Old Master Situ replied indifferently, “Even if she’s related to me by blood, we’re four generations apart. The paternity test won’t be very accurate, so I can’t confirm which of my grandsons or sons she belongs to.

“President Gu, I know you care about her a lot, but…” Old Master Situ’s expression turned cold. “Please don’t interfere in the Situ family’s matters. Whether she’s a member of the Situ family or not is up to me. Whether she’s qualified to be the heiress or not is also up to me. ”

Gu Zheng was silent for a moment before he curled his lips. “Old Master, you’re right. I have no right to interfere in the Situ family’s matters, but Xi Xi is my wife. Moreover, she doesn’t know about her relationship with the Situ family. I hope the Situ family won’t hurt her and bring her over without any notice in the future.”

The butler frowned. “President Gu, regardless of whether Miss Qiao is of the Situ family’s bloodline or not, we won’t hurt her. You’re overthinking it.”

Gu Zheng’s eyes turned cold. “I don’t much to say about the internal affairs of the Situ family. Everyone knows very well that you don’t care about kinship at all. All you care about is the family’s interests. If it weren’t for your heaven-defying actions, your descendants wouldn’t have been plagued by illness for generations.”

These words hit Old Master Situ’s sore spot. If he had not been so heartless back then, his son would not have gotten such an illness.

Old Master Situ did not look too good and did not answer. The butler hurriedly went forward to explain, “President Gu, you’ve misunderstood us. We were very polite to Miss Qiao and did not treat her harshly.”

Gu Zheng’s expression softened a little. “Old Master, it’s better if this doesn’t happen again.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Zheng nodded slightly at Old Master Situ before turning to leave.

The butler comforted him, saying, “Old Master, don’t take President Gu’s words to heart. He’s just worried about Miss Qiao. He doesn’t have any ill intentions. Moreover, you can’t be blamed for those things.”

“He’s indeed not an ordinary person. He actually knows the Situ family’s secret. The reason he’s so angry is because he’s afraid that I’ll do the same thing to Xi Xi. Perhaps he’ll try his best to minimize my contact with Xi Xi in the future.”

The butler looked sad. “Sir doesn’t blame you…” The ‘sir’ he was talking about was Old Master Situ’s son.

His words were only to comfort Old Master Situ. It was impossible to say that he did not blame the old master. Old Master Situ’s son was seriously ill, while his grandson had been missing for many years. Now, they had to rely on him, a 100-year-old man, to support the Situ family.

Old Master Situ sighed helplessly. “Forget it. It’s pointless to regret anything now. I should just treat Xi Xi better.”

The butler said helplessly, “Tang Ruge is just a clown. With Miss Qiao’s strength and President Gu’s protection, she definitely won’t lose out. You don’t have to interfere in this matter. Moreover, I’m afraid you don’t know that Qingyuan Pavilion is under Miss Qiao’s name.”

“I see! I was thinking too much. I thought that she would be bullied by that girl from the Tang family.” Old Master Situ finally relaxed.

On the other hand, Qiao Xi and Gu Zheng got into the car. Gu Zheng asked, “What did you two talk about before I came?”

Qiao Xi thought for a moment and replied truthfully, “Nothing much. Tang Ruge has acknowledged Qi Zhong as her master and wants to show off in front of me.

“Hence, Old Master Situ gave me a list of artists and asked me to choose one of them to be my master. He wants to hold a grand apprenticeship banquet for me. I don’t think Old Master Situ has any ill intentions. He seems to be standing up for me.”

Even though Qiao Xi did not understand why the old man would do this, it was obvious that this was his intention. Perhaps he had deeper intentions, but Qiao Xi did not know about that.

Gu Zheng was not interested in Tang Ruge becoming someone’s disciple. Instead, he asked, “Is there an artist you like on that list? Do you want to become someone’s disciple?”

Qiao Xi shook her head. “There’s no need for me to take anyone as my master anymore. I’ve been learning how to paint from my grandfather since I was young. My style is already very mature. If I take someone else as my master and learn another style, it’ll be inappropriate. Moreover, my grandfather has gone missing. If he finds out that I’ve taken someone else as my master, he’ll definitely be sad.

“What if Han Ye wants to take you in as his disciple?” Gu Zheng’s tone was indifferent. It seemed to be a casual sentence, but in reality, he was already starting to feel nervous. His heart was beating violently.

Qiao Xi thought for a moment and said, “It’s indeed very difficult to refuse Han Ye if he wants to take me in as his disciple, but I’m afraid that even if I learn from him, it won’t change much.”