Chapter 243: Fake Painting
Such a treasure, Xu Youyou didn’t need to ask others for a price. She knew it must be worth a fortune.
“If you want to sell it, you can go through the He family. No one is better at finding buyers than them,” Lu Jingyao suggested.
Although he didn’t know exactly what agreement Xu Youyou had with He Zhilan, the current head of the He family, he could tell from their interactions that the new head respected Xu Youyou greatly and even seemed to have a sense of relying on her.
If He Zhilan weren’t a woman, Lu Jingyao would have almost suspected that she was pursuing Xu Youyou, given the warmth she showed her.
“I don’t plan to sell it,” Xu Youyou said.
She no longer lacked money as she once did. Moreover, just a few days ago, she had struck a deal with Mr. Zheng to sell the butterfly-patterned flower-rimmed plate for three hundred million yuan. Xu Youyou felt that her trip to France had been a great success.
Looking at the cloisonné Qilin, she couldn’t help but think of the great disaster a century ago. Even though she loved money dearly, she couldn’t suppress a feeling of wanting to contribute it to something greater.
“I’m planning to donate this cultural relic to the country,” Xu Youyou said.
Lu Jingyao wasn’t particularly surprised by this and said, “Cultural relics returning to the homeland is indeed a significant matter, but the specifics of when and how to donate them involve many complexities.”
This was the first time Xu Youyou had heard about this, and she asked, “I thought I could donate it anytime? Could it be rejected?”
Lu Jingyao chuckled lightly and reminded her, “The He family knows the ins and outs of this very well. If you have no other expectations, you can donate whenever you like, but Mr. Xie’s situation is still unresolved.”
Xu Youyou paused when she heard this. She knew that Xie Ran had a deep feud with Xingzuan. In his past life, Xie Ran had made a comeback overseas and, after gaining power, returned to China for revenge.
In the past year or so, Xie Ran had become one of Xu Youyou’s most important associates. If she could help him get revenge in advance, she would be willing to donate more treasures worth a fortune.
“I’ll try harder abroad,” Xu Youyou said.
Lu Jingyao suddenly asked, “Do you know why so many wealthy merchants and nobles like to collect antiques?”
Xu Youyou thought this sounded odd and asked in return, “Isn’t it because they have collector’s value or because of the artistic value hidden in the antiques?”
Lu Jingyao shook his head from the other side of the screen and said, “There’s a superstitious belief in this circle, and you should know more about it than I do. A large portion of an antique’s value depends on its original owner. The higher the status of the original owner, the higher the value of the antique.”
What Lu Jingyao said was common knowledge in the antique world. Xu Youyou quickly picked up on his intent behind mentioning this: “Are buyers collecting antiques to borrow luck from the original owner?”
Lu Jingyao nodded. “Many people truly believe in this idea. They think that no matter what the final fate of the original owner was, if they are remembered in history, they must have had great luck, and by owning their possessions, they might be able to borrow some of that luck to help them through tough times.”
Xu Youyou instinctively doubted this belief. “But there are many antique collectors who go bankrupt or even commit suicide. That doesn’t seem like a way to get through tough times.”
Lu Jingyao laughed. “It’s just a theory, no one really knows if it’s true or not.”
“So how does this relate to my donating the cultural relics?” Xu Youyou couldn’t help but ask.
Lu Jingyao replied, “I actually hope this theory is true. The more antiques and cultural relics you have, the stronger your luck will be, which will make you safer.”
Xu Youyou listened to this talk about luck but couldn’t help but zone out. In her previous life, Xie Ran had avenged his hatred without the help of any supposed mystical forces. This life, with even better conditions, he should be able to take revenge with a high chance of success, even if it came earlier.
Xu Youyou continued to visit the second-hand market for three more days. With her sharp eye, she found several treasures. Although none of them could match the value of the cloisonné Qilin or the butterfly-patterned flower-rimmed plate, the combined worth of these items still amounted to over a hundred million.
She even ran into Chen Moli again during this period but declined the guide service she kindly offered. Focused on finding treasures, Xu Youyou couldn’t help but reflect that, compared to the antique markets back home, which were mostly full of goods from Yiwu, there were far more opportunities abroad.
Ultimately, most of the treasures that flowed out of China were not recognized by foreign buyers. In the long process of inheritance, if the elder did not explicitly mention the value of the item, the younger generation might sell the treasures at ordinary market value.
On the day Xu Youyou planned to leave Paris, Lu Jingyao finally finished handling his business in China and flew over.
“I truly suspect you’ve gathered up all the treasures in Paris,” Lu Jingyao said, looking at the villa in Paris, where precious cultural relics nearly filled half the room.
Xu Youyou said, “It’s a pity I only searched Paris. Many treasures are probably still hidden in private collections.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Jingyao couldn’t help but think of the humiliating history from a century ago. He then said, “With so many cultural relics, are you planning to donate them all?”
Xu Youyou nodded gently.
Lu Jingyao didn’t persuade her further, but instead, he stared at a flower-and-bird painting and observed it for a long time.
“I never expected that Mr. Huang Quan’s work would have spread overseas,” Lu Jingyao remarked.
Huang Quan was a court painter of the Western Shu during the Five Dynasties period, especially known for his meticulous peony paintings. The one Lu Jingyao was holding was a peony painting.
Xu Youyou sighed and said, “Although this painting has reached the point where it could pass for a genuine piece, it’s not the real thing. It’s a copy done by later generations, but it’s still a fine work.”
Lu Jingyao paused. It wasn’t that he doubted Xu Youyou’s identification skills, but the painting was stamped with many seals.
The seals weren’t from just anyone; they were from Emperor Qianlong, who was famously fond of stamping things.
At first, Xu Youyou also thought this was an authentic work by Huang Quan. In fact, this painting, like another scroll she had bought in the past, was a painting within a painting.
When she was browsing the second-hand market, she immediately noticed that the painting’s thickness was off. She made the quick decision to buy it. When she returned to her accommodation and unwrapped it, she found the peony painting inside.
She had been so excited at first, but after waiting for a long time, the system still hadn’t issued any bargain-hunting rewards.
Over the past few days, Xu Youyou had received many bargain-hunting rewards. Even when she bought Qing Dynasty porcelain at a low price, the system had given her symbolic rewards.
This time, however, after buying the peony painting by Huang Quan for 20,000 euros, the system had shown no reaction.
Xu Youyou almost chased the system for an explanation.
Reluctantly, the system explained: [This is a fake painting that once deceived Emperor Qianlong. The artist is unknown, and its market value should not exceed the 20,000 euros you paid.]
