Chapter 598: Avoiding Taboos

In an instant, Li Chengkai's face turned red from his earlobes down to the base of his neck.

His eyes seemed to hide knives, staring fixedly at Lin Sicheng.

"Manager Li, do you feel that I've scammed you?"

"Are you blaming me for knowing the item had issues, yet failing to warn you?"

"But before you blame me, shouldn't you think about what kind of relationship exists between us?"

"You can choose not to sign, and my time is limited!" Lin Sicheng paused, "If I help you only to have you hate me for it, then why should I help you?"

Li Chengkai's eyes bulged, the whites filled with bloodshot veins.

It was as if he wanted to risk his life against Lin Sicheng—

Zhou Zhilin lunged forward suddenly, grabbing Li Chengkai tightly: "Mr. Li, don't be impulsive—"

Li Chengkai glared at him: "Mr. Zhou, can you come up with ten million?"

Zhou Zhilin was speechless: he truly could not come up with it; at most, he could manage half.

Two hundred million and sixty million were amounts he didn't even dare to think about.

But if it were just ten million, he would at least dare to think about it and could scrape it together: he could sell his house, sell his collection, or go borrow—

It would indeed lead to bankruptcy and a mountain of debt, but at least he could survive—

Zhou Zhilin shook his head: "Mr. Li, if it were two hundred million, we could only jump off a building or go to prison. But twenty million, we can still find a way to scrape together—as long as the green hills remain, there's no need to worry about firewood. At the very least, we are still Appraisers, and we will have opportunities in the future—"

Li Chengkai was stunned for a moment, staring at Lin Sicheng: this damn street rat, had he calculated them to the death?

If the amount were too high, they could only play dead and give up completely. If the amount were too low, it would lose the meaning of punishment.

Lin Sicheng wanted them to live, but to live a life worse than death—

But did they dare not to sign?

If they signed, there was at least a glimmer of hope. If they didn't, there were only two paths: jump off a building or go to prison.

Li Chengkai was an auctioneer himself and knew very well how binding the contracts of major international firms were. As long as he had a breath left, he had to fulfill the contract.

If he couldn't finish paying, then his son would pay. If his son couldn't finish, then his grandson would pay, until it was paid off—

Li Chengkai gritted his teeth: "Fine, I'll sign!"

Tan Zheng handed over a pen, then handed over the ink paste.

The two signed their names and pressed their fingerprints.

Li Chengkai's eyes were red: "General Manager Lin, can you tell us now, what is the flaw?"

Everyone's spirits lifted: was the most critical part coming?

But Lin Sicheng did not speak, staring at Li Chengkai with a look as if he were watching a mentally disabled person.

The group was confused: the Technology Authorization Agreement was already signed, so why couldn't he say it?

Li Chengkai had the same thought, but when he met Lin Sicheng's eyes, he couldn't help but feel weak and looked away.

He had only suspected it before, but now, Lin Sicheng was even more certain.

Truly, every single time, Li Chengkai managed to refresh his understanding of the lower limits of human nature. Lin Sicheng couldn't fathom: why could a person be this rotten?

"Manager Li, why are you in such a rush?"

"I have the right to know."

"No, you do not have the right!" Lin Sicheng signed two of the copies and threw them to Li Chengkai, "See for yourself, which clause says so?"

It was indeed not written.

Although Li Chengkai was angry, his basic rationality remained. Fearing that Lin Sicheng would scam him, he had read every clause and every line of the Technology Authorization Agreement very carefully.

He opened his mouth, not knowing how to argue.

"Manager Li, I have always believed that no matter how bad a person is, they wouldn't harm themselves, right? But now I have witnessed it: you are truly different from ordinary people—"

Lin Sicheng sighed, "Are you thinking that if the manuscript truly has a flaw, once you know, you will immediately contact Bonhams, threaten them to withdraw the lawsuit, and then threaten them to pay a huge sum of money?"

Li Chengkai panicked inside; the words "you're full of crap" surged to his lips, but he swallowed them back down.

His life was still held in Lin Sicheng's hands—

He could only stiffen his neck, not daring to look into Lin Sicheng's eyes: "I did not—"

Zhou Zhilin suddenly gave a start, his face full of disbelief.

Li Chengkai, your mother, he's crazy—

Li Chengkai looked away: "Mr. Zhou, I didn't think that—"

No, you did.

But he couldn't say it—

Lin Sicheng didn't want to waste his breath on them and clapped his hands: "I am very sorry to have kept everyone waiting so long. I have booked a private room upstairs, so I must ask everyone to condescend—"

Liang Shiya glared at him.

Aside from them, the rest were either teachers, friends, or subordinates; did Lin Sicheng need to be so polite?

This sentence was said to her on purpose: General Manager Liang, you cannot hear what comes next; be sensible and get out quickly.

