Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Gu Ning had told him to say this since she knew the emergence of the bronze chimes was bound to send tongues wagging. Hence, she told him to deny knowing the source of the bronze chimes and said she was the one who found them.
“Then it’s quite an impressive feat for her to land her hands on such a precious item and being able to sell it without getting charged,” said the man ambiguously.
Despite how humiliating his words sounded, Chen Darong pretended not to pick up on it even though he was angry. Instead, he acted as though he was praising Gu Ning. “You’re right! Our boss is a very impressive woman. Otherwise, her establishments would never have advanced at such speed!”
“Miss Gu was able to advance her career at such astounding speed that it is completely unprecedented!” said the man. Even though he made it sound like he was praising Gu Ning, his tone was insincere and implied she resorted to underhanded means.
“Just because she is young does not make her incapable. Not every capable person succeeds. A lot of luck and connections are needed for things to fall into place.. However, she could never have done it if she was not capable. You cannot deny her ability just because she is young. As everyone knows, Director Gu has powerful connections, and a lot of people think she gained these connections through unscrupulous means. These people think everyone else is as stupid as them. All her connections are powerful, so they aren’t idiots. Why would they do as Director Gu says since they are so powerful?” said Chen Darong.
Chen Darong was saying this for the naysayers to hear. In reality, they were keenly aware no one could succeed solely using backdoor deals. Talent, connections, and luck played a huge part in success as well. Those people merely accused Gu Ning of using underhanded means to achieve success because they were jealous.
The man was dumbfounded after hearing what Chen Darong said.
“Mr Chen is right. Director Gu is genuinely an incredibly talented businesswoman. Although I have never met her in person, I have heard a lot about her feats online! She came in first as the top scorer in the national entrance exam with full marks this year. Also, she is a highly-skilled martial artist and saved a lot of people and some of them happened to be powerful men!” said a man.
People who knew about Gu Ning’s accomplishments did not believe she resorted to underhanded means to gain connections and advance her career. After all, even successful men might not be able to accomplish what Gu Ning did.
People who were in the dark were startled by Gu Ning’s accomplishments and doubts about her quickly dissipated.
“Hmm? Isn’t that Miss Gu?” Someone suddenly saw Gu Ning enter through the door and exclaimed.
Since this was an official affair, Gu Ning came formally dressed. She was dressed in a suit jacket and pants paired with heels and some light makeup.
She had her hair scattered behind her and it was styled with large waves. On the whole, she appeared mature, elegant, and had the powerful aura of a queen.
Everyone sensed Gu Ning’s powerful aura and could not help holding their breaths. It was impossible to disregard her presence.
Even Chen Darong felt stunned. He had always seen Gu Ning dressed like a student, so it was his first time seeing Gu Ning’s intense aura. For a moment, he was not sure what to say. However, he quickly snapped out of his daze and headed over to welcome Gu Ning as he greeted reverently, “Morning, Director Gu.”
“Uh huh!” acknowledged Gu Ning mildly with her innately imposing aura.
In reality, Gu Ning was deliberately giving off an imposing look. She had overheard the conversation earlier. Even though she did not care what other people thought about her, she could not overlook it now that she had heard it said in front of her.
Hence, Gu Ning walked in with an imposing aura to intimidate them and let them know that she was not just a pretty face.
Everyone quickly noticed her presence. The people who believed in Gu Ning’s talent turned to greet her, while the ones with suspicions did not come over.
Considering Gu Ning’s publicly known status, a lot of people were not interested in being friends, so they did not bother to greet Gu Ning.
Gu Ning said hi to the guests who were friendly to her.
“Gu Ning, are you here too?” Tang Qingyang walked over and said hi to Gu Ning.
Song Nan was with Tang Qingyang as well.
“Gu Ning,” greeted Song Nan.
“Hi, Ruiqin and Qingyang,” greeted Gu Ning. They chatted as they headed over to hall one without waiting for Xu Jinchen and Zi Beiying to come. They could come in on their own when they got there. Since Xu Jinchen was around, Gu Ning did not have to take care of Zi Beiying much.
…
The auction hall was huge and had a posh interior. Rows of rectangular tables with two chairs on each side with the table facing the auction stage were placed in the hall. Each row had six tables making 24 chairs per row.
Although Gu Ning did not have high status, she was assigned to the second row. Only members of top and second-tier elite families had the privilege of sitting there.
As for the first table, only their family heads, high-ranking government officials and experts had the honor of sitting there.
Since not every elite family and high-ranking official would turn up today, 24 seats were enough. There were even some unoccupied seats.
When people who knew Gu Ning saw her sitting in the second row, they were shocked. They felt Gu Ning did not have the right to sit there! They were unaware that Gu Ning was not given her seat because of her success in the commercial world. Instead, she was seated there as she was the Leng family’s future granddaughter-in-law.
Two minutes after Gu Ning took a seat, Master Leng, Jiang Zhongyu and Master Xu showed up along with the president of Palace Museum, Cai Wenhong.
Cai Wenhong was here on behalf of the Palace Museum to bid for the bronze chimes. It was not the kind of task that could be delegated to someone else!
Everyone greeted them when they entered the hall.
They were especially polite and respectful to Master Leng and even stood up when they spoke to him.
Gu Ning immediately stood up when she saw them. Chen Darong stood up as well nervously.
“Hi, so nice to see you all, Grandpa Leng, Grandpa Xu, Grandpa Jiang, and Curator Cai!” greeted Gu Ning as she smiled.
“Nice to meet you, Master Leng, Master Xu, Master Jiang, and Curator Cai,” greeted Chen Darong as well.
“Did you come even earlier than us?” asked Jiang Zhongyu as he laughed.
