Reborn As Super Heiress

In Xu Shilong’s hand, a half-moon-shaped fragment of bronze emerged, and on the inner wall of the bronze piece, two millet-sized simplified characters were magnified several times by the magnifying glass in Xu Shilong’s hand, dazzling everyone’s eyes.

These two characters were precisely the ”Zhong Fang” that Huo Sining mentioned earlier!

Although Liang Ruicheng was a latecomer to the world of collecting, he still knew the difference between traditional and simplified characters. The ”Zhong Fang” in front of him made his heart instantly sink, as if falling into an abyss.

From the creation of characters by Cangjie, Huaxia’s writing has undergone thousands of years of civilizational evolution, from Oracle Bone Script to Large Seal Script to Clerical Script, Regular Script to Running Script, and finally transforming into modern simplified characters, forming the most unique hieroglyphic writing in the world, a process of evolution that is the crystallization of countless predecessors’ efforts and wisdom.

Every dynasty had its official formal script, and the three most widely used scripts after the Han Dynasty - Clerical, Regular, and Running - all had extremely strict writing norms, never without horizontal or vertical strokes.

Not until after the founding of the country, ****** the ”Chinese Character Simplification Scheme” was implemented, simplifying many Chinese characters and reducing some radical strokes, transforming characters like ”鍾” into ”钟” in simplified form.

Therefore, the ”Zhong Fang” characters on the bronze shard Xu Shilong held completely confirmed this bronze pot. Its appearance is absolutely a post-liberation matter, and this point is beyond doubt, a fact that needs no further discussion.

Liang Ruicheng’s mind buzzed, blanking out entirely, standing foolishly to one side of the exhibition stand, almost unable to think.

His face turned unsightly because he never imagined that this bronze pot would actually be a counterfeit.

He originally planned to use this opportunity to humiliate Huo Sining, but the reality was that his twelve million was washed down the river, and after this incident, he lost face in the antique circle!

An upsurge of frustration and anger filled his heart. Emotions swelled within him, feeling both upset and regretful. Many thoughts rushed through Liang Ruicheng’s mind at this moment.

His hatred for Huo Sining was profound, but current feelings were more of self-reproach, wanting to slap himself a few times.

This wasn’t the first time he was outwitted by that woman named Huo, yet he simply couldn’t control his mouth, always trying to provoke her. As a result, he once again shot himself in the foot this time. He wanted to shame her to regain his reputation but failed, and even lost a ”fine” bronze pot!

Even if the bronze pot was a fake, it was still something he bought for two million, pounded to pieces by Xu Shilong’s few strikes, with no compensation. Thinking about how that two million equaled just a few hammer blows, Liang Ruicheng felt utterly heartbroken, his face contorted, and full of menace.

Everyone present was also dumbfounded. Those who originally disapproved of Huo Sining wanting to smash this bronze pot and were eagerly waiting to gloat now couldn’t voice any doubts.

”I never thought Miss Huo was right, that the bronze pot is indeed a forgery!”

”Impressive, no wonder she was so certain, turns out this thing really is fake!”

”But this bronze pot looks so genuine! Even Professor Shi and Professor Zhuang said it was real. The forger is truly a master!”

”Exactly, look at the rust and patina, even the smashed bronze edges are indistinguishable from the real thing. This person is definitely a master in forgery.”

The crowd couldn’t help whispering among themselves, the venue quickly buzzing, while over there, Zhou Shitao and Shi Qingyun, along with several other old professors gathered around Xu Shilong. Everyone stared at the fragment in Xu Shilong’s hand, and under the auction’s bright lights, the experts could clearly see the two simplified characters on that fragment.

Zhou Shitao’s eyes first showed a hint of shock and ecstasy, but he quickly calmed down, observing the fragment with an increasingly solemn expression.

”Mr. Liang, could I ask you a question? Where did you acquire this bronze pot?”

Zhou Shitao had a rather severe expression, and his eyes when looking at Liang Ruicheng carried a degree of fierceness and pressure.

It was no wonder Zhou Shitao took it so seriously; he had spent quite some effort in recent years investigating the origins of Zhong Fang. Yet, no matter how he investigated, Zhong Fang seemed to be elusive without a trace.

Last year, when the Secret-Color Porcelain Bowl at the Taicheng Museum was swapped by Zhong Fang, Zhou Shitao thought he finally caught the fox’s tail, but was deeply disappointed. Months of diligent search, evaluating man-power and resources, turned up no useful information, and even the original leads went cold.

Unexpectedly, now at this exchange hosted by Xu Shilong, he encountered Zhong Fang again. Zhou Shitao’s thoughts started buzzing anew, thinking this could perhaps be an important clue. Tracing the ways through which Liang Ruicheng obtained the bronze pot might very well lead to finding the creator of Zhong Fang.

However, Zhou Shitao’s question made Liang Ruicheng shiver, his face paling instantly, eyes flickering as he forced a dry laugh, ”Mr. Zhou, this bronze pot, I bought it from Antique Street... Dashilar, yes, right there, why do you ask?”

Zhou Shitao sensed something amiss from Liang Ruicheng’s evasive demeanor: ”Dashilar? Are you sure? You must speak truthfully, young Liang, as this is a major affair concerning our antique circle. You mustn’t be vague. Where exactly in Dashilar did you buy it? Speak clearly.”

Liang Ruicheng didn’t understand why Zhou Shitao asked so, but since the bronze pot’s origin was improper in the first place, he became increasingly guilty the more Zhou Shitao pressed, fearing his own involvement might become exposed, making him dare not speak the truth. He stammered a bit, trying hard to speak steadily.

”Just from a small stall at Dashilar... a mobile stall, don’t know if it’s still there...”

Upon hearing this explanation, Zhou Shitao couldn’t help but frown, and Huo Sining directly laughed coldly: ”Buying from a mobile vendor, Mr. Liang is indeed extravagant, to actually spend eight million on a bronze pot from a mobile vendor, what a generous hand!”

As soon as these words were out, someone in the crowd chuckled uncontrollably, and Liang Ruicheng’s face flushed crimson.

Huo Sining’s words insinuated that either Liang Ruicheng lied and didn’t buy the bronze pot from Dashilar, or he’s boasting since it’s impossible for anyone to spend eight million on such a worthless item from a small stall at Dashilar; no sensible person would do so.