Prince in the same boat

In a small pavilion made of logs and green bamboo in the middle of the small courtyard, a young man in a sea-blue robe, with his back to them, daubed on the canvas on a large easel, watching The appearance of the painting is almost finished, and it is being signed.

The queen mother was worried about the difference in status, and there were two young Ge Ge beside her, so how could she easily meet a strange man.Therefore, although he had some curiosity about the painter surnamed Xia, he really had no intention of meeting him face to face, and when she came in disguise, she never thought of revealing her identity and summoning her, she just wanted to see him from a distance, which made him extremely uncomfortable. The young man who was praised by his beloved adopted son just wanted to satisfy his curiosity, but unexpectedly, he could only see his back.

Thinking that this painter will present paintings to Concubine Yu when he brings them back, he will be able to see them at that time. He is about to leave, but he doesn't know that Yong Fan has excellent martial arts, and his eyes and ears are twice as good as ordinary people. When he heard the voice, he just turned around.

When the Empress Dowager saw it, she felt a bang in her head, her face changed drastically, and she couldn't say a word.

The painter was only sixteen or seventeen years old, he was obviously just a young man who had not reached the weak crown, his face was carved out of white jade, and he was holding a paintbrush carved from red sandalwood wood.When he looked back, the summer breeze was blowing, the bamboo shadows were mottled, and the accessories on the skirt were shaking, reflecting a faint color, which reflected on his face, colorful tassels, like a dream

Qing'er and Lan Xin couldn't help being stunned for a moment, then blushed immediately, and lowered their heads. Although they knew that this was a little unruly, they still couldn't help but sneak a look at Yong Fan's appearance from the corner of their eyes, secretly thinking: Unexpectedly... ...I never thought that there would be such a person in the world. No wonder Prince He would praise him so much. With such a handsome appearance, even if it is said that his appearance is peerless, it would not be too much to say that he is so beautiful.

Yong Fan turned around and saw that it was just a kind old lady and two young girls, he seemed quite surprised, then he couldn't help but smile wryly when he saw the expressions of the two girls.Without him, his appearance in this life is really too outstanding, so handsome that even a man would turn sideways when he sees him.But these two girls are obviously not shallow women, let alone their demeanor, even the way they look at themselves is not impolite. .

Compared with that, the old lady's expression was a little strange. Seeing her unpredictable expression, it seemed sad and happy, as if... as if she was someone.

At this moment, the Empress Dowager Niu Hulu's heart was indeed extremely uneasy like a stormy sea. There was nothing else, just because the young man's appearance was...so much like that person.

The sparse sword eyebrows, the clear pupils like black stars, and the facial features like gods, unexpectedly... actually gave the queen mother a feeling of rebirth at the moment of first meeting.

"Old Buddha...ah, old madam, what's wrong with you, old madam?" The queen mother was startled, only to realize that she was captured by the boy's appearance just now, and she couldn't control the horror in her heart and took two steps back, letting the people beside her Qing'er and Lan Xin were very anxious, one left and one right helped themselves and asked anxiously.

"I'm fine, maybe I'm dizzy from standing for too long." The queen mother comforted the anxious two grids, and uncontrollably looked at Yong Fan again.

call!It turned out to be too tense.I took a closer look at the face of the boy with doubts on his face. Yes, although there are indeed some similarities between the eyebrows and eyes, but compared with that person, his appearance is completely different. The well-informed queen mother also had to admit that with such facial features, let alone a man, even the three thousand beauties in the harem were far inferior to the queen who was known as the number one beauty of the Manchu nationality.

But... But why did she feel that he was completely similar to that boy when she first saw this boy?Looking carefully, the Empress Dowager realized instantly. No wonder, the boy's eyes were as cold as cold springs.It's just... It's exactly the same as the person in memory!

"Could it be...could it be...that person! No...it's impossible!" The Queen Mother kept persuading herself from the bottom of her heart, that person, but decades ago, had already...besides, it was just facial features and demeanor Just a little bit similar.

