Chapter 388: Mother's Portrait

stared at him blankly, as if she couldn't believe he would say such a thing.Doesn't this mean that in Gu Jingxi's heart, that set of jade and white porcelain heads is just trash, and she doesn't need...The next morning.

Meng Jinyu and Gu Jingxi then set off for Deqing County.

Huizhou City is not far from Deqing County. By taking a carriage, it takes less than two hours to get there. To avoid the bumpy ride when the carriage goes fast, Gu Jingxi instructed the coachman to slow down, and it took a full two hours to reach Deqing County.

Although Deqing County is not as bustling as Huzhou City, it is still a wealthy county and doesn't fall far behind.

After entering the city, the carriage went straight to the county government office. Duke Du didn't have a house in Deqing County and lived in the county government every day. He worked in the county government during the day and had a courtyard in the back hall of the county government for officials and their families to live in at night.

Before arriving at Deqing County, Gu Jingxi had already instructed Liu the Butler to inform Master Du.

When Lord Du heard this, he was greatly surprised. His deceased wife had a good relationship with the mother of the maid from the Meng family, so after Zhou's death, his wife would sometimes visit the maid. After his wife passed away, he was also exiled to another place, and the two families lost contact. After many years, he never expected that the maid still remembered him and specially came to visit him with Lord Gu.

Lord Du was thinking that they had come from Lake State City and wouldn't go back the same day, so he had someone prepare the guest rooms in advance, and also asked the cook to buy good ingredients to entertain them. As for himself, he didn't leave the county office and waited at the county office for the couple to arrive.

After waiting for a long time, he finally arrived. Duke Du hurried out to greet them, and when he saw the couple, he was just about to bow to Gu Jingxi.

However, Gu Jingxi took the lead and bowed respectfully to him as a junior: "Yao Ling greets Uncle by marriage."

Meng Jin Yao also followed suit and bowed: "Little Aya greets her uncle."

Master Du, seeing this, was greatly surprised and quickly said, "No need for formalities." He began to look at the child in his memory. Seeing that the child had grown tall and graceful, resembling Mrs. Zhou in appearance but with a different temperament, he nodded slightly, saying, "She resembles you, Ayao truly resembles your mother."

After many years, Meng Jinyao saw him and still felt a sense of familiarity. She smiled and said: “Others also say that I look like my mother.”

Master Du then sized up Gu Jingxi, finding him handsome and elegant, although a bit older. However, he didn't look his age and paired well with Ayo. He nodded repeatedly: "When I heard of your marriage, I was quite surprised. Now seeing how well-matched you two are as a couple, I think this union is excellent. Ayo has suffered for so many years, but now she finally has sweet happiness."

Gu Jingxi turned his eyes to his young wife and said warmly, "Aunt-father rest assured, Yao Ling will treat Ayao well from now on." Only then did he subtly glance at Duke Du. Duke Du looked like Du Sichen, but he was calmer and gentler, something that Du Sichen lacked. Perhaps it was because he was younger.

Master Du nodded and said, “Yao Ling, A Yao, let's go inside and talk.”

After entering the courtyard behind the county office, several people sat down in the hall and chatted about their recent happenings. They got along well with each other.

Having learned that they would be staying here for a few days, Master Du naturally welcomed them. He immediately took them to the guest rooms, which had already been prepared, and helped them put their luggage away.

At this moment, a servant came to report that lunch was ready.

Three people went to the hall for lunch. After lunch, Mr. Du suddenly remembered something and asked his wife and husband to go to his study with him.

Gu Jingxi's wife and he went to his study with him. He took out two paint boxes and carefully retrieved the paintings from them. He then handed one of the paintings to Meng Jin Yao.

Meng Jinyáo saw this and was a little confused: "Uncle, what is this"

Master Du smiled and replied, "Ayao, open it and take a look. You'll definitely like this painting."

Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyang took the scroll and, together with Gu Jingxi, unfurled it. The moment they saw the person in the painting, their eyes were instantly fixed. The painter's skill was evident; the subject was brought to life with incredible detail and realism. The person in the painting bore a strong resemblance to Meng Jinyang, yet their temperament differed greatly. The person in the painting possessed a gentle, reserved, and introspective air.

Meng Jin Yao stared blankly at the person in the painting, her eyes instantly reddened, and she murmured softly: "Mother"

She also once had a portrait of her mother, which was very lifelike, but it was destroyed by Meng Jinyu. Later, the Sun family had someone paint another one for her as compensation, but it couldn't capture her mother's essence; it only resembled her appearance. The warmth in her eyes couldn't be painted, but this portrait before her could.