She stood up, and when she had walked halfway, she stopped: "General Manager Lin, aren't you afraid I'll snitch?"

At the very least, the sixty million that Zhang Zongxian promised was set in stone. No matter what, Liang Shiya would report it to the United Association.

It would certainly note where Lin Sicheng earned this sixty million and how he earned it.

Although they were not in the same field, both were foreign-invested enterprises in China, and the United Association would very likely tip off Bonhams.

If that happened, would these plans of Lin Sicheng's still be effective?

But Lin Sicheng didn't care at all: "General Manager Liang, rest assured, even if you don't say anything, I will send a letter to Bonhams. At the same time, I will report to the public security bureau to open a case and file a lawsuit—so, regardless of whether there is a leak, he won't be able to pay a cent less than what he owes—"

"You can also be considered to have indirectly helped me; at the very least, your words are more credible—"

Liang Shiya was stunned.

She had been wondering before why Lin Sicheng dared to let them watch from beginning to end; so this was what he had been waiting for?

This person really is calculating to the very marrow of his bones.

And he tells you clearly that he is calculating against you, yet you still have no choice but to cooperate?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and Liang Shiya rolled her eyes.

As she was leaving, she looked at Li Chengkai again, looking as if she wanted to say something but found it inappropriate to speak plainly.

Lin Sicheng was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Director Liang, I understand!"

Liang Shiya was reminding him: this is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

She was also asking him: you know this clearly, so why are you still helping him?

But just as the words reached her lips, she saw Chen Jiashan giving her a look, and at the same time, she was poked by Guo Yongxin.

Liang Shiya closed her mouth, and Li Zhen saw them out of the Reception Room on behalf of Lin Sicheng.

After watching Li Zhen go back in, Liang Shiya looked puzzled: "CoCo, MaRy, why didn't you let me speak?"

"Diwen, he can even utilize opponents like us, let alone enemies?" Chen Jiashan lowered her voice, "If he wants to sue Bonhams, he must have Li Chengkai's authorization."

She understood: Li Chengkai had calculated exactly this point, which is why he dared to threaten Lin Sicheng.

But Li Chengkai dared to threaten, and Lin Sicheng dared to flip the table—anyway, he wouldn't be the one paying those two hundred million?

Liang Shiya frowned: "Then in the end, what if Li Chengkai turns against him?"

"No, he wouldn't dare: if he doesn't authorize it, the lawsuit cannot be won, and he will have to pay two hundred million. If he turns against him, it is equivalent to helping Hansi commit perjury; the lawsuit still won't be won, and he will still have to pay two hundred million. Of course, perhaps he doesn't have to pay now, but he will have to pay sooner or later."

Liang Shiya suddenly realized: where is there any capital that doesn't eat people?

She understood, and Li Chengkai understood even better.

Just as Li Chengkai said: Lin Sicheng had long since calculated these two people to death. In their hearts, they wished Lin Sicheng would die, yet they had no choice but to try every possible way to cooperate with Lin Sicheng and help him make money.

To be honest, this was truly the first time Liang Shiya had seen such a person and such matters.

It was an eye-opener.

And it wasn't just her; the two people beside her were much the same—

"I admire Lin Sicheng more and more now: he plans before he acts, he is steady, accurate, and fast, and when it's time to be ruthless, he doesn't show any mercy—"

Guo Yongxin said with deep emotion, "Diwen, Feng Rui, do you believe it: Li Chengkai's final outcome will probably be even more miserable than paying two hundred million?"

The two of them nodded in unison: of course they believed it.

Are the six international giants not powerful?

In the end, they still fell into Lin Sicheng's trap—

Liang Shiya nodded: "I understand now why Lin Sicheng is so afraid of death."

If you put yourself in his shoes and feel Li Chengkai's current mood, you can basically feel the mood of the representatives of the six companies during the initial negotiations, as well as the shareholders and bosses behind those six companies:

They have the heart to chop Lin Sicheng into meat paste alive—

Liang Shiya sighed again: "The twenty million in entry funds, I guess it can't be stopped!"

Chen Jiashan and Guo Yongxin paused and nodded in unison.

Not to mention whether the lawsuit can be won, this sixty million from Zhang Zongxian is already a certainty.

Not only did he earn it cleanly, but he earned it beautifully; even Jesus couldn't stop it.

And based on their understanding during this period, and given Lin Sicheng's ability, they did not think Lin Sicheng would talk nonsense. Therefore, this lawsuit is nine times out of ten winnable.

It doesn't need to be much; if Bonhams can pay twenty million, plus the twenty million from Zhou Zhilin and Li Chengkai, that is one hundred million.

It is less than forty million away from twenty million US dollars—

"But we still have to try to stop it; this is a matter of principle!"

