Reborn As Super Heiress

The weather in the Imperial Capital was bright and clear the next afternoon. Huo Sining strolled along Antique Street, browsed several new antique stalls, and after seeing some interesting items, leisurely arrived at Liulichang.

According to the plan, the middle-aged swindler should visit Jubao Pavilion again. There was a contract in hand, so Li Quan could handle the matter, but Huo Sining was curious about the expert Liang Ruicheng had brought over. With Gu Xu busy at a group meeting and nothing else to do, she took Qibao with her to Liulichang, eager to see what kind of expert Liang Ruicheng had invited.

As she was walking, she noticed an off-road vehicle parked in front of Jubao Pavilion. The swindler from yesterday opened the passenger door first, quickly got out, and then adeptly opened the rear door.

The first man to alight from the back seat was about thirty years old, looking gentle and refined. Seeing this man, Huo Sining was momentarily stunned.

She knew this man; she had encountered him unexpectedly in Changhua when gambling on stones with Zhong Zifan and Liao Song. This man was Liu Pengcheng, a disciple and closed-door disciple of the painting and calligraphy world’s renowned figure, Master Su Zhongqing.

Later, Huo Sining brought back a large batch of artifacts from Dongyang. On the day she returned with the Yue Kiln Celadon and Glaze-altered Temmoku Tea Bowl and sent them to the Zhou Residence for Zhou Shitao to review, she unexpectedly met the legendary Master Su at the Zhou Family. However, Master Su had come alone, so she did not see Liu Pengcheng.

Thus, while Huo Sining knew Liu Pengcheng, Liu Pengcheng might not remember her. In Changhua, she cleverly disguised herself with heavy makeup and elaborate dressing to avoid recognition, even by Liu Yunhui and his daughter Liu Yuxuan, who detested her. This showed her impeccable disguising skill. With only one meeting, Liu Pengcheng certainly could not recognize her.

As she pondered, Huo Sining saw another person being supported out of the car by the swindler. This was an elderly gentleman, about sixty years old, slightly stooped, wearing an old-style dark gray quilted jacket. He appeared kind-hearted but was not Liu Pengcheng’s mentor, Su Zhongqing.

Seeing this, Huo Sining couldn’t help but frown. She previously thought Liang Ruicheng might resort to his usual tricks by hiring extras from the Beiying Factory to stage a performance. Surprisingly, he indeed brought two experts, and the elderly gentleman seemed somewhat familiar.

Huo Sining thought for a long time but couldn’t recall who he was. While she was mulling over this, the old gentleman looked up at the plaque hanging over Jubao Pavilion’s entrance, glanced briefly, nodded, and smiled:

”This writing seems to imitate Zhang Xu’s cursive script. Though these characters are pieced together, the strokes are rich, lacking in weakness and superficiality. It seems the shop owner is an expert themselves. This plaque appears unremarkable but indeed holds good value. Not bad!”

Upon hearing this, Huo Sining paused as the old gentleman succinctly revealed the origins of the plaque. He was indeed a master.

Actually, Jubao Pavilion’s original plaque wasn’t this one. Huo Sining intended to ask Zhou Shitao to write a plaque for her, even wagered with Zhou Shitao over it. However, after losing the bet, her master stubbornly refused to make an exception, instead offering a makeshift solution by finding the characters ”Jubao” and ”Pavilion” from Zhang Xu’s old Tang poetry posts separately and hastily piecing them together, thus handing them over offhandedly.

Initially, Huo Sining found these three characters amusing, but was astonished when she followed Zhou Shitao’s instructions to engrave them on a plaque, as they seemed to come alive, filled with ancient charm, mingling with a dynamic vigor. Simple as they were, they hinted at a rugged waterfall-like majesty, possessing a mighty, tiger-like intimidation.

For this reason, Huo Sining admired her master’s prowess. Once the plaque was made, she eagerly instructed Li Quan to replace the old one.

After the replacement, many insiders had seen it, but few could discern these characters’ uniqueness. Unexpectedly, this elderly gentleman revealed their origin, surprising Huo Sining and intriguing her about his identity.

As Huo Sining studied the elderly gentleman, the swindler unconsciously glanced around and noticed Huo Sining standing a few steps away. His eyes flashed with panic and guilt but soon regained calm, feigning surprise while calling out:

”Boss Huo, why are you here? I was just about to visit the shop for the Shen Zhou painting I ordered yesterday. I wonder if now is a convenient time?”

Hearing the swindler’s shout, Huo Sining snapped back, stepped forward with a smile, and said: ”I’m just leisurely shopping and found some little things by chance. Boss Kong is quite a man of integrity; you said you’d fetch the painting today, and here you are. Your efficiency in raising money is indeed impressive!”

Huo Sining playfully mocked the swindler a bit. Seeing his uneasy expression, she smirked lightly with subtle sarcasm but quickly shifted the topic, looking curiously at the elderly gentleman and asked, ”Who might this be?”

The elderly gentleman did not catch Huo Sining’s insinuation, as he was taken aback hearing the swindler call the young girl in front of him ’Boss.’ His eyes revealed astonishment after scrutinizing Huo Sining.

No wonder the elderly gentleman was shocked. After all, Huo Sining was so young, merely around twenty, yet the owner of this shop — a notion hard to believe, especially in the antique realm where females who indulge and succeed in the antique business are rare, more so at her age.

But the elderly man quickly gathered himself. Upon hearing Huo Sining’s inquiry, he politely introduced himself: ”My name is Zhu Qingming. Upon hearing of Shen Qinan’s masterpiece at Boss Huo’s shop, I specially came to admire it. I hope my presence is not a disturbance, young friend.”

The gentleman spoke elegantly, yet Huo Sining could sense genuine sincerity from his eyes, not mere formal politeness.

However, this made Huo Sining more confused. Setting aside Liu Pengcheng, wasn’t the elderly man a helper summoned by Liang Ruicheng? Wasn’t he here to bring an accusation against her? Yet he appeared so humble. This was indeed peculiar!