Dragon Blood Divine Son-in-law
Chapter 190: Is This Very Valuable?

Chapter 190: Chapter 190: Is This Very Valuable?

The people surrounding Guo Liangrui and the others were somewhat confused by their reactions.

Hong Dashun also felt that something was not quite normal, so he stepped forward to take a look.

On the wooden box, a few ancient characters were carved, which startlingly read, "Made personally by Zhu Youxiao"!

"Made personally by Zhu Youxiao? Zhu You... Could this be..." Hong Dashun also was shocked beyond belief.

Guo Liangrui’s voice trembled, "That’s right, Zhu You refers to Ming Xizong, Zhu Youxiao! This cosmetic box was personally made by Ming Xizong, Zhu Youxiao himself!"

As soon as these words came out, it was like a thunderclap exploding in the hall.

An emperor’s personal handiwork, such artifacts have always been world-renowned treasures since ancient times, let alone an entire cosmetic box made by an emperor’s very own hands!

Imperial-made items of this sort are extremely rare in the entire Antique World, and because of this, they are naturally even more valuable!

Nobody had dreamed that this cosmetic box they were looking at could be an item personally made by the emperor!

"How... How can this be possible... Guo Taidou, could you have made a mistake? Look how ugly these characters are written, how could this possibly be the handwriting of an emperor? Could it be a fake?" Hong Dashun raised doubts.

Guo Liangrui merely smiled faintly, "If the handwriting were neat, I might indeed suspect it, but the fact that it’s so ugly makes it even more likely to be the work of Zhu Youxiao!"

Someone in the crowd was puzzled. "How can you say that?"

Guo Liangrui explained, "In the eyes of historians, Ming Xizong, Zhu Youxiao, has always been known by two distinct labels: ’The Illiterate Emperor’ and ’The Carpentry Emperor’."

"Zhu Youxiao was one of the few illiterate emperors throughout history. The very few characters he could write in his lifetime did not exceed ten, and he even had eunuchs narrate the reports to him instead of reading them himself!"

"Moreover, Zhu Youxiao’s greatest hobby was carpentry. His skill in woodwork was profound, exceedingly ornamental, and reached a master’s level!"

"The handwriting on this cosmetic box is an exact match with Zhu Youxiao’s inscriptions on other antiques, and the woodworking style is also fundamentally consistent. Therefore, we can now almost conclusively determine that this cosmetic box was indeed personally made by Zhu Youxiao!"

Following Guo Liangrui’s declaration, everyone in the hall was in a state of profound shock.

With Guo Liangrui’s judgment, the authenticity of this cosmetic box was irrefutable!

Guo Liangrui looked at Chen Xuan and asked, "Young man, how might we address you?"

Chen Xuan hastily responded, "Guo Taidou flatters me, the junior is Chen Xuan!"

"Chen Xuan!" Guo Liangrui nodded, his face full of wonder, "So young, yet with such keen insight, indeed the student surpasses the teacher. The Antique World will have a successor!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd was utterly astonished.

To be given such high praise was rare within the entire Antique World!

This Chen Xuan, his future was undoubtedly limitless!

"Young Master Chen, I, an old man, must apologize for my earlier judgment; it was I, Guo Liangrui, who was mistaken!" Guo Liangrui bowed in apology to Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan was utterly flustered, "Elder Guo is too serious, it’s understandable not to notice such a hidden inscription!"

At that moment, Zhao Luna, full of excitement, quickly asked, "Guo Taidou, since this cosmetic box was personally made by Zhu Youxiao, it must be very valuable, right? How much could it be worth?"

The crowd also quietened down, sharing Zhao Luna’s curiosity about this question.

Guo Liangrui smiled faintly and spoke gently, "An imperial creation is naturally valuable. As for the valuation... Let me put it this way, five years ago, Su Fubee auctioned off a White Jade Pot personally made by Zhu Youxiao. The final price was 180 million!"

Boom!

As soon as he spoke, the entire hall erupted.

million!

And that was the price from five years ago!

Does that mean, the makeup box made by Zhu Youxiao that we have before us, is also worth at least a hundred million!

This time, Antique Inquiry Pavilion really struck gold!

Xu Yang and Hu De were utterly shocked; only now did they realize just how blind they had been, to underestimate such an expert as Chen Xuan!

Zhao Luna was ecstatic, "A hundred million? Doesn’t that mean, we at Antique Inquiry Pavilion have won this appraisal contest?"

Guo Liangrui nodded, "That’s right, and we won very impressively too!"

"Hooray! We won! Hahaha..."

Zhao Luna, overwhelmed with excitement, suddenly embraced Chen Xuan and left a big, affectionate kiss on his face.

Seeing Antique Inquiry Pavilion achieve victory made Chen Xuan feel very gratified as well.

However, before Chen Xuan and the others could start celebrating, they heard Hong Dashun shout loudly: "I don’t agree with this result!"

Silence fell upon everyone in an instant.

Zhao Luna’s face also darkened, "Boss Hong, what do you mean? Guo Taidou has already declared that we won, are you questioning Guo Taidou’s judgement?"

Hong Dashun snorted coldly, "I have no objections to Guo Taidou’s judgement, what I question is him!"

Hong Dashun pointed at Chen Xuan.

"Just as he said himself, Zhu Youxiao’s inscription is very well hidden. Even someone as experienced as Guo Taidou didn’t see it, so how did he manage to find it?"

"Moreover, my people have been following him all day, and this Mr. Chen spent the day merely wandering the roads between those five antique markets, not even entering a single antique shop. In such a scenario, how could he possibly have recognized this makeup box as a treasure at first glance?"

Hong Dashun’s words were pointed and instantly cast the utmost suspicion on Chen Xuan.

Zhao Luna frowned, "Boss Hong, what are you trying to imply?"

Hong Dashun snorted coldly, "What do I mean? I suspect that your Antique Inquiry Pavilion cheated in this contest! This so-called Ming Xizong imperial makeup box must have been pre-arranged by you!"

The hall instantly erupted into uproar.

Cheating?

That was a taboo in The Antique World!

If that was indeed the case, then the reputation of Antique Inquiry Pavilion in the entire antique circle would be completely tarnished!

Zhao Luna, flushed with indignation, retorted angrily, "Boss Hong, don’t slander us! What evidence do you have that Chen Xuan cheated?"

Hong Dashun chuckled coldly, "Do I need evidence? I ask you, is there a single falsehood in what I just said? Weren’t you wandering all day? Didn’t you not enter a single antique store?"

"Picking up something by the roadside that happens to be a treasure worth over a hundred million, do you take everyone for fools at Antique Inquiry Pavilion!"

"I..." Zhao Luna was at a loss for words, not knowing how to explain.

From the surrounding crowd, disdainful whispers began to spread.

"No wonder they found such a valuable treasure, it was pre-arranged all along!"

"To win by cheating, Antique Inquiry Pavilion really doesn’t care about losing face, do they!"

Suddenly, the entire hall was filled with voices of condemnation.

Zhao Luna’s heart sank to the bottom.

If they couldn’t clear up this slander, the Antique Inquiry Pavilion’s reputation would likely be completely smashed!