Bab 31: The True Mistress of Phoenix Palace

Master Feng pursed his lips as he stared at Lucia Feng. "You wrote this piece?" He asked in a neutral tone.

Lucia Feng stared back at him. "Yes, I did," she answered without glancing at the screen. Her chin was lifted a little higher and her eyes were clear.

"Very good," Master Feng praised her. But Lucia Feng felt uncomfortable. The head of the Feng Family does not praise anyone so easily. Even if she was his granddaughter.

"Thank you, Master Feng," she responded politely.

"If that's the case, then we already have our winner," he declared. "Panel, please prepare the statement."

After that, Master Feng went down from the stage. His expression was still indifferent although only he knew how he wanted to lash out.

Strings of congratulatory messages were heard from the members of the panel.

"Congrats, Miss Lucia."

"Job, well done, Miss Feng," another one chimed in.

Although Lucia Feng was the granddaughter of Master Feng, she was not from the first branch. Hence, she was not entitled to be called as Young Miss. She pressed her lips tightly. "Thank you, everyone. But I need to go home, first."

The people gave way as she walked towards the exit. A small smile appeared on her lips as she left the crowd. She won the Literary Olympiad. That means she will be residing at the Phoenix Palace. She's one step closer now to her dreams.

At the same time, Master Feng was seated at the backseat of his car. His one hand grasped his cane tightly while his gaze was cold. The assistant on the passenger seat glanced at the mirror every time he exhaled harshly. It was the first time his boss displayed such rage.

"Investigate this matter thoroughly," Master Feng ordered his assistant.

"Yes, Master Feng," he answered. Even him cannot believe that Lucia Feng won. If not Master Feng, who else knew Lucia Feng's capability? Although she won various international literary competitions, she didn't enter Master Feng's line of sight. It was because her writing style was too ordinary for Master Feng's taste. Excellent in other people's eyes but mediocre when it came to old man's standard.

-@-

Ria Zhang went home with slumped shoulders. She knew it was hard to earn money but she didn't know it was this hard. Suffering from scratches of a tiger. Damn.

Lulu opened the door as soon as she heard the knock. Her eyes went wide the moment her gaze landed on Ria Zhang. "Young Miss!" she exclaimed, with a horrified expression. Ria Zhang's hair were sticking to the side of her cheeks. Dirty shoes and she smell like blood?

Her Young Miss was injured!

Ria Zhang rolled her eyes as realization hit her. "Just prepare the bathroom and medicine kit," she told Lulu. "Also, don't let my brother know about this or you're done," she casually said before heading to the kitchen.

Lulu trembled as she wrung her hands in front of her. Young Master will skin her alive if he knew about this. No, she must absolutely hide this from Stanley Co or else, she wouldn't even know how she died. She sprinted towards the bathroom, opened the faucet and waited for the bathtub to be full.

When the bathtub was ready, Ria Zhang stripped out of her clothes. She hissed as the clothing grazed the scratches. As her clothes fell on the floor, she stood for a while, ignoring the fact that Lulu was still there. She dipped the left foot first, testing the water's temperature. Satisfied, she went in and submerged her body, wincing. Seconds later, she exhaled with relief.

Lulu, who was at the side, gasped as the scratches became visible. The porcelain skin of her Young Miss was marred with ugly injuries! She was praying to Buddha that no one would see the injury. Or she's really done for.

With eyes closed, Ria Zhang took a deep breath before she broke the silence. "What's the best medicine to avoid scarring?" It would be a shame to put scars on this body.

"Young Miss, the Co TouchMe used to sell scar removal cream and it is very effective based on reviews," Lulu told her.

Ria Zhang arched an eyebrow. "I hear a but."

"But your cousin, Miss Lisa Co took all of them when she left the company," Lulu reminded her.

Ria Zhang nodded. "Oh, okay. So nothing was left?"

"I'll check on it, Young Miss," Lulu uttered before going out of the bathroom, leaving Ria Zhang to contemplate about the recent events.

-@-

The party at The Chateau has already started. Dana Hu was going from table to table, asking the visitors if there was something not to their liking. But who would dare to voice out their concern? That's Dana Hu, the First Young Madam of the Yun Family. Aside from that, she was the only disciple of Master Feng.

One of the guests who was a classmate from college ask her. "Dana Hu, I've heard that Master Feng has already chosen his next disciple?"

Dana Hu smiled lightly. "So I've heard. But Master didn't tell me other things about it," she answered in a neutral tone.

"How come? The Royal Literary House has already announced its winner. None other than Lucia Feng," another classmate chimed in.

Waves of murmur was heard from the group. Lucia Feng has been gathering awards in the international sphere but Dana Hu doesn't believe that she was the chosen disciple. She knew her Master's taste. He wasn't the type to let go of talents. Lucia Feng was from the Feng Family. There's no way she would escape from the eyes of Master Feng.

But since it took almost two decades, then Dana Hu was confident that Lucia Feng was not the chosen disciple.

"Does that mean Lucia Feng will now occupy the Phoenix Palace?" another woman asked no one in particular.

Some shrugged as they drink from the wine glass while others turned their head to Dana Hu.

"Winning the Literary Olympiad is just the first step," Dana Hu patiently explained. The last step would be earning a place at the Sky Academy."

The women in the group widened their eyes as soon as they heard the information. Dana Hu was the last occupant of the Phoenix Palace. Hence, they believed there was absolutely no need to lie about it.

Indeed, becoming the true mistress of the Phoenix Palace was difficult.