Chapter 474: Chapter 472: National Treasure-Level Painting
All kinds of gifts from various families, including gold, jade, porcelain, and embroidery, were just appropriateânot too extravagant, yet not lacking in manners.
The Wang Family, with the highest scholarly reputation, sent pre-Ming tea, considered the most elegant of the gifts, although Lin Wanwan wasnât very interested in tea.
Continuing to look at the gift list, she found that Dugu Di sent a Lantern Festival Painting.
Lin Wanwan was very curious about what kind of painting it would be, so she immediately called Yun Shang to fetch the painting from the storeroom for viewing.
The scroll was horizontal, roughly 40 cm high and 80 cm wide. Once unfolded, a grand scene of "market flowers and lights like daylight" appeared.
Noblemen and women strolled at night, singing while walking, while the roads were fragrant with luxury cars.
Although Lin Wanwan had been in the Great Tang for over a year, she had never visited the world-renowned city of Great Tang Changâan. But for some reason, upon seeing this painting, her first thought was about the prosperity of Changâan!
Without any reason, Lin Wanwanâs sixth sense told her that this depicted the Vermilion Bird Street during the lantern festivalâan unrestrained public celebration without curfew!
The painting had an aerial view composition, from composition to color to light and shadow, all executed perfectly.
The whole picture had a golden ratio, with clear layers, with varying distances, heights, complementing one another, and blending seamlessly. It aroused emotions, indeed remarkable, and the depiction of buildings and people was as fine as hair.
Though it was a group scene, each character within the scroll was vivid and lifelike.
The entire painting invoked the feeling of sound beyond the canvas, instantly transporting one through time and space as if they were amidst the lantern festival depicted.
There was no doubt this was a work by a famous artist!
Lin Wanwan immediately searched for the inscription and seal on the painting, but after bringing three lamps over for illumination and examining several times, she didnât find any.
"Oh no! What a pity!" Lin Wanwan couldnât help but lament.
The book and painting artists before the Tang disliked inscribing or sealing their works, resulting in many masterpieces lacking distinct identification and causing academic disputes.
No matter who created this artwork, it was undoubtedly an awe-inspiring piece, a timeless classic.
If it werenât for the late hour, Lin Wanwan would want to rush to the county government to dig out Dugu Di and ask him about the origin of this painting.
If it were the work of a living master, she would want them to seal it, and inscribe a provenance statement.
Such a marvelous piece excited Lin Wanwan beyond measure, unable to sleep, wishing it was already daylight in the blink of an eye.
Besides the portrait Xiao Chong gave her, Lin Wanwan now held a Insect Grass Painting by Gu Yewang.
The value of her own portrait was hard to say, of course, she wouldnât sell it, and Gu Yewangâs Insect Grass Painting would definitely be priceless if sold.
After all, Gu Yewangâs works only existed in historical records, no physical pieces were passed down.
Qi Baishiâs paintings could fetch over a billion, Gu Yewangâs paintings would surely be more, considering it was a national treasure level artwork!
And now, Lin Wanwan felt like she had acquired another national treasure level painting! Without knowing its origins, she really couldnât sleep.
Finally, Lin Wanwan took several deep breaths and carefully put the painting away, then suppressed her excitement, extinguished the glazed lamp, opened the Space-Time Gate, and returned to the modern times.
If she stayed any longer in the Great Tang, sheâd become more excited, needing to refresh her mind.
Dawn was just breaking on the modern side, it was only five thirty in the morning. Because Lin Wanwan had stayed a bit longer in the Great Tang, the modern now was one day earlier than the Great Tang.
Which meant, her birthday in Great Tang was almost over, while in the modern times, it was just beginning!
"Little elf, open the curtains."
Lin Wanwan sat on the edge of the bed, issued a command to the smart video speaker placed on the chest of drawers.
"Okay, Your Majesty, opening the curtains for you now."
The smart curtain rod linked with the smart speaker slowly moved, letting in the soft yellow streetlights from the outside community.
Lin Wanwan walked to the window, opened it, and took a deep breath of the modern haze to clear her mind!
Yes, she couldnât be so thrown off by a painting with unclear origins, that would be too unsteady!
After all, she was the one with a Great Tang Imperial Decree, she should broaden her perspective!
When she had the chance to visit Changâan in the future, everything in sight would be antiques, everyone she met would be masters, she mustnât be so unsettled!
Reflecting on herself, Lin Wanwan finally regained her composure.
The deeper dews of November mornings were still a bit chilly, Lin Wanwan quickly closed the window, and issued a second command to the smart speaker: "Little elf, turn on the wall lamp."
"Okay, Your Majesty, turning on the wall lamp for you." As soon as the mechanical electronic female voice ended, the wall lamp softly lit up.
Lin Wanwan leaned back against the headboard, grabbed the phone placed on the bedside table to check messages.
Now that there was a time bug between the two realms, Lin Wanwan had ample time wherever she was, so she didnât have to set her phone to flight mode every time she went to the Great Tang.
There were several unread WeChat messages; birthday greetings sent at midnight came from Lu Shouyue, Gu Jingyu, and... Xiao Junning.
Strange, how did Xiao Junning know her birthday?!
Lin Wanwan felt astonished, this high-profile celebrity who had barely contacted her since adding her on WeChat, actually knew her birthday, it was truly unexpected.
Lin Wanwan replied to each of them with gratitude, and unexpectedly, as soon as she sent it, there was a reply from Xiao Junning, albeit as cool as his character: "Youâre welcome."
Lin Wanwan smiled, unsure whether to continue replying, when another WeChat message came: "You still owe me a meal, donât forget."
"Havenât forgotten, superstar, contact me whenever youâre free."
The dialog box showed the other side constantly typing, but the sent message was just one word: "Okay."
Lin Wanwan didnât reply again, since little proud Xiao Yixun moved into her house, she became quite adept at handling these proud, aloof kidsâitâs just to do what she ought to, without guessing their thoughts.
After checking WeChat, Lin Wanwan opened the browser to look at the dayâs headline news, there were no major events.
Then she checked her companyâs Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and Weibo accounts; the traffic was stable and comments were friendly.
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Aside from the company account, Lin Wanwan also had a personal account on overseas sites, featuring two videos of Heng Wu, though that account hadnât been updated in months.
To conveniently check her Amazon store status, Lin Wanwanâs phone had a paid VPN installed, making it easy to access overseas sites, but she wasnât in the mood to transport Tang Dynasty videos now.
Spreading the legacy of embroidery and Hanfu, while also having a decent business, she was content.
At that moment, another message arrived on WeChat from the early risen Gu Jingyu: "Wanwan, itâs rare for you to get up so early. Itâs your birthday today, how do you plan to spend it?"
Lin Wanwan replied: "No plans for celebration, treating it as usual."
Gu Jingyu was pregnant now, inconvenient to invite her out, Chen Jinyu had virtually cut ties, in the modern world, Lin Wanwan couldnât think of who to celebrate her birthday with.
She had already happily celebrated in the Great Tang, no need to do it twice.