Never mind that they are still forty million short; even if they were only forty short, they would still have to fulfill their duties.

"Diwen, don't worry!" Guo Yongxin gave her word, then calculated, "But there are only eighteen days left!"

Liang Shiya paused.

Involving foreign companies, it is not fresh news for a lawsuit to drag on for half a year; thinking about it, Lin Sicheng probably won't be able to use this compensation from Bonhams.

At the very least, there is no way to get it in hand before the deadline for the entry funds.

Liang Shiya gloated: "If you calculate it that way, he still has a gap of at least nearly sixty million."

"Lin Sicheng has quite a few tricks!"

That is true.

The key is that his luck is ridiculously good.

He just attended an auction and suddenly a golden mountain fell from the sky: enough to earn over a hundred million.

But then again: there were nine hundred to a thousand guests at the auction, and everyone had the opportunity to put this golden mountain into their pockets, but why didn't others discover it?

That includes them as well.

Therefore, if you want to get rich, you must first have the ability to get rich and the capacity to seize opportunities—

Just as they were sighing, with a "creak," the door to the conference room opened.

Even more people came out this time: Wang Qi Zhi, Zhao Xiuneng, Huang Zhi, Huang Lan, as well as Li Zhen, Fang Jin, and the Lawyer.

Of course, this also included He Jian, Zhou Zhilin, and Li Chengkai.

But Lin Sicheng was the only one not seen.

Oh right, Zhang Zongxian didn't come out either—

Liang Shiya looked suspicious: "Professor Jie, are you done talking?"

How could it be that fast?

Wang Qi Zhi shook his head: "It hasn't even started yet!"

Liang Shiya was stunned: "You—were also kicked out?"

The words were a bit blunt, but that is roughly how things stand.

Wang Qi Zhi nodded, and Liang Shiya laughed, "Hahaha."

What she admired was this decisiveness of Lin Sicheng.

Success in matters depends on secrecy, failure on leaks; success in planning depends on thought, ruin on following the crowd—when necessary, one can even disown one's own kin.

The slight gloom in her heart was swept away, and Liang Shiya pulled Ye Anning's hand: "Miss Ye, let's sit together later—"

""

Ye Anning nodded and entered an elevator with Liang Shiya.

Wang Qi Zhi was baffled: "What is this woman so happy about?"

Zhao Xiuneng moved his lips, thought for a moment, and then closed his mouth.

Professor Wang, haven't you noticed: this woman basically doesn't argue with Lin Sicheng anymore?

Furthermore, today, right in front of her, Lin Sicheng resolved half of the entry funds. But not only did she not object, she didn't even show the slightest bit of displeasure?

Of course, Lin Sicheng did indeed do a beautiful job. Anyone who hasn't lost their conscience would certainly admire him to the point of prostration.

And they will admire him more and more.

But get this straight, these three women are all single—

Although they are a bit old, they are still beautiful.

But he only muttered this in his heart; it is absolutely forbidden to say it out loud—

In the conference room, eight people sat in a circle.

Zhang Zongxian, Zhang Hantao, Zhang Yuanqiao, Zhang Yuanfan, and the middle-aged man who had been following Zhang Zongxian.

Sheng Guoan and Tian Rulong were opposite them, watching Lin Sicheng tinker with a camera.

"Swish," the laptop screen flashed, and a photo of the Zhu Zi Manuscript appeared.

Lin Sicheng flipped open the catalog again, and seven heads gathered around in unison.

Especially Sheng Guoan and Tian Rulong, whose eyes were wide as lightbulbs.

Previously, they asked Lin Sicheng what was wrong with the items, and Lin Sicheng said: You haven't seen the physical objects, I cannot compare them.

Although what they are looking at now is still not the physical object, at least it is a high-definition photo.

But at just one glance, the two were stunned in unison: the number of photos is wrong.

There are many photos in the camera, with every angle of the nine pages of the manuscript clearly captured. But there are only four in the catalog, which means the remaining five pages of the manuscript were not included in the catalog.

If it were an ordinary auction item, this would be normal: if the quantity of antiques for auction is too large to be fully recorded in the catalog, one can only select the highlights.

Some will reduce the number of images displayed in the catalog, and others will not include images at all, only recording the text introduction.

For example, of the three items Lin Sicheng won at auction, two of them had no images.

But that applies to ordinary auction items, worth at most tens or hundreds of thousands. But this manuscript sold for over one hundred million; even just by valuation, it was the highest in the entire venue.

If it were another auction house, such as Christie's or Sotheby's, they would absolutely not miss a single page.

They would even display it from multiple angles, showing several images for one page.

But Bonhams only displayed four pages, and they were all oblique shots: roughly like the paper pages lying flat while someone stood and took a photo.

Not only is it incomplete, but it is also unprofessional; this is extremely rare and unbelievable in art auctions.

