Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 337 Deceiving the Heavens and Crossing the Sea: A Surprise Attack from Three Thousand Miles Away!

The Eighth Prince's token was very effective.

The next morning, the prefect personally came to handle the matter and wrote the case file himself. In order to prevent Li Zhaoting from causing the deaths of all the local officials, he specially sent an invitation.

There are thirteen large merchants in the coastal area of ​​Lingnan, collectively known as the Thirteen Factories. Every year on the ninth day of the seventh lunar month, they hold an appraisal event in Guangzhou to select the best tooth in the world.

There are several versions of the story about the "Thirteen Factories".

Some say it's thirteen shops.

Some say it's thirteen different businesses.

Some say they are thirteen rules for doing business.

Most of the Thirteen Factories were engaged in maritime trade and paid a large amount of taxes to the imperial court every year. The treasure appraisal event held on the ninth day of the seventh lunar month was to showcase the treasures of each family.

Similar to the "expositions" of later times.

The best tooth in the world refers to a "tooth shop".

It tests one's extensive knowledge, keen eye, and ability to appraise treasures.

Li Zhaoting had no interest in a trade fair held by a bunch of pot-bellied old men.

I definitely have to go to the treasure appraisal event.

In return, Li Zhaoting said he was willing to put in a good word for you with the emperor, and that after you had served for three years, he would transfer you away from Lingnan to another prefecture as a prefect.

Whether it will succeed is not guaranteed. After all, my own father was exiled for five years, let alone others.

The prefect was extremely grateful and said no more.

Li Zhaoting took his mistress and headed straight for Guangzhou.

The treasure appraisal conference held at the Thirteen Factories was no ordinary event; a giant venue was jointly constructed.

The venue was divided into five sections.

1. Exhibition area, displaying treasures.

II. Commercial and trade area: Discuss cooperation.

III. Auction Area, where an auction will be held.

IV. Rest area, mainly featuring food.

V. Competition Area: Compete for the title of the world's best tooth.

Wow~ This is so luxurious!

Miss Wang let out a sigh, and Cheng Huaixiu, Lan Fenghuang, and Jiang Yuyan nodded in agreement.

Apart from Jiang Yuyan, the three women are all young ladies from wealthy families, but there are very different differences between them.

Miss Wang's family runs a security escort agency. Old Master Wang doesn't spoil his daughter. They are a moderately wealthy family. They have been escorting goods through thick and thin, and they have never seen such extravagance before.

Lan Fenghuang is the leader of the Five Poisons Sect, and his status is unquestionable, but he has never heard of such a grand expo featuring Miao specialty medicinal herbs, poisons, and minerals.

Cheng Huaixiu is the leader of the Salt Gang. The Salt Gang and the Salt Merchants are two different concepts. The Salt Merchants are super-rich, while the Salt Gang is like a contractor who can only earn a meager living. Most of the money they earn each year is distributed to the members of the Salt Gang.

Cheng Huaixiu possesses remarkable knowledge and a calm, insightful mind, making him unaffected by money. However, he is still awestruck by the sight of so many treasures.

That's just human nature.

The ticket checkers outside did not show any mocking or sarcastic expressions. Instead, they wore standard smiles and were exceptionally respectful in their every move. Clearly, they were all well-trained, had checked the invitations, and wished everyone a pleasant time.

The more unfamiliar the customer, the bigger the customer.

The locals are already tired of seeing this.

Tourists from other places are the most likely to spend money!
When people travel, their rationality can easily be overwhelmed by four words: "Since we're already here!"
Even if you resist the urge to spend money at tourist attractions, can you resist buying souvenirs? Can you resist trying the local cuisine, especially the most famous dishes?
Should I eat Goubuli steamed buns when I go to Tianjin?

Should I go to Quanjude if I go to Beijing?

Online reviews are one thing.

Once I get there, I'll definitely want to try it.

—I know the reviews aren't great, but if I don't try it, wouldn't this trip be a waste?
Li Zhaoting went straight to the exhibition area.

The exhibits were incredibly diverse and bizarre.

There are silk and porcelain made by skilled craftsmen, exquisite gold and silver jewelry and jade bracelets, black pearls from the South China Sea, antiques and calligraphy and paintings, and some overseas specialties that need to be authenticated by a broker.

The competition among dentists to vie for the title of "Number One Dental Cutter in the World" was a way to demonstrate that their business was conducted fairly and honestly, and that those who could become the "Number One Dental Cutter in the World" were all scholars and academics with extensive knowledge, exceptional insight, and rich experience.

