Chapter 1859
The Late Northern Song Dynasty
"Young man, you seem to have taken a liking to Miss Li Shishi? I'm just about to go see her anyway, would you like to come with me?"
A middle-aged man overheard Liu Tong's conversation with the shop assistant and extended an invitation to Liu Tong with a smile.
Liu Tong looked at the middle-aged man.
The man was good-looking, but his eyelids were swollen, his body was thin, and his legs were unsteady; he looked like he had indulged in excessive sexual activity.
Two men followed behind him, one with a fair complexion and no beard, and the other with a fierce demeanor.
Liu Dong began to speculate about the middle-aged man's identity.
He nodded: "Thank you for the invitation, brother."
The middle-aged man, Zhao Ji, was overjoyed.
Emperor Huizong of Song (Zhao Ji) was a sucker for good looks. Needless to say, he loved beautiful women, and even the ministers he favored were all handsome men.
Liu Dong's beauty even surpassed that of Pan Jinlian, so naturally she caught Zhao Ji's eye.
Moreover, Zhao Ji felt that Liu Dong looked somewhat familiar.
Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) took Liu Tong to Li Shishi's courtyard. Along the way, Zhao Ji pulled Liu Tong aside to talk about poetry and classics, and when the topic turned to calligraphy and painting, they talked about it at length.
Liu Dong has some knowledge of calligraphy and painting. Before the apocalypse, he was born into a wealthy family, and his grandfather loved antiques and calligraphy and painting.
Although he didn't spend money on antiques and paintings to please his grandfather like his other grandsons, he did have some knowledge of antiques and paintings.
Why did he not join the family business and instead remain an idle person?
People with plenty of free time naturally have time to study calligraphy and painting.
Liu Tong had seen several of Zhao Ji's paintings and calligraphy, so he was able to respond to any topic Zhao Ji posed.
Emperor Huizong was very pleased and liked Liu Dong even more.
The group arrived at Li Shishi's courtyard.
Liu Dong keenly spotted a dark figure climbing over the wall of the small courtyard.
The dark figure was fast and agile; it must be a trained fighter.
Zhao Ji did not see the shadowy figure. He walked into the house cheerfully and reached out to pull Li Shishi along.
Li Shishi's expression was somewhat unnatural, but she quickly returned to normal.
Li Shishi was indeed very beautiful, but she was still a bit less attractive than Pan Jinlian. What was most attractive about her was her refined and elegant temperament, as the saying goes, "A person with knowledge and learning naturally exudes elegance."
Emperor Huizong introduced Liu Tong to Li Shishi.
Li Shishi was surprised by Liu Tong's appearance and greeted him with a smile.
Thinking to himself, with such an appearance, this young man's future is uncertain.
On the way, Liu Dong aroused Zhao Ji's interest in painting, so he asked Li Shishi to bring him brush, ink, paper and inkstone, and he began to paint on the paper.
Liu Tong watched from the side, inwardly praising Zhao Ji's painting skills as truly deserving of the title of master.
Emperor Huizong put down his pen with satisfaction and asked Liu Tong, "How was it?"
Liu Dong gave a thumbs up: "Very good!"
Then he explained all the merits of the painting in a reasoned and well-founded manner, which resonated with Zhao Ji.
Of course, he didn't just praise, but also pointed out one or two shortcomings.
This will not only not displease Emperor Huizong, but will also make him more satisfied with Liu Tong, believing that Liu Tong is a person who understands painting.
Zhao Ji handed the brush to Liu Tong: "You paint one too."
Liu Tong: "..."
Although Liu Tong had studied painting, he only scratched the surface and learned Western painting techniques. Wasn't Zhao Ji asking him to paint just to make a fool of himself?
Liu Dong took a deep breath and began to draw on the white paper.
Emperor Huizong asked in surprise, "What kind of drawing technique is this?" Liu Tong replied, "This is sketching."
Before long, a lifelike human face appeared on the white paper, exactly like Li Shishi's.
Both Zhao Ji and Li Shishi stared wide-eyed in surprise.
