New Times, New Hell Chapter 91 - Big Collector

Chapter 91 - Big Collector

After seeing that Shang Que wasn’t willing to sell his painting, Zhan Wei had originally thought that he either truly treasured it and wanted to keep it for himself or that he wanted to wait to sell it at a better price. Both these situations were common in their circle. There were plenty of ways to deal with them.

He had never expected that Shang Que, who had rejected him so quickly just moments earlier, would turn around and offhandedly give the painting to his employee.

Zhan Wei’s friends were either rich or wealthy. It wasn’t like he had never met any generous gift givers. However, he honestly hadn’t met anyone as generous as Shang Que before.

A famous painting worth one hundred million, gifted away just like that. He hadn’t even blinked.

Temporarily, Zhan Wei, who personally believed himself to be very experienced, felt shocked out of his mind. He actually couldn’t manage to speak for a moment.

Yu Zhengdu was astonished too. He thought of that set of rabbit fur black glaze tea cups that his family had previously accepted. That set of tea cups had resulted in him never daring to mention quitting again. He’d probably have to work for Luofeng for the rest of his life. If he accepted this painting too, he would most likely end up having to be their company’s horse and cow for his next three lifetimes. And he was talking about a real horse and a real cow.

His expression became serious. He solemnly pushed the painting back. “Boss, you’re too polite. This painting is too precious. I can’t accept it.”

Shang Que furrowed his brows. “How is it precious? It’s just a painting.”

Zhan Wei: ……Just a painting? You can really pretend to be a bada.s.s!

Fortunately, because of Shang Que’s stern att.i.tude and his refusal to accept any interviews, the media couldn’t get any information out of him. Thus, they could only disperse and head off to interview the experts and event organizer. Otherwise, Yu Zhengdu felt like he and Shang Que would probably already have ended up on the headlines by now.

Even so, because he was the owner of《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》, there were still several people who subtly observed Shang Que.

Among them, there was also a media representative who had somewhat gossipy tendencies. They refused to admit defeat and kept staring at Shang Que. As soon as they saw Shang Que’s actions, they instantly smelled a possible breaking news story. The little reporter turned his cameraman around and made to charge over.

It was a good thing that Yu Zhengdu had been on high alert too. He didn’t want to end up on the news at all. Upon noticing this situation, he instantly grabbed Shang Que and ran away.

The little reporter failed in capturing these two. With no other options, he could only start interviewing Zhan Wei. “Mr. Zhan, may I ask what you were discussing with Mr. Shang just now?”

By now, Zhan Wei had already come back to his senses. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like he had been tricked. That Shang Que was definitely acting with his employee so he could pretend to be more impressive. How much was his total net worth? Gifting a famous painting worth one hundred million just like that? Even the wealthiest man wasn’t so generous!

Zhan Wei was incredibly angry. Thus, he came up with a plan to lay a trap for Shang Que. He lowered his voice and laughed coldly, then said to the reporter, “He just said that he’s going to give《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》to his employee.”

The reporter’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Of course.” Zhan Wei scoffed. “Am I the type to lie?”

That reporter instantly revealed an expression that read I scored a big news report. This was exactly the effect Zhan Wei wanted to achieve. Gossipy reporters absolutely wouldn’t miss out on a big story like this one. Shang Que had already forced himself into such a position by pretending to be more impressive than he really was. If, later, he couldn’t bear to part with his painting in front of the media, the media would be capable of completely ruining his image. By the time the articles got published, Shang Que would certainly become a laughingstock.

Yu Zhengdu pulled Shang Que to a place that no one was paying attention to before solemnly handing the painting back. “Boss, I really can’t accept this.”

Shang Que: “Didn’t you want to sell it?”

Yu Zhengdu really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “I was only joking.”

Shang Que pressed his lips together. “But when I said I was going to give it to you, I was being serious.”

Yu Zhengdu froze for a moment. Then, he looked at Shang Que, slightly exasperated. “Why are you so determined to give me such an expensive gift?”

“Why are there so many whys?” Shang Que turned away. “I just want to give it away. Isn’t that okay?”

“Of course not. I’m not such a casual person,” Yu Zhengdu replied. “If you don’t give me a reason, I won’t accept it.”

Shang Que’s eyes twinkled. He thought for a moment and tentatively asked, “Overtime pay?”

Yu Zhengdu rolled his eyes in rejection. “Do you think that reason’s logical?”