Unfortunately, Wang Yuyan stayed in Dali to search for the hidden treasure in Changchun Valley. Cheng Huaixiu and the others were not very knowledgeable, so they could only let Li Zhaoting temporarily act as their "appraiser".

"Li Lang, this painting is so beautiful!"

Lan Fenghuang took a fancy to an ancient painting.

Gu Kaizhi's paintings of ladies are worth a fortune.

Li Zhaoting stepped forward to examine the painting and calligraphy. He squinted and looked at the wooden plaques under the paintings and calligraphy. These plaques were authentication marks left by the brokers, and they all confirmed that the paintings and calligraphy were genuine.

Li Zhaoting laughed and said, "Hey buddy, give me one real and one fake wooden plaque. This painting is half real and half fake."

The shopkeeper was taken aback, but seeing that Li Zhaoting and the others were handsome and had excellent bearing, clearly from a prominent family, he dared not be negligent and asked, "May I ask which brokerage firm you come from, sir? Calligraphy and paintings can be genuine or fake. Genuine is genuine, and fake is fake. What is the meaning of half-genuine and half-fake? Please give me some instructions, sir."

As they were talking, they handed over two wooden plaques.

Li Zhaoting gently pried the two wooden plaques apart, took half of each plaque (one real and one fake), pieced them together, and hung them below the painting of ladies.

Who was the world's number one tooth in the previous competition?

"Young Master Jiang Yulin of the Jiang family is only twenty-two years old this year, but he is very talented and has won the title of the best tooth-wielder in the world for two consecutive Thirteen Factories Competition!"

"When Jiang Yulin arrives, have him appraise the painting. If his conclusion differs from mine, have him come to the food area to find me."

Li Zhaoting patted his colleague on the shoulder.

The guy looked completely bewildered.

Not long after, Jiang Yulin arrived.

According to the Jiang family genealogy, their ancestor worked as an apprentice in a pawnshop when he was young, later became a counter clerk, and then opened a brokerage firm in his old age, which has been passed down for seven generations.

Since the beginning of the Thirteen Factories Tournament, the Jiang family has been the number one gang in the world, and to this day, they have never lost. The Jiang family's words are more convincing than those of the Heavenly King himself.

Jiang Yulin has been in the business for two years and has won the title of "Number One Tooth in the World" twice in a row. His fame is even greater than that of his father. He is accompanied by a beautiful girl named Qian Bao'er, the young lady of the largest money house in the area. She is also Jiang Yulin's fiancée. She has fair skin and a beautiful appearance.

Upon seeing Jiang Yulin, the waiter hurriedly came to greet him.

"Young Master Jiang, someone wants to challenge you!"

"Oh~ who is it?"

Jiang Yulin smiled calmly. Over the past ten years, there have been at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, challengers to the title of the world's number one tooth. The Jiang family remains the Jiang family, and the world's number one tooth remains.

Qian Bao'er said disdainfully, "Anyone dares to challenge the number one tooth in the world? What does he want to bet on? He thinks he can challenge Young Master Jiang with just empty words?"

The waiter pointed to the painting of court ladies.

"That young master is handsome and dashing, like a god. He is surrounded by several beauties, all of whom are stunningly beautiful. One of them is even more like a fairy descended from heaven. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she is the most beautiful woman in the world. That young master is definitely not an ordinary person."

To be able to work as a shop assistant at an exhibition, one must be no ordinary person. One must have exceptional eyesight, be eloquent, and be adept at reading people. One must have seen countless high-ranking officials and dignitaries, but a person like Li Zhaoting is one that he has never met before in his life.

Qian Bao'er was quite indignant upon hearing this: "I heard that only the Fairy of Jingzhai and the demoness of the Demonic Sect are qualified to compete for the title of the most beautiful woman in the world. They all have one nose, two eyes, and one mouth. Why is she the most beautiful woman in the world?"

Jiang Yulin waved for Qian Bao'er to shut up, then carefully examined the painting of the lady. His brows furrowed, and after a pause, he picked up two wooden plaques, one of which was real and the other fake.

"This painting is both real and fake. To achieve this level of skill, there must be a master craftsman behind it!"

Jiang Yulin split the wooden plaque in half, took half of each half, and pieced them together to form a new authentication plaque. The shop assistant looked at him with admiration: "That young master just said the same thing. Young Master Jiang, I don't understand. A painting is either real or fake. How can it be both real and fake? How was this done?"

