The calligraphy and painting exhibition began.
A red silk ribbon was raised at the entrance, and everyone waited for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Normally, a calligraphy and painting exhibition wouldn't require a ribbon-cutting ceremony, but today was different. It was Xia Mingzhong's final exhibition, his swan song.
It was rumored that the old master had poured decades of painstaking creation into a single painting that would be displayed at this exhibition, adding another layer of intrigue to the event.
A painting created over decades!
The fact that an artist of the old master's caliber had spent decades on a single work led many to harbor doubts.
Of course, these were minor issues.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Fireworks soared into the sky, and firecrackers boomed continuously, finally ceasing after a full two minutes.
"Thank you all for coming. My life, Xia Mingzhong's, has been smooth sailing. Perhaps there is only one regret in my life that I can never forget. I won't say much more. I hope everyone has a happy day today."
After the old master chuckled and spoke, the exhibition officially commenced.
Inside the gallery, Ye Longlin stood before a painting, gazing at the cherry trees and the woman depicted, his expression somewhat dazed.
"An old love lingers in dreams, but the person from those days is no longer seen."
These lines were inscribed beside the painting, perfectly conveying the old master's longing.
"This painting is actually of my daughter. My daughter was also an unfortunate soul. Ever since the Ye family's internal strife, my daughter... she left me forever. When I miss her, I go to the peach blossom forest to look. So many years have passed, and Shumeng should be a young lady by now, hehe."
As he spoke these words, a glint of tears could be seen in the old master's eyes.
Ye Longlin opened his mouth, unsure of what to say, and could only let out a long sigh, a trace of sadness appearing in his eyes.
"The Ye family is no more."
"The Ye family, the foremost among the Ten Elder Families, has vanished from this world. From this day forward, the Ye family will no longer exist. It can be considered revenge for you."
Upon hearing this, the old master's expression froze, disbelief evident. He asked subconsciously, "How is that possible? That was the foremost of the Ten Elder Families, the Ye family!"
Mu Hanqi let out a light laugh. "The Ye family betrayed Great Xia, leading to the slaughter of fifty thousand soldiers. The day before we left the capital, the Commander of the Three Armies took action and annihilated the Ye family. Not a single member of the Ye family survived!"
When the old master heard this, tears streamed down his cheeks. He then looked up to the heavens and roared, "Hahahaha! Well killed, well killed! The Commander of the Three Armies... I shall erect a longevity monument for him tomorrow, hahahaha!"
Xia Mingzhong had dreamed of the Ye family's demise, but alas, he had no means to achieve it due to the vast disparity in their standing. Now, hearing this news was as good as avenging his daughter. They had finally paid the price for their actions!
Ye Longlin remained silent, his gaze fixed on the painting. After a long while, he gently took Mu Hanqi's small hand and said, "Every mother, in her youth, possessed an incomparable beauty. Perhaps in your eyes, she was mischievous, but in her husband's eyes, she was a qualified wife. And in her child's eyes, she should have been a very good mother."
Yes, should have been.
How much could one truly remember from childhood? Only the older generation remembered what you were like as a child, but you yourself would never know how you looked.
Xia Mingzhong blinked, finding himself unable to fathom Ye Longlin's background. How could he know so much about the Ten Elder Families!
It seemed his status was not ordinary.
"Daddy, Daddy, they're arguing over there, it's so scary."
The little girl ran over, patting her chest like a little adult and letting out a long breath.
Seeing this, Mu Hanqi couldn't help but roll her eyes and pinch the little girl's ear, asking, "Where did you learn that gesture?"
Yi Yi hastily shielded her ears, hiding behind Xia Mingzhong. She poked her head out and said adorably, "On TV."
As they were speaking, the commotion had already reached them.
"It's this painting. Look, isn't it the same? And I drew this painting a long time ago. Although it's not as divine as the teacher's painting, this painting is mine. I don't know why my work is being plagiarized, but I have proof!"
"Look, it's this one. Doesn't it look very similar to my painting? My painting features a peach tree, while the teacher's painting features a cherry tree. My painting is of my lover. My lover passed away a long time ago, but the woman in the teacher's painting and the woman in my painting are exactly the same!"
Pang Yun held up a painting and walked over, placing it directly next to the portrait, speaking with great anger. It seemed he believed Xia Mingzhong had stolen his idea.
"What's going on?"
Xia Mingzhong looked bewildered as he saw Pang Yun, surrounded by reporters, making a comparison with his daughter's painting. He had no idea what was happening.
His youngest disciple, Chen Chen, ran over and explained everything.
It turned out that as soon as the exhibition began, Pang Yun had started claiming that his teacher's painting was a copy of his own. He had even presented evidence: a piece of paper that was clearly yellowed and showed signs of age. Furthermore, there were many similarities between the two paintings, making it hard not to suspect that Xia Mingzhong's work was plagiarized from his disciple.
As scholars, the mention of plagiarism even caused Xia Mingzhong, usually calm, to frown. He scanned the crowd, his gaze falling on Zhou Tao.
Meanwhile, Zhou Tao sat calmly by the tea table, sipping tea.
This painting clearly depicted his daughter, Xia Shumeng, so how could it be plagiarism!
Ye Longlin's expression also darkened. It seemed that the rumors he had heard a couple of days ago about Zhou Tao intending to ruin Xia Mingzhong's reputation were indeed true.
This was simply asking for death!
"Keep it in check. It's your grandfather's art exhibition, after all."
Mu Hanqi whispered into Ye Longlin's ear as she saw the murderous intent in his eyes. Ye Longlin nodded, indicating he understood.
"Master, I actually didn't want to ask today, but I can't hold back. Why are you using my lover to gain attention? You also said you spent decades painting this piece. I painted my work more than ten years ago, which was decades ago. Master, I really want an explanation. Can you give me one? With so many similarities between these two paintings, I don't believe it's a coincidence. If one instance is a coincidence, does that mean the other is also a coincidence? I don't believe in so many coincidences."
"And what do these two lines of poetry mean? I really want to know what you mean by them."