The young man was taken aback. He wasn't surprised by Shen Ying's rudeness, because that was the kind of rudeness he had heard before. If Shen Ying had been more polite to him, he might have found it strange. But he was a little surprised by Wei Ying and Zhou Xuan's intimate actions.
In his memory, Shen Ying was someone who would never look down on any man's "muscles" before he could make a move, even though Heng Xu had never been a fan of hers! It was only because he liked Shen Ying that he found her beautiful, charming, talented, well-off, and patient enough to pursue her.
This young man, named Lewis, was born into the Doug family, a prominent family in New York. He was exceptionally talented from a young age and achieved outstanding academic results in his studies. He was classmates with his older cousin, Johnny, but Lewis was more business-savvy and shrewd than Johnny. Lewis also worked for the family's venture capital fund, specializing in capital operations and engaging in shady business.
Because he liked Shen Ying, he even studied Chinese. However, Shen Ying had no affection for him and never gave him any pleasantries. This only made Lewis more infatuated with Shen Ying, and he almost developed the idea that he would marry no one but her.
If Shi Ying had always looked down on all men, Lewis wouldn't have cared. But at this moment, he suddenly saw Shi Ying being so intimate with Zhou Xuan. Even a blind man could see that their relationship was obvious. And Zhou Xuan was actually accepting it calmly. This made Lewis extremely jealous and unable to bear it any longer!
But Lewis certainly wouldn't easily lash out at Zhou Xuan. That wasn't his style. In family competition and in his own business world, he had seen too much deceit and the survival of the fittest. What he had learned was that if you're going to fight, fight; if you're going to fight, fight. That's the way to seize the opportunity and kill the opponent in one fell swoop!
Zhou Xuan naturally ignored Lewis and didn't expect him to take Shi Ying away, but Lewis unexpectedly reached out to him with a smile and said, "Hello, Huang's name is Lewis, I'm Ling Rong's colleague, it's nice to meet you!"
Zhou Xuan shook hands with him calmly and said, "Hello, my name is Zhou Xuan, I am Chinese!"
Liu Yiyuan unfolded a scroll on the table and said, "Stop looking at people like that, Brother Zhou, take a look at this for me!"
Zhou Xuan still respected Liu Qingyuan. When Liu Qingyuan called him, Zhou Xuan stood up and walked to Liu Qingyuan's side, looking at the scroll on the table.
Only after looking at the velvet screen did I realize that this was neither a painting nor calligraphy, but a piece of yellow silk with a small, checkerboard-like scroll on each side, decorated with exquisite floral patterns. The silk was inscribed with small regular script calligraphy written with a brush.
Zhou Xuan didn't bother to observe what the characters on the thick satin were, as he didn't have much knowledge of ancient Chinese characters, which wasn't his forte. However, when he saw this thing, he felt a sense of familiarity, and the two characters "imperial edict" popped into his mind!
In period dramas, you often see eunuchs holding this thing and shouting, "Imperial edict has arrived! By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor speaks!" Zhou Xuan picked up the scroll again, and on the back, five-colored swirling clouds appeared.
Xiao Zixiao asked Zhou Xuan, "Old Liu, is this an imperial edict?"
Liu Qingyuan chuckled and said, "It is an imperial edict. I have looked at the contents. It should be an imperial edict from Emperor Xuanzong of Tang to the military commissioner of Pinglu. Pinglu Military Commissioner is An Lushan. The workmanship of the scroll, the quality of the silk, and the age of the year all seem to be genuine. However, I am not very familiar with antiques, so I am not sure. What do you think, Brother Zhou?"
Zhou Xuan hadn't used ice energy before because he wanted to train more and develop his own physical abilities rather than letting ice energy dominate him. Although his physical abilities were still far from sufficient, he was already much, much stronger than that novice he once was.
Liu Qingyuan continued, "Well, the imperial decree states that Lewis bought this item from a local auction house for 1.65 million US dollars. Since the local artifacts and paintings aren't very good, he brought it here for identification!" It turned out it belonged to Lewis. Zhou Xuan immediately felt disgusted. Love me, love my dog! It turns out that even a seemingly benevolent person can be disliked by their possessions!
Actually, Lewis's work has been authenticated by some experts and is definitely genuine. Items that can be auctioned have all been examined by many experts with discerning eyes.
Liu Guyuan has a deep understanding of antiques, jade, and porcelain, but he is less knowledgeable about cultural relics and paintings. However, he is still quite experienced, far more so than the average collector. He has also examined the imperial edict with his eyes, carefully comparing the age of the silk and the format and content of the edict, and has basically confirmed that it is genuine.
Before Zhou Xuan could say anything, Lewis walked over. Hearing Liu Qingyuan's serious expression of resentment towards Zhou Xuan, he felt a surge of anger. How much experience could someone as young as Zhou Xuan possibly have?
Lewis chuckled and asked, "Mr. Zhou, it seems you've only recently started studying antiques and paintings. May I ask which school you attended and what your major was?"
Lewis asked this question, and Tian naturally intended to show off Zhou Xuan's crudeness. In terms of education, he believed that most young people were certainly inferior to him in verbal skills.
Lewis was indeed right.
Zhou Xuan said calmly, "I have no formal education, I only graduated from high school. My interest in antiques and paintings is just that—a hobby. I'm just a novice!"
Lewis was delighted to hear Zhou Xuan expose his shameful act and chuckled, "Hehe, if you don't mind, I can explain the benefits of my precious imperial edict to you!"
