Chapter 164: The Richest Man Scammed Buying an Antique? A Deliberate Foreign Ploy?

His initial surprise gave way to admiration after he sized up Gu Shengsheng for a moment. "A truly promising young woman, indeed."

"I saw the news about you helping the archaeology team here in Anxi. That’s why I made a special trip to find you."

His tone was sincere, without a hint of arrogance, and his words were even tinged with urgency.

Gu Shengsheng asked, "What is it you need me to do?"

He scrambled to answer a phone call, then hurriedly prepared to leave. "I’ll have Wang Yu explain it to you," he said.

"Miss Gu, I’ve added you on WeChat. Please accept the request. If you decide you’re willing to help, just let me know."

"Okay."

With that, Shang Jinhao strode away.

Gu Shengsheng was utterly confused. She looked at Wang Yu and Zhang Zhengyi and asked, "What’s going on?"

Wang Yu sighed. "I don’t know if you’ve been following the news about the Forbidden City lately."

"No," she admitted frankly. "I’ve been too busy lately."

"The Forbidden City is holding an exhibition in three days. Shang Jinhao made a special trip to the United States and bought a painting for it. He spent over three billion."

Gu Shengsheng: "...!"

’As expected, the way tycoons spend money is on a completely different level from an ordinary person like me.’

Zhang Zhengyi said, "Don’t be so shocked just yet. Shang Jinhao is a complete amateur when it comes to cultural relics and antiques. He only bought it because an appraisal lab in the United States vouched for it, staking their name on it being ’the most incredible artifact of the 21st century.’"

Gu Shengsheng was speechless. "...That’s impossible, isn’t it? That American appraisal lab is considered the most authoritative institution in the world right now. How could they make such a claim?"

’The world of artifacts is full of unknowns. You never know what might be discovered tomorrow. The best finds could always be yet to come.’

Gu Shengsheng grew curious. "What kind of artifact is it, exactly?"

"I don’t know much about foreign artifacts. If it is one, I’ll need to do some research."

As he spoke, Wang Yu gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Foreign? Hardly. It’s one of our own Huaxian artifacts. A painting, supposedly by Sima Xiangru."

"...!" Gu Shengsheng’s eyes widened. "Is that foreign appraisal agency out of its mind?"

’After all, Sima Xiangru was from the Han Dynasty, and the Han capital was located in modern-day Anxi City.’

’That would explain why they all came to Anxi.’

’It’s just... Sima Xiangru wasn’t known for any paintings. He was famous for his writings, like the *Upper Garden Ode* and the *Zixu Fu*. He was a renowned scholar, for sure.’

’But a painting... that’s another story.’

’After all, historical records confirm Sima Xiangru was a master of poetry and prose, but as for his skill with a paintbrush... it’s highly debatable...’

’Huaxia has five thousand years of history. How could some piece of our culture that none of us know about be suddenly "discovered" by foreigners? And how could they be so certain this painting is by Sima Xiangru?’

’What exactly is going on here?’

The more Gu Shengsheng thought about it, the deeper her frown became.

Then Zhang Zhengyi added, "I may not be a professional appraiser, but I feel there’s more to this than meets the eye. Besides, Sima Xiangru having such a famous painting, and it being in American hands?"

"The whole thing is just too absurd. I, for one, don’t buy it. Even with all the relics Huaxia lost over the years, it couldn’t have been this one. Nothing like it has ever been excavated."

Gu Shengsheng thought it was ridiculous too.

Then she said, "You mentioned it’s going to be exhibited at the Forbidden City, and that Shang Jinhao paid a fortune for it. Could there be some kind of plot?"

"’Shang Jinhao is our country’s wealthiest man. If it turns out to be a fake, they could come back and rub it in our faces...’ Gu Shengsheng speculated quietly."

At her words, Wang Yu nodded. "Honestly, any expert in the country with a shred of competence knows that thing is a fake."

"It’s baffling why the American lab would do something like this. We shared our thoughts with Shang Jinhao, and he’s taking it relatively well for now."

"Three billion is a lot of money, but isn’t saving face more important? If it’s a fake, he needs to pull it from the exhibition ahead of time. That would limit the damage."

"That makes sense," Gu Shengsheng said. "So, what’s our role in this?"

’Still, she’d been here for a while now, and she knew she wasn’t brought here just to listen to them analyze the situation.’

Wang Yu sighed. "We questioned the painting’s authenticity, and of course, the team abroad pushed back hard. So now, Shang Jinhao has decided to invite their team over."

"This whole thing has been going on for about a month, with endless arguments back and forth. The idea now is to get people from both sides in the same room to figure out what to do."

"So, the lab is sending five of their researchers, and we’re putting up five of our experts. It’s essentially a showdown."

"We’ll see what the final verdict is."

Gu Shengsheng nodded. "So I’m one of the five."

"Correct. We originally had a team of five, but something came up with two of them, so you and Professor Zhang Zhengyi are filling their spots."

’Having Zhang Zhengyi join was understandable; his credentials spoke for themselves. But Gu Shengsheng... that was harder to justify. To put it bluntly, she was just a streamer who specialized in finding hidden gems. In a setting like this, her qualifications were clearly lacking.’

Seeing Gu Shengsheng’s concern, Wang Yu said, "We’re going to be counting on you. This situation is huge. It’ll be a disaster if no one can make a definitive appraisal."

"Besides, it’s not just Shang Jinhao who thinks you’re up to the task. The other experts think so, too."

Gu Shengsheng asked, "Who are the other experts?"

"Remember that appraisal competition you were in? Mr. Qiu Xiaojun from Xiangjiang, Ms. Zhang Rulan, and myself will all be there."

"That makes five, with you and Professor Zhang Zhengyi."

Gu Shengsheng nodded.

She said, "Yes, those two are certainly excellent."

"So, the appraisal is tomorrow?"

"That’s right. The researchers from abroad just arrived today. We’ll let them get over their jet lag, and then we’ll get started tomorrow."

Gu Shengsheng said, "Can I at least see what the artifact looks like first? If I go in blind tomorrow, what am I supposed to say?"

"We won’t get to see the actual artifact until tomorrow; none of us have. But I do have a photo."

Gu Shengsheng studied the design in the photo.

’It definitely had the style of the Han Dynasty.’

’It looked like a fragment, not the complete work.’

’Gu Shengsheng felt the artistic style was very familiar, yet she was certain she had never seen this particular piece before.’

’Still, if it was an ancient painting... the System might be able to help tomorrow.’

’It was just as Wang Yu said. Even if this so-called ancient painting were authentic, it couldn’t possibly be the work of Sima Xiangru.’

’From what Gu Shengsheng could see, only the few lines of added text resembled Sima Xiangru’s calligraphy.’

’In fact, it looked like it had been added on awkwardly. How interesting. What was this group of top foreign appraisal experts trying to pull?’

Just then, Lu Shijing called.

He asked, "Shengsheng, are you going to the negotiation tomorrow?"

When Gu Shengsheng didn’t answer, he added, "It’s alright. If you don’t want to go, I can make sure you don’t have to."

He wanted to know what she truly thought.