GTB Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Must this portrait be painted?

Jiang Residence, front hall.

“This humble servant greets the Princess.” The painter bowed to Shí Qingya, then cupped his hands towards Madam Ye, saying, “Greetings, Madam Jiang. I am here on the Empress Dowager’s decree to paint a portrait of your esteemed daughter.”

“May I ask, painter, what will this…portrait be used for?” Madam Ye asked upon hearing this.

The painter was taken aback. He had visited so many households recently, and this was the first time someone had asked so directly. Could it be that the Jiang family was new to Kyoto and didn’t fully understand certain matters?

But such things were usually understood tacitly. As a painter, without specific instructions from the Empress Dowager, he couldn’t be too explicit.

However, even if Madam Jiang didn’t know, the Princess should be aware.

“Madam Ye, I am only responsible for painting the portrait. The Empress Dowager didn’t elaborate on the rest, so I don’t know. Since the Empress Dowager wants a portrait, she must have her reasons.”

Shí Qingya pondered for a moment and deliberately asked, “Painter Lin, the Jiang family is a fourth-rank household. Are you sure you haven’t come to the wrong place?”

“Replying to the Princess, this humble servant is certain I have not made a mistake. It is indeed a daughter of a fourth-rank official’s family who is to be painted this time.”

“Mm.” Shí Qingya nodded. Then, after exchanging a look with Madam Ye, the two led the painter towards Crabapple Courtyard.

Madam Ye glanced back to see that the painter was following about ten steps behind them. She leaned in and whispered to Shí Qingya, “Ya’er, could this be to select a consort for one of the princes!”

“Our family’s rank isn’t high, and as far as I know, those princes almost all have consorts already. Could it be to select a secondary consort?”

Madam Ye, not fully understanding the situation, was frightened. She even wondered if the Emperor was choosing a consort! But out of consideration for Shí Qingya’s father, she held back from asking.

But regardless of the reason, she was opposed to it.

Her daughter absolutely could not be a concubine.

Putting aside everything else, with her daughter’s appearance, which principal wife wouldn’t be resentful and use underhanded tactics to torment her?

Seeing Madam Ye’s anxious and worried expression, Shí Qingya turned and replied, “Mother, you may not know, but there are still two adult princes who are unmarried. Of those, the Empress Dowager favors the Seventh Prince, Shí Yan, the most.”

Shí Qingya thought for a long time and ultimately felt it was related to her Seventh Brother.

After all, apart from her Seventh Brother, the other imperial brothers didn’t carry much weight in the Empress Dowager’s eyes. The Empress Dowager hadn’t even inquired about their principal wives, let alone concern herself with their secondary consorts.

Therefore, it was very likely that her Seventh Brother had rejected all the portraits sent to him by the Empress Dowager, so the Empress Dowager could only lower the bar and start looking at families of lower rank.

Madam Ye understood Shí Qingya’s meaning. It seemed the Empress Dowager was selecting a consort for the Seventh Prince.

But she had never paid attention to any of the princes, and she had never even heard of this Seventh Prince. Nor had she ever considered letting her daughter cling to some prince.

“That…Ya’er! Chu’er has always grown up in An Yang County. Although she is also a young lady of a good family, she is not on par with the aristocratic daughters of this Kyoto imperial city and cannot be a prince’s consort.”

“Can’t we ask the painter not to paint Chu’er? Surely missing one or two portraits wouldn’t matter much!”

Shí Qingya shook her head. “Mother, that won’t do. The painter is here on the Empress Dowager’s orders. Missing even one would be dereliction of duty.”

After saying that, she reassured her, “However, Mother, you can rest assured. The Empress Dowager had Seventh Brother choose once before, and so many aristocratic daughters were presented to him, but he rejected them all.”

“In the end, this is probably just a formality. He won’t…”

Shí Qingya stopped suddenly, nearly forgetting that things were different now.

Now, her Crown Prince brother’s legs were crippled. Although her imperial father had not appointed another heir, that position was practically vacant. Sooner or later, a new heir would have to be chosen.

