Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 481: Chapter 477 Cunning Argument

”Impatience for quick results, this is appraisal, not bargain hunting, being able to find even one item is already not easy, do you think those antique traffickers would be foolish enough to put all their antiques in a single box?”

Seeing that Li Xuanbing’s mood was off, her teacher, Professor Shi Qingyun, didn’t hesitate to scold her.

Even though she was scolded, Li Xuanbing saw approval and encouragement in Professor Shi’s eyes, it seemed that he was quite satisfied with her performance.

Li Xuanbing’s heart leaped with joy, and she finally settled down to look at the test results of the other two people.

Like Li Xuanbing, Feng Yang, with the mindset of ”better to wrongly kill ten thousand than to let one slip through,” had picked out seven or eight items.

After all, with genuine items scarce and fakes abounding, a balance should certainly be struck, so the approaches taken by both Li Xuanbing and Feng Yang were justifiable—casting a wide net ensures no fish escape.

Feng Yang thought his method was very clever, but to his surprise, not only Professor Shi Qingyun and Ji Kun, but even Ma Liwen couldn’t help but frown upon seeing those items on the table.

Some objects had issues that were evident at a glance, and there were even some very basic mistakes that Feng Yang had not spotted, which even Ma Liwen found somewhat embarrassing.

He hurriedly turned his attention to the remaining few items, and his gaze stopped on a Jizhou Kiln Jade Pot Spring Vase.

It was a milky white glazed Jade Pot Spring Vase, with a pair of phoenix motifs pressed on the sides of the vase’s belly. Outside the motifs, the space was decorated with twining peony branches, and near the bottom was a raised ruyi-head pattern circling around. The glaze was white with a hint of pale green and yellow, thin but not enough to see the bottom.

Upon seeing this Jade Pot Spring Vase, Ma Liwen’s eyes lit up. As he was about to reach out and pick up the jade bottle for a closer examination, Ji Kun beat him to it and took it in his hands.

”This Jizhou Kiln is fake.”

After just one glance, Ji Kun unapologetically reached his conclusion.

Huo Sining put the box full of counterfeit ceramics into the screening area and suddenly heard Ji Kun’s words, prompting her to look up.

”Fake?”

Ma Liwen was stunned; he looked up and glanced at Feng Yang, who showed an expression of indignation, and then he seemed to think of something and looked suspiciously at Ji Kun.

”Young Ji, you better be sure about this. Although we are mixing this with the kids’ competition, we still have a task on our hands. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you and end up causing an oolong, drawing ridicule!”

Ma Liwen’s words clearly implied that Ji Kun was abusing his power for personal grudges and biding his time for revenge.

Huo Sining couldn’t help but curl her lips upon hearing this. Ma Liwen really was something else, one didn’t know who had deliberately made things difficult for her by pushing a box of jade artifacts towards her earlier, and now he was preaching to Ji Kun about not abusing power, a laughably hypocritical double standard!

As expected, Ji Kun was not one to suffer losses. He let out a cold laugh, and, in a mocking tone, looked at Ma Liwen, ”You think I’m like you? I say this Jade Pot is fake, that means it can’t be real, believe it or not!”

As he spoke, he passed the Jade Pot Spring Vase to Ma Liwen. While Ma Liwen might not be a stand-up guy, he did have his own unique insights when it came to antiques appraisal. After he took the Jade Pot Spring Vase and looked over it a few times, he quickly noticed there was something off about the vase.

The Jade Pot Spring Vase was genuine Jizhou Kiln from the mouth to the waist on one large side, but it was actually broken pottery.

The lower half of the Jade Pot Spring Vase was glued on using a specialized repair technique; it’s just that the forger was so skilled that the average person couldn’t discern the truth with the naked eye.

Seeing Ma Liwen’s expression gradually darken, Ji Kun disdainfully curled his lips and glanced sideways at Ma Liwen, ”Well, who was it that didn’t look closely?”

Ma Liwen’s face tensed as he put down the Spring Vase in his hand, ”Indeed, this Spring Vase is a fake.”

Noticing the confused look on Feng Yang’s face, Ji Kun snorted and said to Huo Sining, ”Junior Sister Huo, come and have a look!”

Huo Sining was startled upon hearing this. She glanced at Ma Liwen, whose face was changing unpredictably, and quickly walked over. At Ji Kun’s gesture, she picked up the Jade Pot Spring Vase.

Without using a magnifying glass, Huo Sining examined the vase from front to back. She didn’t even look at the signature on the bottom before she started speaking:

”The upper half of the body has patterns that are strict and straight, with even and bright layouts, indeed it is from Jizhou Kiln without a doubt. But the lower half including the foot has been pieced together; the patterns are faint and likely filled in with glazed color. Moreover, if one looks carefully, one can spot subtle differences between the upper and lower halves.”

The aging technique used on this Jade Pot Spring Vase was enough to deceive the layman, but for Huo Sining, it was not so sophisticated. One sweep with Heavenly Eye showed purple aura scattered only on the upper half of the pot, but none on the lower half—what this indicated was self-evident.

Indeed, as soon as she finished speaking, a smile appeared on Ji Kun’s face, while Ma Liwen’s face looked quite unsightly. He hadn’t expected that this young girl, Huo Sining, could actually discern the truth.

The one who probably felt most disgruntled was Feng Yang. Hearing what Huo Sining had said, he scoffed:

”I think you’re just spouting nonsense, aren’t you? Both professors have already said that this Spring Vase is fake; of course, you’d follow suit and say it’s fake as well. Anyone can move their lips and talk, if I wanted to say this thing is fake and cite a few minor defects, I could also blindly guess!”

Can’t admit defeat, can he?

Huo Sining initially thought Feng Yang was just competitive, but now she realized that he was also narrow-minded. Ma Liwen was already exasperating enough, and it turned out the disciples he taught were one more shameless than the other: An Yueru before, and now Feng Yang, truly a case of ’like master, like disciple’.

”Everyone makes mistakes, but why can’t you graciously admit it when you’re wrong? Do you think by being stubborn, the item will turn real?”

Even Professor Shi, standing by, couldn’t stand listening to Feng Yang’s shameless excuses.

”When someone expresses her opinion and perspective, it naturally comes from her own insights. If you can’t see the problem with this item, does that mean you think nobody else has the ability to spot it?”

”Your attitude as a student is all wrong. Which one of us old guys hasn’t stumbled along the way? Who dares to say they’ve never misjudged before? Even Zhou Shitao and Jia Bingrong, two esteemed seniors, wouldn’t dare utter such boastful claims.”

Although his words were harsh, they conveyed a fundamental truth.

Making mistakes in the antique world is a common occurrence. If one cannot handle it with calm and composure, then they shouldn’t expect to get very far in this field!

Professor Shi meant well and wanted to awaken Feng Yang, but seeing Feng Yang press his lips together in silence, he knew that his words had fallen on deaf ears.

Huo Sining couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She really wondered if there was something wrong with Feng Yang’s thought process.

If you’re wrong, is it so hard to admit the mistake? Insisting on your conceited pride will not earn others’ recognition but their disappointment and disapproval.