Chapter 11

"What are you all arguing about, and who are you telling to get lost?" A few young gentlemen with fine clothes, waving fans, walked over, seeing the commotion and quickly joining in.

"There's a guy from the countryside who claims to be a martial artist, coming to celebrate the old master's birthday, but he brought a fake painting attributed to Dong Qichang. Now everyone is telling him to get lost," one of the familiar young gentlemen explained the situation to the newcomers.

"The martial artist from the countryside, where is he? I can't stand hearing the word 'martial artist' right now, let me see him," one of the newcomers, a fat man as round as a ball, immediately got angry upon hearing the word 'martial artist,' and quickly pushed through the crowd to the front. Upon seeing the man, he couldn't help but feel both angry and pleased. "You scoundrel, to think I would run into you here. Truly, the mountains may not turn, but the waters will, and we meet again."

"Brother Gang, do you know this person?"

"Of course I know him, and it's not just knowing him," the fat man sneered, and couldn't help but touch his chin, which still hurt a bit.

"Truly, we meet again in life!" The fat man, thinking back to the humiliation he suffered at the teahouse on the way, felt a surge of anger. He thought he would never have the chance to get even, but unexpectedly, retribution came so quickly, and he found this guy again.

Liu Jun stood there, coldly watching the crowd's ridicule. He wasn't very knowledgeable about calligraphy and paintings, but he felt this painting had a lot of artistic merit.

He didn't know who Xiangguang Jushi was, but he definitely knew Dong Qichang, who was one of the most famous calligraphers and painters of the Ming Dynasty. However, since everyone present said Dong Qichang didn't paint this, Liu Jun didn't know if it was true or not. Even before opening the painting, he didn't know what the old man had given him.

Suddenly, a man shouted loudly, "All friends of the Liu family, listen up."

"I have some old grudges with this guy who brought a fake painting to the birthday banquet. I need to settle them now, please make way."

The crowd waiting to give gifts at the door was greatly surprised.

Someone asked, "Who is this?"

"The seventh son of General Liu."

"Why haven't we seen him before?"

"He was born to a concubine in the capital and has been living there. I heard he is now studying at the Imperial Academy."

The people made way, and the seventh son of Liu Qiao, the fat man who had been beaten by Liu Jun on the road, walked over proudly, followed by a group of young gentlemen and about eighteen strong men.

These strong men were dressed in short clothes, wearing blue clothes and black boots, and holding short sticks.

The fat man bowed to the left and right, "Friends, please don't mind the disturbance, I apologize."

Then he smiled brightly at Liu Jun, "Little scoundrel, you were so arrogant on the road today, why aren't you being arrogant now?"

A few of the other young gentlemen, who had also been beaten by Liu Jun on the road, joined in, "Little scoundrel, you were so good at fighting, why are you now a coward? Show us your skills again!"

The fat man said proudly, "This little scoundrel is quite good at fighting. How about this, you fight my servants. Whether you win or lose, I will forgive your previous offenses and your attempt to deceive the Liu family, and let you go."

The fat man had already calculated that his dozen or so strong men were not ordinary people, all of them were young and strong servants of the Liu family. No matter how good this kid was at fighting, he couldn't possibly beat a dozen people. This was a good opportunity to teach this little scoundrel a lesson and vent his anger. If there weren't so many people, he wouldn't let him off so easily.

But after waiting for a while, he still didn't hear any response from the little scoundrel.

Liu Jun wasn't afraid, but he felt a bit depressed. He had come to the Liu family to recognize his relatives and gain some benefits, but he didn't expect that the fat man he had disciplined on the road was actually the seventh son of Liu Qiao, and they were actually cousins. This was truly a case of family not recognizing family.

After some thought, Liu Jun said, "It was just a misunderstanding earlier. I hope we can turn swords into plowshares and resolve this peacefully."

The fat man stepped forward a few steps, close to Liu Jun, and whispered fiercely in his ear, "When you beat me at the teahouse, why didn't you talk about peace? Now you're backing down? Fine, fight my servants. Whether you win or lose, I'll let it go."

Liu Jun didn't believe a word of it. With seventeen or eighteen fierce subordinates, even if he was skilled, he could handle three or four, but seventeen or eighteen was a myth.

Just as he was at a loss, a clear voice suddenly said, "What's going on here?"

With the voice, a young man came over.

He was a young man dressed in simple clothes, wearing a white robe and holding a fan. Although his attire was similar to the other young gentlemen, the impression he gave was completely different. The fat man with the fan gave a sense of being a spoiled and vulgar person, while this young man gave a sense of being refined and elegant.

"What a handsome young man."

Someone murmured.

"This is Chunjiang, the nephew of Minister Li, the Minister of the Four Departments."

