It was clear that this middle-aged man intended to make things difficult for Ye Fan.
After all, Ye Fan had just stolen the spotlight, how could he possibly tolerate it?
Facing the middle-aged man's provocation, Ye Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, a frosty chill in his gaze.
On the side, Liu Piaoxu frowned and said in a low voice, "This mural looks quite old, likely from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Without sufficient confidence, it would be difficult to authenticate it."
After all, murals were different from other artworks. They merely depicted the owner's life, with no written descriptions. Therefore, it was impossible to determine the owner's identity based on them alone.
But Ye Fan smiled slightly, "A mural is the most direct evidence left behind by the owner after their death, describing their life. Although there are no inscriptions, as long as one understands history well enough, clues can be found within this mural."
Looking at Ye Fan's confident smile, Liu Piaoxu grew more confused. Could it really be possible to determine the owner's specific identity from this mural? Wasn't that too unrealistic?
Ye Fan slowly stood up and walked lightly towards the mural.
He looked up at the middle-aged man and smiled faintly, "If this mural is found to have issues, will you offer me some compensation? While I may not be an appraisal master, I am not someone your Antique Association can simply boss around."
The middle-aged man was stunned, his expression darkening.
He hadn't expected Ye Fan to suddenly turn aggressive.
He secretly glanced down, and in his peripheral vision, Zheng Zhiyuan nodded at him.
Receiving Zheng Zhiyuan's affirmative response, the middle-aged man's confidence surged.
"What compensation does Mr. Ye desire?"
In his opinion, it wouldn't matter even if he agreed to Ye Fan's terms, as he was quite confident in the mural.
The corners of Ye Fan's mouth curved upwards, and he said indifferently, "If this mural has problems, I want two positions within your Antique Association. How about that?"
To establish a foothold in Jiangcheng, the Antique Association was an insurmountable obstacle.
Therefore, Ye Fan was determined to gain control of the Antique Association.
And this was a rare opportunity.
"Two positions?"
The middle-aged man frowned. The price was too high. Even with his confidence in the mural, he dared not make such a decision on his own.
He instinctively wanted to look at Zheng Zhiyuan but saw Zheng Zhiyuan slowly walking over. "Since Mr. Ye places such importance on the Antique Association, we naturally must satisfy Mr. Ye, don't you agree?"
The middle-aged man nodded heavily, "The President is right. I also believe Mr. Ye is very suitable for our Antique Association." Kuai Shu Ge
With the decision made, all eyes fell on Ye Fan, waiting for him to authenticate the mural.
Elder Lei also stepped forward slowly and whispered in Ye Fan's ear, "The painting technique and pigments used in this mural are not contemporary. If nothing unexpected occurs, this mural is genuine. Why did you agree to Zheng Zhiyuan and the others so readily?"
If Ye Fan could not find any issues with the mural, he would undoubtedly be escalated by Zheng Zhiyuan and the others, leading to embarrassment for Ye Fan.
Furthermore, given the personalities of the people in the Antique Association, they would surely exploit the situation, bringing endless trouble to Ye Fan.
Knowing Elder Lei was worried about him, Ye Fan smiled and, without answering Elder Lei, pointed at the mural.
"Judging by the clothing, hairstyles, and other features of the figures in this mural, it belongs to the Qing Dynasty, as people in the Qing Dynasty had queues and shaved forelocks. Everyone, please look at a attendant here, dressed in this manner."
Without any hesitation, Ye Fan went straight to the point.
Following his finger, everyone saw that indeed, as Ye Fan had said, an attendant had a queue, with the front half of his head shaved.
"Also, look at the decoration of the mount. It is carved with dragon patterns, the dragon has five claws, a symbol of imperial power. Moreover, this dragon is depicted with fangs bared and claws extended, exuding immense power, also characteristic of Qing Dynasty dragons."
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, dragons were exclusively royal symbols. The difference was that Ming Dynasty dragons were generally slender, while Qing Dynasty dragons were majestic and imposing, which was related to the nomadic origins of the Qing rulers.
Their nature carried dominance and boldness, hence the Qing Dynasty dragon motifs were all like this.
"Combining these two points, it can be determined that this is a painting of an emperor hunting. The protagonist in the painting has white hair and beard, indicating he is over sixty years old. Throughout the Qing Dynasty emperors, only two lived to be over sixty: Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong. However, Emperor Kangxi was in poor health after the age of sixty and was unable to ride horses for hunting. Therefore, this painting is a hunting scene of Emperor Qianlong."
With meticulous analysis, Ye Fan deduced the owner of the mural from a single painting. At this moment, Ye Fan's analysis shocked everyone. Even Elder Lei couldn't help but show shock on his face.
His gaze towards Ye Fan was filled with admiration.
To achieve this, mere meticulous thinking was insufficient; it required extensive historical knowledge.
From these two aspects alone, Ye Fan's prowess was evident.
"Mr. Ye is indeed a prominent figure in the antique world. Your analysis commands our utmost admiration. However, this does not prove that the mural has any issues. On the contrary, according to Mr. Ye's appraisal, the value of this mural would be even higher."
Zheng Zhiyuan stepped forward, looking at Ye Fan and smiling.
Unexpectedly, Ye Fan also gave a cold smile, "President Zheng, don't rush. I have only analyzed the mural so far. Next, let's examine the details of the mural."
With that, Ye Fan picked up one of the fragments.
"Everyone, please look at the side of this mural."
The fractured edges were uneven, but the traces of painting were still clearly visible.
"Besides the fracture, what else can you see here?"
The middle-aged man asked confusedly, his words laced with mockery.
However, Ye Fan shook his head and pointed at the fractured edge.
"If this mural is from the Qing Dynasty and Emperor Qianlong's era, then it is over four hundred years old. Four hundred-year-old murals would have their pigments seep into the stone wall. Yet, from this fracture, you can see that the pigments have not seeped in at all, only covering the surface. This indicates that the mural was not completed too long ago."
Even if the pigment was thick, it was still a liquid. When painted on a stone wall, it would naturally seep in.
Upon hearing Ye Fan's words, Elder Lei was suddenly stunned and quickly walked to the fragment to examine it closely.
"Indeed, as Ye Fan said, there are no traces of pigment seeping into the broken stone slabs. This does not align with the characteristics of ancient murals."
Elder Lei was filled with shock. He had been worried about Ye Fan earlier, but in just a few breaths, Ye Fan had resolved the issue perfectly.
"Perhaps, it could be special dyes. Merely based on this, to claim the mural has problems is too far-fetched, wouldn't you say?"
The middle-aged man argued unyieldingly.
Indeed, judging the authenticity solely on whether the dye had seeped into the stone wall was a bit tenuous.
Seeing the middle-aged man's gloomy gaze, Ye Fan curved his lips into a smile.
"If you want evidence, I have more."