Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 818: Chapter 814: This is Fake

Just as they entered the museum, they saw Qiao Zhenhuan chatting casually with a few female employees.

Qiao Zhenhuan looked up and saw Director Bai personally bringing Huo Sining into the museum. He was immediately taken aback, looking at Huo Sining in disbelief.

Director Bai was practically fuming with anger at his nephew. He had always thought Qiao Zhenhuan was smart, studying abroad and earning a PhD in just five years. This was why Director Bai had brought Qiao Zhenhuan into Taicheng Museum—to train him while he was still in his position.

He arranged for Qiao Zhenhuan to go pick up Huo Si, and before departure, he had given endless instructions for Qiao to seriously receive Huo Si and engage with her extensively.

Yet look at what his nephew did! He blocked Huo Sining, who came to help, outside the museum while he himself stayed inside chatting?! He sure is living the life!

Director Bai gave Qiao Zhenhuan a fierce glare, feeling the urge to rush up and scold him, but with Huo Sining there, he restrained himself, pretending nothing had happened, and cheerfully introduced the Tang Ceramics Hall to Huo Sining.

Perhaps noticing the anger emanating from his uncle, Qiao Zhenhuan felt somewhat uneasy, lowering his head quickly as Director Bai glared at him.

Seeing his uncle’s fake smile flattering Huo Sining, Qiao Zhenhuan became increasingly displeased and his impression of Huo Sining plummeted.

Anger flashed in his eyes, but thinking about what was to come, he couldn’t help but smirk coldly.

So what if he got his uncle’s approval? This little girl hasn’t even grown up yet, let her be arrogant for a while—he’ll show her what it means to have people beyond people and skies beyond the sky!

At four in the afternoon, the museum stops admitting visitors. By four-thirty, the clearing begins, and once all the visitors were cleared out, Director Bai immediately arranged for the staff to move the Yue Kiln Secret-Color Porcelain Bowl to the meeting room.

Director Bai’s face was grave, full of nervousness and worry, his gaze towards Huo Sining filled with anticipation and concern.

After washing her hands, Huo Sining intended to just use a magnifying glass and flashlight to make a show, but when Director Bai placed the Secret-Color Porcelain Bowl on the conference table, she stared at it for a long time, thoroughly inspecting it from all angles, and unknowingly, widened her eyes.

The Yue Kiln Celadon first appeared in the Tang Dynasty, renowned for its delicate texture, lustrous glaze, and emerald clarity, earning fame as China’s earliest ”mother porcelain.”

The production of Yue Kiln Celadon was sparse, and it was exclusively used as royal tributes, making them extremely rare. Hence, the value of such a bowl is immeasurable.

Because Zhou Shitao had already mentioned the issues with this Yue Kiln Secret-Color Porcelain, Huo Sining thought coming to Taicheng was just a formality. But upon seeing the bowl, she realized things might not be as simple as she imagined.

This Yue Kiln Secret-Color Porcelain Bowl had a thick body, light grey clay, ochre kiln red at the exposed foot; the glaze was plump and smooth, the bowl wall unadorned, the celadon clear as ice, lustrous like jade, the greenish tint closely resembling a tea-green color.

Based on the body, glaze, design, and the official kiln seal at the bottom, this bowl was a typical Yue Kiln Secret-Color Porcelain from the Shengtang period.

With the naked eye, Huo Sining found almost no flaws. At first glance, it seemed just like the one she had previously discovered, but upon closer inspection, she found no significant differences.

Holding the bowl, whether in terms of feel or its exhibited features, Huo Sining believed it could not be more authentic. However, when she used her Heavenly Eye to see through the bowl, she noticed it had no Purple Spiritual Qi.

In the short six months Huo Sining had been dealing in antiques, she had seen counterfeits before. Even the items in Zhou Shitao’s Baiyang Box, despite their realism, always showed flaws.

But the bowl before her, she could not find any issues—this Yue Kiln was too convincing.

If she did not have the Heavenly Eye as a cheat tool, she wouldn’t be able to determine the bowl’s authenticity.

No wonder Director Bai had sought so many antique ceramics experts from Taicheng for identification without resolution—it wasn’t that their appraisal skills were lacking, but that the counterfeiter’s methods were too sophisticated.

When observing antiques without revealing one’s emotions, it was the basics Zhou Shitao taught Huo Sining. Though she hadn’t fully mastered it yet, she managed to control her emotions well.

Director Bai had been closely watching Huo Sining’s expressions, but he couldn’t discern anything. Seeing Huo Sining place the bowl back on the table, he quickly approached, eagerly asking, ”Miss Huo, what do you think, is the bowl real or fake?”

Huo Sining slightly furrowed her brow. If not for her unique Heavenly Eye, she probably wouldn’t be able to distinguish this porcelain bowl’s authenticity. However, with Director Bai’s inquiry, if she answered it was fake, he would certainly press her for reasons.

Huo Sining knew she couldn’t pinpoint the bowl’s problem, and if forced to explain, it would be full of holes.

But she was aware of the gravity of the situation; if she obscured the truth, dragging on would make it harder to find the swapped genuine piece. Thus, Huo Sining didn’t dare to conceal, and responded truthfully:

”Director Bai, this Yue Kiln Porcelain Bowl is fake, although its craftsmanship is hardly different from the genuine article.”

Director Bai had been on edge ever since the museum caught the insider. After the insider confessed to the Yue Kiln swap, he hadn’t had a single peaceful night’s sleep.

Because the ceramic experts couldn’t be certain, he held a sliver of hope, suspecting the insider might be lying to stir panic in the museum before imprisonment.

But now, with Huo Sining’s statement, the bowl was definitively deemed fake.

Director Bai instantly collapsed into a chair, deflated like a balloon, aging ten years in an instant. Even the light in his eyes dimmed.

Director Bai didn’t question Huo Sining’s reasons, but Qiao Zhenhuan wasn’t so easy to deal with. Upon hearing Huo Sining’s definitive assertion that the Yue Kiln was a counterfeit, he immediately responded, asking:

”How could this be fake? From body to glaze to design, there’s no issue. Even those veteran experts couldn’t tell, but it’s fake to Miss Huo? I’d like to ask, how did Miss Huo determine it?”