Chapter 245. Counterfeit Cultural Relics

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TN:- While translating this chapter, I found out that I’ve missed some texts in previous chapter. I’ve edited it that chapter now. It’s after Fan Jialuo entered the auction house. Please check it. This arc was a bit difficult, so I didn’t do daily posting. I have accumulated the chapters to make it sure I don’t make the same mistake.

Posting 6 chapters today.!!!!

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In the auction industry, Qingcheng Chunqiu is a relative newcomer, having worked hard for many years to finally connect with the Central Museum and co-organize this antique auction. Led by the cultural relics department, the antiques collected for this auction are naturally extraordinary. There are seven or eight items priced as high as 50 million yuan, and each one can be considered a priceless treasure.

The painting 《Listening to the Zither Amidst the Sound of Pines》, which was singled out by Fan Jialuo, is one of them. It was painted by Yuan Qingzi, a painting saint of the Song Dynasty. Its brushstrokes are delicate, its style is extraordinary, and its elegance and spirit are clear. Not to mention experts, even ordinary people can easily appreciate its extraordinary artistic conception.

Su Zhenrong went to great lengths to acquire such an item for auction, so he placed it in the most conspicuous place and dispatched many security personnel to patrol the vicinity, keeping a close eye on it.

Therefore, when Fan Jialuo told him to hang the painting elsewhere and even predicted that it might be damaged, Su Zhenrong absolutely refused to believe it. But even the most stubborn man couldn’t withstand Fan Jialuo’s unwavering conviction. Sure enough, not long after the prediction was made, before the heat of the prediction had even dissipated, 《Listening to the Zither Amidst the Sound of Pines》had already met its tragic end.

Upon hearing the staff’s words, Su Zhenrong was momentarily incredulous, and several experts also wore expressions of disbelief, as if asking, are you kidding me?

The staff member’s eyes were red with anxiety, and he said in a trembling voice, “Director Su, please go and take a look first, I’ll explain everything to you on the way.”

“Let’s go!” Su Zhenrong stood up so suddenly that he felt dizzy for a few seconds, his vision blurred, and he almost fell. He grabbed the staff member’s hand and staggered towards the calligraphy and painting hall.

The experts looked at each other and quickly followed suit.

Before the group even stepped into the calligraphy and painting hall, they heard a commotion and the heart-wrenching cries of a child, interspersed with excuses such as, “Don’t go too far,” “We didn’t mean it,” and “The child doesn’t understand.” Once inside, they finally understood the truth, and their heads spun again.

This was a really strange story.

The calligraphy and painting hall arranged by Su Zhenrong was open to all guests attending the auction, allowing them to freely tour and admire their favorite items up close, giving them more confidence when bidding later. This arrangement was very thoughtful, and the security measures were also very thorough.

The trouble lay in the fact that Su Zhenrong had overlooked one crucial detail, guests attending the auction were permitted to bring their families. Consequently, one guest brought along his five-year-old son, once inside the hall, he became so engrossed in the surroundings that he neglected to keep an eye on the child, allowing him to wander unchecked right up to the painting 《Listening to the Zither Amidst the Sound of Pines》

The security guards in the hall were only focused on the adult guests, fearing that suspicious individuals might be mixed in, and were not particularly wary of a small child. Unexpectedly, the child had very good motor skills. At first, he stood at a distance and watched, but suddenly he went crazy and rushed up like a bull, tearing the painting to shreds in a few strokes, and then stomping on it a few times.

Security guards noticed the child’s unusual behavior, but unfortunately they were standing too far away and it was too late to rush over and stop him.

The child’s father, who was invited to the auction, was not a wealthy man who could easily spend tens of millions to buy a painting. He had initially promised to compensate, but upon seeing the price tag on the painting, he immediately changed his mind and was now arguing with the security guards.

Upon entering the hall and seeing the priceless ancient painting torn in two and covered in footprints, Su Zhenrong’s mind went blank. This painting wasn’t the auction house’s property, it had been entrusted to them for auction by an internationally renowned collector. Now that this had happened, they still had to give that collector an explanation.

Compensation cannot solve the problem. The value of this painting was not how much it can be sold, but in that it was the inheritance of Chinese civilization, the condensation of beauty, the crystallization of the wisdom of the ancients, and the only unique thing in the world that cannot be copied. If it is destroyed, it will be completely destroyed, no matter how much money it costs, it will not be made up for it.

Su Zhenrong was also someone who cherished calligraphy and paintings. When he saw this scene, tears welled up in his eyes. He remembered that the collector treasured this item even more than he did. At first, the collector was unwilling to consign it, and it was only after he used some means that the collector reluctantly agreed. Now, how could he explain this to the collector?

If this matter blows up, the reputation of Qingcheng Chunqiu Auction House will plummet, and it will probably be difficult for it to gain a foothold in this field in the future.

