Volume 1: A stone strikes a thousand waves, the world surrounds Li Daosheng Chapter 74: Even Thieves Must Follow Principles
Li Si was a thief, a big thief. He had stolen many things, including jade and silver, antique porcelain and toys, martial arts secrets, and ancient books and writings.
Therefore, he had been to many places, including the inner courtyard of the imperial palace, official residences, wealthy merchants' mansions, and forbidden areas of sects. He had been seen in these places.
But after visiting so many places and stealing so many things, his favorite things to steal were still calligraphy and paintings.
And whenever he wanted to steal calligraphy or paintings, he would find someone to steal from.
Who on earth is so unlucky to be targeted by a thief like him?
The answer is a scholar who lives by Yanshan Lake.
As for why Li Si liked to steal him, it all started with a story from a long time ago.
…
Eight years ago, when Li Si was not yet so famous, he had been to Yanshan Lake.
At that time, he had only three copper coins in his pocket.
What can you do with three copper coins? You can buy three steamed buns, drink two pots of water, or eat a bowl of noodles with some vegetable leaves.
But no matter which one of these three you choose, it means that after you eat this meal, you will not have the next meal.
So for the sake of his own stomach, Li Si decided to steal some food.
But Yanshan Lake is such a small place, there are simply not many wealthy families, let alone any wealthy families that he could target.
So after many twists and turns, Li Si finally arrived at a small courtyard near the outskirts of the city.
The villa is not big, but it is decorated quite elegantly.
In the courtyard, the red-painted corridor was swept very clean, almost spotless. When you put your hand on it, you could feel the unique touch of dry wood paint.
On both sides of the corridor, rocks, flowers and plants are arranged in an orderly manner. A flower tree is planted in the center of the courtyard. The branches on it are about to bloom, but they still emit a faint floral fragrance.
I silently said to myself, "Don't blame me, don't blame me."
Li Si sneaked into the villa and wandered around. The owner seemed to be away, so the house was very quiet without any distracting sounds.
But the things were also very clean. There was almost nothing in the whole room except some furniture and decorations. There was nothing worth taking.
Finally, Li Si stopped in front of a study.
That should be a study room, for it was filled with calligraphy and paintings. Scrolls were piled everywhere, some neatly arranged, while others were scattered on the ground.
Li Si looked inside for a few seconds, then walked in, picked up the scroll on the ground, opened it and looked at a few pages.
He found that these calligraphy and paintings seemed to be from the same person, and this person seemed to be a famous person.
Because he felt that the name on the signature looked familiar, Liu Ran, who seemed to be a famous calligrapher and painter.
He remembered hearing people talk about this man before, saying that his calligraphy and paintings were all handed down from generation to generation, so many people were vying to collect them, and most of them could be sold for over a thousand taels of silver per piece.
Could it be that I have come to his residence?
Li Si thought about it, looked at the painting in his hand carefully again, and felt that it was indeed well painted.
This mountain is a mountain, and the water is water. There is really nothing wrong with it. Even if it cannot be sold for more than a thousand taels, it should be no problem to sell it for more than ten taels.
Please forgive his lack of culture and the fact that he doesn't know how to evaluate the quality of a painting.
However, looking at the room full of calligraphy and paintings, he decided to take a few.
After all, there are so many of them, and if three or two are missing, no one would probably notice.
So he picked up three scrolls at random, put them in his arms, turned around and was about to leave.
But he had just taken a step or two when he came back.
Because he still felt a little guilty. Regardless of whether the owner of this house was Liu Ran or not, he and him had no grudges against each other. It was really inappropriate to just take someone else's things and sell them.
So he stood where he was, preparing to think of a way that would give him peace of mind.
Suddenly, he had an idea. Since he had taken three paintings from others, why not just paint three identical ones and give them back to them?
Li Si did it as soon as he thought of it. He immediately walked to the table and started grinding ink using the inkstone on the table.
Apart from anything else, Li Si's painting skills are actually quite good. When he was bored in the past, he learned a few skills from Jiang Lian'er. Jiang Lian'er's evaluation of him is.
If he hadn't been a thief, he could have been a famous figure in the world.
Unfortunately, Li Si's enthusiasm for painting only lasted for three minutes. He would only paint one or two pictures when he thought of them, and would throw them away wherever he was finished. He never left any sketchbooks.
And now, he was preparing to repaint the three paintings he was going to take away.
If he leaves
How should I put it, should I say he is really smart?
In short, by the time it was dusk, Li Si had finished the painting. After comparing it, he put his pen aside with satisfaction.
He placed the three paintings he had just finished on the table to dry, picked up the three original scrolls, and went out.
This time he left very quickly without lingering.
Because at this time, the owner should be coming back soon, and he doesn't want to be caught red-handed.
Sure enough, in the evening, a young scholar in a green robe returned to the villa.
He walked straight towards the study. He had played in the suburbs for another day and now he had a lot of feelings in his heart. It was a good time for him to paint.
But as soon as he walked into the study, he found that there were already three paintings on his desk.
The scholar was stunned for a moment, walked to the table, looked at the three paintings, and reached out to touch the ink on them.
The ink hasn't dried yet, so it must have been painted not long ago. But there's no one else living in the courtyard except him, so who could have painted this?
And for some reason, these three paintings made him feel inexplicably familiar.
However, the scholar soon discovered that these three paintings were not only familiar to him, but they were clearly painted by him. All three were his previous works.
But if that's the case, how did they get spread out here, and how did the ink get wet?
The scholar frowned, but suddenly he noticed that there seemed to be a piece of paper under the last painting.
He took out the paper and saw these words written on it.
"I have no money on the road, so I came here to take three pieces of calligraphy from you. I feel guilty, so I leave my humble works here. I hope you don't mind."
Three paintings?
The scholar seemed to understand something immediately and looked at the painting on the table again with an expression of disbelief in his eyes.
Could it be that these paintings were repainted based on his original paintings?
All of a sudden, the scholar's expression darkened. He almost leaned over the table and began to look at the three paintings carefully.
It was not until a long time later that he straightened up with a complicated expression, sat down at the table, and faced the painting in front of him without saying a word.
He couldn't find any flaws, whether it was the strokes of the pen or the use of ink, even his detailed habits were imitated exactly.
If the ink had not yet dried, he would almost have thought that this was his original painting.
The scholar's brows were furrowed, probably thinking about something.
"Hmph." After a long time, he snorted lightly, took out a piece of paper and wrote on it.
"If you come again next time, please copy the sixth picture in the four columns on the left, the second picture in the three columns on the right, and the seventh picture in the three grids on the top. If you can copy them, the picture in the room is yours."
After writing, he hung the paper on the wall.
His desire to compete was aroused.
He didn't believe that anyone could draw exactly the same as his. This was his scholarly arrogance, so he wanted to compete with that person, even though he didn't even know who the other person was.
