The Double-Chapter 51 - 49 True or False
51: Chapter 49: True or False
51 -49: True or False
“Hold on,” Jiang Li said.
Suddenly, such an abrupt voice came out of nowhere, and several people along with the onlookers turned their heads to look.
Jiang Li walked over from one side.
Liu Zimin, who had been searching around, saw a beautiful lady walking out of the crowd and was instantly captivated, his tone even carried a hint of flirtation as he said, “What does this young lady mean by this?”
Bai Xue, seeing this, followed closely beside Jiang Li, resolute in her mind that if that rodent-looking boy dared to touch even a finger on Jiang Li, she would make him search the ground for his teeth.
Jiang Li smiled and said, “May I ask what this gentleman has done?” She pointed to the young man at the side.
“What has he done?” Liu Zimin elongated the question mockingly and said cheerfully, “Is this young lady trying to be a hero and stand up for justice, thinking that we are bullying this gentleman?
Then I must clarify that we are not ones to bully others using our status.” He explained, “This gentleman, Ye Shijie, has damaged a family heirloom ink treasure of ours—this ‘Sparrow Drinking Spring’ right here.”
‘Sparrow Drinking Spring’ is a masterpiece by Zeng Zimo, a great master of painting and calligraphy from the previous dynasty.
After Zeng Zimo’s death, his remaining works were sold for a high price, particularly among the homes of literati, who consider it an honor to possess Zeng Zimo’s treasures.
If this painting of Liu Zimin’s was truly ‘Sparrow Drinking Spring,’ it would mean big trouble for Ye Shijie.
“‘Sparrow Drinking Spring’ is priceless, and seeing that Brother Ye is not from Yanjing, I was willing to compromise and merely ask for thirty thousand taels of gold in compensation, which is not a loss at all.
But to my surprise, Brother Ye, an excessively unreasonable man, is unwilling to pay even a penny.
To think he comes from the Ye Family of Xiangyang, so stingy—could this be the merchant’s nature?” At this point, Liu Zimin burst into laughter.
Hearing this, the crowd also laughed along, mainly at Liu Zimin’s phrase “merchant’s nature.”
Since the Yan Dynasty naturally looked down upon merchants, ranking them at the very bottom beneath scholars, farmers, and artisans, Ye Shijie clenched his teeth and suppressed his anger, saying, “I did not damage the painting; it was you yourself who pounced on it while I was writing!”
“Oh my,” said Liu Zimin, “You’re actually framing me, as if I had nothing better to do than to destroy my own famous painting?” As he spoke, he seemed to remember Jiang Li beside him and said, “This young lady, please provide your opinion.”
Jiang Li smiled and said, “May I have a look at your painting?
I have never seen a real ‘Sparrow Drinking Spring,’ and it’s such a pity that it’s been destroyed.” She sounded genuinely regretful.
Seeing her like this, Liu Zimin generously handed over the painting: “If the young lady wishes to see it, then please do!” He observed Jiang Li’s attire, which seemed to belong to someone of no ordinary background, but he had no knowledge of such a spirited official’s daughter arriving in Yanjing City.
He resolved to have someone inquire about her later; if her family status were slightly inferior, taking her as a concubine wouldn’t be too bad an idea.
Not far from the crowd, Jiang Youyao and a few others in the carriage also witnessed this scene.
Jiang Youyao asked, “What is she doing?”
“Third sister,” Jiang Yue reminded, “That Ye Shijie is from the Ye Family of Xiangyang, people from our second sister’s maternal family.”
Jiang Youyao suddenly realized and then looked towards Jiang Li: “Let’s continue watching.”
Jiang Li carefully examined the ‘Sparrow Drinking Spring’ that she’d taken into her hands.
‘Sparrow Drinking Spring’ depicted the arrival of spring in a valley, where a sparrow perched on the low-hanging branches above the water, drinking the reflection of the water in the stream.
With valleys full of blossoming flowers, the lively cleverness of the sparrow, and the crystal-clear transparency of the stream, each was drawn with lifelike precision.
But now, the painting had been torn diagonally from the bottom, almost splitting the page in two.