When Gu Jingxi saw the painting, he was also taken aback. He quickly realized that the person depicted in the painting was not Ayo, but Ayo's mother, his mother-in-law. But why would his uncle have a portrait of his mother-in-law

Could it be that Du Sizhe likes Ah Yao, and Uncle-in-law likes Ah Yao's mother, which is why he keeps a portrait of Ah Yao's mother

When Meng Jin Yao came to her senses, she too felt confused. Why would Uncle's father have a portrait of her mother, and why was it kept in such good condition What was going on

She whispered, "Uncle, this... how did you come to have a portrait of my mother"

"Mr. Du probably also knows that they must have misunderstood something, so he hurriedly said: "This is your aunt's relic, and this painting was also painted by your aunt. Look at the signature below, Jing'an is your aunt's maiden name. Because it is your aunt's relic, I can't bear to throw it away, and this painting is also one of her most treasured works. She cherished it, and so do I. I have always kept it by my side, taking good care of it. Just the past two Sundays, the messenger said you were coming, and I remembered this painting, so I took it out to give to you. This painting belongs here the best."

Meng Jinyao, after hearing this, understood immediately and hurriedly thanked him: "Thank you so much, Uncle. I really like this painting. I like it very much." She said, her voice choked with emotion. Although it wasn't the same painting as before, she felt a sense of regaining what she had lost.

Du Da Ren seeing the situation, also knew she was thinking of her mother, and softly comforted: "Good child, don't cry

"

Gu Jingxi gently wiped away the tears spilling from her eyes, first putting the painting away to prevent her from crying uncontrollably later. If she cried, the tears would dampen the painting and ruin it.

Meng Jin Yao sniffed, forcing back her tears, and turned to look at another painting. Since her uncle had taken out two paintings, she knew the other one would be shown to her as well. She asked, "Uncle, what is painted on that one Is it also for me"

Mr. Du spoke in a gentle tone: “This painting can't be given to you, but Uncle-Father can show it to you.”

He stopped speaking and spread out the scroll on the table. The figures in the painting were revealed, they were in a garden bursting with spring flowers. A pregnant woman and a young girl were depicted, their expressions seemed to be conversing. The woman's belly was likely about eight months along.

Meng Jin Yao immediately recognized them. It was her aunt and mother. At that time, her mother hadn't married yet and hadn't styled her hair as a married woman's. But looking at her aunt's belly, her cousin brother would be born soon, which meant her mother's wedding date was also approaching.

Lord Du gently stroked the pregnant woman in the painting, his expression soft. “This is your aunt’s only portrait from her pregnancy. Your mother painted this portrait of your aunt, and your aunt's portrait was painted by your mother. They collaborated on this painting together. Their skills are very good, and I can’t compare. Even if I copy it, I can’t capture this spirit.”

Meng Jinyao originally loved this painting very much because it depicted her mother's appearance before marriage. However, hearing about her uncle's painting, she didn't want to covet someone else's favorite, so she shifted her attention to her husband, who was skilled in painting.

Her eyes clearly conveyed her meaning. Gu Jingxi met her gaze and immediately knew what she wanted. He replied softly, "Aunt, would you be willing to lend me this painting so I can copy it I'd like to make a copy for Ayao."

Mr. Du nodded: "Of course."

Gu Jingxi still had other things to do, and since he had some free time now, he wanted to take care of this matter immediately. He said again: "Uncle by marriage, could you please prepare the painting tools now I want to copy it right away."

Master Du was a little bewildered, not understanding why the other party was so anxious. However, he didn't ask further and had his drawing tools prepared for him to copy the artwork. He originally wanted to see how skilled he was at painting, but when his master summoned him, there was something else he needed to attend to, so he left first.

Only Meng Jin Yao and Gu Jing Xi, the couple, remained in the study.

Gu Jingxi was sketching, Meng Jinyao stood beside him watching, both with focused expressions. He was absorbed in his drawing, she in observing him. When a maid passed by and looked in from the window, she saw this scene and was instantly mesmerized.

He is the scenery in her eyes.

And yet, they are the scenery in others' eyes.summer breeze to dispel the heat. The room didn't need an ice mirror to cool down and it didn't feel hot at all.While Gu Jingxi was bathing and hadn't returned yet, Meng Jin Yao thought for a moment,...