Tranquility

After the new year, Tangning is already 21 years old.

At the age of 21, Tang Ning finally walked out of the small county town of his hometown and stepped onto the stage of his life, showing his peerless elegance.

Xu Lian prepared a bunch of luggage for him as usual, but this time, no friends went on the road with him.The only ones who followed him to the capital were the Tao Ping brothers and sisters, and of course Xiao Hei who was sleeping soundly in his arms.

When Tang Ning and his party arrived in the capital, there was still more than half a month before Chun Wei. There was enough time for him to calmly adjust his state, attend parties, and inquire about news.

This time, he didn't stay at the inn, but directly lived in the Lin Mansion. With the huge contacts of the Lin family, there was no need for him to inquire about the news.

Tangning had just settled down and rested for a day when she found Lin Qingyu and told him what Mrs. Zhang and Tao Ping had said.

Lin Qingyu sneered again and again, thinking that the cold-faced him could hardly maintain his calm mask, so he immediately called Tao Ping for questioning.

Although Lin Qingyu looked the same as Tangning, his scheming was much higher than Tangning's. Even cutting and beating, a stoic and determined person like Tao Ping couldn't stand it, and quickly missed everything he should say. .

It turned out that the bandits that Tao Ping took refuge in really colluded with the government and businessmen, and only robbed the enemies of the Ding family.

Therefore, the Ding family wanted to kill Lin Wanyu, but Lin Wanyu was so beautiful that he was so fascinated by the Ding family that he would marry her even if he turned against the Ding family.That's why the Ding family joined forces with the government to kill them up the mountain to silence them.

And Lin Wanyu was not rescued by Tao Ping halfway through her escape. When the three of them were locked up, the maid beside her had already persuaded Tao Ping. With Lin Wanyu, he changed clothes with the young lady, let Tao Ping run away overnight with the unconscious Lin Wanyu on his back, and told Tao Ping that Nanny has sentenced her to death.Later, I don't know what the maid and the nanny said, but in the end the maid was burned to death in the scuffle, and the nanny came forward to testify that the body was her own lady.

That's why Tao Ping didn't go to the local county government office after escaping, but went directly to the capital.

Tangning was stunned. He trusted Tao Ping. How could he not believe a person who was kind to him and he was kind to him? When Tao Ping told him back then, his words were sincere and his expression was sincere. Not at all right.

Tangning was very angry. He was not only angry with Tao Ping's deceit, but also angry with himself for being immature.If he hadn't listened to Mrs. Zhang's words earlier, he would have thought that his mother was really unlucky and caught by bandits. At that time, he thought it was Tao Ping who didn't know the relationship between bandits and Ding's family.He asked Tao Ping why he didn't tell the truth.

Tao Ping is silent, he also has his own difficulties, he has been in prison for decades, these decades have already smoothed his spirit, let him deeply understand what power is, what is rank, so the government has become his An insurmountable obstacle in the heart.

Tang Ning was at an impulsive age, he didn't want Tang Ning to confront the rich Ding family in order to avenge her mother.

He didn't dare to tell the truth until now when he found out that Tangning was not a lonely young man, and Ms. Lin's elder brother was powerful.

In the end, Tangning forgave Tao Ping. Tao Ping's matter taught him a good lesson. It turns out that many things in this world are not pure. Everyone has their own position and selfishness, even if his selfishness is for your own good. .

Maybe only people like Zhao Qian have the purest feelings for others. Tangning thought so, but for some reason, Xie Baiyun suddenly appeared in his mind, well, there is also Xie Baiyun.

Speaking of friends, Jin Yongfu is now in business, Zhao Qian is out, now Tangning's only friends in the capital are Xie Baiyun and Fu Jiayan.

And Tangning avoided Xie Baiyun, so since she lived in the Lin residence, only Fu Jiayan came to visit frequently.

Fu Jiayan is warm and cheerful, loves to talk but can't speak, he often offends his colleagues and superiors with his mouth, but fortunately he has a clear mind and does things properly, but he can't control his mouth. After getting along for a long time, people around him know who he is Well, for the sake of his being a good person and doing things, if he is more lenient, he will not care about his nonsense, and he will not say anything if he is not lenient.

Today, Tang Ning was studying the examiner's materials sent by Lin Qingyu in his study. The examiner turned out to be Mr. Xu Yuan and Xu Ge.

It stands to reason that after the fraud case in the last subject, the chief examiner of this subject would not be Xu Yuan, a hardcore Gaopu party. Looking at the other deputy examiners, they are very average, with various influences.

