Chapter 430 (1/2)
Chapter 430: The Buyer from South Jin Kingdom
Chu Youxian fanned himself pleasedly and felt proud . The people in the Stone House attic sighed in admiration, especially the Tangs, who felt honored to have a calligrapher come from them . One said that they had never seen such a young Grand Calligrapher . One mentioned that Sir Ning's calligraphy was the greatest in a thousand years . One regarded flower blooms section as the best cursive calligraphy section out there while another said that it was the Chicken Soup Calligraphy that deserved to be called the best cursive calligraphy .
Ning Que felt uncomfortable listening to these compliments . He might be thick-skinned, and had always been confident in his own calligraphy . But the reason why the praise made him feel a little uneasy was that his love towards calligraphy was true and he knew it clearly that he did not deserve such exaggerated praise yet .
He knew that his writing was decent, even excellent . It was of a great standard in today's world . But he would not have achieved his status nowadays if not for the Lucky Chances that he had back then, when he was an idiotic teenager who had written down the five characters ”The Flower Blooms on the Sh.o.r.e Astride” which got the mad love of the emperor . And thanks to Master Yan Se and the Academy, his calligraphy came to be known and admired by so many famous calligraphers .
He thought about the spring rain in Chang'an at that time . His calligraphy, hung on the walls of the Old Brush Pen Shop, witnessed that people pa.s.sing by despised and distained them . There were days when they did not even have one customer . Only Chao Xiaoshu held an umbrella and stood outside their threshold with a smile . Chao Xiaoshu knew it well that most of time, reputation was something attached on the appearance, just like the make-up on women's faces .
However, no matter how sober Ning Que was, and no matter how calm he was after his self-reflection, he could not remain sober and calm when the people in the attic of the Stone House began praising him after hearing Zhong Li's words . The normal looking calligraphy sections were brought up to the platform by a girl who had taken Lu Xue's place as the most favored girl in the House of Red Sleeves for the time being . Then, the calligraphy sections went to their new owners in the frantic bidding .
Ning Que quickly calculated how much he would earn from the rapidly rising figure . He realized that as long as the Chicken Soup Calligraphy could be sold at a good price, it would be sufficient for his needs . He could not help but smirk, and antic.i.p.ated that Grand Secretary w.a.n.g would spend a huge amount of money on those sections .
As long as his reputation could earn him money, and as long as he could earn enough money, he did not care whether this reputation was inflated or not . The shame and unease were just like flying ashes and dissolving smoke .
Chu Youxian caught a glimpse of his expression and felt that Ning Que's smile was a little odd . He shuddered and whispered to him, ”What are you going to do? Which one are you going to buy? The Chicken Soup Calligraphy?”
He seemed to have made a great decision and said in a wobbly voice, ”I took 50,000 taels of silver with me today . ”
Ning Que was shocked and he looked at Chu Youxian, asking, ”50,000? Why did you take so much money?”
Chu Youxian replied, ”My father gave it to me . ”
Ning Que grew even more surprised . He asked, ”Your father is really going to buy? He does not have to do this . I can write him a few and he can just give me a few thousand taels of silver . ”
Chu Youxian thought Ning Que was being polite . He said with a worried expression, ”I only found out later that my family sold half of our lands for me to enter the Academy . We really don't have any more money . ”
Ning Que explained impatiently, ”Which calligraphy in this world could sell for 100,000 taels? Even the best ink is not made of gold, nor is the best paper made of jade . The famous Night calligraphy by the Master of Calligrapher only sold for 8000 tales of silver . Do you think I am a deity?”
Apparently, he did not know that the auctioneer, Zhong Li, had planned to sell the Chicken Soup Calligraphy for 30,000 taels of silver .
The girl from the House of Red Sleeves walked up to the platform slowly with a heavy sandalwood table . The girl whose appearance was so beautiful that it made those who saw her forget their worldly desires, walked like a dancing willow . However, the gazes of those in the attic did not stay on her but landed on the memo paper on the table .
The memo was carefully trimmed by the appraisers Stone House . It was not exaggerated, and added a sense of mysteriousness to it . A memo was no more than a memo . But to others, this memo was not just a memo, but an expensive note or a tiny country .
The girl had obviously felt that no one in the Stone House was looking at her but at the memo she carried . However, she did not look annoyed or appear indifferent to it . She lifted her chin and looked considerably prouder compared to the previously gentle image she presented .
Everyone in Chang'an knew of the relations.h.i.+p between Ning Que and the House of Red Sleeves . This legendary calligraphy section was written by Ning Que in the House of Red Sleeves after he got drunk .
She was a girl of the House of Red Sleeves and was naturally proud of that fact .
All was silent in the attic, and only the sounds of the lake breeze caressing willow trees from afar could be heard .
Then, there were sounds of heavy breathing .
Everyone stared at the section on the table .
Everyone knew that the origins of this Chicken Soup Calligraphy and the legendary stories behind this section . They had already known that the last auction piece from the Old Brush Pen Shop was the Chicken Soup Calligraphy . However, they still could not hide their shock when finally seeing the genuine copy of the Chicken Soup Calligraphy .
The silence continued . Compared to the auction of the previous six calligraphy sections, the silence now seemed even odder . It felt as if everyone was waiting for something .
Auctioneer Zhong Li stood on the platform calmly and silently . He did not introduce the Chicken Soup Calligraphy or ask of the opinions of the bidders . He allowed the silence to stew and wasn't worried about the atmosphere of the auction .
Having never seen such a scene, Ning Que was a little worried .
He worried that the silence would last for too long and the Chicken Soup Calligraphy might not sell at a high price . He had sacrificed quite a bit to sooth Grand Secretary w.a.n.g's hurt feelings .
Chu Youxian could vaguely guess why Ning Que had come to the auction today . He also had an idea that the theft at Old Brush Pen Shop was but just a rumor . He whispered, ”Do you want me to start bidding?”
Ning Que thought about it and said, ”Hang on, I know that the steward of Grand Secretary w.a.n.g would definitely bid even if no one does now . ”
He recalled something and frowned . He said, ”I am just worried that the emperor had heard of this and sent out a message so no one would dare to bid on this . ”