A large group of people were incited and began mocking Jacob.Jacob said coldly, “You people really don't know what you're talking about. How could I not have any fine artwork? It's just that some of the artworks are too exquisite and it’s not convenient for me to take it out!”At this moment, Jacob had already imagined himself as the client mentioned by Charlie.When the others heard Jacob boasting, they sneered disdainfully and did not take him seriously at all. Jacob did not say much and placed the cylinder containing the painting directly on the large desk used for display and appraisal in the Calligraphy and Painting Association, and he said, “Here, I’ll let you see a piece of ancient painting that I picked up today!” “Pfft…” The disdain on the faces of everyone present was even more apparent. Calligraphy and painting were not easy to preserve, and the paper used for traditional Oskian painting, although diverse, was almost never as tough as Western canvases. It could be
After all, Madam Jenson’s ancestor lived to be a hundred and thirteen years old, which was almost unheard of among ancient people. Moreover, Madam Jenson’s ancestor himself didn't understand cultivation. Instead, he spent most of his time practicing painting. He surpassed the vast majority of painters by a long shot just in terms of his skill alone.Furthermore, for the latter half of his life, Madam Jenson’s ancestor had been waiting for Marcius to return. He painted portrait after portrait of Marcius for decades, reaching a level of mastery that no one else could match. This particular painting was his favorite. He had practiced the brushwork thousands of times without making a single mistake, achieving absolute perfection.Another person approached and carefully examined the details of the painting with a magnifying glass, before he exclaimed excitedly, “This painting… This painting is indeed an ancient silk painting! You can tell it's an old item just from its texture at first
With the approval of the well-respected man, the portrait of Marcius immediately caused quite a stir in the Calligraphy and Painting Association. Jacob finally regained some recognition and stood a little straighter. Mr. Bay hurried over when he heard the news and found that the painting was indeed extraordinary. So, he quickly instructed his secretary to shoot a video, capturing the details of the painting and posting it on the official account of the Calligraphy and Painting Association on the short video platform to increase the influence of the calligraphy and painting exhibition.Soon, Charlie saw the introduction of this painting on the official short video account of the Calligraphy and Painting Association. In the video, the cameraperson used a cell phone to capture many details of the painting, especially the lifelike portrait of Marcius and the inscription by Charlie himself.This video caused a great sensation among the circle of fans of the Calligraphy and Painting As
So, he focused on all the private jets and cargo planes flying to the northern hemisphere first, paying attention to all their routes. Once this video went viral, if a certain plane turned back over the ocean and flew back to Argentina, that plane would almost definitely be the plane that the three elders were on.Meanwhile, on the edge of Antarctica, Fleur was also closely monitoring every move in Aurous Hill.A cargo plane dispatched by the Central Military Governor Office this morning had just flown over Aurous Hill an hour ago. The plane's destination was Lisken, near Aurous Hill. Just as it passed over Aurous Hill, it lowered its altitude according to air traffic control requirements, and it happened to capture the terrain of Aurous Hill very clearly.The photos taken on the plane were quickly transmitted back to the Qing Eliminating Society’s headquarters. Fleur immediately discovered a circular blank area with a radius of hundreds of meters in a valley near Willow Manor.She
Fleur was in disbelief. After living for four hundred years, she never thought that she would see the name ‘Marcius Stark’ again! He was her master who had already passed away more than three hundred years ago!She quickly picked up her phone again and tapped on the push notification with trembling hands. The phone immediately redirected her to the short video app and started playing the video from the Calligraphy and Painting Association.In the video, Marcius was wearing a robe as he stood on the edge of a cliff with long hair and a white beard that fluttered in the wind, giving off an extraordinary aura that inspired awe.Fleur instinctively covered her mouth, and her eyes filled with fear. She was in a state of panic as she murmured to herself, “How could Master's portrait appear in Aurous Hill? But Master has been gone for more than three hundred years, so who painted this portrait of him?!”Her heart seemed to be struck by a heavy hammer, and she anxiously thought to herself,
It had been over three hundred years since Fleur had felt such fear as she did today.That unfamiliar feeling of fear surged into her mind like a flood, giving her the sensation as if she was on an accelerating descent. Despite living for four hundred years and growing stronger with time, her courage seemed to diminish as she aged. Over the years, she had feared two things the most: growing old and dying, and that her true identity would be exposed.Thus, even though there were many members in the Qing Eliminating Society, very few actually knew the true identity of its leader.Apart from the four great earls, all the rest were the Griffin family members. Those Griffin family members were all descendants of Fleur as well, and they relied on her for their luxurious lifestyles, so their loyalty to her was extremely high.As for the rebellious few among the Griffins, Fleur never showed them any mercy. If they deserved to die, she made sure they did, and she showed no hesitation in e
