Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“This is ‘Drunken Zhong Kui’ by Wang Su, the great painter of the Qing Dynasty.” Zhao Yu pointed to a scroll on the desk and introduced it to the guests.
He then added, “It’s absolutely authentic! You see… The creases of the clothes are all in light ink. And… Look at the lines. They show that it is absolutely not a copy. If it wasn’t for the small patch in the upper right corner, the value of this painting would be worth no less than ‘The Wedding of Zhong Kui’s Sister,’ which is currently hanging in the museum!”
After saying that, Zhao Yu turned to the silvered-haired old man and said, “Mr. Yang is so generous to give such a precious painting to my future father-in-law.”
Hearing Zhao Yu’s compliments, the silvered-haired old man waved his hands and praised him, “Officer Zhao is really a genius! I didn’t know that you also dabbled in paintings and art!”
He then turned to Miao Ying’s father and said, “No wonder you were introducing him to us so happily! It turns out that you had picked up a treasure!”
The crowd agreed and also began to praise Zhao Yu. It turned out that this painting was a gift from the old man with silver hair to Miao Ying’s father. Just now, while everyone was talking happily, Miao Ying’s father took it out for everyone to enjoy.
In fact, he had done that on purpose as an old trick. He claimed that Zhao Yu also knew about the painting, and he had asked Zhao Yu to comment on it, hoping to put Zhao Yu on the spot and make him look like a fool.
This had forced Zhao Yu to use the Invisible Analyzer again, which undoubtedly amazed the guests. Previously, his opinion about Renado had also come from his special device.
At this moment, Miao Ying’s father, no matter how angry he was on the inside, forced a smile on his face and said, “Of course! Not anyone can marry Miao Kun’s daughter! But, to be honest, it’s also the first time that I am seeing officer Zhao’s talent in arts appreciation. In that case, come here…”
Miao Kun then enthusiastically pulled Zhao Yu over to a brown-red porcelain item and said, “Zhao Yu, you can help me have a look at this porcelain! I’ve hired several experts to appraise it, but they can’t tell whether it’s the real deal or not!”
Only then did Zhao Yu learn that Miao Ying’s father’s name was Miao Kun.
“Oh, dad! Your tyranny is endless, isn’t it?” Miao Ying didn’t like the way that her father was treating Zhao Yu, so she quickly interrupted them. “If the experts don’t even know if it’s real or not, how can you expect Zhao Yu to know? Don’t embarrass him, okay?”
To everyone’s surprise, Zhao Yu simply blinked at Miao Ying, then said calmly, “Ying, don’t worry. Naturally, I will help your father solve his problem. Let me have a good look at it…”
As Zhao Yu looked at the porcelain, he was astonished. “Oh, congratulations! This is a rare horseshoe cup from the Tang Dynasty. It is not only authentic, but it also worth a great amount of money!”
Miao Kun did not believe him, so he asked suspiciously, “How do you know that?”
“I am certain of it!” Zhao Yu said, while pointing to the porcelain. “Look… Its material, base, glaze and style are all perfect. Now, look at the connection between the color glaze and the base. Look closer. Imitations have fine, serrated lines, but yours doesn’t. Yours is absolutely authentic!”
In fact, Miao Kun already knew very well that his porcelain was real. He had just wanted to embarrass Zhao Yu, but he didn’t expect that Zhao Yu would see through his trickery.
“Oh, if you don’t feel right about my assessment,” Zhao Yu joked, “then you might as well give it to me. Then, I’ll be the one getting rich! Ha ha ha ha…”
Zhao Yu words immediately caused a lot of laughter to fill the hall. Then, the jewelry lady said, “Boy, what’s the hurry? Your girlfriend’s father’s stuff will be yours sooner or later!”
All of the people in the all laughed again, but Miao Kun felt embarrassed.
A wealthy man, who was wearing glasses and a white suit, said, “Officer Zhao is so good at this! In fact, can you help me? A few days ago, I got a bracelet. It cost me half the price of my Ferrari! Will Officer Zhao help me by taking a look at it?”
“Eh…” Zhao Yu frowned. He only had two Invisible Analyzers, both of which he had already used.
Just as Zhao Yu was about to refuse, the housekeeper rushed in and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, the match of Sky Wolf versus Lei Bin is about to start! Let’s go to the grandstand together!”
“Oh, good!” Miao Kun nodded, then said, “Everybody, please come to the fighting cage!”
Miao Ying quickly asked the housekeeper, “Is that the same Lei Bin from Qinshan City?”
“Yes,” the housekeeper responded. “Lei Bin used to be a taekwondo fighter, but he recently changed to compete in UFC!”
“It’s really him?” Miao Ying exclaimed before she hastily asked, “Who is his opponent?”
“Oh… Sky Wolf is a Czech fighter!” the housekeeper said. “These two men are equal in strength, but they have never faced each other in a match. It’s hard to estimate who will win.”
Miao Ying tugged at Zhao Yu’s arm as she whispered, “I can’t believe that Lei Bin actually came!”
“Huh, that loser!” Zhao Yu said disdainfully. “If he regards himself as a fighter, even I can be a UFC fighter!”
“No. UFC is very difficult! Don’t even try to act like you are that good.” Miao Ying then asked, “By the way, how come I never knew that you know about things like the economy and arts? Are you really making so much progress in my absence?”
“Hey hey… It was just a coincidence that I knew that stuff. After the case was solved the other day, I just listened to some other people talking about it. That was where I picked up all of that info… Haha…” Zhao Yu was having a hard time explaining, as he was put on the spot.
“Who do you think you are fooling?” Miao Ying stuck out her tongue at him, then asked, “Do you think that I can’t see what’s going on? Just now, my dad looked so embarrassed. It must be because the two of you colluded with one another in advance. You two were acting, right? My dad is good at everything, but hates losing face in front of people. It’s not good for you guys to do things like that.”
Dong!
Hearing this, Zhao Yu did not know what to say, so he simply remained silent. They soon arrived at the grandstand, which was next to the study. Once all of the people entered this area, they could enjoy the battle taking place in the hall below via a panoramic view. It was a wonderful experience for them.
Lei Bin was wearing a black uniform, while the his foreign opponent was wearing red. The two men were ready for the battle to begin.
“Ha ha ha… The show is about to begin!” Miao Kun announced to the crowd. “Although Sangrove is clearly today’s best fighter, we can’t miss introducing a Chinese player! Are you interested in watching this warm-up, ladies and gentlemen?”
During the conversation, a young waiter with a laptop came over and stood in front of everyone. It turned out that they were going to give the crowd the opportunity to gamble on the fight!
Miao Kun stretched out his hands and said, “Come on and participate, everyone. Otherwise, it will be too boring!”
The old silver-haired man smiled, then asked, “You really didn’t learn anything in New Zealand, did you? Okay, I’m in. I’m Chinese, so I’m going to bet that the Chinese player will win. My bet is 200,000 RMB!”
The recorder instantly entered his bet into the laptop.
“I feel that the foreign player is more powerful!” a woman said. “So… I say Sky Wolf will win! I will bet 200,000 RMB, too.”
“Huh, don’t be so stingy in your bets!” a young man in white suit said. “I’ll go up to a million, betting that the Chinese boy will definitely win!”
Someone beside him scoffed. “These people don’t even know these two players. I am keeping my betting funds for Sangrove!”
In this way, many rich people began to place their bets. Then, Miao Kun’s eyes flashed, revealing his true purpose.
He slowly came over to Zhao Yu and asked, “Hey, Officer Zhao, what about you?”
