As for Hongsheng, he hadn't had a good time these past few days. Because the painting "Southern Journey" wasn't Tang Bohu's original work, the Fourth Prince wasn't happy after seeing it; in fact, he was even more dissatisfied with Hongsheng spending a huge sum of 80,000 taels of silver to please him.

This time, the Nian family suffered a double loss. The Nian family was once again filled with disappointment towards Hongsheng. Although Baizhi had not done anything seriously wrong, she was still punished by the Nian family. Not only was her monthly salary deducted, but she was also given twenty strokes of the cane, simply because she accompanied Hongsheng and failed to see the authenticity of the painting.

“Mother, I feel wronged. Why doesn’t Father let me take people to settle accounts with that ‘Baozhen Pavilion’?” Hongsheng said.

He had originally intended to please the Fourth Prince, but he hadn't expected to spend 80,000 taels of silver on a fake painting, which was utterly unacceptable. The Fourth Prince had sent him to buy some ancient books, actually to test his academic progress over the years. However, to his surprise, Hongsheng, in his attempt to win his favor, had spent so much money to buy a fake painting by Tang Bohu and present it to him. The Fourth Prince was furious. Although Hongsheng's intentions weren't entirely wrong, his opportunistic behavior and the fact that he had been fooled were truly infuriating.

"How would I know what your father is thinking? You! No matter what I say about you, you never give your mother a moment's peace. You've never once pleased your father. You're simply not like a child of the Nian family!" Nian Shi angrily pointed at Hong Sheng and scolded him. Since giving birth to Hong Fu, she had focused all her attention on her young son, and Hong Fu, barely three months old, was already quite adorable. Therefore, Nian Shi disliked Hong Sheng even more.

Hongsheng was rebuffed by Madam Nian and felt both ashamed and angry, so he went to his room and locked himself in. Madam Nian was too lazy to pay attention to Hongsheng anymore and focused all her attention on Hongfu.

Fourth Master naturally wouldn't let Hongsheng suffer such a loss in silence. The other party dared to deceive even his own son and owned such a large shop in the capital; they must have some connections. In fact, Fourth Master knew that it was understandable that someone with Hongsheng's discerning eye couldn't tell the painting's authenticity. He himself had almost been fooled. Fourth Master admired Tang Bohu's paintings and had several in his study. When Fourth Master carefully examined the inscription on the "Southern Journey" painting, he noticed some clues. After careful examination, Fourth Master finally realized that this almost indistinguishable "Southern Journey" painting was indeed a forgery.

Therefore, the Fourth Master sent people to investigate "Baozhen Pavilion." The investigation uncovered some interesting facts. It turned out that "Baozhen Pavilion" was one of the Ninth Master's properties. The Fourth Master knew that the Ninth Master had some antique shops, but he never expected that the Ninth Master would start selling counterfeit antiques and even cheat his own son.

Therefore, Fourth Master would never silently suffer such a huge loss. He was plotting how to cut off Ninth Master's businesses and expose all his wealth. He had always been wealthy and powerful. When Eighth Master was vying for power, he used silver to buy him official positions and cultivate his own faction. Now that Fourteenth Master was vying for power, he was providing him with military rations and pay.

Fourth Master was furious with Ninth Master and determined to use this incident to teach Ninth Master a lesson. However, Fourth Master had not yet come up with a good plan and could not arrest Ninth Master immediately, so he could only wait for the right opportunity.

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