179: A real bargain!

"I just bought it," Wang Chen said. "Could you take a look and see if it's real?"

The old man took a deep breath. "It's real! And it's a tang tri-color glaze from the early to mid-Tang Dynasty. To see one preserved so well is extremely rare!"

He handed it back to Wang Chen with great care. "This item... is worth a fortune. How much did you pay for it?"

"One hundred thousand."

The old man's eyes widened. "One hundred thousand?! You've picked up a massive leak! If this went to auction, it would fetch at least ten million!"

A clamor erupted among the surrounding onlookers.

"Is that for real?"

"One hundred thousand turned into ten million?"

"That's some incredible luck!"

The stall owner who had just sold the pottery figurine heard this as well, and he was completely stunned.

He rushed over immediately, staring at the pottery figurine and rubbing his eyes in disbelief. "This... this is really worth over ten million?"

"Absolutely," the appraisal master said with certainty.

The stall owner's legs went weak, and he slumped onto the ground.

"I... I've suffered a huge loss..."

Wang Chen ignored him, paid the appraisal fee, and left with the pottery figurine.

Bai Li followed beside him, her face filled with disbelief. "Brother Chen, how did you know it was real?"

"Intuition," Wang Chen replied perfunctorily.

He naturally wouldn't say it was thanks to the system.

"What are we buying next?" Bai Li asked in an admiring tone.

"Calligraphy and paintings. Doesn't the old man like them? Let's pick a piece for him."

Remember us at 101kanshu.com

Handing the pottery figurine to Chenlong to carry, the group browsed for a while longer.

Wang Chen stopped in front of a calligraphy and painting stall.

A landscape painting hung at the stall, with the signature "Famous Painter."

Although it was an imitation, the brushwork was quite good, making it a high-quality piece among replicas.

The stall owner was a young man. Seeing Wang Chen staring at the painting, he quickly stood up to introduce it. "Boss, this is an authentic work by Tang Bohu! An ancestral heirloom!"

Wang Chen activated the system's "Falsehood Becomes Truth."

[Ding! Detected trigger conditions for Falsehood Becomes Truth!]

"How much?" Wang Chen asked casually.

"Five hundred thousand!" The young man opened his mouth wide with a lion's demand.

"Ten thousand," Wang Chen countered.

"Boss, this is an authentic Tang Bohu..."

"Ten thousand, take it or leave it." Wang Chen made a move to leave.

"I'll sell! I'll sell!" the young man quickly agreed.

The transaction was completed.

The system notification sounded.

[Falsehood Becomes Truth in effect! The modern imitation of Famous Painter's landscape painting has become an authentic Ming Dynasty original!]

[System Evaluation: This painting is an early work by Famous Painter, with a market value of approximately 15 to 20 million RMB.]

Wang Chen nodded with satisfaction.

Two items, costing one hundred and ten thousand, now worth over twenty million.

This trip wasn't in vain.

"That's about enough," Wang Chen said to Bai Li. "Let's head back."

Bai Li looked at the two items in Chenlong and Tiger's hands, still finding it hard to believe.

"Brother Chen, do you have some kind of superpower?"

Wang Chen laughed. "Guess?"

He naturally wouldn't say.

This was his secret.

A secret forever.

The four of them walked out of Panjiayuan and got into the car to return to the hotel.

On the way, Bai Li kept staring at Wang Chen, her eyes full of curiosity and... admiration.

Wang Chen felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze. "What are you looking at?"

"Seeing just how many secrets you're still hiding," Bai Li said seriously.

Wang Chen just smiled and didn't speak.

He still had plenty of secrets.

Back at the hotel, Wang Chen handed the two items he bought to Chenlong.

"Find two nice boxes to pack them in, and buy some other gifts like tea, supplements, and so on." Wang Chen thought for a moment. "We're going to the Bai Family tomorrow; we can't just bring these two things."

Chenlong took the items. "Understood, I'll get right on it."

"Go ahead, just leave Tiger here."

After Chenlong left, Bai Li took out her phone and called home.

"Mom, I'm not coming back tonight... yeah, staying at the hotel. I'll bring Brother Chen home tomorrow morning... okay, I got it."

Hanging up, she looked at Wang Chen. "My mom asked me to remind you to dress formally tomorrow."

Wang Chen looked down at his casual clothes. "This outfit won't do?"

"No," Bai Li shook her head. "My grandfather is very particular about these things. For the first visit, you have to wear a suit."

"Fine then," Wang Chen said helplessly. "I'll have Chenlong bring back a suit while he's at it."

Bai Li leaned in and hugged his arm. "Brother Chen, are you nervous?"

"Nervous about what?"

"Meeting my family," Bai Li blinked. "My grandfather is very serious."

Wang Chen waved his hand dismissively. "It's not like I haven't seen the world. There's nothing to be nervous about."

He paused and added, "Besides, if your grandfather doesn't agree, I'll just abduct you and we'll elope."

Hearing this, Bai Li burst into a giggle. "You wouldn't dare!"

"See if I dare."

...Hangzhou City, Green City Peach Blossom Spring villa.

Shortly after three in the afternoon, Du Ruoxi and Su Yue were practicing in the music room on the third floor.

Du Ruoxi played the chinese lute while Su Yue played the chinese zither; the two were performing a duet.

The entire villa was quiet, except for the music drifting down from upstairs.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the music room door.

The nanny, Xiao Zhang, stood at the door. "Miss Ruoxi, there's a visitor."

"A visitor?" Du Ruoxi stopped playing. "Who is it?"

"A beautiful foreign lady. She says she's from Europe and is looking for Mr. Wang," Xiao Zhang replied. "I've asked her to wait in the living room."

Du Ruoxi and Su Yue exchanged a look.

A beautiful foreign lady? Looking for Wang Chen?

"Ruoxi, let's go down and take a look." Su Yue stood up.

The two went downstairs together.

When they reached the second-floor landing, Du Ruoxi saw the person sitting in the living room.

It was... a princess who looked like she stepped out of a fairy tale.

Long golden hair reached down to her waist, her skin was as white as milk, and she wore a pink princess dress with delicate lace embroidery on the hem.

She was sitting on the sofa with her back to the stairs, holding a cup of tea and taking small sips, her movements impeccably elegant.

Standing behind her was a young girl in a maid uniform of the same style, likely her attendant.

Meanwhile, at the villa entrance, Rabbit and Snake were tensely eyeing a man and a woman.

The man wore a black suit and had a tall, burly build; he stood with his arms crossed, looking at Rabbit and Snake with a playful expression.

The woman wore a jacket and leather pants, leaning against the doorframe and twirling her hair with her finger.

It was obvious at a glance that these two were no ordinary people.

"This is..." Du Ruoxi walked down the stairs.

Hearing the voice, the blonde girl on the sofa turned her head.

Seeing Du Ruoxi and Su Yue, her eyes lit up, and she immediately set down her teacup and stood up.

"Hello!" she said in fluent Chinese. "I am Isabella Colton, from the Colton Family of Europe. Is Mr. Wang Chen in?"

The Colton Family?

Du Ruoxi's heart tightened.

She had heard Wang Chen mention this family and knew that Xia Qingcheng and Gu Jiaxuan had escaped from there.