It seems that the selection of examiners this time must have gone through a fierce battle, and Xu Yuan is obviously a candidate acceptable to all forces. Gao Pu is a party.

It can be seen that Xu Yuan, no matter whether he is a gentleman or a hypocrite, is not simple.

Tangning was thinking about what kind of person Xu Yuan was, when she was interrupted by the servant, and Fu Jiayan, who was behind the servant, was beaming with joy. Before the servant could finish speaking, she stepped into the study.

"Zian, good news, Qiao Hanyun, do you know?"

Tang Ning pondered for a while, and said, "Qiao Hanyun, the son of Qiao Geng, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, is a beauty who is good at fine brushwork. When I was learning painting, Mr. even used his paintings to explain." ——Although he didn't see it from his paintings at the time. In the end, I had to look at Master Huiyi's Seven Beauties to understand the meaning of the painting.

"It's him. He recently got a piece of Master Huiyi's "Nine Heavens Ring Peitu". He is very proud of it. He plans to invite some close friends to appreciate it tomorrow. If the guests also have Master Huiyi's painting, they can also take it with them. Everyone Let's taste together. He has heard about you a long time ago, but he just saw that you are going to prepare for the Spring Festival recently, and he intends to invite you, but he doesn't know if you will participate. He knows that I have a good relationship with you, so let me tell you. "

When Tangning heard that it was Master Huiyi's painting, her eyes lit up and she asked, "Who did he invite? Are there any rules?"

"It's all a bunch of mobs. Except for Qiao Hanyun who has some skills, few of them really know how to paint. To be honest, I advise you not to go. Qiao Hanyun is very proud because of her talent, and she can't look down on others. Better than yourself. I think he must not be convinced that you draw better than him, so he invites you, and maybe it will make things difficult for you. If it weren’t for the fact that his father is my boss, I would not be willing to pass this on talk."

Saying that, Fu Jiayan curled his lips again, "As for the rules, there is only one rule, which is to support him. The reason why such an arrogant person like him associates with those people is because they will support him. If you want to take this opportunity , to break into the literati circle in the capital, I advise you not to go. The literati look down on each other, how many literati who are really capable are not arrogant, why would you go to curry favor with him? I guess you are not happy, either?"

Fu Jiayan's words were really hurtful. Although the facts were true, don't say it so bluntly. He said "literati look down on each other" but Tangning was also involved.

Tangning knew him, so she didn't care about it. She took the post from him and said, "Go and tell him, I'm going to make an appointment tomorrow."

"No way, are you really going to curry favor with him?"

Tangning couldn't laugh or cry, "Of course not, it's just that Master Huiyi's paintings are very rare. I've been fascinated by famous paintings like "Nine Heavens Ring Peitu". Besides, some of the guests might bring Master Huiyi's paintings. It can also feast your eyes. Compared with this, who is present at the meeting is a trivial matter, at worst, I will ignore them and just concentrate on enjoying the painting."

The next day, Tangning picked out a painting by Master Huiyi from the Lin family's warehouse and rushed to Qiao's residence.The size of the painting he chose was very small, it was a branch of plum blossom, which looked plain, but it was the work of Master Huiyi at his peak after he became a monk.

It's not that there is nothing better than this in the Lin's warehouse, but Tangning considered that he was about to have a spring, and it was better to keep a low profile, and he also considered the people who participated in the painting appreciation, so he decided to choose this painting so as not to be looked down upon.

Tangning arrived not too early or too late. There were already some people whispering in the garden. He didn't rush to join in. He just stood quietly by the side. Fortunately, not long after, Fu Jiayan also arrived.

"Have you seen that fat man? Ding Guangqi, the second son of Ding Yun, the head of the Ministry of Industry, is ignorant. It is said that he brought Master Huiyi's "Picture of Embroidered Girls" this time. We will also open our eyes when the time comes." Fu Jiayan pointed In the distance, a fat man with a flattering smile whispered to Tangning.

"Ding Yun? But the rich Ding family?" Tangning narrowed her eyes.

"No, it is said that the imperial concubine in the palace is Ding Yun's cousin, and Ding Guangqi is the imperial concubine's cousin. But who doesn't know that the imperial concubine is a concubine, so they put gold on their faces."

While the two were talking, there was a commotion outside, and Qiao Hanyun came in surrounded by several people. He was holding a folding fan, and was wearing a moon-white and black overcoat. The state of Jin Fengliu.

When Qiao Hanyun approached Tangning, she suddenly stopped and looked Tangning up and down. Tangning smiled bitterly to herself. He was also wearing moon white today, with wide open sleeves, which was very similar to what Qiao Hanyun was wearing.

