"Daughter?"
"Master, I've never heard you mention this before. When did you have a daughter? In all these years, you never said you had a daughter!"
Pang Yun still didn't believe it, convinced that Xia Mingzhong was plagiarizing.
However, Zhou Tao also recalled that some of the older people present remembered.
That year, Xia Mingzhong did go to the capital. After returning from the capital, he held a funeral. However, this funeral was so small that only members of the Xia family participated, and very few people knew that the Xia family had held a funeral.
Xia Mingzhong did have a daughter, and this daughter had died very early, gone long ago, so much so that Xia Mingzhong's disciples didn't even know their master had a deceased daughter.
"The Peach Blossom Forest. I believe the people of Chang'an are no strangers to it. The ownership of the Peach Blossom Forest belongs to the Xia family. In the middle of the Peach Blossom Forest, there is a tomb, and that is my daughter's.
If anyone doesn't believe, they can go and see. That is the tombstone I personally carved for Shumeng, inscribed with 'Tomb of my beloved daughter Xia Shumeng'. Furthermore, the cherry blossom trees here are real in the Xia family courtyard. If you don't believe, you can verify it yourself."
Xia Mingzhong's voice was very calm, extremely calm, as if he were talking about a very simple matter.
But to have his heart's wound torn open so brutally in public, one could imagine how grief-stricken he must have been.
"The Xia family is so rich. It was very easy to air-lift a cherry blossom tree that night. As for the tomb, who knows if they just stuffed someone in? As for the words on it, a tombstone factory can make it in half an hour. Do you have to explain it so clearly?"
Upon hearing this, the veins on Ye Longlin's forehead twitched, and a cold light appeared in his eyes.
Just then, Ye Longlin's phone buzzed. It was a file sent by Xuan Niao. The file was over two gigabytes, indicating there was quite a lot of information.
He opened it and quickly browsed through it, a cold sneer forming in his heart.
Ye Longlin slowly spoke, "Explain your actions today. If you can't, I'll send you on your way."
This statement carried an extraordinary weight.
Everyone present held their breath. No one expected Ye Longlin to say such a thing, and his words were laced with intense killing intent!
This unknown fellow, regardless of his words or actions, exuded a powerful aura.
He was just a young man, at most thirty years old, yet he possessed such an aura. It was terrifying!
Ye Longlin continued, "I'll give you a chance to plead your case. If someone is backing you, you can mention them as well. I can ensure that he accompanies you on the road to the underworld."
This statement also caused an uproar. No one expected Ye Longlin to utter such murderous words again. The moment he said this, the scene fell into a dead silence!
After a long while, Pang Yun finally responded!
"Plead my case? I have nothing to plead!"
"This is my hard-earned work. You come up and insist it's yours. Now you ask me to explain. Isn't that too much bullying?"
"Moreover, this painting is something I've been working on all along, but it wasn't finished. This shameless old man stole it, and now you're confronting me?"
Pang Yun's anger also led many people present to believe him. After all, if it wasn't his work, why would he be so furious?
And he would also offend his own teacher.
There seemed to be no reason for this!
Ye Longlin beckoned, "Come here."
Pang Yun remained unmoved, truly intimidated by Ye Longlin's aura. He didn't dare to move for a long time.
"I don't believe you would dare to act in public!"
Pang Yun snorted coldly and stepped forward, holding the painting.
"Slap!"
Ye Longlin immediately slapped him across the face. Half of his face instantly swelled up red, with five finger marks left on it.
His sudden action caught everyone off guard, even Xia Mingzhong standing beside him didn't expect the other party's methods to be so decisive!
"Your painting?" Ye Longlin asked with a nasal voice.
Pang Yun's eyes darted away.
"Yes! This is my masterpiece. Even if you beat me to death today, it's still my painting!"
Pang Yun remained stubborn.
Ye Longlin's eyes were filled with killing intent, an intent that permeated the entire scene. Everyone felt that chilling coldness.
"Your Excellency intends to cause trouble in my Chang'an? Even if you are a master, there is no need to humiliate the original artist, is there?"
Zhou Tao stepped forward and said. If he didn't step out now, he feared Pang Yun couldn't bear the pressure and would confess. If he really confessed, it wouldn't be Xia Mingzhong who would be ruined today, but himself.
"Are you sure he is the original artist? Hmm? President Zhou?"
Ye Longlin looked at him with a half-smile, his eyes filled with playfulness.
Seeing such a gaze, Zhou Tao's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that he knew?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
He couldn't possibly know such a thing, nor could he know their plans. It was all his own speculation. As long as he stuck to his guns, Ye Longlin would have no way to deal with him.
"Otherwise? Judging by the paper, Pang Yun's painting paper is clearly yellowed, looking aged. Meanwhile, President Xia's painting, both in concept and details, is very similar to Pang Yun's painting. If we say it's not plagiarism, who would believe it?"
Ye Longlin nodded, "There are many methods to artificially age paper. I can educate you."
"One, the smoking method. Prepare the paper, hang it in a relatively enclosed room, and smoke new paper with the smoke from burning coconut shells. At this time, the paper will exhibit a faint coffee color. If the paper is to be made to look 'aged', a dilute solution of sulfuric acid should be lightly brushed onto the paper.
Since sulfuric acid is colorless and odorless, the treated paper looks identical to the original paper. After two months, due to the action of sulfuric acid, the surface of the paper will present a carbonized appearance."
"Two, the 'reverse lead' method for antique white pigment and the aging treatment method for ink pads all utilize 'scientific methods'."
"Three, brushing a base color is a simple and easy method. First, mix Chinese painting pigments to the desired color of the paper, making it as dilute as possible, and then evenly brush it onto the Xuan paper layer by layer. Each layer must be completely dry before brushing the next.
This method is more suitable for sized Xuan paper. Since raw Xuan paper is prone to watermarks, it is recommended to hang the raw Xuan paper vertically and spray colored water onto the paper with a spray bottle."
"These three methods can all make the paper look like it has a sense of age in a short period. And Pang Yun's paper has a distinct pine smell. Do you have any other explanations?"