Wufu smoothly arrived at Banyan Tree Manor and met Lady Gu’s wet nurse, Nanny Gu. The old lady was already sixty, but she was well taken care of by her children and grandchildren, without worries about clothing and food. Therefore, her hearing and eyesight were clear, and her body was still robust. After hearing Wufu’s reason for the visit and seeing the portrait of Lady Gu, she burst into tears and took quite some time to quiet down after being consoled by her daughter-in-law.
"Miss, I am terribly sorry. My mother is old, and she treated the lady as her own daughter. They had a very good relationship, so..." Madam Rong, Nanny Gu’s eldest daughter-in-law, apologized to Wufu with a smile.
"It’s I who stirred up sad memories for the elderly. I should be the one to apologize." Wufu stood up and gracefully bowed to the old lady, "I thought that since Old Master Lou wants to commemorate his late wife, the sculpture should resemble her as closely as possible. Knowing that Nanny is Madam Lou’s wet nurse and is most familiar with her habits, I took the liberty to come and disturb you."
Nanny Gu had her face cleaned by her granddaughter and, while holding back sobs, said, "You are considerate. If my young lady were still here..." Her nose turned sour, and she was on the verge of tears again when her granddaughter quickly offered her more tea for comfort.
"I hope Nanny can assist me once more. Is there anything incorrect about this portrait? I would like to make some adjustments," Wufu asked with a smile.
Nanny Gu took a sip of tea, nodded, and then began to look at the painting carefully, her trembling fingers touching it.
Wufu nodded to Hongyu, who immediately handed over the charcoal pencil and Xuan paper she was holding.
"The shape of the face is correct; my young lady had an oval face, so pretty. These eyes are well-drawn too, but my young lady’s eyes didn’t have such upturned corners..." Nanny Gu pointed out every detail of Lady Gu’s appearance, occasionally interjecting small anecdotes from her life.
Thus, after two shichen passed, Wufu’s Xuan paper had a new depiction of Lady Gu.
"Nanny, please have a look. Does it resemble her well?" Wufu passed the paper over.
Madam Rong took it first and glanced at it, exclaiming, "Like her, really like her. She’s the spitting image of the lady. Mother, you must see this."
Nanny Gu took it, and what Wufu drew was not the original image of Lady Gu in her youth but how she appeared during the last year or two before her death. Although the drawing had no color, it looked exactly like the young lady standing in front of her.
Tears fell drop by drop again as Nanny Gu cried out for her young lady.
After a while, she turned to Wufu and said, "It’s incredibly lifelike. It’s just how the young lady looked when she left us. You’ve never seen my young lady, so how could you draw her ?"
Wufu smiled, for she had her own methods, combining sketching with 3D modeling techniques. She was confident she could bring Lady Gu to life in her work.
Having obtained what she wanted, Wufu had a short conversation before taking her leave.
"Miss, be sure to carve it with care," Nanny Gu said as she walked Wufu to the gates of the estate.
"I will do my utmost," Wufu replied with a smile.
As they set off in the carriage, several horses quickly approached and came to a halt with a neigh.
Hongyu lifted the carriage curtain to look outside. Wufu glanced and saw a young man in a brocade robe dismounting the horse. Nanny Gu was talking to him, and from the side, he bore a resemblance to Lady Gu.
The curtain dropped, blocking the view outside.
Lou Manlu inquired of his mother’s wet nurse about the identity of the visitor in the carriage.
"They said it was someone participating in the competition, young master. That girl captured your mother’s likeness so accurately..." Nanny Gu earnestly related Wufu’s visit and purpose, holding his hand.
Lou Manlu watched the carriage become a tiny dot in the distance, his elegant brows raised, thinking about the earnest effort behind their visit.