Xia Qingtian felt countless gazes fixed on her back, mostly curious, surprised, appraising, and some mocking or sighing.
Xia Qingtian paid them no mind, accompanying Grandpa Fang to the painting.
As Grandpa Fang's gaze fell upon the painting, he was reminded of his own grandfather and father. A prickle of sadness ran through his nose, and the painting before him blurred.
He was finally seeing this "Thousand Buddhas Discussion"…
He never expected to have the chance to see it again before his death!
Meanwhile, aided by her treasure appraisal ability, Xia Qingtian immediately found her own name hidden by the artist within the painting. As expected, his beloved wife's name was there too.
"Grandpa Fang," Xia Qingtian whispered in a voice only they could hear, "I don't know much about the 'Thousand Buddhas Discussion.' Was this painting created by the renowned artist Zhang Yunhe?"
"What nonsense are you talking? How can Zhang Yunhe be compared to the Immortal Saint Guangyuan?" Grandpa Fang looked at Xia Qingtian.
"But... look at what's beneath the lotus pedestal..." Xia Qingtian pointed with her hand, "I thought the pattern beneath the lotus pedestal looked like a name, and I assumed..."
Grandpa Fang followed Xia Qingtian's finger, and a cold sweat instantly broke out on him. He swayed unsteadily, unable to stand.
In the end, Xia Qingtian steadied him by supporting his arm.
This time, Grandpa Fang did not pull away from Xia Qingtian's hand. Instead, he firmly gripped her arm, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
The two of them stood with their backs to the guests, so no one saw Grandpa Fang's change in expression. However, the host saw it clearly.
Having been in this circle for so long, the host naturally knew Fang Ye of Gu Xuan Zhai, and even more so the connection between the "Thousand Buddhas Discussion" and the Fang family.
Seeing Fang Ye display such a change in his expression, the host's heart sank by half.
She immediately glanced towards the main seat on the third floor, raised her hand to touch the gem pendant on her chest, and then touched the gem earrings on her earlobe.
"What's going on? Is there an issue with the auction item?" The person sitting on the third floor, seeing the signal from the host, frowned deeply.
This... shouldn't be happening.
"Young Master Lei, this..." The person immediately turned to look at the handsome man in the private room.
"Have someone remove the 'Thousand Buddhas Discussion' and halt the auction," Young Master Lei said. "Invite those two upstairs for a cup of tea."
"Yes." The person immediately complied and did as instructed.
The crowd was perplexed by the halt of the "Thousand Buddhas Discussion." They were also very surprised to see Xia Qingtian and Grandpa Fang being escorted to the third floor.
However, this surprise did not last long, as the host immediately introduced the second hidden auction item: a bi-colored eagle-head pot.
As the bi-colored eagle-head pot captured everyone's attention, two men quietly left their seats, their expressions serious as they withdrew from the auction.
"Here they come! Enemies! Quick! Help me!" Bai Yuqi was excited, but then he saw Gu Yaoyang getting up to leave and immediately asked in confusion, "Enemies, where are you going?"
"You bid as much as you want. Anything over 17.6 million, consider it mine." With that, Gu Yaoyang strode out with long legs from the private room towards the third floor.
"Damn! Such a selfish guy!" Bai Yuqi scoffed, intending to curse a few more words. But after hearing the host strike the gavel, he immediately began to raise his hand to bid.
Never mind that enemy, bidding for the bi-colored eagle-head pot and pleasing his own grandfather was the priority!
Meanwhile, Xia Qingtian and Grandpa Fang were "invited" up to the third floor.
Xia Qingtian then discovered that the decor and furnishings on the third floor were far more opulent and concealed than she had glimpsed from the staircase earlier.
Grandpa Fang, who had seen his share of the world, had a rather troubled expression at the moment.
It wasn't because he was invited to the third floor, but because the painting he was prepared to exchange his entire fortune for turned out to be a replica by Zhang Yunhe.
He himself was already in his twilight years. He didn't know if he would be able to see that painting before he died, or if he would be able to bring that artwork back to the Fang family before his death.
Upon entering the main hall on the third floor, Xia Qingtian saw two men.
The older one was in his early forties, wearing a suit, with his hair neatly combed. He had a round face, eyebrows shaped like an inverted 'eight', a flat nose, and a large mouth. Two small dimples on his cheeks resembled pear dimples.
He looked somewhat festive.
The younger one, in his early twenties, was dressed more casually. He had handsome features and was sipping tea.
At a glance, it was clear who held the power between the two.
"Fang Ye, it's been a while. Are you still in good health?" As expected, the younger man spoke as if he were somewhat familiar with Grandpa Fang.
"Young Master Lei," Grandpa Fang also called out, "Thanks to Master Lei's blessings, I'm doing alright."
"You are a senior in the antique world. I respect your character and trust your discerning eye," Young Master Lei said with a detached expression, his words subtly carrying a Beijing accent. "Please, take your time to appraise it."
As soon as Young Master Lei finished speaking, someone unfurled the "Thousand Buddhas Discussion" painting.
"I am old and no longer useful. My eyes... are not what they used to be," Grandpa Fang said with a smile, shaking his head. "If Qingtian hadn't reminded me, I probably wouldn't have noticed."
After speaking, Grandpa Fang pointed to the pattern beneath the lotus pedestal in the painting.
Upon seeing this, Young Master Lei and the festive, round-faced man's expressions immediately turned grim.
"It's actually a replica by Zhang Yunhe," Young Master Lei's brow furrowed. "It seems our inspection personnel were negligent."
"Zhang Yunhe's replicas have always been superb. Even when presented to the original artist, they would be indistinguishable. This is not your fault, Lei family," Grandpa Fang waved his hand. If Xia Qingtian hadn't pointed it out, he would have also overlooked it.
Most renowned artists take pride in their unique styles and are honored by their distinctiveness.
But Zhang Yunhe was different. He loved to forge other people's paintings and insisted on replicating them exactly.
Not only did he forge paintings, but he also meticulously replicated the seals on the paintings, or the inscriptions of previous artists.
He stubbornly liked to incorporate his name into his paintings, which gave future generations the only means to distinguish between originals and forgeries.
"Regardless, such a thing absolutely cannot happen at a Lei family auction," Young Master Lei stood up and walked over to the painting.
Before Grandpa Fang and Xia Qingtian could react, he raised his hand and swiftly brought down his knife, destroying the painting on the spot.
"Hiss..." Xia Qingtian watched as the painting, which had the potential to appreciate to two million, was ruined in an instant. She winced in pain.
The last time she felt such heartache was on a plane when a flight attendant spilled a cup of Coke on her eight-hundred-thousand-dollar limited edition handbag.
After returning the painting, Young Master Lei casually handed the knife to someone and then coldly swept his gaze over Xia Qingtian.
In his eyes, there was a killing intent!