Spoiled By My Ex-Fiance's Uncle
Chapter 132: What do you like, I’ll take a picture for you

Chapter 132: Chapter 132: What do you like, I’ll take a picture for you

"What fine tea!"

"It really is too delicious!"

"The same tea leaves, different people brewing the tea makes all the difference!"

"Miss An Yan’s tea is even better!"

...

Praise was unceasing, and An Yan smiled, stood up, and returned to sit beside Fu Shiyan.

At that moment, two people arrived along the wide aisle, it was Old Master Bai and Bai Qinghan.

Old Master Bai, seeing An Yan sitting beside Fu Shiyan, felt a pang in his heart, thinking how wonderful it would have been if she were his granddaughter-in-law.

Fu Shiyan was the first to stand up, saying respectfully, "Old Master Bai, you’ve arrived."

He then looked toward Bai Qinghan, "Little Bai."

Bai Qinghan, although looking somewhat embarrassed, still called out "Brother Yan," and greeted Miss An Yan as sister-in-law, before saying hello to Fu Haichuan and Zhou Yi.

Old Master Bai and Bai Qinghan were then seated at the table next to Fu Shiyan’s.

Old Master Bai picked up a teacup from the table and tasted it, pointing at one of the cups, he said, "This cup tastes better than that one!"

Having arrived later, he didn’t know who had brewed the two cups of tea, so there was no question of favoritism.

Boss Long immediately frowned; he had assumed people were just saying such things to avoid offending the Fu Family, but now it seemed there was a real possibility his daughter was not as skilled.

He tasted both cups of tea, then looked toward Long Zhenzhen, his eyes filled with anger but nowhere to vent it.

After learning tea ceremony for so long, to be beaten by a country bumpkin was a slap in his face.

He clenched his jaw and soon put on a smiling face, "My daughter is not as skilled; truly, Miss An Yan’s tea is superior. Let’s end this little intermission and start the Appraisal Fair. Today’s auctioneer will be my daughter."

He gave Long Zhenzhen a look, and the two of them moved to the backstage.

In a concealed area, Boss Long questioned, "How could you lose to a country bumpkin?"

"Dad, didn’t you see that Fu Shiyan cares a lot about that woman? If I had won against her, Fu Shiyan might have taken it out on us. I did it for the teahouse’s sake!"

Boss Long rolled his eyes, "Later on there are two counterfeit pieces that will be sold, sell them when the price is right, you understand? Don’t go into too much detail, one is Zhao Chang’s ’Life Sketch of Butterflies’ and the other is Zhao Mengfu’s ’Ode to Luoshen’."

Long Zhenzhen frowned, "Won’t we be discovered?"

"Don’t worry, the copies are identical, absolutely undetectable," Boss Long sneered sinisterly.

Long Zhenzhen nodded, "I understand."

The Appraisal Fair and auction officially began.

Long Zhenzhen changed into a different cheongsam, her figure curvaceous and alluring.

She stood at the podium, confidently and smoothly delivering the opening remarks and introducing the first item—a Shengqing Era imperial kiln porcelain.

She detailed the era and the crafting technique of the item, and soon the porcelain was sold for the high price of forty-three million.

Fu Shiyan and An Yan whispered to each other, "Whatever you like, I’ll bid for you."

An Yan’s lips curled up; her basement in Xiangcheng was piled with so many treasures, buying more would only mean gathering dust.

"If there’s something I like, I’ll tell you."

Fu Shiyan played with her fingers, "Alright."

The subsequent items, through Long Zhenzhen’s silver-tongued salesmanship, were all sold at high prices, after all, the teahouse would take a substantial commission.

At this point, a scroll was brought up by a staff member.

Long Zhenzhen introduced, "This is Zhao Mengfu’s ’Ode to Luoshen.’ He wrote it many times, and this scroll is a relatively complete version."

The staff member unrolled it, and Long Zhenzhen began detailing it further.

The crowd was dazzled and eager to bid.

Old Master Bai looked at An Yan, seeking her opinion.

An Yan shook her head.

Old Master Bai understood.