Shang Que held his chin up and puffed his chest out. “Yes.”

“To me, it’s not logical.” Yu Zhengdu crossed his arms over his chest. “Please try and respect my intelligence.”

Shang Que fell into a bout of silence.

Just as the two of them were in the middle of their stare-off, Shen Wenrong located them. “I’ve finally found you guys. Mr. Shang, can I trouble you to head over to the rest lounge in the back? My teacher wants to have a private conversation with you.”

Yu Zhengdu still felt rather respectful towards Old Mr. w.a.n.g Gezhi. He guessed that the Gou family’s《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》being a counterfeit was probably a hard hit for the other to take. Thus, he gently tugged at Shang Que. “Let’s go?”

Shang Que had never cared about other people’s opinions. But now that Yu Zhengdu had spoken up, he didn’t reject this offer. He hummed in acknowledgement and followed Shen Wenrong to the rest lounge in the back.

High-end convention centers were all pretty good at maintaining their customers’ privacy. Though there were a lot of guests, as long as the main event organizer didn’t give permission, most people wouldn’t be allowed inside the rest area.

Yu Zhengdu and Shang Que were guided into the hallway outside the rest area by Shen Wenrong. The surrounding environment instantly quieted quite a bit.

“He’s over here……” Shen Wenrong stopped outside a room. Just as he was about to open the door, a nearby door suddenly swung open. Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g pulled w.a.n.g Gezhi out. “s.h.i.+shu, I truly apologize for this, but can you please leave immediately?”

w.a.n.g Gezhi pointed at him and said, “You b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Y-you think I don’t know what you and Meng Hua want to do?”

“Since you know, you should also know that I’m doing all of this for the Gou family.” Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g lowered his voice and coldly stated, “If we’re really laying blame, you have to take responsibility. If not for you and your student inviting some uncultured Internet celebrity here, ruining the reputation of our Gou family’s《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》, I wouldn’t have to take this step.”

“What’s real cannot be made fake. What’s fake cannot be made real. This is the basic rule that us antique authenticators must follow,” w.a.n.g Gezhi replied angrily. “If s.h.i.+xiong were still alive, he would agree with my actions too.”

“I know, I know,” Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g said impatiently. “I won’t get in the way of your basic rules, but can you not get in my way either?”

w.a.n.g Gezhi: “I absolutely refuse to watch on and do nothing as you use the Gou family’s acc.u.mulated reputation for your own selfish desires.”

Their argument got more and more heated. Shen Wenrong had a bad feeling in his stomach. He hurriedly walked forward and helped hold the old man upright. “Teacher, are you okay?”

Shang Que and Yu Zhengdu made eye contact. They followed.

“I-I……” w.a.n.g Gezhi held onto his chest. He couldn’t even form an entire sentence anymore.

“You’re here just in time. Hurry and take your teacher away. Don’t get in the way of our official business.” Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g had gotten used to giving orders. He showed his true colors to Shen Wenrong as well.

“I’m not leaving!” w.a.n.g Gezhi had finally recovered. He stood there, stubborn. “I want to see what other blasphemous things you’re capable of!!”

“Why bother, s.h.i.+shu. It’s not like you can stop me.” There were no outsiders present. Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g’s att.i.tude became even more impolite. “Don’t anger yourself into sickness when anything happens.”

Just as he was speaking, he noticed that Yu Zhengdu and Shang Que had arrived too. His expression instantly changed. “What are you two doing here? Hurry and leave.”

“No no no, don’t say that. Mr. Shang is our valued guest too.” Liu Ao, who had previously been blocking the entrance to the rest lounge and coldly watching the drama unfold, suddenly revealed a charming smile. He walked over. “Come in and sit. This is the perfect opportunity to show Mr. Shang the prowess of our Meng Hua Auction House.”

Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g immediately realized what was going on after noticing Liu Ao’s change in att.i.tude. Just now, Zhan Wei had angrily returned and cussed Shang Que out. Clearly, though, Liu Ao still hadn’t given up on the《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》in Shang Que’s possession.

Liu Ao’s behavior was very easy to understand. Though there was still uncertainty about which version of《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》was real, it was obvious that as of now, Shang Que’s version was more accepted as authentic. In actuality, how could they themselves not understand that it was much more likely for Shang Que’s version to be real? Otherwise, they wouldn’t have told Zhan Wei to use one hundred million to test the other. Only, they wouldn’t admit this until the last possible moment.

