"Who are you? Who let you in!"
Zhao Yecheng's face changed drastically, and he turned to glare at Li Chonglou, shouting.
He was immersed in the dream of defrauding treasures and making a fortune.
To the point where he didn't even notice Li Chonglou entering.
This sudden shout was like a bolt from the blue, almost scaring his heart out of his throat.
"What did you just say? My painting is worth two million?" Before Li Chonglou could answer, Wang Dehai widened his eyes and asked in disbelief.
"Brother Wang, don't listen to his nonsense. I wouldn't dare lie to you even if I had ten times the courage, Brother Wang."
Zhao Yecheng's eyes were cold, and he cursed sharply, "Kid, you can eat anything, but don't talk nonsense!"
"You dare to make things up without even laying a hand on it, beware of retribution."
"Do you know who Brother Wang is?"
His words carried a threat.
Wang Dehai was a well-known figure in the underground scene in Qinzhou years ago, and he was doing very well.
Although he hadn't done anything bad in the past two years.
But a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. If Wang Dehai knew that he had deliberately defrauded him of his treasure, he might not see the sun tomorrow.
Li Chonglou's words were undoubtedly pushing him to a dead end.
However, looking at Li Chonglou, he was at most twenty-five or twenty-six years old, dressed in street clothes, and didn't look like an expert. He seemed more like an ignorant hothead with superficial knowledge.
He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
If he couldn't even handle someone like this, how could he continue to mix in the industry in the future.
"Donglin Pawnshop has always valued its reputation. True is true, and false is false."
Li Chonglou said calmly, his expression unchanged, "No matter who he is, it's not a reason for you to misrepresent facts."
He had been standing at the door for a while.
Zhao Yecheng relied on the client's ignorance.
If the client found out the truth after entering the pawnshop, they would definitely cause trouble.
Even worse was pocketing it himself.
Letting the pawnshop bear the bad reputation and lining his own pockets. He had witnessed this scene in his previous life, but the target was different.
It seemed it wasn't the first time.
For his senior sister and this shop, he couldn't pretend to be deaf and mute.
"Young man, you recognize this painting?" Wang Dehai's eyes showed renewed confusion.
He was indeed rough around the edges, but he wasn't stupid.
Li Chonglou, a stranger to him, was clearly speaking up for him.
His tone was naturally亲切.
"Brother Wang, look at him, he looks like a loser. How could he possibly recognize it?"
Zhao Yecheng said insincerely, "In our line of work, we offend quite a few people. This kid might have been sent by someone to deliberately smear our Donglin Pawnshop."
"Or maybe he just wants to get close to you."
"You better open your eyes and don't be used as a pawn..."
"Shut up!"
Before he finished speaking, Wang Dehai glared and cursed, "Did I ask you anything?"
Having mingled in the underworld for years, his authority still lingered.
The glare made Zhao Yecheng's scalp tingle, and he dared not say another word.
He knew Wang Haide's temper. He had improved a lot in the past two years with self-cultivation. If it were in the past, he would have been slapped so hard that his world would have spun.
"Emperor Qianlong, throughout his life, was fond of affectation."
Li Chonglou slowly walked towards the two of them and said lightly, "He liked calligraphy and paintings, and enjoyed composing poetry, but unfortunately, his talent and skill were not outstanding."
"However, he had a peculiar habit of stamping his own seal and inscribing his own words on the calligraphy and paintings of famous people from various dynasties."
"He made over 1,800 seals in his lifetime, and used over 500 frequently."
"The seal on your 'Prosperity in a Pot' is indeed his."
"The scroll was indeed mounted in the Qing Dynasty. Perhaps Emperor Qianlong felt that the old scroll was damaged and unsightly."
"But this painting is undoubtedly a genuine work by Bian Jingzhao!"
These words were spoken with conviction and force.
Zhao Yecheng listened in shock, his face tightening.
The study of cultural relics and antiques is vast and all-encompassing.
