world class art fanatic

Ning Mingzhi always knew.

He left China in 1945, and before leaving, he still went to Shen's house, just wanting to see Shen Ling again.

The weather was fine that day, with no clouds in the sky, and the gate of Shen's courtyard was still the same as when he used to visit often, quiet and elegant, with solemn stone steps.

It's a pity that he is sitting in the hall of the outer courtyard, and he can no longer leisurely walk into the inner courtyard.

"The young master is not in good health recently, Mr. Ning please come back."

The old housekeeper who used to call him Master Mingzhi with a smile, spoke politely and addressed him in a particularly distant manner.

He was even in a hurry to send him away without even serving a bowl of tea.

No matter how bad-tempered Ning Mingzhi was, he begged bitterly at this time.

"I know that Jing Du is not in good health, so I came to persuade him to go with me."

"Japan has the best doctor, he can get the best treatment, he is my best friend, I will not harm him."

"Steward Shen, let me see him, he will listen to me."

Even if Ning Mingzhi was too old to see those words, those pleadings, he still remembered them clearly.

He curled up slumped in the chair, looked up at the arrogant young man with vague features, all he thought about was Shen Ling.

He remembered Shen Ling's cough.

He remembered that Shen Ling's face was as pale as paper.

He remembered that Shen Ling finally came out after he and Steward Shen stalked him, and he never smiled softly when he played the piano with him.

"Shouldn't you be leaving long ago?"

Shen Ling's voice was deep and hoarse with a long illness, and her eyes were cold and heartless.

As soon as Ning Mingzhi spoke up and talked about his illness, Shen Ling frowned and backed away a little: "It's none of your business."

Resistance, disgust, and hatred were all written on Ning Mingzhi's familiar face.

He was almost stunned there, never knew that Shen Ling could be angry with him for so long and hate him so deeply.

"Go back to your Japan and get lost with your masters."

Shen Ling gathered the heavy cloak on her shoulders, turned around without looking back, "Don't come again."

He and Shen Ling have known each other for five years, and that was the most important thing Shen Ling ever said to him

Ning Mingzhi went to Japan in a daze, and spent his days in a daze. When he was about to write a letter to Shen Ling to repent, hoping that Shen Ling would forgive him and change his mind, he received the news of Shen Ling's death.

Don't do it again.

It turned out to be their last words between life and death.

Now, he is not Ning Mingzhi, he is the famous Zaining Wenzhi.

He is a Japanese master and a musician with students all over the world. His thirteen-stringed koto is widely praised.

Occasionally, he played a song, and his tune was sad and sad, which attracted the praise of the ministers and aristocrats who listened to the piano, and regarded it as a treasure.

It's a pity that Shen couldn't listen.

He couldn't hear the eternal voice that he had hoped for back then.

"I know."

Ning Mingzhi said in a slow voice, "I had just arrived in Japan, and when I heard that Jingdu had passed away, I felt sad and had a serious illness. If it wasn't for my unstable heel and no time to get out, I should have gone to see him..."

Saying this, the haggard old man looked at Zhong Ying kindly.

"You are very similar to him. Did your master teach you to play elegant rhyme? That is Jingdu's piano. Jingdu must be very happy in heaven to be able to inherit his mantle from you."

His voice was low and weak, and the slightest noise from the outside could be covered up.

A group of people came outside the door.They wore kimonos with low eyebrows and moved in with a low table and a lyre.

The piano and the piano table were placed in front of Zhong Ying, and Ning Mingzhi's meaning was self-evident.

He said: "If I can listen to Jingdu's piano sound again, I will die without regret."

Zhong Ying looked down at the piano.

Fuxi system, paulownia silk strings, dark lacquer, it should be a good old piano.

But Zhong Ying remained motionless, standing where he was, as if he didn't understand Ning Mingzhi's meaning at all.

The atmosphere was a little stagnant, and Jingzi, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly made a sound.

"Father, Mr. Zhong's fingers—"

"My finger is hurt."

Zhong Ying interrupted Jingzi's explanation and stretched out his hand.

On his slender and white right hand, the solidified wound on the nails was dark red, which was really dazzling, and one could tell that the injury was serious.

His fingers were in pain, but his tone was as relaxed as usual.

"Guqin has to be plucked with all ten fingers, and the sound moves according to the heart. I lack the nails on my right hand, so I can only assist Yijia to play. Before I came to Japan, I played Mr. Shen's "War City South" to a friend, and the sound was poor after all. a little bit."

Jingzi's face suddenly brightened, and she mistakenly thought that Zhong Ying had figured it out and was willing to play the piano for Ning Mingzhi.

"It almost doesn't matter. What my father wants to hear is the meaning in the piano and the love in the music."

She smiled and said to Ning Mingzhi: "Mr. Zhong is very talented at such a young age, even with the help of Yijia, he must play the melody of nature."

Her compliment made Ning Mingzhi very happy.

It's a pity, Zhong Ying said with a sarcasm: "I play the piano with Yi Jia, which is naturally the sound of nature. But the sound of nature must be listened to by people with love and righteousness. I said that I can still play "War City South" because my hand is injured. Tell you--"

He looked directly at Ning Mingzhi, "I have no friendship with you, I won't play."

