Chapter 54 All Sold at High Prices

In the end, a pot-bellied man wearing gold-rimmed glasses successfully bid five million for the "Shang Dynasty bronze tripod."

Cold sweat beaded on Zhao Qiankun's forehead, and his chubby face was a mask of sheer disbelief.

"Five million! For a piece of junk like that, five million?!"

He clutched Cheng Ziqiu's sleeve, his voice trembling.

"Brother Ziqiu, wh-what is going on here? Are these people... have they all lost their minds?"

Cheng Ziqiu was equally baffled.

The craftsmanship of the bronze tripod was crude, and the patina was completely wrong; it was obviously a modern imitation.

Forget five million; even half a million would be overpriced!

Yet the "big shots" present were acting as if they had been injected with adrenaline, aggressively bidding against each other until it finally sold for such an exorbitant price.

There was definitely something fishy going on!

Cheng Ziqiu narrowed his eyes, sweeping his gaze across the room in an attempt to catch some clue.

At that moment, the second artifact was carefully carried onto the stage by the staff.

It was an ancient scroll painting, wrapped up with only a tiny corner exposed.

Bank President Li cleared his throat with a theatrical sense of mystery and pointed at the scroll.

"Distinguished guests, our next item is truly extraordinary! It is none other than an authentic masterpiece by Tang Bohu! Priceless!"

He paused, looking around the room.

"This painting was previously in the collection of our esteemed President Zhao. Today, to support this charity auction, President Zhao has generously parted with his beloved treasure to share it with everyone! Let us give our warmest applause to President Zhao!"

Clap, clap, clap—a smattering of sparse applause echoed through the room.

Zhao Qiankun forced a smile that looked worse than crying, while his heart bled internally.

Share it with my foot!

I've been completely played by you!

He had paid a hefty sum to acquire this painting in the first place, originally hoping to use the auction to make Bank President Li suffer a silent loss. Little did he expect this turn of events...

Zhao Qiankun cast a covert glance at Cheng Ziqiu beside him, feeling extremely uneasy.

He had spoken with such absolute certainty earlier, but was this kid actually reliable?

If this painting ended up being won by these fools at a sky-high price as well, he would seriously want to cry his eyes out in the restroom.

Meanwhile, Cheng Ziqiu watched the scene with great amusement.

This Bank President Li really could come up with any crooked scheme!

An authentic work by Tang Bohu?

Heh, if he believed that, he would have spent his entire past life as a tomb raider in vain!

Bank President Li continued his performance.

"This painting is titled *Spring Palace:*..."

"Pfft—"

Cheng Ziqiu spat out a mouthful of tea, coughing violently.

He quickly covered his mouth with his hand, though his heart was blooming with joy.

Spring Palace painting?

This Bank President Li certainly had no shame!

If Tang Bohu knew his art was being defiled like this, his coffin lid probably wouldn't stay shut!

Zhao Qiankun was equally dumbfounded.

A Spring Palace painting?

When he acquired it, the painting was clearly called *Court Ladies*!

This Bank President Li literally just made things up on the spot!

Seemingly oblivious to Cheng Ziqiu's reaction, Bank President Li continued:

"This *Spring Palace* painting depicts the lingering, passionate romance between ancient men and women. With its delicate brushwork and profound artistic conception, it is truly the pinnacle of Tang Bohu's work! The starting bid is one million!"

Cheng Ziqiu suppressed a smile, silently complaining in his mind.

One million?

This piece of trash wouldn't even be worth a hundred!

However, to his utter astonishment, someone in the audience actually raised their paddle again!

"One million one hundred thousand!"

"One million two hundred thousand!"

"One million five hundred thousand!"

...

The price skyrocketed, quickly breaking the two-million mark!

Cheng Ziqiu was completely dumbfounded.

Were these people genuinely stupid, or just pretending?

The woman in the painting was obviously a modern person.

That posture, that expression—she looked just like an AV idol, with not a trace of ancient courtly elegance!

Zhao Qiankun's expression grew increasingly grim.

He felt as though he were suffocating.

Had everyone in this room gone mad?

Just then, a shrill voice cut through the air.

"Three million!"

Cheng Ziqiu widened his eyes in disbelief.

He almost thought he had transmigrated once more into some parallel universe full of idiots.

The painting could not possibly be more fake.

Yet these people were arguing until they were red in the face, as if fighting over some peerless treasure!

The bidder was a heavily made-up woman, dressed scantily and draped in so much jewelry that she practically screamed for attention about her wealth.

She swept a defiant gaze across the room, a contemptuous smile playing on her lips.

"A bunch of hicks like you actually want to compete with me?"

Cheng Ziqiu sneered internally.

The woman had *nouveau riche* written all over her; she probably didn't even know who Tang Bohu was.

He even suspected that she might be a plant hired by Bank President Li to deliberately drive up the price.

"Three million five hundred thousand!"

Another greasy-looking middle-aged man raised his paddle, locking eyes with the heavily made-up woman without backing down.

"Four million!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the heavily made-up woman raised her paddle again.

The price kept climbing, soon smashing through the six-million milestone.

Cheng Ziqiu stared in gaping astonishment, feeling like his worldview had just been thoroughly shattered.

Did these people have too much money to burn, or were they all completely blind?

"Going once at six million! Going twice at six million! Going three times at six million! Sold!"

Bank President Li struck the wooden mallet with excitement.

The heavily made-up woman walked triumphantly onto the stage, accepting the fake painting from Bank President Li's hands.

Zhao Qiankun felt a sharp pang in his chest as black spots danced before his eyes.

Six million!

Just like that, a counterfeit had fetched an astronomical price of six million!

With a trembling finger, he pointed at Cheng Ziqiu, his lips quivering and unable to form words for a long moment.

"You... you... you prodigal brat! You've ruined me!"

Zhao Qiankun finally erupted, spitting a mouthful of phlegm directly onto Cheng Ziqiu's face.

"I spent my life savings to acquire this treasure, and you insisted it was fake! Look at me now—made a fool of in front of everyone, six million! Six million down the drain just like that!"

Cheng Ziqiu wiped the saliva off his face, his own anger flaring up.

What the hell? Why was this old man being so unreasonable?

He had kindly tried to warn him, yet the guy was turning around and blaming him!

"President Zhao, don't be ungrateful! I'm telling you, that painting is fake! The woman's posture and expression were clearly ripped straight from a Japanese adult film! If you really like that kind of stuff, I can hook you up with hundreds of gigabytes later; I guarantee it'll be way more stimulating than that painting!"

Cheng Ziqiu snapped right back without any politeness.

"You're full of crap! This is an authentic Tang Bohu! What does a little punk like you know?!"

Red-faced and furious, Zhao Qiankun swung his cane and lunged at Cheng Ziqiu.

Cheng Ziqiu nimbly dodged, avoiding the blow.

This old geezer was actually playing for keeps!

"You little brat, you dare dodge? See if I don't beat you to death!"

Beside himself with rage, Zhao Qiankun whirled his cane through the air with a swishing sound, aiming every strike at Cheng Ziqiu's vital spots.

While dodging away, Cheng Ziqiu didn't forget to hurl a final taunt.

"Take it easy, President Zhao, don't throw out your back. The medical bills will end up costing more than that fake painting. What's the point of that?"