Chapter 49 Part 2 - Genuine (1/2)
Due to Jiang Li’s presence, the people surrounding them to watch the play grew. Ye Shijie wrinkled his brows but on the contrary, Liu Zi Min was more patient.
After looking at it for a while, Jiang Li put down the painting in her hand. Instead of returning the painting to Liu Zimin, she spoke: “Master Zeng’s ink treasures are indeed precious. It’s really interesting, hard to come by and invaluable. But…….”
She hadn’t completed her words yet but Liu Zimin’s brows had risen an inch higher. Upon hearing Jiang Li’s final words, he subconsciously asked: “But what?”
“This painting is fake,” said Jiang Li.
“This painting is…….” Liu Zimin reacted suddenly and spoke loudly: “How is it possible?” When he again looked at Jiang Li, the original amiable look was no longer there.
Ye Shijie was stunned and also looked at Jiang Li.
“This painting was copied very well and resembled the original very much. However, it still cannot conceal the fact that it’s a counterfeit. According to the current market value of the closest resemblance counterfeit goods, this painting would at most fetch no more than 52 silvers. Young master Ye,” she looked at Ye Shijie: “you only need to pay 52 silvers to this young master, that’s it.”
“Little girl,” Liu Zimin sneered evilly: “Red mouth white teeth1 , if you say that it’s a fake then it’s a fake? This painting is a genuine article! You must not speak recklessly.”
“Yes ah,” the surrounding crowd jeered: “How are you going to prove it?”
Jiang Li wasn’t in a hurry and spoke steadily: “Master Zeng was from the previous dynasty.The pen and ink from the previous dynasty used silk from back then. However, there wasn’t any double-threaded silk fabric in the former dynasty.”
“Double-threaded silk?” Baixue asked doubtfully.
“The double-threaded silk fabric the previous dynasty produced was coarse and thin. But look at this painting scroll, it’s spotlessly white, smooth and thick. It’s clearly a double-threaded silk fabric. It’s not possible for the former dynasty’s Master Zeng to use the current double-threaded silk fabric to paint. This is the first point.”
“The second point, the stamp is incorrect. The former dynasty never used this stone stamp. If it was a stamp from the previous dynasty, it would have the marks specific to the previous dynasty: the place where each character stops should appear thicker than the original writing. But it appears relatively light and rather yellowish. The stamp of this painting is smooth, the color is reddish. It’s clearly wrong.”
While talking, Jiang Li explained and showed the《Bird Drinking in Spring 》picture in her hand for everyone to see. If nobody had said anything, they wouldn’t think so but once the words were out, in the light of Jiang Li’s words, sure enough, they felt something didn’t seem right.