On the other side of the courtyard, Huang Song slowly lifted his head and then was stunned by the scene before his eyes. He patted his cheek and muttered, “Is today my lucky day?”
His voice was low, and nobody noticed him, as everyone was too occupied with the things happening in front of them.
Madam Lu made a decision inside of her. She turned to Lu Jingqing and said, “Bring her away! I don’t want to see her anymore, and I will never acknowledge her as my granddaughter! Never!”
“Mom!” Just as Lu Jingqing was about to say something, Huang Song smacked the table and stormed straight into the center of the commotion. “Yes, yes, yes. You can’t acknowledge her!”
“Master Huang!” Bai Yao shouted excitedly. When she saw Madam Lu’s puzzled face, she explained, “Mom, this is Master Huang Song. He’s the last disciple of Master Liu. Wanwan personally invited him to celebrate your birthday!”
The He faction and the Liu faction had a strained relationship, and both factions thought they were the best. Therefore, Bai Yao was waiting for Huang Song to shower Fu Zhi with more criticism.
However, Huang Song paid her no heed. He stared at the painting in Bai Yao’s hand with rapt attention as he muttered under his breath, “The writing... is phenomenal. It would be such a waste for someone like you guys to keep it!”
Huang Song’s remark successfully threw Bai Yao for a loop. She had no idea what had gotten into this man’s brain, but that did not prevent her from lashing out at him. “Master Huang? Do you have any idea what you are talking about?”
“Stop! Don’t move! You’re going to destroy this piece of art!” Huang Song shouted back, causing Bai Yao to freeze in shock. Then, he carefully took the painting from Bai Yao and said, “Fascinating. This is truly fascinating!”
He kept complimenting the painting, and everyone was stunned.
“Fu Zhi... No, Master Fu. Master Fu Zhi!” Huang Song turned to Fu Zhi and asked, “May I ask you a question? Is Master Fu Jiang your master?”
‘Master? Nope, he’s my dad.’
Fu Zhi shook her head.
“What a shame. Your writing style is very similar to his!” Huang Song lamented. “That said, even though your writing styles are similar, yours has a style of its own, and I can say for sure that without several years of practice and experience, it’s impossible to make this kind of achievement!”
Madam Lu was confused, and so were Xu Wei and Lu Jingqing.
Huang Song then added, “You said that this is the present you prepared for your grandma? Can you sell it to me? I want to put it in my room and admire it every single day. You can just name your price. If you’re willing to sell this painting to me, I assure you that if you come across any problems, you can come look for me in the capital and I’ll do everything in my power to help you guys!”
After Huang Song finished speaking, all the guests fell silent. For a moment, it was so quiet that one might hear a pin drop.
It took the guests quite a few minutes to process everything in their brains before they finally came back to their senses.
“He’s the last disciple of Master Liu. He must have a lot of connections in the capital. The Lu Family is really lucky to get a promise from him!”
“Besides, have you forgotten Director-General Shen’s attitude toward Fu Zhi? In my opinion, Fu Zhi is really the lucky star of the Lu Family!”
Even though most of the guests were praising Fu Zhi, some of them were also skeptical about everything that had just transpired. Since Huang Song had been invited by Lu Chuwan, they were wondering if there was any possibility that he was putting up an act to make the Lu Family feel less awkward on her behalf?
“Madam Lu, since you don’t like this painting and you don’t want her to be your granddaughter, can you give both her and this painting to me?” Huang Song said as he stared at Fu Zhi.
Xu Wei, who was in a dumbfounded state, finally came back to her senses when she heard what Huang Song had said.
‘He wants to take my daughter away? How can he make such a shameless request?!’
Xu Wei pulled Fu Zhi behind her back, protecting her like a hen shielding its chicks from an eagle, and said, “In your dreams! There’s no way I will allow you to take my daughter away from me!”
However, Huang Song refused to give up. He turned to Fu Zhi and said, “Master Fu Zhi, your accomplishments in painting and calligraphy are truly remarkable. In China, other than Master Fu Jiang, I have never seen anyone with better skills than you. Why don’t you come with me to the capital? I assure you that I will treat you like a master and make your name known in the rest of the world!”