Su Zhenrong’s mind became increasingly confused. He walked over and pushed away the persistent father and son, shouting in a hoarse voice, “Call the police! Let the police handle this! I don’t care how old your child is or whether he understands anything. You damaged this painting, so you must take responsibility! I’m too lazy to waste words with you. Call the police, and we’ll go to court and sue you directly. Let’s see how the court rules.”

The exhibition hall was full of security cameras, making it very easy to collect evidence. The parent knew they were in the wrong and would definitely lose in court, so they stopped making a scene and just kept pleading for leniency while holding their child.

Su Zhenrong wouldn’t listen to a word. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the painting, and Teacher Fan’s prophecy echoed repeatedly in his mind——Hang this painting in the highest place…… Simply move it as instructed. Should this painting remain unscathed by the end of the auction, I shall never again speak of viewing the bronze tortoise.

If he hadn’t been dismissive or stubborn at the time, and had instead immediately listened to Teacher Fan’s advice and moved the painting to the highest position, wouldn’t this situation be avoided? He had seen Teacher Fan’s prophecies online, one by one, all of which had been verified. It’s just a pity that this didn’t happen to him, he didn’t understand the gravity of the situation and made the same mistake as those fools, ignoring Teacher Fan’s warnings.

The higher-ups will definitely hold him accountable for this, and as the organizer of this event, the best outcome for him is being fired, while the worst outcome will likely be having to pay some compensation. He’s just an ordinary person who worked his way up to where he is today, where will he get so much money for compensation? How will he repay his car loan, mortgage, and children’s tuition fees?

Everything that happens in life is interconnected, often, a sudden storm can lead to a whole host of troubles. The more Su Zhenrong thought about it, the more panicked he became, and the more panicked he became, the more regretful he felt. The man in his forties actually shed tears on the spot.

The security guards, who had failed to protect the ancient painting, also felt apprehensive and uneasy.

The father and son were even more terrified and had huddled together in a corner.

This matter originally had nothing to do with the experts, but their expressions were even more grim than Su Zhenrong’s, simply because Fan Jialuo had said that if the painting could be preserved, he would never mention the bronze tortoise again. Conversely, if the painting was ultimately destroyed, his earlier statement that the bronze tortoise was a fake would most likely be true.

The experts had never believed in superstitions, but since things had already happened right before their eyes without any warning, they had no choice but to believe it.

This is the epitome of accurate prediction. Fan Jialuo isn’t arrogant, he truly possesses exceptional skill!

“Director Liu, what do you think of this matter……” One of the experts said, his face pale.

“Let’s take a closer look at that bronze tortoise, but not now. We’ll talk about it when we get back.” The leading expert was the deputy director of the Central Museum, and if anything went wrong while leading this team, he would be fully responsible. Deep down, he naturally didn’t want to.

“How could something stored in a museum be fake?” He said, emphasizing his point.

The experts understood immediately, nodding in agreement, their initial surprise fading. To absolve themselves of responsibility, they knew that even if the bronze tortoise was fake, they had to portray it as genuine. After all, they were the authorities in this field, possessing knowledge that ordinary people couldn’t comprehend, whether an artifact was real or fake was entirely up to them to decide.

This is the benefit of knowledge monopoly.

With this in mind, their chaotic hearts settled down and became calm.

They were still worried about the bronze tortoise and impatient to listen to Su Zhenrong arguing with the father and son, so they went to the Legacy Hall. There they saw Fan Jialuo standing in front of the glass cabinet containing the ivory seated Buddha, his fair hands pressed against the sides of the cabinet, his eyes lowered as he sensed it.

Song Rui stood aside, carefully observing the seated Buddha, unsure if he could discern anything from it.

Hearing footsteps, Fan Jialuo turned around and said calmly, “This seated Buddha is also fake.”

Several experts: !!!

Fan Jialuo slowly walked to the glass case containing a bronze sword, shook his head and said, “This is fake too.”

“Fake, fake, fake, fake.” He walked slowly along the glass display case, pointing out several cultural relics with his slender fingertips, a human-shaped palace lanterns cast from solid gold, a scroll depicting flying celestial goddesses, famille-rose ‘God of Longevity’ porcelain vase, and a bronze tripod cauldron adorned with mythical beasts. Every single item was a timeless masterpiece, steeped in history and worth a fortune

Several experts practically wanted to grab him by the collar and yell: Are you ever going to stop?!

“We will have these cultural relics appraised by experts after we get back. Teacher Fan, you are not an authority in this field, so we find it hard to believe your one-sided account.” Deputy Director Liu forced an awkward smile.

“There’s no need to take it back for expert evaluation. I’ve already called the police, and they’ll send someone to investigate.” Song Rui waved his phone, his ambiguous smile deeply stinging the eyes of the experts.

“Why didn’t you discuss it with us before calling the police……” Deputy Director Liu roared angrily.