Fu Haichuan watched with great interest, "This is an authentic piece! Truly the work of a master!"

Zhou Yi asked An Yan, "Your uncle is interested, how much should we bid to be appropriate?"

An Yan whispered, "Don’t bid, it’s a fake."

Zhou Yi quickly informed Fu Haichuan, who glanced around, surrounded by voices of praise, and he couldn’t help but feel skeptical.

Long Zhenzhen set the starting bid, starting at three million.

The bidding was incessant, and the price of the painting soared to twenty-nine million in a moment.

At that moment, an elderly man raised his paddle to thirty-five million.

Long Zhenzhen saw that no one else was bidding and quickly counted, preparing to hammer down the final price.

Just as she was about to call out "two," Old Master Bai stood up and looked at the elderly man, "Elder Qin, you can’t bid, there’s something wrong with this painting."

As soon as he spoke, the teahouse erupted into noise.

Boss Long below the stage gave Long Zhenzhen a look, and she quickly tried to salvage the situation, "Old Master Bai, you can’t just say things like that carelessly. Our Yaqing Teahouse has a top-notch reputation. The treasures auctioned here are all appraised by experts. If the bidders are not at ease, they can always invite an expert for further appraisal after the purchase."

Elder Qin was a bit hesitant, "Old Bai, you said there’s something wrong with this painting, how did you find out?"

Old Master Bai hadn’t actually spotted the issue, but he believed in An Yan, "There’s just something off about the painting, Elder Qin, you really shouldn’t bid, thirty-five million may be a trifle to you, but we can’t just buy a counterfeit to take home."

Elder Qin, "This..."

He looked towards Long Zhenzhen, "I’m not bidding anymore, what if it turns out to be a fake? Wouldn’t I be the ultimate fool?"

Long Zhenzhen’s face darkened, "Old Master Bai, your words could ruin the reputation of our teahouse! Everyone here is an expert in antiques and calligraphy. Could it be that they’ve all been mistaken? Please, tell us what is wrong with this painting?"

When the question was thrown back at Old Master Bai, he stuttered, "Anyway, there’s just something off!"

Long Zhenzhen sneered, "You know, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t just say whatever you want..."

An Yan stood up, walked around the table, and went on stage, "This painting is a fake."

Long Zhenzhen looked at An Yan’s confident demeanor, reminded of how composed she was while making tea earlier, and sensed an extraordinary aura about her.

Long Zhenzhen said, "Then tell us, what’s the problem with it?"

The teahouse went silent in an instant.

An Yan pointed at the character "之", "The lines ’draped in gauzy silk dazzlingly bright, adorned with jasper jewels shining with light.’ These two ’之’ are the biggest flaws. Zhao Mengfu used a pen that was pure and round, structuring with discipline, composing with balance and flair. The copyist did imitate intricately, but this ’之’ was not perfect in their imitation; the last stroke was not fluent enough, making it appear very restrained. Everyone please observe closely. This is one of the fatal flaws."

Long Zhenzhen retorted, "Zhao Mengfu wrote ’Ode to Luoshen’ seven times, so this doesn’t prove anything."

An Yan sneered, "Even though he wrote it seven times, a person’s brushwork doesn’t change. Does anyone present have any other versions of Zhao Mengfu’s ’Ode to Luoshen’?"

Three people raised their hands.

An Yan smiled upon seeing this, "It just so happens that I have two pieces of Zhao Mengfu’s ’Ode to Luoshen,’ my friend has two pieces, and adding those from everyone here, we exactly have seven pieces."

"How is that possible?"

She looked toward Long Zhenzhen, "What are you doubting, did you not understand or are you actually deaf?"

Long Zhenzhen was naturally feeling guilty, and at this time, Boss Long joined her on stage.

He took the microphone, "Miss An Yan, everything requires evidence. Since you claim this, you should lay out your evidence clearly."

An Yan glanced at the father and daughter, "Really won’t give up until you reach the Yellow River, huh!"

She took out her phone, connected to a computer, logged in, found an icon of an old fisherman, and pressed video call.

The face of a silver-haired old man appeared on the big screen on stage.

Everyone was shocked.