"Please sit down."

The elderly man at the head of the group smiled and gestured for Lin Rui to sit in the chair next to him.

After Lin Rui sat down, a girl of about sixteen or seventeen years old immediately brought him a cup of tea and placed it in front of him.

The others were not instructed to sit down and could only stand there, including Chen Bin.

At this moment, several members of the Xia family were still standing in the hall, all looking at Lin Rui with surprise.

"Xianci, take Xiao Chen around and show him around."

"And you guys, all of you, get out of here."

Xia Xianci responded and left with Changsun Yi, leading Chen Bin away.

The others also quickly dispersed.

Soon, only Lin Rui and the three kind-looking old people remained in the hall.

"Young man, although it's impolite to ask about someone's background, this old man still wants to ask, do you have a teacher?"

The elderly man at the head of the group had bright, piercing eyes as he waited for Lin Rui's reply.

"have."

Seemingly sensing the thoughts of the three old men, Lin Rui calmly said, "My master instructed me that I cannot reveal his name without his permission."

After hearing this, the three elderly people all felt great regret.

The elderly man at the head of the group gently fiddled with the tea lid and said regretfully, "Your teacher must have been a remarkable and extraordinary figure, but unfortunately, I never had the chance to meet him."

Lin Rui remained outwardly calm, but in reality, he was analyzing the Xia family's intentions behind this move.

Inquire about his background?

It doesn't seem like it.

If you really want to investigate him, you can do it in secret.

Besides, the Xia family isn't stupid to have gotten to where they are today. Not to mention the Chinese Literature and Art Association, they wouldn't dare to offend Li Donglai easily.

Another old man suddenly asked, "Young man, has your master ever given you any advice on how to conduct yourself in society?"

Is this considered a roundabout way of asking questions?

Lin Rui remained calm and composed, and smiled: "The teacher did give some pointers, but the one he mentioned most often was this sentence."

After a pause, seeing the three old men looking at him intently, Lin Rui didn't mince words: "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you."

Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.

The three old men immediately murmured to themselves, savoring the words. Soon, the eldest old man looked at them with admiration: "Your teacher not only taught you, but also taught us."

The elderly man at the head of the group quickly composed himself and said with a serious expression, "Young brother, as you probably guessed, the reason we invited you to the Xia family is because we have encountered some trouble recently and would like to ask you to step in and resolve it."

Lin Rui was somewhat surprised.

On his way here, he also learned from Chen Bin that the Xia family was an absolute behemoth in Lizhou.

As the saying goes, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Lin Rui was new to the area and really didn't understand how he could solve a problem that even the Xia family found difficult.

As if sensing Lin Rui's confusion, the leading old man sighed and asked, "Young man, what are your thoughts on Lizhou?"

Thoughts?

Lin Rui frowned slightly. The question was too broad, and he found it difficult to guess which aspect the old man was referring to.

However, one thing is certain: the old man was definitely not asking about irrelevant topics like scenery or the economy.

Suddenly, Lin Rui thought of what Lu Ye had mentioned and sighed, "Lizhou is beautiful, but it has become less beautiful because of some foreign cultures with ulterior motives."

The elderly man at the head of the group nodded and said, "The Xia family originated from Huazhou and was famous throughout the world for their skills in playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. A hundred years ago, in response to the official call, the entire clan moved to Lizhou."

"For the past century, our ancestors have been fighting against the invasion of foreign cultures, but as times have changed, the influence of music, chess, calligraphy and painting has been declining."

"Therefore, after discussing with several other prominent families, the Xia family decided to hold a grand event themed around the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and invited many celebrities to participate."

"But shortly after this was announced, the countries of Hibiscus and Floating Island sent people to lobby, intending to send teams to participate."

The elderly man at the head of the group gradually became more serious: "Based on the original intention of making friends through art, we did not refuse. But these people suddenly changed their minds and hoped to determine the winners and losers through a competition."

"That's understandable; competitions do indeed add to the fun of the event."

"But these people went too far. As soon as we agreed, they immediately steered the conversation toward business, for example, that if they won, we would have to give up some bidding slots, and even a lot of additional financing projects."

"This completely changed the nature of the topic, so I was the first to refuse."

Yes!

Why don't you just refuse?

Lin Rui was also surprised. Did they have to indulge this group of foreigners with ulterior motives?

This is the land of the Divine Continent!

How can we allow these guys from outside the region to swagger around like that?

Seemingly sensing Lin Rui's thoughts, the leading elder spoke with a hint of grief and indignation: "Although we righteously refused, several families still expressed their support, and somehow the matter got out and attracted attention from the outside world."

"Public opinion continued to ferment, with some supporting it and others opposing it. It cannot be ruled out that there was incitement involved, but we were in a dilemma and finally agreed."

"There's no other way. If we refuse now, there will definitely be people stirring things up behind our backs, and the Xia family will definitely be criticized by the masses who don't know the truth."

Lin Rui looked thoughtful.

This old man revealed quite a lot of information.

First of all, these large families are not of one mind, and there are also internal problems. It is very likely that some families have been bought off by the countries of Mujin and Fudao.

As for the online opinions, it's obvious to anyone with a brain that it was the work of Mujin and the two floating islands.

By leveraging public opinion, what was originally a contest between artists was elevated to the level of "every man has a responsibility for the rise and fall of the nation," thus stirring up public sentiment and forcing the Xia family and their opponents into a difficult position, leaving them with no choice but to accept the challenge.

Even if this wasn't done by Mujin and the island nation, they are definitely not unrelated to it.

"Gentlemen, are you telling me all this to invite me to participate in the competition?"

Lin Rui asked tentatively.

"It's not a competition."

The elderly man at the head of the group shook his head: "We want to invite you to be a judge for the calligraphy and painting competition."

"Judges?"

Lin Rui was somewhat surprised.

"Young man, with your achievements in calligraphy and painting, you are more than qualified to serve as a judge."

"Judges are very important because their role directly determines the success or failure of a competition, as well as the most crucial factor of fairness."

The elderly man at the head of the group spoke earnestly, while Lin Rui looked troubled: "Sir, you wouldn't be thinking of..."

Before Lin Rui could finish speaking, the leading elder waved his hand and said, "Young brother, you're overthinking it. You just need to judge fairly. As long as it's not due to external factors, if you lose, it's simply because the Xia family is less skilled, and you can't blame anyone else."

That's what they said, but Lin Rui could still hear the arrogance in the old man's tone.

It seems that in his view, as long as the external forces cannot interfere, the contestants they send will surely win the final victory!

When will this competition begin?

Lin Rui asked a question.

"Saturday."

Lin Rui was taken aback. There were only three days left?

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Rui nodded and said, "Okay."

Seeing that Lin Rui agreed, the elderly man at the head of the group breathed a sigh of relief and said, "However, to become a judge, you still need to provide works that can be recognized by all parties, after all, everyone is eyeing the judges' seat."

To put it bluntly, it all comes down to ability.

If you have the ability, then go for it; if you don't, then get lost!

"That's easy."

Lin Rui stood up and stretched his limbs slightly: "Do you have any writing materials?"