"If it's an authentic work by the Taoist of Lingshan, then it's worth a fortune!"
Kang Minghui was very satisfied with everyone's reaction.
"I won't keep you in suspense any longer. To tell you the truth, this is none other than Lingshan Daoren's 'Bluebird Watching the Clouds'!"
As they spoke, two professionals wearing white gloves carefully unfurled the scroll.
The camera on stage also gave the entire painting a close-up.
Everyone stared intently, and gasps of amazement rose from the crowd.
"As expected of the Taoist of Lingshan, his Taoist demeanor and otherworldly aura are truly awe-inspiring."
"With such exquisite and elegant brushwork, who else but the Taoist of Lingshan could achieve this?"
"I never expected to have the chance to see the original work of the Taoist Master Lingshan today. It's wonderful, truly wonderful!"
Kang Minghui was even more satisfied.
At this moment, the auctioneer announced: "Lingshan Daoren's calligraphy and painting, 'Bluebird Watching the Clouds,' starting price is 120 million, with each bid increasing by at least one million."
This is definitely the highest starting price today! However, for Ling Shan Dao Ren's calligraphy and paintings, this estimated price is not surprising at all.
"One hundred and twenty-six million!"
"One hundred and twenty-seven million!"
"One hundred and twenty-eight million!"
...
"One hundred and fifty thousand!"
"One hundred and fifty-one million!"
...
"One hundred and seventy million!"
...
Two hundred million!
There are many people offering higher prices, making the competition extremely fierce.
[Holy crap, they raised the sign without hesitation? As if it wasn't a million?]
Why do I, who am poor, enjoy watching these kinds of scenes?
[I noticed that neither Maomao nor Mujin held up any signs? Was it because they didn't find anything they liked?]
In no time, the price had reached 250 million.
A little while later, it reached 300 million!
However, some people still raised the price!
Kang Minghui was already confident of victory. He glanced at Ding Yongchun again, as if he had already won.
Ding Yongchun remained expressionless, suppressing his hatred. The more smug he was now, the more exciting it would be later.
And today is his last auction!
Ding Yongchun refrained from immediately retaliating against Kang Minghui because he was mindful of Maomao's plan.
I hope he doesn't have any heart disease or anything like that, and doesn't die of anger today; that would be too easy for him.
After the auction price reached 400 million, the number of bidders gradually decreased, leaving only two or three people competing.
Kang Minghui couldn't help but look at Song Sifan. Song Sifan hadn't made a move yet. He liked collecting calligraphy and paintings, and wasn't "Bluebird Watching the Clouds" just to his liking? Why wasn't he raising his paddle?
Kang Minghui was anxious. He thought Song Sifan was just waiting until the very end to make his move, but he hadn't made a move yet!
He didn't raise his paddle even when "Bluebird Watching the Clouds" was about to be sold for 420 million!
"Four hundred and twenty million once, four hundred and twenty million twice, four hundred and twenty million three times, and it's done..."
Just as the auctioneer was about to bring down the gavel...
"Wait a moment!"
The crisp sound stood out in the tense atmosphere.
Everyone stared in surprise at the speaker—Maomao.
Kang Minghui was initially displeased, but he suppressed his emotions and said, "Miss Jiu, if you want to bid, please raise your paddle directly. There's no need to call a halt."
The cat smiled and said, "Sorry, I'm not bidding."
"Then what are you going to do?"
Cat stood up and calmly faced everyone's gaze. "I have thought about it for a long time. Although the truth may be a little cruel to you, Mr. Kang, I still have to say that your painting 'Bluebird Watching the Clouds' is a fake."
These words caused an uproar among the audience.
"A fake? Impossible! A fake at a joint auction?"
"This is going to be interesting."
Kang Minghui's face darkened, and he angrily said, "Miss Jiu! The 'Bluebird Watching the Sunset' painting has an authentication certificate issued by an authoritative institution, and it is absolutely impossible for it to be fake. What you are saying is slander! You are the president of the Qulan Association, and you should be responsible for your words. You can't be so ignorant as to not even know this much?"
Cat replied without fear: "That's right. It is precisely because I am the president of the Gulan Chamber of Commerce that I have to speak responsibly and tell everyone that this is a fake and should not be auctioned in the name of Lingshan Daoren. Is there anything wrong with that?"
Kang Minghui was certain that Jiu Maomao was there to cause trouble!
"What makes you say that? You need to provide evidence!"
The cat nodded, then walked out of its seat and went straight to the stage.
"Mr. Kang, you're right. Alright, I'll help you with the appraisal."
Her tone was as if she were doing a good deed!
Kang Minghui's face darkened. "Please!"
Cat walked up to the painting "Bluebird Watching the Clouds" and said, "I think everyone knows that Lingshan Daoren only got the nickname after he went to Lingshan in his later years."
A few years ago, he used his real name on his paintings. However, most of his works were painted in his later years, so while people are very familiar with Lingshan Daoren (the Taoist of Lingshan), they are not very familiar with his real name.
"The painting 'Bluebird Watching the Clouds' was painted before he left home. He set off for Lingshan because he dreamed of a bluebird landing on Lingshan."
"Therefore, even though the painting 'Bluebird Watching the Clouds' depicts the scenery of Lingshan, it is only what he saw in his dream, and it was not painted in Lingshan."
"Do you all understand? In other words, the signature of 'Bluebird Watching the Clouds' could not possibly be 'Lingshan Daoren', but the signature here is Lingshan Daoren."
It must be said that the person who forged this painting was highly skilled, managing to so closely resemble the real Lingshan Daoren in meticulous brushwork. He was truly talented. It's just a pity that the forger was careless, leaving such an obvious mistake.
Upon closer inspection, everyone realized that the signature truly belonged to "Lingshan Daoren"!
"This...is it really a fake?!"
"Miss Jiu truly lives up to her reputation as the president of the Gulan Chamber of Commerce. She is incredibly knowledgeable. If she hadn't pointed it out, I would still be completely in the dark!"
"We almost made a deal just now! Four hundred and twenty million! If we had won the bid, we would have lost a fortune!"
Kang Minghui's legs went weak, and he almost fainted. He said angrily, "Impossible! You're lying!"
Cat looked at him with sympathy. "Mr. Kang, if you don't believe me, you can take it for testing again. Just don't go to the same testing center as before. Go to another one."
"No need to thank me, it was just a small favor."
After finishing her sentence, the cat calmly returned to her seat.
[Aww, this was so much fun! The cat actually debunked the fake story on the spot!]
Is this why the cat shop hasn't been open lately?
[I love the streamer so much! Please take more pictures of the cats!]
Kang Minghui was devastated.
The crowd whispered among themselves. The person who had last raised the placard stopped bidding, saying, "Since it's a fake, why bother bidding? It's a downer!"
"This is so disappointing. How could Vientiane Auction House be so careless?"
"This is a joint auction, and there have never been any fakes at joint auctions."
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