It's already 2026, how can we still talk about having many children and having many blessings?

Gu Qingyao picked up the phone and dialed Gu Chengyuan's number.

"Dad, all seven items are fake, not one of them is wrong."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Scrape the bone to remove the poison, conduct a public investigation," Gu Qingyao said in a deep voice.

"Dad, those senior figures don't respect me, so I need you to help me make contact with them: Elder Qin from the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, Elder Zheng from the Palace Museum, and Elder Hu, the appraisal consultant from China Guardian Auction House."

"These three are all highly respected seniors in the industry, and they have no master-disciple relationship or business dealings with Zhao Qiming."

"Furthermore, regarding Shengheng's arch-rival, Chen's Culture, I will invite their experts to the museum under the guise of an exchange meeting, and in front of everyone, smash that celestial sphere vase."

Gu Chengyuan remained silent for a while.

Have you thought this through?

"I've thought it through, Dad. Zhao Qiming has been with the company for many years, and the total value of the collections he's handled exceeds eight billion."

"If 20% of this is fake, then Shengheng Cultural Investment's net assets are fictitious. If we don't investigate now, it will be exposed by someone from the outside one day, and it won't just be a problem for Zhao Qiming's team, but a problem for the entire Shengheng Group's credibility."

"But if I openly smash things, those senior figures will definitely see through my intentions and will only think that I can manage Shengheng. This is my chance to establish my authority."

Gu Chengyuan remained silent for a long time.

"If you've thought it through, then do it. Keep Chen Mo around, at the very least, make him work closely with you."

"This person is very extraordinary. He is not only capable, but also knows when to advance and retreat. If you have someone check his basic information and find that he has a clean background, you can even use your feelings to keep him."

"I understand, Dad. I will keep him here, no matter the cost, even if it means sacrificing my feelings."

Gu Qingyao didn't go to sleep, but instead dozed off in the office.

No one is allowed to touch anything in the exhibition hall without permission.

By the afternoon, everyone who was waiting had arrived.

"Sigh, the old man still has a lot of influence. He made a phone call and they all came."

She went out to greet those people.

Zhao Mingyuan, a middle-aged man, and several young men walked over.

The middle-aged man was wearing a dark blue Chinese-style jacket with his white hair neatly combed.

He looked dignified and had a gentle smile.

It was Zhao Mingyuan's father, Zhao Qiming, also known as Zhao Banchi.

"Qingyao, what brings you to this exchange meeting all of a sudden?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Zhao Qiming's eyes.

"Teacher Zhao, the company recently acquired a few items that have caused some controversy. I would like to invite people in the industry to come and discuss them."

Gu Qingyao's voice was as respectful as ever, "You are our company's chief expert, so please help me with the selection process."

Zhao Qiming nodded.

Before long, the exhibition hall became increasingly crowded.

Mr. Qin from the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, leaning on a cane, was being helped by Shi Qing as they walked slowly.

Mr. Zheng from the Palace Museum stood in front of that enamelware piece, frowning as if deep in thought.

Old Hu from China Guardian Auction House was holding a teacup and chatting quietly with the person next to him.

The woman sent by Chen's Culture was in her thirties. She was no less beautiful or less attractive than Gu Qingyao. Her surname was Zhou, and she wore gold-rimmed glasses with sharp eyes.

Gu Qingyao stood in the center of the exhibition hall and clapped her hands gently after everyone had arrived.

"Thank you all for attending this exchange meeting today. Before we officially begin, I would like to show you something."

She pointed to the glass display case, where the Qianlong famille rose nine-peach pattern large celestial globe vase stood.

All eyes turned to them.

Gu Qingyao had a smile on her face.

"This celestial globe vase was brought back from overseas by Shengheng Cultural Investment three years ago. It was personally appraised by Professor Zhao Qiming and confirmed to be a unique Qing Dynasty Qianlong period famille rose celestial globe vase with nine peaches design, valued at 350 million yuan."

"Over the past three years, many collectors and institutions have inquired about the price, but no transaction has been made."