Jiang Yulin whispered three words.

The waiter hurriedly went to find the boss.

At the same moment, Lan Fenghuang, clinging to Li Zhaoting's arm, said coquettishly, "Li Lang, stop being so mysterious. What does 'half-true, half-false' mean? How is it made?"

Miss Wang was a poor student, but she had some knowledge of calligraphy and painting. She explained, "I heard that a master craftsman who is good at forgery will split an ancient painting in half, copy each part separately, and then piece the painting back together, turning one painting into two."

Cheng Huaixiu nodded: "Half of it is genuine, and half is a copy. Even if a master appraises it, they will be misled by the genuine painting. A painting can be sold twice."

Li Zhaoting waved his hand.

"What kind of master is this? A true master can turn one painting into two, both of which are genuine paintings."

"How to change?"

"Bone-removing technique!"

Li Zhaoting took out the invitation, pointed it into a sword shape, and threw it into the air. With a flash of sword light, the invitation was split into two pieces and slowly floated down.

Apart from the paper becoming thinner and the ink fading, nothing else changed. Even the Thirteen Factories manager who issued the invitation could not distinguish between the real and fake.

Both invitations are genuine.

Meanwhile, both invitations were counterfeit.

There are too many intricacies to the art of calligraphy and painting.

The simplest way is to steal.

Silk paintings are the easiest to steal.

Cut the silk painting into several pieces with a paper cutter, dress it in a double layer, hide the painting in the interlayer, and find a skilled craftsman to piece the silk together.

At the same time, in the shortest possible time, someone would make a copy of a painting and put it back in its original place. Many famous collectors' maids and servants used this method to steal paintings.

Later, this method spread to the imperial palace.

The emperor had too many treasures. Ancient paintings that ordinary collectors would cherish would be something the emperor might not even glance at for three to five years, which led to the palace maids and eunuchs acting with impunity.

This matter caused great chaos in the Qing Dynasty, implicating hundreds of people and purging half of the palace eunuchs.

Alongside theft comes counterfeiting.

Some are highly skilled, copying the works of famous artists and imitating their painting styles. The most skilled can even create works that are indistinguishable from the originals, or even surpass them.

Some people use the method Miss Wang just mentioned to cut the painting into two or three parts, then copy and piece them together separately, using the real painting to deceive everyone.

Some are skilled at using the "bone-removing method," which can peel off an ancient painting layer by layer like an onion. It is said that there are master craftsmen who can remove the bone five times in a row.

Of course, paintings that have undergone multiple "bone removals" are necessarily works of calligraphy and painting with deep and penetrating ink. If the ink is relatively light, the "bone removal" will be very obvious after just one instance.

Lu Xiaofeng's good friend, Zhu Ting, is a descendant of the Lu Ban Divine Axe School. When he is short of money, he will make fake antiques.

Zhu Ting has a set rules for fabricating evidence.

All counterfeit products have obvious markings.

For example, if Zhu Ting wanted to imitate a painting of ten thousand horses, he would draw a small insect on the mane of one of the horses. If he imitated a painting of ladies, he would change the face of one of the figures to that of a lady. Experts could recognize it at a glance, and those who couldn't would just take it as a lesson for him.

In the antique business, don't be afraid of making mistakes.

If you don’t open for three years, you can make a living for three years after you open.

If you buy counterfeit goods, you have to swallow your pride and bear it.

Li Nanxing's jade business is somewhat similar to his antique business. Li Zhaoting really wasn't lying this time: My father taught me how to appraise treasures in Dali!
I really have taught it!

It was all taught by Li Nanxing!
Some of these were revealed by Lu Xiaofeng.

This allowed Li Zhaoting to easily identify all of Zhu Ting's counterfeit antiques. After walking around for most of the time, he saw at least five of Zhu Ting's works. He truly deserves to be called a master craftsman.

This trip was purely for sightseeing.

Aside from slightly provoking the world's number one tooth, he had no desire to cause trouble. He spent the entire time sightseeing, bought a few overseas treasures, went to an auction, and learned that the auction would be held in seven days. Li Zhaoting registered his name but did not intend to participate.

These large-scale expos typically last for half a month to a month, with the initial phase being just an appetizer.

The precious treasures will be exhibited later.

Everyone thought Li Zhaoting would participate in the auction seven days later and witness the new number one tooth in the world. Even Jiang Yulin thought so, and he was at home looking through the books left by his ancestors to avoid being caught off guard.

