Matthew couldn’t help but murmur, “Only the peony is truly the national beauty; when it blooms, it moves Urgford.”
He pulled out the painting and held it up, “Everyone, come and look at this! It’s absolutely stunning!”
The peony has always been a symbol of wealth and good fortune. Traditional peony paintings mainly come in two styles: meticulous and freehand.
Meticulous painting: This style uses precise and detailed brushwork to depict scenes, achieving a perfect unity of spirit and form through “capturing the essence, establishing form with lines, and conveying meaning through form.”
Freehand painting: This style emphasizes the inner spirit and essence of the subject rather than its external realism.
This particular painting featured a single peony, its branches swaying gracefully, with a black insect perched on it, adding to its charm.
The peony was so beautiful that it seemed one could smell its fragrance through the painting.
An art connoisseur couldn’t help but exclaim, “Such vibrant and vivid colors can only be matched by a peony!”
“Indeed, after seeing so many peonies together, this solitary one is truly… breathtaking!”
“The craftsmanship is not something achieved overnight; the insect looks almost real.”
“Absolutely stunning!”
“High marks! It deserves high marks!”
Matthew also examined the painting carefully, deeply captivated by it.
But when he saw the signature on the back, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
Sylvia!
Why is it Sylvia again?
He thought it was Cassandra’s work. With Cassandra’s skill and talent, creating such a painting would be no problem.
How could it be Sylvia’s? Wasn’t she supposed to be sabotaged to prevent her from performing well?
Damn it!
His face turned ashen as if he had swallowed ten lumps of excrement.
Rage surged through his chest. He began frantically rummaging through the artworks until he found Cassandra’s painting.
Ironically, Cassandra had also painted peonies.
But what was this mess? A chaotic pile of peonies in various colors-red, green, purple, yellow-without any sense of hierarchy.
Bees and butterflies floated in mid-air, looking childish and ridiculous.
If Sylvia’s masterpiece hadn’t been there first, Cassandra’s work wouldn’t have seemed so terrible.
But with Sylvia’s standout piece, everything else turned to trash.
Matthew was so furious he wanted to tear Cassandra’s painting to shreds.
This idiotic Cassandra, had her brain been fed to dogs?
“Old Mr. Berry, is this Miss Cassandra’s painting? Not bad!” an art expert said awkwardly after taking a glance.
“Yes, yes, this peony ensemble is very good!”
Though they knew it was far inferior to Sylvia’s work, they still gave awkward praise out of respect for Matthew.
“It deserves high marks.”
“Yes, yes, high marks.”
Previously giving Cassandra low marks had embarrassed Matthew. They were all part of the same circle.
The painting wasn’t great but wasn’t terrible either.
Giving it high marks was acceptable but it certainly couldn’t surpass Sylvia’s.
Everyone thought this way as they began discussing the scores.
Cassandra sat quietly in her seat, waiting patiently.
She believed she had done exceptionally well and deserved high marks. She wasn’t anxious at all.
The host soon took the stage with a smile, “Hello everyone, the exciting moment has arrived! The scores for our painting competition are out. Let’s reveal them together!”
He then began announcing the scores.
This time, the host kept everyone in suspense instead of revealing the scores directly. He interacted with the audience to liven up the atmosphere.
Cassandra started feeling restless.
Why hadn’t her score been announced yet?
Was it high or low?
It seemed they were announcing the lower scores first and then the higher ones?
Madam Virginia whispered to her, “Cassandra… I think your score won’t be low. It should be very high.”
“But Sylvia’s score hasn’t been announced yet,” Cassandra frowned. “Could her score also be high?”
She immediately dismissed the possibility. “No, that’s impossible. Without paint, how could she create a perfect painting?”
Just then, she heard her score: 9. 4!
A look of joy appeared on her face as other contestants looked at her enviously.
“Such a high score!”
“The painting must be excellent.”
“Indeed!”
“Could it be the first place?”
Cassandra enjoyed the admiration and felt her abilities were greatly validated.
While she was secretly pleased, the host announced the first place, “Sylvia! 9. 8 points! A solitary beauty that is simply breathtaking! Especially that little insect which adds the finishing touch! Now let’s all admire Sylvia’s work!”
Cassandra’s smile froze on her lips.
