The crowd exchanged incredulous glances, finding the idea unbelievable.
Emotionally, they couldn't believe that Zhang Qiuhuai would purchase a fake piece of porcelain to deceive others, but logically, they felt that, as Mu Jinyu could crush a Nokia with his bare hands and had conquered half of Africa as a super soldier king, his knowledge must be extraordinary. Perhaps...
Zhang Qiuhuai had been tricked into buying a fake? The source of thษชs content is ๐ท๐ธ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ต~๐๐๐ฃ๐~๐ฃ๐๐ฉ
Thus, as they examined the "Bat Peach Olive Bottle" in Zhang Qiuhuai's arms, their eyes involuntarily began to cloud with doubts.
Zhang Qiuhuai's face darkened instantly.
He had spent fifty million on the Olive Bottle, and now it was being called fake by Mu Jinyu, a mere pauperโhow could he endure this?
Especially after seeing the slightly skeptical looks from those around him, he felt even more outraged. He snorted and said coldly, "What would a cultureless soldier know about antiques, what would you understand about art?"
"If you don't understand, then stop spouting nonsense!" Zhang Qiuhuai said with dissatisfaction.
After speaking, he held up the "Bat Peach Olive Bottle" in his hands, looked around at the skeptical crowd and exclaimed loudly, "Look at this porcelain vase, it's so big and round, look at this glaze, it's so delicate and tender..."
"Could a fake have this quality?!"
"I've consulted so many experts, and they all said it's genuine!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd's doubts vanished, feeling ashamed for having believed Mu Jinyu's words, and they began to scorn Mu Jinyu for pretending to know when he did not.
"Can the young man be more prudent, and stop pretending to know things you don't, okay?"
"Really, I almost believed your nonsense. How could an antique vase that Young Master Zhang bought for fifty million be fake? Don't be jealous of Young Master Zhang, deliberately slandering and misleading usโฆ"
"Exactly, you can eat shit if you want, but don't spout nonsense. Apologize to Young Master Zhang now!"
Zhang Qiuhuai saw that the doubt had vanished from the eyes of the crowd, who were now disdainfully scolding Mu Jinyu, and this made him feel somewhat relieved.
Then, he looked derisively at Mu Jinyu and sneered, "Being uneducated as a soldier is not scary. What's scary is being uneducated and yet trying to act clever. Brother will teach you a lesson today. Remember from now on to be cautious with your words and never pretend to know things you don't."
Seeing their adamant statements, the sliver of hope in Gu Xiyan's heart shattered again. She turned her head to look at Mu Jinyu, her gaze desperate and angry.
She felt that she must have been crazy today to think of kidnapping a robust man to masquerade as her boyfriend.
And she should not have listened to her girlfriend's advice to enlist the very unreliable Soldier King Lin Feng.
First, he took a large white radish and boldly claimed it was Thousand-year Ginseng, then, having no other option, he claimed that the "Fortune and Longevity" Famille Rose porcelain that someone had paid fifty million for was fake.
With no evidence and slandering others, such reprehensible actions were completely embarrassing her.
Mu Jinyu, seeing the despair and anger in Gu Xiyan's eyes, sighed helplessly, ready to explain to her and the crowd why the "Bat Peach Olive Bottle" was indeed fake.
From outside the banquet hall, a series of steady, powerful footsteps echoed.
The doors opened and a group of imposing men and women, evidently accustomed to holding high power, surrounded an elderly man with slightly graying hair but an erect posture, as they entered.
The old man was dressed in a bright red Tang suit, his face stern and imposing, his eyes somewhat cloudy but occasionally flickering with sharpness, obviously not yet reaching the stage of senility.
As this group entered, the voices in the banquet hall choked mid-insult, and all the curses at their lips were swallowed back down.
Only because these late arrivals were the core members of the Gu Family and Gu Corporation.
Gu Xiyan's far-removed relatives, who were present at the venue, were mere flatterers who depended on them for their survival.
Therefore, once the real protagonist of today's birthday feast, Old Master Gu Gu Zhengxin, led everyone in, how could they dare to speak recklessly or displease him?
Instantly, they became so reserved that they did not even dare to breathe heavily.