"This...this is me? It's so...so similar!" Li Shishi murmured.
Liu Dong smiled.
Actually, it's not that similar. After all, brush sketching is not as good as charcoal sketching. Some parts are not handled well and there are slight distortions.
Emperor Huizong was very interested in the new painting method and immediately asked Liu Dong to teach him.
Liu Dong would naturally teach him.
Emperor Huizong of Song (Zhao Ji) was truly gifted in calligraphy and painting. Before long, he mastered the essence of sketching, and even grasped the three-dimensional form and the arrangement of shadows.
Emperor Huizong was having a great time, practicing sketching all night, completely forgetting about the beautiful Li Shishi.
Li Shishi breathed a sigh of relief.
There were still traces of her intimacy with another man on her bed, which had not been cleaned up because of Zhao Ji's arrival.
Now that Zhao Ji is focused on painting and has no time for anything else, she can take the opportunity to clean up those traces.
Liu Dong coldly observed Li Shishi's actions, guessing who the departing man was.
He thought the most likely candidate was Yan Qing, but that wasn't necessarily true, given that Li Shishi had quite a few lovers.
Leaving aside Emperor Huizong of Song, the renowned scholar Zhou Bangyan was also a favorite of Li Shishi.
On one occasion, when Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) came to see Li Shishi, Zhou Bangyan was flirting with her. Terrified, Zhou hid under Li Shishi's bed and wrote the famous poem "A Youthful Journey - The Knife is Like Water": The knife is as smooth as water, the Wu salt whiter than snow, delicate hands peeling a fresh orange. The brocade curtains are just warm, the incense burner burns continuously, we sit facing each other, tuning the sheng. In a low voice, he asks: "Where will you stay tonight?" It's already past midnight on the city wall. The horses slip on the thick frost, it's better to stay, for few people travel there!
As a famous courtesan, how could Li Shishi have only three lovers: Zhou Bangyan, Zhao Ji, and Yan Qing?
However, these three are the most famous.
The next day, Zhao Ji returned to the palace yawning.
Liu Tong also returned to her residence and slept until the afternoon before getting up.
During the meal, Shi Qian came over to report his investigation results to Liu Dong.
Liu Dong didn't believe that Lady Wang could have taken the late emperor's son away from the palace and lived peacefully for more than ten years on her own.
There must have been someone interfering with his departure, and those people were probably not low-ranking.
Liu Tong needs to know who these people are and what their purpose is.
He doesn't need to know for sure; he can't feel at ease, and the risk always exists.
Shi Qian never expected that Liu Dong was actually the late emperor's son and a member of the royal family.
He harbored his own ulterior motives: Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) was now seen as a tyrannical ruler by the common people. Liu Dong, on the other hand, had a more legitimate lineage than Zhao Ji. If only Liu Dong could become emperor! He would surely be a wise and benevolent ruler!
Therefore, he was very proactive in the investigation.
Shi Qian lay on the rooftops of those former officials, and with great patience, he actually overheard some news.
Through these messages, Shi Qian discovered that the person who arranged for Liu Tong's biological mother to leave the palace was Empress Dowager Xiang, and that the then Prime Minister Zhang Dun was also involved.
Empress Dowager Xiang was, after all, the highest authority in the palace, and the fact that Liu Dong's biological mother was pregnant could not be kept from her.
In fact, making a baby emperor would be most advantageous for Empress Dowager Xiang, as it would allow her to legitimately rule from behind the curtain and interfere in state affairs.
The problem is, Liu Dong hadn't been born yet, so who knew if he was a boy or a girl?
The imperial family and the court were urging them to quickly establish a new emperor.
Ultimately, Empress Dowager Xiang chose Zhao Ji, who was very good at pleasing her.
When Zhao Ji became emperor, the descendants of the previous emperor became an eyesore.
Empress Dowager Xiang originally intended to cause Liu Tong's mother to miscarry, but Zhang Dun discovered this and secretly intervened, allowing Liu Tong's mother to escape Empress Dowager Xiang's clutches. (End of Chapter)