Taking a step back, even if a conclusion ultimately couldn’t be reached about the two paintings, if Meng Hua could obtain Shang Que’s version as well, then it wouldn’t matter which was real or fake anymore. Auctioning both versions off together would definitely make history.

Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g naturally wasn’t willing to admit defeat. However, he and Meng Hua were already tied together. No matter how unwilling he was, he could only force himself to swallow his anger. He coldly said, “Then come in and gain knowledge with us.”

Yu Zhengdu didn’t understand why they had changed their minds, but he figured that these people wouldn’t give up so easily after such a great failure. Additionally, Old Mr. w.a.n.g refused to leave. Yu Zhengdu was also worried that something would happen to him. Thus, he calmly smiled and slowly walked forward while tugging Shang Que along. “Then we’ll take a look.”

The rest lounge next door was very big. It also contained an enormous floor to ceiling window. Obviously, only VIP guests could use this area. The people sitting inside were also truly VIPs.

Aside from Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g, Liu Ao and Zhan Wei were inside too. Moreover, there were several experts who had been part of the authentication team and a few individuals who looked to be of very high status. The only two official media representatives were present as well.

“Everyone, a new honored guest has arrived. I hope n.o.body minds,” Liu Ao introduced.

The people inside had originally been slightly displeased because of the sudden newcomer, but upon seeing that this person was the owner of《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》, their displeasure instantly disappeared.

One person among them even started clapping. “They’re extremely welcome.”

Yu Zhengdu knew what was going on as soon as he saw this scene. As expected, right after he and Shang Que entered the rest lounge, Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g’s a.s.sistant shut the door. Then, a worker nearby opened a briefcase safe and carefully pulled out a cla.s.sy, ornate wooden box from it.

Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g glared hatefully at Shang Que before turning his gaze onto the high-status guests and two official media representatives. With a smile, he said, “Everyone, the Gou family has great faith in Meng Hua Auction House’s prowess. We also trust their professionalism greatly……”

He paused for a moment in order to appear very nonchalant. “As everyone knows, aside from《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》, the Gou family is also in possession of several other artifacts from the two Song Dynasties. To tell the truth, after performing a thorough investigation of Meng Hua Auction House, I have decided to turn the remaining collectibles belonging to the Gou family over to Meng Hua as well.”

As soon as he heard this, Yu Zhengdu finally understood why w.a.n.g Gezhi was so furious. So it turned out that《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》wasn’t the only thing Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g was intending on selling.

However, what they didn’t know was, Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g had actually been forced into doing this.

Originally, his and Liu Ao’s plan hadn’t involved using the Gou family’s other collectibles so soon. Instead, they had planned to first use the rare ancient painting,《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》, as a stepping stone. This would instantly guarantee Meng Hua Auction House’s status in the auctioning world. After, they’d then collaborate with other collectors to completely control the market. By then, the pricing for the entire market would be dependent on them. These collectibles belonging to the Gou family would truly be sold for a hundred times their value.

Only, even after considering an innumerous number of possibilities, they hadn’t expected to fail at this impeccable step with《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》. Forget instant fame – they almost instantly ruined Meng Hua and the Gou family’s reputations.

It was fortunate that the team of experts had all expressed that it was difficult to tell which painting was authentic. It wasn’t the Gou family or Meng Hua’s fault that they had treated《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》as the real deal. Otherwise, they would truly be beyond help now. The only thing they could do at this time was use the Gou family’s other collectibles earlier than planned. This way, they could try and redeem themselves.

This time, Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g and Liu Ao were much more careful. They only invited the most important guests and the two official reporters into the rest lounge. They were preparing to first allow these people to see the goods. Then, they’d spend money asking the other reporters to follow this news story. Unexpectedly, they happened to get seen by Old Mr. w.a.n.g. Another incident almost occurred.

It was a good thing that Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g wasn’t scared this time either. The Gou family was a true generational family. The Song artifact collectors in the country whose collections could be compared to the Gou family’s were able to be counted on one hand. This Internet celebrity definitely wasn’t among this group. 《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》had only been an accident. He now wanted to show Shang Que what a true family collection looked like.

