The Lucky Heiress

Wei Qingwan’s gaze fell on Chu Lan through her veil, lingering upon him for a long time.

The towering stature, the air of nobility, his striking appearance and commanding presence, making it difficult not to notice him.

Wei Qingwan was certain that this man was not from Xingshan County. His attire was far from ordinary, if he were a local noble, they, the Wei Family, would have surely known about him.

“Young master, please.” The shopkeeper smiled and asked the shop assistant to lay out a fresh sheet of paper for him.

Chu Lan stepped forward, and upon seeing the paper placed before him, a trace of surprise passed over his austere face.

Running his fingers lightly over the surface of the paper, the surprise on his face intensified.

This paper, unlike the kind he normally used, why would such good paper, not even found in the Capital City, be available in such a remote location?

“Where does this paper come from?” Chu Lan asked the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper chuckled and answered, “This is exclusively sold by our Four Treasure House. If you like it, sir, you can buy some when our shop officially opens after today’s contest. We’re going to have our grand opening right after today’s calligraphy competition.”

Chu Lan lifted his gaze to see the shop behind the shopkeeper with a signboard that bore the three large characters, “Four Treasure House”.

Chu Lan responded with a “How interesting”, then picked up the paper and brush and began to write.

The topic given by the shopkeeper was “The people regard food as their heaven”.

Chu Lan also wrote around a hundred characters.

His writing was vigorous and powerful with authoritative brush strokes, bridging large and small characters with ease.

Onlookers immediately cheered, repeatedly praising his work.

The shop assistant also hung up Chu Lan’s writing, right next to Wei Yichen’s.

When the two works were placed side by side, the contrast was clear-Wei Yichen’s script was far more temperate.

The shopkeeper then asked the crowd if anyone else wanted to participate in the competition, and after asking three times to ensure there were no others, he handed out a wooden tablet to each person present.

Each wooden tablet was simply carved with the three large characters “Four

Treasure House”, suspended by a red cord at the top.

“The judges for today’s competition are all present here. Whomever you believe has the best writing, just hang your wooden tablet on the hook above that person’s work. The person with the most number of votes at the end wins today’s contest.”

Lu Yuhong looked at the wooden tablet in his hand and laughed, whispering to Chu Lan, “This is amusing. They’re actually letting the spectators vote to

determine the winner.”

“It’s a smart choice.” Chu Lan said.

This method of judging allows the host of the competition to avoid offending anyone. And as a new shop, the last thing they would want is to offend anyone. Lu Yuhong used a teasing tone when he asked Chu Lan, “If I don’t vote for you, will I be able to return safely tonight?”

Chu Lan: “You should think it over carefully.”

Lu Yuhong: “Are you serious? I thought you were just playing around. Have you really developed a competitive spirit?”

Chu Lan: “It’s definitely more interesting than I initially thought.

Lu Yuhong: “I told you this shop was interesting!”

The voting began.

The spectators who received wooden tablets voted one by one.

Unsurprisingly, the works by Wei Yichen and Chu Lan received the most votes by a large margin, far surpassing the other works.

Wei Qingwan also received a wooden tablet. She knew that she must vote for her older brother, but before placing the tablet, she couldn’t help but look at the distinguished young man in the brocade robe.

She couldn’t tell who would win between this young gentleman and her older brother.

Wei Ruo also received a tablet. She quickly hung her vote on the hook above

Wei Yichen’s work and eloped at lightning speed.

When the voting concluded, the shopkeeper publicly counted all the wooden tablets.

The other participants only received a meager count of three to five votes, attracting little attention in comparison to the highly anticipated outcome of Wei Yichen and Chu Lan’s works.

Tallying the votes, Chu Lan’s work received twenty wooden tablets.

Wei Yichen’s work received twenty-one wooden tablets.

By a narrow margin of one vote, Wei Yichen edged out a victory.

The shopkeeper said to Chu Lan with a smile, “Sir, I apologize. You fell short by one vote. I must declare you the loser. Do you have any objections?”

“None.” Chu Lan responded, “Since I decided to participate in your competition,

I should respect your rules. Your method has no faults.

“Very well, then I declare that today’s victor is the young master in white.”

The shopkeeper fixed his gaze on Wei Yichen with a smile.

Wei Yichen stepped forward, extending a bow towards Chu Lan, “Thankyou, sir. I managed a narrow victory today mainly because my two sisters also received a vote. If not for that, I believe victory would have been yours.” -A loss is a loss. I have a good friend here, just as you have sisters here. There’s nothing more to say.” Chu Lan was not upset. In fact, he seemed to be in high spirits, with a faint smile hanging at the corner of his mouth.

There was something more interesting to him than the treasured calligraphy scroll from the Tibetan layman.

Wei Yichen nodded but said nothing more.

The shopkeeper placed the scroll with the Tibetan layman’s drawing into a wooden box and handed it to Wei Yichen.

He then announced, “The paper you all used just now is available for sale in our shop. Those who need it can come in to buy it. Each person is limited to fifty sheets per day, and quantities are limited until sold out.”

All the scholars who had just participated in the competition had already used the paper and brushes from the Four Treasure House. While the pens and ink were common, they did not differ much from those in other places. However, it was definitely not the case for the paper.

Although the price was higher than other places, the quality was vastly superior.

And the price was still acceptable for wealthy households.

Upon hearing of the purchase limit and limited quantity, the crowds immediately rushed into the shop in fear of missing out.

in no time, a long queue had formed outside the Four Treasure House, making for a bustling scene.

This was a rare sight in Xingshan County where the economy was not particularly thriving.

It seemed that those living challenging lives were mainly the lower-class citizens, while those families that could afford to finance a scholar could still afford good quality stationery.

We Yichen also had a servant join the queue to buy more for him.

In no time at all, the shopkeeper announced that the day’s stock of paper was sold out, and those in need would have to wait until the next day to purchase.

Upon hearing that the paper was sold out, those who were unable to secure any showed looks of disappointment.

As the crowd dispersed, Wei Qingwan remained among the people, scanning her surroundings and subconsciously searching for the figure of the noble young gentleman.

Wei Yichen pulled her, “Wanwan, what are you looking at?”

“I… I am looking for my sister…”

Wei Yichen looked around, indeed failing to locate Wei Ruo.

We Ruo had long slipped away shortly after the competition ended, wandering off to shop in nearby stores.

Wei Yichen found Wei Ruo in a candied fruit stall on the street.

Wei Ruo had just bought several large packs of candied fruit and was ready to return home.

Looking at the amount of candied fruit Wei Ruo purchased, Wei Yichen felt it was a bit excessive, but he refrained from criticizing her. Instead, he said, “So, my sister likes candied fruit. Next time, I’ll bring some for you. You don’t need to stock up so much at once; it will not be fresh if left for too long.

Wei Yichen thought that since Wei Ruo seldom ventured out, and given today’s rare opportunity, she bought so much possibly out of fear that she wouldn’t have another chance in the future.

Wei Ruo just smiled without either agreeing or rebutting and she followed Wei Yichen back to her family’s side.

Upon returning, Wei Yichen asked Wei Mingting, “Father, that young master seems to be of extraordinary status.. Do you know who he is?”