Chapter Forty-Seven: A New Foe Emerges—How Intriguing

Han Qin was the first to speak, her tone disapproving as she rebuked Chen Yang for his unsolicited remarks. “What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Mom, I’m not talking nonsense. From what I see in this video, all ten vases are fakes. This so-called appraisal test is nothing but a show.” Chen Yang replied, his voice tinged with contempt.

Qin Guoshan and the two men from the Appraisal Association each wore a grave expression upon hearing this. Qin Guoshan’s concern stemmed from his own uncertainty about what to decide. As for the two association staff members, their heaviness was the result of being exposed by Chen Yang. Still, though their scheme had been uncovered, they would never admit it; after all, in their eyes, what could someone as young as Chen Yang possibly know about antiques?

With this in mind, the man with the buzz cut was the first to challenge him. “You’re saying all ten vases in the video are fakes? That this is just a performance?”

“Of course. I’m sure of it. Those ten vases are all counterfeit. And that old man who made such a show of picking out the ‘real’ vase, claiming it was a Ming dynasty Jun kiln piece—he was talking nonsense. That vase is obviously a modern reproduction, artificially aged. It’s nothing from the Ming dynasty.”

The buzz-cut man closed his tablet, determined to confront Chen Yang properly. Standing up, he said, “You should be prepared to take responsibility for your words.”

Chen Yang smiled lightly. “I always take responsibility for what I say—very much so.”

“Good. You say it’s a show, that all those vases are fake. Dare you come to our association and do an in-person appraisal?” the man asked, his expression sour.

“I’ll come, no problem,” Chen Yang answered coolly. “But I’m afraid your association won’t be able to produce a genuine Ming dynasty Jun kiln vase for me to examine.”

It was laughable—if there really was such a vase from the Ming dynasty, it would be worth five or six million at least. With the association’s paltry income, would they really spend millions to buy the real thing just to keep it in their collection?

The buzz-cut man was incensed by Chen Yang’s words. Inwardly, he sighed—he hadn’t expected such a formidable young man to be present at Qin Guoshan’s side. The man felt a twinge of guilt, too, because Chen Yang was right: how could the association produce an authentic Ming dynasty vase, one worth several million?

Still, he was unwilling to admit defeat so easily, loathe to leave in disgrace and tarnish the association’s reputation. With no other recourse, he invoked the name of Gu Yunsheng, narrowing his eyes as he said, “Young man, do you know that our Appraisal Association is endorsed by Elder Gu, who comes every month to give lectures? By speaking this way about our association, aren’t you being disrespectful to Elder Gu?”

Chen Yang smiled. “I respect everyone, but I have no respect for deceitful tricks. Besides, do you really think such fraud is any kind of respect for Elder Gu?”

The man was instantly rendered speechless.

As for Chen Yang, the buzz-cut man could only think of one word to describe him: arrogant! Far too arrogant!

Conflicted, the man turned to Qin Guoshan and said, “Mr. Qin, I didn’t expect your family to have such a sharp-tongued young man. My colleague and I have other matters to attend to, so we’ll be leaving now. As for joining the association, I hope you’ll think it over carefully.”

Qin Guoshan, feeling complicated emotions, still stood up with a smile. “Why don’t you stay a while longer?”

The man waved his hands. “No, no, we really must be going. Please, don’t see us out.”

With that, he and his companion left, their departure tinged with embarrassment.

Once they were gone, Qin Muxue finally understood the situation. Frowning, she said to Qin Guoshan, “Dad, you saw what happened. Are you still thinking of joining the Appraisal Association?”

Qin Guoshan let out a deep sigh, clearly torn.

At that moment, Han Qin asserted herself. “They’re just a pair of frauds. If you give them a hundred thousand, I’ll never forgive you.”

Seeing her mother-in-law’s furious expression, Chen Yang couldn’t help but laugh—not at the situation, but at how quickly she could change her tune. Moments ago, she had scolded him for speaking out. Now, she was entirely on his side. She certainly was an interesting woman.

Genuinely considering Qin Guoshan’s best interests, Chen Yang spoke earnestly. “Dad, don’t waste your money. If you ever need something appraised, I can help you.”

“Exactly!” Qin Muxue immediately agreed. “Chen Yang really does have a good eye for these things.”

