"So Mr. Wan and Luo Tang, you've also come to the Purple Bamboo Tea Garden!"
Huangfu Hongfang stopped on the second floor, turned to look at Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang, and then at Huang Yaodong and Lin Yushu's group. He said with a smile, "Originally, after the competition ended, I was going to invite you all to the Purple Bamboo Tea Garden too. I didn't expect you to arrive first."
"Oh, if you had said so earlier, it would have been useful. What's the point of saying it now?"
Before Wan Yunting could speak, Huang Yaodong gave Huangfu Hongfang a disdainful glance and sneered.
"Heh heh, so it's sister Luo Tang!"
Ning Yuqing, a talented woman accompanying Huangfu Hongfang, looked directly at Gu Luotang beside Wan Yunting with her peach blossom eyes and smiled faintly, "Does sister Luo Tang still remember me?"
Facing Ning Yuqing's provocative peach blossom eyes, Gu Luotang's pretty face was cool and aloof. She didn't speak, just nodded slightly.
"Indeed, after parting ways at the National Essence competition last year, sister Luo Tang lost to me. It's only right for you to resent me now."
Ning Yuqing stepped forward and came to Gu Luotang. She had an air of arrogance and aloofness. Her charming peach blossom eyes glanced at Wan Yunting and then smiled at Gu Luotang, "But there's a saying, if your skills are inferior, then you don't know if sister Luo Tang's painting skills have improved this year. When will you compete with your sister again?"
"Just you!"
Before Gu Luotang could speak, Qi Miaomiao beside her couldn't hold back. She immediately stepped forward to protect her senior sister, her almond-shaped eyes wide, and pointed her jade finger at Ning Yuqing's nose, scolding, "In last year's National Essence Award competition, if you hadn't relied on your grandfather Ning Guohui, could you have won first place?"
Ning Yuqing smiled dismissively at Qi Miaomiao's words and said, "Miaomiao, you're still so sharp-tongued, your temper hasn't changed at all."
"Pah, don't pretend in front of me. In terms of painting skills, my senior sister can crush you." Qi Miaomiao glared provocatively at Ning Yuqing and snorted.
"Heh heh..."
Ning Yuqing chuckled and said, "Since sister Luo Tang is not convinced, then let's wait for the results of the Lanting Award calligraphy competition to be announced tomorrow. Your painting skills are not as good as mine, but in calligraphy, I still hope sister Luo Tang can win against me."
"You..."
"Alright Miaomiao."
Qi Miaomiao wanted to curse Ning Yuqing further, but Gu Luotang pulled her back. She cast a detached glance at Ning Yuqing, then turned to Wan Yunting, who looked confused, and said, "Brother Yunting, let's go."
"We'll go over there..."
Huang Yaodong also pulled Zhao Yushi. Lin Yushu and Hou Xuesong glanced at Huangfu Hongfang and Gao Jiaxu, snorted, then turned and headed towards the study.
"Hongfang, is that person Luo Tang's boyfriend?"
Ning Yuqing looked at Wan Yunting, who was following Gu Luotang, and asked in confusion.
"What boyfriend? Gu Luotang is just a mistress."
Gao Jiaxu said this very loudly, so that many people around could hear it, immediately causing a stir.
"Heh heh, mistress..."
Ning Yuqing immediately chuckled a few times.
Huangfu Hongfang also smiled and said, "Yuqing, let's go up to the third floor."
Ning Yuqing nodded and, with her friends, continued to ascend to the third floor with Huangfu Hongfang and the others, as they had the "Mo Zi Lou" pass...
"Mistress, could Fairy Luo Tang really be someone's mistress?"
"I don't know, and I haven't heard that Fairy Luo Tang has a boyfriend!"
"Oh, you forgot, remember when there was an earthquake in Lingyun County, Fairy Luo Tang and that Wan Yunting were trapped in a cave, and later there were rumors about them being together!"
"I knew it! No wonder the man following Fairy Luo Tang looks familiar. So he's Wan Yunting!"
"They came to participate in the Lanting Award calligraphy competition together, which means they do have a relationship!"
"But I heard that Wan Yunting seems to have a girlfriend!"
"Alas, what a pity. I didn't expect Fairy Luo Tang to interfere in someone else's relationship and become a mistress..."
For a time, the people outside began to discuss. Even Huang Yaodong and Zhao Yushi in the study, along with Lin Yushu and Hou Xuesong, heard it. Their gazes towards Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang changed slightly.
Could what Gao Jiaxu said be true, that Luo Tang was a mistress?
At this moment, Gu Luotang's heart trembled slightly upon hearing the whispers about her being a mistress, and her expression turned a bit displeased.
Although Wan Yunting's expression didn't change, his heart was already burning with anger. This was because when he was with Gu Luotang, he had been very careful to avoid this topic and not reveal it, precisely because he worried about Luo Tang feeling upset.
After all, anyone would feel upset being called a mistress.
"Come, Brother Yunting, the paper and brushes are ready for you. Why don't you show us your Shoujin style calligraphy now!"
Suddenly, Lin Yushu broke the awkward atmosphere, smiling and saying to Wan Yunting, changing the subject.
"Okay."
Wan Yunting smiled and nodded. He gently patted Gu Luotang's back with his right hand behind his back, as if comforting her not to overthink, and then stepped forward to the desk.
Feeling the man's comfort, Gu Luotang felt a little better. A faint smile appeared on her pretty face, and she stepped forward and said, "I'll grind the ink for you."
