Jane Ning stood very close, watching them happily together. She wished she could disappear right there. She instinctively looked up at Bo Jingzhou, but his gaze was fixed on Shen Wanci. A bitter ache spread through her heart.

But she quickly suppressed her emotions, smiling and interjecting, trying to get Jiang Yazhu's attention. "Aunt, happy birthday. A little something, don't mind it."

Jiang Yajiu glanced at Jian Weining, then politely nodded her head. "Thank you, kind of you."

After taking it, she casually placed it on the nearby table without any intention of opening it. "The food area is over there. Help yourself to whatever you want, don't be shy."

This means telling her to get lost and stop bothering us here!

Jian Weining could hear it, but pretended not to. After all, the gift she had put so much effort into preparing couldn't just be wasted like this.

If she doesn't open it with Jiang Yajiu now, who knows where this thing will end up after the banquet!

"Aunty, why don't you open it first? I don't really understand this stuff. If there's anything wrong, we can find someone to fix it right away."

With things having progressed to this point and so many people watching, if Jiang Yajue were to continue being perfunctory, she would be the laughingstock.

She suppressed her annoyance at Jian Weining's obnoxiousness while maintaining a polite smile as she opened the gift box. Inside was another wooden box, and she couldn't help but draw a sharp breath. If there was yet another box inside this one, she would send Jian Weining packing!

The wooden box opened to reveal a painting.

Jiang Yazhu unfurled the painting scroll, her movements perfunctory. She didn't particularly enjoy painting, but when she saw the contents of the painting, a flicker of emotion appeared in her eyes. It wasn't just her; even Bo Rongxuan beside her raised an eyebrow. "Is this the ancient painting from before?"

Jian Wei Ning politely replied, "Yes, Uncle Bo."

Bo Rongxuan nodded in satisfaction. "Good work, how much did it cost? Tell Jingzhou and have him transfer the money to you."

"Money is no object, the problem is finding a good repairman. He's a mythical figure in this circle, rarely seen and even more rarely takes on jobs. That's why it's taking so long to get this fixed."

"The repairman is capable, and it's normal for him to have a quirky personality. I appreciate your effort this time."

Shen Wanci noticed that Jiang Yajiu was still staring at the scroll, and according to what Bo Fu said... this painting should belong to the Bo family. It's just that Jian Weining privately took it to someone for repair.

"Mom likes these things too?"

“I don’t like it, but Jingzhou’s grandfather likes it. He bought it from an auction years ago. But then my argument with your father got out of hand, and the painting was accidentally damaged. Miss Jian said she could find someone to help repair it, so she entrusted it to them.” Jiang Yajue said, completely unfurling the scroll.

"It's more than just a bit chaotic! Your rampage almost demolished my grandfather's study, and the bruises on my leg took half a month to fade."

"That's not yours, is it?" Jiang Yajue said, her voice suddenly changing: "How much money did Miss Jian spend to restore this painting?"

Jian Weining was suddenly named, and Jiang Yajue's face changed again, looking a little dazed. She reported a number, "What is it, mother?"

Then you were deceived. This person isn't really a master at all, is he?

Nearby, Shen Wanci frowned, but it wasn't because of Jiang Yajue's words. It was...

There is a stain in the corner of this painting. It's not very big, but it's quite noticeable.

Jian Weining also saw it, her first reaction was to look at Shen Wanci —

"Wanni is not a big shot in the circle? How did this happen? It can be delivered even after being repaired like this?"

Shen Wanci frowned, disliking the interrogative tone. Shouldn't she be the one asking questions? After painstakingly repairing the painting for so long, it was destroyed!

"When the painting reached your hands, it was already repaired, and you confirmed that. Now saying these things again seems inappropriate, doesn't it?"

Jiang Yajiu saw this and asked in confusion, "What's the matter? Wanci, did you restore this painting?"

