Of course, he didn't dare to say that it was the intention of the upper level. The stealing country was just a small country and they didn't dare to act rashly. It would be even more ridiculous to say that it was his own idea. In such a situation, mixing personal emotions to threaten the team of another country, and the threat was not threatening at all, which was worse than fart.
He covered his mouth, feeling neither good nor bad. His face flushed red and he felt very uncomfortable.
The team leader looked at him coldly: "Before you speak, you must clearly understand your position."
"I'll take your previous words as your fault because you were too emotional. If you say something similar again, I will use practical actions to tell you that we Chinese are definitely not easy to bully!" The team leader stared at him and expressed his attitude word by word.
The other party made a slip of the tongue online, so he could only shrink aside timidly, not daring to say a word.
Seeing their own leader get humiliated, the others on the thief side were also somewhat indignant. After the Chinese captain finished speaking, the thief's deputy leader suddenly stood up and started babble in the thief's language: "Okay, as you said. Civilian organizations don't talk about politics, so let's talk about the facts and painting!"
After saying that, he pointed at Wen Qianqian and said, "This lady is being rude. First, she said our paintings are fake, and then she said our country copied everything from you."
At this point, he gritted his teeth and said, "After all, you are a team of experts from China. I just want to ask, you have no evidence at all, but you directly say that the painting is fake. Do you have any professionalism at all? Is this how you, the so-called Chinese experts, usually conduct your research?"
"If you were to tell anyone about this nonsense, the entire archaeological community would laugh their heads off!"
After he finished speaking, everyone in China was stunned, and suddenly realized that it seemed that they had not yet found any evidence that the painting was fake.
For a moment, everyone was speechless.
The leader of the opposing group saw the situation and started to push again: "Chinese, another 15 minutes have passed. Now there is only a little over an hour left. Can you verify the authenticity of this painting?"
"If I were you, instead of wasting time bickering here, I'd rather go look at some paintings and avoid bringing shame to your country!"
Wen Qianqian glanced at him coldly. "Don't bother looking. I've already said this painting is fake. If you insist on holding the press conference, you'll be the only ones to be embarrassed."
The leader of the Thief Nation sneered, "Miss, you've been insisting that this painting is fake. I really want to hear your opinion."
After saying that, he pointed at the UN representative and said, "Come on, tell me in front of the UN representative how you made the identification."
Wen Qianqian glanced across the entire audience, passing over the Chinese leader. Seeing his worried expression, she waved at him, signaling him not to worry.
Finally, her eyes fell on the painting. "I wonder what your country knows about the artist of this painting, Chongyi, the painting saint in Chinese history?"
The leader of the Touguo group was stunned. His major was archaeology, but Touguo itself did not have many cultural relics. So although he was known as the number one archaeologist in Touguo, his professional level was very average.
The other people in the team were just like him. Since there wasn't much archaeology in their own country, they just learned a little bit here and there. They couldn't do systematic learning like China did, and it was even more impossible for them to have research experts specifically for Chongyi.
Seeing that he couldn't answer the first question, Wen Qianqian smiled and continued, "If you don't know, I'll answer it for you."
"The reason Chongyi is called the Painting Saint of China is, firstly, because his painting skills are extremely high and he is known as the best painter in the past five thousand years. Secondly, his painting output is quite good. In addition to the Martial God series, he has also published other paintings."
"What's interesting is that during Chongyi's heyday, his painting skills far surpassed those of his contemporaries, and even surpassed any artist in history before him. So he could only compete with himself, which gave him a sense of being a lone warrior seeking to defeat the enemy."
"So Chongyi's paintings in the middle and late stages no longer just pursue simple expressions. He began to try more complex techniques, like playing chess with his left and right hands. His paintings are also like this, often hiding a painting within a painting within a painting."
"Picture within a picture?" The leader of the stealing group opposite opened his mouth wide and stared at her blankly, as if he was listening to a fairy tale.
"That's right. For example, before the Martial God series, Chongyi's most famous painting of flowers that has been passed down to this day, on the surface, is a collection of blooming peonies, but when viewed from the reverse, it's a single, withered rose, symbolizing the decline after prosperity."
