Chapter 62 - Forgery

Ms. Lu felt rather unwilling to be called out of nowhere.

Ms. Lu said, "I don't support this, Master. If you explain with a gift, aren't you telling them that you didn't participate not because you're mature and stable…"

"That makes sense…" Xie Niushan nodded.

Both of them made sense.

However, if he did not give the gift, nobody would be willing to hang out with him in the future, right?

Xie Niushan frowned. The frown between his brows could kill a fly.

"You left the darkness and went into the light back then, Father. The officials are already aware of your character and your etiquette. That official might not be sincere to compliment you for being stable today. Instead, he might be using you to tell the rest that an official of the imperial palace should not be too frivolous. Give the gift sincerely and tell them the truth. It's impossible that the officials would blame you. They might think that you're an honest man instead," Xie Qiao reminded him again.

She sighed after she was done speaking. She was exhausted.

If that was not her father, she might not have bothered to say anything.

Was it easy to be an official who used to be a bandit?

He was the one and only in the world, so how could his superiors not understand his situation?

"That's right, the officials know very well of my temperament. I should give the gift, or nobody will want to talk to me any longer!"

Compared to the superiors, his colleagues were more important.

He was a general, and those were the military officers that he had been hanging out with today. They were close. If he was being boycotted, it would be inconvenient for him to train the soldiers in the future.

"Madam, prepare the gifts. I'll send them out tomorrow. Also, prepare the silvers for the eldest daughter to pay the academy tomorrow!" said Xie Niushan.

Ms. Lu looked troubled. "The household's financial situation is tight—"

"We shouldn't torture our children no matter how poor we are. Our eldest daughter had been staying at the temple. If people find out, they will look down on her. I'll bring the silvers there tomorrow myself to show that our Xie family is well-off!" Xie Niushan said majestically.

To him, sending the silvers himself was the highest respect to the academy!

Xie Qiao's eyelids twitched. "Don't. I've already prepared a gift. So forget about the silvers, Father."

"What kind of gift would you even have?" Xie Niushan frowned. "Don't tell me it's the kind of jade sculpture that you gave Pinghuai earlier? Who would want a piece of rock?"

Xie Qiao thought it was fortunate that she had a lethal destiny and subsequently could not spend extensive time with her family members.

Otherwise, she would be so angry at her father that she would die sooner or later.

"I happened to obtain a painting earlier. It happens to be a proper gift for the Royal Academy," said Xie Qiao.

"Painting? Show me," Xie Niushan said immediately.

He said that despite the fact that he could not admire art.

Xie Qiao exhaled and got Chun Er to bring the painting from her courtyard.

Ms. Lu and Pei Wanyue had gathered since the beginning. They extended their heads to look.

"Whose painting is this? It's just some livestock and people. Why would the academy want this?" Xie Niushan could not understand that.

"Mother, that's Master Yun Wei's stamp!" Pei Wanyue raised her brows. "Can it be… forgery?"

Ms. Lu's eyes lit up and asked while looking at Pei Wanyue, "Master Yun Wei? If this painting is authentic, how much silver would it cost?"

"I don't really know art, but if I'm judging by the master's title and the size of the painting… It should be able to be sold for about 5,000 taels of silvers," said Pei Wanyue.

However, how did such an expensive painting end up with Xie Qiao?

Master Yun Wei had limited paintings, while most of the paintings sold on the market were small.

Xie Qiao did not allow them to look further as she put away the painting casually. Xie Niushan was too clumsy. If he damaged her painting by accident, she would have to spend a great effort to paint it all over again.

"What are you trying to do? Give a forged painting? That old man might find out! That's too risky. I think we should just give the silvers directly." Although Xie Niushan wanted to save money, this matter involved his eldest daughter. He should not be cheap about it.