I just got divorced, and a rich and beautiful woman dragged me to get a marriage certificate.

After a while.

Chen Mo put down his pen, looked at the completed "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion," and let out a long sigh of relief.

He knew the skills the system gave him wouldn't be bad, but he didn't expect them to be this good.

Every word looks as if it were printed, but it has more vitality than printing.

It has rises and falls, gatherings and releases, lightness and heaviness, speed and slowness; the composition and layout are well-balanced and lively.

That's truly beautiful calligraphy!

Zhou Yuanshan immediately stepped forward, looked at it again and again, his whole body trembling slightly.

Not because of Parkinson's, but because of excitement.

"Dr. Chen, your handwriting... your handwriting... it's no less impressive than Wang Xizhi's original work!"

"The entire work was completed in one go, without any hesitation!"

"It possesses both the elegance of Wang Xizhi and the strength of Yan Zhenqing—truly rare! Extremely rare!"

"Dr. Chen, please give me this calligraphy! I want to frame it and hang it in my study!"

Qin Shouye had been looking at the calligraphy the whole time, and when he heard Zhou Yuanshan asking for it, he immediately became anxious.

"Give it away? Old Zhou, you have some nerve! This calligraphy is absolutely priceless! How can you even ask for it?"

"Mr. Chen, I'll offer one million. Sell it to me!"

Zhou Yuanshan's face darkened instantly, and he said urgently, "Old Qin, what do you mean by this? I saw it first!"

"You're offering one million, right? I'll offer two million!"

Qin Shouye retorted, not to be outdone: "Two and a half million!"

"Three million!"

"Three and a half million!"

The two elderly people argued back and forth, their faces flushed, neither willing to give in.

He completely lacked the composed and refined demeanor of an elder, instead resembling an old man haggling at a market.

Qin Wanqing couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle, while Li Shijia and Jiang Tao also looked on with mixed feelings of amusement and exasperation.

Two old guys, friends for decades, got into a huge argument over a piece of calligraphy.

Chen Mo quickly raised his hand to stop them: "Gentlemen, stop arguing, there's no need for that!"

"Since Elder Qin also likes it, I'll write another one and give it to you both for free!"

Zhou Yuanshan and Qin Shouye both looked at Chen Mo.

"real?"

"real!"

Chen Mo nodded.

Zhou Yuanshan was overjoyed, his face crinkling into a wide smile, but he quickly composed himself.

"Dr. Chen, I appreciate your kindness, but Old Qin was right about something he just said!"

"Your calligraphy is no less valuable than a genuine work by Wang Xizhi; it's extremely precious. It would be a shame to give it away for free!"

Zhou Yuanshan thought for a moment, then turned around and walked to the cabinet next to the bookshelf. He opened the cabinet door and took out a wooden box from inside.

The box is small, rectangular, made of dark red wood, and carved with fine cloud patterns; it's clearly an antique.

Zhou Yuansheng placed the box on the desk, opened the lid, and took out an inkstone from it.

The inkstone is about the size of a palm, with a bluish-black color throughout. The stone is delicate and warm to the touch, and has a layer of luster.

The inkstone surface is as smooth as a mirror, the ink pool is deep, and several orchids are carved along the edge with smooth lines and exquisite carving techniques.

The back of the inkstone is engraved with the seal characters "Qianlong Yushang" (乾隆御赏), below which are two small seals, the characters of which are now somewhat blurred.

"Dr. Chen!"

Zhou Yuanshan presented the inkstone to Chen Mo and said with a smile:

"This inkstone is something I acquired when I was young. It's been with me for over forty years. I'm giving it to you today as a token of my gratitude!"

Chen Mo took the inkstone and examined it carefully.

The Treasure Appraisal King operates automatically, and various pieces of information flash through my mind like a movie.

"Duan stone, old pit, water-worn rock, bluish-purple in color, warm and smooth texture, breath turns into water!"

Chen Mo said, "The banana leaf white color and fire-like patterns on the inkstone are very typical, characteristic of old pit water-stone!"

"The orchid pattern on the edge of the inkstone is crafted with smooth, rounded lines, characteristic of the style of the Imperial Workshops during the Qianlong era!"

"The four characters 'Qianlong Yushang' are written in the official script style, with obvious traces of clerical script in the beginning, ending, and turning points of the strokes. This is a typical characteristic of imperial inscriptions written during the Qianlong reign!"

