Imposter Young Master
Chapter 325 - 328 Even So, You Still Like Them_1

Chapter 325: Chapter 328 Even So, You Still Like Them_1

The curly-haired young man arrogantly looked at Yang Gang, "Young man, don’t pretend to know something when you don’t. It will be embarrassing when your ignorance is revealed."

Yang Gang rolled his eyes, "Cut the nonsense. Hand over the vase. Unless, you’re afraid it’s a fake and don’t dare to let others scrutinize it?"

Upon hearing Yang Gang, the surrounding crowd began to harbor suspicions.

The curly-haired man was annoyed. He handed over the vase to Yang Gang while mocking, "This is a Song Dynasty vase worth a hundred thousand. If it breaks, you’ll have to pay for it."

Yang Gang ignored the curly-haired guy, taking the vase and closely examining it. It was a delicate vase, very similar to a celadon vase with string patterns from the official kilns of the Northern Song Dynasty.

He scrutinized the vase’s pattern and lightly tapped it. He already had a conclusion.

What the curly-haired man said was right. It was indeed a Song Dynasty celadon vase with string pattern, a genuine piece.

Due to the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty, very few of the official porcelain pieces from that period have survived, making them generally quite valuable. Although the quality of this vase was not very good, it was still worth at least a hundred thousand.

Seeing Yang Gang’s reaction, the curly-haired youth couldn’t help but lit up with pleasure, "What do you think? It’s genuine, right? Hehe, I wasn’t intending to venture into the antique world, but after a few lucky finds, people started calling me a master, I’m quite embarrassed."

Yang Gang rolled his eyes extravagantly, he already thought his skin was thick, but apparently this curly-haired guy was even more shameless.

He prepared to return the vase to the curly-haired guy, but as his gaze slid over the bottom of the vase, he was suddenly taken aback.

The bottom of the vase was stamped with the inscription "Made in the Xuanhe year of the Northern Song Dynasty". Given the timeline, this was just when the Northern Song official kilns began to thrive. Their techniques weren’t mature yet, which explained the poor quality of the vase and its flaws.

At first glance, there was nothing wrong.

But with careful consideration, a huge problem arose!

The curly-haired guy was still crowing, "I bought this vase for a thousand. To be honest, it was not worth it for me. I should be able to buy it for even less."

Yang Gang responded, "Paying a thousand for a replica vase is indeed expensive."

Upon hearing this, the curly-haired guy wasn’t pleased, "Are you implying that my vase is just a replica?"

Yang Gang stayed calm, he lifted the vase to reveal its bottom, "Have you seen this ’Made in the Xuanhe year of the Northern Song Dynasty’ mark?"

"What’s wrong with it?" The curly-haired guy was puzzled, "Isn’t this official kiln from the Northern Song Dynasty? Xuanhe is during Emperor Song Weizong’s reign, and the official kilns of the Northern Song were created during his time."

Yang Gang simply smiled, "This mark, at first glance, seems unproblematic. But it’s incorrect. Have you ever thought about how people from the Northern Song Dynasty would know that there would be a Southern Song Dynasty in the future? Were they clairvoyant? Could they foresee the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty? If they didn’t know about the existence of the Southern Song Dynasty, why would they put ’Northern Song Dynasty’? Shouldn’t it be ’Song Dynasty’?"

The curly-haired guy blanched, his face turned ashen.

Even though layman might not understand antique vases, Yang Gang’s explanation was easy to understand.

People from the Northern Song Dynasty would refer to their era as the Song Dynasty, not the Northern Song Dynasty. This was quite an obvious oversight.

With this revelation, this vase was likely a high-quality replica made by later generations. The counterfeiters carelessly overlooked this point and put ’Made in the Xuanhe year of the Northern Song Dynasty’ mark on the replica of the official Northern Song kiln’s vase.

At that moment, the curly-haired guy was unbearably embarrassed. Just moments ago, he was bragging about his knowledge, and now he was standing there speechless, with his credibility questioned by a "layman". It was cringeworthy just thinking about it.

He whispered to Yang Gang, "Hey, bro, why are you sabotaging me?"

Yang Gang grinned, "Because, I despise curly-haired guys!"

"You..." The curly-haired youth was annoyed and depressed. He flounced off in a huff, leaving the vase behind.

The crowd also dispersed.

Zhang Miao looked at the vase in Yang Gang’s hand and smiled faintly, "Gang, this vase should be genuine, right?"

Yang Gang was slightly surprised, "Sister Miao, you really are amazing. You didn’t even touch the vase and you knew it was genuine."