Qianlong was not a renowned calligrapher or painter, and such matters were unknown even to many connoisseurs in the field.
Li Chonglou knew it like the back of his hand.
Could this kid really be an expert?
Impossible. Even if he had been playing with calligraphy and paintings since birth, he couldn't have determined the authenticity without even examining it.
He's guessing!
It's definitely a guess!
Zhao Yecheng's eyes darted around, and he gritted his teeth and snorted, "Keep making it up!"
"You learned some superficial knowledge somewhere and dare to be arrogant and self-righteous."
"I think you haven't tasted the harshness of society!"
"You say it's a genuine work by Bian Jingzhao. What's your evidence?"
Li Chonglou countered sharply, "To disprove, not to prove. You don't even have this common sense. What kind of appraiser are you?"
Dada da...
As soon as he finished speaking, a tall, elegant woman in a qipao walked in.
She swept her gaze over the three of them and asked, "Master Zhao, I heard your voice from outside. What's wrong?"
Her voice was like a warbler's, mellow and lingering, making one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze.
Her gaze fell on Li Chonglou, and she walked towards him gracefully.
Every move exuded an air of natural grace and elegance, like a goddess from a painting, untouched by the mortal world.
"Shi..." Li Chonglou turned to meet her gaze, and his entire body felt as if struck by electricity. He almost blurted out.
This woman was precisely Lin Ying, the daughter of his master, Lin Zhendong.
In his previous life, after he was released from prison, he had no relatives. Only Lin Ying treated him like family, entrusted him with important tasks, and meticulously cultivated him.
This led to his achievements later on.
Years later, Lin Ying, in search of a treasured artifact from the Qin Dynasty, followed an expedition team into a tomb and perished.
And that treasure was the key to his rebirth.
Meeting across lifetimes, Li Chonglou almost lost control of his emotions.
"Ms. Lin, why are you here?" Zhao Yecheng's face instantly turned grim when he saw Lin Ying. He nervously rolled up the scroll.
Lin Ying's father, Lin Zhendong, was a legendary figure.
Born into a prominent family, his skills in treasure hunting and authentication were unmatched throughout the entire Su Province.
Later, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for tomb raiding. Lin Ying inherited forty percent of his father's true teachings and was already capable of handling matters independently with sharp insight.
If she could tell the authenticity of this painting, he would be in serious trouble today.
"I came back to get something. What's going on here?" Lin Ying finally shifted her gaze from Li Chonglou's face.
"You're the boss? You've come at a good time."
Wang Dehai snatched the scroll from Zhao Yecheng's hand and exclaimed, "Zhao Yecheng said this painting is a fake, but this young brother here says it's genuine. Please judge it."
The scroll was unrolled, and Lin Ying's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.
After a few seconds of silence, she said calmly, "This young brother is correct. This painting is indeed genuine."
"It should be 'Prosperity in a Pot' by the Ming Dynasty painter Bian Jingzhao, with Emperor Qianlong's doodles and seals."
"Perhaps Master Zhao made a mistake in his judgment. I apologize to you."
Zhao Yecheng still held onto a sliver of hope, but he didn't expect Lin Ying to see through it at a glance.
Even with a hardened mouth, he didn't dare to deny it.
He quickly put on a remorseful expression and apologized repeatedly, "Wang... Brother Wang, it was my oversight. My academic knowledge is insufficient, and I almost mistook a genuine work for a fake."
"Fortunately, Ms. Lin appeared in time. You are magnanimous..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Li Chonglou: "Unintentional mistakes are not a crime, but unfortunately, yours is deliberate fraud!"
"As an appraiser of a pawnshop, using the pawnshop's reputation to line your own pockets is disloyalty."
"Taking advantage of a friend's urgent need for money and ignorance of calligraphy and paintings to exploit them is unjust."
"With disloyal and unjust individuals like you at Donglin Pawnshop, the reputation painstakingly built by Teacher Lin will be ruined overnight!"
His words were like knives, cutting to the heart.