Chapter 9

Yang Kang glanced at her and whispered, "Tang Bohu's 'Zhaojun' painting, aren't you going to look at the words on it? The beauty in the painting is truly exquisite."

He was speaking the truth; the beauty in the painting was indeed extremely beautiful, especially her eyes, which were full of vitality. He couldn't help but admire them, thinking to himself that this was just a painting. He wondered what the real Zhaojun must have looked like to be able to enchant the barbarian chieftain with her beauty.

Just as Jiang Xiaoyue was about to speak, an elderly man in his sixties, who had been listening, couldn't help but laugh and ask, "What, young friend, do you also understand paintings? Come over, come over, take a look!"

"Thank you, sir. I don't really understand, but the beauty in the painting is so captivating that I couldn't help but join in," Yang Kang hurriedly replied.

"Oh... it's fine." The old man, surnamed Qin, was a well-known appraiser in Jinling City, known as Professor Qin. He smiled and said, "Just look."

Out of curiosity, Yang Kang reached out and touched the painting, but he didn't see any spiritual energy. He was momentarily stunned. Could it be that—this painting was actually fake? A high-quality replica?

But thinking about it, if there was one late Qing dynasty replica on the market, there could be a second one. Who knew if this one was a late Qing dynasty replica?

At this moment, a well-dressed middle-aged man, slightly overweight, asked anxiously, "Professor Qin, what do you think? Give us a word, please?"

"Ha ha!" Professor Qin couldn't help but laugh, "Boss Mo, the seller isn't in a hurry, why are you so anxious?"

"I... can I not be anxious?" The middle-aged man, called Boss Mo, couldn't help but laugh awkwardly, realizing he had asked too hastily.

"I'm also anxious," the seller, Lu Qiusheng, hurriedly asked, "Professor Qin, give us a word."

"Professor Qin, don't keep us in suspense, everyone is waiting for you," a beautiful woman standing next to Boss Mo said. When she spoke, Yang Kang felt a sudden brightness in his eyes.

Earlier, all his attention had been on the 'Zhaojun' painting, but now he noticed the beautiful woman, who was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. She seemed even more beautiful than the Zhaojun in the painting.

"Boss Lu, this painting... I have many doubts about it," Professor Qin thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully, "Why don't you ask Professor Zhen and Mr. Fei?"

"I also have some doubts," the old man called Professor Zhen put down his magnifying glass, rubbed his eyes, and walked to a sofa, sitting down. Although he said he was "doubtful," he had already made his stance clear: he had no interest, as it was a high-quality replica.

As for Mr. Fei, who was much younger than Professor Zhen, around forty years old and in his prime, he frowned and said, "Everything else is fine, but the paper... is too good."

Yang Kang, hearing this, silently cursed himself, "Stupid!"

"Hey..." Jiang Xiaoyue, clearly experiencing this for the first time, asked in a low voice, "Why is good paper a bad thing?"

Yang Kang glanced at her and whispered, "Tang Bohu was an ordinary painter who made a living by selling paintings. This paper is Ming dynasty imperial rice paper, a court item. How could he have used it?"

Jiang Xiaoyue still looked confused. At this moment, Professor Qin, with his hands behind his back, stood near Yang Kang. Curious, he had examined the painting with a magnifying glass, carefully identifying the ink, coloring, seals, and brushstrokes, and then seriously examined the paper before concluding that the painting was a forgery.

This young man with a clear and handsome appearance seemed to have just glanced at the painting, touched it for no more than ten seconds, and then accurately determined that it was a forgery, even specifying that it was Ming dynasty imperial paper.

Ming dynasty imperial paper was indeed preserved and passed down to the Qing dynasty, the Republic of China, and even now. Judging the age of a painting solely by its paper was absolutely not advisable.

Lu Qiusheng, upon hearing this, turned pale, his fingers trembling. He didn't know how to put away the painting and sat dejectedly on a sofa.

"What a pity, what a pity!" Boss Mo stomped his feet in frustration.

Yang Kang found his reaction amusing and couldn't help but laugh, "What a pity for such a beautiful woman?"

"Exactly!" Boss Mo sighed, "Otherwise, I would have bought it and hung it in my study, looking at it every day..."

"Why don't you say you want to hang it in your bedroom?" Mr. Fei, who seemed to be familiar with him, couldn't help but tease.

"Ha... I just didn't have the nerve to say it," Boss Mo laughed, not minding.

"Even if you buy it now, you can still hang it in your... bedroom," Yang Kang couldn't help but laugh.

"Ah?" Boss Mo laughed, "You, such a handsome young man, have such thoughts. That's not good."

"Ha ha!" Yang Kang just laughed.

"Little brother, what did you bring?" Boss Mo, noticing the file in his hand, asked curiously.

"A small painting, I want to ask for your expertise," Yang Kang hurriedly replied.

"Quick, quick, quick, let me see it," Boss Mo immediately became interested. He was particularly fond of calligraphy and paintings, but in this field, high-quality replicas were rampant. A slight mistake could result in spending millions on a worthless piece of paper.

Without saying anything, Yang Kang took out the 'Ink Bamboo' painting by Ni Zan from the file and laid it on the table.

"Professor Qin, Professor Qin, come and take a look!" Boss Mo said, already picking up a magnifying glass.

Professor Qin, without being asked, had already moved closer to look, as had Mr. Fei and Professor Zhen. Yang Kang stepped back, making room for them.

At this moment, Jiang Xiaoyue couldn't help but ask, "Hey, Yang Kang, where did you get the ancient painting?"

Yang Kang glanced at her, smiled mischievously, and whispered in her ear, "Bought it!"

The 'Ink Bamboo' painting was indeed bought, no doubt about it. He wasn't lying to her; it was just hidden in the pages of a book of quotations.

"Professor Qin, what do you think?" Boss Mo asked eagerly.

This time, Professor Qin didn't keep them in suspense. He smiled and said, "This painting is a typical example of dry brushwork. Despite the dryness, the entire painting is elegant and refined, as if the green of the bamboo branches is right before your eyes. It is indeed a work by Ni Zan."