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Paper is always shallow, true knowledge requires personal experience.

Our ancestors definitely had culture.

Chen Yiyang only knew it smelled fragrant. Our ancestors coined the phrase ’fragrance penetrating the flesh’.

Fragrance penetrating the flesh, indeed.

Such a nice smell.

After the bath, Xu Xiaosheng was already flushed red.

Even though the two hadn’t done anything yet, Xu Xiaosheng felt as if all the bones in her body had been drained, clinging to Chen Yiyang like a soft creature.

Chen Yiyang lifted her out of the bathtub, then found a towel to wrap her in.

As for their clothes, they had disappeared long before they got into the bathtub.

"You’ve interpreted the poem. Isn’t it time for you to leave?" Xu Xiaosheng, lying on Chen Yiyang’s shoulder, seemed to have used all her strength to say this sentence.

"Who says Yan Xuan only wrote one poem?" Chen Yiyang said to Xu Xiaosheng softly in her ear, while carrying her to the bedroom. He then offered to share another poem.

Yumengren·Pink and Red Lotus Bud

Yan Xuan (Five Dynasties)

Pink and red blossom, face moves with gentle waves. Little fish bite jade hairpins askew, pomegranate skirt dyed with light silk, graceful turning.

Secretly planned in the depths of lotus waves, dreaming amid clouds and rain. Arm leaves sandalwood marks, teeth scars scent, awake in deep autumn, thinking long into the night.

Woke up next morning.

Chen Yiyang stretched lazily, casually running his hand over the sleeping Xu Xiaosheng, then opened his phone to glance at today’s updates.

Today’s news, True Face of the Fan: Exhibition of Painting and Calligraphy Trade in Jin City’s Ning’an District, Zhenwu Road, Booth 26 selling Republic Wu Huafan’s fan bones inscribed by Sheng Bingyun. Successful bargain purchase under one thousand yuan.

Can one still find good deals on Republic-era items?

Not too urgent for now, Chen Yiyang thought as he put the phone away. He’s aware of the art exhibit; near where Zhang Jiuqian will soon host a painting exhibition.

In Jin City, painting and calligraphy exhibitions generally don’t attract much attention.

Art traded here mostly consists of works by modern and contemporary artists. Even if an antique appears, it rarely dates before the Republic.

Anything before that wouldn’t be sold in places like this.

After all, preserving paintings is hard, and works by famous artists sell themselves.

Meanwhile, works by contemporary artists rarely get into the public eye; they can only sell them at such exhibits.

"Mmm."

Xu Xiaosheng woke up at this moment.

She glanced at Chen Yiyang and then at herself.

Neither of them wore clothes.

Embarrassed, she quietly pulled the quilt to cover herself.

That cute gesture made Chen Yiyang want to tease her more.

So Chen Yiyang crawled into bed.

"Wait, no." Xu Xiaosheng didn’t expect to start the day hungry, only to get eaten herself.

And so she fiercely bit Chen Yiyang’s shoulder.

"Tell me, why did Yan Xuan call it sandalwood imprint?" Chen Yiyang, arms around Xu Xiaosheng, looked at the bite marks she left, chatting casually.

"I don’t know, just feel a salty taste in my mouth." Xu Xiaosheng answered honestly.

Now she didn’t want any more poetry explanations from Chen Yiyang.

"Come on, let’s take another bath." Chen Yiyang picked up Xu Xiaosheng and headed for the bathroom again.

This time, both bathed honestly.

Mainly because Chen Yiyang had exhausted his physical and mental limit, losing the ability to recite poetry.

After bathing, Chen Yiyang remembered something.

"Oh, didn’t we leave the clothes here yesterday?"

"Ah, yes." Xu Xiaosheng’s face suddenly turned anxious.

Quickly, she climbed out of the bathtub to find her clothes.

But couldn’t find them.

Chen Yiyang suddenly recalled seeing their clothes on the sofa across from the bed when he woke up.

So he walked back to the bedroom.