After hearing this, someone from the opposing delegation suddenly shouted, "Yes! I know this painting! It's the most famous ancient painting in existence, and the most amazing thing about it is this painting within a painting."
He majored in art history and had some knowledge of the famous works of art that existed in the world. When he heard something about his professional field, he couldn't help but shout out excitedly, but was met with cold stares from other representatives around him.
"That's right," nodded the Chinese expert who specializes in Chongyi paintings. "When this painting first came into the world, it was considered just an ordinary Chongyi painting, and the estimated price wasn't very high. But after the painting within the painting was discovered, the price of this painting skyrocketed, and was once estimated to be 60 million."
The leader of the other team was confused and impatient: "You keep rambling on about this and that. What exactly do you want to say?"
Wen Qianqian gave him a cold glance and said, "What I want to say is very simple. Just like the painting of the young general surrendering his horse, the painting of flowers has a painting within a painting."
"The difference is that the Hundred Flowers painting is one layer stacked, but the Young General's Horse Reduction painting is three layers stacked."
As soon as the words fell, the entire appraisal room was filled with gasps, and everyone seemed unable to believe their ears:
"Oh my god, what does she mean? There's a picture within a picture within a picture?"
"Isn't this impossible? If this were true, wouldn't it completely overturn the entire art world?"
"This can't be true. I've seen paintings of flowers. The brushwork there is so extreme that it creates withered roses beneath blooming peonies. If there really is a painting within a painting within a painting, how complex and sophisticated would it have to be to pull it off? I don't believe it!"
"Listen to her nonsense, the picture-within-a-picture-within-a-picture thing. It's just a fabricated excuse to force our words to be false!"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible. This kind of extremely difficult painting is difficult to complete with a computer, even with today's rapid technological development. The ancients painted a picture where a single mistake could ruin the whole painting. The Hundred Flowers Painting is already a legend. I absolutely do not believe there is a more exquisite work than this!"
"The Martial God series is so valuable because of its meaning, content, and various historical legends. That's why it's called the first national treasure. But in terms of the difficulty and level of completion, I think the Hundred Flowers series is the pinnacle of what could be achieved in ancient times. It's impossible to surpass it."
The Chinese experts present at the scene were all familiar with Chongyi's paintings. Even a few of the people from the opposing team who stole the paintings had some understanding of the paintings. When it came to their professional fields, everyone was a little excited, but everyone almost unanimously believed that such a painting was impossible to produce.
The leader of the thief group gathered his people together, chattered for a while, and then said to Wen Qianqian, "Miss Wen, you don't have to lie deliberately to prove that the painting is fake."
Wen Qianqian looked at him in confusion: "Why would I lie? What I said is true."
"I've seen this painting up close at a Chinese auction and on a Chinese history program. I can clearly see a painting within a painting within a painting. That painting is the original, and yours is a fake."
"Impossible!" the president shouted, "You must be lying!"
On the Chinese side, the reaction was completely different from that on the other side. After hearing that Wen Qianqian had seen the original, a true painting within a painting within a painting, everyone was so excited that they couldn't express it in words. One professor even gently grabbed her arm, his hands shaking with excitement, "Officer Wen, is what you said true?"
Wen Qianqian nodded.
The professor took a deep breath, then asked in a trembling voice, "What kind of picture-in-picture is this?"
She thought for a moment, "From the outside, it looks like the young general is wearing his usual battle uniform. But from the back, you can see him in his official uniform. From another angle, you can see him in his casual clothes, feeding fish by the lake."
After listening to this, the professor took a deep breath and said, "I never thought that after studying Chongyi's paintings for half my life, I would hear about paintings within paintings, or even paintings within paintings within paintings."
He looked at Wen Qianqian and said, "If you hadn't brought it up today, I guess no one else in the world would know about it."
The professor was very excited: "You may not even know the impact your discovery will have on the study of Chinese history, Chongyi's paintings, and the art world as a whole!"
