Reborn As Super Heiress

The scroll, once unfurled, was about a meter long and half a meter wide. The xuan paper and mounting appeared quite elaborate. It was a landscape painting, depicting a bamboo forest in twilight rain. Upon closer inspection, in the upper part, swirling mist; below, lush green bamboo grove. Amongst the diagonal wind and drizzling rain, a delicate pavilion loomed indistinctly. The entire painting delivered an extremely profound and distant mood, yet seemed to have a faint sorrow pervading it.

Huo Sining glanced at the inscription, which was a poem: ”The secluded pavilion by the water suits the reclusive soul, the distance obscured by a shallow marsh filled with calamus. As mountain rain suddenly falls, fine threads stream down, the clouds above the stream nearly drop to the tips of the bamboo.”

This poem looked somewhat familiar, but Huo Sining couldn’t recall whose work it was. However, when she saw the signature stamp at the bottom of the painting, her spirits were instantly lifted.

On the left side of the painting, there was a line of cursive script, reading: ”An unrefined work on the third day of the fourth lunar month in the year of Wushen, by the owner of the Bamboo Residence.”

Following this vertical line of cursive script, there was a seal impression in Zhuan script: ”Qinan.”

Seeing the signature and seal, Huo Sining’s eyes couldn’t help but light up.

Who is the owner of the Bamboo Residence? This person is none other than the illustrious initiator of the ”Wu School” of literati painting, Shen Zhou. Shen Zhou’s style was Qinan, and he was referred to alongside Wen Zhengming, Tang Yin, and Qiu Ying as the ”Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty.” He had several nicknames, including ”Shitian,” ”Bai Shiweng,” ”Yutian Sheng,” and ”Owner of the Bamboo Residence,” all denoting him.

In the realm of Yuan and Ming literati paintings, the Wu School initiated by Shen Zhou played a pivotal role. His paintings were meticulous and graceful in technique, wielding the brush with calm and practiced fluency. Notably, he pioneered a new style of bold ink work in landscapes and bird-and-flower paintings, establishing his own approach, with profound expertise.

As such, Shen Zhou’s paintings have always been highly regarded by collectors, with his masterpiece ”Jingjiang Farewell Scroll” fetching prices in the millions.

However, Shen Zhou’s calligraphy and paintings have an issue — they have been widely circulated and imitations are rampant. These imitations consist of both contemporary reproductions and Ming-Qing period copies. They flood the market, making it difficult to distinguish between authentic and fake, so much so that even experts can be easily misled.

Thus, upon seeing this painting, Huo Sining did not immediately make a judgment. She wasn’t proficient in painting and calligraphy, relying only on what she’d learned from books to assess them. As she couldn’t tell Shen Zhou’s works by eye alone, she had to resort to the Heavenly Eye.

Gently touching the scroll with her right hand, Huo Sining concentrated and gazed upon it. In no time, under the Heavenly Eye, purple spiritual energy appeared. The result brought a sudden joy to her heart, but she quickly realized something was amiss.

The purple spiritual energy was only attached to the Zhuan script seal on the painting, where it congregated densely, while in the other areas, the purple energy was barely discernible, so faint it was nearly negligible.

This result left Huo Sining quite perplexed. Upon deeper reflection, something felt peculiar.

If this painting were truly Shen Zhou’s original work, the aura would not be so thin. Huo Sining had dealt with many Ming artifacts, each imbued with substantial spiritual energy, certainly not this faint;

But if this painting were a forgery, why would the aura around the seal be so intense?

Huo Sining had encountered instances where the painting was authentic but the seal was fraudulent, which was easy to understand. Some paintings were practice works that later, due to various reasons, ended up in others’ hands. To sell them for a good price, they forged a seal and signature.

But if the painting is a forgery and the seal is genuine, how does one explain that?

With doubt, Huo Sining scrutinized the painting once more. At last, a preposterous thought surfaced in her mind.

Could it be that the ”Qinan” seal’s Zhuan script is genuine, but the painting and inscription are imitations?

This conjecture left Huo Sining even more perplexed. She found the logic nonsensical. If it were a forgery, Shen Zhou had long passed away; how could his seal be on a fake?

Yet, if it weren’t so, how would one explain why, besides the seal, both the painting and inscription were forgeries?

Huo Sining was baffled beyond comprehension. Known for her meticulous mind, she was now confronted by such an enigmatic painting, feeling utterly at a loss, rendered silent for a time.

”Boss Huo, this painting is a treasure. I spent a substantial portion of my savings on it. If you find it satisfactory, could you offer a fitting price?”

Over there, Tang Jinchuan saw Huo Sining examining the painting for so long without making a statement, and couldn’t help but ask.

Just at that moment, Li Quan had finished his task and walked over with Qiao Zhenhuan. Both their eyes also fell upon the painting in Huo Sining’s hands. Hearing Tang Jinchuan mentioning the painting, Li Quan couldn’t help but chuckle and said:

”Boss Tang, since it’s a treasure, it deserves a careful examination. You know Shen Zhou’s works, real and fake are so easily mistaken. Since you’re selling it to us, you should let our boss thoroughly inspect it, right?”

Saying this, Li Quan promptly instructed Jiang Xiaoqin to make some tea for Tang Jinchuan.

Upon hearing Li Quan’s words, Tang Jinchuan regretted his impatience. He glanced at the young girl across from him, roughly in her twenties, with some disdain in his heart.

He brought the painting to Jubao Pavilion, counting on the youthful exuberance of Li Quan and Qiao Zhenhuan. In the antique trade, experience and insight are crucial, only after paying enough tuition fees can one avoid mistakes. Given the ages of Li Quan and Qiao Zhenhuan, it was easy to guess they had few experiences, lacking sophistication and depth. These two would never pick up on any issues with the painting.

Even though Huo Sining had appeared unexpectedly while he was presenting the painting, Tang Jinchuan didn’t mind.

This woman named Huo, younger than both Li Quan and Qiao Zhenhuan, clearly a rich young lady with money to burn, probably invested in opening this store. But in terms of actual knowledge in antique treasure appraisal, Tang Jinchuan didn’t believe she had any. He never took Huo Sining seriously and even secretly mocked her, assuming she was just a rich girl with a frivolous mind, who perhaps didn’t even know who Shen Zhou was.

With this thought, Tang Jinchuan relaxed further, uninterested in rushing, and quietly accepted the cup of tea Jiang Xiaoqin brought over, sipping it slowly.

Li Quan and Qiao Zhenhuan were unaware of Tang Jinchuan’s thoughts and, at that moment, had no time to notice his expression or demeanor, both were engrossed in the painting. After carefully examining it, they exchanged glances and opinions.