At this time, every move of the princes would be watched. If her Seventh Brother had no interest in that position, then finding a young lady from a lower-ranked family as his principal wife would be a way of showing his lack of ambition.

She wasn’t sure if her Seventh Brother had that intention, but the Empress Dowager might very well be thinking along those lines. After all, the Crown Prince’s assassination didn’t seem so simple.

She pondered for a moment and rephrased, “Mother, it’s not like Chu’er is the only one being painted. It’s impossible that Chu’er would be chosen so coincidentally.”

Shí Qingya felt that if the selection was for other princes, then Chu’er would definitely be chosen. After all, which man didn’t like beauties?

But her Seventh Brother was different. He would complain if they were ugly and say they were boring if they were beautiful. He clearly didn’t like these aristocratic ladies.

Madam Ye didn’t know what Shí Qingya was thinking. She was truly worried that her Chu’er would be chosen, so she asked, “What is the Seventh Prince’s character like?”

Shí Qingya pursed her lips, thinking, what is his character like? Honestly, it was hard for her to say, mainly because they weren’t close.

If she had to say, she could only give her impression, which was that he was rebellious and arrogant to the point that even she, his imperial sister, couldn’t say much to him.

And he didn’t get close to anyone except for the Eighth Prince and the young master of the Chu family, and these two were famous A playboy, they spend their time drinking.

However, the Empress Dowager had said that Seventh Brother had no concubines or serving girls in his residence, which was somewhat surprising. Could it be that he had had enough fun outside and didn’t need them?

“That… I’m not too familiar with Seventh Brother. However, I’ve heard that he doesn’t seem to have any concubines or serving girls in his residence.”

Madam Ye was somewhat surprised to hear that. It was rare for a prince who had reached the age of eighteen not to have any concubines or serving girls.

The two spoke in hushed voices, and before long, they arrived outside Crabapple Courtyard.

Madam Ye invited the painter to sit at the stone table in the courtyard and instructed Mama Cui, who was behind her, to brew tea.

Then, she said to the painter, “Painter Lin, please sit here for a moment. I’ll go inside and inform her of the situation and call her out.”

“Very well, Madam, please proceed at your convenience. There’s no rush.”

Painter Lin was used to this. He had painted so many young ladies, and each one spent a lot of time dressing up before coming out for him to paint.

Some even slipped him silver so that he would paint them beautifully and vividly. Everyone could guess the Empress Dowager’s purpose.

Speaking of which, although Seventh Prince had a bad reputation, he seemed to be quite popular with those young ladies. When he picked up his brush, each one would either give a charming smile or a graceful, demure look.

Ah! Truly, beauties had a thousand faces, each unique! The painter sighed and opened his paint box, taking out his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone in preparation.

Inside the room, Jiang Jiuchu, who was playing go with Green Lo, thought her mother was bringing her sister-in-law to persuade her. The heartbroken expression she had just put on froze completely when she heard their words.

She quickly ran to the door and looked outside, and sure enough, she saw a man of about thirty years old sitting in her courtyard, setting up an easel.

“Mother, why did the Empress Dowager send someone to paint my portrait? We have no connection with the Empress Dowager!”

Jiang Jiuchu felt that not only did they have no connection, but they were not worthy of having one. Portraits and the like sounded ominous.

Madam Ye explained, “It’s not just you. The portraits are for all the young ladies from various families who meet the requirements.”

Hearing this, Jiang Jiuchu looked at Shí Qingya. “Sister-in-law, do you know what the Empress Dowager’s intention is?”

Shí Qingya didn’t hide anything and said uncertainly, “Probably, perhaps, it should… be selecting a consort for the Seventh Prince!”

Jiang Jiuchu’s eyes widened in shock, and she immediately asked, “Sister-in-law, is this portrait absolutely necessary?”

“Empress Dowager’s decree.” Shí Qingya nodded, and only said this sentence, then Jiang Jiuchu quietly closed her mouth.