"Two small seals..."

"One side is the 'Treasure Viewed by Emperor Qianlong,' and the other side is the 'Seal of the Sanxitang Collection of Fine Observations.'"

"The ink penetration is consistent with the patina on the stone, which is obviously not something added later."

Chen Mo put the inkstone back on the table and looked at Zhou Yuanshan:

"Mr. Zhou, this inkstone is an imperial Duan inkstone from the Qianlong era, undoubtedly a genuine piece!"

"The current market price... is at least six million!"

The study fell silent. Everyone exchanged glances, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

It wasn't because of the inkstone's value, but because of what Chen Mo just said...

He spoke eloquently about everything from the stone's texture and patterns to the carving techniques and inscriptions, from the ink paste to the patina.

They were even more professional than the appraisal experts they knew.

Moreover, Chen Mo only took less than a minute to clearly analyze the inkstone, describing even the smallest details flawlessly.

"Dr. Chen, you also know about antiques?" Zhou Yuanshan's voice had changed slightly.

"I know a little bit!"

Chen Mo smiled.

"You know a little bit?"

Zhou Yuanshan pointed at the inkstone, his voice rising half an octave:

"What you just said, only someone who truly understands the field could articulate!"

"You don't just have a little knowledge, you're a true expert!"

"Yeah yeah!"

Qin Shouye nodded repeatedly, took a jade thumb ring from his hand, and handed it to Chen Mo:

"Mr. Chen, this is an item I recently acquired. Please take a look!"

Chen Mo was somewhat amused and exasperated: "Old Qin, I really only know a little bit, just a little bit!"

"Isn't that being modest?"

Qin Shouye shoved the thumb ring into his hand, his face full of anticipation. "Please take a look at it for me!"

"I spent a lot of money on this, and I had several friends authenticate it, and they all said it was fine!"

"But I'm still not sure, could you please give me your opinion?"

"Oh well!"

Chen Mo couldn't refuse any longer, so he took the ring and began to examine it.

The white jade thumb ring is pure white without any impurities, has a delicate texture, and a strong oily feel.

only……

Chen Mo looked at it for a few more seconds, then looked up at Qin Shouye with a somewhat subtle expression:

"Mr. Qin, I'm not sure about the feel of this thumb ring. You should have someone else take a look!"

Qin Shouye's expression changed instantly. In the antique world, the phrase "not sure what to do" carries a lot of weight.

If it's genuine, people will say "authentic," "clearly genuine," or "a genuine item."

If you're unsure or uncertain, then you can politely say... there's something wrong with this thing; it's basically a fake.

"Is this a fake?" Qin Shouye's face turned ugly.

Chen Mo nodded, turned the ring over, pointed to the words on the inside, and said:

"Mr. Qin, look at these words: 'Used by the Qianlong Emperor'!"

"The characters are in the official script style, and the strokes are neat, but look closely at this character '乾'!"

"The middle horizontal stroke of the '日' radical on the left and the first stroke of the '乞' radical on the right are connected!"

"The imperial inscriptions used during the Qianlong reign were all written by scholars of the Hanlin Academy, and every stroke was extremely neat. It would be impossible for such a basic error as cursive writing to occur."

Chen Mo turned the ring over again and pointed to the patterns on the outer wall:

"And this pattern, it's a kui dragon pattern, right?"

"The kui dragon pattern in the early Qianlong period has a C-shaped body, an open mouth, a curled tail, and rigid lines."

"The dragon pattern on this thumb ring has an S-shaped body, an open mouth revealing teeth, and rounded lines, which is a characteristic of the mid-Qianlong period."

"But the inscription is in the style of the early Qianlong period... Mr. Qin, the timeline clearly doesn't match!"

Chen Mo raised the ring again, holding it up to the light, and said:

"Looking at the jade, it's Hetian white jade, that's right, the quality is also very good. But..."

Chen Mo placed the ring on the table and tapped it lightly, producing a crisp sound.

"The sound is too crisp!"

"Genuine Qianlong jade artifacts, after more than two hundred years, will develop a warm and understated luster, and the sound they produce should be muffled and deep!"

"And the sound of this ring is too crisp, too bright!"

"This means it won't take more than 20 years to develop!"