This made Fleur think of Mr. Chardon, who had already died in the explosion. She couldn't help but say, “That’s right! Mr. Chardon found a magical instrument as soon as he arrived in Aurous Hill, and it could even summon heavenly thunder. Now, it seems that this was definitely not Mr. Chardon's luck but rather a trap set up by the other party targeting him in advance!”“If that's the case, he must have been waiting to kill the people I sent! He knew that I would definitely send experts proficient in Reiki, so he deliberately used the magical instrument as bait to lure my people into the trap!”With this in mind, Fleur no longer cared to sort through the countless clues and possibilities in her mind. She just wanted to call the three elders back quickly. After all, if the other party wasn't afraid of even Mr. Chardon’s self-detonation, the three elders might not be his match either.If these three people were to arrive in Aurous Hill and be completely killed in the trap set by the ot
Charlie instantly felt that the situation was turning around when he saw that the three elders’ plane had turned around. Although he was at a clear disadvantage when facing the Qing Eliminating Society, he had repeatedly emerged victorious in several encounters with them. At present, the Qing Eliminating Society had not only lost an entire dead soldier base and three great earls, but more importantly, his strategy to present a bold front and conceal his weakness had begun to make Fleur wary.Charlie had speculated on Fleur’s inner thoughts. Although he had never met her, he could sense several key traits of this woman. She was naturally suspicious and extremely cautious. If she weren't naturally suspicious, she would never have employed nepotism, with the core of the Qing Eliminating Society being controlled entirely by the Griffins. If she weren't extremely cautious, she wouldn't have been constantly hiding her identity out of fear that outsiders would find out about her.Theref
Hearing Jacob's tone, Charlie could tell that Jacob must have already learned about Matilda's plans to marry Yolden. So, Charlie said, "I'm just around the corner. I'll head over now, and we can meet at the gate." Choking up, Jacob replied, "Alright, I won't drive then. I'll wait for you at the gate. Hurry!" "Okay," Charlie agreed, but after hanging up, he deliberately waited for a few minutes. It was because Yolden had just left moments ago to pick up Matilda at Senior University. If Charlie had gone there right now, all four of them could have run into each other at the gate, which would make things even more awkward. Charlie wasn't worried about feeling awkward himself—he was more concerned about Jacob being further hurt. After intentionally waiting a bit, Charlie finally drove to the university. Just as Charlie drove toward Senior University, Matilda was waiting for Yolden by the roadside at the entrance of Senior University. At this moment, Jacob stumbled out of th
Charlie asked, "There are too many new domestic energy brands now. Do you think they still have a shot in vehicle manufacturing?" "Of course," Yolden affirmed. "There are indeed many new energy brands now, and many of them are struggling on the edge of survival. A lot of them have already disappeared, but the automotive market is so vast, and new energy vehicles only account for a small portion of it, which proves that the future of new energy still has great potential. Now, if the focus is only on competing with other new energy brands, the scale is indeed a bit small. The scope should be broadened to compete with traditional gasoline vehicle manufacturers. If you can cut Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai's global sales in half, that would truly be a giant." Yolden paused for a moment, almost as if remembering something, and then said, "Actually, you could consider researching this field. You don't lack money or resources, and with Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group as your logistics channe
When Jacob came to his senses, he was already in tears. The student presumed he was unwell and asked, "Mr. Wilson, do you want me to call your wife to pick you up?" Elaine's sarcastic face immediately popped up in his mind, and he trembled with fear. He quickly wiped away his tears and stammered, "D-don't bother... I... I just got something in my eyes..." The student obviously didn't believe him and asked worriedly, "Why don't you call your wife? Or I'll call a cab for you." "No, no." Jacob waved his hand and said, "I'll call my son-in-law to pick me up. He has just returned to Aurous Hill, so it shouldn't be a problem." After that, he quickly took out his phone and called Charlie. Just a few minutes ago, Charlie had left the cafe and was about to walk Yolden to his car. When he saw Yolden walking straight toward a domestic new energy vehicle, he asked curiously, "I don't think you were driving this model before, were you?" "I just bought it," Yolden replied with a smil