Zhou Xuanbing, after a moment of anger, glanced at the imperial edict and felt a pang of guilt. He then said calmly, "Mr. Liu, I'm sorry, but I think you've been fooled. Although I'm not very educated and don't know much about antiques and paintings, even if you only reached elementary school level, you'd still be better than me in Chinese culture. To put it bluntly, your precious imperial edict isn't worth my money. Your 165 yuan is a complete waste. In Chinese terms, it's a clear case of fraud, because it's a fake!"
Volume One: The First Budding Buds, Chapter 191: Hangzhou Textile Factory
Is this the kind of guy that the proud and aloof Fu Ying has taken a liking to? All he does is sulk, all he does is talk nonsense, and he's just a high school student?
"Although I'm not Chinese, I believe I've learned quite a bit about Chinese culture!" Lewis managed to control his impulse. He said coldly, "You probably haven't even figured out high school courses. Do you even understand the meaning of 'bragging'? Besides, isn't there an old saying that you shouldn't speak carelessly? I heard even elementary school students understand that. Surely you, a high school student, don't know that?"
Seeing Lewis attack Zhou Xuan, Fu Ying was naturally unhappy. She snorted and said, "Lewis, stop acting. Zhou Xuan is my fiancé. So what if he's a primary school student? As long as I like him, what does it matter to you how much he knows!"
Fu Ying's words were very hurtful. The implication was that even if you have a doctorate, I still look down on you!
Lewis's face changed instantly, and he gasped for breath. He was usually a very shrewd person who rarely revealed his true colors, but Fu Ying said that Zhou Xuan was her fiancé. When a girl says this publicly in front of outsiders, it's practically a fact. He was almost thirty years old this year, and he had fallen in love with Fu Ying when she was twelve. He was nineteen at the time. Ten years of love had suddenly vanished. With his extremely narcissistic personality, how could he possibly accept that?
Zhou Xuan said calmly, "Yingying, sit down and don't go around making a fuss. I'm not talking nonsense. If he was fooled, then there's a reason for it!"
Fu Ying immediately shut her mouth. Zhou Xuan's words showed that he was confident and was not just being stubborn with Lewis. Seeing Lewis's furious and arrogant appearance, Fu Ying really hoped that Zhou Xuan would give him a good beating. Originally, she did not want to deal with him, but Lewis's contempt for Zhou Xuan made her feel very uncomfortable!
Liu Qingyuan, of course, hadn't thought that far ahead. He wasn't interested in Fu Ying and Zhou Xuan's childish antics at all, but when he heard Zhou Xuan say that the imperial edict was fake, he jumped up and quickly gathered around.
Based on his experience and background, he believed the item was genuine, especially since Lewis had purchased it. Items like this require expert authentication and undergo numerous technical assessments. They generally cannot escape the discerning eyes of these experts.
Zhou Xuan asked Liu Qingyuan, "Old Liu, do you have a knife?"
Liu Qingyuan was taken aback. Then he said, "Yes!" and took a small, sharp paper cutter from a box next to the shelf.
When Lewis saw that Zhou Xuan had taken out a knife, although it was thin, it was still enough to injure someone. Was Zhou Xuan going to get violent towards him? However, he was much bigger than Zhou Xuan. He wasn't afraid of a fight, but he was unarmed, so he took two steps back.
But then Zhou Xuan reached out and picked up the right scroll of the imperial edict again, his right hand holding a sharp knife close to it. He couldn't help but whisper, "What are you doing? Can you afford to pay for it if you break it?"
Fu Ying immediately stood up again and said coldly, "Lewis, it's just 1.65 million. Don't worry, we can afford to pay it. You won't be leaving!"
Lewis's face flushed red and then turned pale, but he eventually held back and kept watching Zhou Xuan's movements.
Zhou Xuan didn't directly work on the imperial edict. Instead, he unrolled the entire scroll on the right side and said to Liu Qingyuan, "Old Liu, the problem lies here. Actually, the silk used to wrap the scroll isn't long enough. It just reaches the center of the scroll. The silk used to wrap the scroll is brand new. It's wrapped around the scroll at both ends, with the silk of the edict sandwiched in the middle and then sewn on. The silk color is the same, but it looks newer. Although it's been artificially aged, a skilled eye can still tell the difference with a careful look!"
Liu Qingyuan and Lewis were both taken aback, forgetting their petulance. Lewis had spent 1.65 million, no small sum. They quickly stepped forward to examine it closely, but couldn't find anything different.
screen
Liu Qingyuan, too, looked at it carefully for a while, but still thought it was just average.
Zhou Xuan used his special ability to sense things, which was far more accurate than their naked eyes. He immediately brought a small, long, sharp knife to the seam of the silk ribbon, gently picked out the thread with the knife, and then pulled it out completely by hand. The silk ribbon covering the ribbon then unfurled.
Zhou Xuan took the silk ribbon in his hand, flattened it to reveal the inside, and Liu Qingyuan could clearly see five characters printed on the bottom five inches of the silk: "Hangzhou Imitation Textile Factory"!
Liu Qingyuan was stunned. These five words clearly indicated that the imperial edict was fake!
Liu Qingyuan knew that highly skilled craftsmen would usually leave subtle marks when forging documents, expressing their loneliness at the top. These imperfections were often undetectable to ordinary people, hence the loneliness and solitary pursuit of master craftsmen. This imperial edict, for example, except for the silk on the right axis, used silk that had been preserved for hundreds of years, and the ink and brushwork were artificially aged. The patina on the edges—all of this involved considerable effort. Indeed, how could one swindle a large sum of money without painstaking work?