Forced to Be a 'Retard'

Lu Yunge responded with a puzzled "Hmm" in English.

The corners of Lu Haiqiao's lips curled up. "Did you know that when this painting was first released, it was auctioned at 10 million USD? Now that more than ten years have passed, I estimate the price should have more than tripled."

Hearing this, Lu Yunge raised an eyebrow. "If that's the case, why aren't you taking it?"

Even if a masterpiece-level painting was not traded for profit, it could be kept as a collection.

However, she shook her head, saying, "If someone were to give this to me, I would still need to rethink about accepting it. I might spend 30 million USD if I'm mentally retarded."

Although Lu Yunge didn't have much knowledge about Chinese paintings, he had heard of the famous Wu Sancai.

It would take someone as audacious as Miss Lu to call a masterpiece created by such a talented artist sound so worthless.

She looked at the painting again and continued, "To be honest, the artistic skill of Master Sancai is unique in the world today, and there's nothing to criticize about it. The reason I'm saying this painting isn't worth much is because of the inscription in the upper right corner."

Standing at a distance, he hadn't noticed the inscription on the painting.

'Thirty-six peaks perilously crowned, ascending alone to view the clear tower a hundred feet high,' She had seen this 'High Mountains and Lofty Peaks' several years ago and memorized the inscription. "This verse is from the Tang Dynasty poet Wu Rong's 'Viewing Mount Song.'"

"The Poetry Scripture describes Mount Song as 'majestic as the highest peak, towering into the heavens.' Since the painting depicts the ruggedness of a mountain peak, the inscription should have been written in the neat and rigorous style of regular script, rather than the more unrestrained cursive script."

"Looking at these few words alone, there doesn't seem to be a problem, but when paired with this painting, it does have a somewhat pretentious feel."

"So, I suspect that these words on the painting weren't inscribed by Master Sancai."

A renowned Chinese painting master like him would never make such an elementary error.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yunge couldn't help but chuckle. "Grandpa is very picky, and he nurtured a little picky one… Not bad, not bad at all…"

Every summer and winter vacation since she was in first grade, Lu Haiqiao would be brought to stay in F country by her grandfather, Lu Ye.

During most of her time there, she would immerse herself in the study located on the top two floors of the Lu family's villa.

The study occupied over 800 square meters in total, and aside from an extensive collection of books, it also housed numerous world-renowned paintings and scrolls.

This was the restricted domain of the Old Master, and apart from himself, only Lu Haiqiao was allowed unrestricted access.

Lu Haiqiao, with her sharp intellect and a wealth of knowledge from her extensive reading and exposure, had developed a unique aesthetic perspective.

Anything she favored was either already a treasure or bound to become one in the future.

Without exception.

After a few moments of silence, Lu Haiqiao leaned closer to him and asked in a low voice, "Did you just say that you'll buy any calligraphy or painting here that I like?"

He nodded.

He did say so.

"Tell me, which one do you like?"

She pointed. "That one, 'High Mountains and Lofty Peaks'."

He was taken aback, "Didn't you just say that the painting wasn't worth much?"

Lu Haiqiao winked mischievously, "Yes, I did feel it wasn't worth much. However, the market value is indeed this high, and you're the one spending 30 million USD to acquire it, not me. Although I don't like that inscription, Master Sancai's paintings are still worth appreciating and collecting."

Lu Yunge: …

Was I forced to be a 'retard'?