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The Nie family's old residence is located in the Western Hills of Beijing. It is not a villa made of reinforced concrete, but a house converted from a former royal palace. Every brick and tile exudes a kind of "historical heritage" that ordinary people cannot understand.

What happened at the Chang'an Club last night spread like wildfire throughout Beijing's elite social circles before dawn.

A young man from Jianghai named Zhang Yan won a Ferrari and a Patek Philippe in one go at Nie Fan's venue.

This isn't just a slap in the face; it's tearing Nie Fan's face off, throwing it on the ground, and stomping on it with high heels.

Therefore, when the Du family's Hongqi L5 carrying Zhang Yan and Nie Qingcheng stopped at the entrance of the Nie family's old residence, the Nie family's collateral descendants who were responsible for welcoming guests looked at them as if they were aliens.

There was curiosity, there was disdain, but more than anything, there was a schadenfreude of waiting to see the show.

"Qingcheng is back?"

A woman dressed in a cheongsam and adorned with jewels swayed over; she was Liu Yun, Nie Qingcheng's aunt.

Liu Yun's gaze swept over Nie Qingcheng before finally settling on Zhang Yan beside her. Her eyes were no different from those of someone picking out pork at the market.

"Oh, this must be Zhang Yan?"

"He is indeed a handsome man; no wonder he has our Qingcheng completely captivated by him."

Liu Yun covered her mouth and laughed in a high-pitched voice, "Hurry up and go in, the old lady and the old man are waiting in the main hall."

That's a polite way of putting it, but you could smell the sourness from three meters away.

Nie Qingcheng didn't even bother to look at her, and instead took Zhang Yan's arm and walked straight inside.

The main hall was filled with guests.

An elderly couple sat in the main seat.

The man, dressed in a dark red Tang suit, exuded an imposing presence; he was none other than Nie Zhenbang, the current head of the Nie family.

The woman, dressed in a brocade jacket and skirt with the character "福" (fortune) on it, with white hair and a kind face, was the main character celebrating her 80th birthday today—Grandma Nie.

Nie Qingcheng led Zhang Yan over and gave him a proper bow.

Grandma, may you have boundless happiness and longevity.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."

The old lady held Nie Qingcheng's hand, smiling broadly, but her eyes kept glancing at Zhang Yan.

Nie Zhenbang snorted heavily, picked up his teacup, and didn't even bother to lift his eyelids, clearly still angry about the car-smashing incident at the airport.

The birthday banquet began, and the process was the same as all high-society banquets—dull and tedious.

The atmosphere only became lively during the gift-giving segment.

"The Wang Group presents a Hetian jade ruyi (a type of scepter) as a gift, wishing the old lady good fortune and happiness!"

"The second young master of the Li family presents a golden nanmu wood walking stick, wishing the old lady a long and healthy life!"

……

One after another, valuable gifts were presented, which earned the old lady a series of "good, good, good"s.

Just then, Nie Fan stepped forward with a beaming smile.

He was dressed impeccably today, holding a long, rectangular sandalwood box in his hands, with a confident smile on his face.

"grandmother!"

Nie Fan's loud voice drew everyone's attention. "Your grandson knows you have a lifelong love for refined objects, so to celebrate your birthday, I specially searched through auction houses and finally found you a treasure!"

As he spoke, he carefully opened the box and took out a scroll.

"This is... an authentic work by Tang Bohu, the great scholar of the Ming Dynasty, 'Pine Cliff Villa'!"

wow——

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

Tang Bohu's paintings are national treasures; any one of them could fetch tens or hundreds of millions of yuan.

How did Nie Fan manage to get his hands on an authentic work?

Nie Zhenbang also became interested, stood up from his chair, put on his reading glasses, and went over to take a look.

As the scroll slowly unfurled, an ancient and desolate atmosphere wafted out. The painting depicted rugged mountains and verdant pines and cypresses, rendered with delicate brushstrokes and conveying a profound and distant artistic conception. At the end of the painting were Tang Yin's seal and several other collectors' seals, clearly indicating that it was a rare and well-documented piece.

"Great! Great painting!"

An expert from the Beijing Antiques Association, who had been invited to appraise the work, was so excited that his beard trembled. "The composition, the brushwork—it's definitely in the style of Tang Jieyuan! It's undoubtedly an authentic piece!"

With the experts' affirmation, Nie Fan stood even straighter.

He glanced at Zhang Yan smugly, his eyes seeming to say: See? That's what you call true substance! You're just a gambler who climbed the social ladder by relying on women, what do you know!

Nie Zhenhang was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly: "Great! Fan'er is so thoughtful! This painting is the best birthday gift your grandmother has ever received!"

For a moment, the entire hall was filled with praise for Nie Fan and amazement at the painting.

Nie Qingcheng touched Zhang Yan's hand somewhat uneasily.

Although she didn't know much about antiques, she knew the significance of this painting.

If it really is an authentic work, then Nie Fan has really stolen the show today and given Zhang Yan a good thrashing.

Zhang Yan acted as if nothing was wrong, peeling oranges on the table and casually feeding the sweetest segment to Nie Qingcheng.

"What's the rush? Let him fly for a while."

The painting was treated like a treasure and carefully passed from one guest to another, as everyone wanted to absorb some of the national treasure's magical aura.

