Before Zhang Hou could refute, Zhou Yang's eyes suddenly turned cold, and his aura surged.
“I knew these two items were fakes the moment they were put on the auction stage! Miss Gu has been with us ever since the incident, never leaving our side.”
"Does she have three heads and six arms, capable of teleporting and manipulating things without my knowledge, right under my nose? Do you think I'm blind, or that everyone here is a fool?"
Zhou Yang's words were resounding and filled with an undeniable air of authority.
Xu Yao watched from the side with admiration in her beautiful eyes. Her man was incredibly cool when he was roasting people!
Gu Zhongchen's sharp gaze swept over Zhou Yang.
This young man has an extraordinary demeanor; he remains calm and composed in the face of such a situation. I wonder whose successor he is.
He was just about to ask about the boy's background.
Gu Huaiyue was quick-witted and immediately understood. She stepped forward and introduced herself to Gu Zhongchen in a graceful and generous manner.
"Grandpa, let me introduce you. This is Zhou Yang, Young Master Zhou!"
She raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Young Master Zhou is so young, yet he has an amazing talent and expertise in antique appraisal. It was Young Master Zhou who pointed out the problems with these two items at the auction, turning the tide and preventing greater losses for my Tianjin Auction House."
Zhou Yang met Gu Zhongchen's scrutinizing gaze, neither humble nor arrogant, a confident smile curving her lips.
He spoke loudly: "Grandpa Gu, I am Zhou Yang! I dare not say anything else, but when it comes to appraising treasures, I am quite confident."
"No counterfeit, no matter how well made, can escape my eyes."
He paused slightly, his eyes sharp as knives, first sweeping over the indignant Gu Huaijin, then fixing on the pale-faced Zhang Hou.
"Whether Miss Gu has any problems or not, I can guarantee with my own integrity that she is absolutely innocent. As for this good-for-nothing young master of Tianjin Auction House..."
Zhou Yang scoffed, saying bluntly, "I'm afraid that's hard to say. Either he himself is not skilled enough or his eyesight is not good enough, and he mistook the imposter for the real deal."
"Or they've been blinded by some 'insiders' with ulterior motives, becoming suckers without even realizing it, and even helping the swindlers count the money!"
As he spoke, Zhou Yang's gaze lingered for a moment on Zhang Hou's face, which was filled with guilt.
That old bastard, with his shifty eyes, he's definitely no good.
When Zhou Yang stared at him with such undisguised gaze, and heard him call him a "good-for-nothing young master" and "one of our own with ulterior motives," Zhang Hou felt as if a venomous snake had been stepped on, and the hairs on his body stood on end!
He jumped up as if he had burned his foot, his face red and neck bulging as he pointed at Zhou Yang and yelled.
"What do you mean?! You're slandering me! I, Zhang Hou, have worked diligently at Tianjin Auction House for decades, handling at least eight or ten thousand treasures!"
“I have done nothing wrong! How could I possibly harm the young master! How could I risk the century-old reputation of Tianjin Auction House and my own lifelong reputation?! This is slander! Utter slander!”
Zhou Yang didn't bother to argue: "Whatever, I just think you have a problem!"
A cold glint flashed in Gu Huaiyue's phoenix eyes, and a mocking smile curved her lips as she glanced sideways at Zhang Hou, whose face was flushed red.
“Master Zhang, you’ve got a very clever plan! According to you, if this matter comes out, it will naturally damage the reputation of your father and Tianjin.”
"But what if it hadn't been exposed? Wouldn't this huge profit, obtained through such deception, have ended up in someone's pocket?"
"By then, who will care about reputation? Making a fortune quietly is the only way to go, right?"
Hmph, you old fox, still trying to play innocent?
I'll see how long you can keep up your stubbornness!
Gu Huaiyue sneered inwardly, but remained calm on the surface.
Zhang Hou was speechless, his face turning pale and then red, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.
This young lady usually seems gentle and refined, but when she criticizes someone, she can be incredibly sharp and merciless!
Just then, the middle-aged man who had been standing beside Gu Huaiyue stepped forward.
He bowed respectfully to Gu Zhongchen: "Old Master, please forgive me for speaking out of turn."
Gu Zhongchen was already exhausted. When he saw that it was another appraisal master from the auction house, he nodded and gestured for him to continue.
Lin Anye continued, neither humble nor arrogant: "Sir, since Miss Huaiyue became the chief auctioneer of Tianjin Auction House, she has handled countless auction items without ever making a mistake. Her professionalism and meticulousness are evident to all in the industry."
"Today's events were indeed caused by Young Master Huaijin's side, bringing shame to Tianjin Auction House. Fortunately, Young Master Zhou was astute and stopped the damage in time, preventing a greater mistake from occurring. It is a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Yang, Du Zhe, and Qin Yumo, his tone sincere.
"However, in any case, this matter has delayed Mr. Du, Ms. Qin, Mr. Zhou, and Ms. Xu's precious time and disturbed your enjoyment. This is a dereliction of duty on our part of Tianjin Auction House."
"In my opinion, it would be better to invite our distinguished guests to come outside first, where we can offer them a small gift as compensation. We can discuss the follow-up investigation behind closed doors in detail. How about that? We must not neglect our distinguished guests because of this."
When Gu Zhongchen heard Lin Anye mention it, he also felt it was a way to step down.
We've already lost enough face today; continuing the interrogation in front of outsiders will only make things worse.
Gu Huaiyue, being exceptionally intelligent, immediately grasped her partner Lin Anye's intention—
This is an attempt to appease these influential figures first, taking a conciliatory approach to minimize the impact!
A layer of just the right amount of guilt and grievance filled her beautiful eyes as she gave Zhou Yang, Du Zhe, and the others a graceful curtsy.
"Gentlemen, I am so sorry for today! It is all due to the oversight in the internal management of Tianjin that such a blunder occurred, making you laugh at us and almost causing you to suffer losses."
"Huaiyue hereby sincerely apologizes to everyone again, and hopes that you gentlemen will be magnanimous and not hold it against us."
Goodness, that acting skill, that flirting! It's a shame he's not in the entertainment industry! He gets into character in a second!
Zhou Yang watched in amazement, thinking how great it would be if his system could reward him with a "Movie Emperor Experience Card," which might come in handy when he set up a street stall to perform.
Zhou Yang waved his hand cheerfully, with an expression that said, "I'm just here to watch the show and enjoy the drama."
"Miss Gu, you're too kind. It's nothing, just like watching a great show. It was quite exciting, full of twists and turns, much more thrilling than those scripts that screenwriters make up!"
Du Zhe snorted coldly from the side, his face still not very good, but after glancing at Zhou Yang, he still spoke in a gruff voice: "It's only because of Master's face! The goods were not sold, and no money was lost, so let's just let it go."
"Next time, Tianjin needs to be more careful and not let just any Tom, Dick, or Harry in, turning a perfectly good business into a mess!"
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