Thousand Verdant Mountains – Chapter 27 Part 1
Chapter 27 Part 1
On the first day, she followed Song Bokang to Jixian Hall to familiarize herself with the route. That was where the painting department was located, and then she went to Shenshu Palace. This palace was located on the site of the Wanshou Palace that was burned down that year. All the ruins of the palace that had been burned down in the past were demolished and rebuilt, except for one place that was not moved.
That was the remains of Yong’an Hall.
The reason why it was not demolished was that on the first day of his accession to the throne, the current emperor came to the Ancestral Temple and declared that the old site of Yong’an would never be demolished and would be preserved in the original place to warn future generations to be vigilant and never forget so as to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
The noise that day was so deafening that the ruins of the temple were preserved. However, many years had passed and now the surrounding forests were lush and overgrown with weeds, almost completely covering the ruins. If one didn’t get close, they couldn’t see it.
The new palace was built under the supervision of the Supervisor Yuan Zhi. Yuan Zhi’s rise to fame originally by supervising this construction, so it goes without saying that he had put a lot of thought and effort into building this palace to celebrate the emperor’s 500,000th birthday.
The main palace here was located according to the position of the Big Dipper in the Heavenly Palace, so it was also called the Palace. The entire palace complex was built atop a massive square rammed-earth platform. Just walking up from the ground to the base of the platform and entering the lower hall requires climbing eighty-one ornately designed steps. The central main hall was grand and majestic, towering as if it could reach the heavens. Flanked by expansive east and west side halls, there were also flying towers and high terraces, all of which were magnificently impressive. The main hall itself, called the Chongtian Hall, was eleven rooms wide, had three stories, and rises to a height of one hundred .
Here was the main hall where the former Celestial Beings and The Capital scroll would be restored.
For several days in a row, Xuyu followed Song Bokang and others to climb the stairs and towers in Shenshu Palace, going up and down, measuring the size, and being so busy that she had no time to think about anything else. Early this morning, she entered the palace from the right Yintai Gate, the side gate of the palace, as she had done in the past few days, and came to the duty room located in the northwest side hall of Jixian Hall.
All the people in the department had arrived, waiting for the painting director, the deputy directors and others. Everyone had a look of nervousness or anticipation on their face.
The young painter who had been scolded by Song Bokang for being lazy while painting in Da’en Temple saw her and approached her, whispered, “How did you sleep last night? I couldn’t sleep all night, and I got up as soon as I heard the morning drum this morning!”
His name was Lin Mingyuan, a relative of Song Bokang, which allowed him to enter the palace as a painter through the privilege of family connections. Song Bokang valued Xuyu highly and directly promoted her from a mere artisan to a painter. In recent days, while Lin Mingyuan and other artisans were either assigned to work in other halls or busy with tasks like plastering walls and preparing surfaces, Xuyu, who had just entered the palace, was already able to follow Song Bokang as a painter. This clearly indicated that she was about to undertake significant work. Lin Mingyuan, envious yet respectful of her, naturally regarded her more highly. Since they were of similar age, he considered her a close friend and intentionally tried to grow closer to her.
The reason why he was so excited at this moment was because of something that was about to happen: the Shenshu Palace had been completed, and according to custom, there should be a ceremony to thank gods. His Highness the Crown Prince would lead all the officials to Shenshu Palace today to hold a ceremony to express gratitude to the gods of heaven and earth for protecting this palace. The people in the department would also accompany the Crown Prince to worship, praying that the gods would continue to protect and allow the next painting to be completed smoothly.
Of course, except for the official director and their deputy, the others in the department were not qualified to participate in the ceremony. They could only stand far back in the procession, prostrating themselves on the ground, and praying for the protection of the gods of heaven and earth with respectful posture. But even so, it was enough to make people look forward to it.
“I entered last year, but never had the chance to see the crown prince’s golden face. You are lucky, you can see him as soon as you come!”
Xuyu smiled and said, “I am indeed lucky.”
“Yes!” Lin Mingyuan was very excited. “Usually, we don’t have such a good opportunity!”
The reason why he was so excited was that the Jixian Hall, located in the southwestern part of the palace, was already somewhat isolated. The department was in the westernmost corner of the Jixian Hall, and it was close to the palace supervisors and maids’ workrooms, which was empty at night. Moreover, it was said that this place had once been used as a resting place for the deceased within the palace, so it was rumored that the sound of ghosts could be heard in the middle of the night. Painters and artisans were not willing to come here to work after dark. Normally, let alone the crown prince, who was so noble, even officials who went to the palace to work in the various government offices, they would rarely meet them.
As they were talking, footsteps were heard outside the door and the duty room immediately became quiet.
Today, not only did the painting director Yao Xu and the deputies Song Bokang and Yang Jiming come, but even Fang Shanjin, who had been absent for a long time on the pretext of recuperation, also came. Both of them wore the court robes of sixth-rank civil officials with green belts and silver bands.
Yao Xu asked Fang Shanjin to speak, but Fang Shanjin declined. After pushing back and forth, Yao Xu finally coughed, bowed to Fang Shanjin, and then spoke to everyone. The gist of it was that today, His Highness the Crown Prince would lead all officials to Shenshu Palace to hold a ceremony to thank the gods and thank the land. Everyone here must participate in the ceremony with great piety and must not behave improperly or make any mistakes.
He reminded them again and again, and everyone responded in unison. Under the lead of two painting directors, they turned to Shenshu Palace.