After saying this, he covered his mouth and said, "I'm so excited! I really want to fly back to China right away to take a closer look at the incredible sight you described!"
Wen Qianqian thought for a moment and said, "You're right, it's indeed very exquisite. When I saw it, I was completely shocked. The feeling is indescribable."
After these words were spoken, the entire Chinese delegation could no longer sit still. No one was interested in the fake painting on the scene anymore. They wanted to set off and return home immediately to go to the museum to take a good look at the legendary painting within a painting.
The leader of the opposing team did not expect things to turn out this way. It seemed that after listening to her, although everyone had not seen the original, they all believed her words.
He stood up anxiously. "No evidence! What's with all that picture-within-a-picture thing? Maybe you just made it up yourself."
Wen Qianqian raised the corner of her mouth and said, "What can I make up? The original is in China. I have seen it. This is the truth. If you don't believe it, go to China and see it for yourself. You will know it once you see it."
She glanced at him coldly. "If you insist on me giving you proof that the painting is fake right now, it's the thickness of the paper."
"In order to experiment with painting within painting, Chongyi's mid- to late-period works all used paper that was slightly thicker than his earlier works. It's hard to see with the naked eye, but if you hold it up to the light and observe the paper's translucency, you can see the subtle difference."
"This painting of a young general descending from his horse was created by Chongyi in his middle age. Logically, the paper used should be thicker, but the painting in front of me is still the same paper Chongyi used for his earlier works. This tiny detail was overlooked, so even if the imitation is very similar, it is fundamentally wrong."
After she finished speaking, everyone gathered around the painting and stared at the paper it was written on.
The Chinese side are all top experts who have studied Chongyi's paintings for many years and are already familiar with the various forms of his paintings. After hearing what Qianqian said, they looked towards the light and indeed found the problem.
The team that stole the painting from the other country was shocked speechless. Before the painting was exhibited, they had authenticated it themselves and unanimously agreed that it was an authentic work.
They all carefully examined the painting over and over again for a month before reaching their conclusion, but they never imagined that the real decisive identification method was not on the painting itself.
If we didn't know about the problem of inferring the paper from the painting within the painting, who would have guessed that in the end it would be a piece of paper that could not be identified by the naked eye that would be used to prove that the painting was fake.
The leader of the thief group took a deep breath, then he lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground. The people around him rushed to see what was happening and immediately there was chaos.
Wen Qianqian glanced through the gap in the crowd, and after determining that the captain did not fall seriously, she ignored him. Her eyes swept across the crystal frame holding the painting behind her, and suddenly remembered something. Her eyes swept towards Li Xinzai who was sitting behind her like lightning.
At this time, Li Xin was also leaning on the table and gasping for breath. His face was pale and he stared at the painting in disbelief. He looked even worse than the leader who had stolen the country.
Wen Qianqian took a few steps to his side. Li Xin didn't know what she was going to do, but he was instinctively afraid and kept shrinking back.
Wen Qianqian chuckled, walked to his side, suddenly lowered her head, and quickly said clearly and decisively in his ear: "Fuck your mother."
Li Xin was trembling all over, and stood there in a daze. The next second, he instinctively cursed back: "What the hell did you say..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly realized something and immediately covered his mouth subconsciously.
But it was no use covering it up, Wen Qianqian had already heard it.
She looked at him with a half-smile: "You really can speak Chinese."
She looked at Li Xinxin and said, "You just blurted out those words subconsciously, with pure pronunciation. You understand the Chinese curse words so clearly and were able to curse back immediately. You are Chinese, right?"
The person on the other side knew that he had been exposed, so he bit his lips tightly and didn't say anything.
Wen Qianqian glanced at his face and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't speak. Not only do I know you are Chinese, I also know that you know Xie Yunjin."
The person opposite suddenly had his pupils constricted, as if he had seen a ghost.
She looked at him with a firm expression: "I don't know what your relationship with Xie Yunjin is, but you must have gotten this painting from him."
"If I'm not mistaken, he copied more than one painting and put them in the same crystal frame. One day, you stole one of them, thinking it was the original, but it turned out to be a fake."
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