Chapter 3 Counterfeit Goods

  "Hmph!" The face of Wang Gonggong was hidden in the shadows, making it difficult to discern his expression, but his eyes gleamed with an air of mystery that sent chills down one's spine. He spoke in a sinister tone: "It was you who sold fake medicine at the street corner, causing our family's Liu Guan Shi to die without being cured. We've been wanting to settle this account with you for a long time. But it seems your father, who works in the yamen, randomly caught a merchant selling medicine and framed him as the culprit just because he was there at noon. Hmph! Do you think we're so easily fooled? A debt must be repaid, a life must be avenged! Today, I've had someone bring you here to show you our power!"

  He caught a merchant selling medicine to take the blame... How did he not know about this? However, Xu Qian had been around for two lifetimes and had guessed some of it. The old master was afraid of trouble, and the yamen was pressing him, so he simply caught a merchant to hand over, but this Wang Gonggong wasn't stupid either. He actually knew the reason behind it. But as a result, Wang Gonggong was naturally dissatisfied, so he came up with a plan to turn the tables and directly caught himself instead.

  Xu Qian hastily said: "Lord Wang, you are wise and discerning. My medicinal prescriptions have been sold for dozens or even hundreds of taels, but I've never heard of anyone eating dead people's flesh. There must be some misunderstanding. I've long heard that Lord Wang is a just and upright person, please, Lord Wang, do me justice."

  Xu Qian felt that when someone stretches out their hand without hitting a smiling face, their mouth immediately becomes as sweet as honey. This is a matter of life and death, what's the point of flattering?

  Wang Gonggong glared at Xu Qian with a sinister gaze, saying: "You think that by speaking a few nice words, our family will let you off? You're still too young to learn how to flatter and fawn. At such a young age, you don't study well, but instead learn from others to sell fake prescriptions, cheating and deceiving people. If our family doesn't beat you to death now, what will happen in the future? Come! Take him away and beat him to death, feed him to the dogs!"

  Several guards from the government offices immediately rushed in, ferociously wanting to drag Xu Qian out.

  Xu Qian hastily shouted: "Wait!"

  At this time, these eunuchs and running dogs should all be shocked, staring at the protagonist in astonishment.

  It's just a pity... the protagonist has no status, no position, and nobody takes him seriously. Even the high-ranking officials are indifferent, lifting their legs to hold up the teacups on the table and blowing away the tea foam.

  Xu Qian continued: "Lord Wang, I am but a humble man. Please consider that I have an elderly father over 70 years old at home with no one to support him, and below...below I have several geese in my household crying out for food..."

  Xu Qian said and said, even he himself had no confidence, he hated it, originally wanted to learn a few black words from TV dramas, but when the words were spoken halfway, only then did he realize that Lao Ye Zi was not yet in his seventies, and there were no underage children at home, finally... could only be tragic.

  Xu Qian's words were apparently useless, the sturdy dog legs had already held up his arms, and easily lifted Xu Qian up, Xu Qian's two feet left the ground, his toes dangling back and forth.

  "Beat him to death, and then feed the dogs after he's dead. Tomorrow, we'll settle accounts with his father. This is what happens when you cheat our family!" After taking a sip of tea, Wang Gonggong watched as Xu Qian was almost dragged out the door, his face twisted in a scowl!

  "Hold on!" Xu Qian's heart was filled with extreme fear. He knew that if he didn't make an effort, his life would be lost here: "Lord Wang, there is a problem, where is the problem? That calligraphy has a problem!"

  "Mr. Wang, that calligraphy is fake! It's a counterfeit!"

  Xu Qian was suspended in mid-air with his arms around him, and amidst the chaos, he saw the inscription on the wall that read "Gong Shun Zhong Liang". In his past life, he was a museum curator and majored in archaeology in college. Upon discovering the suspiciousness of the inscription, his mind suddenly cleared up.

  This calligraphy is quite strange, it gave Xu Qian an indescribable feeling from the start. Firstly, it's the arrangement of the hall, you know that eunuchs are also cultured, especially those who have been sent out to govern towns, many of them have read books in the imperial palace's inner library, which explains why Wang Gonggong's hall has a good taste, not just because Wang Gonggong is fond of elegance, but because he likes this style.

  Looking at other paintings and calligraphy, even if they are not famous works, at least the standard is average or above.

  But the most eye-catching horizontal inscribed board above the main hall is obviously much lower in level compared to other calligraphies and paintings. It's not that the calligraphy is bad, it can only be said to be not too good, at best it's just mediocre. Moreover, the four characters 'obedient loyal and good' always give people a sense of awkwardness.

  This is a very unreasonable move, someone who understands calligraphy and painting, how could they hang the best works in a secondary position, but instead hang a mediocre and not-so-timely work in the best position? There can only be one explanation: this piece of calligraphy has extraordinary significance to Wang Gong.

  It must have been some noble person who gave this calligraphy to Mr. Wang, and the identity of this noble person was not ordinary. After Mr. Wang received it, he treasured it like a precious gem, and then hung the calligraphy high up to show off his connection with the person who wrote it.