Under everyone’s antic.i.p.atory gazes, Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g put on his gloves and carefully pulled a little tray covered in satin out from the wooden box. “Everyone should know that JingkangTongbaos are among the fifty most precious types of ancient coinage. Currently, there are less than thirty little Jingkang Tongbao coins remaining, and our Gou family happens to own a pair of little duiqian.”

Two ancient coins rested on the small tray.

The guests present were either famous collectors or wealthy businessmen who could afford to spend enormous amounts of money on these artifacts. They all understood the field. As such, after hearing Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g’s words, they all became alert. Some even subconsciously sighed in awe.

But Yu Zhengdu didn’t understand these things. He could only turn to look at Shang Que. Shang Que then turned to look at Shen Wenrong.

In a low voice, Shen Wenrong very tactfully gave them an explanation.

The supposed fifty most precious types of ancient coinage referred to fifty very precious types of coinage that had appeared across Huaxia history. Many of these coins were either completely gone or only had one surviving specimen left. As such, they were priceless and very valuable collectibles.

Additionally, coins produced in the two Song Dynasties made up a majority of the fifty precious types. The Jingkang Tongbaos Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g had taken out belonged in this category.

Jingkang Tongbaos had been minted during Song Qinzong’s rule in the Northern Song Dynasty. Due to the fact that Song Qinzong had gotten kidnapped after a mere sixteen months on the throne, there were very few coins inscribed with the name “Jingkang Era.” Additionally, little Jingkang Tongbao coins were a very rare type of coin.

The little duiqian that Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g had taken out were also the rarest of the rare.

Little coins were worth one wen. They were the smallest currency unit in the age of copper coins. Duiqian were two coins from the same era. Their size, thickness, material, edges, and holes were completely identical. Only the style of calligraphy used for their inscriptions were different. They were also called “a pair of coins.”

Jingkang Tongbaos became paired together when one was inscribed in seal script while the other was inscribed in regular script.

The Gou family’s pair of Jingkang Tongbaos was exactly this rare pairing: one little coin inscribed with seal script and one little coin inscribed with regular script.

Off to the side, w.a.n.g Gezhi was outraged. “Little Jingkang Tongbao coins are grade-one cultural relics! There are only a dozen surviving specimens. How could you auction these off?”

However, the ones invited into this rest lounge were all important potential customers that Meng Hua had gotten in contact with earlier. These people had come here with the goal of obtaining the Gou family’s collectibles. Why would they care about w.a.n.g Gezhi’s att.i.tude?

Among the customers was one who specially sought out rare ancient coins. At this time, he already couldn’t control himself anymore. “I’ve long since heard that the Gou family owns a pair of little Jingkang Tongbao coins. I finally get to see them today. This trip wasn’t for naught.”

Liu Ao cheerily said, “CEO Liu, I told you before, Meng Hua’s prowess is beyond all doubt. You know better than anyone how rare little Jingkang Tongbao coins are. Aside from Meng Hua, you won’t be able to find another auction house on the market that can auction these off……”

CEO Liu chuckled, “Not bad, not bad……”

While he spoke, he picked up the appraisal tools that Liu Ao had prepared in advance. Just as he was about to step forward, he heard Shang Que suddenly ask, “Are Jingkang Tongbaos really rare?”

There weren’t that many people inside this rest lounge. As soon as Shang Que spoke, everyone heard him. The scene fell into silence.

Upon noticing that it was him again, Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g instantly became outraged. He impolitely mocked, “Aren’t you a Song history Weibo account owner? What, you don’t even know if Jingkang Tongbaos are rare or not?”

Shang Que fell deep into thought. “No.”

Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g: “No matter what, you’re still a mildly famous Internet celebrity. Don’t think that you’re on top of the world just because you own a《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》. I urge you to learn more about the other artifacts of the Song Dynasty when you have the time.”

He had finally found the opportunity to reestablish his dominance. He scoffed, “However, rare ancient coins like Jingkang Tongbaos aren’t things that you can see just because you want to.”

Liu Ao knew Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g was displeased in his heart. He hurriedly mediated, “It’s fine, it’s fine. Mr. Shang is here today too. You can learn with us. If you’re interested, you can also collaborate with Meng Hua in the future……”

“Not interested,” Shang Que replied coldly. “I have quite a lot in my possession.”

When he said this, the entire scene fell silent once more.

Liu Ao suspected that he had misheard. “Mr. Shang, what did you say?”

Yu Zhengdu glanced at Shang Que. He didn’t know if it was because he had already gotten used to this, but he wasn’t super shocked. He could even calmly ask Boss, “You have Jingkang Tongbaos?”

