vrcanaries Chapter 452 Painting
Chapter 452 Painting
The sandalwood in Changning Palace is so strong that it is choking.
Standing outside the vermilion lacquered threshold, Luo Xiaoran and Chen Ji looked at each other, both somewhat puzzled.
I have heard that the Empress Dowager does not worship gods and Buddhas, but now... what happened?
When heading to Chuzhou, we went downstream by water, which was naturally unstoppable and extremely fast.
The return journey was by horse and carriage, and although it was also at full speed, it took longer than the journey there, but we still arrived in Kyoto before the Spring Festival.
The Empress Dowager seemed to have sent people to watch the city gate, and when she saw them return, she immediately summoned them to the palace.
"Since you two didn't invite the great scholar Mo Shen, I'm afraid the wedding will have to be postponed."
Nanny Ke had a blank expression on her face. Although she had expected this result, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her master when she saw the Empress Dowager was so angry that she kept coughing up blood.
Luo Xiaoran: ...You called them here in such a hurry, just to say this? You won't even let them meet in person?
"Please ask Madam Ke to report to the Empress Dowager that although I did not invite Mr. Mo Shen back, I did bring back a piece of his calligraphy."
"Mr. Mo Shen said that when the Empress Dowager saw this painting, she understood everything."
Several cracks appeared on Madam Ke's frozen face, and extreme disbelief poured out from the cracks. Her breathing suddenly became heavy.
She looked at Luo Xiaoran deeply, then turned and walked into the hall. Her usually leisurely steps now seemed a little messy.
"Grand Empress Dowager, the master gave Luo Xiaoran a painting and asked her to bring it to you."
A quick dry cough came from deep in the brocade tent, "Let them in."
"I'll help you wash and dress up first, and it won't be too late to let them in later." Madam Ke asked.
"immediately!"
Nanny Ke shuddered all over, and without hesitation, she immediately invited Luo Xiaoran and Chen Ji in.
"Greetings to the Empress Dowager." They both said at the same time.
Entering the hall, the smell of sandalwood is extremely strong.
Luo Xiaoran was wondering where the Buddhist shrine should be placed, but before she could take a look around the hall, a skinny hand stretched out from the brocade curtain.
Luo Xiaoran tactfully placed the scroll in that hand, and was stunned when she accidentally saw the agarwood beads on the wrist of the Empress Dowager.
This string of beads...
"He has something to leave for me."
Luo Xiaoran's mind was in a state of confusion, and she recalled Mo Shen's words "I hope you can get rid of your obsession" in her mind. In front of her was the Empress Dowager who could not hide the fact that she was seriously ill...
After Luo Xiaoran thought about it again and again, she decided to tell the truth: "No."
"Cough cough cough..."
"The Queen Mother!"
Nanny Ke, who was standing by, heard the noise and wanted to rush into the tent, but was stopped by her scolding.
"You all go wait outside!"
After Luo Xiaoran, Chen Ji and Nanny Ke had all left, the Empress Dowager, wearing only her inner garments, walked out from the brocade tent.
Her steps were weak and feeble, her white hair was disheveled, and her face, without makeup, was full of wrinkles.
How can she bother to dress up when Mo Shen is not here!
The area in front of the bed was stained by the dirty blood she vomited. She couldn't open Mo Shen's paintings anymore, as that would be disrespectful to him.
So, even though she hadn't been able to get up for several days, she still forced herself to get out of bed.
The Empress Dowager carefully placed the scroll on the table, touched it again and again with trembling hands, but in the end she still did not open it.
She sat down beside the bronze mirror and began to dress herself up.
Time is merciless, and beauty fades easily. Even the best rouge in the world cannot bring her back to her twenties.
But how could a woman appear without makeup when facing the man she has been thinking about all her life?
In the innermost part of the bedroom, there was a statue of Maitreya Buddha. In the cabinet under the shrine, there was a sandalwood box, which the Empress Dowager pulled out with great effort.
When she opened it, she found a plain blue gauze dress with scattered flowers that had been preserved for a long time. It was obviously inappropriate to wear it at this time of the year.
But who made the Empress Dowager's bedroom as warm as spring?
If she wants to wear it, she can wear it!
Fifty years have passed, and the Empress Dowager can still wear this dress without any effort. It has to be said that she has managed her figure very well.
Her makeup, hairstyle, and clothes are all the same as when we first met.
After packing everything up, the Empress Dowager finally walked towards the scroll tremblingly.
She walked very slowly, her face looking shy and timid, like a hesitant girl with something on her mind.
Luo Xiaoran preserved the scroll very well. When the group came back, they were all exhausted, but this painting was the only one that looked fresh, as if Mo Shen had just finished it.
The Empress Dowager's hands were shaking badly, half because of her emotions and half because of her illness.
The scroll unfolded inch by inch, and Mo Shen, wearing a dark blue riding suit with narrow sleeves, a hollow carved gold crown to hold his hair together, and agarwood beads on his hands, appeared in the dry eyes of the Empress Dowager with his handsome, unrestrained and high-spirited look.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Seeing her old friend again caused the Empress Dowager to cough again without restraint as her blood and qi surged.
She quickly turned her face away and covered her mouth with her hands, fearing that a drop of blood would fall on the painting.
"I finally... meet you."
Among all the information about Mo Shen in the world, there is not a single portrait of him.
Therefore, Luo Xiaoran, who had met Mo Shen in person, knew that this was a self-portrait of his, but Chen Ji, who had never met Mo Shen, was a little confused at first.
Although he later realized that Mr. Mo Shen was using the painting to represent the person and wanted to use his portrait to give an explanation to the Empress Dowager, he could not understand why he used a portrait of himself when he was young instead of his current appearance in his octogenarian years.
When the Empress Dowager was at the pinnacle of power in Daliang, she had invited numerous painters to depict Mo Shen's appearance according to her memory, but none of the paintings satisfied her.
The painting in front of her was exactly the same as the Mo Shen in her distant memory.
"You really didn't break your promise to me. You said you wanted to meet me, so you wanted to meet me."
Her shaking hands wanted to touch Mo Shen's hair, but the moment they touched the drawing paper, she saw blood on her hands and abruptly pulled her hand away.
The Empress Dowager gave a bitter smile and said with a double meaning, "My hands are stained with blood, I can't stain you."
"You are really indifferent to fame and fortune, but I really can't let go of power."
"You are really handsome, and I am really plain."
"So, we can never, right?"
A tear quietly slid down from the corner of her eye. The Empress Dowager reached out to wipe it away woodenly, but a blood mark was left on her old face.
When she first met Mo Shen, his hair was very short. Uncle Chen said that he was a monk who had just returned to secular life and was growing his hair.
She had seen monks before, but had never seen a monk who had returned to secular life and grown his hair, especially this monk who had a handsome face and was proficient in both civil and military affairs, although his martial arts were a bit strange.
At that time, there was no girl who would not fall in love with Mo Shen, but she was the one with average looks among many girls.
Because of this reason, she was unhappy all day long. The cowardice in her heart made her only dare to spy on Mo Shen in the dark, and she never mustered up the courage to speak a word to Mo Shen.