Chapter 553: Chapter 554: Twenty Million for a Counterfeit
Xia Yangyang quietly watched the scene unfold.
She couldn’t figure out what Gu Qichen was thinking.
That bracelet wasn’t actually Xia Weiwei’s, it was hers.
However, Gu Qichen was most likely unaware of this.
She stopped wearing this silver bracelet when she was ten, as it seemed her mother had put it away.
She hadn’t expected to see it here and now.
But Xia Yangyang didn’t bother trying to guess Gu Qichen’s thoughts anymore.
The auction continued.
Next up for auction were some of Xia Weiwei’s jewelry and clothes.
Some of them were indeed valuable.
However, Gu Qichen didn’t place any more bids.
The others auction items didn’t manage to fetch a high bid of two million either.
Soon, it came to the last item for auction.
The item being auctioned was a painting valuated at eight million in the market, titled “A Leisha Chart”.
Moreover, this painting was the grand finale of tonight’s event.
Many wealthy families and collectors came specifically for this piece.
The most important thing was, there wasn’t a reserve price for this painting in the auction.
As soon as the auction officially started, people started bidding against each other.
The final painting ended up being bid up to twenty million.
The final bid was made by Zhang Dazhi, a wealthy man from Beijing who loved collecting famous paintings.
Everyone crowded around congratulating him.
Xia Weiwei personally delivered the painting in person, saying, “Mr. Zhang, your generous heart will be remembered by all. This twenty million will be d to the Hope Project as promised.”
Zhang Dazhi smiled and said, “It’s Miss Xia with a virtuous heart, who was willing to such a good painting for charity.”
The auction concluded.
People clustered all around.
Someone started, “Mr. Zhang, you’ve gotten such a treasure today. Shouldn’t you let us take a look and feast our eyes?”
Zhang Dazhi was not a stingy man, especially when he just acquired a treasure. “Alright, let’s all appreciate it first.”
After speaking, Zhang Dazhi took the painting and placed it back on the display stand.
Many people crowded around.
Xia Yangyang also walked over.
This masterpiece from the Tang Dynasty, with its precise and delicate strokes, rich colors, and depiction of the era’s background, holds a high research value for China’s Tang Dynasty folk customs.
Everyone was full of praise as they admired the painting.
After taking a quick glance, Xia Yangyang suddenly spoke up, “This painting is not an original, it’s a forgery.”
Her words caused quite a stir.
Xia Weiwei immediately responded, “Xia Yangyang, don’t go around falsely accusing people. This is definitely an original. What are you trying to achieve by making such baseless claims?”
This painting was something Xia Weiwei had recently bought from an underground market.
She had spent more than two hundred thousand on it at the time.
But Xia Weiwei had also consulted an expert, who had confirmed it to be a rare treasure.
Xia Weiwei felt she had struck a jackpot.
A treasure estimated to be worth eight million on the market had been purchased by her for just two hundred thousand.
So, she thought that it was a good deal to use it for charity and to build her reputation.
But was Xia Yangyang here today to purposefully sabotage her?
Xia Yangyang spoke in a calm voice, “Whether it’s a rare piece or not, we will know when we get an expert to examine it. Mr. Zhang is kindly doing charity here, but if he ends up buying a fake, people will laugh.”
Hearing that this painting might be fake made Zhang Dazhi’s face drop.
He was simply interested in collecting famous paintings, the bigger the name, the better.
But he was not an expert.
He only came to attend this young girl’s birthday party because the painting had been hyped in the circle.
Twenty million was not a big deal for him.
But if he had spent twenty million for a forgery, wouldn’t people make a joke out of him?
Zhang Dazhi demanded, “Authenticate it. It must be authenticated right away! If it’s a counterfeit, I will sue you for fraud.”