"Chunjiang? He is Minister Li's nephew, Chunjiang?" Everyone was even more surprised upon hearing this name. Someone said, "Chunjiang was known as a prodigy in his childhood. At twelve, he was the top in the county, prefecture, and provincial exams, achieving the 'Three Small Yuan.' In the last provincial exam, he was the top scorer, but unfortunately, he fell ill just before the imperial exam and couldn't participate. Otherwise, everyone said Chunjiang might have even achieved the 'Three Great Yuan' and the 'Six Yuan' in the palace exam."

"The imperial exam is next year, shouldn't Chunjiang be in the capital preparing for it?"

"I heard that Minister Li is unwell, and Chunjiang has returned from the capital to visit him."

Someone explained, "Chunjiang is known for his talent and filial piety. His father is Minister Li's third brother. Since Minister Li is unwell, he naturally returned as soon as possible. The four major families, Mei, Li, Zhou, and Liu, are intermarried. Now that Old Master Liu is celebrating his birthday, he will definitely come to the banquet."

Mentioning Chunjiang's name, everyone couldn't help but praise him, a genius. His uncle, Li Changgeng, was known as the Minister of the Four Departments, having served as the minister of four departments in the imperial court, and finally retired as the Minister of Personnel. In Macheng, he was a highly respected figure. Li Chunjiang was widely regarded as the most promising young talent of the Li family.

Although Liu Seven was quite high-profile just now, he couldn't help but feel a bit subdued upon seeing Li Chunjiang. Although this was the Liu family, and he was a Liu family young master, his status was far inferior to Li Chunjiang.

The fat man, Liu Gang, was embarrassed to mention his previous arrogance and being beaten on the road, so he just smiled and told Li Chunjiang that Liu Jun was using a fake painting to deceive the Liu family and try to attend the birthday banquet.

"A fake painting attributed to Dong Qichang?" Li Chunjiang glanced at Liu Jun, who didn't look like a despicable person, standing there upright, and said, "Where is the painting? Let me see it."

Everyone knew that Li Chunjiang was not only good at writing but also excelled in poetry and painting.

Someone brought the painting over and unfolded it in front of Li Chunjiang.

Upon seeing the painting, Li Chunjiang's expression changed, and he couldn't help but look at Liu Jun again.

"This is genuine," Li Chunjiang said after a long, careful examination.

"What?" The fat man was surprised, "Brother Gongji, please look again."

"There's no need to look again. I can assure you that this painting is indeed a genuine work by Dong Qichang," Li Chunjiang said slowly. "This painting is not well-known, and few people have even heard of it. This 'Snowy Mountains in Clear Weather' is a work by Dong Xuanzai from two years ago, the year of his death. Therefore, this painting is actually one of Dong Xuanzai's last masterpieces. I had the fortune to see this painting before, and it is indeed a genuine work."

The fat man, hearing Li Chunjiang's words, believed it to a large extent, but still felt something was off.

"If this is indeed a genuine work by Dong Qichang and a masterpiece, isn't it very valuable?"

Li Chunjiang smiled, "Valuable? Of course it is. To those who appreciate it, this painting is worth a thousand pieces of gold. And the longer it exists, the more valuable it will become."

Li Chunjiang pointed to the painting with admiration, "Look at this painting, the mountains and forests stretch endlessly. On the right, the mountains are layered and majestic. In the middle, the deep valleys and steep cliffs are arranged in a harmonious and orderly manner, with villages, forests, streams, and paths, all well-arranged and not chaotic. The river winds through the scene, and despite the numerous peaks and valleys, there is no sense of obstruction."

"On the left, the clouds and mist envelop the trees and rocks, the path is long and the mountains are heavy, hidden in the mist, deep and unpredictable, with endless meaning. The peaks and rocks are outlined with dry brushstrokes, and the use of texture is extremely accurate and flexible, with flowing and swift lines, well-spaced. The light and dark areas of the mountains and hills are completed with horizontal dots and layers of light ink, the technique is flawless, and the effect is profound and deep, evoking the poetic feeling of 'No birds in the thousand mountains, no trace of man in ten thousand paths.'"

"The entire painting is executed with a bold and simple brush, the lines are strong and the ink is fresh, free from sweetness and vulgarity. With a sparse and open brush, it depicts a cold and distant scene. The few lines of running script at the end of the scroll, written in a graceful and strong style, add a scholarly air to the painting, making it fresh and elegant, with its own unique style."

Li Chunjiang concluded, "Dong Xiangguang, with his extensive knowledge, can paint with clear and fresh ink, the mountains are clean and deep, and there is no trace of dust."

The fat man didn't understand Li Chunjiang's appreciation, but he heard one thing: this painting was indeed a masterpiece by Dong Qichang, and it was worth a thousand pieces of gold.

Li Chunjiang was also quite surprised. According to his knowledge, this valuable painting should be in the collection of his aunt Mei's brother, Mei Zhihuan. How did it suddenly end up in the hands of this young man?

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