Chapter 2273: Hundred Aspects in Camp
The several scrolls he opened were all orchids, each in a different posture, each with its own distinct form. Yi Haoran examined them with secret surprise. Though his knowledge of calligraphy and painting was quite shallow, he possessed basic literati cultivation. Looking at these orchids, every one conveyed an air of melancholy and desolation.
Since ancient times, the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting had all been voices of the heart. Whoever painted these clearly had low spirits.
"The orchids painted by this person, without exception, carry the bleak artistic conception of 'fishing alone in cold river snow.' Truly lamentable. This should not be the work of a True Australian Senator."
"Of course not." Chang Qingyun had only the one chair in the room, so he sat on the bamboo-board bed, hugging his knees. "At first, I also thought they might have been painted by some Senator. But right now they're riding high on success—how could any of them possess such a melancholy state of mind? It makes no sense. Besides..."
"Besides, this is clearly a woman's work," Yi Haoran said.
"You noticed that too?" Chang Qingyun stared blankly. "I had no idea you were skilled in such matters..."
"Hardly. These brushstrokes are slender and soft—definitely not a man's hand. And the Hair thieves in Wuzhou have no women among them."
Yi Haoran had originally come to probe the reality of the captive camp. But now these few paintings had hooked his curiosity. Obviously, the Hair thieves valued these paintings highly, which meant they valued the woman who painted them. Who exactly was she?
"The Australian wants painting and poetry in harmony. To be honest, I don't know where to begin. Her painting sentiment is too desolate and lonely. The orchids she paints are either rootless and soilless, or growing in sludge and muddy water. If I follow her artistic intent, my response should also be a scene of bleakness and sorrow..." Chang Qingyun was rambling about his creative challenges.
Suddenly Yi Haoran slapped the table and shouted: "I know whose paintings these are!"
"?" Chang Qingyun gaped, not understanding his excitement. "Whose?"
"These are Cai Lan's paintings!" he exclaimed. "I'm absolutely certain—everything matches!"
"Who is Cai Lan?" Chang Qingyun was confused.
"Xing Chenghuan's fiancée."
"Xing Chenghuan?" Chang Qingyun searched his memory, then suddenly remembered. "Could that be Master Hu, the advisor to the Wuzhou Prefect?"
"That's him." Yi Haoran nodded emphatically. "When Wuzhou fell, he committed suicide in martyrdom for the city."
"So that's how it is..." Chang Qingyun suddenly understood. "No wonder her painting realm is so dejected, and why she paints orchids in particular!"
"I heard some days ago that a woman attempted to assassinate a True Australian Senator at Dragon Mother Temple. At the time, I suspected it was her. I heard she failed and was captured. I originally assumed she had martyred herself for her husband while trying to stop the thieves. I never expected she would end up following the True Australian Senator..."
Yi Haoran had suspected as much the moment he saw this painting and heard Chang Qingyun's description. During the chaos of war, the only woman in Wuzhou for whom a True Australian would expend such effort to please—specifically by seeking out Qiuchan as a companion—could only be Cai Lan.
This Hair thief Xie certainly has refined interests! Yi Haoran thought with disdain.
"She was alone here. Being able to attempt an assassination on a True Australian was already no small feat. Now that she's submitted to the Australians, she's merely compromising to survive..."
"Hah! 'Starving to death is a small matter; losing one's chastity is a great matter!' She has no children below to continue her husband's line, no parents-in-law above to care for. What 'survival' is she seeking? She's simply greedy for life and afraid of death, dragging out a wretched existence! It's remarkable that Master Xing treated her with such a pure and sincere heart. When the crisis came, she refused to die in martyrdom for him and instead committed such a shameful act!" Yi Haoran's curse came out like venting.
Chang Qingyun's face reddened. He vaguely sensed that Yi Haoran was "pointing at the mulberry while cursing the locust"—insulting Cai Lan while really aiming at him. But he dared not argue and could only swallow his anger.
Yi Haoran cursed for a few sentences before suddenly realizing he had lost his composure. What place was this?! If anyone overheard and reported him, he and Chang Qingyun dying would be one thing—but wouldn't their great Anti-Hair Cause be ruined!
He immediately said, "Forgive me, I lost myself. Brother Chang, please pardon my outburst."
"Think nothing of it." Chang Qingyun smiled bitterly, his face full of helplessness.
Now that he had calmed down, Yi Haoran saw this as an opportunity. Judging from her paintings, though Cai Lan had submitted to the thieves, her heart was unwilling. The artistic intent was suffused with pain and shame. If he could find a chance to reason with her, move her emotionally, and then appeal to her with great righteousness, she could be of tremendous use to him—far more than Jiang Qiuchan could ever be.
At this thought, he felt a secret thrill of excitement. But he had no intention of revealing his plans to Chang Qingyun. He sensed that this Juren Master's will was highly unstable. Though he had reluctantly joined the "Great Cause," he remained unwilling. If Yi Haoran spoke too openly and frightened him, it could easily ruin everything.
With this in mind, he had already formulated a countermeasure.
"In my view, rather than saying you're painting this for Cai Lan to see, it would be more accurate to say you're painting it for the Australian to look at." Yi Haoran had made up his mind. "Look at Cai Lan's paintings. The orchids are either rootless or growing in sludge and muddy water. What does this mean?"
"Rootless orchids—in the past, Zheng Yiwong mostly painted them this way, to show noble purity, an unwillingness to be tainted by barbarian soil. But painting orchids in sludge and muddy water as well... aren't those two artistic intentions contradictory?" Chang Qingyun found it somewhat incomprehensible.
