Xiao Churen's painting was also beautifully packaged. He walked up to the portrait himself and reached out to unveil it.

As the canvas was lowered, what came into view was also a lifelike painting, "Ten Thousand Sons and Thousands of Grandsons".

The two paintings were placed side by side. To everyone's surprise, apart from the different frames, the paintings inside were exactly the same, as if they had been printed and copied.

Unless one is extremely knowledgeable about painting and has studied it in depth, it is impossible to tell which of the two paintings is real and which is fake.

Even Xiao Ye was amazed when he saw the two paintings placed together.

He couldn't help but glance at Su Liluo with admiration. He never expected that the drawing his Luo'er had produced could be so realistic that it would be indistinguishable from the real thing.

Xiao Churen frowned slightly when he saw the two identical paintings.

He wasn't very knowledgeable about painting, and at first glance, he really couldn't tell the difference between the two paintings.

Consort Liu, who was sitting to the side, was initially worried for Xiao Churen, fearing that her son's painting had been stolen by the Crown Prince and that Xiao Churen might paint a blank one later.

But now that she sees that the painting Xiao Churen has is exactly the same as Xiao Ye's, she feels relieved.

She knew that her son's painting had taken several months of painstaking effort to find and had been authenticated by professionals, so there was absolutely no way it could be fake.

Therefore, the fake painting must belong to the prince.

Consort Liu smiled slightly and sighed, "These two paintings really do look alike! The forgery technique is truly superb. If the original hadn't been brought up, we would have been fooled by these fakes!"

Her words were a veiled reference, subtly implying that Xiao Ye's painting was fake.

Emperor Wenjian stared intently at the two paintings titled "Ten Thousand Sons and Thousand Grandsons" before him. He couldn't resist getting off the dragon throne and standing in front of the two paintings himself.

His gaze lingered between the two paintings, scrutinizing them repeatedly.

Xiao Ye remained calm and composed, knowing that Emperor Wenjian was observing and judging the authenticity and quality of the two paintings.

Emperor Wenjian was fond of calligraphy and painting from a young age and was quite knowledgeable in this field. He could determine the authenticity of paintings on his own without the need for authentication by great Confucian scholars.

In fact, one could argue that regardless of whether the painting is real or fake, what he cares about most is which painting is better.

In his mind, truth and falsehood are important, but excellence is more important.

He is obsessed with painting, and what he cares about most is his painting skills.

Actually, he's not comparing the authenticity of these two paintings, but rather which one is better.

The better one is what he wants.

Su Liluo was naturally not worried. She knew that Emperor Wenjian had the ability to make the comparison, and although her imitation was similar, it was still distinguishable to serious calligraphy and painting enthusiasts like Emperor Wenjian.

Her imitation is still quite different from the original.

After about a quarter of an hour, Emperor Wenjian finally looked away from the two paintings.

He took a deep breath, then glanced at Xiao Churen standing to the side with a dark look in his eyes.

He said coldly, "King of Chu, you have been deceived. The Crown Prince's painting is the original, while yours is a forgery. However, your forgery is also very skillful. The person who can create such a forgery is also a master painter."

What!

Are his paintings fake?

Upon hearing this, Xiao Churen felt as if he had been struck by lightning!

How is that possible?

How could his painting be fake?

Xiao Churen stood there, stunned, unable to react for a long time.

Sitting on the other side, Consort Liu felt as if she had been slapped in the face; her son's painting was fake.

Wouldn't we be incredibly embarrassed today?

She had hoped to win the Emperor's favor today, but now what is she going to do?

"Father, this...this is impossible! My painting was clearly brought back from overseas, and I even had many masters authenticate it. They all said it was genuine. How could it be fake?"

After a moment of stunned silence, Xiao Churen still argued incredulously.

Emperor Wenjian's face darkened, and he gave him an unpleasant look. "Do you still doubt my judgment?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I just..."

As Xiao Churen spoke, he realized he didn't know how to refute his point.

Now that the Emperor thinks the Crown Prince's painting is real, then it is real. It proves that the Emperor likes the Crown Prince's painting. What can I do about it?

He glared at Xiao Ye and the others, then noticed the corner of his lips curling up, and suddenly remembered the time someone broke into his mansion.

The person who ran away did not move the painting. He checked the painting and found it had not been touched. Could it have been switched at that time?

Xiao Churen suddenly understood everything.

But what's done is done, and he had no evidence.

So he could only curse inwardly, "Damn it!" and swallow his anger.

"King of Chu, I have already sent my birthday gift to my father. What is yours? Could it be that you were tricked and originally intended to give my father this fake painting as well?"

Just as Xiao Churen was getting angry, Xiao Ye's smiling voice came from behind.

Everyone looked at Xiao Churen.

Yes, if the Prince of Chu were to present a fake painting at the Emperor's birthday banquet, that would truly be a crime!

Xiao Churen felt the gazes of everyone around him, as if he were being pricked by thorns.

He only prepared this one painting today, and now that it has been proven to be a fake, what should he give his father now?

If it were the Emperor, I'm afraid it would displease him.

"Your Majesty, the birthday banquet gift that Prince Chu prepared for you today has already been placed with me. He couldn't confirm the authenticity of this painting at the time, so it was originally just a gift for you. Now that it has been discovered that he was deceived, please forgive him, Your Majesty."

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