Chapter 39: Painting for Lady Wang
Painter Liao sighed, “In the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing, our dynasty achieved a great victory against the Japanese pirates. Since then, there have been no Japanese incursions, and this was the foremost military achievement. His Majesty was greatly pleased and ordered me to create a painting to be permanently displayed in the Hanlin Academy’s painting department, to remind future generations, for all time, not to forget foreign aggression. This old man remembers it well, remembers it well.”
I listened, utterly bewildered. What did the war against the Japanese pirates have to do with me?
Painter Liao then asked, “May I ask, Madam, in what year were you born?”
I bowed and replied, “This junior was born in the thirty-ninth year of Jiajing.”
He stroked his beard and shook his head, “No, no. It seems this old man is indeed getting old. Immersed in painting landscapes, my memory has deteriorated, and I’m speaking nonsense. I apologize for the disturbance, Madam, please forgive me.”
I quickly said, “You are too kind, Senior.”
The head eunuch of the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility hurried over to call, “Painter Liao, hurry along. The Empress Dowager and Princess Pingning are waiting for you.”
“Yes, yes, yes.” Painter Liao followed the eunuch and walked away.
I stared blankly at his retreating figure.
Feng Gao called out, “Elder Sister, Elder Sister—”
I snapped back to reality.
His deep eyes held a look of understanding. “Elder Sister, I know you are troubled by your origins. You take to heart anything anyone says. But we children from the acrobatic troupe are all without parents, like rootless wild grass, scattered by the wind and fire. It’s hard to find our roots.”
That’s right.
What he said was not unreasonable.
In this world, if parents had any other way, how could they bear to send their children to such a torturous place?
Now, to find them is truly a hopeless endeavor.
I gave a wry smile.
Feng Gao thought for a long time and said, “Elder Sister, I’ve been searching for the troupe leader from back then for many years, but always without success. I drew his portrait and gave it to the hundred ‘Captains’ under the Eastern Depot. I’ve searched all the acrobatic troupes across the land, even going to Guangxi, Yunnan, and Mongolia, but found nothing. However, a few days ago, I suddenly heard news that his trace might have been found in a brothel in Jicheng. I’ve ordered my subordinates to search for him with all their might. There’s no result yet. Before I found him, I didn’t want to tell you, for fear of giving you false hope. But seeing you just now…”
He embraced me, his fair face like jade. “Elder Sister, please don’t be sad. No matter what, I am your family. I have an Elder Sister, so I don’t feel lonely. And please, Elder Sister, because of me, don’t be lonely.”
I looked at him.
Indeed, I couldn’t recall anything before recognizing the Zhu Family. But getting to know him again, even setting aside my past, his subsequent actions towards me, the warmth he gave me, were enough for me to regard him as a dear younger brother.
I said softly, “Don’t worry, Elder Sister is not sad.”
He smiled. “That’s good. If I can see Elder Sister happy every day, I will be happy too.”
Beneath his crimson and gold official robe, his body was thin and tall. Even when smiling, he carried a sense of melancholic beauty.
After a moment, the head eunuch from the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility returned, saying, “The Empress Dowager has suddenly decided to have a painter create a portrait of Lady Wang as well. Who is on duty as a painter today?”
The imperial eunuch from the Hall of Benevolence and Wisdom flipped through a ledger. “At that time, the Empress also summoned one person. All the painters on duty today have been summoned, only the newly arrived Painter Zhu is free.”
The head eunuch of the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility looked at me and said, “Then, Painter Zhu, come with us.”
This was the first assignment of my career as a court painter.
Feng Gao encouraged me, “Elder Sister, go ahead. The Empress Dowager and Lady Wang are both very amiable people.”
“Mm,” I nodded.
I followed the head eunuch of the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, walking forward.
In the sweltering summer heat, the palace was filled with flowers blooming in all seasons, a breathtaking sight.
He spoke to me as we walked, “Painter Zhu, let me tell you something. The Empress Dowager wants a portrait of Lady Wang painted to be sent to His Majesty. His Majesty has not been attentive to Lady Wang, and hasn’t visited for many days. The Empress Dowager is worried. Lady Wang is currently pregnant, and she is the Empress Dowager’s most cherished person! You must paint well. If a small portrait can bring His Majesty to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility to visit Lady Wang, oh my, Painter Zhu, you will have rendered a great service to the Empress Dowager!”
I smiled, “Thank you, Eunuch, for your guidance.”
The Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, with its elegant halls and auspicious courtyards, was the residence of His Majesty’s revered birth mother, Empress Dowager Li.
I entered the Changxin Gate and saw a middle-aged woman with a round face and ornate clothing sitting in the main seat, with several young women in palace attire seated on either side.
A young girl with a flowing cloud hairstyle sat on a golden rattan chair nearby, and the white-bearded Painter Liao was painting her portrait. It is said that Empress Dowager Li had three children: the current Emperor, Lu Wang, and Princess Pingning. Princess Pingning, being Empress Dowager Li’s biological daughter, was exceptionally pampered and doted upon. It is likely that this young girl is Princess Pingning.
The eunuch led me forward, “Reporting to the Empress Dowager, the painter has arrived.”
The middle-aged woman with a round face and ornate clothing looked up at me and said, “This painter, why haven’t I seen her before?”
“Replying to the Empress Dowager, she is new today. Recommended by Minister Zhang, she has been assessed by the Twelve Bureaus and retained for imperial use.”
