Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 809: Chapter 805: A Traitor in Our Midst

”What did you say?!”

Huo Sining thought she had heard it wrong, suddenly widening her eyes.

”You didn’t mishear. A few days ago, someone called me from over there, saying that the situation with the Chai kiln was not right. At that time, I didn’t pay much attention to it. But just now, people from Taicheng couldn’t sit still and came directly to me, saying that during this period of the exhibition, there were errors in supervision, and the real Yue Kiln Celadon should have been swapped out by someone.”

Huo Sining was dumbfounded by such absurd words.

This piece of Yue Kiln Celadon had been praised and promoted by numerous media at the time. Taicheng Museum even spent money to ask someone for public advertisements, playing it repeatedly on various television stations.

Taicheng Museum had always been somewhat transparent all these years, with a very low presence among many museums in the country. But because of this Secret Color Porcelain, it finally earned a spot among its peers. This Secret-Color Porcelain Teabowl was placed in the Taicheng Museum as its treasure.

After all these grand gestures, now being told that this piece of Yue Kiln Secret Color Porcelain might have been swapped out, was like a harsh slap in the face, and a particularly hard one at that.

”If it was swapped out, how could it take so long to be discovered? Are the artifact appraisers at Taicheng Museum just doing nothing?” Huo Sining immediately felt puzzled.

Zhou Shitao sighed: ”This is exactly what I need to tell you. Taicheng doesn’t lack senior experts in porcelain, but none of them could see through the swapped forgery. It seems that the forgery’s body, glaze, and decorations pose no issues. The glaze surface has no firelight, the patina is smooth, and the marks are natural.”

Hearing this, Huo Sining was even more perplexed: ”If there are no obvious issues, how was it discovered that the piece was swapped out?”

”There was internal trouble; someone got too greedy and wanted to move more real pieces out, but got caught. During interrogation, the truth came out. That person confessed that the real Yue Kiln piece had been swapped out, handed over to someone outside for coordination. However, this has yet to be confirmed. Taicheng brought in many porcelain experts to examine the Yue Kiln Secret Color Porcelain but found no issue,” Zhou Shitao explained.

Huo Sining was shocked: ”There was a mole inside the museum? How could this happen?”

Zhou Shitao sighed again: ”The profit chain in this circle is too wide-reaching. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen something like this. Not to alarm you, but there’s always a bit of this in every museum. However, I didn’t expect these people to be so bold and rampant, daring to steal something so significant! They’re digging up the foundation of their ancestors, blinded by greed, having long forgotten their roots!”

This was Zhou Shitao’s first time discussing such a serious topic with Huo Sining. Her journey in the antique circle had been smooth, with little exposure to such filthy and dark matters. Hearing Zhou Shitao now, she felt equally shocked as when he had first told her about the swapped Secret Color Porcelain.

So these museums had hidden agendas too? She had always thought that official museums were proper and unalterable places, but unexpectedly, some people took advantage of the museum’s name, eating up the resources while being parasites!

Huo Sining’s mood immediately soured, especially thinking about the Taicheng piece potentially being swapped out. Based on the feedback from Taicheng Museum, the time when the teabowl was swapped out was likely unknown to the museum.

If the Secret Color Porcelain had indeed been swapped, after such a long period, its whereabouts were completely uncertain. It could have crossed the border by now. If it ended up abroad, the chances of retrieving it would be extremely slim.

”Master, how should we handle this situation? Can we still find the Yue Kiln piece?”

Zhou Shitao finally recalled his purpose for calling Huo Sining: ”Don’t publicize this matter. I called you because I want you to visit Taicheng. They contacted me, seeking my help to determine whether the piece is a forgery. I have my suspicions, but I’m not in a position to get involved.”

”You were the one who originally authenticated the Yue Kiln Secret Color Porcelain, so determining its authenticity should not be difficult for you. Hence, I want you to visit Taicheng and handle this matter.”

Huo Sining understood Zhou Shitao’s reasoning behind not wanting to get involved. Taicheng Museum, facing such a scandal, certainly wanted to keep it hidden from the public for as long as possible. If Zhou Shitao traveled there from the Imperial Capital, it would attract attention. If anyone inferred his purpose, it could cause widespread publicity, leaving Taicheng Museum humiliated and making it difficult for Zhou Shitao too.

Therefore, this matter had to be handled secretly. Sending Huo Sining was the best option.

With Zhou Shitao personally requesting, Huo Sining would not refuse. She promptly agreed: ”Alright, I understand. I will set off to Taicheng tomorrow.”

Zhou Shitao acknowledged with a sound, suddenly remembering something: ”Did you cause a commotion in Fuzhou a few days ago?”

Huo Sining felt slightly embarrassed: ”You heard about it? I was just messing around, not expecting such a huge ordeal. To avoid trouble, I’ve been hiding in Suzhou.”

Zhou Shitao laughed: ”No need to be too tense. Concealment is good, but showing off isn’t necessarily bad either. You young people are full of vigor, it’s your time to shine, so a little flamboyance is fine. Don’t panic when faced with issues, you’re my student, who can dare to bully you?”

Huo Sining felt warm inside, unreservedly smiling: ”Don’t worry, if I encounter any tricky issues, I surely won’t forget you. Don’t find me troublesome when I need your help. There will definitely be many times in the future.”

”Haha.” Zhou Shitao liked Huo Sining’s straightforward nature, ”I’ve lived most of my life and never feared trouble. Just go all out! If anything goes wrong, your master will cover it!”

After hanging up the phone, Huo Sining turned around to see someone sitting foolishly on the bed, gazing at her.

”Was that Mr. Zhou?”

Huo Sining nodded, refocusing her thoughts. The bad news from the call had completely erased her previous contemplations.