Her gaze swept across Zhao Qiming's face.

"I invited you all here today to ask for your help in re-evaluating this item."

Zhao Qiming still wore a humble smile, revealing nothing about his true feelings.

Zhao Mingyuan frowned, about to say something, but was stopped by a look from Zhao Qiming.

Gu Qingyao walked to the side of the display case and pressed her finger on the glass door.

"However, before we begin the identification, I'd like to show you a detail."

She opened the glass door.

Then he turned around and nodded to the security personnel next to him.

The security personnel stepped forward and, as planned, pretended to adjust the display case lights, but accidentally bumped into the display case, which had been tampered with beforehand.

The 1.8-meter-tall celestial sphere wobbled for a moment, then slowly and irreversibly tilted forward.

A gasp of surprise rippled through the exhibition hall.

Zhao Mingyuan's face turned pale instantly, and Zhao Qiming's expression also changed drastically.

The other senior experts also changed their expressions. If such a unique piece were to break, it wouldn't just be a matter of hundreds of millions of dollars; it would be a major event for the cultural relics community.

Old Qin subconsciously took two steps forward and reached out his hands to catch it, but he was old and his movements were too slow.

The huge porcelain piece crashed onto the marble floor with a dull thud.

Porcelain shards flew everywhere.

From the neck to the body, from the belly to the bottom, dozens of large and small pieces of broken porcelain were spread out on the ground.

The nine peaches were broken into more than a dozen pieces, and the outline of the flat peach could no longer be seen.

The exhibition hall fell silent, then erupted in gasps of surprise.

Zhao Mingyuan angrily rebuked, "How did you handle this? 3.5 million yuan, can you even afford to pay it back?"

The security guard was terrified and trembling all over. "I...I didn't mean to."

"You think saying it wasn't intentional is enough? You're dead, you're dead..."

"He doesn't need to accompany me," Gu Qingyao said.

"Qingyao, what did you say?"

"I said he doesn't need to accompany me. On the contrary, I should reward him with an appraisal fee." Gu Qingyao squatted down, flipped through the pile of porcelain shards, and picked up a shard from the bottom.

"Gentlemen, it seems this security guard has helped us with the identification."

Under everyone's gaze, she unfolded the fragment, its unglazed surface facing up, revealing a square pattern that was glaringly obvious under the exhibition hall lights.

It really is a QR code.

"Could you all please identify why there's a QR code on the bottom of an official kiln porcelain piece from the Qianlong era?"

The exhibition hall was deathly silent.

Old Qin, leaning on his cane, stepped forward, took the fragment, and examined it closely.

Old Zheng took off his reading glasses, wiped the lenses with trembling hands, put them back on, and stared intently at the QR code.

Old Hu put down his teacup, which made a crisp sound as it hit the saucer.

Ms. Zhou from Chen's Culture pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses, a slight upturn of her lips, but she quickly suppressed it.

Zhao Qiming's face was no longer white; it turned into a deep, ashen gray.

He stared at the pile of broken porcelain shards on the ground, unable to utter a single word.

Zhao Mingyuan stood beside him, his whole body stiff, his gaze sweeping from the broken porcelain shards on the ground to Gu Qingyao's face, and then to Zhao Qiming's face.

His eyes were red, filled with confusion, shock, anger, and a hint of fear.

Why is this happening?

Gu Qingyao, why did you do this?

At that moment, he thought of Chen Mo, whom he had mocked yesterday.

After he made sarcastic remarks about Chen Mo yesterday, Gu Qingyao invited him to dinner alone.

Today, we'll put on this show.

What exactly did this kid say to Qingyao?

Damn it, is he pretending to be weak while actually being strong?

He recalled Chen Mo's reaction yesterday, and his face flushed red and then turned pale.

It turns out that in Chen Mo and Gu Qingyao's eyes, he was just a super clown.

So, this scene was deliberately orchestrated by Gu Qingyao!

The goal was to ruin his father's reputation and kick them out of Shengheng Group.