The rich family's parents were robbed, and the milk group went crazy for the boss's family

441: Gilt Bronze Buddha Statue

Whether it was because he was still excited or because he felt he had grasped a lifeline, the man's speech was very illogical.

He rambled on for ages about something that wasn't complicated, without ever getting to the point.

The manager, standing to the side, was exhausted from listening. He knew what had happened, and if the Second Master hadn't told him not to speak, he would have told the man to shut up and told the story himself.

Thinking of this, he glanced down and saw that the Second Master was not impatient at all.

He just got tired of tapping his legs, so he changed his posture to listen.

Xiao Musheng could extract useful information from his rambling, disorganized ramblings.

The man's name is Qiao Ming. Counting back more than four hundred years, his ancestors were stewards of a royal palace.

His ancestor was highly trusted by the master of the Prince's mansion, and therefore received many fine gifts as a reward.

Later, as dynasties changed and the army entered the capital, the prince's mansion dismissed all its servants, and the steward took the gold and silver treasures he had accumulated over the years back to his hometown.

To make a living, he later sold several items, leaving the most valuable gilt bronze Buddha statue to be passed down to his descendants as a family heirloom.

More than four hundred years later, this Buddha statue has been passed down to Qiao Ming.

More than half a month ago, he brought this gilt bronze Buddha statue to the appraisal pavilion at Yue Du Tai for authentication.

The appraiser concluded that it was a fake and returned the Buddha statue to him.

Qiao Ming did not accept this result and felt that the Buddha statue was different from the previous one, and was not the one he had sent over.

He was therefore convinced that the people in the appraisal department had stolen his Buddha statue and replaced his genuine one with a fake one.

When the matter reached the manager's ears, he thought the man was just being unreasonable.

They have such a huge business like Yue Du Tai, only someone with a screw loose would be greedy for his Buddha statues.

Wouldn't it be like losing the watermelon to pick up a sesame seed if you damage your own reputation like this?

Both sides felt that the other was doing it on purpose, and this went on for more than half a month. Qiao Ming was really on the verge of collapse, so he took an extreme step.

He stood at the entrance of the Moon Crossing Platform with a knife, saying that he would commit suicide here if his Buddha statue was not returned.

That's why the news reached Xiao Musheng's ears.

More than ten minutes passed, and Qiao Ming still hadn't finished speaking, but Xiao Musheng had already listened to everything.

He already knew the cause and effect, so there was no need to hear the rest.

He took out a cigarette, paused when he brought it to his lips, then rested it on the armrest of the sofa without lighting it.

"Alright, bring the things here so I can take a look."

He stopped Qiao Ming from speaking, and soon the manager had someone bring the gilded bronze Buddha statue.

When the Buddha statue was returned after being appraised, Qiao Mingfei said it was fake and not his, so he refused to accept it. Therefore, the statue is still kept at Yue Du Tai.

The manager personally placed the Buddha statue on the table in front of Xiao Musheng, along with the appraiser's report.

"Second Master, this is a report from Master Chen Li, our expert on gilt bronze Buddha statues at Moon Crossing Terrace."

"Master Chen Li is a highly respected and reputable senior appraiser in the industry. He could never be wrong; this is a fake."

The manager was saying the following to Qiao Ming.

He still felt that the person was being unreasonable.

Xiao Musheng didn't even look at the appraisal report; he picked up the Buddha statue with one hand.

His first impression upon receiving it told him that the Buddha statue was indeed fake.

Xiao Musheng didn't even need to look; his first instinct told him the answer.

There's a saying that goes, "Those born into a family naturally possess certain skills." He's a member of the Xiao family, and due to his family background and upbringing, he inherently has certain advantages.

When he was still with the Xiao family, he had seen many genuine artifacts, and his discerning eye had been cultivated.

In this respect, Xiao Musheng can confidently say that he is on par with his eldest sister, and it is no exaggeration to say that he can tell the difference between real and fake at a glance.

Even though he already had the answer, he still asked for a high-powered flashlight and a magnifying glass to carefully examine the internal structure and craftsmanship.

The Buddha statue has a kind and dignified appearance, with well-proportioned features and smooth drapery. The overall style and form are very well imitated, and the facial features, torso, and clothing are not easily discernible.

The key lies in the lotus base and the materials and craftsmanship. The three-dimensionality of the lotus petals on the base is slightly weak, the carving depth is insufficient, and the strokes of the inscription show obvious signs of imitation.

Furthermore, there are signs of artificial aging; the patina and wear created by forgery are very different from those formed naturally.

Xiao Musheng turned off the flashlight, placed the Buddha statue on the table, stood up, and went to the bathroom to wash his hands.

When he got back, he didn't say a word and just leaned back on the sofa fiddling with his phone.

The manager glanced at him and saw him typing in a long line of numbers.

Then you enter a book collection system.

Xiao Musheng searched the system by year and finally narrowed it down to a few books.

He raised his face, looked at Qiao Ming who was sitting opposite him, who was fidgeting, and asked lazily, "Which prince?"

"Chang, the Prince of Changping..."

The deeds of his ancestors were passed down along with the bronze Buddha statue, which Qiao Ming naturally remembered.

Having received the answer, Xiao Musheng lowered his head again and fiddled with his phone.

At first, the manager didn't know what he was doing, but suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and he looked down in shock.

He had heard before that the Xiao family had a large collection of ancient books that were not available on the market.

More than three hundred years ago, the rulers at the time ordered the destruction of books and systematically burned a large amount of material.

Much of the culture and history of the previous dynasty has been lost, and even the government has not made any copies, resulting in enormous losses.

The leaders of several powerful families at the time were very forward-thinking. Before the incident, they had discussed and cooperated to hide many books and historical materials to pass on to their descendants.

Later generations kept pace with the times and established a book collection system, converting those hidden books into electronic versions and uploading them to the system.

The rumors were true; the manager was shocked by the Xiao family's immense resources, and his heart pounded wildly.

He also remembered that he had heard that only people within the Xiao family could access this system, and that logging in required a unique key, one for each person, and that there would be no duplicates.

The long string of numbers that Second Master just typed must be it.

Qiao Ming said that his ancestors left with treasures during the change of dynasties, which gave him time, and he also mentioned the title of Prince of Changping, so Xiao Musheng was easily found.

He flipped through two pages, and seeing something, he smiled with interest. Then he looked up and slowly said to Qiao Ming.

"There really are such people."