The Real Heiress Has an Appraisal System

The items Chairman He brought out this time were indeed real, but at the same time, not quite.

It was real in that it was still a diamond star brooch, truly made of diamonds. But it wasn’t the same as the original one worn by the royal family.

So... it was a ploy.

Unsurprisingly, every item that followed presented a similar situation. They looked like the real deal but were actually high-quality replicas.

Of course, mixed in were a few unassuming items that looked like fakes, but were, in fact, genuine.

Gu Shengsheng now understood exactly what was going on.

The earlier fiasco, that blatant scam, wasn’t Chairman He trying to destroy his own reputation. It was all to lay the groundwork for what was happening now.

All the antiques in the last round had been problematic. Now, Chairman He had personally apologized, offered an explanation, and even brought items from his family’s private collection.

This restored a great deal of everyone’s trust. And now, with these high-quality replicas, even top-tier appraisers found them impossible to definitively authenticate, deeming them ambiguous and difficult to judge.

Then there were the other items—the ones that looked shoddy and were artificially aged but were actually valuable goods. They were waiting for the Treasure Appraisers to reject them, at which point shills would be sent in to "find" these overlooked treasures. The profits would be unimaginable...

’Gu Shengsheng couldn’t even imagine how much money these wealthy people would spend fighting over the items!’

At this point, success was practically guaranteed.

’If everything went according to plan, they were going to make an absolute killing!’

Sure enough, once the auction began, both Pan Bowen and Zhang Sanwang started bidding frantically, placing huge bets.

Watching Pan Bowen’s wild bidding against another person, Gu Shengsheng pulled him aside to warn him, "It’s hard to tell with these items. There’s no saying whether they’re real or fake. You should be careful."

Pan Bowen waved her off. "What’s there to be afraid of! I love the thrill of a bidding war. Treasure appraisal is a high-stakes gamble by nature. How could everything be genuine?"

"Don’t worry, I’m rich. It’s not like I can spend it all, so I might as well have some fun!"

"..." ’Alright, I guess I was worried for nothing,’ Gu Shengsheng thought.

’Someone like him really didn’t need a warning.’

She then tried to speak with Zhang Sanwang, but he cut her off. "I want to get in on the action, too. I’ve seen a few pieces that would be perfect for my little shop."

"Why don’t you go amuse yourself? Go look at the cheaper items. We can’t watch over you right now."

They were all focused on the prices of the antiques.

"..." ’Since they’re all so busy, I’ll just go find the hidden gems among the low-priced items myself.’

’Since Chairman He wants to play games, I’ll just snatch up all the items they’ve set aside as ’overlooked treasures.’ We’ll see if their losses end up outweighing their profits.’

She glanced casually at Lu Chaoyang and He Chen. The two were still sipping tea, looking perfectly at ease. After all, everyone here had walked right into their trap, and none of them even realized it.

’The profit they stood to make today was unimaginable! It would definitely be over a hundred million!’

"Brother Chaoyang, are you sure no one will buy those artificially aged relics that are worth tens of millions?"

"You seem so certain, but I have a bad feeling."

Lu Chaoyang chuckled. "I’m a businessman; calculation is my specialty. Who’s going to go digging for treasure among the junk antiques priced at 8,888?"

"When faced with your family’s private collection, who wouldn’t try to buy the best pieces? After all, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even the public appraisal fairs don’t offer this kind of access."

"Rest assured, everyone here today is wealthy; there are no poor people. When the time comes, we’ll send our own people in to snap up the ’hidden gems’ and bring back those most valuable pieces worth tens of millions. Since there’s a mix of real and fake, the buyers who end up with duds won’t complain."

They’ll just have to blame their own bad luck, especially when they see that other people managed to buy valuable things and they didn’t.

Once that subjective mindset takes hold, it has very little to do with us or anyone else.

At this thought, Lu Chaoyang felt that every step he took from now on would be met with unstoppable success.

......

What he hadn’t accounted for, however, was that a "poor" person had indeed managed to get into this private auction.

And from the very beginning, she had her eyes set on those items with the fixed price of 8,888.

They appeared to be nothing but junk, but hidden among them were many artificially aged relics.

Gu Shengsheng reached her hand in.

The System’s attribute panel began to flicker wildly: Ten million, twenty million, 35 million...

After touching just three or four items, the combined value was already over 70 million.

Gu Shengsheng was truly appreciating the benefits of her System now.

She could barely suppress a laugh. ’I can’t imagine how apoplectic Chairman He will be once he finds out I’ve taken these items.’

Lu Chaoyang was the mastermind, a man who was both confident and cautious.

He wouldn’t have told his underlings on the staff the specifics of the plan.

Which was why Gu Shengsheng was able to buy them so smoothly.

The staff member selling them to her even offered a friendly reminder. "Miss Gu, these items have fixed prices and aren’t part of the auction. They’re pretty much all fakes and junk that Chairman He collected."

"They’re just kept as souvenirs. Are you sure you want to buy them?" the staff member clarified.

"Yes. I’m short on cash and didn’t even bring 50,000 with me, so I can only afford to buy five of these to take home as souvenirs."

The staff member didn’t press the issue. "Please, Miss Gu, feel free to pick whichever you like."

Gu Shengsheng seemed to choose at random, but she was actually picking very carefully. She presented her choices. "These two calligraphy scrolls, this White Jade Inkstone, this amber pendant, and this tiny private seal. I’ll take them all, as a souvenir of my visit."

They were "on sale" anyway, so it was a simple cash-and-carry transaction.

Gu Shengsheng paid, and the employee handed over the goods without hesitation.

He even added kindly, "Miss Gu, even if you’re short on funds, it’s good to just look around and broaden your horizons. Who knows, when you’re a bit older, you might be able to afford the good stuff."

Gu Shengsheng nodded. "I’ll take that as a blessing."

With that, she went back inside to browse. She still wanted to watch the rest of the show.

’I can’t just leave with these things now. That bastard Lu Chaoyang is no fool.’

’What Gu Shengsheng wanted was to obtain these things openly and legitimately.’

’She wanted the He Family to know the relics were in her possession, but be powerless to do anything but let her keep them.’

’Otherwise, there would be endless trouble down the line. It would be all too easy for the He Family to demand the relics back after she took them home.’

’Gu Shengsheng never did things in a messy, unresolved way!’

After buying the items, she put them in a red plastic bag, even double-bagging it so no one could see what was inside.

Zhang Sanwang leaned in to get a look at the plastic bag, his face a mask of disdain. "Did you go rummage through their discounted fakes?"

"I did," Gu Shengsheng explained. "They’re pretty nice. What’s supposedly real might not be, but what’s fake is definitely fake. It barely cost anything, regardless."

Gu Shengsheng explained, and Zhang Sanwang couldn’t find a retort. Such was the fate of someone who wasn’t quick-witted.

"Good grief, you’re probably the only person here who’d do something like this. Everyone who came today has a reputation to uphold. Even if they felt awkward, they wouldn’t buy something that’s explicitly fake."

"Miss Gu, you really are one of a kind."

Gu Shengsheng said, "But what if I actually make a profit?"

"I’m not going to waste time on such unrealistic fantasies. I’m staying right here to fight tooth and nail with these people!"

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