Jingzi stood there in a daze, and Ning Mingzhi's aging complexion was not good-looking.

He could hear Zhong Ying's "South of the Battle City", which was the Han Yuefu that Shen Ling played with elegant rhyme when he took the stage for the first time.

The dying body that has been sleeping for a long time is about to be awakened by this ancient song that I miss day and night and dream about, and regain the mountains and rivers of youth.

But Zhong Ying said he could play, he could play, and he didn't play, Ning Mingzhi was immediately confused.

Master Zaining, who had everything going well in Japan, and his rebellious daughter, who thought she was useless, have been wandering between China and Japan for fifty years, and finally she is of some use.

But seeing Zhong Ying's attitude, he was indifferent and unmoved.

Obviously not settled.

With dim eyesight, Ning Mingzhi glanced at Jingzi who was kneeling beside him, and held back a reprimand.

He looked up at Zhong Ying weakly, and asked sincerely, "Why?"

Zhong Ying sneered, seeing his little movements clearly——

"Because I regard Qin as my friend, and I will never betray my friend for an unfaithful, filial and unrighteous person!"

The young man's words were clear and sonorous, and those who knew Chinese showed shocked and astonished gazes.

Ning Mingzhi froze in the wheelchair, his cloudy eyes widened a lot, trying to see this arrogant young man clearly.

"What? What did you say..."

"It is unrighteous for you to deceive your best friend and let the musical instruments of Yiyin Yasha go overseas; it is unfaithful for you to betray the country and work for tigers during the war; it is unfaithful for you to flee to Japan in order to protect yourself, and let your father who sticks to his homeland die in depression. For being unfilial!"

Every word of Zhong Ying's reprimand was full of hatred, accusing the despicable old man in front of him for those who could no longer speak out.

"Ning Mingzhi, you are disloyal, filial and righteous, you don't deserve to listen to me playing the piano!"

Jingzi knelt on the ground, it was too late to stop the impulsive young man.

In the expression of her being so shocked that she couldn't hold back, she could only hear her weak father fly into a rage!

"what do you know?!"

Ning Mingzhi was so angry that an old man who was dying, after hearing Zhong Ying's accusation, actually slapped the armrest of the wheelchair.

"If it wasn't for me, Jingdu would have died at the hands of the Japanese. If it wasn't for me, the entire Yiyin Yasha would have been burned down. Back then, back then..."

He breathed heavily, soothing his failing windpipe.

The quiet doctors around nervously checked his condition and told him in a low voice, "Master Zaining, calm down" and "Master Zaining, please don't get angry."

Under Binghuangmaluan's appeasement, Ning Mingzhi worked hard to calm down the ups and downs of anger.

His cloudy and yellow eyes finally opened a little wider, from a thin slit to a copper bell, staring closely at Zhong Ying.

"Back then, my father was extremely stubborn. If he was willing to go with me, how could he die in China?"

He suppressed the anger in his voice, and he didn't think he was wrong at all, "It's because he didn't listen to the advice, it's because he insisted on going his own way!"

Zhong Ying looked at him calmly, and said directly: "You even made such an evaluation of your own father, it seems that what I know is indeed correct."

"you you--"

The old man raised his hand in anger and pointed at Zhong Ying, as if he wanted to reprimand him again.

However, due to old age and frailty, his eyes became dark and he could not speak.

Only by the exhortations of the doctors can the anger be suppressed.

However, Zhong Ying didn't intend to be friendly with him, revealing his hypocrisy.

"Back then, it was true that you really wanted to save Mr. Shen. But the way you saved him was to tell the Japanese army that there are a group of excellent performers and precious musical instruments in the Yiyin Yasha, and let them arrest people and grab musical instruments."

"That's a plan to slow down the troops!"

Ning Mingzhi retorted weakly, with a clear and panting voice, "I have already told Mr. Shen, Chu Shuming, and Feng Yuanqing that they can transfer the musical instruments and manuscripts to the concession. The Americans there lied to me and the voiceless voice. Yashe, what have you got to do with me?"

"If I don't confess Chu Shuming and Feng Yuanqing, the Japanese will kill Jingdu!"

His rebuttal was hoarse, as if he was risking his life for his best friend.

No matter how emotional the performance was, it couldn't shake Zhong Ying's mind.

Because the master had told him everything before leaving, teaching him how to face this sophistry.

Right and wrong have long been lost in this damn old man's heart, only the reputation of a smooth road in his eyes.

"Then, what about your Zhuqin? Why isn't your Zhuqin stored in the Americans, and it's safe and sound?"

Zhong Ying didn't need Ning Mingzhi to answer, Zhong Ying already had the answer.

He laughed and said: "This is just a show you played with the Japanese and the Americans. It seems that you have no choice but to actually plan everything long ago. You are going to take the Japanese to the American businessman James Villen. Get the instruments from the Yiyin Yashe, and blackmail this group of innocent musicians."

The mistakes and coincidences in those years were all controlled by Ning Mingzhi's black hands.