Seeing Gu Luotang come forward, Wan Yunting smiled and nodded at her. He picked a brush, placed the paperweight to flatten the Xuan paper, and waited for Gu Luotang to finish grinding the ink. Then, he picked up the brush to start writing. He turned his head and asked, "What should I write?"
Lin Yushu fanned himself with his fan and smiled, "Let's write Du Fu's 'Ascending Yueyang Tower'. It's quite fitting for the scene."
"Okay, I'll recite it."
Huang Yaodong also came forward and said with a smile, "I once heard of the Dongting waters, now I ascend Yueyang Tower..."
As he recited the poem "Ascending Yueyang Tower," Wan Yunting held the brush and swayed it on the Xuan paper like a sword. The brushstrokes were sharp, like a king's sword wielding sword moves on the Xuan paper. Every stroke and hook was filled with kingly aura, making Lin Yushu, Hou Xuesong, Zhao Yushi, and Huang Yaodong, who were gathered around the desk, widen their eyes and stare intently at the brush in Wan Yunting's right hand. The free and easy brushstrokes on the Xuan paper greatly shocked them...
"Good calligraphy, such good calligraphy..."
Before Huang Yaodong finished reciting, he couldn't help but exclaim excitedly.
Wan Yunting paused, turned his head, and smiled at him, "There's still the last line?"
"Oh, it's 'The frontier pass and mountains to the north, I lean on the pavilion and tears flow.'"
Huang Yaodong finally reacted and quickly recited the last line of "Ascending Yueyang Tower." Wan Yunting then finished writing and lifted his brush. He turned to look at Lin Yushu and the others, only to find them stretching their necks, eyes wide, their expressions exaggerated, nodding repeatedly and praising, "The strokes are sharp, the spirit and form are both present, the brushwork is incisive, truly worthy of the Shoujin style."
"Yes..."
Hou Xuesong was also full of excitement and praised, "Whether it's the momentum or the spirit, it's exactly the same as the original Shoujin style calligraphy of Emperor Huizong of Song. It's as if this is a work by Emperor Huizong of Song!"
"No!"
However, Huang Yaodong stared with wide eyes at Wan Yunting's Shoujin style calligraphy and said, "Wan Yunting's calligraphy reveals a kind of momentum that Emperor Huizong of Song lacked!"
"Oh?"
This statement caused Lin Yushu, Hou Xuesong, Gu Luotang, and Zhao Yushi to be stunned. They turned to look at Huang Yaodong...
Wan Yunting also looked at him with interest, wanting to see what he would say. As a result, Huang Yaodong frowned and shook his head, saying, "I can't quite put it into words, but I just feel that Brother Yunting's calligraphy has a very special momentum!"
"What kind of calligraphy is it that makes Brother Huang and the others praise it so much?"
At this moment, some of the talented young men and women who knew Huang Yaodong also walked in and asked with a smile.
"Brother Sun, you're here. Come quickly and take a look at Brother Yunting's recently written masterpiece..."
Upon seeing Sun Qing and his group enter, Huang Yaodong excitedly pulled them over to look, as if the calligraphy was his own, and happily let his friends appreciate it. "How is it? What do you think of Brother Yunting's work?"
"Such powerful calligraphy!"
Sun Qing and the others looked at Wan Yunting's calligraphy, and their eyes immediately widened involuntarily. They turned to Wan Yunting and said, "Did you really write this?"
"Isn't he the Wan Yunting who participated in the first match this morning? When his work appeared on the big screen, we thought it was very impressive. We didn't expect that appreciating his masterpiece up close would reveal even more power. He's written it so well." Another young man praised, giving Wan Yunting a thumbs-up.
"Yes, it's truly excellent calligraphy..."
For a moment, these talented young men and women surrounded Wan Yunting's masterpiece and praised it greatly...
The others outside, seeing the scene inside, also came in to watch, wanting to see who was causing such a commotion. But after seeing Wan Yunting's Shoujin style calligraphy, everyone praised it without exception.
Now the second floor became lively, and everyone knew that Wan Yunting was the person from the first match of the Lanting Award calligraphy competition that morning, who had caused a sensation with his Shoujin style calligraphy. Seeing his work up close, they felt it had even more momentum than when seen on the big screen at the competition, and that he had written it exceptionally well...
Meanwhile, downstairs at the Treasure Pavilion, on the open-air corridor, several old men were approaching with laughter and conversation.
"Old Fan, how is the environment of the Purple Bamboo Tea Garden?"
An old man named Cao Hui, a famous master in the local art circle, was now retired and living a leisurely life. He usually liked to come to the Purple Bamboo Tea Garden with a few friends to sit, drink tea, and chat. He was also a distinguished guest of the Treasure Pavilion and held a "Wen Zi Lou" pass, allowing him to go up to the fifth floor.
"Hmm, not bad."
Among these old men was Fan Liren, whom Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang had met at the Lu Xun Memorial Hall yesterday. He was a towering figure in the Beijing art world. Even masters like Cao Hui were not on his level. "I didn't expect that after so many years without returning to my hometown, such a tea garden would be built here. It's good, with a very artistic atmosphere."
"Yes, the boss who invested in building this tea garden is also a well-known wealthy businessman and magnate in our area. He has a passion for art and is also very talented, so he created this tea garden, simply to provide a place for literary gatherings, where people can write and paint together."
Cao Hui said with a smile, "So after retirement, Old Wang and I often come here to drink tea, chat, and see if we can find any good young talents to take as students. This can also be considered a form of inheritance."