Upon hearing this, Master Ren San's expression finally looked better.
Xiao Jingxi smiled slightly, then looked at the ink-and-wash landscape painting that Master Ren had just finished, and said, "Father seems to have forgotten to sign his name?"
Master Ren San nodded, stood up and went out to get his private seal.
Xiao Jingxi then asked Ren Yaoqi: "How did you get here with your mother?"
Ren Yaoqi glanced at his father's back and whispered, "The maid just told us that you and father had an argument in the study, and father smashed things in anger. My mother and I were worried, so we came to check on him."
Xiao Jingxi couldn't help but laugh, looking at Ren Yaoqi and whispering, "Do you think I'm so tactless? I won't even give in to my father-in-law?"
Ren Yaoqi also lowered his head and smiled, then asked, "What happened just now? It's impossible that all the servants in the courtyard are hard of hearing, right?"
Xiao Jingxi seemed to have thought of something. He looked at Ren Yaoqi with a very gentle smile on his face: "Before, when I played chess with my father-in-law, the stakes we decided on were each other's 'most treasured things'."
Ren Yaoqi didn't react to Xiao Jingxi's deeper meaning for a moment. She frowned and thought for a while: "My father's most treasured things are the three ancient paintings in the drawer under his desk." She didn't think that her father was the kind of person who would refuse to pay after losing in gambling.
Xiao Jingxi sighed, quietly took Ren Yaoqi's hand, and squeezed it gently, saying with a smile: "Actually, I know that my father will definitely not be able to defeat me, so I want to ask him for... you, not his three ancient paintings."
Ren Yaoqi was stunned for a moment, her face flushed. She even forgot to pull her hand away from Xiao Jingxi.
Xiao Jingxi stared intently at Ren Yaoqi. "So when he wanted to find the painting and give it to me, I politely declined. Father wasn't happy about it and questioned me, saying I just felt he couldn't afford to lose. Then he accidentally knocked over the brush washer on the desk. That's probably why the people outside who heard the noise misunderstood."
Ren Yaoqi glanced in the direction where Master Ren left, then pretended to be calm and pulled his hand away, and Xiao Jingxi gently let go.
"When my father insisted, I told him I thought he would treasure one of his best works the most, so I asked for one of his paintings. He thought about it and agreed."
At this time, Mr. Ren's footsteps were coming this way, so Ren Yaoqi stopped whispering with Xiao Jingxi, and they both sat upright.
When Mr. Ren came in with his own seal, he glanced suspiciously at his daughter and son-in-law who were sitting upright, and then he sat down in front of the desk and put his own private seal on his painting.
At this moment, someone outside reported: "Master, the eldest brother-in-law is here, and his horse is almost at the main gate."
Master Ren said, "When the eldest uncle comes in, have him go to the main room first. The second uncle and I will be there soon."
The people outside responded quickly and went downstairs.
Master Ren said to Xiao Jingxi, "Go ahead and leave the painting here to dry for now. You can take it with you when you leave."
There was naturally no reason for Xiao Jingxi not to accept the offer.
Master Ren looked at him for a few times and commented reservedly, "Your chess skills are not bad. Play a game with me again when you have the chance. " Then Master Ren looked at his daughter with some dissatisfaction, "Yaoyao doesn't like to play chess with me when she's at home." There was indeed some complaint in his tone.
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