"You scoundrel Mr. Li, you're deliberately setting me up, aren't you?"
Qingluan was furious upon learning the truth, complaining to Li Yang, "If that thing had been discovered on the spot, I'd be finished. I introduced it as the genuine article to everyone."
"It's fine. If it was discovered on the spot, and you were genuinely unaware, the responsibility wouldn't be yours. You could have easily deflected it. It's just that Young Master Ma wouldn't have been able to give you that money for free."
Li Yang had already thought of a way out for her. This plan was his idea; how could he let Qingluan bear severe consequences?
Qingluan thought it over carefully and felt Li Yang had a point.
Only then did she stop complaining about Li Yang. After a moment's thought, she smiled and said, "You're right. This money was earned because you told me to, and high returns mean high risks. There's nothing wrong with that."
"But are you really going to give me all three hundred million in profit? Aren't you taking any back?"
"The risk was yours, so the profit naturally belongs to you. If you want to thank me, how about treating me and Shui Xiang to a meal? It's almost noon, and we're still hungry," Li Yang added.
"Alright, I was thinking the same thing. Since you've helped me make so much money, let's go. I'll treat you to the biggest restaurant in Jiangcheng."
Qingluan readily agreed and immediately led Li Yang and Shui Xiang away.
She had come to see Shui Xiang today precisely to treat her to a meal, and she would have helped Shui Xiang without hesitation if she needed it.
Along the way, Qingluan animatedly explained the events of the auction to Li Yang. Ma Shihao had been very excited then, vowing to snatch that calligraphy and painting back.
Qingluan had also hired several stooges at the scene who deliberately drove up the price to over two hundred million. In the end, Ma Shihao directly bid three hundred million, shocking everyone.
To this day, Ma Shihao had no idea he had fallen for Li Yang's scheme.
He was now returning to the hotel with the calligraphy and painting. Still in the car, he couldn't help but take out the artwork and admire it with the appraisal expert he brought along.
His face was beaming with a brilliant smile, and he excitedly said, "Third Uncle, thank goodness you helped me appraise this painting today. You only know it's a peerless treasure, but you don't know there's a shocking secret hidden within this calligraphy and painting."
"A shocking secret? Is that why you bid such a high price for it?" the appraisal expert, Ma Qi, asked curiously.
He had tried to stop Ma Shihao from bidding more than once at the auction because he sensed something was wrong. The auction today was clearly orchestrated, specifically to make Ma Shihao pay a high price for this item.
This item was not worth three hundred million at all. Even after the auction, he couldn't understand why Ma Shihao had bid such a prohibitive price.
"Yes, Third Uncle, you don't know this, but the secret hidden within this calligraphy and painting is a treasure that all antique masters in the province are currently searching for – a treasure map."
Ma Shihao stated confidently, "People only know that the treasure map is in Jiangcheng, but few know that this treasure map is not a single piece, but seven pieces."
"Only by finding all seven pieces and piecing them together can one form a complete treasure map."
"I currently have two pieces, and with the one from this calligraphy and painting, that makes a total of three."
"What? There's a clue to a treasure map in here? Are you kidding me? I just carefully appraised it, and this calligraphy and painting has no hidden layers. Could you be mistaken?" Ma Qi asked doubtfully.
"Absolutely not. You'll see the secret hidden inside immediately."
Ma Shihao said with great confidence, then found a small knife in the car and carefully scraped the edge of the calligraphy and painting, searching for a hidden layer.
However, he scraped ten centimeters from one corner and still found no hidden layer.
His brow furrowed, and he felt confused: This is impossible. I found the clue in an ancient book; it can't be wrong. As long as this calligraphy and painting is genuine, the treasure map must be inside.
"Shihao, wait a moment."
Just as he was about to scrape in another direction, Ma Qi suddenly stopped him, looking intently at the scraped area of the calligraphy and painting and said, "Let me see the calligraphy and painting again. I suspect there's something wrong with it."
"What?"
Ma Shihao was greatly surprised and quickly handed the calligraphy and painting to Ma Qi.
After taking it, Ma Qi carefully appraised it and indeed found that the paper quality of the calligraphy and painting was not right.
He shook his head deeply and looked back at Ma Shihao, saying, "This is bad. We've been tricked. This calligraphy and painting is not the genuine article, but a high-quality replica."
"Fake? Third Uncle, don't scare me. I paid three hundred million for this painting, and Long Lingling personally sent people to deliver it. It can't be fake," Ma Shihao exclaimed in shock.
"It is indeed fake. I couldn't possibly be mistaken. If you hadn't scraped the calligraphy and painting, I wouldn't have been able to identify it as fake. There are likely two possibilities now: first, the calligraphy and painting was swapped, and we were tricked by someone."
"Second, it wasn't swapped. The Long family also acquired this fake painting during the auction because it had reached a level of exquisite imitation. Even I couldn't tell if it was real or fake, and there are probably only a few people in the entire province who could discern its authenticity," Ma Qi analyzed seriously.
"Damn it, after all my effort, I ended up with a fake. I don't believe the Long family would be so careless. After they acquired this painting, it must have been appraised by many people. I doubt there's a high chance they got a fake."
"I suspect the auction today was a conspiracy. I understand now; it must have been designed by Li Yang and Long Lingling. He knew I would do everything I could to bid for this calligraphy and painting, so he deliberately created a fake to lure me in."
Ma Shihao carefully recalled the entire process of the event and finally reached his conclusion.
Ma Qi's brow furrowed, and he said sternly, "If that's the case, the situation is not good. We've already been tricked. Even if we go back, we have no evidence to prove that this painting was the one we just bought."
"If they insist that the calligraphy and painting from earlier was genuine, we'll have no way to argue."
"Hmph, Li Yang, that scoundrel, dares to play me like this. I'll make sure he pays dearly."
Ma Shihao was furious. He thought for two seconds and then stated, "Since he set up his scheme in Jiangcheng, I suspect he must have also come to Jiangcheng."
"I'll send people to deal with him right away. He was lucky to escape from my hands last time!"
"Shihao, I also suspect that kid might know the secret of the treasure map. If he knows, then the treasure map should be on him. As long as we catch him, we won't have to worry about not getting the treasure map," Ma Qi said seriously.