Reborn As Super Heiress

”Oh, oh, the goddess has summoned me; I’d brave fire and water to answer her call!”

Upon seeing this message, Huo Sining couldn’t help but laugh. However, Liu Cheng was still an amateur in this area and had a lot to learn. After Huo Sining shared her thoughts with Gu Xu, Gu Xu wasn’t particularly curious about Liu Cheng and merely suggested letting him train at the Shengtang Legal Department and Public Relations Department after the New Year.

This arrangement was undoubtedly the most suitable. Although Liu Cheng was clever, he still lacked some professional knowledge and systematic training. After training at the Gu Xu Company’s Legal Department and Public Relations Department for a while, he’d surely excel in his role.

The first four days of the New Year were naturally spent visiting various families, including the Huang Family, Lu Family, Zhou Family, and, of course, the Gu Family.

However, when visiting the Gu Family, one unavoidable topic was marriage. Even that little rascal Gu Chengxuan from Chen Yu’s family playfully teased and sparred with Huo Sining:

”Aunt, when are you and Uncle going to have a little brother? Hurry up, or I’ll be grown and can’t play with him when he appears.”

Huo Sining was extremely embarrassed to hear this, but the words hit the nail on the head for Master Gu and the Old Granny. A few elders laughed heartily, repeatedly praising Little Bun’s insightful comment, which only made Gu Chengxuan more smug. He wouldn’t stop pestering Huo Sining to hurry up and have a baby, leaving her both amused and exasperated.

By the fifth day, Huo Sining finally caught a breather. Jubao Pavilion had been closed for four days and was reopening today.

During these days, Huo Sining searched extensively online for information about Shen Zhou’s works. Unfortunately, whether it was replicas or originals, she couldn’t find any useful information. She still couldn’t figure out why the painting that Tang Jinchuan sold her had the strange phenomenon of a fake painting with a real seal.

Thinking it over, Huo Sining decided to visit Jubao Pavilion to retrieve the painting and take it to her master at the Zhou Family for an opinion. After all, Zhou Shitao had been in the antiques world for decades and was quite knowledgeable. Maybe he could offer a different perspective.

With this plan in mind, Huo Sining walked into Jubao Pavilion. On the fifth day of the New Year, Grandma Li was delighted to see Huo Sining and insisted she stay for a meal.

Unable to refuse, Huo Sining put aside her errands and helped Grandma Li with meal prep, engaging in casual chat. She inquired about Jiang Xiaoqin’s visit home at the start of the year. They chatted leisurely, and soon it was nearly noon. Just as she was about to head to the backyard kitchen with Grandma Li to cook, a middle-aged man, appearing to be in his forties, entered the shop.

This man wore gold-rimmed glasses, had slicked-back hair, and was dressed in a Zhongshan suit, making him look like a distinguished academic, with an air of sophistication.

”Oh, good day to you, sir. Busy even during the New Year? May I ask what you’re looking for?” Jiang Xiaoqin greeted the customer as soon as he entered.

The middle-aged man glanced around the shop and smiled, ”I’m just browsing. If something catches my eye, I’ll make a purchase.”

With that, the middle-aged man began to wander around the shop.

Since business at the antiques shop was usually slow in early January, Huo Sining had given Qiao Zhenhuan a vacation starting on the 29th. He hadn’t visited home in several months, so he hurriedly bought a plane ticket and flew back to Taicheng for the New Year, planning to return after the Lantern Festival. Thus, between the fifth and the fifteenth, only Li Quan and Jiang Xiaoqin were in the shop.

Upon seeing a customer arrive, Li Quan quickly tidied up his work and emerged from the counter, keeping a reasonable distance to be ready to assist the customer whenever needed.

Seeing this, Huo Sining couldn’t help but look up and took a few more glances.

Just then, the middle-aged man suddenly stopped in front of a replica of Shen Zhou’s painting hanging on the wall, expressing amazement, ”Huh? Is this the Bamboo Mountain Evening Rain Painting?”

Although he seemed to whisper, everyone in the room heard it, which startled Huo Sining and made her furrow her brows.

Instinctively, she focused her gaze on the middle-aged man’s expression. For some reason, she felt he had given off a peculiar vibe since he entered the shop, as if his every expression and action had been rehearsed beforehand.

Just at that moment, Li Quan asked the middle-aged man, ”Sir, do you know this painting?”

The middle-aged man nodded and said, ”I do. This is a work by Shen Zhou, see the poem and the seal—they’re both Shen Zhou’s. I just didn’t expect to see an original Shen Zhou work in your shop.”

With these words, Huo Sining became even more convinced of her suspicion. Despite days of research, she found no information related to this so-called Bamboo Mountain Evening Rain Painting, indicating it was likely a forgery, except for the borrowed seal of Shen Zhou. However, as soon as this man entered, he confidently declared it to be a work by Shen Zhou and even knew its name, making Huo Sining suspicious.

Huo Sining hadn’t forgotten Tang Jinchuan’s warning before he left, advising her to be wary of people from the Imperial Capital Liang Family. Though she had no idea how she might have offended the Liang Family to cause such covert sabotage, she kept Tang Jinchuan’s words in mind.

Seeing the unusual behavior of this middle-aged man, Huo Sining felt a twinge of caution, vaguely suspecting he was yet another trick by the Liang Family.

So, Huo Sining stood up, approached, and smilingly asked, ”It seems the gentleman knows quite a bit about calligraphy and painting. How about sharing your thoughts on this artwork?”

Saying this, Huo Sining subtly signaled to Li Quan, who was momentarily puzzled but quickly understood her intent.

Everyone in the room knew the painting was a fake; apart from the seal, everything else was a replica. Originally, Huo Sining had asked Li Quan to hang it on the wall, intending to explain the truth to any potential buyers and sell it as a replica.

But upon witnessing the middle-aged man’s charade, not only Huo Sining but also Li Quan and Jiang Xiaoqin sensed something was amiss.

The middle-aged man didn’t notice the odd expressions on the faces of the three. Hearing Huo Sining’s request for an evaluation, he nodded and turned to carefully examine the Bamboo Mountain Evening Rain Painting on the wall.