President Wang shuddered. “An official?”
The appraiser quickly explained, “Guan Ye is a title. In our antique circle, there’s a master surnamed Guan—truly sharp-eyed. It’s said he’s never once misjudged a treasure in his appraisals! He can tell a piece’s pedigree and condition with a single touch, which is why everyone in the circle respectfully calls him Guan Ye. But no one has ever actually seen him. Seeing you today, I truly never imagined… so young.”
His expression was equally stunned.
The legendary “Guan Ye” of the antique world turned out to be a young upstart!
After all, in everyone’s impression, he should have been at least sixty-seven years old…
Jiang Wan coughed lightly, her fist pressed to her lips. “You flatter me, senior.”
“Oh my, in front of Guan Ye, I wouldn’t dare call myself senior!”
President Wang naturally trusted the appraiser’s words. His attitude shifted immediately—he rose to greet her and shook her hand.
After taking a seat, Jiang Wan looked at him. “President Wang, I hear you have a one-glance treasure?”
“Yes, yes, right here.” President Wang opened the yellow brocade pouch, revealing a green-glazed three-legged toad ceramic piece.
Jiang Wan put on gloves, picked up the ceramic, weighed it in her hand, and studied it.
Seeing Jiang Wan furrow her brow, the appraiser froze. “Guan Ye, have you spotted a problem?”
“This is an egg-laying piece.”
“What?” The appraiser immediately picked it up to examine it. “This… is this a modern imitation?”
“Song dynasty ceramics have glaze surfaces as smooth as mirrors, without obvious bubbling or running. Looking at the glaze alone, you truly can’t tell with this piece. And while the form appears steady and the shape elegant, if you look closely, you can spot the disharmonious parts—that’s where it’s been imitated.”
Jiang Wan sighed and shook her head with practiced flair. “What a pity.”
President Wang turned and glared at the appraiser. “How did you not catch this!”
“I… I-I…” The appraiser was at a loss for words.
All he could say was that his skills weren’t up to par.
He’d misjudged it.
Jiang Wan unhurriedly poured herself a cup of tea, giving the appraiser a way out. “You can’t blame him. After all, the fragmentary piece is genuine—if you only look at the glaze, it’s easy to be fooled.”
The appraiser nodded repeatedly. “Right, right, right. It was my negligence—I let the fragmentary piece blind me.”
President Wang sighed heavily. “I thought I’d bought a treasure, but it turns out to be a modern imitation! Bad luck! Count it as my loss! Fine, name your price!”
She held up five fingers. “Five hundred thousand.”
President Wang hesitated, then gritted his teeth and agreed.
After they left, Jiang Wan removed her wig, picked up the three-legged toad ceramic, and grinned.
An Laowu saw them off, then returned to the private room. “Little ancestor, buying a fake for five hundred thousand—what are you thinking?”
“A fake’s value depends on how convincing it is. This fragmentary piece is genuine, but the imitation work isn’t good enough. If we make a better imitation than this one, we can hype it up to a million! That’s still a five-hundred-thousand profit—no loss!”
An Laowu suddenly understood and clicked his tongue. “So that’s it. When it comes to getting a bargain, no one beats you! Did that old man divorce you?”
“No, but you were right—Lord Lu isn’t normal. He’s a pervert! I seriously suspect his three dead fiancées were all played to death by him.”
Second Senior Brother had said: the more powerful someone is, the more depraved their games.
Lord Lu was definitely that type.
An Laowu poured himself a cup of tea. “By the way, I heard the big boss of Jinyuan has returned to the country.”
Jiang Wan was adjusting her wig. She looked up at that. “The big boss of Jinyuan?”
She knew the Jinyuan property was privately owned, purchased years ago by a mysterious wealthy man. Many of the antique shops in the market, including Baibao Pavilion, rented space on his land to do business.
An Laowu nodded. “The Qianjin Tower’s business is better than ours because it’s backed by the big boss—after all, it’s Jinyuan’s ‘biological son.’ Our shop is an outsider. But this big boss is mysterious enough—no one’s ever seen him.”
“Doesn’t matter. We’ll keep to ourselves and mind our own business.” Jiang Wan headed for the door, then stopped in the hallway and turned back, reaching out her hand. “Give me twenty yuan. For a cab.”
An Laowu’s mouth twitched. “Seriously? You’ve got all that money in your account—are you hatching it like an egg!”
“Do I look like someone who carries cash?”
“Then how did you get here?”
She said matter-of-factly, “I only brought enough for the ride here.”
An Laowu pulled out his wallet and shoved twenty yuan into her hand. “Remember to reimburse me!”
At eleven o’clock that night, Jiang Wan climbed over the wall into the Lu residence courtyard, landed steadily, and dusted off her hands. A flashlight beam shone at her.
She instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes.
“Madam?” The patrolling bodyguard stared at her in surprise.
Jiang Wan squeezed out an awkward smile.
Before long, Butler Chen came out to escort her inside, speaking urgently. “Madam, how did you sneak out again? Third Master has already returned to the country—please restrain yourself!”