pdf-ebookys Chapter 997 Shen Zhinian's Evidence
Chapter 997 Shen Zhinian's Evidence
Princess Yun'an didn't want to talk anymore and just watched quietly. How could Concubine Chen make excuses?
Faced with the questions from these young officials, Shen Zhinian did not get angry.
Her calm appearance made Princess Yun'an's impatient look seem somewhat hateful.
The Great Zhou had a glass lens that could magnify the image, allowing people to observe more carefully. Later, Jiang Wange improved it and turned it into a more convenient magnifying glass.
Shen Zhinian took the magnifying glass from an elder and placed it on a branch of the painting "Fishing Alone on a Cold River" so that people could see the strokes more clearly. He said slowly, "Please look, my lords!"
"The crab claw texture of the plum branch here, and the trembling brushstrokes at the beginning, are different from the original if you look closely."
"Master Yu Bai is good at using the side edge to turn the center edge. Whenever he draws branches, there will be a slight natural pause at the fork, forming a nail-head-like brushstroke. If you don't observe carefully, it's hard to see."
"Although the copyist deliberately imitated the brushwork of Master Yu Bai, he exposed his own habits when turning the wrist strength. The end of each branch has a subtle upward arc. It can be seen that when this person was learning to paint, he used the technique of hanging the wrist and closing the tip of the brush."
"And here..."
Shen Zhinian moved the magnifying glass to another place and continued, "What's more secretive is the dots on the petals."
"The cinnabar color of each petal of the original painting has three gradient levels from dark to light. However, the copyist's finger strength is not as good as Master Yu Bai's, so the strength is weakened when he paints the second time, resulting in a small color mass accumulation in the center of the flower, forming a blurred dead corner that is completely different from the original painting."
Shen Zhinian couldn't help but feel a little fortunate that the lover in her previous life was a descendant of Master Yu Bai, who regarded the original copy of "Fishing Alone on a Cold River" as more important than his own life!
Therefore, every time he introduced her, he was very proud and spoke very carefully.
In addition, Shen Zhinian was also interested in national treasures. Over time, he remembered every detail of "Fishing Alone on the Cold River" clearly.
If it were any other ancient painting, she wouldn't be completely clueless, but at least she wouldn't be able to see much...
Although these cabinet ministers and university scholars were far superior to Shen Zhinian in literary attainments and knew more about identifying ancient paintings than she did, none of them had ever seen the original "Fishing Alone on a Cold River" and naturally did not understand it as well as she did.
After hearing Shen Zhinian's words, the elders and grand secretaries gathered around her, using magnifying glasses to carefully look at the details she had just mentioned.
"This... is just as Concubine Chen said. The upward angle of the end of this branch is a little bigger."
"Also here, there are indeed accumulations of color. But all the differences are too subtle... If it weren't for Concubine Chen pointing it out, I'm afraid no one would have noticed it."
At this moment, an elder looked at Shen Zhinian with less contempt than before: "The Royal Concubine Chen is indeed very observant!"
He also thought that the concubines in the harem were a group of ignorant people who were useless except for being jealous and competing for the emperor's favor.
I didn’t expect that Concubine Chen’s attainments in ancient paintings are even better than theirs!
Shen Zhinian didn't dare to accept this compliment.
After all, she only knew "Fishing Alone on a Cold River" and didn't know other ancient paintings. What if she got the title of a master of appreciation today and someone asked her to appraise other ancient paintings in the future?
Wouldn't she be exposed then...
Therefore, Shen Zhinian shook his head and said humbly: "Your Excellency is too kind."
"I just like Master Yu Bai's works, and I just happen to know more about 'Fishing Alone on a Cold River'. If you ask me to look at other ancient paintings, I won't be able to explain them."
Little did they know that the more Shen Zhinian showed this attitude, the more people felt that Concubine Chen was being modest.
Not only is she charming and beautiful, she is also extremely talented and humble. No wonder His Majesty dotes on Concubine Chen so much!
The young Hanlin scholars all looked at Shen Zhinian with a thirst for knowledge.
It turns out that they have read the books of sages for so many years, but in some aspects, they are not as good as the concubines in the harem.
It is true that there is always a teacher among three people!
It seems that they will have to be more humble and seek advice in the future.
Gu Jinxiao sat behind the banquet table, his expression calm and his eyes cold. When he looked at Shen Zhinian, a flash of surprise flashed across his eyes...
Not to mention those unfamiliar people, even Nangong Xuanyu's eyes when he looked at Shen Zhinian at this moment were obviously bright!
In the past, he always thought that Nian Nian only knew how to play chess and embroider, but he didn't expect that her talent was so extraordinary!
She hid it so deeply.
The gentle expression of King Jin changed slightly, and his originally firm heart began to waver again...
However, at this moment, he was more excited than worried...
No one noticed that tonight, when those gentle eyes fell on Shen Zhinian, they actually revealed a strange excitement...
good! good!
He used to think that Concubine Chen was cunning and scheming, but he didn't expect that she would give him another surprise!
His hands started to itch!
Compared to an interesting beauty like Concubine Chen, Prince Jin suddenly felt that the women in the mansion were no longer interesting to fight with.
Concubine Chun couldn't help but focus on Prince Jin.
Her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Others didn't notice that Concubine Chun knew His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin so well that she certainly saw the look in her eyes when she looked at Shen Zhinian. It was clearly the excitement that one would have when looking at prey!
Do not! Do not!
She doesn't love His Majesty, so no matter how much His Majesty favors Concubine Chen, she doesn't feel anything in her heart.
But she could never allow His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin to be interested in Concubine Chen!
She would not allow the beatings that belonged to her to fall on Concubine Chen one day!
At this moment, Concubine Chun clenched her fingers slightly under her sleeves, and the blue veins on the back of her hands slowly burst out.
Princess Yun'an frowned, not understanding how something that was supposed to be concluded had turned out like this?
She absolutely did not believe that Concubine Chen, who came from a humble background, had such great abilities.
Princess Yun'an's eyes were full of contempt. She looked at Shen Zhinian coldly and said, "No one present has ever seen the original painting of 'Fishing Alone on a Cold River', so naturally they don't know the differences in some details. How can we know that Concubine Chen didn't notice this and deliberately made it up."
"Empress Chen, do you have any other evidence?"
Shen Zhinian smiled slightly: "Of course there is more."
As she spoke, she placed the magnifying glass on another part of the painting "Fishing Alone on a Cold River": "Please continue to look."
"Master Yu Bai always uses three strokes in a group to draw pine needles, radiating like wheel spokes, and his brushstrokes are as sharp as cutting iron."
“Although the copyist imitated the form, he usually used the Jiangnan School technique of five strokes in a cluster. The pine needles on the lower right side of this painting seem to be exactly the same, but if you look closely, you can find that there is an extra hook at the end of the third stroke.”
“And the texture of the rocks is also different.”