Doted By The Regent King-Chapter 497 Possibly Outsmarting Oneself

Lou Wanyuan’s lapse caused everyone to pause in surprise. He swayed slightly, his hand trembling as he reached out to touch the relief of the woman holding a child, but tears had already started to flow.

"President Lou." Someone gently reminded.

Lou Wanyuan sniffled, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the corner of his eyes. With a self-mocking smile, he said, "It’s nothing, just an old man’s moment of weakness. I’ve made a fool of myself."

He took the magnifying glass handed back by a worker and stood in front of the relief, bending over to examine the details. The more he looked, the more his heart and soul were shaken.

Wufu let out a light sigh.

"Lady Wu, why do you sigh?" Wen Congrui asked. "It’s clear President Lou is very fond of and shocked by your work; his extra points must be substantial."

He was exceptionally skilled at reading people’s expressions. Lou Wanyuan’s excitement was clearly overflowing, revealing his emotional connection to the relief.

But Wufu sighed.

"It’s because my story has stirred up his emotions, bringing up painful memories for him." Wufu felt somewhat apologetic.

Wen Congrui was taken aback and looked at the relief. "You mean..."

"Madam Lou passed away after only a few glances at her newborn child."

With just a simple statement from Wufu, Wen Congrui understood the entire story depicted in the relief. No wonder the woman in the sculpture appeared so reluctant to leave; it all made sense now.

Lou Wanyuan and his wife, Lady Gu, were also somewhat known to him, but he hadn’t expected the girl to employ such a technique.

Sensing the somber mood, Wen Congrui cleverly shifted the topic. "This relief is so complex, how did you come to express it in this way?"

Wufu smiled faintly. "It was a spontaneous idea."

Relief is a product of both carving and painting, divided into bas-relief and high-relief. Bas-relief is a single layer sculpture with simpler content; high-relief consists of multiple layers and more intricate content.

Wufu’s work was bas-relief. Due to the lack of time, she opted for a bas-relief to demonstrate her idea; had there been more time, a deeper relief would have been more impactful.

The creations of relief carving appear more three-dimensional visually, and because time was tight, she focused on sculpting the figures, striving to make them come to life with a more tangible and realistic presence.

However, upon completion, although the figures indeed came alive, Wufu was filled with an additional layer of worry, feeling that her design might backfire.

Wen Congrui had already moved his gaze away from the relief, and upon seeing Wufu’s furrowed brow, he couldn’t help but ask again, "If it was a spontaneous idea, you must have spent a great deal of effort on it. And from what I see, it’s very outstanding. Why do you seem so uneasy?"

He too was astonished. Just over two months, and she had carved such a piece. How much effort had she poured into it, and how many nights had she stayed up for it? No wonder she looked thinner than before.

Wufu gave a bitter smile. "Fourth Young Master, I’d advise you not to celebrate just yet. I might very well have been too clever for my own good."

"What do you mean by that?" Wen Jian overheard and looked over sharply. He’d already felt assured that the first prize would go to Hundred Treasures Silver Building. freewebnøvel.coɱ

"The theme of this competition is figure sculpture," said Wufu.

Both Wen Jian and his nephew were taken aback.

Figure sculpture, naturally, should feature human figures as the main subject, like Yu Zhen and other participants’ works, be they Guanyin or Maiden Statue, which were very much in line with the theme.

Although Wufu’s piece did include human figures, it also incorporated other elements. The composition and content were indeed enriched, but the theme became blurred, despite her efforts to bring the human figures to the forefront.

"If this results in our loss, I’ll accept it," Wen Congrui said after a moment of contemplation.

Wen Jian wanted to say something, opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing.