The Real Heiress Has an Appraisal System
Chapter 25: 10 Million, a Bet on Your Judgment

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: 10 Million, a Bet on Your Judgment

"Mediocre and unremarkable people are common enough. But you, Miss Jiang, are not only mediocre, you try to convince yourself that being ordinary is some kind of virtue. You’re completely lost in your own world. You like to think ’you can’t judge a book by its cover,’ but in reality, everyone else sees you as worse than an animal!"

She pointed at Gu Shengsheng, trembling with rage. "You..."

"Me? What about me? You’d better learn your place and stop spouting nonsense in front of me, the Young Madam of the Lu Family. Don’t think so highly of yourself."

After Gu Shengsheng’s tirade, Jiang Xinyi was mostly sober.

She was, after all, the beloved daughter of a prominent family in Beijing City. How could she allow herself to be bullied like this?

She shot back, "You don’t know a thing. Do you really think you’re fit to be the Young Madam of the Lu family?"

Gu Shengsheng stroked her chin, her eyes falling on the jewelry Jiang Xinyi had thrown on the floor.

"Miss Jiang, your jewelry is indeed valuable. That neo-Chinese hairpin is made with the dotting technique, right? Imperial Concubines during the Kangxi era favored that style. Yours is a modified, custom-made piece with a market value of around 300,000, but you paid two million for it."

"Hmm... and your bracelet, Miss Jiang, is set with many pink diamonds. Did you really think pink diamonds are the most valuable? You’ve been reading too many of those CEO romance novels, haven’t you? You’re starting to think you’re the heroine of some high-society drama."

"Actually, blue sapphires are the most valuable, you know," Gu Shengsheng added, as if educating a child.

Then, she picked up the high heels. "These shoes aren’t bad, either. A famous brand, for sure. But you, Miss Jiang, overpaid by at least 700,000."

"A sucker like you who can’t even get the facts straight about her own jewelry—how dare you come here to humiliate me? And how do you expect to convince anyone with your busybody act? Miss Jiang, you’re just incompetent. Don’t doubt it for a second."

Jiang Xinyi frowned. "My things shouldn’t be judged by the likes of you! They’re tainted now! I don’t want them."

"But Gu Shengsheng, you think I’ll believe you just because you spouted some nonsense, trying to pass off lies as truth?"

Lu Linlin jumped in. "But the young lady of the Yang Family is right here! Sister Yang is a leading figure in the jewelry industry. Just have her take a look and we’ll know the truth."

"Don’t you dare try to frame my sister-in-law."

This Miss Yang Jiao had a reputation for being aloof and rarely got involved in such messy disputes.

Everyone expected her to refuse and embarrass Lu Linlin, but to their surprise, she walked over, put on a pair of white gloves, and began examining the pieces.

She turned to Jiang Xinyi and said, "Miss Jiang, you bought this jewelry yourself, so you know the truth better than anyone. Everything Young Madam Lu just said is completely accurate."

After speaking, Yang Jiao stepped away, her expression serene. Gu Shengsheng caught her eye and offered a grateful smile.

As for Jiang Xinyi, she completely lost it, lunging at Gu Shengsheng to attack her, but Gu Shengsheng simply slammed her to the ground with a shoulder throw.

Jiang Xinyi lay on the floor, unable to get up. The Jiang family had to be called to hastily come and retrieve her. She had been thoroughly humiliated at the banquet.

After Jiang Xinyi left, a few of the ladies began to whisper amongst themselves.

"Second Madam Lu said last time that this Gu Shengsheng is a charlatan, always claiming other people’s things are fakes. And didn’t she buy some Jade Pendant just to suck up to Mrs. Lu?"

"And now, she’s going after Jiang Xinyi. With her sister-in-law backing her up, they’re just ganging up on people!"

"If she’s so great, let’s see her appraise our bracelets."

Just then, Gu Shengsheng walked over with a smile. "Appraise your bracelets? I can certainly do that."

"The bracelets on you ladies’ wrists are all quite expensive. Their texture and translucency are excellent. Even an inferior piece would look like a priceless treasure on one of you."

The women smiled, slightly embarrassed. Her flattery made them see her in a slightly better light.

But one of the more arrogant women retorted, "Don’t try to suck up to us. We heard from Second Madam Lu all about how you disrespect your elders. Do you think a few pretty words can prove you know how to appraise anything?"

"I just acquired a fine piece from Rui City. Why don’t you take a look at it?" she said, full of confidence.

Gu Shengsheng smiled and agreed. ’I can finally relax,’ she thought. ’My plan worked. These madams have so much money, if I don’t earn it from them, who else would I earn it from?’

Gu Shengsheng said, "I can appraise it, but I don’t work for free. Even a professional Appraiser charges a fee. Though I’m the Young Madam of the Lu Family, I can’t be expected to do it for nothing."

"Fine. My collection is extremely valuable; I’m planning to donate it to a museum for an exhibition. If you can actually appraise them correctly, I’ll pay you one million per item."

She was just bluffing, confident that Gu Shengsheng would never be able to claim the million.

Gu Shengsheng grinned. "Deal!"

Lu Linlin whispered, "That woman is Yang Jiao’s stepmother, and she’s no saint. She’s just trying to make a fool of you to win some prestige."

"She’s probably upset that her stepdaughter helped you, so now she’s trying to put you in your place. Sister-in-law, should I use the Lu Family’s name to shut her down?"

"Even though it’s just Mom holding down the fort at home, we won’t let anyone push us around."

Gu Shengsheng squeezed her hand. "Don’t worry. I can handle this."

As she spoke, her eyes fell upon several decorative objects, and she was taken aback.

One was a "money tree" made of jadeite, and another, more eye-catching piece was a qilin beast carved from black jadeite.

Gu Shengsheng pointed to the black jadeite piece. "How much did you buy this for?"

Black jadeite can be high-quality, but much of it is inferior Guatemalan jade, which is an easy way for amateurs to get scammed. Outsiders only know that if it shines green under a light, it must be good.

Sure enough, an attribute panel popped up:

Item: Black Jadeite Qilin Beast

Origin: Unearthed in Myanmar

Description: Poor quality. 90% inferior scrap material. Not even true black jadeite; disguised with other black raw materials.

Market Price: 40 yuan

Resale Value: 3 yuan

Gu Shengsheng was speechless. ’This is ridiculous. As I thought, it’s all junk.’

When Gu Shengsheng asked the price, Mrs. Yang, Yang Jiao’s stepmother, smiled. "Is there a problem? I paid ten million for it. It was just brought out of war-torn Myanmar."

"All sorts of desperate people were fleeing the chaos over there. I was on the border of Yun Province and ran into many refugees from Myanmar. They even had an expert look at it for me, and he confirmed it’s a magnificent piece of raw jade! Material like this is incredibly rare. Ten million was an absolute steal."

Gu Shengsheng was left speechless. This was a classic case of someone with more money than sense.

’You can’t help people like this from getting scammed,’ she thought. ’Who acts so naive and clueless at that age?’

’Buying something just because you saw a dramatic scene? Did she really think she was getting the deal of a lifetime?’

Gu Shengsheng looked at her as if she were a complete idiot. "Mrs. Yang," she said, "if a single person offers more than thirty yuan for this thing, I’ll admit I’ve lost."

At this, the surrounding crowd burst into laughter.

Most were laughing at Gu Shengsheng’s arrogance. Mrs. Yang, despite being a woman, was incredibly wealthy. How could an item she’d spent ten million on not fetch more than thirty yuan?

It was an unbelievably arrogant claim!

"But if I call in an expert who confirms this piece is worth no more than thirty yuan," Gu Shengsheng challenged, "are you willing to put your ten million on the line?"

"A ten-million-yuan bet on your expert eye."