They had been here for so long and only figured out two or three items.
Li Chonglou, however, managed to deal with two items as soon as he arrived. No one could possibly achieve such speed.
He was clearly trying to impress Li Yao.
Zhang Chenggong and Sun Jie, who liked to show off, would not tolerate a rookie showing off in front of them.
Thus, their words were very harsh.
Unfortunately, they had chosen the wrong person.
If Li Chonglou were truly a person in his twenties, he would likely not dare to raise his head in front of them and would be easily suppressed.
But he was only young on the surface; inwardly, he was already a centenarian with vast experience.
The older one becomes, the younger one seems; one lives more truly.
Therefore, Li Chonglou had always had a short temper, let alone intending to make examples of the two.
He glanced at the notes prepared by the two, his expression unchanged, and retorted, "Frogs in a well cannot discuss ice. Summer insects cannot discuss ice."
"You two, who claim to be prominent figures in the Yong'an antique circle."
"You have the prominence, but unfortunately, you lack foresight."
These words were extremely impolite.
Instantly, Zhang Chenggong and Sun Jie's faces turned purple.
Enraged, Zhang Chenggong suddenly stood up and shouted, "Boy, say that again!"
Where there are people, there is the martial world, there is comparison and struggle; vanity is something everyone possesses.
Especially in front of a beauty like Li Yao.
In comparison, Sun Jie appeared more somber and seasoned, with a sinister glint in his eyes as he stared at Li Chonglou, waiting to see what would happen.
"I said you lack foresight!" Li Chonglou did not yield at all and increased his tone slightly.
In an instant, the entire warehouse became tense, filled with gunpowder.
Li Yao, watching from the side, felt a growing anxiety in her beautiful eyes.
General Manager Ren had assigned this matter to her and had specifically instructed her to treat the three distinguished guests well.
But now, the three of them had clashed.
She couldn't let them continue like this, or she would be failing General Manager Ren's trust.
"Gentlemen... can we discuss this calmly?" Li Yao's gentle voice, like a scoop of ice water in summer, instantly cooled the atmosphere between the two.
She continued, "Although I don't understand antiques, I know that justice prevails."
"Mr. Zhang, having lived half a century, must be experienced. If Mr. Li has made any mistakes, please point them out so we can all learn, right?"
Although these words were meant to mediate,
anyone with a discerning eye could see that Li Yao had unconsciously begun to lean towards Li Chonglou.
This made Zhang Chenggong's expression even more grim.
But he couldn't openly react.
After all, in front of a beautiful woman, one had to maintain appearances.
So he gave Sun Jie a look. The latter understood, picked up the notes written by Li Chonglou, and began to examine them.
But the more he read, the tighter his brow became.
Especially the commentary on the Pine Flower Stone Inkstone, which filled him with shock.
His specialization was scholarly accoutrements, so he was naturally familiar with Pine Flower Stone Inkstones. The professional level of Li Chonglou's writing far exceeded his imagination.
After reading it, he couldn't find even the slightest flaw to refute.
Only shock remained in his heart.
He was speechless for a long time.
"Since Miss Li mentioned mutual exchange, I will speak frankly," Li Chonglou said calmly. "As far as I know, the attribution of the Wanbao Hanging Screen you appraised, Mr. Zhang, is incorrect."
Zhang Chenggong, who was about to question Li Chonglou, suddenly felt his pupils contract upon hearing this.
He hadn't expected Li Chonglou to strike first.
His old face instantly turned ashen. "Boy, I warn you, don't speak nonsense."
"Otherwise, be careful of getting hit by a car when you go out."
For a seasoned appraiser like Zhang Chenggong to say such a thing indicated the extent of his anger.
He had spoken without thinking.
Li Yao immediately cast a disdainful glance at him and secretly shook her head in her heart.
In terms of upbringing, a person over fifty was worse than a young man. He had truly lived a wasted life.
People need comparison.
In contrast, Li Chonglou instantly stood out.
"Old Zhang, don't get agitated. This kid says the hanging screen is wrong. You're an expert in Ming and Qing furniture. Let's see what's wrong with what he says!" Sun Jie was more cunning. Since it didn't concern him, he could maintain his composure and fan the flames.
These words also calmed Zhang Chenggong down.
But his eyes were filled with malice as he glared at Li Chonglou, gritting his teeth and saying, "You say it. If you can't explain it, I'll make you suffer today."
The situation looked like he was about to resort to violence.
Li Chonglou inwardly chuckled, truly a case of "old age doesn't guarantee respect."
No wonder many old people are disliked now; it's not that old people have become bad, but that bad people have grown old.
Someone like Zhang Chenggong must have been detestable even when he was young.
He didn't resemble a high-ranking figure in the antique world at all; he seemed to be from a background of local ruffians, even more base than Zhang Dongxu's former demeanor.
Such meaningless threats, of course, did not faze Li Chonglou.
*Crack!*
Just then, the warehouse door was pushed open, and a group of people, led by Ning Lang, walked in.
"Who is it that wants someone to suffer?" Ning Lang said with a cold smile, his eyes fixed on Zhang and Sun.
Then, after a few seconds, his expression changed, and he said with a smile, "Chonglou, I heard from General Manager Ren that you are helping her appraise items, so I brought some people to broaden our horizons..."
Immediately, the people behind him chimed in, "That's right, Master Li. Why are you enjoying it all by yourself? We players are very envious."
Originally, the items gathered today were prepared by Ren He for her friends.
On one hand, it was for them to appreciate and learn, and on the other hand, it was to pool their collective knowledge to determine their lineage.