Thinking of this, the Queen Mother couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She first had a good impression of this young man whom she met for the first time. In addition, she seemed to have an indescribable intimacy with him, and a smile appeared on her face. smiled.

Seeing that the young man was dressed in plain clothes, except for a silver shell pocket watch and accessories hanging on the skirt, he didn't have any rings on his body. He really looked like a mother who had passed away not long ago and was keeping a filial piety. His affection for him increased even more. a bit.

While they were looking at Yongfan, Xia Yongfan was also looking at them. The other party was a woman. He just glanced at him and didn't dare to look any further. Just seeing He Shun's cautious and respectful look, he knew that the identities of the three women in front of him were absolute. Extraordinary, so I secretly kept my heart.

Gently put down the paintbrush, Yong Fan came to the Empress Dowager, bowed slightly and said: "Hello, old lady, hello, ladies. Do you want to rest in the small pavilion, I have finished painting , go out now, old lady please."

Then he nodded slightly to He Shun and said: "Director He, the portrait of the concubine has been painted, and it can be framed and handed over to the concubine."

He spoke neither humble nor overbearing, and there was a refined temperament between his words, neither the timidity of flattery nor the arrogance of a noble man, but he was very clear.

The queen mother saw that Yongfan was very generous, but she was very polite, facing the two young and beautiful Gege beside her, she just passed by without looking at it, so she couldn't help but secretly nodded.

"I, an old lady, bother you. Just now, I heard He Shun say that there is a painter who is proficient in western painting in the palace, and he is painting the portrait of the concubine. Even the prince and Castiglione from Ruyi Pavilion praised him a lot. I was curious for a while, but I didn't expect that I was in the Qing Dynasty. Apart from Castiglione, there is actually someone who is proficient in Western painting skills, so I want to come and have a look." The queen mother saw Yong Fan respectfully passing by and let herself into the small pavilion to rest, her eyes were very dignified, and she did not look at herself and the two. Wei Gege looked at it a few more times, and couldn't help but secretly nodded, his tone seemed very kind.But the queen mother is the queen mother after all, and the emperor's biological mother, the most noble woman in the entire Qing Dynasty, so although her tone of voice is gentle, she has a lingering aloofness, as if she can talk to Yongfan kindly, yes What a high honor he is generally.

Yong Fan saw their extraordinary demeanor, and He Shun, the chief executive of the palace, also bowed down respectfully to follow behind, and he had already paid attention to them.Today is the grand concubine's birthday, and no one would dare to wander around in the palace at this time, even if it is a noble lady of the palace.In addition, when the old lady mentioned the concubine, she didn't show the slightest respect, so she dealt with it even more carefully.

Thinking of this, Yong Fan saluted gracefully, and said with a slight smile: "The old lady is absurd! Yong Fan only has a superficial understanding of Western painting skills, how dare he compare with the painter Castiglione of Ruyi Museum. Look at the old lady's It also looks very well-informed, so here is my humble work, and I would like to ask the old lady to appreciate it."

"I don't dare to be appreciative. The young master's painting skills can be praised by Castiglione, which is extraordinary. The old lady doesn't know how to paint, but she dare not talk nonsense." The Queen Mother nodded with satisfaction. He is not arrogant or impetuous, and he is very humble in his words.Although I heard that he came from a low family background and is a Han Chinese, but his etiquette and speech are very good. It is a pity that he was not born in the noble family of the Manchu Eight Banners, otherwise it would be good to study with some emperor's grandson.

Hmph, even this painter is a hundred times better than the two sons of the Fu family!I don't know what the emperor thinks, even if he let the son of a slave in clothes to accompany the most valued prince to read, he is not afraid to make Yong Qi a joke!It's all caused by Lingfei's vixen!Huixian went to the palace, and now there is a concubine Ling, it really doesn't stop!

