Upon hearing Hailey Smith’s suggestion, Basil Smith was momentarily stunned.
He asked with some difficulty, "I almost put the Young Madam in harm’s way this time. Will she allow me to stay?"
Hailey Smith proudly said, "Brother, what are you thinking? Of course, the Young Madam won’t let you stay. She even didn’t want me at first; it was Miss Lewis who vouched for me, and only then did the Young Madam agree."
Is this really something to be proud of?
Seeing his brother’s frozen expression, Hailey Smith quickly added, "But it doesn’t matter if the Young Madam doesn’t keep you. I live right next to her, so you can just stay with me."
After Hailey finished speaking, he noticed Basil wasn’t responding.
Looking up, he saw that Emma Lewis had already run off. Hailey was a bit anxious and said, "Brother, stop daydreaming. We don’t even know if everything’s okay with the Young Madam. I need to rush over to see if she needs my help."
Basil Smith took out a pair of glasses with a broken lens from his pocket, put them on with a serious face, and said, "All right, I’ll go protect the Young Madam from now on."
Hailey Smith immediately laughed, "That’s great, brother. Let’s run and catch up with Emma."
After saying this, Hailey didn’t wait to see if Basil was running and took off first.
Basil only hesitated for a second before running along.
He ran forward quickly, his legs still hurting from the beating, the pain mirroring the times they were in the orphanage, running for a scrap of food, getting beaten but never stopping.
It was the Young Lord who pulled him out of hell, and he couldn’t repay him, having promised eternal loyalty, which must not change.
He had made a mistake, and the Young Lord no longer wanted him, so he would go protect the Young Madam.
Protect the one person the Young Lord valued as much as his own life.
In front, Hailey Smith turned and shouted to Basil, "Brother, hurry up! You’re still as slow as when you were a kid."
Basil Smith, bruised and battered, laughed and called out, "I’m coming."
Everyone had run off, and the Imperial Garden was quiet again.
The cook, waking from unconsciousness, tremblingly went to prepare a meal.
Some of Godfery Shaw’s confidants slipped back into the shadows.
Godfery Shaw returned to the room they had been in earlier.
Joyce, who had been out shopping, returned and, hearing the news, hurried up to the second floor, seeing the Young Lord tidying up the mess in the room.
Joyce quickly approached and respectfully said, "Young Lord, you should rest. Let me handle these matters."
Godfery Shaw coldly responded, "No need, you can go. In the future, you don’t need to clean this room."
Joyce’s outstretched hand froze, and he responded with a "Yes," bowing as he left.
Joyce understood that this was his punishment from the Young Lord for being a bystander in the Young Madam’s situation.
In the Imperial Garden, Basil Smith can arrange many things, and other confidants would neither think much nor remark on it, but Joyce, the butler who had watched Godfery Shaw grow up, had a voice of authority.
Moreover, the fact that even if everyone else didn’t know, Joyce was most clear about Amelia Wright’s significance to Godfery Shaw.
He had witnessed those things from their childhood firsthand.
So on the day of the wedding, when Godfery Shaw was injured and lost control, Joyce had Amelia Wright go to the second master’s room.
He never intended to harm Amelia Wright; he only understood her importance to Godfery Shaw and wanted to soothe the personality Godfery Shaw couldn’t control.
But later, seeing the Young Lord injured time and again, Joyce’s attitude changed.
As Joyce descended the stairs, his shoulder slightly slumped.
The sober Godfery Shaw could easily see through everyone’s thoughts.
After Joyce left, Godfery Shaw closed the door and started tidying up the room messed up by the fight.
He hoped to restore everything so that there might be a chance for Amelia Wright to return.
The broken coffee table, the toppled decorations, the stained carpet, and the many famous paintings he had collected from everywhere, spread across the floor.
Godfery Shaw carefully and methodically organized them.
Hailey Smith and Basil Smith caught up with Emma Lewis.
Emma instantly wanted to confront Basil Smith, but knowing his mistake, Basil didn’t fight back. Hailey was practically jumping in between them to prevent it.
He finally managed to persuade Emma to save their issues for later and prioritize checking on Amelia Wright’s situation.
The three of them took a cab to the finals of the national painting exhibition.
In the car, Emma Lewis repeatedly wanted to hit Basil Smith, but Hailey Smith didn’t even dare to sit in the front seat, wedging himself between them to mediate.
The taxi driver glanced at them several times through the rearview mirror.
The trio arrived at the venue to find Robert Reed and Elijah Jefferson at the entrance.
As soon as they met, they simultaneously asked,
Elijah Jefferson: "Are you all okay?"
Emma Lewis: "Did Amelia make it in time?"
Seeing their anxious looks, Elijah quickly said, "She made it, just in time."
Emma Lewis and Hailey Smith both breathed a sigh of relief.
Elijah glanced at Basil Smith, who stood silently at the back.
Robert Reed, noting their bruised faces and dirty, torn clothes, frowned and asked, "What exactly were you doing? This morning, you said you were taking Emily to kindergarten. Do any of you look like you’ve come from a kindergarten drop-off?"
The group immediately fell silent.
Due to Robert Reed’s seniority and being Amelia Wright’s teacher, they didn’t dare to speak recklessly.
Robert Reed continued, "Young people should have a calm disposition, not fighting and causing trouble all day, corrupting my young apprentice."
Hailey Smith, with a thick skin, nodded in agreement, "Old Mr. Reed is right. We should maintain our composure and avoid fighting and causing trouble. We’ll be more careful in the future."
Only then did Robert Reed let them off the hook.
At the entrance of the competition venue, numerous friends and family of other participants were waiting, but Robert Reed’s group was the most conspicuous.
After a while, Emma Lewis asked, "Old Mr. Reed, do you know what today’s final topic is?"
The previous semifinal was open-ended with plenty of time for preparation. Some students had practiced the same painting for two to three years, just for showcasing it at this national exhibition.
But the final was a themed competition, with the topic given on the spot, requiring participants to paint on the spot.
It tested professional skill and live performance, relying solely on the contestant’s ability to decide what to paint and the quality of the finished work.
Robert Reed quietly replied, "Flowers."
Emma Lewis, though immersed in the Elegant Art Academy and not very interested in art, wasn’t completely ignorant.
She immediately rejoiced, "This topic is simple!"
However, Robert Reed shook his head, "It sounds simple, but that means everyone is skilled at it. To stand out from something everyone is good at, do you still think it’s easy? Moreover, Amelia is not adept at those graceful flowers and birds."
Emma Lewis’s smile froze, "So... what should we do?"
Robert Reed spread his hands, "There’s nothing we can do. We just have to wait and see how she does on her own."
Outside the venue, everyone waited anxiously.
Inside, paints and brushes flew.
When the theme was announced, every participant was momentarily taken aback, and then they began to ponder deeply.
This wasn’t like the previous round, where they had free rein and had long decided what to paint.
This time required immediate improvisation.
Some opted for a conventional approach.
Some aimed for bold strategies.
Most were deep in thought, hoping to make a thoroughly considered move.
However, Amelia Wright immediately started painting.
In the semifinals, while everyone began painting quickly, she had pondered for a long time before starting.
This time, while everyone was lost in thought, she directly picked up the brush and began painting. Google seaʀᴄh Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
It was as if she intentionally wanted to go against everyone else.