Chapter 13 Painter 3. The truth behind the maid painting
"Sir, take a look at these portraits." The old man said as he stood up and uncovered the portraits covered with gauze.
Seeing that they were all beauties, Wu Yu was very surprised and asked: "Could it be that these girls have already..."
"Yes, they all died of illness at a very young age." The old man sighed.
"So, the family members of these portraits didn't take them back?" Wu Yu was very surprised to see so many portraits of dead people.
"In fact, I will draw two pictures for each deceased person, and the owner can choose one. The remaining one will be kept as a memorial."
"So that's how it is." Wu Yu suddenly remembered something and searched among the portraits. Suddenly, he saw Miss Liao, with whom he had experienced the ghost marriage that day.
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this portrait?" The old man could clearly see Wu Yu's shock.
"No, no, I just think the old man's painting is very realistic."
"Sir, do you know her?" The old man looked at Wu Yu puzzledly.
Wu Yu remained silent.
The old man suddenly understood and said no more.
Wu Yu suddenly asked, "So, the old gentleman's teacher also had two portraits painted?"
"Yes, but there is only one painting of the maid, and it is the teacher's life's masterpiece."
"What do you mean?"
"For many years, the maid painting was just a legend . I thought it was not much different from the teacher's previous portraits. But when I saw it suddenly that day, I realized that it was actually the teacher's most classic work."
"So, the maid painting is worth a lot of money?"
"Sir, you are wrong. The portraits we draw of dead people are worthless in the market, but they are priceless treasures among painters."
"I see."
"But why did your teacher paint the woman in the maid painting on the blue and white porcelain?"
"I don't know, but some people have said that the woman on the blue and white porcelain may be related to the treasure, so that day I wanted to ask you how you got these two legendary items."
"This..." Wu Yu felt very strange. If these two things were as valuable as the old man said, and there was a huge fortune hidden in them, why would Grandpa Xinluo leave the maid painting in their room? Just like this, there was no explanation.
"Or maybe it's just a legend, and there is no treasure at all?" Wu Yu came to this conclusion after thinking about it carefully.
"Sir, you don't know. Ever since my master disappeared after painting the maid's picture, I have been trying to find out the truth. Later, I found that my master left a sentence 'White Fox Heart Falls' on his own portrait, and then I realized it. I didn't understand the meaning before, and it faded away over time. But when I saw the same words under the maid's picture that day, I realized that when my master painted the maid's picture, he deliberately painted his own portrait to show future generations that he would not live long."
"So, when your master painted the picture of the maid, he already knew that he would die soon."
"Perhaps when the master was painting the blue and white porcelain, he accidentally learned the secret hidden in the blue and white porcelain, and also knew that the master wanted to kill him to silence him, so he painted his own portrait. Even the shrewd master could not have thought that the master would hide the truth of his own death and the secret of the blue and white porcelain in the portrait."
"This is just speculation. Can you make out any clues from these four words 'White Fox Heart Falls'?" Wu Yu did not completely agree with the old man's speculation.
The old man ignored Wu Yu's expression and continued:
"First, it is possible that the legendary white fox Xinluo killed my master. Second, the woman on the blue and white porcelain may be Xinluo. As for the legend that Xinluo is the reincarnation of the white fox, I don't know."
"Can you show me the portrait that the old master left behind?"
The old man turned around and fumbled under the bed for a long time before he took it out, opened it, dusted it off, and handed it to Wu Yu.
Wu Yu took it and looked at it carefully from top to bottom, front to back, and found that there was nothing special about it. It was just a portrait of an old man.
The old man was a little disappointed when he saw that Wu Yu couldn't figure out anything. He took the portrait back and hid it under the bed. He looked at it again and again before he slowly said, "It's hard to explain it to you right now."
Wu Yu thought about it and felt that it made sense. After all, the old man had spent so much energy observing.
"How about this, you find a way to bring the maid painting and the blue and white porcelain to my house tomorrow night, and I'll see if I can find out the secret of the treasure and the mystery of the master's death."
Wu Yu hesitated for a moment, then nodded and agreed.
