Reborn As Super Heiress

Liang Ruicheng watched coldly. Beside him, Zhou Shitao said nothing, but he did not stop Huo Sining’s remarks. On the contrary, he showed an expression of appreciation and encouragement, clearly indicating that Huo Sining should continue.

Huo Sining continued, ”The reason is that a few months ago, at a private auction in Dongyang, I personally saw a Bronze Pot like this one. The time gap isn’t long, so I remember very clearly that the Bronze Pot, in terms of size, shape, and pattern, was identical to Mr. Liang’s here, even in terms of its preservation.”

With these words, the audience fell silent.

The fact that a beast-ear pot from the Western Zhou period could survive until today is already remarkable, let alone the existence of an identical pair; the odds are minuscule, almost negligible.

So upon hearing these words, people’s views on that Bronze Pot changed.

Liang Ruicheng never expected Huo Sining to present such a reason. Upon seeing the audience’s reaction, he became somewhat agitated, raising his voice in anger:

”What nonsense are you speaking? Who knows if you actually saw it in Dongyang? Your words are unsubstantiated; who knows what’s true or false!”

Huo Sining smiled upon hearing this, lifted her head, and looked at Liang Ruicheng, ”Mr. Liang, I haven’t finished speaking yet, why are you in such a hurry?”

”I said I saw an identical Bronze Pot in Dongyang, and this matter has more to it. That Bronze Pot was also perfect in its state, with rust and luster comparable to Mr. Liang’s here today. Many experts and scholars at the auction validated it, believing that Bronze Pot to be authentic.”

”Afterward, that Bronze Pot was bought by a friend of mine from Dongyang. Upon receiving it, he whimsically decided to have it age-tested at a lab one day, and the test results were shocking. This Bronze Artifact, deemed authentic by experts, turned out to be less than twenty years old.”

”This means that Bronze Pot is actually a fake.”

”My friend immediately went to the auction house to question them, but they kept evading responsibility, and in his fury, he smashed that Bronze Pot!”

”Smashed it?!” Hearing this, the audience was surprised and felt it was a pity. In the antique world, incidents like this are not uncommon, and everyone understands the complex feelings of disappointment and anger when something bought is later proven to be a fake.

However, Huo Sining’s story was not finished yet.

”At the scene where he smashed the Bronze Pot, a dramatic moment unfolded. While we were cleaning up the Bronze fragments, someone picked up a shard from the pot’s body, and on the inner wall of that shard, we observed two characters!”

Huo Sining’s words stunned the audience.

”Two characters? How could there be two characters on the pot’s wall?”

”What were the characters?”

People from the audience couldn’t help but ask.

Some couldn’t resist guessing: ”If there were characters inside, could it be that the Bronze Pot is real and the detection equipment was wrong?”

The crowd was curious, looking at the girl on the stage with eager anticipation.

Huo Sining smiled slightly and announced clearly, one word at a time, ”The shard was engraved with two simplified characters, ’Zhong Fang.’

Huo Sining’s words immediately relieved the audience.

Simplified characters were only introduced after the founding of the country; before that, traditional characters were used. Since there were two simplified characters engraved on the inner wall of that Bronze Pot, it undeniably meant the pot was a fake.

However, the words ”simplified character” and ”Zhong Fang,” when heard by the knowledgeable Zhou Shitao, were like thunder in his ears. He immediately raised his head and looked at Huo Sining in shock.

Huo Sining nodded, gesturing towards the Bronze Pot on the display turntable.

Zhou Shitao immediately understood, his eyes fixed tightly on the turntable, staring at that Bronze Pot.

The story about the Dongyang friend that Huo Sining told was, of course, made up on the spot. But in an urgent situation, if she needed to prove her words correct, this was the only way.

Her words wouldn’t hold up to scrutiny normally, because, under normal circumstances, no one would smash a Bronze Artifact they spent millions on so easily.

But to the people here, her story seemed to plant a seed of doubt. Everyone became a bit suspicious, viewing the Bronze Pot in Liang Ruicheng’s hands with a skeptical eye, all beginning to furrow their brows.

Liang Ruicheng was furious. Having already suffered a setback at Huo Sining’s hands, her further disruption of his plans left him unable to remain calm. His face was ashen, and he looked up at Huo Sining, angrily declaring:

”Even if you did see such a Bronze Pot in Dongyang, so what?! The two Bronze Pots didn’t appear simultaneously — who says that one was fake, making mine fake as well?! Your reasoning doesn’t serve as evidence and is complete nonsense! I think you’re just taking advantage of being Mr. Zhou’s apprentice, thinking you’re clever, and blurt out a story to deem others’ things counterfeit. It’s absurd! I want to ask Elder Zhou, is this how you teach your apprentice the art of appraisal?!”

Liang Ruicheng’s rebuttal stunned the audience. Some, regaining their senses and reflecting on it, quickly felt that what Liang Ruicheng said also made sense.

Right, though it’s theoretically impossible, it doesn’t rule out that Liang Ruicheng’s is genuine and that the one in Dongyang was made based on his.

”Mr. Liang, you insisted I share my opinion, and I did. Now that I’ve given my reasoning, you’re saying I’m spouting nonsense. According to you, unless this Bronze Pot is smashed, there’s no way for me to prove myself?”

Huo Sining glared coldly at Liang Ruicheng, who glared back angrily. Clearly, neither was willing to yield.

Seeing this, Xu Shilong attempted to mediate, but unexpectedly, Huo Sining’s eyes suddenly twinkled, and she smirked, nonchalantly saying:

”If that’s the case, why not do this, Mr. Liang? How much did you pay for this Bronze Pot? I’ll buy it at double the price, with the check signed here. We’ll smash the Bronze Pot open on the spot for authentication. If it’s genuine, you can immediately take the check. What do you say?”