Chapter 89: 087 Ying Zijin's calligraphy is too strong [Launch Event]

Zhong Zhiwan didn’t answer but asked again, “Senior Brother Lin, could you first give your opinion on how the calligraphy is?”

Lin Xi pondered for a long while before shaking his head, “It’s hard to say.”

Zhong Zhiwan was startled, “Why is it hard to say?”

“You shouldn’t judge this script by its seemingly casual strokes,” Lin Xi said as he picked up the scroll and pointed to one of the lines of poetry, “Look here, the dot stroke, structure, and layout could be called exquisite.”

“Moreover, it’s quite obvious that the person who wrote this did so in one breath without any pauses.”

He sighed softly, “To still be able to write so perfectly in this manner is truly amazing.”

Zhong Zhiwan came to a conclusion, “So you’re saying a high school student definitely couldn’t have written this?”

“A high school student?” Lin Xi chuckled, “Let alone a high school student, even teachers might not be capable of this.”

“Zhiwan, you’ve been learning with the teacher for over a decade, don’t you have any judgment of your own?”

Zhong Zhiwan thought so too, and she laughed; “Senior Brother Lin, I have little experience. Could you tell which school this calligraphy belongs to?”

Every calligraphy master has their own style, especially the unique ones that others can’t easily imitate.

“Hmm—” Lin Xi frowned and took another careful look, “It’s in semi-cursive script with a deep foundation, but the style isn’t very clear. It should be a work by Master Wei Hou.”

As he spoke, he took another scroll from the shelf in the study and opened it.

“Take a look, this is a piece by Master Wei Hou that I obtained from the teacher.”

Zhong Zhiwan glanced at it, trying to suppress the smile on her lips, “It does look quite similar.”

In truth, it wasn’t very similar; at least in her opinion, the piece that Ying Zijin cheated on was better than what Wei Hou had written.

Zhong Zhiwan pondered for a moment, then said, “Senior Brother Lin, can we go find Master Wei Hou now?”

Lin Xi thought for a while, “Okay.”

He made a phone call first to confirm Wei Hou was at home before driving Zhong Zhiwan to Wei Hou’s residence.

At that moment, Wei Hou was basking in the sun in his courtyard.

He was over fifty and his stature in the art world was not low.

However, Wei Hou hadn’t picked up his brush for several years now and had no new works. No one knew the reason.

“Master Wei Hou,” Lin Xi greeted, “This is my junior, Zhong Zhiwan.”

Wei Hou squinted his eyes, putting on airs, “What is it?”

Lin Xi stepped forward, handing him the scroll, “Is this your work?”

Wei Hou originally didn’t care until he saw the script on the scroll, whereupon a sharp gleam appeared in his eyes.

“It’s my practice work.” He held the scroll and smiled amicably, “Little Lin, how did it end up with you?”

“Zhiwan brought it.” Lin Xi also smiled, “Master Wei Hou, after several years, your foundation seems even more solid.”

“Naturally.” Wei Hou waved his hand dismissively, “If there’s nothing else, you can go.”

“Senior Brother Lin, I still have something to discuss with Master Wei Hou,” Zhong Zhiwan pursed her lips, “I’ll be back in a moment.”

Lin Xi didn’t ask any questions and nodded before leaving.

Only Wei Hou and Zhong Zhiwan were left in the room.

Zhong Zhiwan spoke up directly, “Master Wei Hou, I know this script wasn’t written by you.”

Wei Hou was taken aback and awkwardly replied, “Little Zhong, what are you talking about?”

“But this piece could be passed as yours,” Zhong Zhiwan smiled with implication, “Master Wei Hou, you have your own seal, don’t you?”

**

April 6th.

Verdant had arranged the venue early on and hung an advertising sign at the school gate.

Not only would masters from the art world be attending today, but also quite a few media outlets.

To maintain fairness, Verdant’s art festival always streamed live on the internet.

It also facilitated artists who could not attend the event to find promising new talent.

Ying Zijin leaned back in her chair, yawned, and pulled down the brim of her baseball cap to block The Sun.

Her body had recovered quite well, but she still felt sleepy when she was bored.

“The opening ceremony is at 9 a.m., and the first award isn’t presented until the afternoon.” Xiu Yu teased Dudu, clearly annoyed, “There are also performances by the art troupe in between, such a hassle.”

If it hadn’t been for Daddy Ying’s participation in the art festival, she wouldn’t be sitting here either.

“Mhm.” Ying Zijin half-closed her eyes, also taking the opportunity to regulate her blood flow and Inner Strength, “Treat you to a meal once I get the prize money.”

The little one drooled at the thought, “Daddy Ying, do I get a share too?”

Xiu Yu kicked the little one, “You only think about eating, even Dudu is more diligent than you.”

Dudu pouted its little pink nose, snorted, and hopped a few times with its tiny pig trotters, indicating that it too could exercise.

The little one: “…”

The not-as-good-as-a-pig series.

“Daddy Ying, are you confident about winning a first-class award?”

Ying Zijin looked languid, “Not bad, I guess.”

Zhong Zhiwan walked past holding a folder, followed by several members of the student council.

Upon hearing this, she turned her head and smiled slightly, “Then I wish my cousin the best of luck.”

Ying Zijin looked up, her eyes shimmering faintly.

Zhong Zhiwan’s fingers tightened, her smile on her lips froze for a moment, and her heart skipped a beat.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

But in an instant, she calmed down, smiled again, and turned away.

She had already consulted several masters in the Calligraphy circle, and that piece of calligraphy couldn’t have been written by someone with less than forty years of experience.

Although she didn’t know the origin of that writing, she was certain it wasn’t Ying Zijin’s work; that’s why she had confidently handed it over to Wei Hou.

Given Wei Hou’s reputation in the art world, there weren’t many who would dare contradict him.

If Wei Hou said it was his, it was his.

Even if it truly belonged to another calligrapher, no one would publicly offend Wei Hou’s dignity.

Zhong Zhiwan was actually quite disappointed.

She had overestimated Ying Zijin.

She didn’t expect Ying Zijin to stoop to cheating just to compete with her for Old Master Zhong’s favor.

Zhong Zhiwan shook her head and went backstage.

**

Ying Family’s old mansion.

The day before, Zhong Manhua had returned from O continent.

Ying Zhenting had gone back to the capital for business.

“Madam, the butler just called.” The housekeeper brought over a glass of milk, “He asked if you’d like to go to the school’s art festival to support Second Miss.”

“Support?” Zhong Manhua laughed at the suggestion, “As if support would make her talented? Really, what’s the point of participating in an art festival.”

She was naturally competitive and strived to be the best in everything.

If she went, and others found out her daughter had no talent in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, how would other Noble Ladies view her?

Zhong Manhua massaged her temples, irritated, “Turn on the TV.”

The housekeeper caught on and switched to the channel broadcasting the festival live.

At that moment, the live broadcast hadn’t officially begun, and not many people were watching.

The footage was of backstage and the exhibition room, essentially behind-the-scenes.

Just as the channel changed, a harsh voice rang out.

“I would like to ask student Ying Zijin, this scroll was personally delivered by me to Master Wei Hou, how did you get it and even use it to enter the competition?”

Zhong Manhua’s face immediately turned an ashen hue.