Chapter 161: A Joint Ban? Let Me Have an Expert Take a Look First

Wang Yu immediately stood up and said, "You people are quite something. I am the director of the Anxi Museum. If you’re so determined to hand out blame, then count me in."

"A joint ban? How ridiculous!"

Since Wang Yu was the only museum director present, no one around knew how to react to his words.

They just continued to whisper insults about Gu Shengsheng.

Zhang Zhengyi looked at the venue host. "I was invited by your organization to conduct research on ancient tombs. And now you’re determined to sling mud, no matter what?"

That man said, "Mr. Zhang, and Director Wang Yu, your reputations are second to none. If we were to punish the others but not you, it just wouldn’t be fair!"

The host’s voice cracked. "Our boss, Huang Bai, is hovering between life and death right now! If he wakes up and finds out this wasn’t handled properly, imagine how devastated he’ll be..."

Gu Shengsheng: "..." ’Interesting. So he’s putting on a show?’

At this point, she was certain this whole setup was aimed at her and her group.

’Is there something wrong with this Huang Bai?’

Gu Shengsheng wondered who could be behind this. What kind of grudge involved all of them?

After all, Professor Zhang had absolutely no connection to Zhang Sanwang and the others.

The plot against Zhang Sanwang and Li Bai’s group likely stemmed from the time Gu Shengsheng had targeted the He Family during the last appraisal competition.

As for Zhang Zhengyi, she was sure no one would dare to target him.

But now, this Huang Bai had ensnared him in the trap as well.

’Huang Bai... the He Family...’

’Could it be that Huang Bai is one of the He Family’s people?’

’If that’s the case, the He Family is too despicable. For someone so vile, will Chairman He’s future grandson even be born with an asshole?’

She knew that what was happening here would only get blown up online by public opinion.

Once she’d sorted things out and understood the enemy’s objective, it wasn’t such a big deal.

Gu Shengsheng had no intention of letting them drag her name through the mud like this.

She looked coolly at the venue’s host.

She said, "You just said I scammed you out of thirty million worth of goods? Don’t try to pin such a huge accusation on me. I can’t bear the weight of it."

"Yesterday, all I did was buy one pair of accessories from you. That other group, the one I don’t get along with, bought the other pair. I don’t know what you’re talking about. You have security cameras, don’t you? Why don’t we pull up the footage and see if you’re framing me or what."

"..." The host was getting flustered. That was a slip of the tongue; he had said too much. Naturally, something like this couldn’t be brought out into the open. They had indeed taken a loss, but they just had to eat it.

Then Gu Shengsheng continued to look at him and said, "We all paid the price listed by your Golden Phoenix Pavilion. Or could it be..."

Here, Gu Shengsheng smiled. "Or could it be that there was a problem with the price you listed yourselves? You put it up for sale at a low price, and if it doesn’t sell, you blame the customers for being too undiscerning."

"I’ve seen that sort of thing plenty of times."

Gu Shengsheng spoke with a smile, not flustered in the slightest. The people around them began to murmur among themselves.

After all, in the business of antique appraisal, there were all sorts of schemes, and everyone present had been burned before...

The gazes directed at the Golden Phoenix Pavilion grew more suspicious.

He knew he’d misspoken, but it was difficult to explain away. He said, "Let’s just say I’ve wronged Miss Gu with my words. But what about today? You shattered all these exhibition pieces from the Liangzhu Culture. And you angered our boss so much that he’s now lying in bed, his life hanging in the balance!"

"Given the circumstances, don’t you think you need to compensate us? This entire row of cultural relics has been knocked over. What are you going to do about it?"

He crossed his arms.

Zhang Sanwang was the first to speak up. "Good heavens! These artifacts are all incredibly valuable. How are we supposed to compensate for them? The ones we knocked over are probably worth more than a hundred million..."

"This is going to be the death of us, isn’t it?"

Li Bai was also anxious. "I just caused that huge disaster last time. Don’t tell me I’m in trouble again. What will I do if my wife scolds me..."

Just then, the venue host spoke again. "It’s simple to resolve this. We won’t ask you for the full amount. This batch of artifacts was indeed worth over a hundred million. But I’ll give you a discount. All of you just need to pool together seventy million."

Although seventy million wasn’t an exorbitant price, for each person to have to pay over ten million for a pile of broken junk was still a baffling expense.

Who wouldn’t feel the sting?

Everyone was a little hesitant, but Zhang Sanwang and Li Bai were already on their phones, trying to scrape the money together.

...

Anyone with eyes could see that the Golden Phoenix Pavilion was determined to pin this on the group.

Those standing elsewhere were just glad they had moved away quickly and hadn’t ended up as the suckers holding the bag.

Gu Shengsheng said, "What’s the rush? We’re not paying."

Her words made everyone around gasp. The host, in particular, pointed a finger right at her. "Miss Gu, don’t push your luck!"

"You people from Beijing City, how could you not have money? You just don’t want to pay. Boss Huang Bai has always been considerate of you, respected you. When he wakes up, he’ll be too embarrassed to ask you for the money."

"So the Golden Phoenix Pavilion is supposed to take the entire loss? You people are really something else. You do nothing, break things, and then wash your hands of it. This is the first time I’ve ever seen people who throw their weight around and bully others like this!"

"..." The more Gu Shengsheng listened to this, the more irritated she became.

Suppressing the urge to beat him to a pulp, she said to him, "Shut up."

"You claim we’re using our power to oppress you, but that hasn’t stopped you from running your mouth. I haven’t even had a chance to defend myself, and you have the nerve to stand here spouting nonsense."

"The reason I’m not paying is because these are all fakes. You deliberately set a trap, so why should we walk into it?"

Wang Yu said in a low voice, "Shengsheng, they might not be fakes. We all handled them just now. They wouldn’t use fakes for an exhibition."

"And the surrounding Liangzhu Culture items are also real."

Gu Shengsheng said, "I don’t doubt the authenticity of what we just looked at. But the ones that are shattered are definitely fakes."

As Gu Shengsheng spoke, she looked at him, her eyes filled with determination.

Others couldn’t be sure, but she could. Because she had the System.

The black pottery jars they had just examined were not the same as the fragments lying here now.

Now that they were shattered like this, it was difficult to appraise them, and it also made it convenient to destroy the evidence.

But Gu Shengsheng said, "It’s not my place to say anything here. After all, I’m an involved party."

"I’m not paying. I’ll find new evidence. How about we get other experts to come and appraise them?"

"..." He was fuming. ’Could this Gu Shengsheng know something?’ he wondered.

Then he thought about it more carefully and decided it was impossible.

Experts absolutely could not be allowed to come. Today, they had only invited the bosses from the appraisal houses and Director Wang Yu—someone who was only half an expert—to fill the seats.

They had deliberately not invited any real experts precisely for the sake of this scheme...