Second place? She was? And first place was Sylvia again!
Didn’t she lack paint?
How could she still get first place?
Cassandra stared at the stage in disbelief and was shocked!
What an astonishing painting!
The peony swayed gracefully, exuding national beauty! It was unforgettable, especially with its vibrant colors that seemed to bleed!
It instantly hurt Cassandra’s eyes.
She knew art; she knew she could never create such a perfect and stunning painting!
Her heart pounded wildly. Suddenly, she spat out a mouthful of blood and clutched her chest.
What a masterpiece! What an absolute masterpiece!
Why did such an incredible painting come from Sylvia?
Madam Virginia was startled and screamed as she tried to support Cassandra, “Cassandra! Cassandra! What’s wrong? Don’t scare me!”
Blood continued to flow from Cassandra’s lips as if her chest was about to explode from anger.
Pain!
Sharp pain!
“Someone help! My daughter is vomiting blood!” Madam Virginia cried out as people around them were also shocked.
Everyone gathered around them.
“Oh my god, she’s vomiting blood from anger? That really happens?”
“She must be angry about not getting first place.”
Sylvia frowned and exchanged a glance with Franklin before they both walked over to the mother and daughter.
Cassandra’s consciousness began to blur as blood stained her dress. She slumped in Madam Virginia’s arms like a lifeless doll.
When she saw Sylvia’s familiar figure in her fading vision, she spat out another mouthful of blood. “You… go away! Go away!”
She glared at Sylvia with a terrifying expression, using all her strength to point at her. “Get lost!”
Sylvia ignored Cassandra’s hysterics. She knelt beside her and began checking her pulse with her fingers.
“She’s vomiting blood due to extreme anger. She needs to get to a hospital quickly.”
“What do you know? Who are you to check my daughter’s pulse?” Madam Virginia shouted angrily. “Stop pretending to be kind!”
“Her lungs are almost bursting from rage; that’s why she’s vomiting so much blood. If you don’t believe me, it’s your loss.” Sylvia said and turned away.
Helping Cassandra check her pulse was already more than enough kindness.
Franklin walked beside her, habitually holding her small hand. “Are there any other events at today’s Cultural Heritage Fair?”
Sylvia shook her head. “No, tomorrow there will be a jade gambling event.”
She smiled. “Will you accompany me tomorrow?”
Franklin looked down at her with gentle eyes. “Of course.”
Isaac followed them with a cold expression that no one noticed as he kept his head down.
The events at the Cultural Heritage Fair were immediately reported by the media, especially the news about Cassandra being utterly defeated by Sylvia. It spread like wildfire.
The Sweeney family was furious.
Tristan Sweeney turned off his phone with a grim face after reading the news. “What’s wrong with Cassandra? She can’t even do what she’s best at?”
Marcelo Sweeney sneered. “Maybe she got too complacent.”
They knew their cousin’s personality well enough.
“Cassandra always thought highly of herself; it’s no surprise she lost.” Jocelyn said disdainfully. She hated that despite being daughters of the Sweeney family, Cassandra was beautiful while she was plain.
Not only did she have to be compared to other socialites but also to her own cousin.
It infuriated her!
Now that Cassandra had embarrassed herself, Jocelyn was delighted.
“Forget it. We’ll ask what happened when she gets back. The Sweeney family and the Hipps Family are always compared by outsiders and written about in all sorts of ways. Now it’ll probably get even worse.” Tristan Sweeney said as he stood up. Thinking of Sylvia’s beautiful face made his chest heat up.
Such a beautiful and fiery woman belonged to Franklin… what a pity!
Unlike the Sweeney family’s strange anger,
Clare and Mollie had been at the Cultural Heritage Fair all day but only as spectators since Sylvia was competing.
They even bought some cute antiques to bring back as gifts for their daughters.
“Sylvia really made us proud today. Having her in our Hipps Family is truly a blessing.” Mollie said excitedly. “I really learned a lot today.”
“Silly girl.” Clare patted her head. “Let’s go home now that it’s over.”
Queena and Mr. Hipps had already seen the news at home and couldn’t stop smiling.
“Oh my, Sylvia is really something! That Sweeney girl really embarrassed herself!”
“I bet Sylvia’s paint issue was her doing.”