Just as everyone was waiting to see a good show, Li Zhaoting and his accomplices disappeared overnight without a trace.

……

The Mingyue Sect was founded fifteen years ago and has grown very rapidly. Its leader is named Nie Xiaofeng.

Nie Xiaofeng is as beautiful as a peach blossom, but as venomous as a snake. She is skilled in using a weaving shuttle, and her martial arts skills are difficult to distinguish as righteous or evil.

Nie Xiaofeng has some connection with the Western Regions Demonic Cult. Her mother, Nie Meiniang, was one of the four princesses of the previous generation of the Western Regions Demonic Cult and was ordered to steal the Yi Jin Jing from Shaolin Temple.

An unexpected event occurred halfway through, leading to a love affair between a monk and a demon.

A holy monk and a demoness fall into a love triangle.

The holy monk took the initiative to admit his mistakes. He first secluded himself in the Bodhidharma Cave to reflect on his sins. Later, when Nie Meiniang was being chased and came to Shaolin for help, the holy monk said that he would take full responsibility for Nie Meiniang's sins and was willing to return to secular life to marry her.

A group of heroes rose up in rebellion, and Nie Meiniang was killed.

The holy monk lamented the injustice and punished himself by closing himself off to reflect on his mistakes. He has not emerged from seclusion to this day and it is feared he will remain in seclusion until his death.

Nie Meiniang gave birth to Nie Xiaofeng before she died. Although Nie Meiniang was wrong, the child was innocent. The chivalrous hero Luo Xuan adopted Nie Xiaofeng and raised her in Ailao Mountain.

Everything was normal at first. Nie Xiaofeng grew up healthy and strong until she was sixteen. She didn't know martial arts and was a lively and lovely girl. Unfortunately, Luo Xuan didn't know that Nie Xiaofeng had developed unusual feelings for the handsome, learned, skilled in martial arts, and righteous Luo Xuan.

One rainy night, Nie Xiaofeng confessed her love.

Luo Xuan was a virtuous man and refused outright.

Luo Xuan underestimated Nie Xiaofeng. He didn't know that Nie Meiniang had sewn her life's skills into her swaddling clothes. Luo Xuan hadn't taught Nie Xiaofeng martial arts, but he had taught her to read and write.

When Nie Xiaofeng was a child, she accidentally discovered a martial arts manual embroidered in her swaddling clothes. She did not dare to practice martial arts, but she mastered the art of poison and Gu techniques to perfection. She secretly drugged Luo Xuan, and by the time Luo Xuan woke up, it was too late.

Luo Xuan and Nie Xiaofeng had a complete falling out.

Nie Xiaofeng was not skilled in martial arts, but she was cunning and scheming. Luo Xuan was upright and straightforward, and he was completely fooled by Nie Xiaofeng's vicious schemes.

By chance, Nie Xiaofeng instigated Wan Tiancheng to knock Luo Xuan off a cliff, and Luo Xuan's fate remains unknown.

Nie Xiaofeng gave birth to twin daughters. One was stolen by Chen Tianxiang, a disciple of Luo Xuan, and the other was stolen by Wan Tiancheng, who helped Nie Xiaofeng fight against Luo Xuan.

Nie Xiaofeng mastered unparalleled martial arts by following Luo Xuan's training notes, the unique skills taught by Wan Tiancheng, and the demonic arts left behind by Nie Meiniang, thus becoming a Grandmaster of the Heavenly Gang.

Fifteen years ago, Nie Xiaofeng used her unparalleled beauty to bewitch a large number of masters and establish the Mingyue Sect.

The Mingyue Sect primarily uses techniques such as hidden weapons, poisons, dual cultivation, and seduction. Every year on the fifteenth of July, all its high-ranking members hold a gathering to discuss strategies for the following year.

The Mingyue Sect originally mainly operated brothels.

Three years ago, Nie Xiaofeng accidentally obtained a flower that was ten thousand times more terrifying than the red spider lily. After several special processes, it could be used to create a "medicinal ointment" that would make people feel intoxicated, as if they were in heaven, and experience ecstasy.

This ointment can make people forget all their troubles and pains, and become completely absorbed in it.

Even the toughest man, cast in bronze and iron, will turn into a useless dog if he gets his hands on this ointment.

After three years of research, Nie Xiaofeng planted dozens of acres of eagle-flower, intending to profit from it.

Those who obey me will live, those who defy me will die!

(End of this chapter)