Who is Lin Yu?
The renowned Yunqi Shanren, the foremost figure in the world of calligraphy and painting, had spent so many years at Longfeng Pavilion, using ancient paintings as his pillow and coming into contact with them every day. His discerning eye was naturally extraordinary, which is why he recognized at a glance that this landscape painting by Mi Fu was a fake.
But Zhou Liang disagrees!
The reason he brought such an expensive painting today is, frankly, to be used as a betrothal gift for Lan Ling.
Now that this kid says he's lying, isn't this a slap in the face for him?
"Kid, do you even know anything about ancient paintings? Since you say what I said is false, you'd better give me a straight answer, or believe me, I won't be so polite!" Zhou Liang said menacingly, looking ready to fight at the slightest provocation.
Lin Yu remained calm, stepped forward, touched the ancient painting on the table, and said, "It would be very difficult for the average person to distinguish the authenticity of this ancient painting, because both the material of the silk and the style of the painting are impeccable, almost indistinguishable from the real thing!"
Zhou Liang gave him a cold glance. "Stop beating around the bush. If you're so capable, just say the question. What's the point of talking if there's no difference?"
Lin Yu nodded. "First of all, although this silk cloth was artificially aged, it still has problems. The color is a bit too dark. Although Song Dynasty paintings are generally dark, this color is a bit too much, which is why it gave itself away!"
Zhou Liang chuckled, "Kid, are you kidding me? This is a painting from the Song Dynasty. It's ancient, and its preservation is also a factor. What can you tell from the colors?"
"The colors alone are not enough to tell anything. However, to age an ancient painting, some chemicals must be used. The reason I said this painting was poisonous before was because of the chemicals!"
As Lin Yu spoke, he took out a silver needle from his pocket. "Silver needles can detect poison. Now I will use this silver needle to test whether this painting is poisoned or not. Watch carefully!"
As Lin Yu spoke, he directly poked the silver needle into the ancient painting and rubbed it repeatedly.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, but after the silver needle touched the ancient painting, it didn't seem to change much.
"Haha, kid, you've been exposed, haven't you? So what? Nothing really happened!" Zhou Liang couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't rush!" Lin Yu remained calm and asked Lan Yingquan for a lighter, then heated the silver needles over the fire.
Soon, the silver needle turned black at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Everyone was taken aback.
"Wow, this ancient painting is really poisonous!"
"Oh my god, thank goodness I didn't touch it!"
However, the old man Lan Shanyue's expression immediately changed. After all, he had just been in close contact with the ancient painting. He hurriedly ordered the servants, "Quickly, quickly, bring me a basin of water. I need to wash myself properly!"
Seeing this, Zhou Liang's face turned red with anger.
"Kid, I don't know what kind of trick you're playing, but this doesn't prove that my painting is fake. It's not convincing at all!"
Clearly, Zhou Liang was still unconvinced. So what if the silk was poisonous? That had nothing to do with the painting itself!
“A single silver needle certainly doesn’t prove anything!” Lin Yu agreed, then said, “Then let’s look at it from a professional perspective!”
"If I'm not mistaken, this painting is a forgery by a Yuan or Ming dynasty painter. It's not very skillful. Not only are the proportions of the foreground and background inconsistent, but the most important element, the shape of the main mountain, is also completely distorted. I suspect the artist only briefly looked at the original and drew it from memory or a rough sketch. As for the brushwork details, they fail to reflect the strong Northern Song characteristics of the original. It's the kind of painting that you can 'see through at a glance'!"
Lin Yu showed no mercy, directly dismissing the ancient painting as worthless.
Although the artist of this painting was extremely skilled, he saw through it at a glance. After all, he was Yunqi Shanren, and even the best imitations were rubbish in his eyes.
"Bullshit! Do you even know anything about ancient paintings? Mi Fu's style is all about bold lines and unconventional style. Do you even understand it? I think you're just too clumsy!" Zhou Liang said with a disdainful look, still very unconvinced.
Lin Yu shook his head. "I wouldn't dare say I'm that good, but I definitely know more than you. Your grandfather was really ripped off when he bought this painting. That 30 million is a complete waste! But since it was an auction item, you can appeal. Maybe you can recover some of your losses!"
Lin Yu meant well, but Zhou Liang couldn't stand it. "You're talking nonsense! What right do you have to make such a judgment? Are you an appraisal master? Do you even have a certificate? Just based on your words, my 30 million is going down the drain?"
Zhou Liang was so angry that he almost had an asthma attack.
"Zhou Liang, don't be angry!"
At this moment, Wu Yuxiang finally spoke.
Her eyes flickered as she said, "I don't believe this painting is fake either. Some people just spout nonsense. Why don't we find an authoritative person to authenticate it? Then the truth will come out."
Lan Shanyue frowned. "Yuxiang, is this really necessary?"
He had no intention of acquiring the painting, so its authenticity was irrelevant to him.
"Dad, this is still necessary!"
As Wu Yuxiang spoke, she looked at Lin Yu and said with a sneer, "Because this concerns the reputation of Zhou Liang, and at the same time, it can also let us see if some people are just spouting nonsense! People with bad character are not worthy of my daughter!"
Lin Yu frowned.
What does this mean? How did this get involved with your daughter again?
"Mom, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Lan Ling's face flushed, and she quickly walked over to Lin Yu to explain, "Brother Lin, please don't misunderstand..."
"There's no misunderstanding!" Wu Yuxiang spoke again, coldly saying to Lin Yu, "Dr. Lin, how about we make a bet? If this painting is fake, I can agree to you being with my daughter. But if this painting is real, from now on, you should stay away from my daughter and never appear in our Lan family again!"
"Yu Xiang!" Lan Shanyue's face changed, and he immediately scolded, "Doctor Lin is a benefactor of our Lan family, how dare you speak like that!"
Wu Yuxiang snorted, "Dad, I don't care about anything else, I only care about my daughter's happiness. I don't want her to marry a smooth-talking man!"
"Mom, how could you say that? Brother Lin isn't like that at all. Besides, we didn't..."
Lan Ling was so anxious that she didn't know what to say.
At this moment, Lin Yu pulled her aside and said, "Alright, Lan Ling, I can accept your suggestion. Just as you said, reputation is indeed very important, and I also want to prove that I'm not just talking nonsense!"
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