maid beside Concubine Chen. She does look calm and dignified."
Zhou Yuhu nodded thoughtfully: "No wonder people say that they would rather marry a maid from a wealthy family than a girl from a poor family. The head maid next to the concubine is indeed of good temperament."
Bai Mufeng held up the wine glass and asked with a smile, "Brother Zhou, do you think the painting "Fishing Alone in the Cold River" presented by His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin today is real or fake?"
Zhou Yuhu smiled and said nothing.
Although he has some accomplishments in calligraphy and painting, with so many senior ministers present today, it is not the turn for him, a small editor of the Hanlin Academy, to step forward and show off.
However, his cousins were close friends of Concubine Chen, who had done the Zhou family a favor. Because of these things, Zhou Yuhu naturally did not want Concubine Chen to be punished by His Majesty.
Several people also understood that, given their official positions, neither His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin nor His Royal Highness the Imperial Concubine Chen could afford to offend. So they stopped talking and watched quietly.
Princess Yun'an looked at Shen Zhinian with eyes full of anger, waiting for a result.
Myna is loyal to her brother the Emperor, friendly to her sisters, and has no grudges against Concubine Chen.
She really couldn't understand why Concubine Chen would target mynah bird in such an occasion?
If Concubine Chen's conspiracy succeeds, Myna will definitely be punished by her brother. She will never allow such a villain to frame Myna!
Several cabinet ministers and ministers who were highly accomplished in calligraphy and painting gathered around "Fishing Alone on a Cold River" and carefully examined and appraised it. After a long discussion, they finally came to a conclusion.
The leading cabinet minister bowed respectfully to the emperor and reported: "Your Majesty, we have carefully examined this painting and have come to the following conclusions."
Precisely because this matter not only involves His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin and Concubine Chen, but also Princess Yun'an, and it is of great importance, they have to explain it clearly to everyone in order to avoid failing to convince the public.
"To authenticate ancient paintings, one usually observes their 'shape', examines their 'quality', examines their 'prints', distinguishes their 'traces' and verifies their 'history'."
"The so-called 'form' is to see whether the subject matter of the ancient painting matches the style of the era. The subject matter of paintings in different dynasties is often influenced by the culture of the time."
"'Fishing Alone on a Cold River' was created by Master Yu Bai when the Great Zhou Dynasty was just founded. At that time, the country was at peace and everything was waiting to be rebuilt. Literati and scholars all liked to paint historical allusions and pictures of saints, or auspicious signs and beautiful landscapes."
"The landscape theme emphasizes artistic conception, such as this painting "Fishing Alone on a Cold River". The costumes, utensils and buildings in the painting are all in line with the characteristics of that time."
Another minister was fascinated by the painting in front of him and said, "Master Yu Bai's landscape paintings often use 'hemp-fiber texture'. If it is a fake, the brushwork is stiff and the charm is lost in the deliberate imitation, the lines are sluggish and the texture is piled up. However, the lines of this painting 'Fishing Alone in the Cold River' are loose and do not seem to be a fake."
"Also, the paintings of Master Yu Bai's period were mostly in ink and light colors, pursuing the idea of five colors in one ink. If the colors of an ancient painting are too bright, or fade abnormally, it may be filled in later, or the pigments may not be made using the ancient method. However, none of those things exist in the painting "Fishing Alone on a Cold River" presented by His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin."