After returning home and changing into ordinary clothes, Chu Yi wrapped himself up so thoroughly that he was almost unrecognizable, then sneaked through the alleys into a secluded place.
The paintings he had drawn were not exactly respectable. Without a middleman, he had no channel through which to sell them. It was the sort of business that could offend people, so he had no choice but to find someone to sell them for him and split the profits afterward.
“Psst, psst.”
The gate quietly opened, and Chu Yi slipped inside. Seeing his getup, the man in the courtyard fell speechless for a moment and gave him an indescribable look.
Chu Yi rolled his eyes at him. “What's with that look? How did the paintings sell?”
At Chu Yi's question, delight flashed through the man's eyes. He held up a number with his fingers. “This much… Do you have any more of those paintings?”
Chu Yi shook his head. “I was just testing the waters. Are these paintings… really that popular?”
Thinking of Chu Yi's paintings, the man's eyes filled with admiration. He gave Chu Yi a thumbs-up. “Masterpieces.”
Chu Yi lifted his chin smugly. Back in the fan-creation community, people had called him a great creator too.
But… Chu Yi muttered, “No more for now. Wait a while and see how things go. I'll contact you later.”
The man nodded. He knew the rules. He handed the money to Chu Yi. “Silver and goods settled. If we meet outside, we pretend we don't know each other.”
Chu Yi hummed in acknowledgment, took the money, turned around, and vanished through the doorway.
Back home, Chu Yi counted the money in his hands and nodded in satisfaction. As expected, he was a genius.
Leaning back in a rocking chair, Chu Yi thought of the sky screen. That pitch-black screen was still hanging overhead. He punched the air twice, gritting his teeth so hard they creaked. This was outrageous. Digging up his grave was bad enough, but they had even pulled out his diary and publicly humiliated him with it.
He simply could not understand it. So many years had passed—how had the diary still survived?
What on earth had his future self been thinking? A diary was something this important, yet instead of destroying it, he had actually left it in his tomb as a burial object.
Chu Yi sighed. He decided to take things one step at a time and keep a low profile for now.
Licking his lips, he thought that while his identity was still hidden, the best thing to do was make some money and improve his meals.
Now that he had a little development capital, it was not much, but at least having money in hand meant he did not have to panic.
After letting his thoughts wander for ages, Chu Yi finally fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, he lay in bed with absolutely no desire to get up. He forced his eyes open. Fine. He would go sign in, then head to the Imperial Academy and catch up on sleep.
Everyone else had worries weighing on their minds, so they had all risen especially early. Attendance at morning court was unusually complete that day.
Vice Minister Wei, meanwhile, stood beneath two enormous dark circles and stared resentfully at the sky screen. Emperor Xuanwu had let him go home yesterday, but after tossing and turning over the matter for half the night, he blamed the sky screen for leaving him terrified and anxious.
At morning court, the officials below were all distracted. Emperor Xuanwu tapped the dragon throne and glanced toward the doors.
Music sounded. Chu Yi, who had been sleeping facedown on his desk, jolted awake. Great. Today's public execution was beginning.
The moment Emperor Xuanwu and the others heard the sound, they immediately went outside.
Tables, chairs, and stools had already been arranged outside.
Hua Cheng familiarly dragged Chu Yi toward the doorway, pulled sunflower seeds from his pocket, and handed them over. “Here. Have some seeds.”
Chu Yi lazily nodded, sat on the threshold, leaned against the doorframe, and raised his head. He had written in his diary yesterday too. Now he would find out whether the diary entry on the screen was the one he had written yesterday.
【Hello, everyone. This is Chu Wan. Welcome to the livestream. Today is once again a special session on the Xuanwu-era diary~ So, let's enjoy the second entry from this lord's diary.
October 7. The weather is still clear.
Today's weather is just like my mood—bright and sunny beyond belief~ Hehehehe, I made money, I made money! My paintings sold, and I earned quite a lot.
It was more money than I expected. At this point, I have to thank the two chancellors for their excellent reputations among noble ladies. Even now that they're older, they still have plenty of charm, and quite a few women still regard them as their unforgettable dream men~】
The two men who were those very “dream men” froze on the spot. The Left and Right Chancellors narrowed their eyes. Hiss. Just how improper were these paintings?
The others quietly glanced at the two lords. To be fair, although neither man was young anymore, both remained handsome and distinguished. Back in their youth, they had been held up throughout the capital as the model young masters of noble families and were known together as the Twin Jewels of the Left and Right.
Plenty of young ladies had once regarded the two of them as the men of their dreams.
The other officials were practically dying of jealousy. Surely their own wives were not among that “plenty,” were they?
【According to this lord's diary, the Left and Right Chancellors should be Left Chancellor Zuo Siwei and You He. Historical records show that these two men were Emperor Xuanwu's right- and left-hand men. They grew up alongside him and are two of the better-known figures among history's ten greatest chancellors. Still full of charm in old age…
Mm. This lord's choice of words is pretty bold… It also tells us that the two chancellors must have been exceptionally good-looking. That differs from the historical records, which describe one chancellor as rough-featured and the other as stern and old-fashioned… So when Chunhe Sanren's paintings first appeared, many people assumed he had idealized the two chancellors…】
As he spoke, the man's eyes lit up. He exclaimed, opened a screen-sharing window, and clicked on a folder titled “Collected Works of Chunhe Sanren.”
【Everyone knows Chunhe Sanren, right? This famous historical painter is widely regarded as the founding figure of historical real-person pairing art. His paintings were famous for capturing not only a person's appearance but their very essence, with a romantic and sensual style… The works that first made Chunhe Sanren famous were the renowned “Left Chancellor's Spring Slumber” and “Right Chancellor Drenched in Rain”… Of course, Chunhe Sanren's paintings are also famous for being extremely suggestive. You can probably tell the subject matter just from those two titles.】
The images enlarged, and the faces of the Left and Right Chancellors instantly turned black.
Fine. Fine. So this was how you wanted to paint us? Chunhe Sanren, you had better not be the diary's owner. If we catch you, you're finished.
Two paintings appeared side by side on the sky screen, depicting Zuo Siwei and You He in their youth. In one, Zuo Siwei reclined on a lounge chair beneath a tree, his robes fallen loosely open, his expression relaxed. A flower petal rested between his brows. His entire posture was rakish and unrestrained; his elegant collarbones were half revealed, his long legs crossed atop the chair, and his whole figure radiated an indescribably provocative, languid charm.
He was clearly fully dressed, yet somehow the painting made people's minds wander in decidedly indecent directions.
The companion piece, “Right Chancellor Drenched in Rain,” was even worse… Eight abdominal muscles barely visible through wet cloth, sharply defined chest muscles, soaked long hair, droplets of water clinging to his eyelashes.
He looked delicate enough to inspire pity, as though the next moment he might turn toward you with reddened eyes…
Chu Yi was dumbfounded. No—wait. He had drawn those the night before last and sold them only yesterday. There were only two paintings in existence. How had they already spread this far???
When he painted them, he had planned to do it only once, make some money, and stop. There absolutely was not supposed to be a second batch…
And above all, he could never be caught. If he was, they would absolutely beat him to death…
【Of course, this is only my guess. The timing is simply too perfect. This lord's diary says he drew pictures of the two chancellors, while historical records show that these exact paintings began circulating around the same period. They were extremely popular among noble ladies at the time…】
Emperor Xuanwu pressed his lips together tightly. Hold it in. He absolutely had to hold it in. He was a dignified emperor. It would be improper to laugh at his childhood friends and loyal ministers.
He had always known his two friends were popular, but he had never imagined… they were this popular.
And, well… the paintings were admittedly quite provocative.
【Let's keep reading the diary. Speaking of which, I really have to thank Vice Minister Wei for giving me the idea. Without his inspiration, I never would have thought of painting this. Facts have proven that I made exactly the right choice! I knew those noble ladies wouldn't be able to resist this kind of painting. “Left Chancellor's Spring Slumber,” “Right Chancellor Drenched in Rain”—I'm such a genius.
My heavens, a full two hundred taels! Two hundred taels! I'm rich, I'm rich, I'm really rich now! Hahahahaha~
Excellent. I don't need to threaten Vice Minister Wei anymore~
First, I'll buy a small estate and raise pigs. It's so annoying. I already told them that castrating pigs gets rid of the foul smell in the meat and lets them grow big and fat, but no one believes me. No one believes me! Now I have to make my own money and raise pigs myself. Hmph.
But when I think about delicious red-braised pork, steamed pork with rice flour, and every other kind of pork dish, I can do it! For food, I can do anything! It's only raising pigs!
If necessary, I can even write an entire manual on postnatal care for sows!】