“What does he know? He’s just guessing,” Han Qin said with a look of disdain, though it seemed she couldn’t help but go against Chen Yang at every turn.

Chen Yang didn’t back down. With a light laugh, he replied, “But Mom, don’t forget—it was me who spotted the ten fake vases in their video.”

“So what?” Han Qin retorted, though inwardly she was impressed by his keen observation.

Chen Yang just smiled and let the matter drop, unwilling to argue further with his mother-in-law—it really wasn’t worth the effort.

At that moment, it seemed Qin Guoshan had reached a decision. With his hands clasped behind his back, he shook his head. “Forget it, I won’t join the Appraisal Association.”

Qin Muxue’s face lit up with relief.

Chen Yang remained calm. After all, with the whole family having tried so hard to persuade him, if his father-in-law still insisted on joining, Chen Yang would truly have nothing left to say. Now that he had decided against it, it showed he still had some sense.

Night fell.

Chen Yang and Qin Muxue lay in bed, but for some reason, she couldn’t fall asleep. She turned to Chen Yang and asked, “Are you asleep?”

“Not yet,” Chen Yang whispered.

“Hey, tell me—how did you learn to appraise antiques?” Muxue was genuinely curious about Chen Yang’s repeated successes, and now, unable to sleep, she seized the opportunity to ask.

Chen Yang replied, “Honey, didn’t you know? Over the past five years, whenever I had free time, I’d read books on antiques, just so I could help Dad one day.”

In truth, Chen Yang’s ability in appraisal had its roots in his days with the Chen family in Yanjing, where he received his initial training from his mother. Coupled with his exceptional intelligence, he had developed his unique insight over time. Still, he had no wish to talk about the past—especially anything concerning his mother, a topic that always left him uneasy.

“You really spent your spare time reading those books?” Qin Muxue was surprised, never having realized how much Chen Yang loved to learn.

“Yes,” Chen Yang said softly. Then, feeling a bit tired, he added, “Let’s get some sleep, wife. We have work tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Qin Muxue nodded, feeling a touch disappointed. She had wanted to have a good conversation with Chen Yang tonight, but he was already asking to sleep. She couldn’t explain it, but lately, she found herself wanting to get closer to him, to understand him. Maybe she no longer felt the same resistance toward him—perhaps, she was even starting to like her husband a little.

Unnoticed, the night grew deep.

At midnight, as Chen Yang slept soundly, he suddenly snapped his eyes open.

He had clearly heard some unusual sounds outside the bedroom.

With his martial skills already at the level of a grandmaster, Chen Yang’s senses—hearing, smell, perception—were a hundred times sharper than an ordinary person’s. Even in deep sleep, the slightest odd noise would wake him.

Narrowing his eyes, he listened carefully. There were footsteps outside, and the faint murmur of voices.

“What’s going on? Could there be thieves in the house?” he wondered.

He was sure the voices didn’t belong to his mother- or father-in-law. There were only four people in the house: himself, Qin Muxue, and her parents. If the voices weren’t theirs, they had to be strangers.

“Looks like we’ve been burgled,” Chen Yang thought, narrowing his eyes.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he shot out of the bedroom like an arrow, darted downstairs, and saw two furtive figures in the living room.

Without a word, Chen Yang rushed at them like a cannonball, grabbed both by the hair, and knocked their heads together forcefully.

Not wanting to disturb his in-laws, he dragged the two by their collars to the front door of the villa.

Outside, the moon shone brightly and the air was cool.

Chen Yang tossed the two men—both dressed in black—onto the ground, then strode toward them, his voice cold as he demanded, “Who are you?”

Both men looked sturdy, as if trained in martial arts—one with a square face and a scruffy beard, the other round-faced with squinting eyes. Both were still dizzy from having their heads knocked together.

As Chen Yang approached, the square-faced man suddenly leapt up, pulled out a knife, and said coldly, “Are you President Chen of Huading Corporation? Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of Master Yang Biao of the Southwest Chamber of Commerce?”

“Southwest Chamber of Commerce?” Chen Yang’s eyes narrowed at the mention of an organization unfamiliar yet intriguing to him.

So these men were from the Southwest Chamber of Commerce, sneaking into his father-in-law’s house at this hour—clearly, they were after him.

The Southwest Chamber of Commerce wanted to deal with him?

Now, that was interesting indeed.