"What are you laughing at?" Xu Qin found Lu Ming's reaction hard to accept. "No, why are you laughing? Do you think you did the right thing? Here, take your twenty million and get lost!"
She had done everything she could to help Gao Yuheng be with Jiang Mengxin.
However, Lu Ming shrugged and said, "I don't think it's that big of a deal. Mengxin likes Master Zhu's work, so why don't I just ask Master Zhu to paint another one for Mengxin? Or even better, I could have Master Zhu take Mengxin as his apprentice and teach her some painting skills? Giving someone a fish is not as good as teaching them to fish. I think what Mengxin cares about more is not the painting itself, but Master Zhu's skill level, right?"
Uh... what he said was true, but the problem was, why would Zhu You listen to you?
Who do you think you are?
Jiang Mengxin frowned, "Lu Ming, are you being sarcastic? Do you think talking like this is funny?"
Lu Ming waved his hand, "You misunderstood, I'm not making fun of you. I genuinely want to help."
At this moment, Gao Yuheng, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke.
After being rebuffed by Murong Shuang earlier, he hadn't recovered for a while. Now that he finally had a chance to save face, he had to seize it.
Gao Yuheng snorted coldly and said, "Lu Ming, you've been putting on a show all day. Isn't it better to tone it down a bit? Do you think Master Zhu is some street vendor that you can just ask to paint whatever you want? Let alone ask Master Zhu to take on an apprentice. Master Zhu has never taken on an apprentice in his life! Lu Ming, your ability to brag is growing by leaps and bounds."
Sigh, Lu Ming was speechless at Gao Yuheng's behavior. What business is it of yours? Why are you getting involved?
He asked, "What if I can get Master Zhu to take on an apprentice?"
"Heh heh." Gao Yuheng scoffed, "If you can do that, I'll do a headstand while washing my hair!"
"Alright, you said it."
Lu Ming shrugged and then walked towards the curator. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he said loudly, "Curator, I would like to meet Zhu You. Please arrange it for me."
What?
Everyone burst into laughter.
"He wants to meet Master Zhu? I want to too! What kind of status does Master Zhu have that he would meet you so easily?"
"I heard that even the Mayor of Jinling City needs to make an appointment in advance to meet him."
"Who does he think he is, to just casually ask for a meeting? Did he think that because he outsmarted General Murong once, he's now on top of the world? He's truly pathetic."
Everyone bombarded Lu Ming with criticism.
The curator shook his head repeatedly, "No, Master Zhu prefers peace and quiet and dislikes meeting people. Don't even think about it."
Hearing this, Gao Yuheng, standing nearby, burst into laughter.
It was just as he had expected!
Gao Yuheng sneered, "You were talking about getting Master Zhu to take on an apprentice, but what's the result? You can't even meet the man. It's absolutely hilarious. Lu Ming, when can you stop pretending? You're embarrassing yourself."
Lu Ming, however, insisted, "Curator, please just go and tell Master Zhu that I, Lu Ming, want to see him. If Master Zhu still refuses to see me, then I won't say anything more."
Never had they seen such a stubborn person.
The curator sighed helplessly, "Fine, I'll deliver your message, but don't get your hopes up. Master Zhu has no reason to see someone like you."
With that, the curator turned and left. His impatient gaze as he walked away clearly showed how annoyed he was by Lu Ming's unreasonable request. If not for his good breeding, he would have likely cursed him out in public.
What kind of status do you have, Lu Ming? Haven't you ever looked in the mirror? Do you think you're worthy of meeting Master Zhu? What a joke!
Everyone else had the same attitude, casting disdainful glances at Lu Ming, waiting to see him make a fool of himself.
Gao Yuheng, in particular, spoke sarcastically, "Director Jiang, I didn't realize it. Your fiancé is quite straightforward. But when Master Zhu rejects him later, I wonder if he'll still be able to maintain that straightforwardness?"
It sounded nice to call him straightforward, but to put it bluntly, it was shameless!
Jiang Mengxin's face turned red. At this time and place, she truly didn't want to be associated with Lu Ming, and she even hesitated to admit that Lu Ming was her fiancé.
