"Just that painting? The other items look good too," Lu Xuan appraised the nine treasures, her beautiful eyes shimmering.
In her eyes, the Kesi silk floral painting was the most ordinary among the nine items, merely a piece of woven fabric.
Li Chonglou said it was what he was looking for, and she believed him.
However, based on her long-held understanding, she decided to ask for clarification.
"They are all Great Daemons with surging demonic energy, so naturally, they look impressive," Li Chonglou replied with a smile. "Especially those who have been brainwashed by others' opinions for a long time, and don't understand the truth, will surely be drawn to the blue and white porcelain brush pot and the Great Chao Tongbao coin at first glance."
"The museum staff, knowing this principle, deliberately mixed the fakes among them to confuse everyone."
The Chang'an Museum must have put a lot of thought into these nine collections.
Each one seemed priceless, and calling them Great Daemons wouldn't be an exaggeration.
But no matter how demonic they appeared, to true experts, they were as familiar as family.
If someone else pretends to be your mother, no matter how convincing they are, can you not recognize them?
It was the same principle.
Among them, the blue and white porcelain brush pot depicting the story of the Three Kingdoms and the Great Chao Tongbao silver coin were the most imposing, but unfortunately, being imposing was useless.
A replica was still a replica, always having a gap compared to the genuine article.
Although they were also cultural relics, their value differed significantly.
However, it was Li Chonglou's lifetime of experience that allowed him to see through them at a glance. Most of the guests were similar to Lu Xuan.
The perfect imitation matched their understanding.
The two lapis lazuli rectangular seals were an exception. The number of people present who could discern their extraordinary nature was limited, not exceeding a handful.
At least, the man named Zhu Qiliang, who was currently gazing at the two seals without blinking, was proof of this.
"The money I have on me now only amounts to a little over ten million. I'm afraid it's not enough to bid for these two rectangular seals," Li Chonglou calculated quickly in his mind.
But his expression remained unruffled.
He was determined to get these two rectangular seals today, by any means necessary.
"Then I'll bid as you say," Lu Xuan said, understanding but still deciding to follow Li Chonglou's instructions.
Trusting someone or not trusting them was a quality every great entrepreneur should possess.
However, she was also very unsure, having no confidence at all.
The senior host, smiling brightly, looked at the guests with full confidence.
Each person having three bidding opportunities was his design. Although it was a blind bid, this way, the profits could be maximized.
After all, once a round was announced, even if you didn't know who bid, you would have to estimate, right?
With this rule, it was almost impossible to acquire the treasures in a single round, unless an exorbitant price that everyone could not accept was offered.
Those who wished to participate in the bidding began to discuss and fill in their reasonable prices.
To raise funds for the museum, he had painstakingly convinced the higher-ups to offer the Kesi silk floral painting as bait.
Most of the wealthy merchants present knew this was a competition, so they were relatively restrained.
Each person placed their bid into the bid box in front of each collection.
Li Chonglou's bid was naturally for the fourth item, the lapis lazuli rectangular seal, while Lu Xuan bid for the sixth item, the Kesi silk painting.
This was exactly the same as Zhu Qiliang and Zhong Liang.
Li Chonglou and Zhu Qiliang, standing before the fourth bid box, met each other's gaze, sparks flying.
The same was true for Lu Xuan and Zhong Liang.
Soon, the senior host personally opened the boxes to examine the highest bids.
He announced loudly, "The first item, the blue and white porcelain brush pot depicting the story of the Three Kingdoms, the highest bid is 800,000!"
"The second item, the white jade goose spring water pattern ornamental piece, the highest bid is 150,000."
"The third item, the carved colorful dragon and phoenix pattern lacquer bowl, the highest bid is 70,000."
"The fourth item, the lapis lazuli rectangular seal, the highest bid is 200,000."
"The fifth item, the peach pit carving of the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, the highest bid is 60,000."
"The sixth item, the Kesi silk floral painting, the highest bid is... 1.08 million."
"The seventh item, the old Baoshan agate bracelet, the highest bid is 870,000."
"The eighth item, the Great Chao Tongbao silver ancient coin, the highest bid is 943,000."
"The last item, the gold-flecked glass water vessel, the highest bid is 58,000."
Upon hearing these prices, the entire venue erupted in gasps.
It seemed the organizer's plan had succeeded.
By offering just one fake, they had stimulated bids for at least four valuable collections.
Everyone felt that the item they had chosen was definitely the fake, and those who didn't win the bid became anxious, clenching their fists and gearing up for the second round.
Lu Xuan was startled.
Although the Kesi silk floral painting was unremarkable, it had actually become the highest-priced item of the auction, with someone bidding 80,000 more than her.
This made her admire Li Chonglou even more.
Indeed, he had discerning eyes; this woven fabric was likely the fake.
Li Chonglou, on the other hand, glanced at Zhu Qiliang, his eyelids twitching slightly.
He had deliberately kept his bid for the lapis lazuli rectangular seal low, pretending it was an ordinary item, and bid 72,000.
However, the highest bid now being 200,000 was enough to confirm his suspicion that someone was coveting it.
This price was likely offered by Zhu Qiliang.
"Kid, you're still too green," indeed, Zhu Qiliang looked at him simultaneously and spat out a few words with a smug expression.
He had intended to teach Li Chonglou a lesson.
But he hadn't expected the organizer to announce a blind bid operation.
This had caused him considerable inconvenience.
However, the moment he saw the Kesi silk floral painting, he couldn't help but smile.
