A Big Surprise!

Chapter 11: A Great Surprise!

The author's name on a painting is generally not a real name, but rather a studio name, a pseudonym, or an official title.

Fortunately, the Dragon Mother was not a local, otherwise, given her titles, she wouldn't even need to paint; the entire sheet of paper would be filled with a long string of honorifics.

The signature on this painting, however, was simply Huang Shang.

Because the current Huang Shang possessed no studio name, pseudonym, or official title, using his given name was perfectly acceptable.

This actually played right into his hands. Huang Shang could not have used any other name, or else the Reincarnators would not have understood it, and all his hard work would have gone down the drain.

Now, he accepted the praise of the little nuns and turned to leave.

The woman's feet stirred, wanting to follow, but after a moment's thought, she simply watched Huang Shang's back disappear before asking, "Does this young master often come to Great Xiangguo Temple?"

The little nun replied, "Yes, he is a good man."

The corners of the woman's eyes lifted slightly as she pointed to the painting. "How much for this piece?"

The little nun's eyes darted around, and just as she was about to fleece her, the woman took out the money decisively: "I'll give you fifty strings of cash!"

The little nun was stunned into silence.

Previously, when Huang Shang, Liu Yi, and Chen Sheng went out for hot pot, even though it wasn't a high-end establishment, the cost was only a few dozen coins.

One string of cash was seven hundred and seventy coins; to have ten thousand strings was to be a wealthy tycoon.

Now, the woman was offering fifty strings for a painting by an unknown artist, an amount equivalent to several years of living expenses for an ordinary commoner.

She haggled with me over the price of hairpins, so why this?

The little nun felt a pang of envy, but she quickly handed the painting over: "Deal!"

With the painting sold at such a high price, not only did Huang Shang profit, but they would also receive a few strings of cash for acting as the consignment shop. How could they hesitate?

The woman's haggling was merely her enjoying the process of shopping, but now that she had other ideas in mind, she acted decisively and bought it at a high price.

Having secured the painting, she didn't even care about her hairpins anymore and turned to leave.

However, just as she stepped out of Great Xiangguo Temple, her brows furrowed slightly; she felt someone watching her from behind.

That gaze was very amateurish; it was certainly not a Reincarnator, nor was it any formidable character from the plot.

The woman's eyes rolled, and she simply slowed her pace, heading toward a sparsely populated alleyway.

"Slow down, young lady!"

Sure enough, footsteps soon followed, and someone caught up to her.

When the woman turned to look, the man immediately revealed an expression of awe and bowed: "This Humble One is Chen Sheng, courtesy name Ziyu, a native of the Eastern Capital. Greetings, young lady!"

He was tall with a straight nose and defined brows; if not for the bloodshot eyes that suggested poor sleep, he would indeed have been a very distinguished-looking man.

He had also subtly emphasized his status as a resident of the capital, believing this self-introduction to be quite sophisticated.

But the woman found it somewhat grating, as the address sounded like a flirtation.

In reality, "young lady" was a very proper form of address in the Song Dynasty.

It was "girl" and "miss" that were actually incorrect.

"Girl" was essentially literal, used to address one's aunt; only people in the pugilistic world used it to address young women.

"Miss" was a term for prostitutes and the like, and it did not become a term for young women until the Yuan Dynasty.

Interestingly, a thousand years later, the meaning of the word would return to its original definition.

Chen Sheng's choice of words was undoubtedly fine, but the woman was not used to it: "You have been following me; what do you want?"

Chen Sheng hurriedly clarified, "Young lady, please do not misunderstand. I have no ill intentions."

The woman said, "I don't like beating around the bush. Say what you have to say."

Chen Sheng's gaze became unfocused, but in the end, he couldn't help but ask, "Did you buy a painting, young lady? Could you let me take a look at it?"

The woman asked, "Why?"

Chen Sheng's eyes darted about as he organized his words.

The woman, unwilling to waste time, asked again, "Do you know the author of this painting, Huang Shang?"

Chen Sheng's expression changed.

The woman said, "Tell me about Huang Shang. I am very interested!"

Looking at the anticipation shining in the beautiful young lady's eyes before him, and thinking of Huang Shang living in his dilapidated room, a surge of resentment welled up in Chen Sheng's heart.

His ancestors were people of the pugilistic world who had made quite a name for themselves before washing their hands of it and becoming wealthy landowners in the Eastern Capital.

Although they had vast wealth, they were not accepted by the scholar-officials, so Chen Sheng had studied bitterly since childhood just to pass the imperial examinations and bring glory to his family name.

But now, a poor scholar who made a living by copying books for him had become famous throughout the Eastern Capital because of four sentences, and had even been accepted as a student by the great Confucian Zhang Zai. His chances of placing on the gold list far exceeded his own.

Every time Chen Sheng thought of how Huang Shang used to bring him books with ink barely dry to trade for money, and compared it to the present, a sense of injustice filled his chest, causing him to suffer from insomnia day and night.

He could not get over this hurdle.

Not to mention, there was also the regard of that noble person...

He wanted Huang Shang to suffer!

Now was the opportunity!

Chen Sheng took a deep breath and began to describe Huang Shang.

He emphasized a sense of poverty and wretchedness, adding subtle hints to imply, through his words, that this man was deep and calculating, skilled at climbing the social ladder.

The woman, however, ignored those highly suggestive remarks and kept asking questions, learning that Huang Shang was a disciple of Zhang Zai and was preparing to take the imperial examinations.

"It is indeed that Huang Shang, and there is conflict between you..."

"Very good! Very good!"

The woman pursed her lips into a smile, her eyes suddenly brightening, and she asked abruptly, "Are you very jealous of him?"

Chen Sheng was stunned, feeling both ashamed and indignant, almost jumping to his feet: "Young lady, you misunderstand me..."

But the woman did not let him continue: "You want this painting, isn't it just to splash some mud on Huang Shang? Perhaps accusing him of illicit relations with a nun? What I hate most is petty people like you!"

As she spoke, the woman raised a finger, and a flower of ice suddenly appeared at her fingertip: "A lesson for you!"

In the sweltering heat of summer, a cold wind whipped up, and the ice flower spun, sinking into Chen Sheng's body.

Chen Sheng's eyes widened, his teeth chattered, and he felt as if he were standing naked in the dead of winter, his entire body frozen stiff.

This was indeed just a lesson, enough to keep him bedridden for a month and extinguish many unnecessary thoughts.

The woman did this casually, not even glancing at the ugly scholar as she turned and left.

However, a moment later.

A splash echoed from the alley, followed by cries of alarm.

"Someone's dead! Someone's dead!"

The woman returned to the most luxurious restaurant in Kaifeng Prefecture, nodded slightly to the waiters and staff who crowded around with fawning expressions, and headed to the third floor.

Pushing open the door, she saw the male reincarnator who had previously called Bao Zheng "daddy" busy circulating his blood and qi, striving to refine his organs and reach the Xiantian realm.

There was no such thing as Xiantian or Houtian in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, nor did the Main God Temple have a unified setting; this was the realm the male reincarnator pursued after obtaining the early-stage inheritance from the Yang God world, specifically the Ox Demon Great Strength Fist and the Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist.

Seeing the woman return early, the man immediately stopped his stance: "Sis, any gains? Are there any experts in the Imperial Palace who could stop us from taking Zhao Kuangyin's Coiling Dragon Staff?"

"The main quest has plenty of time, let's put that aside for now!"

The woman shook her head and smiled radiantly: "I've triggered a hidden character; the opportunity has arrived!"