Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 568: Chapter 565: Obtaining ”Buzhou Mountain

Qin Lianshan wasn’t particularly interested in the forgery of ”A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains,” nor could he discern anything special about ”Buzhou Mountain,” so he shook his head to indicate he wasn’t planning to bid and gave Miss Huo a meaningful look, suggesting that those two paintings had issues and probably weren’t of any value.

Seeing Qin Lianshan gesture as if speaking in riddles, Miss Huo couldn’t help but purse her lips and chuckle. She had already made up her mind to purchase the paintings, regardless of their authenticity and origin. The sense of familiarity and joy that the paintings brought her made it impossible for her to look away.

Indeed, it was hard to make out anything noteworthy just by looking at the paintings, but upon touching them after she went on stage, Miss Huo was utterly shocked.

Under the perception of Heavenly Eye, the purple aura emanating from within the painting was incredibly rich, even denser than that of the Tang Dynasty antiques she had previously encountered in the Taicheng Ancient Tomb.

Moreover, as she looked through the surface layer of silk paper, Miss Huo could faintly see layers of watermarks, which puzzled her, as she wondered how they had come to be.

Although she couldn’t make out much significance, Miss Huo could at least be sure of one thing; the painting was definitely an antique.

This turned out to be an unexpected delight, completely beyond Miss Huo’s anticipation, just like Hong Si had mentioned, the painting was indeed overlooked, and extensively at that.

Even though Miss Huo was still unclear about which artist’s hand was behind this peculiar painting, after seeing those watermarks, she had a feeling that the answer might be hidden beneath them.

The most important element of ancient paintings is not the painting itself, but the seal. This painting has no private seal, so no one could determine its provenance, and therefore nobody dared to gamble on it.

Especially because the painting didn’t appear to be an old artifact on the surface—even an experienced person like Qin Lianshan was fooled—Hong Si had displayed it for so long, yet not a single bid had been made.

It seemed like this set of ancient paintings was about to be passed in without a bid, but Hong Si had anticipated this outcome and thus did not show much disappointment as he prepared to move on to the next lot for auction.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, Miss Huo suddenly spoke up, ”Wait, since no one is bidding, Boss Hong, thirty-one thousand yuan, I’ll take these two paintings!”

In fact, Miss Huo could have avoided raising the bid since no one else had made an offer, and as the only bidder, she could have taken the paintings for the base price of thirty thousand. But as she was accustomed to doing at auctions, she still added a thousand yuan.

Being passed in was not something Hong Si wanted to see; he had acquired the two paintings for just three thousand yuan, and if he were to sell them, he might not make even ten thousand yuan. Seeing that Miss Huo was bidding, even though the bid wasn’t high, she had offered him well over ten times his cost, which he gladly accepted.

No one else in the audience raised the bid, and Zhou Zhen was tempted to challenge Miss Huo, but since he couldn’t discern any special quality in the two paintings, he was concerned that if he made a bid, Miss Huo might back out, leaving him with the burden, and then he’d be at a loss. So, after hesitating, he remained silent.

For thirty-one thousand yuan, the two ancient paintings fell into Miss Huo’s hands. Qin Lianshan’s eyes flickered with disapproval as he saw Miss Huo indeed make the purchase.

Qin Lianshan didn’t ask Miss Huo why, but Boss Jiang beside him was somewhat curious. With a puzzled look, he asked her,

”The forgery could be bought on the market for a few thousand yuan, and I don’t understand the other painting. Miss Huo, did you perhaps see something else in them?”

Miss Huo smiled and shook her head, ”I didn’t notice anything special, it’s just that I liked the painting at first sight and impulsively decided to buy it. After all, thirty thousand isn’t much to get something I like, so why worry about whose hand it came from?”

Those who collect antiques often have such impulses, buying things on a whim when they feel a connection. Miss Huo’s half-truth managed to convince Boss Jiang beyond doubt.

Several genuine items were put up for auction in a row, but what disappointed Qin Lianshan and Ji Kun was that the oldest among them were merely artifacts from the Ming and Qing dynasties. They weren’t anything close to a thousand-year-old tomb relics, nor did they even spot anything freshly unearthed.

Huo Sining exchanged a glance with Qin Lianshan, and both could see the confusion in each other’s eyes.

Was the information provided by the police faulty, or did the antiquities dealers become alert and move the goods elsewhere?

It was highly unlikely for Hong Si to take such a significant risk to hold a black-market auction just for these worthless items. At least in Huo Sining’s view, none of the pieces that had come forward so far were truly worth her while.

As the auction neared the three-hour mark without reaching its highlight, not just Qin Lianshan and Ji Kun, who had ulterior motives, grew impatient. Even the other authentic bidders who came to acquire some good finds were getting restless.

”Boss Hong, you’ve called us all here so mysteriously,” someone in the crowd began to grumble discontentedly, ”you’re not going to tell me it’s just to see these mediocre items, are you?”

Once one person started complaining, others quickly joined in with the ruckus.

Hong Si probably felt that enough time had been spent in suspense. He cleared his throat and swept his hawk-like eyes across the crowd, taking in everyone’s expressions before speaking in a calm and unrushed manner,

”Everyone, please stay calm. The item that’s about to be presented might be a bit tricky, so I kindly ask you all to wait quietly in your seats.”

His words immediately quieted everyone down, as they looked at each other, all wondering what trick Hong Si had up his sleeve.

Hong Si didn’t offer any explanations, but he signaled someone in the back. Soon, four burly men carried a special glass cabinet onto the stage.

The item inside the cabinet was laid horizontally, obscured by a red cloth, preventing anyone from making out what it was, but one thing was for sure—whatever it was, it had to be nearly two meters long, a substantial piece.

Seeing that he had everyone’s attention focused, a rare hint of smugness flickered in Hong Si’s eyes. He announced, ”I won’t tell you what the next item is, but the starting bid will be twenty million!”

”Twenty million?!” exclaimed the crowd. That was no small amount, and everyone’s eyes were eagerly fixed on Hong Si, wishing he would stop wasting time and just unveil the red silk cloth.

Sensing the fiery stares from the crowd, Hong Si couldn’t help but touch his nose. His hand reached for the glass cabinet and abruptly tore off the red cloth, exposing its contents instantly.

Inside the transparent glass cabinet, a human-shaped object was shockingly revealed to all.

”Jade Clothing stitched with gold thread!”

Seeing the contents of the glass cabinet, everyone was taken aback.

Qin Lianshan, Ji Kun, and others stood up excitedly from their seats, their whole bodies trembling. They wished they could rush up to the stage at that moment.