Chapter 55

Of course, whether the painting is on paper or silk, that's not the point. The key is that the painting is extremely clean and white as snow, without a single ink mark, let alone any calligraphy or painting.

"A blank sheet, where is the painting?" Xiaoding was stunned like a wooden chicken, then a bit panicked, and turned back to say, "Young Master Zhu, did you take the wrong item?"

"No mistake, this is the painting." Zhu Qiao stood up and walked over, saying, "You two, take a good look and tell me what's wrong with this painting."

"Uh?" Xiaoding, upon hearing this, seemed to think of something, his face changed, and he trembled, saying, "Young Master Zhu, I'm just a small person, I've never offended you..."

"You're overthinking it..." Zhu Qiao sneered disdainfully, "If you had offended me, you would have been thrown to the bottom of the lake long ago. How could you still stand in front of me?"

Xiaoding, upon hearing this, felt a great relief and forced a smile, "Young Master Zhu, you're right. I tend to overthink things, please don't take it to heart."

"Less talk, I called you here to look at the painting, not to flatter me." Zhu Qiao said with a stern face, "Look carefully and tell me what's wrong with this painting."

"Ah?" Xiaoding was completely dumbfounded, his legs went weak, and he almost fell to his knees.

The painting was blank as snow, without a single ink mark. What was he supposed to look at? No wonder he was at a loss, thinking Zhu Qiao was deliberately playing a trick on him, finding an excuse to make things difficult for him, and then using it to his advantage...

However, Qi Xiang could tell from Zhu Qiao's serious tone that he was genuinely asking for their help to examine the painting.

In other words, this blank painting might hide some mystery?

Qi Xiang carefully examined it and fell into deep thought.

At the same time, Zhu Qiao was also dissatisfied, "You have no skills, it's normal that you can't understand. Didn't I tell you to bring an expert? Why didn't you listen?"

"Expert..." Xiaoding perked up and quickly pointed to Qi Xiang, "Young Master Zhu, this is Mr. Qi, the expert."

"Him?" Zhu Qiao's eyes were full of doubt.

"Yes." Xiaoding explained hurriedly, "Young Master Zhu, I would never lie to you. If you send someone to inquire in Huzhou, you'll know that at the recent opening ceremony of Xuzhai, Mr. Qi outperformed everyone, showing exceptional appraisal skills, and ultimately won a five million prize..."

"Hmm?" Zhu Qiao seemed to be thinking, "I've heard of this, so it was him."

"Yes, it's him." Xiaoding nodded repeatedly, then his face fell, and he stammered, "But Young Master Zhu, this painting... you really didn't take the wrong one?"

Zhu Qiao's face darkened, and he glared, "I said I didn't take the wrong one, are you deaf, can't you hear clearly?"

"But..." Xiaoding said dryly, "This painting... has no image."

"..." Zhu Qiao gritted his teeth, "If there was an image, I would have seen it myself, why would I need you? It's because there's no image that I asked you to help me look at the painting!"

"Ah?" Xiaoding was completely confused, "No image, what are we supposed to look at?"

"I don't care, the painting is here." Zhu Qiao said arrogantly, "You two, look carefully and give me a proper explanation. Otherwise... hmm, you won't leave!"

"Young Master Zhu, don't scare me!" Xiaoding's face turned pale, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

"I never joke." Zhu Qiao said with a cold face.

At this moment, Qi Xiang turned back and asked, "What is the origin of this painting?"

"What?" Zhu Qiao was taken aback.

"How did you get this painting?" Qi Xiang asked again, "What was the painting like when you bought it? How did the seller describe it?"

"Uh?" Xiaoding's eyes darted around, and he suddenly shouted, "Switched, that's it, it must have been switched. Young Master Zhu, did someone steal the real painting and replace it with this fake one..."

"Switched what, the painting was always like this." Zhu Qiao was inexplicably angry, then he shouted, "In short, this is a good painting, a very good painting, priceless, understand?"

Xiaoding was stunned, not knowing what to say, and could only pretend to be deaf and dumb, looking at Zhu Qiao foolishly. He really couldn't figure out what was going on.

Qi Xiang, deep in thought, asked again, "Tell me, how did you get this painting?"

"What, how did I get it..." Zhu Qiao said in a low voice, "I bought it."

"When you bought it, was the painting like this?" Qi Xiang was somewhat surprised.

"..." Zhu Qiao suddenly shouted, "So what if it was? Don't talk nonsense, I asked you to look at the painting, not to ask all sorts of questions and pry into things..."

"How can you look at the painting without knowing its origin?" Qi Xiang was unmoved, stating a fact, "When a doctor treats a patient, they also need to observe, smell, ask, and feel the pulse. If the appraiser doesn't know the origin of the item, how can they appraise it?"

