Lotus Pond Skiff

Up in the Riverboat Pavilion, Luo Yin stood by the window. Hearing a crowd gathering and chattering below, she asked the maid behind her, "What's happening downstairs? Why is it so noisy?"

A maid stepped forward, peered out the window, and shook her head. "I don't know. It seems to have suddenly become lively. I'll go down and take a look."

The maid turned and headed downstairs.

Resting her hands on the windowsill, Luo Yin leaned against it languidly and gazed toward the northern side of Capital City. Behind the imperial palace stood a peak wreathed in mist all year round, called Moon-Gazing Mountain. That was where the Academy stood.

The imperial palace of Great Hua backed onto the Academy. In terms of their relationship, the Academy was more like the imperial family's support, the pillar on which Great Hua relied.

The emperor of Great Hua had once said, "With the Academy in this world, that is enough!"

Yesterday, Gu Yu, the Academy's third disciple, had returned to the Academy that very night, saying he had to quietly put back the flute he had stolen. In the end, he had left without telling her who had played it... Luo Yin was full of resentment over this, but she could hardly say anything, lest that utterly unfeeling man start making wild guesses.

Forget it. Let fate take its course...

At the Academy, atop Moon-Gazing Mountain, on the Moon-Viewing Terrace...

A white-haired old man dressed entirely in white stood with his hands behind his back, looking toward Capital City with an intrigued expression.

Dressed in red, Gu Yu stepped onto the Moon-Viewing Terrace. As he looked at the white-robed old man's back, he seemed a little uneasy.

"Headmaster, you wanted to see me?"

The headmaster glanced back at Gu Yu and spoke mildly.

"I need you to run an errand!"

Gu Yu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "What do you need me to do?"

The headmaster turned back and pointed to a spot in Capital City, where the pleasure boat's Riverboat Pavilion stood.

Seeing where the headmaster was pointing, Gu Yu grew nervous again.

"Go buy me a painting. Hurry, or it'll be gone by the time you get there!"

Gu Yu breathed another sigh of relief... As long as he hasn't discovered that I stole the Heart Flute, anything is negotiable.

"What painting?" Gu Yu asked.

"You'll know when you get there."

Gu Yu held out his right hand, palm up.

The headmaster glanced back and waved a hand. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Give me the money!" Gu Yu said as though it were obvious.

"I haven't got any!" the headmaster declared with perfect self-assurance.

Gu Yu was just about to curse when the headmaster continued.

"Buy me the painting, and I won't pursue the matter of you stealing my Heart Flute yesterday!"

Gu Yu's face stiffened. He turned and slunk away... This scheming old bastard. What a snake.

The headmaster gazed toward Capital City with his hands behind his back, his face full of smug satisfaction... You little brat, trying to take me on.

"You display a painting here, yet refuse to unroll it or accept an offer. You're being utterly unreasonable." The merchant looked thoroughly displeased. His hand trembled slightly as he pointed at Su Mo, as though he were seething with anger.

"Exactly, exactly..." the onlookers chimed in.

"Why don't you unroll it and let us have a look, so we can at least know what's painted on it?"

The more Su Mo refused to unroll the painting or sell it despite their offers, the more curious they became.

The little girl quietly turned to look at the utterly composed Su Mo and secretly stuck out her tongue... Young Master really is amazing.

An old scholar in a blue robe had been passing by with several young men. Seeing the crowd gathered here in lively discussion, he approached out of curiosity. When he saw that Su Mo had displayed a painting without unrolling it, and that the merchant wanted to buy it but could not, interest appeared on his face.

The blue-robed old scholar smiled without speaking, but the young men behind him spoke up.

"You're selling a painting without displaying it and ignoring every offer. Surely you're just playing to the crowd." One of the young men waved his fan, looking displeased as he loudly addressed Su Mo.

Judging by his dress and manner, this young man seemed to be a scholar.

At those words, the little girl's childish face immediately took on a fierce yet adorable expression. She wanted to leap up and bite him... Biting was all she knew how to do. Su Mo discreetly pulled her back... The little girl's temper was growing worse and worse.

"Brother Zijie has a point, but in my opinion, perhaps this gentleman is using this tactic to drive up the painting's price," another young man said, shaking his head.

You actually guessed right... Su Mo laughed inwardly.

A maid came down from the Riverboat Pavilion and squeezed into the crowd...

The blue-robed old scholar frowned slightly and interrupted them. "Zijie, Liu Feng, don't be rude!"