Shang Que: “Un.”

Yu Zhengdu thought back to Shen Wenrong’s mini lesson. Apparently, the Gou family’s little copper coins were the rarest type. Thus, he asked, a little gossipy, “Are they the little coins?”

Shang Que thought about it. “I have a bunch of random stuff. I don’t know what I have either.”

Shang Que’s att.i.tude caused Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g and Liu Ao to slightly relax. According to what the other had said, it was possible that the coins he owned weren’t authentic. Jingkang Tongbaos were such rare types of coins. Collectors counted each and every one in their possession carefully. Who would describe them as “a bunch of random stuff”?

Of course, even if they were real, that wasn’t a big deal. Though Jingkang Tongbaos were rare, there had always been people among the general public who owned them. The little Jingkang Tongbao coins were the truly rare ones.

However, with the prior lesson drawn from《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》, Liu Ao and Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g didn’t dare to be careless. Liu Ao forced himself to act calm as he smiled and asked, “I wonder if Mr. Shang has brought them along? Would you be willing to take them out and let us all look at them?”

Shang Que glanced at Yu Zhengdu. Upon seeing that Yu Zhengdu’s expression was curious too, he nodded. “Okay.”

Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g’s eyes widened. “You brought your ancient coins too?”

Yu Zhengdu calmly explained in Boss’s stead, “Well, this is a discussion on Song history and our Boss is a very generous man. Thus, he wanted to bring all the stuff he had at home so everyone could discuss them together.”

All the people present almost suffered facial spasms together……Was this your normal “generosity”?

With a smile on his face, Liu Ao said, “Did Mr. Shang put his ancient coins in storage too? I’ll have a worker grab them for you?”

“No need. I’m carrying them with me,” Shang Que answered. Then, he stuffed a hand into his pocket and pulled out a drawstring cloth bag – the type that was used in ancient times. The bag was very full, like it was holding a lot of coins.

Thus, everyone fell silent once again. First disregarding whether or not you have Jingkang Tongbaos in your bag, you at least have ancient coins in there, right? But you’re just casually putting them in your pocket?

Then, they thought back on how he had treated《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》. They all really wanted to ask: can you have at least a bit of respect for antique cultural relics?

The answer was: no.

Shang Que offhandedly threw this coin bag onto the table. “Go ahead and look.”

Though everyone felt like they had almost suffered heart attacks because of his actions, Liu Ao still immediately organized the team of experts together. In front of everyone, they opened up the coin bag and poured out a small pile of coins. They started authenticating on the spot.

w.a.n.g Gezhi, who had originally been extremely outraged at Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g’s behavior, had forgotten his rage too. He grabbed his own authenticating tools and joined in on the live authentication.

Immediately after, exclamations of shock sounded out in the rest lounge.

“They really are Jingkang Tongbaos! These are little Jingkang Tongbao coins!”

“There are also Dasong Tongbaos!”

“This, this looks like a Yingyun Tongbao??”

“These really are ancient coins……They’re authentic. They’re not falsified.”

Following the experts’ sounds of surprise, Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g’s expression became darker and darker.

He had never expected that this Internet celebrity, who was completely unknown in the collector’s circle, who didn’t even have any generational wealth, would own so many ancient coins from the two Song Dynasties. Additionally, many of them were types that were currently very rare and precious.

However, the true blow had yet to come.

Only to hear w.a.n.g Gezhi suddenly shout out in disbelief, “This is, this is——a Jianguo Tongbao?!!”

This sentence achieved the same effect of a bomb blowing up. Everyone present simultaneously exclaimed, “Jianguo Tongbao?”

Song Huizong, personal name Zhao Ji, had named his reign the Jianzhong Jingguo Era. Thus, Jianguo Tongbaos had taken the first and last characters of the era name for use during coin inscriptions. However, because the characters “Jianzhong” in the era name were a duplicate of the name of a certain Tang Dynasty era, this type of coin became annulled immediately after its production. As such, Jianguo Tongbaos were exceptionally rare and were known as the most precious coin type of the Northern Song Dynasty.

According to research, no more than ten Jianguo Tongbaos had survived into modern times. They were priceless.

“There are two Jianguo Tongbaos! Two!” w.a.n.g Gezhi’s voice sounded beyond excited.

However, Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g only felt that his vision was going dark. While shaking, he turned to look at the two little coins belonging to the Gou family.

In front of Shang Que’s pile of ancient coins, only three words remained hanging over his two little copper coins——

Small. Pitiful. Helpless.

Because of time restraints, the team of experts didn’t actually manage to authenticate each individual coin belonging to Shang Que. They only authenticated the rarest ones in the pile. However, this was already enough.

Real. All real.

In the face of a true big collector of ancient coins, the Gou family’s generational halo disappeared.

The VIP guests present all started staring at Shang Que, gazes pa.s.sionate.

Shang Que completely ignored them. Upon seeing that the team of experts had finished, he casually put the coins back into the bag and looked at Yu Zhengdu. “Want them?”

Yu Zhengdu hurriedly waved his hands. “No, I don’t.”

Shang Que was unbothered. He offhandedly stuffed the coin bag back into his pocket. It was unknown how his clothes had been designed – even though such a big bag of coins had been placed inside, the pocket surprisingly hadn’t puffed up.

Everyone watching felt like they were getting stabbed in the heart. w.a.n.g Gezhi couldn’t help saying, “Mr. Shang, gently! Be more gentle!”

Shang Que: “Oh.” Then, he continued in the same manner he had been.

“Mr. Shang, this is my business card.” Instantly, a collector handed his business card to Shang Que. “Later, let’s sit and have a chat together when you have the time.”

Yu Zhengdu glanced at Shang Que and realized that he most likely was too lazy to bother with this man. He hurriedly stepped forward and cheerily exchanged business cards with him. “Of course, not a big deal.”

With this person leading by example, all the other VIP guests felt tempted as well. Liu Ao noticed that things were going downhill. If all these people got in contact with Shang Que, Meng Hua would truly be ruined. He hurriedly gave Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g a meaningful look, then loudly chuckled and said, “Mr. Shang really is a man who can’t be judged by his appearance. From now on, please remember to collaborate a lot with our Meng Hua too. But let’s not talk about this at this moment. Today, CEO Gou has also brought another collectible with him. It’s something else that everyone is interested in. Let’s look at this first.”

Today, Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g had brought three items with him in total. He had originally been planning on using《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》as the main product. This would become Meng Hua’s “representative piece.” The following two artifacts would only be bait. They’d be taken out so these professional collectors could look at them and feel tempted to buy them.

As of now, though, not only had he been forced to play his last two cards earlier than intended, one of these cards had even been completely destroyed by Shang Que. Again.

Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g’s heart was already covered in blood. This was his last card. No matter what, he couldn’t lose again.

Liu Ao remained mindful. He first lowly asked Shang Que, “Mr. Shang, do you have any other items in storage?”

Shang Que: “No.”

After receiving an affirmative answer, Liu Ao also scanned Shang Que up and down. He confirmed that the other couldn’t possibly be hiding anything big on his person before relaxing and giving Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g a meaningful look.

Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g heaved out a sigh of relief. He carefully pulled out the other item from the briefcase. “This is another Song Dynasty artifact the Gou family possesses: rabbit fur black glaze cup!”

Only to hear the employee sitting next to Shang Que blurt out, “I have that at home!”

Everyone looked over.

Liu Ao instantly noticed that this was only Shang Que’s employee. Confidently, he said with a smile, “Little brother, how could that be the same? The one you use at home was probably bought at the market. Meanwhile, this one has been pa.s.sed down from the Song Dynasty. There’s a big difference.”

Yu Zhengdu had only accidentally blurted that sentence out in a fit of excitement. Now that he realized what he had said, he felt a bit embarra.s.sed too. But since he had already said it, he couldn’t take it back anymore. Thus, he replied, “Ey, no. The three we have at home are gifts from my Boss. They’re from the Song Dynasty too.”

Upon hearing that they were gifts from Shang Que, everyone’s eyes had already widened.

A collector asked the question that was on everyone’s minds. “You said you have……three at home?”

“Un,” Yu Zhengdu nodded. “It was originally a set of four, but someone broke one. Now there’s only three.”

Gou s.h.i.+w.a.n.g’s vision went dark.

f.u.c.k, even Shang Que’s employee owned three black glazed cups……

Employee, three……

The author has something to say:

Zhengdu: Pretending to be bada.s.s with Boss!

Xiaokui: What? I wasn’t pretending to be bada.s.s, though? I was only being honest……