Chapter 281: Chapter 280: The National Studies Master Hasn’t Seen Guests in Ten Years? An Invitation Addressed to My Sister-in-law!

Gu Lan held the painting carefully wrapped in oilcloth, her palms slick with sweat.

This thing was more scorching than any “exchange item” she had delivered before.

“Sister-in-law, I…”

“Follow the usual rules.” Lin Wanyi said while tidying up Gu An’s toys, without looking up.

“Once you’ve delivered it, leave.”

“Got it.”

Gu Lan tightened her grip on the painting, like holding a treasure that might explode at any moment. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open to leave.

This time, the delivery location was very peculiar.

It wasn’t some grand office building, nor was it at the gate of some mansion.

Instead, it was at an inconspicuous old bookstall in the south of the city.

Following the instructions through twists and turns, Gu Lan found the place where a skinny old man was sitting on a small stool, reading a thread-bound book by dim light.

“Sir.” Gu Lan stepped forward, lowering her voice.

The old man lifted his eyes to look at her briefly, then lowered them again.

“I…” Gu Lan placed the painting on the bookstall. “Someone entrusted me to deliver something.”

The old man said nothing.

He extended two withered fingers, dragged the painting over, and placed it by his feet.

And that was it.

He continued reading his book, as if Gu Lan and that painting, worth a mansion, were just air.

Gu Lan stood there, unable to leave or stay.

What was this?

Accepted? Or not?

She waited a full five minutes, but the old man remained unmoved.

Gu Lan could only grit her teeth and turn to leave.

Back home, she recounted this bizarre experience, and the atmosphere in the room grew heavy.

“An old bookstall?” Gu Yanshen was checking Gu An’s modified radio and paused what he was doing.

“Yes! Just a shabby little bookstall!” Gu Lan got more and more frustrated, “That old man didn’t even glance at it!”

Lin Wanyi remained calm.

“As long as it’s delivered.”

For the next three days, the Gu Family Courtyard was unusually quiet.

For the first time, Gu Lan didn’t go out to visit neighbors.

She sat in the courtyard, with a plate of her favorite pumpkin seeds in front of her but didn’t crack a single one.

She just repeatedly picked up, put down, picked up, and put down.

At dinner, Gu Zhen Guo came out with a newspaper.

Gu Yanshen glanced at it.

“Dad, the newspaper is upside down.”

Gu Zhen Guo’s face stiffened, and he closed the newspaper with a “thwack” and placed it heavily on the table.

“Eat!”

At the table, no one spoke.

Only the two little ones, Gu An and Gu Ning, were tapping their small bowls with glee.

On the fourth day.

Gu Lan was utterly deflated.

She thought that painting must have sunk like a stone into the sea.

Just as she was about to admit to her sister-in-law that she “failed to accomplish the task.”

A black sedan quietly stopped at the entrance of the Gu Family Courtyard.

In this era, Jeeps were common, but a sleek, shiny black sedan was a rarity, even in the military district.

In an instant.

The curtains of the house across the way moved slightly.

The curtain of the house to the west opened a crack.

Countless prying eyes were focused on that car.

The car door opened.

A middle-aged man dressed in a neat Zhongshan suit stepped out.

His hair was meticulously combed, and he wore gold-rimmed glasses, giving him an air of elegance.

He walked to the gate of the Gu Family courtyard and knocked on the door with great decorum instead of pushing it open directly.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

Three knocks, neither heavy nor light.

Gu Lan, being the closest, went forward to open the door.

“Excuse me, is this the home of Colonel Gu Yanshen?” The middle-aged man bowed slightly, his attitude courteous yet distant.

“Yes, and you are?”

“I’m looking for the owner of the ’painting workshop’.” The man said.

Gu Lan’s heart skipped a beat.

He had arrived!

She glanced back.

Lin Wanyi, holding Gu Ning, walked out of the house.

Gu Yanshen followed behind her.

The middle-aged man’s gaze fell on Lin Wanyi, and he bowed once more.

“You must be Ms. Lin Wanyi.”

He took a letter from his briefcase.

He held it up with both hands.

“This is a letter from my master for you.”

Lin Wanyi hadn’t extended her hand yet.

The onlookers in the courtyard collectively gasped.

The envelope was made of thick, pristine rice paper, completely absent from the market today.

On the envelope, no address was written, nor was there a stamp.

There were only six bold calligraphic characters.

“For Ms. Lin Wanyi.”

These few characters alone exuded an intimidating aura.

Lin Wanyi took the letter.

“Thank you.”

The middle-aged man, having completed his task, bowed once more, turned, and got back into the car.

The sedan silently drove away.

All that was left was the murmuring of the entire courtyard and Lin Wanyi holding the letter in the Gu family yard.

“Sister-in-law, quickly! Open it and see!” Gu Lan was the most anxious.

The family returned indoors.

Gu Zhen Guo also emerged from his study, pretending to nonchalantly sip his tea while his ears perked up.

Lin Wanyi opened the envelope in front of everyone.

Inside was not a letter.

But a more elegant invitation.

A delicate ink painting of an orchid adorned one corner of the card, which bore several lines of beautifully composed regular script.

It invited “the owner of the painting workshop, Ms. Lin Wanyi,” to visit “Bamboo Garden” this Saturday afternoon.

To have tea and discuss art.

“Bamboo Garden?” Gu Lan mused over the name, “What kind of place is this? It sounds so refined.”

Lin Wanyi handed the invitation to Gu Yanshen.

Gu Yanshen read it, then passed it to his father.

Gu Zhen Guo took the invitation.

His gaze fell on the signature at the bottom.

Those three characters seemed weighted with a thousand pounds.

Clang!

A crisp sound.

Gu Zhen Guo’s enamel teacup fell straight to the cement floor, deforming on impact.

Tea splashed everywhere.

“Dad!” Gu Lan was startled out of her wits.

But Gu Zhen Guo paid no heed.

His hands trembled.

Not slightly, but uncontrollably, violently shaking.

He pointed at the invitation, his voice altered.

“Chen… Chen Jingyuan…”

“Who?” Gu Lan didn’t catch it.

“Chen Jingyuan!” Gu Zhen Guo almost shouted, “It’s Mr. Chen!”

“Which Mr. Chen?” Gu Yanshen also sensed the gravity of the situation.

“Who else could it be!” Gu Zhen Guo paced the room, his face flushed with excitement.

“The towering figure of Long Country’s cultural world! The master who taught the patriarch’s founder himself!”

“He retired to seclusion ten years ago, building ’Bamboo Garden’ in West Mountain, closing the door to guests. He would see no one!”

“So many offered mountains of gold and silver for a piece of his calligraphy, yet they couldn’t even enter the door!”

Gu Zhen Guo stopped pacing and stared intently at Lin Wanyi, as if encountering his daughter-in-law for the first time.

“Now…”

“He has personally penned an invitation, inviting you to his private salon!”

“Wanyi…”

“Our Gu Family is about to have a true ’scholar’ in the making!”

Saturday afternoon.

Lin Wanyi changed into a simple and elegant dress and stood in front of the dressing mirror.

Gu Yanshen was clad in a brand-new military uniform, standing by the door.

The epaulets gleamed dazzlingly in the afternoon sun.

He remained silent, like a statue.

Lin Wanyi turned around.

“Isn’t there an officer meeting in the military district today?”

“I took leave.” Gu Yanshen’s voice was calm.

“It’s just a literary gathering, there’s no need for this.” Lin Wanyi reached to undo the first button of his disciplinary collar, hoping to relax him a bit.

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