If Matilda still had feelings for Jacob, his nostalgic strategy would definitely have a strong impact. However, Matilda had already decided to move on, so Jacob's suggestion did not stir any emotions in her at all. With an apologetic smile, she said, "Sorry, Jacob, Yolden is downstairs waiting for me. We have something to discuss. How about another day? We can have dinner together, and I'll treat you." Jacob didn't expect the nostalgia strategy to fall flat. His original plan was to use nostalgia to get Matilda to go with him to eat near the school, then take the opportunity to revisit old places and subtly reignite their past memories. After all, revisiting old places was the best way to rekindle old feelings, no exceptions. It was like drinking the pasta water after cooking the pasta. However, he never imagined that Matilda's expression wouldn't change in the slightest. There was no shyness, no hesitation, no nervousness, and certainly no fluttering heart. She simply and
Matilda had been listening attentively before, but now, she was lowering her head, fiddling with her phone, and her expression even carried a hint of shyness and happiness, like that of a young girl. Jacob felt a pang of jealousy. While doing the presentation, he couldn't help but resentfully think to himself, "What has Matilda been chatting about with that Yolden guy? She's so happy..." At that moment, Matilda had just received a message from Yolden. In the message, Yolden informed her of the outcome of his conversation with Charlie and expressed his desire to have the wedding as soon as possible. Seeing how eager her beloved was to marry her, Matilda naturally felt very touched. At that moment, she had completely fallen into Yolden's love. For this man, who had a similar background, education, values, and even lifestyle to her own, she could find no fault with him. She felt that he was perfectly tailor-made for her by heaven itself, almost as if everything about him perfectly m
Charlie's worries were not unfounded. He had long known that Jacob had not completely given up on Matilda despite her relationship with Yolden. After returning from the cultural exchange in Korea, Jacob had been more dejected than ever before—something he hadn't even displayed when his family had gone bankrupt. If there was still a chance to salvage the relationship when one's beloved was merely dating someone else, their marriage was tantamount to a death sentence. Furthermore, considering the high intellectual backgrounds of Matilda and Yolden as well as their age and life experience, their decision to marry at this stage of life undoubtedly signaled their intention to build a long-term future together. This left Jacob with absolutely no chance at all. At this moment, Jacob was blissfully unaware of the devastating news and was busy conducting a calligraphy and painting workshop at Senior University. The so-called workshop was essentially a few slides showcasing classic
After that, Charlie asked with a bit of curiosity, "When did you and Matilda decide to get married?" Yolden smiled sheepishly and explained, "Remember when the city organized our cultural exchange trip to South Korea? I confessed to Matilda during that trip, and she accepted. After spending some time together, we both felt we were a great match. Considering our age, we didn't want to delay such an important decision any longer, so we decided to take the next step and build a family together." He continued, "Last month, we went to Lambonear for a few days. I bought a ring and proposed to her by the seaside, and she said yes. We also sought the opinion of our respective children—Autumn and Paul—and they were both very supportive. Both kids are exceptional and independent, so they urged us to have the wedding as soon as possible. I wanted to wait until you returned so I could check your schedule. For our wedding, we'd like to ask you to be our officiant." "What? Me as the officiant?
Charlie said without hesitation, "Sure. When is it convenient for you? Send me the address, and I'll go meet you." Charlie had always respected Yolden not only because he was a nice and talented man but also because he and his mother went way back and went to the same school. Yolden said hastily, "I've just come from Senior University. It's the weekend, and I don't have classes today. Why don't you send me the address and I'll meet you?" Charlie gave it some thought. It was a little past 3 p.m., so Yolden had likely already had lunch, and there were still a few hours until dinner. Inviting him to The Heaven Springs didn't seem ideal for a discussion. Considering that he had lived in the United States for many years and probably had a habit of having coffee in the afternoon, Charlie said, "How about this? There's a Starbucks not far south of the university. Let's meet there for a cup of coffee." "Perfect!" Yolden said with a smile. "I was just thinking you could give me an addre
On the way back to The Heaven Springs, Julien was in a much better mood than when he had arrived. Initially, he was filled with anxiety, unsure of what Charlie had planned. But now, everything had become clear. The troublesome matter of Salem and Edmund was no longer his concern. All he had to do was wait for the video from the ship to be released and then head back home. Charlie noticed his improved mood and smiled as he asked, "Julien, you've resolved the most critical matter right after landing in Aurous Hill. You must be feeling pretty happy, right?" Julien chuckled and said, "To be honest, before coming here, I was worried that I'd end up going back empty-handed and being secretly mocked by others. But now, it's different. Once your video is released, no one can blame me for not doing my job. If anything, they can only blame their family for missing their chance. After all, so much time has passed, and it's their fault Salem and Edmund were moved to the Middle East." As he