Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1541: Chapter 1525: The Stifling Feeling

After hearing Tang Jun explain the origin of the coins, Huo Sining began to suspect them. She reached out discreetly to touch the camphorwood box, and upon closer inspection, she noticed something was off.

This item had been inspected by both Zhuang Xiangyang and Xie Daoyuan, yet after staring at it with her Heavenly Eye for a long time, she couldn’t detect even a wisp of purple aura.

Though the item was vacuum packed, judging from its appearance, the two coins seemed to have been unearthed from a burial site. If exposed to air, they would easily oxidize, so Tang Jun was quite knowledgeable, and he had done his homework by specially commissioning a transparent vacuum box to preserve the coins according to their size.

Once the coins were sealed, they weren’t meant to be taken out. If the box were to be opened, a new one would have to be made, which would be troublesome and could damage the coins.

Although the cost of a few vacuum boxes is negligible, if these items were fake, there would be no need to go through all the trouble.

Of course, it wasn’t the box that Huo Sining was concerned about; it was that her cheat device detected an anomaly. She didn’t even handle the coins and couldn’t exactly pinpoint where the problem lay.

Zhuang Xiangyang noticed her hesitation and sensed something was amiss because Huo Sining usually wasn’t like this.

”Xiao Huo, you think there’s something wrong with them?”

”Yes,” Huo Sining nodded slightly and exhaled gently, ”But you know I rely on intuition for appraisals. If you want me to say what’s wrong, I’ll be honest—I really can’t articulate it.”

That was the truth. Had Huo Sining fabricated some reasons, Zhuang Xiangyang might have become suspicious instead.

Given Zhuang Xiangyang’s eye and status, if someone else had made such a bold claim in front of him, he would likely have ignored them with disdain.

But Zhuang Xiangyang had witnessed Huo Sining’s appraisal skills on multiple occasions. Even though the notion of intuition seems bizarre, after seeing it several times, Zhuang Xiangyang had grown accustomed to it.

Zhuang Xiangyang had seen Huo Sining appraise treasures blindfolded, achieving such mystical appraisal skills that he had a mysterious trust in her. So now when Huo Sining spoke like this in front of him, he didn’t doubt her at all; in fact, he believed Huo Sining wouldn’t make baseless claims.

”If Boss Tang doesn’t mind, why don’t we open the box and take a look?”

After hesitating for a moment, Huo Sining still suggested.

Tang Jun’s face immediately turned grave. Initially, he thought this was a surefire deal, but now it seemed things weren’t as straightforward as he had imagined.

Zhuang Xiangyang frowned and said, ”Opening the box might expose it to air, causing the coins to oxidize. Are you sure?”

Huo Sining smiled wryly, ”Elder Zhuang, if I were sure, how could I be unable to give you a reason? You know my appraisal skills rely mostly on first impressions. Otherwise, I wouldn’t suggest opening the box.”

Zhuang Xiangyang pondered for a while and then looked up at Tang Jun: ”Little Tang, it’s up to you to decide. I can only tell you this: I’m familiar with Huo, she’s not someone who makes baseless claims. And with her ability, if she’s not more than seventy percent sure, she wouldn’t raise this issue because it doesn’t benefit her to cause trouble for herself. She’s doing this because she’s afraid I’ll get it wrong, which would harm my reputation.”

This statement left Tang Jun in a bit of a bind. If they did open the box and the appraisal confirmed it was genuine, the loss would be considerable.

Perhaps noticing Tang Jun’s hesitation, Huo Sining didn’t want to put him in a difficult position and immediately said, ”How about this, Boss Tang, since I made the suggestion, if the appraisal confirms it’s genuine, I’ll cover the losses incurred during this process.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Jun was somewhat embarrassed. He glanced at Zhuang Xiangyang, then, after some hesitation, gritted his teeth and agreed to Huo Sining’s proposal, retrieving some pliers and a carving knife.

Since the vacuum packaging was just a plastic box, it was pried open quickly with tools. Tang Jun personally removed the coins, and Zhuang Xiangyang, wearing white gloves and reading glasses, picked up the coins and examined them carefully.

Huo Sining identified the two coins as high-quality replicas because she couldn’t see purple aura on them. However, she couldn’t quite articulate why when asked to explain.

But Zhuang Xiangyang was different. He usually judged ancient coins based on the copper quality, engraved characters, and patina. Yet these two coins, from the copper quality to the engraved characters and patina, seemed completely natural without any discernible flaws.

Zhuang Xiangyang’s brow furrowed involuntarily, momentarily unsure of how to judge them.

”Unearthed items with a thin patina and copper sheen, their condition is perfect with no flaws. Could there really be such skilled forgers in the world?”

Suspicion filled Zhuang Xiangyang’s eyes. Even having witnessed Huo Sining’s blindfolded appraising abilities, he was somewhat shaken at the moment.

Huo Sining had long been certain that these were entirely high-quality replicas, and they weren’t very old. So when she heard Zhuang Xiangyang’s muttering, she couldn’t help but laugh:

”Perhaps you’ve forgotten about the Zhong Fang Porcelain Zun I identified in H Province, the Secret Color Porcelain at the Taicheng Museum, and that brush washer my master had—they were all fakes, weren’t they? So many experts examined them and got it wrong, didn’t they?”

Zhuang Xiangyang’s face changed drastically at the mention of Zhong Fang, and he abruptly looked up, staring intently at Huo Sining: ”Are you suggesting these coins are Zhong Fang as well?”

Huo Sining shook her head, smiling wryly, ”I don’t know. I just have a very strong feeling that these two coins are fakes, and they feel very familiar to me. But if you want specific details, I really can’t say.”

At that moment, Huo Sining felt the profound depth of antique appraisal—divided into so many categories, like an endless sea of knowledge that might take a lifetime to master. Now, even though she knew the item was fake, she couldn’t provide specific reasons, and this frustrating feeling was beyond words.

Huo Sining’s gaze was fixed intently on the coins, unsure of what to say. She certainly couldn’t claim it was because her Heavenly Eye couldn’t see the treasure aura—that would be nonsense.

On the other side, Xie Daoyuan examined the coins for a full three minutes but found nothing either: ”The better the way is paved, the higher the demons become. If these coins are indeed high-quality replicas, then this must truly be the pinnacle of copper forgery.”