Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 58: Three Rites
Xu didn't know what kind of mood she was in when she walked into the hall.
She felt that everyone in the hall was looking at her. Ever since her family was broken up, she had hardly ever received such attention at such festive occasions.
Behind her followed Wu Chengjian and Ye Youyu, and then Wu Qi, Dongxue and several servants.
Seeing Wu Chengjian following behind Xu like a filial son-in-law, Ye Dalin knew that he had to treat Xu with respect today. Since the matter had already begun, giving up halfway would only cause unnecessary losses. He patted the chair beside him and said to Xu, "Your elder sister is unwell, you can take this seat."
The eldest lady of the Ye family and several young masters were shocked and shouted in unison: "Father!"
But Ye Dalin glared back at him.
Xu was a little at a loss, and Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Mother-in-law, please sit down, sit down." He helped Xu sit next to Ye Dalin.
Then he bowed to Ye Dalin and said, "Father-in-law, I wish you a happy new year and a prosperous future."
Ye Dalin also stood up and returned the greeting, saying, "Hao Guan, all the best to you as well."
Wu Chengjian laughed and said, "According to your words, things have been going very well recently." He then greeted the guests in the hall, several brothers-in-law, and the eldest daughter and eldest son-in-law of the Ye family. Everyone hurriedly returned the greetings. Although Ye Haoye and the Ye Hao family did not like Ye Youyu, they were all willing to get close to Wu Chengjian, and the eldest son-in-law was even more affectionate.
Ye Dalin said: "Hao Guan, you are late, so I will give up the banquet directly, so please take your seat quickly."
The position left to Wu Chengjian was naturally the chief.
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Today is a family dinner, so how can I sit at the head seat?" Then he let his eldest brother-in-law sit at the head seat - among the guests, no one had a more noble status than Wu Chengjian, but today was the day his daughters came back, and according to seniority, it made sense for the eldest son-in-law to sit at the head seat.
The eldest brother-in-law was flattered, but he couldn't refuse Wu Chengjian, so he sat down tremblingly.
Wu Chengjian then sat down next to him, clapped his hands and said, "I brought fish back home today in a hurry and don't have anything decent. I can only ask for forgiveness from my father-in-law and mother-in-law." Then he glanced at Wu Qi.
As soon as Wu Qi waved his hand, a row of people came in carrying four huge objects. Wu Qi stepped forward and dropped the red cloth covering the objects. For a moment, everyone in the hall was dazzled by the golden light - they were actually four golden screens. Judging from their quality, they were probably made of real gold.
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "I heard that my father-in-law disliked the furniture in the study a while ago and smashed them all. Although he has bought a lot of new things now, he still hasn't bought two screens. After thinking about it, I asked someone to make these things. I wonder if my father- -law likes them."
Ye Youyu almost covered her face when she saw such vulgar things, but she knew that Ye Dalin liked such nouveau riche things the most.
Sure enough, Ye Dalin smiled and said, "Not bad, not bad." Although he was forced to compromise by Wu Chengjian, his expression had always been unfriendly, and it was only at this time that his expression brightened up slightly.
Ye Dalin came over and tapped the screen. He had handled a lot of gold and silver, so he knew the screen was made of pure gold. He smiled and said, "Thank you for the money."
Wu Chengjian said, "What's it worth?" and looked at Wu Qi again.
Wu Qi waved his hand again, and seven more people came in. Everyone thought, "This all-gold screen is already blinding. If the ones coming later are not more valuable, they won't be able to hold their ground."
The seven people who came in each held a box in his hand. Wu Qi opened the boxes one by one, only to see that they were all filled with porcelain, but each one was different. There were plates, bowls, bottles, and basins. There were three plates and two bottles, but the shapes of the three plates and two bottles were different.
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "I heard that my father-in-law was dissatisfied with the old Ruyao items in the study and smashed them. Now the antique shelf is a bit empty. I just got a few items recently and picked two more from the collection at home to make these seven items. I hope my father-in-law will take a look and see if they suit your taste."
Ye Dalin walked closer to take a closer look, and could not help but be overjoyed. He washed the bottles, plates and bowls one by one and took them out to look. Sure enough, each one was a fine Ru kiln product! Although he was uneducated, after becoming rich, he had handled a lot of antiques, especially the porcelains he liked. He had a keen eye and was quite knowledgeable. He recognized that three of them were originally from Xie Yuanli's family, two were from Wu Guoying's collection, and the remaining two were unknown. These seven items together were simply priceless! It was really thanks to Wu Chengjian for taking them out!
After checking the seven Ru kiln wares one by one, he finally laughed and said, "Hao Guan, you are thoughtful. You are thoughtful!"
The high value of these seven Ru kiln masterpieces certainly crushed his emotions at once, but more importantly, Wu Chengjian was willing to invest such a huge amount of money, which was a great honor for him and also wanted to tell the whole Xiguan that Wu Chengjian respected him as his father-in-law.
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "There is another one, but it is not a gift from my son-in-law. It is a calligraphy piece written by a big shot in Beijing who was moved by my father-in-law's donation of rice to alleviate the drought in Gansu some time ago."
He clapped his hands, and a maid came in holding a box. Wu Qi opened the box. Wu Chengjian stood up, carefully took out a framed scroll of calligraphy from the box, and slowly opened it.
Ye Dalin learned a lot of characters in order to do business. He recognized the four characters "疾公好义", but he couldn't tell the origin of the calligraphy.