She smiled, “Mr. Zhang has a good eye for people, he is certainly not mistaken.”
She pointed to a woman with a protruding abdomen on the right and said, “Paint Lady Wang well, and let me see your skills.”
“As you command,” I bowed in reply.
Looking up, I saw that Lady Wang’s face was pale, and her brows held an indescribable sadness.
She was originally a lady-in-waiting to the Empress Dowager. Once favored by His Majesty and carrying his heir, His Majesty did not acknowledge her. However, Empress Dowager Li, being powerful, forced His Majesty to grant her a title. Caught between the imperial mother and son, she found herself in a difficult position.
After much thought, I decided to play to my strengths and avoid my weaknesses.
Since her facial features were not striking, I would move people with “sentiment.”
I painted a patch of peach blossoms with bold strokes, with the profile of a young woman lost in thought in front of them. A young qilin was placed beside her. The qilin symbolized offspring. Longing and maternal love were fully expressed.
Upon completion, I wrote a seven-character poem in the lower right corner: “In February, the spring breeze is as thin as firewood; the apricot blossoms have faded, and the peach blossoms bloom. The young child in the womb is restless with longing; ten thousand acres of peach blossoms await your arrival.”
The eunuch presented the painting to Empress Dowager Li. After looking at it, she asked with confusion, “Why isn’t Lady Wang’s face painted?”
I quickly replied, “Subtle and indistinct, to capture the heart.”
She hesitated for a moment, then instructed the eunuch, “Send this to His Majesty, and let’s see what he says.”
“Yes,” the eunuch took the order and left.
In a short while, he returned with great joy, “Empress Dowager, His Majesty says he will visit Lady Wang tonight.”
“Oh?” Empress Dowager Li smiled broadly and said to Lady Wang, “What did I tell you? His Majesty is a reasonable man.”
Lady Wang quickly and subserviently agreed.
Empress Dowager Li reclined on a soft chair and looked at me, “Reward this painter with ten bolts of brocade and a measure of southern pearls.”
I knelt to thank her for the reward.
She suddenly said leisurely, “As I look at her, the painter’s eyebrows and eyes resemble someone…”
She said to the eunuch, “You say, don’t they?”
The eunuch replied, “Yes, yes, she somewhat resembles Mr. Banzhou.”
Empress Dowager Li sighed, “Speaking of Mr. Banzhou, I am reminded of the Wolf Soldiers. Prince Yan originally intended to build the Golden Terrace, believing it could gather talented individuals to aid the world. Why did Jing Ke ultimately depart, leaving only pity for Yue Yi’s unreturned state? Mr. Banzhou was a man of both literary and martial prowess, what a pity.”
The eunuch smiled, “Talented individuals emerge in succession in the court. With Mr. Zhang here now, why should the Empress Dowager worry?”
Empress Dowager Li waved her hand, “Go, all of you. I wish to rest. As one grows old, one’s energy is always insufficient.”
As I left the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, I heard someone call me, “Second Aunt—”
I turned around and saw Miss Sun, Shu Yao.
When she was at the manor, she was kept in seclusion by the Eldest Young Mistress and rarely came out. Except for the reunion dinners during festivals, I had not seen her. She was always quiet. I was not very familiar with her.
At this moment, she looked at me shyly, “Second Aunt, I didn’t expect you to come into the palace. Please tell my Mother that I miss her dearly. There are so many things, without her by my side, I truly don’t know what to do.”
I bowed to her according to etiquette and said, “The entire family wishes for Talent Lady’s safety above all else.”
She bit her lip and remained silent.
I walked a long distance and saw her still standing thinly in the wind, looking very pitiful.
With my mind full of thoughts, I returned to the manor.
Today, Painter Liao’s words and the Empress Dowager’s words kept interweaving in my mind. I frantically searched through the bookshelves. I found a volume of yellowed historical records and a book titled 《Banzhou’s Manuscripts》.
In May of the thirty-third year of Jiajing, Japanese pirates invaded in large numbers, devastating the southeast, and the situation was critical. Banzhou, believing that the enemy was strong and the people weak, and that only Wolf Soldiers could be used, submitted a memorial to the court.
In May of the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing, Banzhou led the Wolf Soldiers to decisively defeat the enemy.
Before setting out, he said to his family, “Foreign invaders are a national disgrace. I have prepared a black flag. If wounded, I will wipe my blood on it; if I die, I will wrap myself in it. What is there to fear!”
Reading this, tears streamed down my face.
Prepared a black flag. If wounded, I would wipe my blood on it; if I died, I would wrap myself in it.
I finally understood why Painter Liao, after asking my birth year, immediately said, “No, no.”
Because Mr. Banzhou, after achieving military merit, was accused by his colleagues and beheaded in the street at Xishi on the twenty-ninth day of October in the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing.
In the early years of Longqing, his name was finally cleared.
“Merit unrewarded, yet unjustly executed; having aided the Japanese pirates’ aggression, the southeast suffered for decades. Can the crimes of the slanderous villains ever be fully punished!”
My Mother said I was born during Mangzhong in the thirty-ninth year of Jiajing.
Clearly, it did not match.
By then, Mr. Banzhou had long been dead.
How could I possibly have any connection to him?
But Minister Zhang should have known all this. Why did he say those things to Cheng Huaishi? Could it be that he knew some untold inside story?
My mind was filled with doubt.
Before my eyes, a man holding a black flag seemed to appear, battling the Japanese, his body covered in blood.