Zhu Qiao was speechless, his face changing repeatedly.

Just as Xiaoding was trembling in fear, thinking Zhu Qiao's temper would flare up and he would start making trouble, he heard him shout, "Lai Fu, come out and explain to them..."

At his command, a middle-aged man in his forties, who looked very shrewd, suddenly appeared.

"Master, what do you need?" The middle-aged man asked with a smile, his eyes gleaming, like a fox that had just eaten a fat chicken, full of mirth.

"You tell them the origin of this painting." Zhu Qiao said, then walked away with his hands behind his back. He seemed to be in a hurry, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Sure, Master!"

The middle-aged man bowed to see Zhu Qiao off, then straightened his back and looked very serious, "Ask your questions quickly."

"What's the story with this painting?" Xiaoding asked impatiently, "This isn't a painting, it's a blank scroll."

The middle-aged man's gaze was sharp, and he said sternly, "If Master says it's a painting, then it's definitely a painting. Even if it's not, it has to be!"

"Ah?" Xiaoding was dumbfounded again, this was like calling a deer a horse, forcing people to do the impossible.

Qi Xiang's brow furrowed, then relaxed, "Whether it's a painting or not, let's put that aside for now. Can you tell us the origin of this item?"

"The item has no particular origin." The middle-aged man said calmly, "Master bought it at a private auction. The auctioneer said it seemed to be an ancient artifact from the Tang and Song dynasties, and it should be genuine."

"Wait..." Qi Xiang was somewhat surprised, "You're sure it's an artifact from the Tang and Song dynasties?"

After all, the Tang and Song dynasties are at least a thousand years old. But the painting is as white as snow, which doesn't make sense.

The middle-aged man glanced, "If it wasn't certain, we wouldn't have asked you experts to appraise it."

"Cough!"

In an instant, Xiaoding had a flash of insight and suddenly understood, "You mean, Young Master Zhu..."

The middle-aged man seemed to see through Xiaoding's thoughts and immediately interrupted, "Master made no mistake and cannot make a mistake. Remember that."

"Uh..." Xiaoding was taken aback, then nodded repeatedly, "Understood, we understand."

"Good to know." The middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction and smiled, "Any more questions?"

"No, no more questions." Xiaoding smiled broadly, "We understand, we know how to handle it. You can rest assured, and so can Young Master Zhu..."

"Very well, it's up to you." The middle-aged man smiled, also walked away with his hands behind his back.

As soon as the middle-aged man left, Xiaoding's smile disappeared, and he sighed, "I see, no wonder the reward for just appraising it is so high. It must have some ulterior motive."

"What do you mean?" Qi Xiang asked casually.

"What else?" Xiaoding said in a low voice, "It's obvious that Young Master Zhu was tricked into buying this so-called ancient painting from the Tang and Song dynasties."

"But he's too proud to admit he was cheated, so he asked us to come and try to cover it up."

Xiaoding shook his head, saying helplessly, "What appraising, it's just an excuse. What we're really supposed to do is 'find' evidence that this thing is a 'treasure' and spread it through us."

"Isn't that self-deception?" Qi Xiang was somewhat amused, "It's just a loss, what's the big deal? Just take the loss quietly, no need to go through all this trouble."

"Mr. Qi, didn't you hear? The item was bought at a private auction." Xiaoding said softly, "Private auctions are usually attended by the rich and powerful second-generation."

"A bunch of young masters, can they sit down and drink and chat peacefully?"

Xiaoding pursed his lips and said in a low voice, "So the nature of the auction changes. Buying things is secondary; it's more about showing off and competing. Quarrels and jealousies are common."

"It's all about saving face..."

Xiaoding speculated, "I guess this item, during the auction, Young Master Zhu was pressured by other young masters and, in a difficult position, or in a moment of heat, bought it."

"Anyway, after he bought it, he regretted it, but saving face comes first."

Xiaoding analyzed, "Many people know he bought this thing. If it's of poor quality, he would lose even more face. So to save face, he naturally needs to cover it up and turn the situation around."

"I've seen this kind of situation many times."

Xiaoding seemed somewhat proud, "There were a few times when I helped cover it up..."

Qi Xiang, upon hearing this, felt speechless. He had thought the blank painting might hide some mystery, but it turned out to be just a game for the second generation.

For a moment, he lost his patience and waved his hand, "Since you have experience, handle this matter. I'll go back first."

"Don't!" Xiaoding quickly stopped him, smiling, "Mr. Qi, you're the key here. Without you, it probably won't work."

"What do you mean?" Qi Xiang was somewhat confused.

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