Chapter 63
Chapter 63: Princess Yong Ning in Person—Show Some Respect to Miss Ye
Fang Qing Ya might belong to Fang Family, but she wasn’t obsessed with paintings. She preferred dance.
Even so, years of living around calligraphy and art had given her basic understanding.
And Princess Yong Ning?
She was the Prince of Yan’s blood sister. The Heir Apparent of Great Ning. The only woman in history who had lived in the Eastern Palace as the imperial heir.
Only she had ever made Emperor Zhaozong’s other children truly submit.
She mastered the six gentlemanly arts and excelled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. In her lifetime, she advised princes across the realm and helped win countless battles.
Her name was written into history. Her merits would last for ages.
Fang Qing Ya sneered, then laughed outright.
Comparing Ye Wan Lan to Sheng Yun Yi was one thing.
But trying to cling to Princess Yong Ning?
“Qing Ya, don’t say that,” Sheng Yun Yi said, trying to smooth things over. “Miss Ye, you may not understand Princess Yong Ning’s level in painting. She was young, but her ability surpassed most adults. If Miss Ye is interested, I have many books…”
Ye Wan Lan didn’t wait for her to finish. She stood, expression flat. “It seems the Fang Family doesn’t welcome me. What a pity.”
Whether she had painted it or not—she knew perfectly well.
No matter how flawless the imitation, it was still a fake.
“Miss Ye!” Fang Qing Han’s face changed. “Fang Family has no intention of disrespecting you. Today was an accident. I’ll have someone—”
“Brother, you’re still defending her!” Fang Qing Ya shouted. “She bullied Yun Yi, and now she’s bullying me too. How can you do this?”
“I’m telling Mom and Dad!”
“Who’s making such a racket?”
A stern female voice cut through the room.
Madam Fang walked in wearing a cheongsam. She handed her bag to a servant waiting nearby.
She was fifty-eight and had three children, yet she was so well cared for that she looked barely over thirty. Every movement was elegant, controlled.
“Mom, you’re back!” Fang Qing Ya rushed forward and grabbed her arm. “Brother’s lost his mind—Ye Wan Lan has bewitched him! He can’t tell right from wrong anymore!”
If it weren’t for Ye Wan Lan, how could she have ended up in detention?
After complaining, Fang Qing Ya turned toward Ye Wan Lan again, chin lifted. “This is my home. You don’t get to act arrogant here. My mom hates people who pretend. No matter how well you act, she’ll see through you at a glance.”
She clung tighter to Madam Fang’s arm, waiting for support.
Madam Fang shook her off.
“Fang Qing Ya,” she said, voice dropping. “Apologize.”
Fang Qing Ya froze. “Mom?!”
Madam Fang cut her off. “Miss Ye is a VIP guest of Fang Family. Show Miss Ye respect. Do you want to kneel in the ancestral hall again?”
“Mom!” Fang Qing Ya stamped her foot. “How is she our VIP guest? Yun Yi is!”
“Fang Qing Ya,” Fang Qing Han said, eyes cold, “if Miss Ye’s painting hadn’t helped us secure that deal, Fang Family would have lost at least five hundred million.”
He looked at his sister as if she were a stranger. “Tell me—what have you ever done for this family?”
“A painting can help business?” Fang Qing Ya spluttered. “That’s ridiculous. I don’t—”
“Enough.” Madam Fang’s patience snapped. “Little Ya, you just got out of detention. You should rest. Steward, take miss back to her room.”
Steward Fang understood at once. Two servants stepped forward and “escorted” Fang Qing Ya upstairs.
“Mom! Brother! Ye Wan Lan is good at tricks. She’s all lies—don’t let her fool you!”
Fang Qing Ya’s voice echoed as the door swallowed her whole.
Madam Fang turned to Sheng Yun Yi and smiled—still polite, almost too polite.
“Yun Yi, I’m truly sorry. I can’t host you today. Come another day.”
Sheng Yun Yi drew a careful breath. “Aunt, I only wanted to invite you to see the painting. I meant no harm. I just—”
“Steward,” Madam Fang said, as if she hadn’t heard, “see Miss Sheng out.”
Her smile stayed in place. “Miss Sheng is precious and noble. We mustn’t neglect her. If word gets out, it will look like Fang Family is at fault.”
“Yes, Madam,” Steward Fang replied. “Miss Sheng, this way.”
Sheng Yun Yi’s smile wavered. She forced it back into place with effort. “Aunt Fang, what are you saying? When have you ever neglected me?”
“Exactly.” Madam Fang sighed. “I’m only afraid outsiders will talk nonsense and say I had ill intentions. That would drive a wedge between Fang Family and Sheng Family, wouldn’t it?”
Sheng Yun Yi’s face tightened.
She and Fang Qing Ya had been close since childhood. She visited Fang Family often, and Madam Fang had always treated her kindly. Yet now every word carried a hidden barb.
And Fang Family adored art. She brought them a painting to admire—yet they didn’t even glance at it.
With Madam Fang pushing her out like this, Sheng Yun Yi had no face left to stay. She could only leave, humiliated.
The moment the door closed behind her, Madam Fang’s smile vanished.