  If that's the case, then it makes sense. Wang Gonggong wanted to ask for this nobleman's calligraphy, and the nobleman wrote down the four characters "Gong Shun Zhong Liang". Ordinary people wouldn't be able to give Wang Gonggong such an evaluation, only someone whose status is already extremely high would make Wang Gonggong unhesitatingly hug his legs. When this person writes a "Gong Shun Zhong Liang", he still feels it's glorious for the family gate, and insists on posting it in the most conspicuous place.

  The sly smile on Wang Gong's face faded somewhat, his expression becoming suspicious. Just as Xu Qian was about to be dragged away, he suddenly shouted in a loud voice: "Wait!"

  These eunuchs' lackeys were unmoved by Xu Qian's pleas, but at the words of Wang Gonggong, they stopped their actions as if receiving a sacred decree.

  "Bring him back!" Wang Gong's eyes narrowed, his face unspeakably terrifying.

  Xu Qian was taken back to the hall, let out a sigh of relief, and fortunately he thought this character was strange, otherwise today would have been dead or alive, and several layers of skin would have been peeled off.

  "What did you just say? You said this painting is a fake?"

  Xu Qian took a few deep breaths and said: "That's right, it's indeed a fake. If you don't believe me, you can call someone to verify."

  Wang Gong coldly smiled and said: "Isn't it that you're desperately seeking a cure and intentionally deceiving our family?"

  "This is intentional probing. Xu Qian hastily said: 'How dare a humble person deceive, if a humble person says one wrong sentence, willing to accept punishment.'"

  The king's expression became even more solemn, he hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand at the guards: "You all withdraw."

  The guards poured out in a steady stream.

  Only Wang Gonggong and Xu Qian were left in the hall.

  Xu Qian thought to himself, but because of a character involved in the counterfeit problem, this Wang Gonggong was too nervous, but this further confirmed Xu Qian's speculation, this character and Wang Gonggong were closely related, once it got out, Wang Gonggong would be affected.

  Thinking of this, Xu Qian's spirit lifted, and he thought he could be saved.

  Wang Gong looked at Xu Qian cautiously and said, "How did you see that this calligraphy is fake?"

  Xu Qian said: "Actually it's very simple. Under the candlelight in the hall, this character obviously has a shadow."

  "Huh?" Wang Gong didn't know that Xu Qian had seen more genuine and fake antiques in the museum than he had crossed bridges. In later generations, there were countless ways to identify antiques, but for Xu Qian, the fakes of this era were simply child's play.

  "Continue speaking." Wang Gong's face grew increasingly stern, he surprisingly got up himself to close an open window, turned around with his hands behind his back and re-examined Xu Qian, saying: "If you can't speak reason, our family will take your life."

  "Die, you can't change your tone? Always beating and killing, can't you be more elegant?" Xu Qian secretly criticized in his heart, he didn't dare to sell more, and definitely said: "How could a humble person like me deceive the public? In fact, it's very difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake products if one doesn't carefully examine them. The reason I determined this is a fake product is because of the shadow under the lamp light. Most fake products are imitations, and since they are imitations, the ink is easy to accumulate, that is to say, the ink density and thickness of fake products are much higher than those of genuine products, especially in running script. Generally, people write running script with one breath, finishing it off with a flourish, without any hesitation or pause, this is the biggest difference between genuine and imitation."

  The eunuch's eyes flashed, and he couldn't help but nod his head. After all, he was also a well-read eunuch and knew a thing or two. Xu Qian didn't seem to be deceiving him. Generally, when people write, they don't pause, usually finishing in one breath, so the characters only have one layer of ink. However, forgeries are different; they require repeated strokes and even revisions, so the thickness and density of the ink are often much higher than those of genuine pieces. This theory sounds novel at first, but upon careful consideration, it also makes sense.

  Xu Qian said, "If you look from a distance, it's hard to tell the difference between the real thing and a fake. But under the lamp light, an expert can see the clues. Because the real thing has less ink, after the ink is dry, there is no obvious shadow when viewed under the lamp. However, the fake one has thicker ink, even after it's dry, the shadow is often clearer than the real one. Just look at this calligraphy, the ink is so thick and heavy, it must be a copy. If you don't believe me, take it down and have a closer look."

  Wang Gong was in a difficult situation at this time, he fell silent for a moment and said: "Alright, take down this calligraphy."

  "What's wrong with me?" Xu Qian cursed in his heart. With so many lackeys in your mansion, why do you want me to fetch it? Why don't you get it yourself?

  But Xu Qian's mind turned around and he immediately understood.

  Just now, Wang Gong ordered the crowd to retreat, which means that this calligraphy is very important. If the calligraphy was really switched, Wang Gong wouldn't want more people to know about it either. However, having him personally retrieve the calligraphy would be beneath his dignity. Moreover, Xu Qian is right below, who knows if Xu Qian will secretly launch a sneak attack.

  So he let Xu Qian go get the word, both to prevent and save his own energy.

  Xu Qian had no choice but to obey, now he was the fish and Wang Gonggong was the knife. Xu Qian wasn't afraid of playing word games with people, what he feared was the knife.

  Xu Qian obediently fetched a stool, placed it under the table against the wall, climbed onto the stool and took down the calligraphy, spreading it out on the table. He carefully examined it for a while before tearing off the outer layer of mounting paper. Wang Gong saw this and angrily shouted: "You haven't even determined whether it's genuine or fake, how dare you tear apart...this official's calligraphy?"

  He almost slipped up and hastily used the three words "ben gong gong" to make amends.