Chapter 156: Willing to admit defeat

"What a good handwriting! It is as smooth as flowing water and as beautiful as smoke. It is rare to see it!"

"Yes, such exquisite calligraphy skills cannot be written without years of practice."

Grandpa Lu, Grandpa Ji and several other grandpas were chatting casually when they heard the noise and praise coming from here.

They couldn't help but feel curious and stood up and walked towards the direction of the sound.

When they got closer, they were attracted by the two pieces of calligraphy on the table, and their eyes showed undisguised admiration.

Just now, they naturally saw the girl from the Zhu family and the girl adopted by the Ji family competing in calligraphy. They knew about the girl from the Zhu family. She was taught by the calligraphy master Wang Zhiqian, and her calligraphy was also famous in the calligraphy world. They were not surprised that she could write beautifully.

But it was rare that the girl adopted by the Ji family could write so beautifully. And the piano piece she played just now also deeply shocked them. This girl was a hidden talent.

Several old men looked at Grandpa Ji and Grandpa Lu with envy. It would be great if they could have such a granddaughter and granddaughter-in-law.

"Grandpas! Guess which of these two calligraphy works was written by Miss Ling Yao?" Someone asked the old men with a smile. Several old men

looked at the two calligraphy works carefully.

"The strokes of this calligraphy are smooth and natural, and the characters are elegant and agile, revealing a kind of master's style."

"Every stroke and every line of this calligraphy is smooth and natural, without any sense of stagnation, as smooth as flowing clouds and water, some are strong and powerful, some are gentle and graceful, echoing each other, forming a unique rhythm and rhythm. Compared with this calligraphy, this one is better. This calligraphy should be from the girl of the Zhu family, right?"

"I also think that this calligraphy is from the girl of the Zhu family."

"Mr. Yang! Mr. He! You guessed wrong. This calligraphy was written by the girl of the Zhu family, and this calligraphy was written by Mr. Ji's granddaughter."

When the old men heard this, they all looked incredulous.

"Old Ji, your granddaughter is really a hidden talent. I didn't expect her to be so talented!"

"Did she really grow up in the countryside?"

"Just her handwriting is beyond the reach of countless daughters of wealthy families, and I heard that she is the top scorer in this year's college entrance examination."

"Old Ji, you are so lucky to have such a granddaughter."

For a while, all kinds of compliments were heard. Grandpa Ji listened to the compliments of several grandpas and his face was full of joy.

He looked at Ling Yao, his eyes full of pride and relief. But thinking that Ling Yao had never called him "Grandpa" until now, he sighed in his heart. Although his motivation was to protect the mother and daughter, he did hope that his son would stay away from them and marry a daughter-in-law of equal status.

After all, the Ji family has a prominent status in Beijing. If he marries a daughter-in-law without background and culture, she will not be able to survive in a big family like the Ji family. The Ji family seems peaceful, but privately there are undercurrents and constant open and covert struggles.

Especially after Yan Ting was injured, the Ji family members were ready to move, especially the eldest son. He reminded him several times, openly and secretly, to give up the position of the head of the Ji family to him.

Fortunately, his body is still strong, and the three children adopted by Yan Ting are also promising, otherwise the position of the head of the Ji family would have been taken away by the eldest son long ago.

It's not that he dislikes his eldest son, but his eldest son's character is too indecisive and he is easily influenced. If he were to become the head of the Ji family, all the Ji family's assets would definitely be destroyed in his hands.

So after Yan Ting recovered, he planned to pass the position of head of the family to him, but at that time Yan Ting was only thinking about finding Ling Xuemei and her mother and daughter, and had no intention of becoming the head of the family.

Over the years, he has had people secretly protecting them, and he knows their personalities well.

Although Ling Xuemei is kind, her character is too weak.

Ling Yao dropped out of school after graduating from high school. She put all her thoughts on a man. No matter how that family tortured her, she was still devoted to that man.

How could he let such a person return to the Ji family? That's why he let Zhou Yu into the Ji family even though he knew that she was a fake.

Yan Ting had promised him that he would take over the position of the head of the Ji family as long as he found his wife and daughter. But Zhou Yu was also stupid. She came to claim her relatives with a fake jade pendant. Did she really think that all the Ji family members were stupid?

Such a person naturally had no value at all. So when he saw Yan Ting treating Zhou Yu well, he revealed Zhou Yu's identity.

But Ling Yao really surprised him. He had indeed misjudged her before. Fortunately, Yan Ting insisted, so he did not miss such a good granddaughter. But he didn't know when the granddaughter would forgive him and call him Grandpa.

Seeing that everyone was praising Ling Yao, Zhu Xueya's face turned red, and she felt ashamed and angry. She originally thought that Ling Yao knew nothing about calligraphy and was a complete layman, but she didn't expect that the other party was actually so skilled.

Ling Yao turned her eyes to Zhu Xueya and Ji Youran, looking at them with a smile, "I admit defeat."

Ji Youran's face changed slightly, "I didn't bet with you."

After saying that, she turned around and ran away. It was obvious that she didn't intend to hand the jade pendant to Ling Yao.

Ling Yao's eyes did not fluctuate at all because of Ji Youran's departure. Her eyes still stayed on the jade bracelet on Zhu Xueya's wrist, "Miss Zhu, do you want to cheat me too?" There was a hint of teasing and provocation in her words.

When asked by Ling Yao, Zhu Xueya's face flushed red. She did have this plan. After all, the jade bracelet was the heirloom of their Zhu family. How could she really give it to Ling Yao

? "Can you change the condition?"

Ling Yao raised her eyebrows, "Miss Zhu, are you really trying to cheat?"

"Xueya, what happened?" Grandpa Zhu saw this scene and walked over.

"Grandpa... I..." Zhu Xueya blushed with shame, stuttered for a long time, and couldn't say a complete sentence.

"Grandpa Zhu! It's like this, Miss Zhu made a bet with me just now. If my calligraphy can beat hers, she will give me the jade bracelet on her hand, otherwise I will give her the jade bracelet on my hand." Ling Yao simply explained the matter.

Old Master Zhu frowned and looked at Zhu Xueya sternly, his eyes revealing a hint of obvious dissatisfaction and blame, "Since you have already lost, you must admit failure. We in the Zhu family will not tolerate people who go back on their words and betray their faith!"

Hearing this, Zhu Xueya's eyes suddenly became moist and tears welled up in her eyes.

She bit her lip and nodded aggrievedly. Then, she slowly reached out her hand and gently stroked the bracelet on her wrist, her movements full of reluctance, but she had to take it off her wrist.

At this moment, Ling Yao suddenly interrupted Zhu Xueya's actions, "Wait a minute!"