Because it was too embarrassing.
Not long after, in about five or six minutes, the curator returned, and all eyes were focused on him.
"He's back, the curator is back."
"Let's wait and see Lu Ming's embarrassment. This shameless fellow."
"Still wants to meet Master Zhu? Who does he think he is to make such an unreasonable request?"
"People should know their place. When you don't know your own weight, others will help you see it clearly!"
Amidst everyone's anticipation, the curator walked up to Lu Ming.
Then.
A smile instantly bloomed on the curator's face.
He cupped his hands towards Lu Ming and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Mr. Lu. Master Zhu has agreed to your request. You can go see Master Zhu. Come, follow me."
What?
Holy cow!
Master Zhu was actually willing to meet with such a grave digger and live-in son-in-law! What a joke, a huge joke!
You must know that Master Zhu was usually as elusive as a dragon that only showed its head but not its tail. It was incredibly difficult for ordinary people to meet him, and no one could imagine why Master Zhu would agree to meet Lu Ming.
"It's impossible, why? He's just a grave digger with no money or background. Why should he be able to meet Master Zhu privately?"
"I get it. This exhibition today is Master Zhu's personal art exhibition, so he naturally has to show some respect to the guests. His willingness to see Lu Ming isn't because Lu Ming is important, but because Master Zhu has good character and is very kind."
"So that's how it is. If that's the case, then if any of us wanted to see Master Zhu, he would be willing to meet us too, right?"
"Right!"
Everyone offered various guesses, but no matter what, they were biased against Lu Ming. At first, they mocked Lu Ming for not being able to meet Zhu You, but when Lu Ming could meet him, they claimed it was due to Zhu You's good character.
In any case, they refused to acknowledge Lu Ming's capabilities.
The most amusing thing was that Gao Yuheng stepped forward again. He also said to the curator, "Curator, I also greatly admire Master Zhu and would love to meet him to express my reverence. Please trouble yourself again and deliver a message for me."
Ridiculous.
When Lu Ming wanted to meet him, he said it was impossible.
Now that Lu Ming could meet him, he rushed to join the fray. This kind of person was utterly shameless.
The curator frowned slightly, finding it troublesome, but out of consideration for his status and upbringing, he couldn't refuse Gao Yuheng's request. He could only sigh and say, "Alright, please wait. I'll go again."
Then the curator left once more.
This time, it was very brief. The curator returned in less than three minutes, his expression very serious.
Gao Yuheng, however, was quite confident, thinking: Even a lowly person like Lu Ming is willing to lower himself to meet Master Zhu, so as the young master of Biao Niu, Master Zhu will surely want to meet me! Today, no matter what, I can't let Lu Ming steal the spotlight again.
Then, the curator approached Gao Yuheng.
Gao Yuheng asked with great joy, "How is it? Master Zhu agreed to meet me, right? Come on, Curator, please trouble yourself again and take me to meet Master Zhu."
He thought there would be no problem at all, but there was a big problem.
The curator shook his head in front of everyone, his voice not loud but very steady, "I'm sorry, Mr. Gao, Master Zhu said he doesn't wish to meet you. Please forgive him."
Almost instantaneously, the smile vanished from Gao Yuheng's face, demonstrating what a rapid change of expression looks like!
"Wh-what?" Gao Yuheng found it hard to accept. "Curator, are you joking? Why? Master Zhu is willing to meet a lower-class person like Lu Ming, so why isn't he willing to meet me? Why?"
Lower-class person?
The moment he uttered those words, the curator's expression changed.
He reprimanded, "Gao Yuheng, watch your tone! What do you mean by 'lower-class person'? Mr. Lu has driven away the people from Sakurajima for Jinling, and just now he even defeated General Murong and won. How is he a lower-class person? Gao Yuheng, where is your upbringing?"
Uh...
Gao Yuheng realized he had lost his composure.
In front of the curator, and in front of so many wealthy individuals, uttering such vulgar words was indeed inappropriate.
But he was still unwilling to accept it one bit.
Why?
He was the young master of Biao Niu. Why should he lose to a grave digger?!