What Li Chonglou and the others were doing now was just an initial appraisal.
Seeing so many people suddenly barge in, and all of them recognizing Li Chonglou and calling him a master, Zhang Chenggong and Sun Jie's faces tightened.
They themselves had never been called masters.
At most, they were teachers.
How could Li Chonglou, this kid, be called a master?
What was even more damning was Ning Lang's arrival, and he seemed to have a very good relationship with Li Chonglou.
As natives of Yong'an, how could Zhang and Sun not know Ning Lang's identity?
What kind of people would associate with him?
And they had just threatened him; it was truly laughable.
"Two old masters just wanted to teach me a lesson," Li Chonglou said with a faint smile, showing no mercy in his words. "However, Master Zhang is blind and unskilled."
Saying this, Li Chonglou pointed to the peach-shaped hanging screen, about a meter tall, placed by the wall. "This hanging screen is made with the Hundred Treasures Inlay technique. Precious stones, jade, ivory, amber, conch, and emeralds are inlaid on a lacquer base to form antique patterns. This technique is also known as the Zhou style, invented by Zhou Zhu in the Ming Dynasty. A famous craftsman in the Qing Dynasty who mastered this technique was Lu Kuaisheng."
"The antique patterns and color schemes on this screen are strongly Ming in style, but they are imitations."
"The most direct evidence is the emeralds!"
"These items were only introduced into the country in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties and became popular in the Qing Dynasty."
"How could they possibly appear on a hanging screen from the mid-Ming Dynasty?"
"This is clearly a hanging screen with a prosperous year auspicious picture inlaid with hundred treasures from the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. I said you are blind, do you accept it!"
*Whoosh...*
Instantly, a gasp of surprise erupted from the crowd that Ning Lang had brought.
They had just witnessed such a sensational scene upon arriving.
Li Chonglou was criticizing Zhang Chenggong as if he were a grandchild.
It was known that Zhang Chenggong was a prominent figure in the Yong'an antique circle, usually very proud and aloof towards them, the players.
To witness him being criticized today was simply a miracle.
"You..." Zhang Chenggong's face turned pale, his eyes bulging, his lips trembling, but he couldn't speak.
He had never imagined that he would make such a blunder due to his insufficient understanding of emeralds.
He himself had been undecided between the Ming and Qing dynasties regarding this hanging screen.
He had ultimately attributed it to the mid-Ming period based on its craftsmanship and style, but he hadn't expected Li Chonglou to pinpoint the truth with a single remark, causing him to make a fool of himself on the spot.
He couldn't deny it.
Appraising antiques required logic.
As long as the logic was sound, it was irrefutable without verification, as antique items inherently contained a degree of uncertainty. Whoever had the logic was the authority.
He had never imagined that Li Chonglou was not only skilled in precious stones and ceramics but also familiar with Ming and Qing furniture.
This caused him to suffer such great embarrassment in front of so many people.
The strange glances from those around him made him feel utterly ashamed.
He was consumed by shame and indignation.
The reputation he had built over half his life was now trampled under Li Chonglou's feet and shattered.
He feared that he would be infamous in the Yong'an circle and could no longer make a living there.
Thinking of this, his eyes filled with malice, and he gritted his teeth and yelled, "Li Chonglou... you wait for me, I will not rest until we are on equal footing!"
With that, he angrily turned and left.
"Mr. Zhang, don't let the door hit you on the way out..." Li Yao, standing gracefully, added the final blow.
Zhang Chenggong was so enraged that he almost fell to the ground, his vision blurred, and he could barely stand. He had to hold onto the wall to walk.
Sun Jie's face was also quite grim. Zhang Chenggong was his good friend, and now that he was trampled under Li Chonglou's feet, how could he be in a better position?
Just as he was about to soften his stance and reconcile with Li Chonglou,
Li Chonglou's voice reached his ears before he could speak, "Mr. Sun, you are not faring much better."
"It is a great disservice to this bronze seal to have it fall into your hands."
"A dignified bronze seal from the Western Jin Dynasty was mistakenly identified by you as a Qing imitation."
"Truly ignorant!"
"Take a good look, what do these characters say."
As he spoke, Li Chonglou, at some unknown time, produced the bronze seal that Sun Jie had misidentified.
Beneath the seal were only two characters: "Shu He."
"You're spouting nonsense!" Sun Jie's beard bristled with anger. "I have researched history. There was a General of the Valiant Wu in the Eastern Jin named Cheng Shuhe."
"But he was only a fourth-rank official, while the seal knob on this bronze seal bears a pattern that only a second-rank official could have engraved."
"That is why I concluded it was an imitation. Is there any problem with that?"
In this regard, Sun Jie had confidence far exceeding that of ordinary people. Having studied scholarly accoutrements his entire life, although he dared not claim to know history by heart, he was very capable of comparing.
Li Chonglou was actually picking on him about this.
"You only know one thing and not the other!" Li Chonglou said calmly and loudly. "In ancient times, seals were made of gold, silver, bronze, jade, ivory, horn, bone, stone, and wood."
"Imitators indeed used bronze and stone more often, but don't forget, the seal doesn't just bear a name."
"There was a famous general in the Western Jin Dynasty, known as the Great General of Zhennan, named Liu Hong, with the courtesy name He Ji, also written as Shu He."
"This bronze seal appears to be his personal seal."
"I said you are ignorant, do you accept it!"
With that statement, the entire hall erupted in shock.
Everyone stared at Li Chonglou, dumbfounded, their faces filled with admiration.
Only Sun Jie, as if he had lost his parents, collapsed onto the ground, his face pale, utterly lost.