Soon, the painting reached Zhang Yan's table.

"Hey, isn't this the God of Gamblers, Zhang?"

A rich second-generation who was on good terms with Nie Fan said in a sarcastic tone, "Come on, let me show you what a real work of art is."

"Don't let him touch it!"

Another girl screamed, "His hand just touched an orange! Are you going to pay for it if he gets it dirty?"

Zhang Yan ignored the noisy chatter.

His gaze fell on the painting.

[Ding! Target detected: Qing Dynasty imitation of Tang Yin's "Pine Cliff Villa"]

【Material: Imitation Song Dynasty ribbed Xuan paper specially made by "Chengxintang" during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty】

[Author: "Zhang the Blind" was a master forger from the Suzhou region during the mid-Qing Dynasty]

[Value Assessment: Handicraft, approximately 35,000 RMB]

[Vulnerability Analysis: The artist of this painting habitually used extremely fine brushstrokes to draw a small ant in the shady area of ​​the rocks in the painting as a hidden mark.]

The system's identification results clearly came to mind.

A playful smile curved at the corners of Zhang Yan's mouth.

"What? You're too scared to watch?"

That rich kid was still yelling, "Are you afraid you're too blind to understand?"

"It's not that I don't understand."

Zhang Yan finally spoke. He wiped his hands with a napkin, stood up, but did not touch the painting. He simply looked down at it.

"It's because it feels dirty."

"What did you say?!"

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Nie Fan exploded on the spot, "Zhang Yan! Don't you dare push your luck! Whose painting are you calling dirty?!"

Don't misunderstand.

Zhang Yan waved his hand, looking completely innocent. "I mean, using a fake item to celebrate my own grandmother's birthday... that's a bit dirty-minded."

boom!

One stone caused a thousand waves!

The entire hall fell silent instantly; you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone looked at Zhang Yan as if he were crazy.

Counterfeit goods?

The experts have just examined it and confirmed it's genuine!

Nie Zhenbang's face instantly darkened, his sharp gaze piercing Zhang Yan like a knife: "Kid, you can't just say whatever you want! Do you know what you're saying?"

"Of course I know."

Zhang Yan met Nie Zhenbang's gaze without flinching. "I just think that using Qing Dynasty paper to paint Ming Dynasty paintings is a bit like time travel."

"You're talking nonsense!"

The expert who had just examined the paper turned bright red with embarrassment. "This paper is dense and has an antique color; it's clearly tribute paper from the Ming Dynasty! What do you, a mere youth, know?!"

"I really don't understand."

Zhang Yan nodded, then changed the subject, "I just happen to know that there was a master forger in the Qing Dynasty, nicknamed 'Blind Zhang,' who preferred to use this kind of Song Dynasty-style paper with ribbed patterns from the Qianlong era."

"Moreover, he has a peculiar habit."

Zhang Yan stretched out his finger and pointed to an extremely inconspicuous crevice in the artificial rockery in the painting.

"He liked to draw a small ant on his best forgeries."

"If you don't believe me, you can take a magnifying glass and look into the crack in the rock. Is there an ant climbing up there?"

Nie Fan's face turned pale instantly.

When he bought the painting, the seller repeatedly assured him that it was passed down from his ancestors and was absolutely genuine.

He was so overwhelmed by the joy of finding a bargain that he didn't look closely at all.

"Put...a magnifying glass! Quick, get a magnifying glass!"

Nie Zhenbang's voice was trembling.

Soon, a servant came running over carrying a high-powered magnifying glass.

Nie Zhenbang snatched it away and, trembling, aimed it at the spot Zhang Yan had pointed to.

The next second, his hand suddenly froze, and he stood there frozen as if struck by lightning.

Those around couldn't see clearly, but from Nie Zhenbang's face turning ashen in an instant, they could guess seven or eight parts of the truth.

The antique expert, not believing in superstitions, also went over to take a look.

He glanced at it once, then plopped down on the ground, muttering to himself, "Ants... there really are ants... this... this can't be..."

Facts speak louder than words.

The truth is now before everyone.

The so-called "national treasure" that Nie Fan bought at a high price was just a Qing Dynasty replica worth 30,000 yuan.

He wanted to use the painting to show off, but instead he became the biggest joke in the entire capital.

"Thump!"

Nie Fan's legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground, trembling like a leaf.

He wasn't afraid of losing face; he was afraid of Nie Zhenbang. He knew his grandfather too well. Nie Zhenbang could tolerate his grandson being useless, but he would never tolerate his grandson disgracing the Nie family!

"evil creature!"

Nie Zhenbang suddenly raised his hand and slammed the so-called "family heirloom" to the ground. He pointed at Nie Fan's nose, trembling with anger.

"You...you wretched child! You've utterly disgraced the Nie family today!"

The entire hall was deathly silent.

No one dared to speak up at this moment.

Nie Zhenbang was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently. He didn't look at his grandson, who was already terrified, but slowly turned his head away.

His gaze pierced through the silent crowd and landed on the young man who had maintained a calm and composed demeanor throughout.

That look in his eyes was no longer filled with contempt and disgust.

Rather, it is a bottomless scrutiny, like a falcon eyeing its prey, full of inquiry and curiosity.