latelenovela Chapter 351 Painting
Chapter 351 Painting
Once something happens, it will happen again, and once it happens, it will happen a third time. From then on, Luo An spoke normally, although he spoke very little; he also laughed often, although he rarely laughed loudly; and he was noticeably closer to Guan Lingyue than before.
Luo Qing was pleased, and the Emperor was even more pleased. The Emperor specially summoned Guan Lingyue to the palace and bestowed upon her a multitude of gifts, including giant clams from the South China Sea, pearls from the North, jade from the West, jadeite from the East, and even kingfisher feathers from foreign lands, not to mention gold and silver.
These things were unimportant to Guan Lingyue, but the Emperor's great favor was actually a way of showing everyone that even though Guan Lingyue was not formally married and did not wear a phoenix coronet and wedding robes, she was still the Lady of the Luo family.
The Emperor also told Guan Lingyue that Luo An would come to the palace next year to accompany the Crown Prince to school. The Emperor had mentioned this twice, but Luo Qing had not yet expressed his opinion. When Guan Lingyue returned, she told Luo Qing about the schooling. Seeing Guan Lingyue's excited expression, Luo Qing couldn't refuse, and the matter was settled.
One day, Luo An returned home from school with a painting. The tutor said that poetry and painting are one, and that they should create their own paintings with accompanying poems based on the new poems they had learned that day. Luo An brought his painting back to Guan Lingyue.
Guan Lingyue was overjoyed and pulled Luo Qing to explain the meaning of the painting: "My lord, this lotus flower is you, this one is me, this one is our young master An Sheng, and the youngest one is our little Xin Xin."
"Sir, I think An Sheng is a child prodigy. When I was his age, I couldn't even hold a pen properly, let alone write or draw. Even now that I'm this age, I still can't draw like that. He's really amazing!"
Luo An felt even happier because Guan Lingyue understood him and praised him so much.
Looking at the smile on Luo An's face and in his eyes, Luo Qing thought: This is fine too!
Guan Lingyue looked at it again and again, then touched Luo An's little face: "I have to find the best craftsman to frame this fine painting and hang it in the hall so I can look at it every day."
Luo Anxin was Luo An's little follower; whenever Luo An came back, she would follow him around. She couldn't speak clearly yet, and anxiously tugged at Luo An's clothes, saying, "Look...look..."
Guan Lingyue squatted down and pointed to it for Luo Anxin: "This smallest one is you. Mom will frame it and hang it on the wall so you can see it every day. Oh, Xiao Ansheng, you forgot to write your name on it."
Luo An spoke briefly: "The Grand Tutor will not allow it."
Guan Lingyue immediately stood up for her: "Why? You painted so well, why didn't the Grand Tutor allow it? Is he jealous of you?"
Luo Qing explained, "The name isn't just randomly chosen; it wouldn't be good if someone picked it up."
If a painting from the palace were to be sold, what would be sold wouldn't be the painting itself, but the name on it.
Guan Lingyue reacted quickly: "It's okay. When Xiao Ansheng becomes a great painter, he won't need to listen to the Grand Tutor anymore."
Happy times always pass quickly, and before we knew it, it was the Dragon Boat Festival, and the grand dragon boat races were held as scheduled. Naturally, Guan Lingyue would take her children to join in the fun during such a festival.
Hong Hua said, "Your father takes your safety very seriously. He usually sends people to protect you when you go out. The coachman is also a disciple of Lord Xia, the number one coachman in Dongyang."
Madam Luo possessed some martial arts skills and, believing that your father held a high position and was untouchable in Bianjing, insisted on not having anyone attend to you. Before the Dragon Boat Festival, the coachman's mother fell seriously ill and needed care, so he resigned and returned to his hometown.
As fate would have it, a friend that Madam Luo had met during her travels came to Bianjing to find her, hoping Madam Luo could use her connections to find her a job. Madam Luo then recommended that man to Luo Qing as a coachman.
Guan Lingyue's thought was that since it wasn't convenient to ask Luo An for other favors, having him be her coachman wouldn't be considered using connections and wouldn't put Luo Qing in a difficult position. Seeing Guan Lingyue's expectant look, Luo Qing acquiesced.
Who could have known that such an accident would occur on the return journey? The king was furious and immediately threw the crippled coachman into the hunting grounds to be eaten by wolves.
After the incident, Luo Qing devoted herself to taking care of Guan Lingyue, while the Crown Prince brought Luo An back to the palace to care for him. On the very night Guan Lingyue left, Luo An began to have a high fever, and the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician was of no use.
By daybreak, Luo An's little face was flushed red, and even his breath was hot. Zhao Ziyu was worried, so she discussed with the Crown Prince about sending Luo An back.
Luo Qing was sitting by the fishpond in a daze when she saw Zhao Ziyu carrying Luo An over and asked, "Is your wound healed?"
Given Guan Lingyue's mindset at the time, she probably didn't want to see Luo An. A head injury and bleeding are not uncommon for a child, and Luo Qing was relieved that Luo An would receive more meticulous care in the palace.
Zhao Ziyu brought the child to him: "The wound is nothing serious, it will be fine in a while. It's just that he suddenly had a fever last night, and he's not very lucid right now."
Luo An had a fever for three days straight, delirious and talking incoherently. Luo Qing held him all day, finally breaking down in tears: "An Sheng, I beg you, please get better, you must get better..."
Just when all hope seemed lost, a Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain said that Luo An was possessed by a vengeful spirit and that he could perform a ritual to remove it.
Desperate times call for desperate measures; in this situation, Luo Qing was willing to try anything.
That Taoist priest was quite skilled. He drew a Bagua diagram in Guan Lingyue's room, placed Luo An in the very center, closed the door, and performed a ritual for three days and three nights.
On the third day, the Taoist priest brought the child out and said to Luo Qing, who had been guarding the door without moving an inch, "Don't worry, sir. The child's fever has subsided. From now on, you just need to move the child to a sunny room."
Luo Qing immediately collapsed in front of the Taoist priest, and before she could even say thank you, she fainted.
The emperor naturally wanted to bestow rewards, but the Taoist refused, saying, "A subject cannot serve two masters. I came here on the orders of the Empress, how can I accept rewards from Dongyang?" After saying this, he drifted away.
Guan Lingyue's room was locked, and no one who knew about it was allowed to approach. The Emperor arranged for them to stay in the courtyard furthest from Guan Lingyue's room, a sunny spot, and even planted many peach trees in the courtyard.
Luo Qing lay in bed for more than half a month before her body recovered. After recovering, she found that Luo An had returned to his old self, neither crying nor making a fuss, neither laughing nor speaking.
Later, Luo Qing personally went to Guanjia Village to look for Guan Lingyue, but returned empty-handed and had given up. He then sent someone to Guanjia Village to find Guan Lingyue, intending to send her money.
After all, Guan Lingyue only took the painting with her when she left; she didn't take anything valuable, not even the hairpin that the emperor had given her.
Luo Qing knew that Guan Lingyue, though seemingly shameless in the underworld, was still proud at heart. This incident shattered Guan Lingyue's pride, and she would never be able to overcome that hurdle within herself.
If Guan Lingyue had listened to Luo Qing and brought her own attendants, and if Guan Lingyue hadn't taken it upon herself to change the coachman, things might not have gotten this bad.
Guan Lingyue lost her own daughter while trying to save Luo An. Unable to help but resent Luo An, she physically assaulted him, and their relationship could never be the same again.
Later, Luo An's high fever could be considered an accident or coincidence by Luo Qing, but others, at least the Emperor, wouldn't think that way. Even if we assume the high fever was caused by Guan Lingyue...