When Yong Fan saw this rather benevolent old woman in front of him, a faint glint flashed in his eyes suddenly, showing a certain majesty.He couldn't help frowning secretly, and was even more startled. He didn't know the identity of the queen mother, but saw that although the queen mother was an old lady, she behaved with a noble air, which he had never seen before. The look in her eyes just now was even more It was to show off his majesty, so he couldn't help but become more careful.

Yong Fan lowered his head, concealed the hidden doubts in his eyes, pointed to the canvas and said: "The old lady's movements are full of dignity, which shows that her status is noble and extraordinary. It is Yong Fan's blessing to be able to get the old lady's guidance. "

After the queen mother finished speaking, she turned her head to look at the painting, and her eyes could not help but light up.It really is lifelike!The queen mother pointed at the canvas and said in surprise: "Chang Shining's praise is indeed true. Mr. Xia's brushwork not only has the essence of Western painting techniques, but also can innovate. Compared with Castiglione, it is not inferior."

In fact, the royal family of the Qing Dynasty had the habit of painting portraits of emperors and concubines, but no matter how skilled the painters were, the characters they painted had the same look and temperament.Even Castiglione, who is proficient in Western painting skills, could not break away from this frame. Therefore, the portraits of the Qing palace seen in later generations, no matter how beautiful or ugly the people in the paintings, look like they were carved out of a mold, dignified is dignified , but it looks like a wooden man.

But this painting by Yongfan is much different. The canvas depicts the whole body of Concubine Yugui. There is a white cat lying on the knees on the wooden floor. She combs the hair of the white cat with a jade comb in a loving and leisurely manner. Although she does not have that kind of dignified temperament, she captures the moment of the concubine's kindness and leisurely caress. .

Moreover, Yong Fan used Western light and shade painting techniques in this painting. Layers of oil paint are layered on the painting, and the whole picture has distinct layers. He also pays attention to the change of light and shade and the composition and matching of shadows. The picture looks three-dimensional. The sense of reality does not look flat like oriental ink paintings, and cannot highlight the facial features of the characters.

Chinese painting does not pay attention to perspective, while Western painting pays great attention to perspective.Perspective is the representation of three-dimensional objects on a plane.Western painting strives to resemble the real thing, so it pays great attention to perspective.Just look at the streets, houses, furniture, utensils, etc. in Western paintings. The shapes are all correct, just like the real thing.If you want to describe the scene of the corridor, you can show the distance of several feet in a few inches.If you want to describe the frontal railway (viewed from the center of the railway), you can show the distance of several miles in a few inches.Chinese painting is not the same. They don't like to draw three-dimensional objects such as streets, houses, furniture, utensils, etc., but prefer to describe objects that look like natural flat objects from a distance, such as clouds, mountains, trees, and waterfalls.Occasionally depicting house utensils does not pay attention to perspective, but expresses arbitrarily.

In fact, when it comes to painting skills, Yong Fan may not be comparable to Castiglione, but the era in which he lived in his previous life was an era when a hundred schools of thought were contending, and various painting skills were becoming mature, and he himself had the vision of breaking the stereotypes of modern people.Compared with the current painters, the painting skills are much more advanced, so it will make people feel refreshed.

The Empress Dowager liked it very much after seeing it, and exclaimed, "Master Xia's painting skills are really unconventional. I, an old woman, like it very much. I wonder if I can ask Mr. Xia to make some paintings for me?"

"It is Yong Fan's honor to be able to paint for the old lady, but Yong Fan is still filial, I am afraid it is a bit unlucky. This time, I am grateful to the prince for not giving up, and I have no scruples about these things, but I don't know the old lady..."

"It doesn't matter..." The Empress Dowager smiled slightly, she was still thinking about whether to recruit Yongfan into the Ruyi Pavilion to serve the royal family, but when she turned her head to look at Yongfan's inscription in the lower corner of the canvas, her expression changed again.