Ye Youyu uttered a sigh, his voice trembling slightly, and said: "This... this... is impossible."
She had been with Ye Dalin since she was young. Ye Dalin was good at porcelain appreciation, but whenever he encountered calligraphy and painting, he would let his daughter do it. So Ye Dalin knew his daughter's eye for this, so he asked casually: "Youyu, which famous calligrapher's calligraphy is this?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Madam, can you recognize this character? If you really recognize it, then I will admire you."
Ye Youyu walked over and took a closer look. He saw the four characters written in an elegant handwriting and said to himself, "It looks like it, really looks like it... but... it's a little... hard to tell."
The newly written words without any signature were regarded as the most precious treasure by Wu Chengjian, who took them out after the four golden screens and seven Ru kiln masterpieces. There must be something interesting here - if it is not "Lanting Preface" or "Jizhi Tie", it is probably not much different. However, the strange thing is that these four words have no signature, and the paper looks like it is not an old thing, but a newly written one. In today's world, which great calligrapher can write such a priceless book?
Among the people present, the cultural level of the Ye family's sons and the eldest son-in-law was average, but there were two guests who had some basic skills in calligraphy. Some of them shook their heads, some whispered, and there was a lot of discussion for a while.
The two who were quite knowledgeable about calligraphy started discussing. Although they spoke in a low voice , others could hear them. The general idea was that the calligraphy was not bad, but there was a clear gap between it and the top calligraphers in history such as Su, Huang, Mi and Cai. It was also inferior to the first-class calligraphers of this dynasty such as Wang Shu and Liu Yong. But even for Wang Shu and Liu Yong, as they were still recent, their works should not be able to surpass the seven Ru kiln masterpieces in value. It can even be said that they are far inferior.
Not to mention, this calligraphy does not even have a seal or signature.
Ye Dalin shouted, "There is a fish, what does it look like?"
Ye Youyu hesitated for a long time before saying, "This calligraphy looks very much like the handwriting of the current emperor."
Everyone in the room, including Ye Dalin, cried out, "Ouch!" and stood up, unable to sit still. Some even knelt down to worship the calligraphy.
One of the guests who was quite knowledgeable about calligraphy was reminded by Ye Youyu and recalled something. He exclaimed, "Yes, yes, it is indeed very similar!"
Qianlong made six trips to the south of the Yangtze River and liked to write inscriptions everywhere. Of course, not many people could get his handwritten works, but there were many people who had seen copies and rubbings of his calligraphy.
Ye Youyu touched the paper gently and said, "Yes, it is indeed the natural tribute paper woven in Suzhou. The ink color is also right... It looks like something from the imperial palace."
Ye Dalin was in doubt and looked at Wu Chengjian and said, "Hao Guan, is this... really true?"
Wu Chengjian laughed and said, "How is this possible! How can I, a lowly person, obtain the emperor's handwriting? Besides, this calligraphy is unsigned. If it was written by your majesty himself, and it was leaked out of the palace without a signature, wouldn't it be considered stealing from the palace? This is a capital crime."
Everyone thought it made sense, but suddenly they were startled. Ye Dalin asked, "What is this?"
Wu Chengjian said: "Although this calligraphy is not written by your majesty, it is also related. During the drought in Gansu, the officials did a good job in disaster relief, and your majesty wrote a few words of comfort and encouragement and gave them to the meritorious officials. At that time, the author of this calligraphy was right next to him, and he copied your majesty's handwriting on the spot and wrote this calligraphy as well, and gave it to the merchants who contributed money and effort in this disaster relief event. Father-in-law, who is this merchant who contributed the most money and effort?"
This time, it was Wu Chengjian who made the connection and asked Ye Dalin to "do two things for He Zhongtang", one of which was to provide money for disaster relief.
Ye Dalin said happily: "Of course it was me! I also heard about the drought in Gansu and how many people were displaced. I felt bad, so I donated a little money. But... who is the person who copied the emperor's handwriting..."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Who else do you think is qualified to borrow the imperial brush and copy calligraphy in front of the emperor?"
A name was about to pop out of Ye Dalin's mouth, and the one among the guests who knew calligraphy had already blurted out: "He Shen! Lord He!"
There was an uproar in the hall.
Ye Youyu nodded silently for a moment.
Heshen was skilled in calligraphy, and was particularly good at the calligraphy of Emperor Qianlong. It is said that Emperor Qianlong even asked him to write down his imperial edicts on his behalf, and it was difficult for others to tell the authenticity.
Although Wu Chengjian didn't say anything, since he didn't deny it, it was obvious that the person who wrote these four words was Heshen. Ye Dalin was surprised and happy. He walked over and kowtowed to the calligraphy. Then he took it from Wu Chengjian and said, "Haoguan, this calligraphy..."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "This calligraphy is a reward from a senior official of the country for those who have contributed to the country and donated money for disaster relief. Father-in-law, please keep it."
Ye Dalin was overjoyed. Wu Chengjian added, "But the writer of this calligraphy is always cautious and doesn't like to show off. Fortunately, we are all family here. The origin of this calligraphy should be known to everyone, and it shouldn't be spread outside ."
Ye Dalin hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, it's good that everyone knows it, but don't publicize it outside." However, he knew very well in his heart that this kind of thing could not be covered up at all. As soon as they left the Ye family's door, these guests, even his own sons and sons-in-law, would immediately tell their friends and relatives quietly. Within a few days, everyone in Xiguan knew that he, Ye Dalin, had obtained a piece of calligraphy from He Zhongtang.
