Chapter 203
With a nonchnt expression on his face, Percival pushed a cup of freshly brewed tea towards Eric.
"Tea sets are meant for making tea, aren''t they?"
"But this is an antique! An antique!" Eric red at Percival in resentment, but he couldn''t resist picking
up the cup of tea and taking a sip.
The delicate and distinctive fragrance of the tea almost made him sigh in contentment.
He had been longing for this tea, which was produced by the eighteen tea nts in the Royal Tea
Garden.
However, its annual yield was only about 50 grams, and even before the leaves were picked, they were
already ordered by the big shots. He didn''t even have the chance to get a whiff of its aroma.
Unexpectedly, it was Percival, the man he currently despised the most, who had made this dream
As he savored the tea, he carefully admired the intricately carved cup in his hand.
The small cup was adorned with stories rted to tea. It told stories of its cultivation, picking,
processing, selling, brewing, and serving. All expertly carved by Yacob.
It was a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, making whatever set he had look like junk inparison.
Such a precious item should be stored in a safe and admired, shouldn''t it?
But this infuriating man had just casually brought it out for use.
Vivienne couldn''t help butugh at the sight of Eric''s jealous face. He looked like he wanted to bite
Percival to death.
"Vivienne." As soon as Vivienne came down, Dorian and Cordelia hurriedly called her over.
"Do they have a grudge against Percival?" Cordelia asked in a low voice.
From their perspective, it seemed like the men were just making tea, but it felt like they were on the
verge of a fight.
Vivienne smiled and patted Cordelia''s back to reassure her.
"Vivienne,e and sit here." Jerry and the others immediately made room for her as soon as they
saw her.
Before Vivienne could react, Percival stood up, took her hand, and led her to sit next to him. He raised
his eyebrows at the eight disgruntled faces across from them.
He then brewed another cup of tea for Vivienne and handed it to her. He nced disdainfully at Eric''s
useless tea set and said scornfully, "Next time, keep this trash to yourself."
It was just round one, but Eric was utterly defeated.
Jerry and the other men exchanged nces and pulled out a long box that had been by their side.
They took out a scroll from the box and handed it to Dorian.
With Brian''s help, Jerry unrolled the scroll, revealing a stunningndscape painting.
"Dorian, Cordelia, we weren''t sure what to bring as a gift for our visit, so we prepared a painting by
Gustaf, the most famous painter our country has ever had, titled ''Thousand Hills in Late Snow.''"
Dorian and Cordelia gasped in surprise as they looked at the painting. They had seen this famous
painting in the news before. It was said to have been auctioned for a staggering 3 billion dors. It was
bought by a mysterious buyer, who turned out to be Jerry.
Just now, the extravagant tea and tea sets had already made Dorian and Cordelia feel like they were
on pins and needles. Now, Jerry was presenting them with this priceless painting as a gift.
They were so stunned that they forgot to refuse the gift.
Were all the disciples of the Emerald Monastery this rich? They couldn’t help but wonder.
"Huh." Percival nced at the painting and sneered at Jerry. "Jerry, I heard that you were a
connoisseur of great paintings. Howe you didn''t realize that this painting is a fake?"
"Mr. Ellington, if you don''t understand art, don''t talk nonsense." Jerry''s face turned cold. "This painting
by Gustaf has been appraised by several domestic experts."
"They are just self-proimed experts." Percival said dismissively. "There are plenty of cases where
ignorant experts have ruined precious antiques."
"Isn''t it you who is pretending to know anything about art?" Jerry retorted coldly. "You say this painting
is a fake, but do you have any proof?"
"The silk used in this painting." Percival pointed at the painting. "This type of silk only started being
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produced 40 years ago. How could Gustaf make this when he died nearly 80 years ago?"
Jerry''s face turned pale as he looked at the painting in disbelief.
"You can have it tested." Percival suggested.
"How do you know this so clearly?" Jerry asked, still in disbelief.
Percival signaled to Thomas, who handed him a long box that he had been holding under his arm. He
took out a scroll from the box and, with Thomas''s help, unrolled it.
A painting identical to ''Thousand Hills in Late Snow'' was disyed in front of everyone.
"Because the real painting has always been in my possession." Percival''s lips curled up in a smug
smile.
Jerry was shocked. He stepped forward to examine Percival''s painting carefully. The more he looked at
it, the more his heart trembled.
By just looking at the painting, he could recognize Gustaf''s distinctive brushstrokes. He couldn''t believe
that he had spent 3 billion dors on a replica!
"Don''t be disheartened, Jerry." Percival said, feigning sympathy. "Although your painting is a replica, it''s
still a rare masterpiece and quite valuable."
In round two, the disciples suffered another defeat.
Jerry was so stunned that he couldn''t speak. He could only watch as Percival rolled up the authentic
''Thousand Hills in Late Snow'' and presented it to Dorian and Cordelia.
"Father-inw, mother-inw, this painting is my gift to you."
Dorian and Cordelia didn''t dare ept it. They didn''t know what to do.
"You can consider it as a gift for Vivienne. Just ept it on her behalf." Percival took Vivienne''s hand
and held it in his. "We''re getting our marriage license soon."
Vivienne was taken aback.
What was he talking about?
She only agreed to not call off their engagement, but how did it turn into getting a marriage license?
Vivienne''s silence, in Dorian''s eyes, was her tacit agreement to the idea of getting a marriage license.
In an instant, he found himself even more irritated with Percival.
“ept the gift for Vivienne; we’ll consider it part of her wedding gift.” He said to Cordelia.
At this, Jerry and his fellows all suddenly wore grim expressions.
Dawson, who had been hobbling down the stairs from the second floor, overheard this and eximed,
“What wedding gift?! No way! I don''t agree!”
Dorian and Cordelia furrowed their brows at him. What business was it of Dawson’s what they nned
for their daughter''s wedding gift?
Under the confused gaze of the couple, Dawson fell silent. Only after a while did he finally stutter out, “I
mean, the interior of this vi is quite nice; I don’t agree with changing it.”
“Mr. Dawson, did you doze off?” Dorian stood up to offer Dawson a seat. “I called you down for tea, but
you didn''t respond.”
Dawson, not daring to take Dorian''s seat, sat down in the vacant spot next to Eric. He couldn''t help but
gasp as he nced resentfully at Vivienne, who was sipping her tea across the table.
His dear Vivienne had been ruthless earlier; he ached everywhere, yet there wasn’t a scratch to be
seen on him.
Vivienne, with her porcin fingers delicately cradling a cup of tea that Percival had brewed, was
serenely tasting it,pletely ignoring Dawson’s bitter gaze.
Left with no choice, Dawson turned his attention to Jerry, whispering, “What’s happening? I thought we
were trying to get rid of the jerk? How did we get to dowries?”
Jerry gave him a look that spoke volumes, but he chose to remain silent.
How could he tell Dawson that he and Eric had attempted to outss Percival but had ended up utterly
defeated?