Zhuo Yu Feng Yang Chapter 19

Chapter 19 Confrontation at the Appraisal Stage, the Forgery Revealed

The area around the appraisal stage was already packed, shoulder to shoulder. Fatty Wang held the Sancai horse, his face beaming with smugness, as if he had already secured a priceless treasure.

Old Ghost Chen held the microphone, spitting as he boasted: “Everyone, look! This Sancai horse has a vigorous shape, the glaze is lustrous, and the blue glaze is pure in color. It is a masterpiece from the Gongxian Kiln of the Tang Dynasty! Look at the glaze tears on the tail, flowing naturally—absolutely beyond the reach of later imitations!”

Brother Hu stood nearby, a calculating smile hanging on the corner of his mouth. His gaze swept over the crowd, finally landing on Jiang Zhuo, who had squeezed his way in. A hint of malice flashed in his eyes.

Lu Jingyang followed behind Jiang Zhuo, standing on his tiptoes to glance at the Sancai horse on the stage. He couldn’t help but mutter under his breath: “That blue glaze is too bright. It looks like it was just pulled out of a palette. Tang Sancai doesn’t have that kind of look.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was just enough for a few knowledgeable collectors nearby to hear, and a wave of whispers immediately spread through the crowd.

Old Ghost Chen, with his sharp ears, immediately glared over: “Which young brat is spouting nonsense here? Do you even understand what antique appraisal is?”

Just as Lu Jingyang was about to retort, Jiang Zhuo lightly patted his shoulder, then stepped onto the appraisal stage.

“Old Ghost Chen’s appraisal level is probably only good enough to fool amateurs.” Jiang Zhuo’s voice was clear and cool, yet it cut through the noisy discussions. “This Sancai horse doesn’t even count as a high-quality imitation; it is a complete and utter modern forgery.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue erupted in an uproar.

Fatty Wang’s face instantly turned liver-colored. He pointed at Jiang Zhuo’s nose and cursed: “What nonsense are you talking about, kid! Old Expert Chen said it’s genuine! Who do you think you are!”

“Whether I’m talking nonsense or not, we’ll know by looking.” Jiang Zhuo ignored his shouting and walked over to the Sancai horse, his fingertip lightly tracing the glaze on the horse’s body. “Genuine Tang Sancai, after thousands of years, develops a layer of warm, smooth patina. The touch is delicate. But the glaze on this horse is glaringly smooth—it’s the result of rapid chemical glazing. You can tell the difference just by handling it.”

He paused, then pointed to the horse’s leg: “And here, the so-called ‘glaze tears’ look natural, but they were actually applied manually before firing. The edges are stiff and lack the natural layering of flow. Look at the clay body. Tang Sancai’s clay is a mixture of kaolin and quartz sand, hard in texture, and sounds crisp when tapped. This horse’s clay body is loose, sounds dull when tapped, and would shatter with a single knock.”

Old Ghost Chen’s face grew increasingly ugly. He shouted sternly: “Nonsense! What evidence do you have?!”

“Evidence?” Jiang Zhuo sneered, picking up a nearby spotlight and shining it on the bottom of the Sancai horse. “Everyone, please look at the inscription on the bottom.”

The spotlight focused on the inscription. Everyone could clearly see that the strokes of the seemingly ancient characters had slight serrated edges.

“Genuine Tang Dynasty inscriptions were hand-carved, with rounded and natural strokes. These characters, however, were computer-engraved and then molded, showing obvious machine marks on the edges,” Jiang Zhuo’s voice was authoritative. “Old Ghost Chen, you’ve been in the antique circle for decades. Surely you don’t lack even this basic common sense?”

Cold sweat beaded on Old Ghost Chen’s forehead, but he still tried to hold his ground: “You… you are slandering me! You are deliberately trying to ruin my event!”

“Ruin your event?” Jiang Zhuo raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over Brother Hu. “I just can’t stand certain people who use the guise of appraisal to engage in deceitful and fraudulent activities.”

Brother Hu’s face was so dark it looked like it could drip water. He stepped forward and said menacingly: “Boss Jiang, leave a thread in everything, so we can meet again later. If you insist on crossing us, I’m afraid you won’t get a good outcome.”

“A good outcome?” Jiang Zhuo scoffed. “The matter of you defrauding collectors with forgeries and illegally selling national cultural relics won’t be so easily dismissed, I think.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a sudden commotion broke out in the crowd. The director of the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau, accompanied by several staff members, walked over quickly.

“Say that again!” The director’s face was serious, and his gaze sharply fixed on Brother Hu and Old Ghost Chen.

Brother Hu’s heart sank. He knew things had gone wrong, but he still tried to argue: “Director, this is a misunderstanding! This kid is deliberately sowing discord!”

“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, we’ll find out after an investigation.” Jiang Zhuo pulled a USB drive from his pocket and handed it to the director. “This contains the accounts of Brother Hu’s smuggling of cultural relics, as well as evidence that he instructed Old Hei to frame Mr. Zhou Jingshan. Furthermore, this Sancai horse is also physical evidence, sufficient to prove their fraudulent activities.”

The director took the USB drive, his expression growing even more solemn. He immediately instructed his staff: “Control these two people and bring them back to the bureau for investigation!”

Brother Hu and Old Ghost Chen instantly turned ash-gray. They tried to resist but were quickly subdued by the staff.

Fatty Wang watched the two being led away, then looked at the Sancai horse in his hands. Shaking with rage, he violently smashed it onto the floor. With a loud crack, the Sancai horse shattered, revealing the coarse pottery clay body inside.

Lu Jingyang squeezed onto the appraisal stage and gave Jiang Zhuo a gesture of admiration. His eyes were bright with a lively smile: “Boss Jiang, that move was too cool! Old Ghost Chen’s face was as white as paper just now!”

Jiang Zhuo looked at the sparkle in his eyes, and the corner of his mouth curved into a faint arc.

Just then, the director walked up to Jiang Zhuo and patted his shoulder: “Boss Jiang, thanks to the evidence you provided, we were able to root out these two scourges.”

Jiang Zhuo nodded, his gaze turning toward the window.

The sunlight was perfect, dispelling all the gloom.

Elder Zhou’s injustice would soon be cleared, and Brother Hu and Old Ghost Chen had received their due retribution. But he knew that the matter was not entirely over yet.