Chapter 92

Chapter 92

Gu Beixian shot a glance at Hua Qirou, a faint, mocking smirk playing on his lips. “The daughter raised by Mrs. Chu is indeed quite ‘innocent.'”

Anyone could hear the sarcasm. It was a remark that killed two birds with one stone, mocking both Chu Suosuo and her mother.

Hua Qirou’s lips twitched as if she wanted to say more, but Gu Beixian didn’t care to listen. He took Su Hua’s hand and walked away.

Chu Mochen followed them, leaving Hua Qirou standing there alone in a state of utter confusion.

Once they were far enough away, Hua Qirou pulled her phone out of her incredibly expensive Hermès bag and called Chu Suosuo.

As soon as the call connected, she launched into a tirade. “You stupid girl! Why didn’t you tell me you went into Gu Beixian’s room to answer his phone? Fine, you answered it, but you actually let Su Hua record it? How can you be so foolish?”

Chu Suosuo was stunned. “What? Su Hua recorded it?”

“Yes. She just played the recording right in front of me, Gu Beixian, and Mochen. I was dying of embarrassment!”

Chu Suosuo cursed under her breath. “That Su Hua… she’s so damn cunning!”

“It’s because you’re too stupid! Be more careful next time!”

Hua Qirou hung up the phone in a huff.

Meanwhile, Gu Beixian looked down at Su Hua. “Good job. You even knew to record it.”

Su Hua smiled faintly.

In truth, she had been shaking with rage at the time, her blood boiling and her mind a complete blank. She had lost all rationality and hadn’t even thought about recording anything.

Her finger had simply brushed against the recording function by accident, and she had saved it.

She hadn’t expected it to come in handy today.

Over the following days, Su Hua focused on restoring the genealogy book at home.

Once the restoration was complete, she returned to Tianshou Pavilion. She arranged for a shop assistant to call Gu Jinyao and ask him to come pick it up.

Gu Jinyao made time to come over that same afternoon.

Su Hua handed him the genealogy book and asked, “Mr. Gu, please take a look. Are you satisfied with the restoration?”

Cultural relic restoration is categorized into research restoration, exhibition restoration, and commercial restoration.

The method Su Hua used was commercial restoration.

The requirements for commercial restoration are even higher than the other two. The damaged item must be restored to its original shape and color, ensuring that the hues, patterns, and texture present a perfect visual effect.

The genealogy book she had restored looked like an authentic ancient volume, matching the original perfectly. It was the kind of work where one couldn’t find a single flaw even with a magnifying glass.

Gu Jinyao flipped through it twice, a faint smile appearing on his face. “Miss Su, your hands truly have the power to bring the dead back to life.”

Hua Tianshou was sitting by the window drinking tea. Hearing Gu Jinyao praise Su Hua made him excited.

He stroked his beard and laughed. “Of course! Look whose disciple she is. Could a disciple taught by me, Hua Tianshou, be anything less than extraordinary? My Hua’er has the magic touch to repair the world.”

Even though he hadn’t actually been the one to teach her how to restore ancient paintings and calligraphy, Gu Jinyao and Su Hua shared a look and smiled helplessly. Neither had the heart to expose him.

Hua Tianshou took a sip of tea and said, “Jinyao, this weekend is my eighty-first birthday. You must come to my house. I have many treasures I want to show you.”

The “treasures” he spoke of were, naturally, his collection of antiques.

Gu Jinyao agreed immediately.

Hua Tianshou then turned to Su Hua. “Disciple, you must come as well.”

Since it was her Master’s birthday, Su Hua naturally had to go. Although she didn’t want to see Hua Qirou or Chu Suosuo, she couldn’t disrespect her Master.

In the blink of an eye, the weekend arrived.

Su Hua and Gu Beixian arrived at the Hua Mansion together.

The birthday gift Su Hua brought for Hua Tianshou was a painting she had copied herself. Because the old man loved Qi Baishi’s paintings-especially his shrimp-she had painted an identical one, though she used her own seal.

Qi Baishi’s shrimp were known for being nimble, lively, and full of spirit. Using light ink and swift brushstrokes to form the bodies, the bleeding of the ink created a sense of the shrimps’ translucent shells.
With vertical dots of thick ink for eyes and horizontal strokes for the head, the ink fell like gold upon the paper.