In order to save Shen Ling, he had a conversation with the Japanese military officer. What he decided was not the safety of his best friend or the safety of the members of the Yiyin Yasha, but the bright future of him and Ning Mingzhi in Japan in the future.

For this future, he made a beautiful game.

The musical instrument was sent to the Americans, and the Japanese and the Americans traded privately. He Ning Mingzhi would be able to clean up and be a poor man who tipped the news in advance but was also deceived.

No one can hold him accountable!

Zhong Ying heard what Fan Chengyun said, which is a bit of evidence from James Weilun. He has been with Lin Wanggui for many years in Zaining's mansion, and he got an inference from talking with Ning Mingzhi.

Over the past 80 years, Ning Mingzhi has always been slack and tired, and there are always times when he feels omissions.

The truth pieced together from bits and pieces is chilling.

It can also be explained directly——

Why did Shen Ling break up with Ning Ming Zhien from now on and never mention it again.

Zhong Ying smiled lightly, looking at Master Zaining who had exhausted all the tricks, he only blamed himself for being too old to keep secrets.

He said: "It's just that James didn't regard you as a friend. After he discovered the value of these musical instruments, he left Qingling Lake overnight and boarded a cruise ship to the United States. He didn't wait for you to bring the prince to reward him."

"Ning Mingzhi, the instruments of the Yiyin Yasha have been displaced for nearly 80 years, and the musicians of the Yiyin Yasha have disappeared because of you..."

Zhong Ying thought of Chu Shuming, Zheng Wanqing, Chu Huai and Chu Mu, Feng Yuanqing who was blind, and He Yuansheng who was very old.

Thinking of Shen Ling who died with guilt.

He looked at Ning Mingzhi, his voice resonant and firm.

"All of this is because of you."

Ning Mingzhi's heart shook violently, and he suddenly coughed and gasped in pain.

The doctors were methodical, put on an oxygen mask for him, inserted an infusion tube for him, and used drugs to calm down the old man's excessive emotions.

Due to his illness, he was weak and crouched in a wheelchair, without saying a word and having nothing to say.

Because, it's all true.

But he didn't know why such a truth was told by a young man.

The other party is Fan Chengyun's apprentice, so where did Fan Chengyun know about it?

The more Ning Mingzhi thought about it, the more irritable he became, and the symptoms were as difficult to control as a disease.

The servants and relatives in the room were extremely anxious, watching the doctors busy with treatment with worried expressions, waiting for Ning Mingzhi to recover his calm.

Only Zhong Ying stood there, indifferent, just watching a play.

Finally, Ning Mingzhi's condition eased, he looked at the young man feebly, and reprimanded him in a stern voice:

"You are not Fan Chengyun's apprentice...you are not like Shen Ling at all!"

His infusion tube was trembling with his palm.

"Where did you hear this nonsense, who the hell is slandering me so indiscriminately!"

Perhaps Zhong Ying had seen too many such old immortals, and his mood became calm.

"I am indeed Fan Chengyun's only apprentice."

He actually smiled, "What I just said was told by my grandfather, Lin Wanggui."

Ning Mingzhi had never heard of Lin Wanggui.

He frowned, ninety years old and still unable to change the cunning in his habits.

"You are so young, even if you think about it, your grandfather is not that old. Most of those things in those years were 'involuntary'. He was just hearsay, but he incited a child like you to believe the rumors."

Ning Mingzhi was weak and kind, and put on a tolerant and magnanimous appearance, begging for a chance to explain.

He said: "I have difficulties, and there must be a misunderstanding."

"Really?" Zhong Ying said lightly, and didn't think Ning Mingzhi's dying state was an eyesore.

He can't wait for Ning Mingzhi to die like this, he will play the piano immediately, and happily send Ning Mingzhi to his death.

Unfortunately, no matter how weak Ning Mingzhi is, he is still weak and alive.

Zhong Ying said regretfully: "Since you have difficulties and misunderstandings, why didn't you tell my grandfather directly?"

Ning Mingzhi was suspicious. He had seen too many people and said too many things.

But he didn't remember at all that he and a man named Lin Wanggui talked about the old things about Yiyin Yashe.

Among the Chinese who have come and gone over the years, the number of times Ning Mingzhi was able to talk about the Yiyin Yashe with them is one of the few.

His doubts turned to confusion, and then to curiosity.

"When did your grandpa meet me? Why don't I have any impression..."

"Because he came to see you with the name he had long since abandoned."

Zhong Ying didn't want to make false claims with him, and looked at this old guy who was still sophistrying before his death with pity.

"My grandfather Lin Wanggui, originally called Ning Xuewen, is your grandnephew."

Ning Xuewen's name came out, and Ning Mingzhi looked astonished, staring at Zhong Ying without blinking.

He remembered many things, and he was familiar with Ning Xuewen.

He has always believed in his own judgment, and he would never believe that Zhong Ying, who is astonishingly talented and can play the ten-string "War City South", will be the grandson of his nephew.

"How is this possible—" He couldn't hide his surprise in his voice.

Ning Xuewen can't play the piano at all!