Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 440: Chapter 436 The Seal Has An Issue

”What’s wrong with it?” Ouyang Jun lowered his head to look at the seal but couldn’t see any issues, so he couldn’t help but ask.

The middle-aged man replied, ”I’ve been working in the Forbidden City for over a decade, and the Forbidden City holds several of Tang Bohu’s paintings, which I get to see every day; naturally, I would spot details more meticulously than you. Tang Bohu’s seal should be slightly smaller than this one. The forgery of this painting is ingeniously crafted, it’s just a pity there was some negligence on the seal. Otherwise, truly no one would be able to tell its authenticity.”

The words of the middle-aged man stunned everyone present, who turned to look at the seal on the painting.

The old man dressed in Tang attire furrowed his brows and suddenly raised his head, shouting to Ouyang Jun,

”Go get the notebook and pull up the ’Pine Sounds on the Mountain Road’ by Tang Bohu that was auctioned off at the Huali Auction House last time.”

Ouyang Jun touched his nose, turned around, and left. Shortly after, he came back with the notebook, and soon, a landscape painting was enlarged on the screen to the same size as the ”Li Duanduan’s Registration Picture” for comparison; indeed, the proportions of the seal seemed off.

The elder referred to as Old Master Wu looked at the landscape painting on the computer screen and then turned to glance at the painting of the lady on the round table. Suddenly, he fell to the ground with a thud, his face turned pale, his mouth agape, his eyes staring vacantly, unable to utter a single word.

”Old Wu, I hear you’re planning to sell this painting?”

Seeing the result was as he speculated, the middle-aged man’s eyes shone with an even stronger sense of triumph, as if he hadn’t noticed Old Wu’s mental breakdown at all, seeming to think the old man wasn’t miserable enough, he added these few statements,

”In my opinion, this painting is quite good in terms of paper quality and craftsmanship, and it’s a very convincing imitation. If you really plan to sell it, how about letting me have it for five thousand? I’ll buy it.”

Upon hearing these words, Elder Wu felt as if he had been stabbed, pointing a shaking finger at the middle-aged man, his eyes seemingly shooting fire.

However, in that instant, his eyes suddenly rolled back, and without any warning, he passed out.

The crowd immediately started screaming, ”Old Wu... Old Wu...”

”Quick, pinch the philtrum! Jun Zi, quickly go get a cup of water for Elder Wu to help him recover!”

The old man in Tang attire was stomping his feet in anxiety. He turned his head and glanced at the middle-aged man, shook his head, and heaved a deep sigh, ”Alas, the young act too impulsively!”

The others also looked at the middle-aged man with eyes full of reproach.

Elder Wu had lost his son at a young age and experienced the deep sorrow of a white-haired person sending off a black-haired one. Fortunately, he still had a granddaughter by his side to care for.

Unexpectedly, not long ago, Elder Wu’s granddaughter was diagnosed with leukemia and urgently needed a lot of money for surgery.

Elder Wu had spent so many years in the antiques world but was still penniless, nowhere near able to afford such an expense. He tried to scrape money together but failed, and had no choice but to find ways to sell whatever valuable things he had at home.

”Li Duanduan’s Registration Picture” was one of the treasures in Elder Wu’s collection. Knowing that the man in Tang attire was interested, he personally visited him, wanting to sell the painting.

The man in Tang attire, having learned of Elder Wu’s family situation through others, deliberately conspired with a few friends to set a trap for Old Wu.

Everyone in the antique circle has been involved for so many years, how could they not know that the painting in Elder Wu’s hands was a fake?

”Li Duanduan’s Registration Picture” had been lost for so many years, and so many people from museums across the country had gone out to look for it. It had never been seen domestically, and even the Forbidden City Museum was storing a replica.

Although the imitation in Elder Wu’s hands was made to look exactly like the real deal, if such an item were genuine, how could it possibly show up at the Ghost Market, and moreover, be picked up by Elder Wu?

Everyone knew that Elder Wu’s painting was fake, and it was precisely because they knew the inside story that the man in traditional attire wanted to set up a plan to have Elder Wu sell the painting to him as if it were authentic.

However, since Elder Wu was a clever man, if he rashly bought the painting, it would definitely arouse Elder Wu’s suspicion. Therefore, the man in traditional attire found several people to ”appraise” it, so Elder Wu would not suspect anything.

The man in traditional attire had a good plan, just by having those few old fellows take a few looks, and then having the appraiser confirm it as a genuine article, they could deceive Elder Wu, and he could then ”buy” the painting.

Who would have thought that just when the matter was about to be settled, a troublemaker would come out of the blue, ruining the well-arranged plan, almost making the man in traditional attire vomit blood with frustration.

As soon as Huo Sining saw the old man turning blue, she knew something was wrong. She rushed to the old man’s side in three or two steps, and while pinching his philtrum, she transmitted the Spiritual Energy of the Azure Pearl into the old man’s body to protect his heart. Soon, the old man slowly regained consciousness.

When the people in the room saw that Elder Wu had awakened, they hurriedly crowded around him. Huo Sining didn’t want to be in the way, so she quickly stepped back.

Ouyang Jun also brought in some water and handed it to one of them. The man immediately passed the water and fed it to Elder Wu.

Ouyang Jun glanced at the middle-aged man and suddenly asked, ”What is he doing here?”

Ouyang Jun looked towards Qin Tian but nodded towards the middle-aged man.

Qin Tian sneered: ”This man was not invited by the old gentleman; he heard that Elder Wu was selling a painting and came running over to join in the excitement. He doesn’t even have the slightest discernment, and I really don’t know how he became an expert!”

Although Qin Tian only said a few words, Huo Sining could guess most of it.

The setup was deliberately arranged by the man in traditional attire, and the others were all acting on his behalf, except for Professor Ma, who was brought by Elder Wu himself.

Although she did not know the identity of the man in traditional attire, his actual intention was to help Elder Wu.

But unfortunately, Professor Ma did not understand the unspoken rules. Everyone else was quick-witted and knew the intends of the man in traditional attire and were willing to go along with the act, except for Professor Ma, who was as straightforward as a greenhorn and pointed out the truth right in front of the buyer and the seller.

From an expert’s standpoint, Professor Ma’s pursuit of authenticity in appraising ancient paintings was not necessarily wrong, but it was despicable of him to continue to provoke Elder Wu after he had already lost control of his emotions.

”It hasn’t been easy for Elder Wu—losing his son in his fifties and now nearing his own end, with his granddaughter suffering from leukemia. He’s a stubborn man and doesn’t want to ask others for help. If he had asked, the old gentleman would certainly have lent him a hand, and it wouldn’t have come to him having to sell off his collected ’junk’.”

”Alas, I thought this would be settled by now. Unfortunately... it looks like this matter is going to be ruined by Professor Ma today,” sighed Qin Tian, unable to hide his regret.