At that moment, some of the onlookers noticed the blue-robed old scholar and his companions.

Someone recognized the blue-robed old scholar.

"Isn't that Duke Wei?" someone exclaimed, bowing.

"Greetings, Duke Wei..."

"Who is Duke Wei?" someone unfamiliar with him asked.

A person beside him immediately tugged at him and explained quietly, "Duke Wei is the current Grand Preceptor! Though he has withdrawn from court, his pupils bloom like peach and plum trees throughout the land. Here in Great Hua, a single word from him is worth a thousand pieces of gold."

The blue-robed old scholar shook his head and waved a hand. "I've long since left the court. There's no need for such ceremony."

So he's an important figure... Su Mo rose and bowed to the blue-robed old scholar.

The blue-robed old scholar nodded with a smile and asked Su Mo, "Young friend, why are you selling a painting without unrolling it?"

Only then did Su Mo explain, "Yesterday, my spirit wandered in a dream. Upon waking, in a moment of hazy inspiration, I painted the scenery from that dream on this scroll. It was a chance creation, and I fear I may never again capture such a scene. That is why I wish to find a kindred spirit through this painting. Whether I sell it is not so important."

A scene from a dream, painted in a haze of inspiration, meant that he would struggle to produce another painting like this. Those words first emphasized its rarity: there was only this one, with no other like it anywhere.

Then he made his point: he was not here to sell a painting; he was here to make friends.

It was perfectly reasonable. It explained his earlier behavior while laying the groundwork for selling the painting at a high price later, leaving others little room to criticize.

So that was it!

Understanding dawned on everyone, and they grew even more curious about Su Mo's painting. Scenery from a dream... Just what kind of scene was it?

The maid who had come down from the Riverboat Pavilion nodded at his words, then turned and ran back upstairs!

Luo Yin leaned by the window, lost in idle thoughts, while voices bustled below.

The maid returned to the upper floor of the Riverboat Pavilion and reported, "There's a scholar downstairs selling a painting, but he won't unroll it. Duke Wei and several scholars have been drawn over, and they're discussing it."

Luo Yin was puzzled. "Selling a painting without unrolling it?"

The maid nodded and repeated what Su Mo had just said.

"His spirit wandered in a dream, and upon waking, he painted the scenery from it in a moment of hazy inspiration. A chance creation, a scene he could never paint again, so he wishes to find a kindred spirit through it?" Luo Yin repeated Su Mo's words, finding them interesting.

"Since Duke Wei is there as well, I ought to go down and have a look!" Luo Yin found herself an excuse.

"I see..." Duke Wei nodded in understanding, then continued, "Now I'm even more curious about the scene depicted in this painting."

Su Mo smiled. Seeing that he had stirred up enough interest, he took Duke Wei's words as a convenient slope to ride down. "Since Duke Wei has spoken, I should certainly display the painting for everyone to see!"

Duke Wei smiled in satisfaction at this, suddenly finding Su Mo very much to his liking.

The young men behind Duke Wei remained noncommittal, inwardly sneering, Let's see how you embarrass yourself when you unroll it! They did not believe Su Mo's painting could be all that good. Which of the scholars and literati present was not outstanding? Even if Su Mo painted well, he could hardly shine that brightly. After all, his earlier buildup had raised everyone's expectations far too high. Unless it was a work that stunned the world, he would only be bringing humiliation upon himself.

Su Mo gently opened the scroll and spread out the painting.

An ink-wash painting leaped into everyone's view.

Lifelike, brimming with atmosphere! Those words suddenly sprang into everyone's minds.

"The scene in this painting is... Lotus Pond Skiff!" Duke Wei said.

Lotus Pond Skiff...

Naming the painting Lotus Pond Skiff was indeed just right. Though it contained many elements, its atmosphere was chiefly embodied in the little skiff on the lotus pond.

As the current Grand Preceptor, with pupils blooming like peach and plum trees throughout the land, Duke Wei truly lived up to his reputation. He had identified the heart of the painting at a glance.

In the painting lay a pond, with fish swimming beneath its surface, lotus leaves floating upon it, and blossoms blooming across the water. A little skiff drifted over the pond, a fishing rod laid to one side. A child slept soundly aboard it, eyes closed, one hand resting on a lotus seedpod.

Fish swam through the water,

A skiff slipped through the lotus.

The fishing child dreamed of fish at play,

And raised a hand to pluck a lotus seedpod...