An altar had already been set up outside the Chongtian Hall. Tall and imposing Jinwu Guards, clad in gleaming armor, were stationed in formation. Strong and mighty, each guard stood in a straight line down the steps, extending to the end of the Shenshu Palace Square.
Except for Yao Xu, Fang Shanjin and two deputy directors, the rest of the staff of the department and the many other low-ranking courtiers who had participated in the construction of the new palace all lined up and stood early in the corner of the square farthest from the altar, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
As the sun rose higher, the sundial in front of the hall pointed to the moment of Si time (9-11am) measured by the astronomical officials. His Highness the Crown Prince and all the officials appeared on time and came to the altar outside the Shenshu Palace.
The distance was quite far, but the crown prince’s appearance could still be vaguely seen.
He was in the prime of his life, wearing the ochre-yellow court robes of the crown prince. With the contrast of the civil and military officials and ceremonial guards following him, his face was filled with a sense of supreme majesty like the sun in the sky.
Below the altar, in the front row, were a dozen civil and military officials in purple robes. They were all the most eye-catching high officials of the dynasty, some of them were highly respected, held high positions in the court, in charge of imperial edicts and memorials, and some were from wealthy families and participated in national affairs. Grand Chancellors such as Liu Ceye and Wang Zhang; six ministers and vice ministers such as Feng Zhenping and Cui Daosi; and generals of the third rank of the various guards such as Han Kerang and Chen Sida.
In addition to these officials, the young talents who had been quite popular in the capital recently also arrived with the crown prince. Yuwen Zhi, the shizi of County Prince Xiping Mansion, who was appointed as Lieutenant General, Ashina Chengping, the prince of Wolf Court, and Pei Xiaoyuan, the most watched of all, the head of Luwu Division of the Jinwu Guard, also walked in the team according to their positions.
Under the guidance of the ceremonial officer, all the people followed the crown prince to perform the ceremony of thanking the gods. After a lengthy ceremony of burning incense and offering wine, they respectfully recited a prayer of thanks the earth and praying for peace. After the ceremony was over, the crown prince did not leave immediately, but led all the officials to continue to inspect the new palace.
At this time, the people in the department had nothing else to do, so they retreated to the farthest side hall, waiting for the crown prince and his party to leave. Everyone was still immersed in the scene a moment ago, chatting about it. After all, for them, participating in such a scene and seeing almost all the high-ranking officials of the court from the crown prince to the lower level with their own eyes, such an opportunity was not often encountered.
Lin Mingyuan was still excited and told Xuyu what he saw when he secretly looked up while everyone was prostrating themselves on the ground.
“…I have long heard that His Highness is a man of honor and respect, and his reputation has spread far and wide. Today, I finally see it for myself—truly the appearance of a divine being! If one day I could have the honor to paint His Highness’s portrait, I will have no regrets in this life!”
His words were heard by a disciple of Yang Jiming who was standing nearby, who mockingly said, “Perhaps you should first consider who the chief painter of Chongtian Hall is before dreaming of the future. Wouldn’t that be more realistic?”
“What do you mean? Who can be the chief painter of Chongtian Hall, is it up to you to decide?”
“Of course it’s not up to me, but I can’t stand those who get into the Jixian Hall through family connections without any self-awareness, babbling on all day long. It’s ridiculous!”
Lin Mingyuan’s face immediately turned red.
Although the previous order was that the two painting directors would work together to complete the murals in the main hall, everyone knew that when the day come, there would be only one and only one real chief painter, but Yuan Zhi had not yet decided who it would be.
In the past, the original painting was created by Ye Zhongli alone. Even his beloved disciple Ding Baiya at the time did not participate in any sketching, and his only assistance was the later coloring.
This wasn’t because Ye Zhongli was overly confident in his skills and wanted to claim all the credit for the painting. Rather, it was because this mural wasn’t just an ordinary piece that could be divided among several painters, each contributing their expertise to form a complete work in the end.
If there were two main painters, they would have different painting styles and brushwork habits. Even if they were master and apprentice, they would not be able to completely integrate them in the end. Even if the painters were both the best in the world, it would be difficult to reproduce the natural feeling of the old paintings that were completed in one go from beginning to end.
The result of having two painters would only ruin the painting, turning it into a mediocre work that may not only faulty but also useless.
Yuan Zhi, who rose to fame with this construction, was an expert in this field and fully understood the implications. Now, anyone who was not blind could see that it’s more likely that Yao Xu was the main painter, which explained why the other person was so contemptuous and openly mocking him.
Another disciple of Song Bokang, named Wang Chunlei, knew that their opponents were stronger in numbers. Among the newly recruited students of the painting department, all except for Ye Xuyu had gone to the other side. As for his own group, even Fang Shanjin wasn’t competing, so it was clear that people like them should keep a low profile. Hurriedly, he stepped forward to hold back Lin Mingyuan, trying to calm him down. The other party seized the opportunity to close in, pointing fingers, mocking, and jeering without restraint.
At this time, a eunuch named Cao, who was appointed by Yuan Zhi to help manage the construction of the new palace, walked in, followed by Song Bokang and Yang Jiming. Everyone hurriedly fell silent and stood with their hands hanging down.
Eunuch Cao glanced at everyone in the hall and began to speak.
It turned out that the crown prince was in Chongtian Hall at the moment, asking about the painting of the long scroll. He was meeting with two Hanlin painters and ordered all the painters involved in the painting to come to him. The two director deputies received the order and came here to select the people.
Yang Jiming had already selected two disciples, and Song Bokang also named them. One was Wang Chunlei who had just tried to stop the fight, and the other was Ye Xuyu.