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

"Mr. Chen, come here, let me show you my most beloved treasure."

As Qin Shouye spoke, he led Chen Mo toward a standalone display case at the very back.

This display case is larger than the others, covered with a glass dome, and the bottom is covered with dark blue velvet.

Qin Shouye took a key out of his pocket, unlocked the cabinet, and took out a bowl!

The bowl is only the size of a palm, with a wide mouth, deep belly, and a ring foot.

The entire piece is covered in a sky-blue glaze, with a warm and jade-like surface, covered with fine crackle patterns, giving it an indescribable beauty of imperfection.

There is a ring of firing marks on the bottom of the bowl, and the exposed clay is a light gray color. The clay is fine and dense.

"Mr. Chen, please take a look at this!"

Qin Shouye presented the bowl to Chen Mo, showing off:

"This is a Ru ware celadon bowl that I bought at Christie's auction in Hong Kong Island."

"There are fewer than 100 pieces of Ru ware in the world, the vast majority of which are in museums, and very few are in the hands of private collectors."

"I spent HK$600 million to acquire it; it's truly the crown jewel of my collection!"

Chen Mo took the bowl, his brows furrowing slightly.

Qin Shouye's heart skipped a beat: "Mr. Chen, this thing... there won't be any problems, will there?"

Chen Mo placed the bowl back on the velvet cloth in the display case: "Mr. Qin, is this really worth 600 million Hong Kong dollars?"

Qin Shouye's expression changed slightly, and he became somewhat nervous:

"Mr. Chen, this was purchased at a Christie's auction. It comes with an auction house certificate of authenticity and a well-documented provenance!"

"My eldest grandson flew to Hong Kong Island and won the bid at the auction. Logically speaking... there shouldn't be any problems!"

Chen Mo shook his head: "Old Qin, this Ru ware celadon bowl is a fake, a high-quality imitation!"

Qin Shouye's face changed completely; his hand, which was holding a cane, trembled, and his lips quivered.

"This...how is this possible? Christie's auction, how could they sell fakes?"

"They have the most authoritative authentication team and a provenance record; it can't possibly be a fake!"

Chen Mo shook his head and pointed to the burn marks on the bottom of the bowl.

"First, the firing technique of Ru ware uses 'sesame nails,' which are very small, like sesame seeds, and usually three to five nails."

"The spur marks on this bowl, though small, are clearly misshaped!"

"The spur marks on genuine pieces are oval-shaped with rounded, natural edges."

"The spur marks on this bowl are round, the edges are too regular, and there are obvious polishing marks, which is intentional."

Chen Mo turned the bowl over again and pointed to the ice cracks on the bowl's surface.

"Secondly, the crackle patterns on Ru ware are naturally formed, with varying depths and natural, irregular lines."

"The crackle pattern on this bowl is too uniform, with consistent depth and regular direction. It is obviously artificially created."

"Modern imitation techniques can create cracks using acid etching or methods of thermal expansion and contraction!"

"But those cracks are fundamentally different from naturally formed cracks that have been there for hundreds of years."

Chen Mo then held up the bowl again, pointing to the luster of the glaze.

"Third, the glaze of Ru ware is 'as smooth as jade,' with a restrained luster that is not dazzling."

"The glaze on this bowl is too shiny, it looks like it's been coated with oil."

"This is because the glaze formula of the imitation is different from that of the ancient ones, and the firing temperature is also different, so the gloss is not right."

Chen Mo placed the bowl back on the velvet cloth and said, word by word:

"Fourth, and most importantly... the body of Ru ware is 'incense gray,' and the texture is firm and dense."

"Although the body of this bowl is also gray, it is darker in color and the texture is coarser."

"I picked it up in my hand, and the weight was clearly wrong."

"Genuine Ru ware has a very light body because it is fired at a high temperature, resulting in a dense and compact body that is lightweight."

"This bowl is too heavy, which means the body was not fully sintered and the density is incorrect."

"Based on the above four points, I can say with certainty!"

"This bowl is a modern high-quality replica; the replica is definitely no more than twenty years old."

"Its antiquing technique is very sophisticated. The patina, crackling, and nail marks are all very well imitated. Ordinary experts can't tell the difference at all."

"But a fake is still a fake, and it can't stand up to close scrutiny."

Qin Shouye's face was ashen, and his lips trembled for a long time before he finally spoke:

"Six hundred million... six hundred million Hong Kong dollars... I spent six hundred million Hong Kong dollars to buy a fake?"

Liu Xin stared at the bowl, then at Qin Shouye, hardly believing her ears.

HK$600 million for a fake bowl? A counterfeit?

He could run a clinic his whole life and not even earn a fraction of 600 million, while others can easily lose 600 million.

This world—no, the world of the super-rich—is insane!

Qin Shouye took a deep breath, looked at Chen Mo, his eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness:

"Mr. Chen, after I bought this bowl, I also asked several experts to take a look at it."

"The Palace Museum, Christie's, and Sotheby's all said there was no problem."

"I even had a thermoluminescence analysis done, and the date shows it's from the Northern Song Dynasty. How could it be fake?"

Chen Mo shook his head: "Thermoluminescence dating can be faked!"

"By placing a counterfeit item under a radiation source for a period of time, thermoluminescence dating will show it as very old. This is a common technique used in high-quality counterfeits!"

"As for those experts!"

Chen Mo thought for a moment and then voiced his speculation:

"Some people lack discernment, while others are afraid to speak the truth."

"Mr. Qin, you are a renowned collector, you should know the rules of this circle."

Qin Shouye certainly knew.

In the antique world, many so-called "experts" are just doing their jobs for money.

They knew perfectly well whether the items were real or fake.

But in order not to offend anyone and to keep their jobs, they don't say what they should say, and they say what they shouldn't say.

Mr. Qin thought that a major auction house like Christie's wouldn't do that.

Now it seems that all crows are black.

After a long while, Qin Shouye finally let out a heavy sigh:

"Mr. Chen, thank you so much today! If it weren't for you, I would still be completely in the dark!"

"Six hundred million Hong Kong dollars, a lesson learned... it's worth it!"

Qin Shouye looked at the bowl, picked it up as if to smash it, but in the end he couldn't bear to.

"I'll leave this here; it can serve as a negative example, a constant reminder to me!"

Qin Shouye looked at Chen Mo and pointed to the other antiques, saying:

"Mr. Chen, I still have quite a few things in this collection room. Some of them I bought at a high price, and some were gifts from friends."

"I don't trust those experts anymore, could you... take a look at my case?"

"Mr. Qin, you're too kind!"

Chen Mo nodded: "Please take the items out, and I'll take a look at them for you!"

"OK!"

Qin Shouye took out a plum vase from the second display case.

The bottle is only palm-sized, with a small mouth, short neck, full shoulders, and slender base. Its lines are smooth and beautiful, like a graceful lady.

The entire piece is covered in a blue-and-white glaze, with the glaze surface appearing bluish-white.

The blue and white porcelain has a rich and vibrant color, and it is decorated with a lotus scroll pattern.

The branches and leaves intertwine, the flowers are full, and the brushstrokes are delicate and smooth.

The bottom of the bottle bears the six-character inscription in regular script: "Made in the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty".

"Mr. Chen, this is my second favorite treasure!"

Qin Shouye placed the plum vase on the display case: "A Xuande blue and white plum vase with lotus scroll design!"

"I bought it at Sotheby's in London for HK$180 million."

"Could you take a look? This one isn't fake, is it?"