Chapter 21 — Wedding Day Without Bride

Someone laughed on the spot:

“It's too unsightly for you to eat.”

"In the past, Khuong Van Duong did not agree, her daughter was almost pricked to the bone."

Deputy Thinh Lan tightened her chair back. The host invited Khuong Van onto the radio. Khuong Van wore a simple white shirt. When she stepped onto the stage, there was silence below. For the first time after the fire three years ago, she appeared publicly. Aunt Lam handed the green stone seal into her hand:

"Khuong Van, from today onwards, you officially succeed Ms. Khuong Van Duong's position as appraiser at the Nam Thanh Institute of Fine Arts."

Pho Thinh Lan raised her head. Pho's mother also slipped in through the side door. Hearing this sentence, she was stunned. Someone below the stage wondered in a low voice:

“Isn't she only able to rely on the Pho family?”

An old collector sitting next to him shook his head:

"Khuong Van Duong's daughter, from a young age, has been immersed in painting. At the age of 16, she replaced the Fine Arts Institute to find a fake painting, but later something happened to her eyes that caused her to stop."

Khuong Van took the seal. The host pushed three pictures out:

“Today's on-site appraisal of three controversial works, is Miss Khuong satisfied?”

Khuong Van glanced:

“Okay.”

Pho's mother suddenly screamed:

"How long has it been since her eye healed? How can she ask for an assessment? Don't let her fool you!"

Aunt Lam said coldly: "Vice lady, you can have doubts, but you must present evidence." Pho's mother pointed at Khuong Van:

“She pretended to be blind for three years, her intentions were so deep, who knows if these pictures will let her know the answer in advance or not?”

Under the stage, someone frowned. Khuong Van did not argue. She walked to the first painting:

"This part of the painting is real, but the painting is not real. The ink in the lost part is old, but the wrinkles of the cliff are rushed, as if they were hastily copied through a photo."

She moves on to the second picture:

"This painting is old canvas, new color. Someone is using the old frame to deceive."

Before the third picture, she paused a little longer:

"This painting is real, but has been patched in two places. The bamboo leaf drawing in the lower right corner is completely different from the original author's brushwork."

The host looked at the three experts. Experts took turns peeling off the sealed results. Completely coincident. The hall was silent at first, then sporadic applause rang out from the corner of the room, and quickly spread into a thunderous roar. Pho's mother's face was pale white. The old collector stood up:

"Miss Khuong, these three years I have been waiting for you to return. Your mother did not see the wrong person."

Khuong Van nodded slightly. Pho Thinh Lan looked at her standing on the stage. He remembered three years ago in the hospital room, when Khuong Van groped around looking for a glass of water, a deep satisfaction arose in his heart. She couldn't see, so she couldn't leave him. He thought it was love. Now she stands under the light, eyes clear, holding the seal her mother left behind, surrounded by people willing to trust her. He just realized that what he loved was never Khuong Van's original appearance. What he loves is a captive who will always have to look up and wait for him. Pho's mother still wanted to cause trouble, but was invited out by security. She struggled and screamed: "Pho Thinh Lan, you said What's going on? It is trying to destroy our house!” Pho Thinh Lan stood up. He walked step by step to the front of the stage. Every lens was pointed at him. Khuong Van bowed her head and looked at him:

“What do you have left to say?”

Pho Thinh Lan was silent for a long time, then suddenly bowed his head:

“Khuong Van, I'm sorry.”

The hall was once again quiet. Pho's mother shouted outside the door:

“Thin Lan, are you crazy?”

Deputy Thinh Lan did not raise his head: