False evidence

Chapter 296 Bronze Mirror
At the old man's insistence, the woman finally took the item out of her bosom.

From my angle, I could roughly see that it was a lotus-shaped metal object covered in greenish-blue patina, and it looked like a plate.

The bespectacled old man carefully took it, examined it over and over for a while, and a slightly disappointed expression appeared on his face.

"Is this thing of yours a fake? How dare you ask for 20,000 yuan?"

The woman snatched the copper plate, stuffed it into her bosom, and turned to leave without saying a word.

"Hey hey!"

The bespectacled old man grabbed her arm and held up three fingers: "How about I offer this price?"

The woman snorted, "Thirteen thousand, no less!"

The bespectacled old man gritted his teeth and held up two more fingers. "This one is from the late Qing Dynasty... or possibly an early Republic of China forgery. This price is already very high for me!"

The woman hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Five thousand it is, I only need cash!"

"no problem!"

The bespectacled old man took out a small bag tucked under his arm, opened it, counted out a wad of banknotes, and handed it to the woman.

The woman counted the money twice, handed over the copper tray, and walked out from the other end of the alley.

The bespectacled old man was happily playing with his new purchase when suddenly, his smile froze on his face.

The next second, he stomped his foot and exclaimed, "Oops! I've been tricked!"

Although Lü Xin hadn't spoken again, I had already sensed something was amiss.

The alley was at most twenty meters long. When I walked in, it was impossible for the people inside not to see me.

Although the price of the transaction between the two was not high, it was still a buy-and-sell transaction in cash, so some caution was still warranted.

But until the transaction was completed, neither of them seemed to see me.

Especially the old man with glasses, he was clearly very vigilant just now, how come he became 'blind' after entering the alley?
The bespectacled old man cried out that he had been tricked, tucked the bag and copper plate under his arm, and ran after the woman in the direction she had left.

He hadn't run more than a few steps when the bronze plate fell to the ground. Instead of picking it up, he yelled, "Liar! Give me my money back..."

Seeing that the old man had also disappeared, I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them and looked at Lü Xin beside me:

"You know perfectly well what tricks they're up to, right?"

Lu Xin put his hands behind his back and scoffed, "They are indeed in cahoots, but they're definitely not trying to lie to you. If you want to know what tricks they're up to, go pick up the things, walk out of this alley, and you'll find out."

I shook my head: "It's the Lunar New Year, I don't want to cause trouble."

Lu Xin shrugged: "If I told you that this thing could be deadly, would you care?"

“I’m not a police officer.”

"The sound is off!"

Liang Kaiyuan suddenly glanced at me sideways and said, "Among these three cobblers, it seems one of us is a professional swindler. Now that we've seen through their tricks, there shouldn't be too much trouble, right?"

I asked in surprise, "Why are you joining in the commotion too?"

Liang Kaiyuan smiled and said, "I'm a businessman. I don't think it's worth it to not make money when I can."

An old saying goes: "Sake makes people's faces red, and wealth moves people's hearts."

I am no exception.

Looking at the two people in front of me, I didn't hesitate any longer and went over to pick up the bronze plate.

It is indeed a lotus-shaped metal object, but it's not a plate; one side is smooth, and the other side is engraved with patterns...

I've seen something similar in Yan Fengwei's shop; it was a bronze mirror.

However, I'm not sure if it's really bronze, or even copper.

Liang Kaiyuan looked at the pattern on the back and said, "A Han Dynasty lotus mirror with coiled dragon pattern? This is ridiculously fake."

I asked, "You know about antiques too?" Liang Kaiyuan smiled and said, "My family has been quite well-off in all three of my lives. I don't personally like these things, but in each life, I had a grandfather and father who loved collecting antiques."

I nodded. "Then he's an expert. Didn't that old man just say it was a fake? I only just remembered now that there seem to be quite a few similar things on the street stalls."

Liang Kaiyuan laughed again: "When falsehood is taken for truth, even truth becomes falsehood; when truth is taken for falsehood, even falsehood becomes truth."

I was getting a bit exasperated. "Why are you starting to act all mysterious too?"

Liang Kaiyuan said, "I'm not trying to be mysterious, but I'm just amazed by the cunning of some people. Let me tell you the truth, if you look at the details, this thing isn't exactly an old fake; it's clearly a modern imitation. But then again, it's a genuine item, deliberately made to look fake!"

I shook my head, indicating that I didn't understand.

Lu Xin's eyes darted around, and he said, "Is this an old fake from the Republic of China era, deliberately made to look like it was made with modern technology?"

Liang Kaiyuan clapped his hands: "That's right!"

I said, "Items from the Republic of China era don't seem to be very valuable."

Liang Kaiyuan raised an eyebrow: "Counterfeit items from the Republic of China era are worthless, but it's interesting to make 'old fakes' even more fake."

He flicked his finger lightly on the smooth side of the bronze mirror.

Lu Xin's eyes lit up: "There's a hidden compartment!"

Liang Kaiyuan nodded and pointed to the pattern on the back of the bronze mirror, saying, "The pattern on this is a Panchi, a type of dragon without horns. Because it can breathe fire, it was often used as a decorative pattern for items in the bedrooms of high-ranking officials and nobles in ancient times."

For example, candlesticks and bed curtains. The meaning is that they constantly emit light, ensuring abundant yang energy, so that evil spirits and demons cannot approach...

Uh, let's just get to the point. Because the coiled dragon pattern was popular in the Han Dynasty, and the image of the coiled dragon is rather abstract. Look at this one, it looks like a gecko with all four legs facing one side…”

He spread one hand in front of me: "In short, the image is relatively simple and easier to fake, understand?"

"I understand! If you weren't obsessed with women for several lifetimes, you'd definitely be someone who keeps birds in cages and plays around with things."

Liang Kaiyuan also realized that he was showing off, and said embarrassedly: "Old fakes are in contrast to genuine products; but compared to modern imitations, can't old fakes also be considered 'genuine products'?"
Some people ingeniously create a hidden compartment inside, while others deliberately make a 'genuine' item into a fake... In short, if you really go for authentication, this thing isn't worth five thousand, but it can definitely be sold for a little over three thousand. As for what's inside the hidden compartment..."

Seeing the strange look in his eyes, a thought flickered in my mind: "Have you hidden gold or silver?"

Liang Kaiyuan smiled and shook his head: "It should also be copper."

"Fuck off!"

I immediately lost interest and turned to Lü Xin, intending to ask him what he meant by his unclear words earlier, when I heard a slightly childish shout from the alley entrance:

"Third Brother! What are you doing here?"

I was taken aback, and when I turned around, I saw Xiao Shen San walking over with a clay figure in his hand.

The two exchanged glances, and I sighed inwardly: This is trouble again.

In front of outsiders, Xiao Shen San would only call me "you"; when there were no outsiders, he would call me by my name, or "boy".

If they still call me "Third Brother" in such a childish way, there's absolutely something wrong with them.

Sure enough, as soon as Xiao Shen San walked up to me, he immediately whispered:
"I walked around the alley three times and noticed at least three people sneaking around peeking into it..."

As he spoke, Lü Xin was also speaking to me, but it was within my consciousness, and his voice was very low...

This time, Lü Xinzhen didn't try to be mysterious.

Therefore, I quickly understood what he meant and roughly judged the current situation.

I glanced at both ends of the alley, squatted down, showed the bronze mirror to Xiao Shensan, and whispered a few words to him.

Xiao Shen stretched out a hand to me: "Give me money! I want to buy something!"

I took out two small bills and gave them to him, watching him run out happily.

Lu Xin appeared, arms crossed, leaning against the wall, glancing sideways at the alley entrance, his eyes filled with excitement:

"A bunch of good-for-nothing bastards, I'd like to see what tricks you can pull!"

(End of this chapter)