Fine brushes drew the whiskers, claws, and large pincers, balancing strength with softness in a concise and vivid display.

Su Hua had captured the master’s essence; her painting was no less impressive than his.

When she was a child, her grandfather had specifically caught many shrimp from the small pond in front of their house and put them in a bowl so she could observe them repeatedly, all to help her bring the shrimp to life on paper.

Meanwhile, Gu Beixian had brought a box of century-old wild ginseng for Hua Tianshou.

Century-old wild ginseng was extremely scarce and practically priceless; no amount of money could buy it on the open market.

It was a mystery where he had managed to obtain it.

Hua Tianshou was full of praise for the shrimp Su Hua had painted.

However, he didn’t even spare a glance for the expensive wild ginseng Gu Beixian had gifted him.

Whenever a guest arrived, Hua Tianshou would pull them over and say, “This is a painting of shrimp by my disciple. Look at these shrimp-they’ve come to life, vivid and leaping off the paper.”

At first, the guests would only spare a glance to save face.

But with that one glance, an unusual light would spark in their eyes.

They couldn’t help but look again, offering continuous praise: “Has your disciple received the true teachings of Elder Qi Baishi? These shrimp are painted exactly like his. Not only is the form accurate, but she’s even captured the spirit-flexible, interesting, and vivid. Remarkable.”

It didn’t take long for all the guests to know that Hua Tianshou had taken on a disciple who was exceptionally skilled at painting shrimp.

Hua Tianshou was so happy he couldn’t stop smiling.

He then had a servant bring out the Five-Colored Plum Blossom Pattern Yuhuchun Vase that Su Hua had restored earlier. “My disciple restored this after studying for only two short months,” he announced. “It was shattered into nineteen pieces, yet she restored it so perfectly that not a single flaw can be seen.”

It was hard enough for an average person to reach the top of one field.

Yet Su Hua excelled in two.

When the guests looked at Su Hua again, they couldn’t help but see her in a new light.

They had originally thought she was just a pretty face-ornamental and superficial.

They hadn’t expected her to be the real deal, possessing both beauty and brains.

Su Hua knew that Hua Tianshou was paving the way for her, helping her build a reputation.

Once her name was out there, she would be like a fish in water in this industry.

By the time Chu Suosuo and Hua Qirou arrived, they heard everyone whispering about how fortunate Elder Hua was to have taken on a genius disciple in his old age.

Not only could she restore ancient paintings and ceramics, but her own painting skills were also superb.

Chu Suosuo felt a lump of frustration in her chest, nearly swelling up like a bloated toad.

It was one thing to hear this at her grandfather’s shop, but she had to hear it at his home too.

The more excellent Su Hua appeared, the more it made her look dim and lackluster.

In the past, during her grandfather’s birthday celebrations, she was the little princess everyone doted on.

Now, the person being showered with attention had been replaced by Su Hua.

How could she not be angry?

She was practically dying of rage.

Carrying a cake shaped like a longevity peach, Chu Suosuo walked up to Hua Tianshou huffily. She slammed the cake down on the table next to him and said, “Grandfather, I made this cake for you myself!”

In reality, she had the family chef make it.

She had followed the chef for a few days to learn, but no matter how she tried, she couldn’t make it as beautiful as he did.

So, she simply used the one he made.

Seeing Chu Suosuo’s huffy expression, the smile on Hua Tianshou’s face stiffened slightly. He then gave her a thumbs-up and praised, “Suosuo, this cake you made is wonderful!”

Chu Suosuo raised an eyebrow. “Then tell me, is my cake better, or is your disciple’s shrimp painting better?”

In front of the guests, Hua Tianshou tried to be impartial. “You’re both wonderful!”

Though he said that, anyone with eyes could see the truth.

The cake and that painting were worlds apart.

As long as one wasn’t too clumsy, anyone could basically learn to make a cake like that in ten days or half a month.

But that painting of shrimp required years or even decades of foundation, along with immense talent and spirituality to produce.

In a vast nation, only a few such people appear every hundred years.