Because of Jiang Li’s appearance, the number of onlookers grew.
Ye Shijie frowned, while Liu Zimin seemed to have the most patience.
After a while, Jiang Li finally set down the painting in her hand.
She did not return the painting to Liu Zimin, but said, “Indeed, Master Zeng’s calligraphic work is precious, with a focus on artistic conception, rare and priceless, yet…”
With each sentence she spoke, Liu Zimin’s brows rose an inch higher, and upon hearing Jiang Li’s last words, he instinctively interjected, “Yet what?”
“This painting is a fake,” Jiang Li stated.
“This painting is…” Liu Zimin suddenly came to his senses and exclaimed loudly, “How is that possible?” When he looked back at Jiang Li, his expression was no longer as amiable as at the beginning.
Ye Shijie was also taken aback as he looked towards Jiang Li.
“This painting has been imitated very closely, however, it still cannot disguise the fact that it is a forgery.
Based on the value of the most skillfully copied forgeries on the market today, this painting is worth no more than fifty taels of silver.
Young Master Ye,” she turned to Ye Shijie, “you only need to compensate this gentleman fifty taels of silver.”
“Little girl,” Liu Zimin sinisterly smiled, “with just a few words from your red lips and white teeth, you’re calling it a forgery?
This painting is genuine! ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Don’t speak recklessly.”
“Indeed,” the people around started making a commotion, “how can you prove it’s real?”
Jiang Li wasn’t in a hurry and spoke calmly, “Master Zeng was from the previous dynasty, and all the ink and silk used in that era came from that time.
However, there was no double silk brocade in the previous dynasty.”
“Double silk brocade?” Bai Xue asked, puzzled.
“The previous dynasty only produced a kind of silk, which was coarse and thin.
But look at this calligraphic work, it’s white and fine, clearly double silk brocade.
Master Zeng of the previous dynasty surely wouldn’t have used today’s double silk brocade for painting, this is one point.”
“Secondly, the seal is wrong.
The previous dynasty didn’t frequently use stone-carved seals.
If it were a seal from the previous dynasty, it would bear the unique marks of that time.
The seal script would be slightly thicker at the finishing strokes of each character, but lighter in appearance and slightly yellowish in color.
The seal script on this painting has smooth finishing strokes and the color is a reddish hue, which is obviously incorrect.”
As Jiang Li eloquently explained, she unfolded the “Sparrow Drinking Spring” for everyone to see.
The crowd had not noticed anything amiss before, but now, following Jiang Li’s explanations, they indeed began to see discrepancies.
As Liu Zimin’s complexion turned increasingly unsightly, Ye Shijie’s surprise grew greater.
Jiang Li said with a smile, “Moreover, the most important point is that in ‘Sparrow Drinking Spring,’ the brilliance lies in Master Zeng’s attention to detail.
When the sparrow pecks at its reflection, there is a reflection of the water sparrow in its eyes, and likewise, in the eyes of the sparrow in the water, there should be a reflection of the sparrow on the branch.
However, in this ‘Sparrow Drinking Spring,’ the eyes of the sparrow reflection contain nothing.”
“Therefore,” Jiang Li said with a smile, “Young Master, this ‘Sparrow Drinking Spring’ is fake.
A fake ‘Sparrow Drinking Spring’ for three thousand taels of gold is pure fantasy.”
Liu Zimin, red-faced with both embarrassment and anger, reached out to snatch the painting from Jiang Li’s hands, but Jiang Li would not let him succeed.
Bai Xue had already swiftly taken the painting, holding it up high for everyone to examine.
“Do you even know who I am?” Liu Zimin finally lost his patience, revealing his true nature as he spat out harsh words, “Dare to slander me like this, you’ll be in big trouble when my father finds out!”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Li finally dropped the smile on her face and replied indifferently, “I don’t know who you are, but if you dare behave so outrageously towards me, you’ll be in no small trouble when my father finds out.”
“I want to see which family you belong to, report your name!” Liu Zimin demanded angrily.
“Jiang family of the capital, eldest legitimate daughter of the chief minister, Jiang the second,” Jiang Li declared.