Song Rui casually interrupted him, “Protecting cultural relics is everyone’s responsibility. Given that these artifacts were substituted while in your museum’s custody, allowing your team to conduct the follow-up authentication seems like a major procedural violation, doesn’t it?”

Deputy Director Liu understood that Song Rui suspected them of embezzlement. He was initially annoyed, but then realized that if these artifacts were indeed fake, then they, as experts who had easy access to artifacts on a daily basis, would be the prime suspects and could potentially face serious charges.

Thinking this, his knees buckled, and he almost lost his balance. The other experts were also terrified, their faces turning pale and their hearts filled with apprehension.

“These cultural relics cannot be fake. We conduct a detailed inspection every once in a while and have also kept video and photographic records. You can check the records if you don’t believe me!” Deputy Director Liu shouted as if he had grasped a lifeline.

“Yes, yes, yes, we have surveillance footage in our museum, as well as information files on the artifacts. You can check whether they are real or fake. These artifacts are definitely genuine!” The other experts immediately echoed, their panicked minds gradually calming down.

Ultimately, they still refused to believe Fan Jialuo’s words, even though his reputation outside was already at its zenith.

Song Rui smiled and nodded, saying gently, “The police will investigate thoroughly. We can’t take anyone’s words for granted right now.”

Fan Jialuo had no time to pay attention to these people. He simply walked slowly along the display stand, his pale hand hovering above the glass cases, sensing each exhibit one by one. Every time he stopped to carefully examine an exhibit, the experts’ hearts would pound for a moment, fearing that he would say something shocking again.

Fortunately, he didn’t say anything more before the police arrived.

Meng Zhong hurriedly entered the exhibition hall with several national treasure-level experts, followed by a long line of police officers. Seeing this, Deputy Director Liu broke out in a cold sweat. He had thought the police would at most come to take a look, take some photos, and then contact their museum’s experts for authentication, little did he expect they would actually bring in a titan of expertise.

This shows how much the police valued Fan Jialuo’s words! But this is not surprising, as Ma You’s case has only just ended, and as the biggest contributor, Fan Jialuo’s relationship with the police is at its closest.

Deputy Director Liu hurriedly went to greet them, extending his hand from a distance, and said with great embarrassment, “Elder Liang, Elder Lu, I really didn’t expect the police to bring you two here.”

Two elderly men with gray hair and vigorous spirits casually shook hands with him, and then walked straight to Fan Jialuo, taking turns shaking hands with him and reminiscing warmly.

After listening to a few words, Deputy Director Liu learned that Fan Jialuo had actually participated in the reconstruction of the Ziwei Palace and was a close friend of the two bigwigs despite their age difference.

Seeing the situation growing increasingly unfavorable, Deputy Director Liu was trembling with fear, despite the cold weather, beads of sweat wouldn’t dry on his forehead. The other experts also sensed something was terribly wrong, and their faces showed expressions of alarm.

Unexpectedly, after opening the glass case and carefully examining the bronze tortoise, the two seasoned experts confidently stated, “This artifact is genuine. Teacher Fan, are you perhaps mistaken?”

Deputy Director Liu’s heart skipped a beat, and he almost collapsed to the ground. He quickly steadied the person beside him, a wide grin spreading across his face, a smile that was both smug and triumphant. This was a false police report, their museum could hold Fan Jialuo accountable!

He was about to shout a few words to embarrass Fan Jialuo when he saw the other man put on white gloves, pick up the bronze tortoise, turn it over, bend his knuckles, and forcefully strike the weakest part of its shell.

Elder Liang and Elder Lu were horrified and rushed to stop him, but it was too late. With a crisp clang, Fan Jialuo’s finger struck a hole in the belly of the bronze tortoise. With a slight tilt of his hand, fine sand and a few copper beads flowed out of the hole.

The copper bead fell to the ground and rolled around. Its surface was polished very smoothly and shone like gold. It was obviously a new thing that had been made no more than five years ago.

Song Rui put on gloves, picked up a copper bead, and rubbed a grain of sand between his fingers. He said in a calm tone, “The bronze artifacts of the Western Zhou Dynasty and modern bronze artifacts will have differences in composition. Take these beads to be tested, and the results should be available soon. The composition of the sand can also be tested, and the place of origin is not difficult to find.”

He handed the evidence bag to the forensic technician and instructed them to get the results as soon as possible. But everyone knew that doing so was just to solidify the evidence and wasn’t really necessary. Everyone present knew that a real bronze tortoise couldn’t possibly contain sand inside, the cultural relics bureau had already conducted an X-ray scan when it was unearthed and confirmed that it was semi-solid and semi-hollow.

Without a doubt, the real bronze tortoise has been replaced with a fake!

Deputy Director Liu looked at the yellow sand covering the ground, then at the other artifacts that Fan Jialuo had pointed out were fakes, and felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

Now, things are really getting out of hand!

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