"That's precisely the pain in her heart," Yi Haoran sighed with emotion. "At first, she sought to die for her husband and actively went to assassinate the Australian—because Han Chinese and thieves cannot coexist. After she was captured and submitted to the thieves, she lost her chastity, though her heart remains unwilling."
"I see." Chang Qingyun nodded. "But for me to respond..."
"In my view, it's quite simple for Brother Chang to respond. This Australian most likely harbors designs on Cai Lan and wants to coax her into happiness. If you blindly cater to Cai Lan's sensibilities and paint nothing but bleak and desolate scenes of cold suburbs and lean islands, firstly the Australian won't enjoy looking at them. Secondly, if your paintings stir up infinite sorrow in Cai Lan and she seeks to end her own life, wouldn't you become a great sinner?"
Chang Qingyun trembled, realizing he had been utterly confused! He had been thinking only about how to craft a response, never considering this crucial point! If Cai Lan actually took her own life, the first person the True Australian would punish would certainly be him!
"Master Yi truly has far-sighted vision! However, if I make the paintings festive and rich, I fear they won't match the sentiment either..."
"Cai Lan is, after all, a modest young lady from a scholarly family, and she has suffered the pain of losing her husband. If you paint roosters and peonies, it would be deeply inappropriate." Yi Haoran pondered for a moment. "Brother, can you paint landscapes as well as flowers and birds?"
"Naturally I can."
"Then that's the answer. Brother Chang might as well paint a few 'Spring Outing' scenes or 'Treading Snow to Seek Plum Blossoms' and such. Let the artistic conception be leisurely and comfortable. The Australian won't detect anything amiss, and Cai Lan won't overthink when she sees them."
"Excellent!" Chang Qingyun felt somewhat excited. He had nearly forgotten why this old man had come to the captive camp in the first place. He was just about to speak when a burst of commotion sounded from outside—men's curses, women's wailing and crying, and people trying to mediate.
"What's happening?" Yi Haoran started and asked.
Chang Qingyun gestured for him to be quiet, walked to the bedside, and quietly pushed aside the grass curtain over the window to look out. After a moment, he turned back. "It's nothing. Just some domestic trouble in another family." He sighed as he spoke.
"What exactly is it?" Yi Haoran's curiosity was aroused. He whispered the question.
"It's shameful to speak of." Chang Qingyun sighed again. "I just told you—the people living here are all officials and their dependents sent from various places."
"So?"
"The Australians treat them fairly well and allow families to live together. They're usually assigned light tasks too. But though the work is light, you also know what these official households are like: those who pass examinations for rank are mostly middle-aged or older. Young able-bodied men among them are one in a hundred. Most can't even distinguish the five grains or do basic physical labor. Even light tasks are done clumsily. Completing their quota is considered good; exceeding it is out of the question.
"When they were in their official posts, they had clerks and servants to support them. Now locked in this camp, all the servants are gone, and everything must be done by hand. They still have elderly parents, wives, and children to feed. The Australian rations alone are hardly enough! Though they won't starve to death, a life lacking food and clothing is truly hard to bear. As time passed and they could no longer endure the hardship, they ordered their wives and concubines to sell smiles in the camp, earning a bit of extra food and clothing..."
He shook his head with bitter resignation. "At first, these men mostly felt ashamed and only sent maidservants and concubines to sell smiles. Gradually, some began pushing their own daughters into the fiery pit. Lamentable fathers, brothers, and husbands spend their days enjoying the proceeds, utterly shameless, often even haggling over the payment and causing scenes... Just now was one of those quarrels."
Yi Haoran was not surprised by this sort of thing. He had witnessed far more suffering in the world than Chang Qingyun. In desperate circumstances, people would abandon whatever reputation and integrity they once held.
"I see." He asked, "Don't the Australians intervene?"
"The Australians don't concern themselves with matters of reputation and integrity. In fact, one might say they wish there were no such words as 'Reputation' and 'Integrity' under heaven!" Looking at Chang Qingyun's expression, he obviously had quite some criticism of the Hair thieves on this point. "To them, this sort of thing is a fine outcome! It damages scholars' dignity and soils Daming's officials and gentry. They probably couldn't ask for anything better! The stewards running this place were never good folk to begin with. Now with the Australians indulging them, they've become even more lawless. As long as taxes and fees are paid on time, they'll turn a blind eye to anything! Originally, this flesh trade catered only to the captive camp guards. Later, word spread, and even fake Australian soldiers stationed nearby came to indulge themselves. Business has only grown more flourishing!" Chang Qingyun sneered.
The commotion outside gradually subsided. Suddenly, the door of the room next door was flung open and someone rushed inside. Immediately afterward, the door was kicked open again, and a voice shouted:
"You adulterous slave-woman! Master Liu summons you to accompany him for wine and you dare put on airs! Still think yourself some golden and precious Eldest Miss?" Four crisp slapping sounds followed, along with cries of pain and the sound of someone falling to the ground.
Then came a man's curse: "Get up and kneel! See if I don't whip you raw, you hoof! Don't refuse the face you're given!" The crack of a leather whip sounded, mixed with a woman's agonized screams. The whipping continued for a dozen strokes. Suddenly, a door opened again and another woman's voice entered: "Brother, don't beat her too badly! If her skin and flesh are all torn up, how will she keep Master company tonight?"
Next Update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Part 477 (End of Chapter)