"And then there's my zither playing. I heard zither music while I was still in my mother's womb, and I've been inseparable from it since I was born. In the entire Tangshan Prefecture, no one can beat me in a zither duel. Look at you all, what do you have to compete with me?"

"Yes, yes, Miss Liu is absolutely right!"

"The most valuable thing about a person is to have self-awareness. They should be very clear about what belongs to them and what does not. Otherwise, they will only have regrets."

"Yes, Miss Liu is right."

"………………"

"Yes, yes, Miss Liu is right!"

"………………"

"Yes, yes, Miss Liu is absolutely right!"

"………………"

"…………"

After a short while, Liu Yuxian's mouth was dry from talking, so she drank five cups of water in a row.

On the other hand, Su Dahu on the other side only said the same few sentences over and over again; in short, she was right about everything!

What a load of rubbish!!!

Su Hua didn't even raise an eyebrow, looking completely oblivious, like a meditating monk.

However, the drawing paper on Su Hua's desk... was all black here and red there, just like the disgusting stuff that their family's gatekeeper, Big Yellow, had excreted.

It doesn't resemble a flower at all.

It doesn't even qualify as a painting.

Liu Yuxian's fox-like eyes darted around. Painting requires a state of tranquility. Now that Su Hua has painted something so indistinguishable between humans and animals, does it prove that her hard work of burning an incense stick has paid off?

After all, Su Hua was a bit strange. Although Wei Jianjia kept claiming that she was confident of winning, the first game was so badly lost that she felt inexplicably panicked.

We absolutely cannot lose this second round of the drawing contest.

She cleared her throat, preparing to continue her sonic attack.

Just then, someone tugged at his sleeve. Turning around, he saw Wei Jianjia looking at him with her brows furrowed.

During the time I spent with Wei Jianjia, I had always seen her smile gently; I had never seen her with such an expression before.

Suddenly feeling a little awkward, she asked, "Jian, Jianjia, what's wrong?"

"Quiet down, you're disturbing my painting." Wei Jianjia flicked her sleeves in annoyance, revealing a large ink stain about the size of a pigeon egg on her wide sleeve, ruining her fine cloud satin dress.

If she hadn't been quick, the ink blot wouldn't have fallen onto her sleeve, but onto the peony she was almost finished with.

Liu Yuxian wasn't a blockhead; she naturally saw the ink stain and also sensed the other party's impatience.

She smiled sheepishly, "It was Sister Liu who didn't think things through earlier. How about I go to Su Hua's place to continue?"

Wei Jianjia turned her head slightly, glanced at the drawing paper in front of Su Hua, and saw the black and red marks. A hint of disdain flashed in her beautiful eyes.

"Ignore her."

She didn't need to resort to such underhanded tactics to win against Su Hua.

On the long table on the east side of the Hundred Flowers Garden, the original group of six who used to eat rice has now become a new group of four.

Ouyang Shanzhang comes and goes, but Wang Dapang, Lu Lao Er, and Shutong remain constant.

Two against two, sitting diagonally opposite each other.

Ouyang Shanzhang held a blue crab in his left hand and a large lobster leg in his right. In front of him was already a large pile of shrimp shells, crab shells, and fish bones.

Despite his advanced age, he peels shrimp and crabs with the same skill as a nimble young person, and he can even swallow and spit out fish bones with ease, making him a true seafood connoisseur.

He picked up the orchid crab, took a bite of the crab meat, and then, not forgetting to click his tongue in satisfaction, said, "I must say, the young ladies and gentlemen of the Qin family really know how to enjoy life; they eat so well."

Comparing people is truly infuriating.

"This one table of seafood alone would cost me more than I could earn running Qingshan Academy for ten years!"

The page boy withdrew his gaze from the Hundred Flowers Garden, glanced at him expressionlessly, and said, "If the headmaster just raises the tuition fees a few more times a year, wouldn't this seafood be enough to make a profit?"

Headmaster Ouyang's eyes lit up, but then he shook his head. "Oh dear, no, no, the price has already gone up once this year. If it goes up again, I'm afraid no one will be able to afford to come to Qingshan Academy."

"So what?" The page boy raised his eyebrows slightly. "Anyway, the headmaster has been using the Robin Hood tactic all these years. He charges two different fees for rich and poor students. He can just keep raising the fees for the rich. No matter how much he raises the fees, they will still go."

The old man's lips twitched.

Although the words may not be pleasant to hear, they make sense.

Poor children want to go to the academy to make a future, while rich children want to go to the academy to gain a reputation; he is simply making everyone's wishes come true.

Yes, the tuition fee will be increased when I go back this time.

However, we need to think about the justification for this price increase; we need to come up with something more legitimate.

Time passed by, and in the Hundred Flowers Garden, young men and women began to put down their paintbrushes and move around the tables and desks.

"Hey, Brother Zhou, is this a painting of jasmine flowers? One leaf and two flowers, petals layered, flowers and leaves protecting each other, it's really eye-catching."

"Hehehe, I just drew a few pictures. How can they compare to Brother Li's peony paintings? The petals are full and delicate, and the heart of the flower is even adorned with dew. It is truly a national beauty."

"Not at all, I think Miss Cheng's depiction of the epiphyllum is also superb. With just a few strokes, she has captured the mysterious and ethereal beauty of the epiphyllum. It is truly beautiful."

"Oh dear, all you do is pretend to flatter each other. Don't forget, compared to Miss Wei's paintings, all of us here are just standing aside. Quickly take a look at what Miss Wei painted today."

"Yes, yes, who doesn't know that Miss Wei's paintings are unparalleled in the capital? Oh, Miss Wei hasn't finished her painting yet, and neither has Miss Su next to her."

"Why don't we wait and see? Otherwise, it wouldn't be good to disturb their painting..."

However, before the speaker could finish speaking...

Suddenly, a rustling sound was heard coming from the direction of the back mountain of Qichi Villa, gradually approaching the Hundred Flowers Garden.

The sound grew louder and louder.

Everyone looked up abruptly, and a fiery red shadow flew over into their field of vision.

Behind the fiery red figure followed a string of smaller figures, like a well-organized team.

Almost a breath later, the fiery red figure became clear.

It was a butterfly, entirely fiery red!

Behind it, there was none other than a swarm of colorful butterflies.

"So many butterflies, so beautiful!"

"I've never seen so many butterflies in my entire life!"

"Where are they going? It feels like they're flying this way."

"Yeah, what are they doing? Are they coming to play with us...?"

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise, filled with joy. Some even pretended to dance, wanting to invite the fiery red butterfly to join them.

But the fire butterfly didn't even glance at it.

Even the swarm of butterflies behind didn't stop for a second.

Instead, it sped up and flew towards the corner of the Hundred Flowers Garden.

In the corner, Su Hua slowly put down her paintbrush, intending to rub her aching wrist.

Suddenly, a chill ran through my eyelids—