Before Shen Wanci could speak, Jian Wuning spoke first: "Mother, I found a well-known restorer in the industry who was said to be very skilled. Wanci happened to be her assistant and just helped deliver the painting." Jian Wuning said, with a face full of self-blame, "It's also my fault for trusting rumors too much. I didn't expect this so-called Master Wanwan to be nothing more than a fraud!"

Her words seemed to be accusing Wanwan of being superficial, but in reality, she was also implicitly criticizing Shen Wanci. While Wanwan was the painter, Shen Wanci was the one who sent the painting. It's unclear who made a mistake in this situation.

Shen Wanci was certain that in less than half an hour, rumors about the young mistress of the Bo family turning love into hate and deliberately scheming to frame her husband's ex-girlfriend would spread throughout the circle.

"Aunt, I'm sorry to disappoint you. I'll take this painting back and have someone repair it."

Shen Wanci definitely couldn't let Jian Weining do this. The people who came today were either wealthy or noble, and the rich liked to collect antiques. Whether it was out of genuine love or a pursuit of elegance, they were all her potential clients.

Today, if this gets out, it won't just ruin your reputation, but also Wanwan's carefully cultivated online persona over the years.

Everybody will think Wanwan is a cheat!

She spoke up, stopping Jian Weining: "Don't go through so much trouble, it's just a small issue. I've learned quite a bit from being by Teacher Wanwan's side these past few months, let me fix it."

Hearing this, Jian Weining frowned, her tone a little helpless, as if coaxing a child who was being unreasonable: "Wanci, what I said just now wasn't directed at you. I just think Wanwan's technique isn't good, and saying it out loud is to warn everyone. What could you learn from following her..."

What could a fraudster possibly teach her?

Jian Weining continued, "If my previous words made you uncomfortable, I apologize. Today is my mother-in-law's birthday, with so many people watching, it wouldn't be necessary to ruin the harmony for someone unimportant, and destroy this painting worth hundreds of millions."

Shen Wanci didn't want to waste time arguing with her, so she turned to Jiang Yajue. She was 100% sure she could fix the painting, but Jian Weining made a point: this painting was worth over 100 million. If Jiang Yajue didn't trust her, that was fine. After all, the painting belonged to the Bo family.

Jiang Yazhu glanced at Jian Weining and patted Shen Wanci's hand kindly, "If you want to fix it, fix it. You are the mistress of the Bo family, this painting is yours, even if you ruin it, outsiders have no right to interfere."

And while Bo Rongxuan usually let his wife have her way, she allowed Xiu to continue painting. However, there was still a tinge of regret in her heart. If the old master were still alive and knew that his ancient paintings were ruined by Xiu during an argument, he would probably die of anger all over again!

The entire hall fell silent at this moment...

Jian Wei Ning bit her lip and stood silently to the side.

Jiang Yajue's words "outsider" were so obvious that anyone with ears could tell who she was talking about.

Then Shen Wanci instructed someone to prepare the tools. During the waiting time, the living room regained its bustle and merriment——

"That painting was sold for a staggering 200 million dollars back then, and its value has only increased over the years. It's such a shame that it's been destroyed!"

"What if Miss Lin could fix it?"

"Do you really think restoring antiques is that simple? Those famous masters in those circles, aren't they all old and experienced? This stuff takes years of accumulated skill. Look at Mrs. Bo's age, she's at most just an apprentice, a con artist's apprentice, tsk tsk, ruined..." As he said this, the man began to sigh with regret again, it was clear he was a genuine lover of antiques.

Bo Jingzhou, who had been silent all along, had already turned ashen. He grabbed Shen Wanci's hand and, ignoring everyone else, dragged her up to the second floor...

As soon as she was out of the guests' sight, Shen Wanci pulled her hand out of the man's palm. "Let's get down to business. No unnecessary touching," she said.

Bo Jingzhou raised his hand and rubbed his temples, looking quite annoyed. "Just say you're not feeling well later, and I'll take you home first."

Unwell? Shen Wanci was startled, but she immediately understood. "You don't want me to touch that painting?"