Gu Tianyun, the eldest son of the Gu family, walked beside Gu Zhengxin. After entering the banquet hall, he looked at the group of distant relatives with bowed heads and frowned, saying faintly,
"What exactly were you all rambling about just now? We could hear you outside the hall, saying things about shit and dung... It's quite unpleasant to hear, you know. Today is Grandpa's big day, so don't say such unpleasant things later..."
His tone was calm yet carried an air of authority with a hint of warning and dissatisfaction, clearly irritated by the foul language they had just used.
The people dared not say anything and just continually nodded in agreement.
Seeing their demeanor, Gu Tianyun didn't bother to say more. He nodded at his niece Gu Xiyan and was slightly taken aback by Mu Jinyu beside her, but didn't comment. Finally, his gaze landed on Zhang Qiuhuai, and his face brightened into a smile.
"Qiuhuai, you came early, huh?" Gu Tianyun said with a smile.
"Yes." Zhang Qiuhuai nodded with a smile, then glanced at the silently standing Mu Jinyu and suddenly said with a laugh, "It's just that I knew our old man is particularly fond of Yongzheng era Famille Rose porcelain from the Qing Dynasty, so I specially spent five months to painstakingly buy a piece of 'Fortune and Longevity' Famille Rose porcelain with a particularly good meaning, planning to give it to Grandpa tonight as a surprise, but unfortunately..."
"Unfortunately what?" Before Gu Tianyun could ask, the still spirited Gu Zhengxin suddenly spoke up.
Zhang Qiuhuai glanced at Mu Jinyu and said with an intentionally bitter tone, "A friend brought by Xiao Yan, for some reason, has some hostility towards me, claiming the 'Fortune and Longevity' Famille Rose porcelain I bought is fake. I don't know if what he's saying is true, so now I dare not present it to Grandpa, lest it really be a fake and I end up embarrassing myself..."
He didn't explicitly say Mu Jinyu was jealous of him, as that could easily come off as tattling.
But what kind of perceptive person was Gu Zhengxin? He, of course, heard the implied meaning behind his words.
Thus, Gu Zhengxin turned his head to look at Mu Jinyu, who stood beside Gu Xiyan, and asked, "This is..."
Gu Xiyan hurriedly tugged at Mu Jinyu's sleeve and introduced, "My boyfriend... Lin Feng... has just returned from abroad not long ago..."
Mu Jinyu, seeing Gu Xiyan giving him a cue, reluctantly followed up, saying, "Hello, Grandpa..."
Gu Zhengxin didn't have a good impression of Mu Jinyu's greeting, as he hoped that Gu Xiyan and Zhang Qiuhuai would pair up, which would also improve the relations between the Gu and Zhang families.
Though displeased, Gu Zhengxin's expression remained unchanged as he asked indifferently, "You said the Famille Rose porcelain Qiuhuai bought is fake?"
"It is indeed fake," Mu Jinyu replied nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders, "I heard from Yanyan that you, Grandpa, have been immersed in the world of porcelain for decades, you would probably recognize whether the 'Fortune and Longevity' he has is real, or not."
Nobody spoke, but Zhang Qiuhuai inwardly scorned Mu Jinyu for still being defensive at this moment.
On hearing Mu Jinyu stand by his view, Gu Xiyan couldn't help but feel a spark of hope rise within her once again.
Gu Zhengxin saw Mu Jinyu's confidence, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes, but he said nothing and turned to look at Zhang Qiuhuai, saying, "Qiuhuai, show me that Famille Rose porcelain."
"Yes, Grandpa," Zhang Qiuhuai also called out 'Grandpa' without showing weakness and carefully handed over the Famille Rose porcelain he was cradling to Gu Zhengxin.
Gu Zhengxin received the porcelain bottle, scrutinizing it carefully and gently touching it a few times. Although his facial expression didn't change, a trace of peculiarity swept through his eyes.
Zhang Qiuhuai, who had been observant of the nuances, suddenly felt a pang of anxiety, thinking, 'Could it be that I really made a mistake? This is bad if it's going to embarrass me.'
Mu Jinyu smiled faintly, full of confidence.
After a few touches, Gu Zhengxin withdrew his hand and made a verdict,