Tangning wore moon white because he was just a child and couldn't wear too much flamboyance, but he didn't expect Qiao Hanyun to dress so plainly. Now that the matter has come to an end, no matter what others think, it doesn't matter whether it's not a show or an imitation, he can only deal with it calmly .

"Tangning met Qiao Hanlin, thank you Qiao Hanlin for inviting Ning to appreciate the painting, this time Ning will really feast his eyes."

Qiao Hanyun nodded her chin, as if she was very satisfied with Tangning's attitude, she passed Tangning, greeted everyone, and then Shi Shiran sat on the main seat.

Everyone followed suit and began chatting to warm up the atmosphere.

Fu Jiayan sat next to Tangning, leaned over and whispered to Tangning through the small table.

"Did you see the scholar in Tsing Yi next to Qiao Hanyun? His name is Lin Zizhang, the second in the family. His grandfather and Lin Taifu's grandfather are brothers, but his grandfather is a concubine. Now, his bloodline is the closest to the direct line One. He is also going to participate in this section of Chunwei."

Fu Jiayan didn't mention Qiao Hanyun, but first specifically mentioned Lin Zizhang. The meaning was self-evident. How could Tangning not know it? It is said that the Lin family has been urging the adoptive heirs.

After chatting for a while, someone finally couldn't hold back, took out his own painting and hung it on a specially set up table for everyone to appreciate and comment on.

Some people started, and there were more people behind. These paintings are not large in size, the largest is no more than two feet, and they are still fakes. In fact, there are so many authentic works of Master Huiyi in a party of this level. The paintings were all fakes, and Tangning's paintings were mixed in, so they weren't conspicuous. Those people just boasted casually, just look at it and let it go.This made Tangning doubt whether they could tell the truth from the fake.

It took a lot of time to appreciate the paintings, and finally ended with Ding Guangqi's large "Embroidered Girl Picture".

Master Huiyi's pictures of beauties before he became a monk were mostly themed on elegant arts such as musical instruments, calligraphy, painting, singing and dancing, and there were very few pictures featuring female celebrities like "The Picture of Embroidered Girls". In fact, before that, Tang Ning I don't know that Master Huiyi still has this picture, but the ancient information is very underdeveloped. It's hard to tell exactly what kind of paintings a painter has, so Tangning didn't care when he first heard about it.

Now, he scanned the "Picture of Embroidered Girls" and knew that the painting was fake without a second glance. Although he had an enmity with the Ding family, he would not expose him in a disappointing manner and spoil everyone's happiness.

Concubine Degui has been in power for a long time, and the first prince married the eldest daughter of Gao Pu, and she is the only adult prince who got a job; the second prince is weak, and has not yet married a wife, so he has not participated in political affairs; Young and low.

As long as the eldest prince is around, the Ding family will not be able to fall, and there is no rush for revenge.

But he didn't want to cause trouble, but trouble came to him automatically.

Ever since Ding Guangqi saw Tangning, his mouse eyes almost stuck to him.

Qiao Hanyun was already the prettiest person Ding Guangqi had ever met, but compared to Tangning, she was far worse.

Originally, Ding Guangqi wanted to use "The Picture of Embroidered Girls" to win Tangning's favor, but Tangning lost interest after just one glance.

"Zian, what's your opinion on my painting?" As he spoke, his chubby body pushed Fu Jiayan away, almost touching Tangning's cheek.

Tangning's face turned dark when he called him Zi'an, and then she felt the heat radiating from her cheeks, and her face turned dark again, like a pig panting on his face. Tangning was disgusted.Xie Baiyun also did this kind of thing, but in comparison, he would rather be Xie Baiyun.

Tang Ning was about to get up to avoid it, when she happened to bump into the other's fan-like palm. The paw was intended to touch his face, but Tang Ning got up and slapped her chest, and Tang Ning was slapped back on the chair by that palm.

"Hey!" Xiao Hei, who was sleeping in a pocket on Tangning's chest, let out a scream, and suffered a catastrophe.

Tangning felt distressed and annoyed at the same time, she quickly took out Xiao Hei, took a closer look, and was relieved to find that Xiao Hei was fine.

"Huh? What a small monkey? It's really interesting. I wonder if Zi'an can borrow my brother to enjoy it for two days?"

Tangning was so angry that she couldn't bear it any longer. Then she thought that the other party was from the Ding family. Impulsively, she stood up, pointed to "The Picture of Embroidered Girls" and said bluntly, "This painting is a fake!"