As expected, the organizer had released a great fake; Zhong Liang was indeed right, having this item was equivalent to having fulfilled their obligation.
However, there was another item that also made him suspicious: the lapis lazuli rectangular seal. But because it was far away, he couldn't see it clearly. Even with his sharp eyesight, he didn't dare to confirm its origin.
Moreover, the organizer had only released one fake, so it was unlikely there were two.
But due to his self-confidence, he hadn't informed Zhong Liang and had bid 200,000 himself.
As expected, it was ranked first.
200,000 was a drop in the bucket for him; he considered it tuition for researching the seal.
As for that kid Li Chonglou, although he also fancied this rectangular seal, in terms of financial strength and experience, he was far inferior to himself.
What was there to fear?
As for the Kesi silk floral painting, his suggestion for Zhong Liang to bid 1.08 million was an overwhelming advantage. As long as they suppressed it all the way, the final victory would inevitably be theirs.
"Idiot!" Li Chonglou saw his smugness and mouthed two words.
Zhu Qiliang's old face froze, and anger surged within him.
But Li Chonglou didn't give him a chance to retort, turning his face away and looking at Lu Xuan, who was writing her second bid.
There was no need to worry about Lu Xuan's item.
At worst, in the final bid, they could adjust it slightly upwards; it was a sure thing.
But the lapis lazuli rectangular seal was the most troublesome issue now.
Experts understood a principle: if an item was good, one shouldn't alert others, lest the owner awaken.
So everyone was restrained, unlike the open bidding for the Kesi silk floral painting.
But precisely because of this, Li Chonglou knew that there must be a master present.
Perhaps more than just Zhu Qiliang.
Therefore, bidding became a delicate matter.
Since only the highest bid of each round was announced, others could not see his previous bid.
Nor could they know who the true highest bidder was. Everyone only knew who bid for which item, but not the other party's bid.
They could only rely on their own intuition and their assessment of the item's value.
Li Chonglou decided to take a risky approach.
He lightly wrote a number on the paper and, together with Lu Xuan, submitted their bids again.
After Lu Xuan submitted her bid, she patted her chest, signaling herself to relax and wait.
Soon, the host opened the boxes again to examine the bids and announced the prices.
"The first item, the blue and white porcelain brush pot depicting the story of the Three Kingdoms, the highest bid is 3 million!"
"The second item, the white jade goose spring water pattern ornamental piece, the highest bid is 700,000."
"The third item, the carved colorful dragon and phoenix pattern lacquer bowl, the highest bid is 140,000."
"The fourth item, the lapis lazuli rectangular seal, the highest bid is 10 million."
"The fifth item, the peach pit carving of the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, the highest bid is 100,000."
"The sixth item, the Kesi silk floral painting, the highest bid is... 4 million."
"The seventh item, the old Baoshan agate bracelet, the highest bid is 2 million."
"The eighth item, the Great Chao Tongbao silver ancient coin, the highest bid is 3.8 million."
"The last item, the gold-flecked glass water vessel, the highest bid is 370,000."
Wow!
After the announcement, the entire venue erupted in incredulous gasps.
The Kesi silk floral painting, which was initially ranked first, had now surged to 4 million.
Even if that were the case, what shocked them the most was how the inconspicuous lapis lazuli rectangular seal from the first round had suddenly jumped to the top of the list.
A staggering 10 million, what was going on?
Not only the participating bidders but also the organizers wore expressions of shock.
The host's expression was uncertain, wondering if the museum's experts had misjudged and released more than one fake.
Even with this guess, it was a done deal, and there was no turning back.
Otherwise, the reputation of the Chang'an Museum would plummet, and who would dare to bid on their items again.
Fortunately, the current situation was more intense than he had anticipated, which was good news.
"Kid, are you crazy? Ten million, do you really think money is just paper!" At this moment, Zhu Qiliang, disregarding the occasion, cursed Li Chonglou with a dark expression.
The guests standing between the two of them made way, creating a clear passage.
Allowing Zhu Qiliang to face Li Chonglou directly.
"He's the one who bid ten million? This kid doesn't look like an expert, he's too young. Why is he getting involved with Master Zhu?"
"Who knows? Master Zhu is famous in Chang'an. If he angers him, what good will come of it for this kid?"
"The woman with him is Lu Xuan, the beautiful chairwoman of Jingcheng Yu Xuan Electrical Appliances. Could she also be an entrepreneur?"
"In any case, she's not from the cultural and museum circle. I've been in this circle for many years and have never seen this face."
...
The crowd's gazes fell upon Li Chonglou, scrutinizing him and discussing him freely.
Most of them showed a schadenfreude expression.
Zhu Qiliang's reputation was quite significant, at least within the cultural and museum circles in Chang'an, everyone knew him.
Compared to him, Li Chonglou was undoubtedly insignificant, like comparing heaven and earth.
Facing these questions and sarcasm, Lu Xuan's pretty face changed, and Xu Lie's tiger-like eyes blazed with anger.
As long as Li Chonglou gave the order, he would not hesitate to teach these lowly individuals a lesson.
However, Li Chonglou didn't pay any attention to their words.
Instead, he smiled faintly at Zhu Qiliang and said, "People respect you as Master Zhu, but in my eyes, you are nothing but a useless old man, not worth mentioning!"
"You're old and only boast with your mouth. You want to teach me a lesson? Let's see if you have the guts."
Wow...
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.
This kid was too arrogant; he was talking to Master Zhu Qiliang!