Glancing around, Chu Lingmu's smile suddenly froze. On the entire stage, only Xia Liang wasn't applauding. He even looked sowhat helpless, and when he saw Chu Lingmu looking his way, he simply shook his head.
"So, Great Appraiser, what's wrong? Do you think there's a problem with what I said?"
"No, no problem," Xia Liang said, shaking his head. "That kind of Tang Sancai does exist, but…"
"But what?" Chu Lingmu asked, puzzled.
"But the one on the stage right now is a fake."
It was a fake. The mont Xia Liang said this, every eye in the room turned to him. The appraisal stage fell silent once more, even more so than before. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
It was Chu Lingmu who reacted first. "Impossible! How could this be a fake? Its style might be a little strange, but it's definitely an artifact from the Tang Dynasty!"
"That's correct," one of the three appraisers on stage agreed. "This young man must be fond of antiques, otherwise he wouldn't be here. However, his eye might be a little lacking. This Tang Sancai is indeed a product of the Tang Dynasty, and the craftsmanship is of a very high level. If you don't know what you're talking about, young man, please step down."
In Chu Lingmu's livestream, Xia Liang's words also made the chat explode.
"Mumu has never gotten an appraisal wrong. Since she says it's real, it can't possibly be fake!"
"I thought this handso guy had so skill, but it seems he's all talk. He didn't even go near the Tang Sancai, let alone touch it, yet he declared it a fake. That's really hard to believe."
That last comnt voiced the thoughts of everyone present. From the very beginning, Xia Liang hadn't approached the Tang Sancai, only observing from the side. Even the three appraisers and Chu Lingmu had handled the piece before making their judgnt. To make such a bold claim just by looking was sothing few could believe.
But Fang Youxue, who knew Xia Liang's capabilities, was the first to stand up for him. "No! I believe Mister Xia! If he says this is fake, then it's definitely a counterfeit!"
Fang Youxue's words made the hundreds of thousands of viewers in the livestream heartbroken.
"Young lady, you're so pretty, but is your head on straight? Why do you believe him? Is he your boyfriend? I can't think of any other reason you'd trust him."
"My heart is breaking. Even a guy like that has a girlfriend."
"Is this love?"
The livestream chat was filled with a chorus of wails. But soon, more rational viewers spoke up.
"You're all getting off-topic. Since this young man says it's fake, just let him explain why, right?"
"Exactly! If you say it's fake, then tell us what's fake about it!"
Chu Lingmu's expression turned serious. "Alright, tell us why this is a fake," she said to Xia Liang. "If you can't give a proper explanation, I definitely won't let you off the hook!"
Judging by her posture, she wasn't joking. The three appraisers also turned to look at Xia Liang, though they didn't believe he could say anything of substance.
"Mister Xia, just tell them why it's fake." Though she said this, deep down, Fang Youxue was probably more desperate than anyone to know the answer.
"Then let tell you," Xia Liang said with a faint smile, picking up the Tang Sancai.
"This Tang Sancai is indeed a counterfeit. The reason you can't tell is simple: its forging process is incredibly complex. First, they dye an ancient pottery vessel, then re-apply a layer of slip and fire it. Once that's successful, a ring of ancient pottery fragnts is added to the outside, which is then colored, coated in slip, and fired for a second ti. This process is repeated for a total of five firings!
"During this process, the color from the pottery fragnts in each layer slowly bleeds to the surface. At that point, it's nearly indistinguishable from a genuine piece. Finally, it's aged using the most advanced techniques to achieve this appearance. It's perfectly normal that you couldn't tell."
Placing the Tang Sancai back on the table, Xia Liang finished his explanation. Seeing that the others were still processing his words, he continued, "Look, the inner wall of this Tang Sancai is exceptionally thick, and its weight is highly unusual. That's because it has been fired multiple tis with several new layers of slip."
At his words, the three appraisers once again picked up the Tang Sancai to examine it carefully. Only then did they realize Xia Liang was right: the piece was unusually heavy, and its inner walls were very thick.
However, Chu Lingmu imdiately retorted, "Many Tang Sancai pieces have thick walls and are quite heavy. Does that an they're all fakes?"
As soon as she spoke, the livestream chat was flooded with a barrage of 'That's right,' and 'Mumu is correct.'
Chu Lingmu continued, "Furthermore, re-firing pottery with glaze would damage or even destroy it. This Tang Sancai is perfectly intact, so how could it have been re-fired? You've talked a lot, but you still haven't directly proven that this item is a fake!" She emphasized her final sentence.
Xia Liang looked sowhat helpless. On the surface, the piece was convincing enough to fool anyone; no amount of looking at it would allow Chu Lingmu and the others to see it was fake. Nevertheless, he spoke up, "Each ti it's re-fired, the damaged pottery inside gets encased by the new layer. From the outside, it naturally looks perfectly intact. As for how to prove it… I do have a simple thod."
"What thod?" Chu Lingmu asked, confused.
"That is…" Xia Liang paused. "To smash this Tang Sancai."
"Smash… smash it?" Hearing his words, Chu Lingmu wondered if she had misheard, muttering the words in a daze. The others at the appraisal table were also completely stunned.
As if he felt they hadn't heard him clearly, Xia Liang repeated, "That's right. Smash it."
Chu Lingmu's livestream chat instantly erupted. Countless comnts flooded the entire screen.
"Smash it? Mumu said this thing is worth one million Yuan, and you're saying to smash it?"
"What if you're wrong? Who's going to pay for the one million Yuan loss!"
"This thing is worth a million Yuan! How can you just say 'smash it'? I bet he's only saying that because he knows Mumu would never do it!"
Regardless of what Chu Lingmu's fans were thinking, the mont Xia Liang suggested smashing the million-Yuan Tang Sancai, the livestream's traffic exploded. Countless lurkers ca out of the woodwork to post comnts. After all, the item Xia Liang was talking about smashing was a Tang Sancai worth a million Yuan.
"Smash it? You've got to be kidding," Chu Lingmu said, shaking her head after taking a few deep breaths. "If this item is genuine, it's worth one million Yuan. I think you're only saying this because you know we don't dare to smash it. If you're wrong, who takes responsibility?"
"That's right, young man," another of the master appraisers chid in. "Since you claim it's a fake and must be smashed to tell the difference, why don't you do it? Of course, if you make a mistake and discover it's real, that will have nothing to do with us. You'll have to compensate for the entire loss."
After all, Xia Liang wasn't wearing the bracelet Mr. Zhao Guoming had given him today, so the others had no way of guessing if he could afford such a sum.
After they finished speaking, they all looked at Xia Liang with faint smiles. They were sure he wouldn't dare smash the item himself. Without smashing it, it would be impossible to prove if his claims were true or false. Then, he could just insist he was right, and there would be nothing anyone could do. This tactic—claiming sothing must be destroyed to be authenticated—was very difficult to verify directly.
Chu Lingmu's gaze toward Xia Liang had already turned indifferent. She now thought he was nothing more than a common charlatan, after initially thinking he might actually know a thing or two about appraisal.
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