Sure enough, both of their overcoats and underwear were neatly piled on the guestroom sofa.

"Must’ve been the senior." Exhausted, Xu Xiaosheng sighed after getting dressed.

No fairy tale maidens in a presidential suite.

Cleaning staff wouldn’t tidy up clothes for you.

Only possibility is that Zhang Yuling came back last night to find their clothes scattered in the bathroom, and tidied them up.

"She came back pretty late last night, didn’t she?" Chen Yiyang didn’t mind.

All adults here, nothing to be ashamed of.

"Let me check." Xu Xiaosheng opened her phone—it had a message from Zhang Yuling.

"Senior wants me to help after I get up this morning."

"It’s already noon now. I remember there’s a buffet on the hotel’s top floor. Let’s go, I’ll take you there after breakfast."

After eating, Chen Yiyang drove Xu Xiaosheng to the art exhibit.

Then parked nearby and walked to the painting and calligraphy expo next door.

Quite deserted here, completely different from Temple Fair Street or Flea Market Street.

Dealers sat reading or chatting over tea.

No one shouted to sell. Buyers quietly inquired about prices after finding a painting they liked.

If genuinely interested, negotiated prices in few words and left with the purchase.

Chen Yiyang found the booth mentioned in the information.

The owner here differed from others who, whether genuinely or ostentatiously cultured, at least appeared so.

Only this owner played games on his phone right there.

"If you see anything you like, scan and pay, no haggling." Upon Chen Yiyang’s arrival, the owner muttered before getting back to his game.

Chen Yiyang examined the booth carefully.

The table displayed various fans with labels on either side, left stating: Selling Republic-era antique fans, each for a thousand yuan.

Right stating: Buying Republic-era antique fans, only masterworks, price negotiable.

Among these fans, Chen Yiyang finally found the one described in the intel.

But while the information referred to fan bones, this booth offered a complete fan.

Chen Yiyang picked it up to scrutinize.

The fan’s surface appeared newly glued on, perhaps deliberately or not.

The new surface also treated both sides, although unifying its style.

It completely concealed the fan bones beneath, obscuring their original appearance.

"This one."

"A thousand."

The opposite party called out before Chen Yiyang could ask.

Without much comment, Chen Yiyang scanned to pay, taking the fan.

Leaving the painting and calligraphy expo, he entered the venue hosting the art exhibit.

Zhang Yuling, directing preparations, saw Chen Yiyang and said, "Xiaosheng went to fetch something for me; might take an hour or two."

"No worries. I just need to borrow your space for a bit." Chen Yiyang picked a bottle of water from the ground and found a clean spot nearby.

Gradually soaking the fan surface with water, he then started disentangling it using a toothpick.

The surface being a common modern artwork, unlabeled, worth nothing.

Hence, Chen Yiyang dismantled it rather roughly, preserving only the fan bones.

His actions drew Zhang Yuling’s attention. Having sorted her stuff, she came to watch, curious but quietly, not asking questions.

Soon, Chen Yiyang peeled off the surface entirely, revealing the fan bones within.

At the same time, the original patterns and inscriptions on both sides of the fan bones became visible.

Although the artwork on the bones was beautiful, Zhang Yuling’s gaze focused on the inscription instead.

Painted by Wu Huafan and carved by Sheng Bingyun, Mid-Autumn of Kuichou Year.

Who was Wu Huafan?

A renowned master in modern painting and calligraphy.

In painting and calligraphy circles, his stature can be summed in a sentence.

Just like Zhang Daqian’s works, Wu’s are part of post-1911 deceased artists’ restricted export list.

If Chen Yiyang took the fan out of the country, it’d be illegal.

And though Sheng Bingyun’s reputation was smaller, being Wu Huafan’s disciple, his usual works could be exported but signature ones couldn’t.

This fan’s inscriptions and illustrations were crafted by the mentor and mentee of that time.

"Where did you find a fan engraved by Master Wu Huafan?!"

Even Zhang Yuling was astonished.