Money Power? I Have It Too!

Mr. Greuze watched quietly until Alexandra finished her painting, at which point he finally breathed a sigh of relief with a surprised smile, "Your Grand Duchess, you are truly the most talented student I have ever seen. You have painted Joanna with such vitality..."

Joanna was the maid who was posing as a model in front of the studio.

As Greuze spoke, he glanced at the other students' work and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "Clarice, Marissa, perhaps you should take a look at Grand Duchess Alexandra's paintings."

"You've been studying with me for four or five years now, and in a sense... it seems you haven't yet grasped the soul of painting. I hope you can glean something from this painting."

The three Nobility girls beside them immediately exchanged glances, their faces full of dissatisfaction. After all, the youngest of them was 11 years old, and Clarice was already 14.

Their teacher, however, made them learn from a 7-year-old Russia bumpkin!

Several people reluctantly gathered around, but their limited artistic sensibilities prevented them from seeing the "soul" that Mr. Greuze spoke of in Alexandra's paintings.

Greuze then commented on Alexandra's paintings, mostly offering praise and encouragement. After checking his watch, he announced that class would continue next Tuesday, bid farewell to the Nobility girls, and turned to leave the studio.

Marissa dramatically pulled over Alexandra's easel, exaggeratingly examining the painting from top to bottom, as if muttering to herself, "Has the teacher been drinking today?"

Her father was the second Assistant to the France Minister of Agriculture, and her family was hereditary Count, so she had no fear of the Grand Duchess from Russia.

Another Nobility standing nearby immediately chimed in, "That must be it, otherwise why would he have spent over ten minutes commenting on such an ordinary painting?"

"They actually expect us to 'learn' something from this painting. Hmm, the paint is pretty good." Clarice chimed in sarcastically.

No wonder they reacted this way. Greuze actually said they were not as good as a "rude Tartar" little girl, which was an insult to their artistic skills!

They were all born and raised in the Versailles Palace, immersed in art from a young age. Countless famous artists have praised their exceptional talent. How could they possibly be inferior to a Russia bumpkin?

Unable to criticize the art master Greuze, they instead vented their dissatisfaction on Alexandra.

The Russia girl snatched back her painting, gestured for the maid to put it away carefully, then turned to the group of Nobility girls with a sweet smile and said in fluent French, "If you could use the time and energy you spend saying these nonsensical things to practice painting, perhaps your teacher wouldn't need to praise a 'transfer student'."

After she finished speaking, she completely ignored the expressions of those people and turned to walk out of the studio.

"You!" Marissa stomped her foot angrily, pointing at Alexandra's retreating figure and shrieking, "Don't think you're so great at drawing! The teacher was just giving you a few words of encouragement because you're a child."

She gestured to the two Nobility girls beside her. "Any one of you here is far more skilled at painting than you."

"Let me tell you, the paintings by Clarice and Stella have been selected for the ' Lorrain-Chateau Art Exhibition '!"

"Oh, you probably haven't heard of the Chateau Art Exhibition. If your painting gets selected, we'll admit it's pretty good. But if it doesn't, then you have to apologize to us!"

In reality, their paintings were only placed in an inconspicuous little room in Chateau because their family had some connections with the exhibition organizers; it was more of a publicity stunt than an actual "exhibition."

"Not interested." Alexandra glanced at the three of them briefly before striding towards the Carriage in the courtyard.

The Nobility girls felt they had regained their composure and immediately became smug. "Hmph! At least she knows her place."

"Of course, that's a top-tier art exhibition that even Royal House attends. Her mediocre paintings wouldn't even get in the door."

"She really should see the Chateau Art Exhibition; it's a spectacle of being immersed in an ocean of art..."

Alexandra boarded the Carriage and didn't hear what they said afterward, but the name "Lorrain-Chateau Art Exhibition" sounded somewhat familiar.

Where have I heard this before?

She gazed at the magnificent Louvre Palace in the distance and quickly forgot about it.

Three days later.

In the Northern Suburb of Paris, Carriage arrived at the luxurious Chateau, where six or seven hundred Nobility gathered to attend the famous Lorrain-Chateau Art Exhibition.

This place used to be a Monastery, but after it was bought, it was converted into a castle-like Manor, and later gradually developed into a center for painting and art.

With a little time to spare before the exhibition opens, Mr. Philiberto, the chief organizer of the exhibition, is doing a final check on the guest list—since the Royal House visits Chateau every year during the exhibition, no detail can be overlooked.

Just then, the office door was pushed open, and his assistant almost ran to his desk, whispering a few words in his ear.

Philiberto frowned immediately and turned to his assistant. "Are you sure?"

The latter nodded. "Many Nobility ladies in the Versailles Palace have heard about this; Miss Marissa must have been showing it off to them."

"I went to Mr. Greuze's house again this morning to verify, and his maid witnessed the whole thing."

"This is getting a bit troublesome..."

After a moment's thought, Philiberto instructed his assistant, "Announce that termites have been found in the exhibition room on the second floor."

"Yes, Mr. Manager."

After his assistant left, Philiberto rubbed his temples in frustration. The conflicts between these Nobility ladies were the most troublesome; the second daughter of the Count Lemaire family had to clash with the Grand Duchess of Russia at this crucial moment...

Although Count Lemaire had some connection with him, Count Bobrinsky of Russia was the main sponsor of the exhibition, providing as much as 75% of the funds required for the exhibition.

You absolutely cannot afford to offend him!

Therefore, only the works of those two ladies who boasted about their own work were allowed to be exhibited, while the paintings of the two Russia Grand Duchess who couldn't achieve this goal "disappeared"...

Soon, the grand art exhibition officially opened.

Hundreds of Nobility, led by Servant of the Chateau, entered the exhibition hall in an orderly fashion for their visit.

Clarice and Marissa proudly led a group of young Nobility straight to the room in the southwest corner of the second floor, boasting all the way. "That's a painting that Mr. Greuze praised, so it's only natural that it's included in the exhibition."

They entered the room where they had planned to display their work, only to find it completely empty.

Clarice thought she had gone to the wrong room, so she checked the room number repeatedly and looked at the other rooms, but she still couldn't find her painting.