“Still daring to put on an act in my house,” she snapped, slamming a glass down on the coffee table. “You think I can’t see what she’s after? We’re all old foxes. Who’s she fooling?”
“Miss Ye, sorry you had to see that,” Fang Qing Han said, throat tight. “My mother used to—”
“Move,” Madam Fang said, pushing his head aside with one hand.
Fang Qing Han went silent and retreated to the far end of the sofa.
Madam Fang turned back to Ye Wan Lan, her expression softening again—this time without pretense.
“Miss Ye, thank you. Truly.”
Ye Wan Lan’s painting had helped Fang Family secure a major deal they had been chasing for half a year. Money poured in, meetings piled up, patience wore thin, and still the other party refused to budge. They had nearly given up.
Then, only days ago, they hosted the other party at the old residence.
The moment that painting came into view, the other party agreed to cooperate.
Fang Family head and Madam Fang hadn’t expected it either. The other party also liked the Yong Ning school, and the painting they bought from Ye Wan Lan had a mature brush style.
The other party even said that if it weren’t a work from recent years, placed back three hundred years ago it could pass for real—so real even Emperor Zhaozong might not be able to tell.
“Madam Fang,” Ye Wan Lan said evenly, “Young Master Fang paid for a painting, and I sold a painting. A fair deal.”
She didn’t blink. “What you do with it afterward—profit or loss—has nothing to do with me.”
Madam Fang hesitated.
This was her first time meeting Ye Wan Lan, though she’d heard the name often over the last two years.
People said Ye Wan Lan dropped out of school shortly after starting tenth grade. They said she willingly served as Zhou He Chen’s stand-in. They said jealousy drove her to harm Sheng Yun Yi.
Yet not long ago, Madam Fang had also heard Qin Family had suffered a heavy loss at Ye Wan Lan’s hands.
Today, in person, Ye Wan Lan felt calm and unhurried—yet sharp enough to cut. Even great families struggled to cultivate such presence.
So where had the rumors gone wrong?
“Even so,” Madam Fang said sincerely, “I still have to thank you. From now on, Fang Family is your friend. If you need anything, we’ll help.”
“Oh?” Ye Wan Lan raised her brows. “Even if it means making enemies of the other four families?”
Madam Fang’s breath caught. “This…”
She might have the courage, but she didn’t have that kind of strength.
Ye Wan Lan’s mouth curved. “A joke. Don’t take it to heart.”
She stood. “I’m leaving. My family is waiting for dinner.”
“I’ll see you out,” Fang Qing Han said quickly.
Steward Fang followed to escort them. Madam Fang lingered in the living room a long time, then went upstairs.
“Mom! Let me out! Let me out!”
Fang Qing Ya was pounding on her bedroom door.
Madam Fang opened it and stared her down. “Fang Qing Ya—what did I tell you? Sheng Yun Yi isn’t sincere with you at all. Last time, she guided you into calling the police. It’s only been a few days, and you’ve already forgotten?”
“Mom, what are you talking about?” Fang Qing Ya laughed, incredulous and angry at the same time. “I called the police because I wanted to. It was all Ye Wan Lan’s fault. What does Yun Yi have to do with it?”
Madam Fang inhaled sharply. “Reflect. Before you cause a disaster. Because when that happens, your father, your brother, and I won’t be able to save you.”
How had she given birth to such a blockhead—getting played until she spun in circles?
—
Fang Qing Han drove Ye Wan Lan back to the Lin Family residence.
Lin Huai Jin and Xu Pei Qing had just returned as well. The moment Lin Huai Jin heard Fang Qing Han had come, his nerves tightened.
“What did he want with you?”
Fang Family was one of River City’s Five Great Magnate Families. If it had anything to do with Zhou He Chen…
“I sold them a painting,” Ye Wan Lan said lightly. “They used it to secure a deal, so they invited me over. It wasn’t necessary. I already got three million.”
“A painting? What painting?” Lin Huai Jin asked, baffled.
Ye Wan Lan didn’t answer. She only lifted her brows and looked behind him.
Lin Huai Jin turned—and realized the painting that had hung above the sofa was gone.
Silence stretched for two seconds.
He swallowed. “You mean… the painting you made at thirteen. Fang Family bought it for three million. And they used it to close a ten-figure deal?”
Ye Wan Lan rested her chin on one hand. “Uncle summarized it very accurately.”
Lin Huai Jin stared into the distance.
He felt like the world had cracked. He needed to sit down and breathe.
—
After leaving Fang Family, Sheng Yun Yi didn’t return to Sheng Family.
She booked the earliest flight to the Yun Jing Art Association.
“Authentic Princess Yong Ning piece.”
Those words were perfect bait. She planned to use the painting to win more fame, more resources, more profit.
The auction had already authenticated it, but if she could secure a certificate from the Yun Jing Art Association as well, it would be airtight.
Even a later painter’s work could help Fang Family close business. What would her “authentic” piece do?
While she waited, sweat slicked her palms.
“You’re telling me someone brought an authentic Princess Yong Ning painting?” someone snapped. “That’s impossible. If it were real, I would have heard. Don’t waste my time.”
“That’s why we’re asking you to take a look,” the assistant said, voice respectful.
No matter how convincing an imitation was, it would reveal itself. It could never fool the vice president’s eyes.