Zhang Miao laughed, "If I had that ability, would I still be duped to this day?"

[Duped: A term in the antique world, meaning that one has been deceived into buying fake antiques for a high price.]

"So how did you..." Yang Gang asked curiously.

Zhang Miao rolled her eyes: "I don’t understand antiques, but I understand you."

Yang Gang scratched his head: "I see."

Zhang Miao paused, and then asked curiously, "Gang, I still don’t understand. You just explained clearly that the Northern Song Dynasty didn’t know about the Southern Song Dynasty, so how could the inscriptions possibly be marked as the Northern Song Dynasty? It’s clearly a high-quality replica that was clumsily made. Why would it be authentic?"

Yang Gang smiled lightly, "Including that half-baked expert with natural curls we encountered earlier, many people have fallen into a misunderstanding: they question whether all the official kilns of the Northern Song Dynasty were indeed marked. Generally speaking, official kilns throughout the ages are marked, and historical books show that kilns in the Song Dynasty were also marked. It’s like us going to the supermarket, we naturally think of unbranded goods as counterfeits. But that’s not always the case, some of the Northern Song Dynasty official kilns also did not have marks. Last year, in Hong Kong, a Song dynasty kiln without a mark was auctioned off at a high price."

Yang Gang paused before continuing, "If I’m not mistaken, this Northern Song Dynasty official kiln vase probably didn’t have a mark either. It was considered a counterfeit by the collector who got it. Then, this collector probably hoped to confuse the real with the counterfeit and was attempting to transfer the vase, so he added a mark to the bottom of the vase. However, he was unaware of a basic error in historical knowledge, and I was able to take advantage of that to trick that curly-haired fool."

After Yang Gang finished speaking, he found a piece of gauze and casually wiped off the mark on the bottom of the vase, revealing a smooth base.

"Sister Miao, look, there’s no trace, it’s very smooth. And usually, authentic marks are carved with the porcelain during firing. Once it’s carved, it’s basically impossible to remove. Therefore, this vase is indeed an authentic piece from the Northern Song Dynasty official kiln."

"Hmm... Gang, even though that’s quite impressive, wouldn’t this be considered fraud?" Zhang Miao asked with a light smile.

Yang Gang confidently responded, "Deceiving the curly-haired is not considered a fraud."

Zhang Miao humorously retorted: "Gang, just because He Deng is curly-haired, you can’t hate all curly-haired men in the world, right?"

"Anyway, I hate curly-haired men." Yang Gang responded very straightforwardly.

Zhang Miao wordlessly rolled her eyes.

"Sister Miao, I’ll give this vase to you. Although it doesn’t have much value as a collection due to its poor condition, it’s the first thing I’ve ever picked up as a bargain. I want to give it to you." Yang Gang said.

"Um... Giving your first to me, huh? This would be my first time too." Zhang Miao accepted the vase with a smile.

"Huh?" Yang Gang was startled by her response.

Zhang Miao smiled slightly, "I mean, this is the first time I’ve received something that was picked up as a bargain. What were you thinking about?"

Yang Gang scratched his head awkwardly: "Nothing."

"I’ve already found enough treasures for today, let’s not wander around the antique market anymore, accompany me for a walk by the river? It’s quiet and there aren’t many people." Zhang Miao suggested with a smile.

"Okay." Yang Gang nodded.

As they strolled along the moat, there were couples on the grassy banks openly making out in various styles, which made Yang Gang furious.

This is outrageous, I should report them!

"Calm down." Zhang Miao laughed softly, "One day, you might become one of them."

Yang Gang composed himself, looked at Zhang Miao, and suddenly laughed, "Sister Miao, I think that the man who marries you is probably the luckiest man in the world."

"Hmm... why do you think so?" Zhang Miao asked with a light laugh.

"Because you’re beautiful, sexy, knowledgeable, understanding, gentle, virtuous, and capable of anything." Yang Gang answered.

Zhang Miao laughed, "Well, I’m not as gentle as you think."

"You’re gracious enough compared to Su Xiaoxi, Gu Xiaorou, and Yang Fei. These three women must have been warriors in their previous lives, advocating violence, priding themselves on their brutality, and are beyond hope!" Yang Gang ranted.

Zhang Miao grinned: "Even so, you still like them."

Yang Gang: ...

He couldn’t refute it at all. Whether he loves them or not, he isn’t sure. But the most important women in his heart are those three.

Zhang Miao looked at Yang Gang for a while before finally saying, "Gang, you can even fall in love with Xiaorou, just don’t fall in love with Yang Fei."