Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 490: Chapter 486 Conspiracy

A hint of mockery flashed in Huo Sining’s eyes.

”This incense burner has a joint on its body, and although it is coated with a thick layer of white glaze, the joint can still be seen upon close observation. If you don’t believe me, you can reach out and feel it for yourself, you’ll certainly be able to feel it.”

”This is a major oversight, clearly, those who made the imitation did not pay attention to this detail. Considering these points, one can determine that this incense burner is a fake, imitating the Qing Dynasty tri-color porcelain technique. Just by looking, one can appraise its authenticity.”

This appraisal was already very thorough, and both Li Xuanbing and Feng Yang followed Huo Sining’s reasoning and indeed saw the joint on that part of the incense burner.

”Nonsense!” The middle-aged man’s face was filled with unwillingness as he glared at Huo Sining resentfully.

Huo Sining shrugged her shoulders, ”I’ve said what I needed to say. Whether I’m spouting nonsense or not, I believe my colleagues here can see for themselves.”

At this point, Huo Sining smiled slightly, her tone paused before she continued suggestively, ”Of course, there is absolutely no need to touch it, one can clearly see just with the naked eye.”

The middle-aged man’s eyes swiveled, staring fixedly at Huo Sining for several seconds, standing rigidly in place without speaking. However, his expression no longer held the previous resistance and irritation, leaving only panic and guilt.

Li Xuanbing and Feng Yang were completely baffled as they stared at Huo Sining and the middle-aged man. They didn’t understand the meaning behind Huo Sining’s words, but the more they listened, the more they felt there was an implied meaning, as if she were speaking in riddles.

What puzzled them even more was that Huo Sining had clearly identified the authenticity of the incense burner, yet the middle-aged man was still not leaving and seemed very unwilling to accept it.

To Huo Sining, none of this was surprising. Once she had used her Heavenly Eye Skill to inspect the tripod censer, she knew exactly what this man was up to.

A smile playing at the corners of her mouth, her eyes, however, flashed with a cold light. She had made herself very clear, but it was obvious that this middle-aged man would not be discouraged until his hopes were dashed against the rocks.

”That is our team leader. If you don’t trust me, feel free to ask our team leader for an appraisal. However, our team leader’s skills are higher than mine. Since I can determine the authenticity of your incense burner with my naked eye, our team leader surely can as well,” she said mockingly.

Huo Sining taunted, ”Shall I go and invite our professor to take a look for you?” She deliberately emphasized the word ”professor” heavily. The middle-aged man was startled, his anxiety showing as he looked up at Huo Sining and said:

”There’s no need for a professor. I just don’t understand why you appraisers seem so unprofessional. I’ve never heard of determining the authenticity of antiques just by looking. Are you sure that won’t lead to any mistakes?”

Unwilling to have Huo Sining call the professor, yet not ready to give up, the man did not say Ding Liang couldn’t appraise it, but he became uneasy at the mention of not needing to physically touch.

Huo Sining knew what the man meant, but she pretended not to know and asked in puzzlement, ”What do you mean by that? You say that our method is wrong, so how should we be appraising, then?”

Ding Liang, upon finishing his assessment of the item in his hands, sensed that Huo Sining seemed to be having trouble and began to walk over.

The middle-aged man quickly glanced at Ding Liang, a glint flickering in his eyes as he snorted coldly, ”I have no particular meaning. I’m just saying that your appraisal is not following the rules, and just looking is not acceptable!”

Huo Sining nodded and asked with a smile, ”I understand what you’re getting at, sir, but there’s something I’m quite puzzled about. Could you explain it to me?”

The middle-aged man stared at Huo Sining with a wary face, ”What don’t you understand?”

Huo Sining glanced at the crowd that had gathered around to watch the excitement and smiled slightly at the middle-aged man before raising her voice and saying,

”I have already identified this Tripod Censer as a fake, yet from the moment you took it out until I started the appraisal, you kept insisting on needing to touch it, saying that it can’t be done just by looking.”

”This Incense Burner clearly doesn’t require hands-on examination for authentication, yet you kept saying that my appraisal was inaccurate because I didn’t handle it, accusing me of not following the rules, and even tried to get my other colleagues to touch your Incense Burner.”

”This forces me to suspect, is your eagerness for us to handle it because your Incense Burner—has some sort of issue?”

Those who had brought in forgeries for appraisal before didn’t concern Huo Sining, whether or not they knew the items they held were fakes.

Because there are always a few who hope to take advantage of the system with wishful thinking and gain at little cost, Huo Sining doesn’t see such people as having committed a serious fault, and would usually send them off with a very tactful tone.

However, this middle-aged man was different, he was clearly setting a trap for the students. If Song Leyin hadn’t been in a hurry to go to the bathroom and left the man to her, he might have been conned by now.

Moreover, Huo Sining had given this middle-aged man chances repeatedly, yet this man was a slippery character and remained completely unmoved. Since that was the case, she could no longer be blamed for being inhospitable.

As expected, upon hearing what Huo Sining said, the middle-aged man’s pupils shrank abruptly, and he forced himself to say calmly,

”How could there be any problem with my Incense Burner?! Don’t talk nonsense, young lady. Don’t think I wouldn’t dare to hit someone just because you’re young!”

Heh, he’s even talking about hitting people? Huo Sining saw the man’s fierce but cowardly appearance, obviously showing signs of guilt. Although she looked young, she had been through life and death and had experienced kidnappings—how could she possibly be frightened into a panic by his angry shouting and threats?

”If there’s no problem, then why do you keep demanding that I touch this Incense Burner, yet since you’ve put it down, you haven’t touched it yourself?”

With heavy sarcasm in her eyes, Huo Sining coldly watched the man who was now in disarray: ”Your agitation is probably not because I’m talking nonsense, but because I’ve hit the nail on the head, exposing your scheming ways, isn’t it?”

The onlookers who had come to enjoy the spectacle were taken aback by Huo Sining’s questioning, casting doubtful glances between the Tripod Censer on the table and the middle-aged man, starting to whisper among themselves.

There was a flurry of discussions all around, but it seemed that everyone had not yet understood what exactly was going on.

Huo Sining laughed and began to explain of her own accord, ”On Antique Street, it’s common for people to deliberately bring in things that are already damaged disguised as perfect and intact for appraisal. Once the item is in the shop owner’s hands, they find out there’s a problem. At that point, the owner makes a fuss claiming the shop caused the damage and demands compensation.”

”Regardless of whether the item is authentic or not, paying for damage is the right thing to do, and legally, it does hold water, which is why these fraudsters are almost always successful.”