Comparing them carefully, Sheng Guoan and Tian Rulong looked at each other: if you only look at the photos in the camera, the five pages not recorded in the catalog and the four pages that were recorded seem to have inconsistent paper colors.

One is slightly yellow, the other slightly gray.

Is it a problem with the camera angle, or were two different batches of paper used during the printing?

But regardless of which one it is, the two at least dare to be certain that all nine pages are definitely old paper, and all possess the characteristics of Southern Song Jiangnan Skin Paper.

Including the ink color, printing, font, borders, spacing, line arrangement, and layout, everything seems to have no problems?

Looking again at Zhu Xi's regular script annotations, they also seem to have no problems?

Compared with the Zhu Xi's Authentic Handwriting in the Forbidden City, the Shanghai Museum, and the Taipei Palace Museum, there is no difference in the start of the strokes, the end of the strokes, the structure, or the style of the brushwork—

The two raised their heads and, without speaking, looked at Lin Sicheng.

Lin Sicheng sighed inwardly: As expected?

The so-called appraisal by watching videos and looking at photos is all nonsense.

It is not that Sheng Guoan and Tian Rulong are unprofessional; if it were him, it would be the same—

Lin Sicheng did not keep them in suspense and said straight out: "Director Sheng, Researcher Tian, let me first state my judgment: First, the paper is wrong."

"These four yellow ones, which are the ones that appear in the catalog, are the Lin'an (Hangzhou) edition from the time of Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty. The five gray ones are the Shaoxing Edition from the time of Emperor Lizong—"

"Although both are papers for official and supervised printing, the places of origin are different, and there is a time discrepancy!"

Is it just a discrepancy?

Emperor Lizong ascended the throne in 1224 and passed away in 1264; that was already the end of the Southern Song Dynasty.

And the so-called Gaozong, Zhao Gou, the first emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, ascended the throne in 1127 and abdicated in 1162.

Between these two emperors, there is a full four-generation gap, a full one hundred years.

But this is only secondary; the key is that when Emperor Lizong ascended the throne, Zhu Xi had already been dead for more than twenty years. How did his calligraphy end up on a printed edition from the reign of Emperor Lizong?

Sheng Guoan thought and thought, and finally only said three words: "Are you certain?"

"I am. With Carbon-14 and accelerator mass spectrometry combined, the age error is only ±20 years; detecting a one-hundred-year interval is not difficult."

"Besides the paper, the ink is the same; it also differs by one hundred years. Using X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Raman Spectroscopy, one can measure the specific composition."

"There is also the layout: although both have single fish-tail designs and are almost indistinguishable to the naked eye, it is clear at a glance with a microscope: the tail was thick during Gaozong's time, and thin during Lizong's time—"

"The font is also the same: Gaozong's was steep and precipitous, slightly carrying a clerical script feel. Lizong's was thin and sharp, straight, neat, and stable."

"Then what about the annotations?" Tian Rulong pointed at the photos, "Lin Sicheng, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but no matter how I look at it, the characters on these nine sheets of paper were all written by one person?"

Sheng Guoan paused: "Me too!"

Lin Sigong nodded: "Because it was written by the same person to begin with!"

Tian Rulong was stunned for a moment: "What?"

"Books have new and old, but the characters do not! This was written by someone during the reign of Lizong, and all nine pages are—"

Lin Sigong was exceptionally certain, "One can test the ink: during the reign of Gaozong, hide glue was used instead of bone glue, which is slightly floating, slightly black, and slightly bright. During the reign of Lizong, fish glue was mixed in instead of wood glue: it is slightly lighter, slightly gray, and slightly thinner—"

Just as he finished speaking, Zhang Yuanqiao blurted out: "In other words: the ink from the reign of Gaozong absolutely does not contain wood glue or fish glue?"

""

Lin Sigong was stunned for a moment: this was being a bit argumentative.

But honestly, he really couldn't guarantee that.

"It's not very absolute; one could try to perform Carbon-14 dating, but organic glue contains oils and is easily contaminated, so the dating results are not very reliable—"

Tian Rulong and Sheng Guoan exchanged a glance, wanting to speak but holding back, yet neither opened their mouths, though they sensed something was wrong; it wasn't just the two of them, Zhang Hantao was half-doubting: "General Manager Lin, how can you be sure these small characters were written by someone from the reign of Lizong?"

"Look at the ink, which is the ink color I mentioned before: the former is black, the latter is gray—"

Zhang Hantao narrowed his eyes and peered carefully: it seemed there really was a slight color difference.

Previously, he had always believed it was caused by the camera angle and the intensity of the light.

At the same time, he was also a bit skeptical: just by looking with the eyes, one could judge the difference in the production regions of two types of paper from nine hundred years ago, as well as the composition of the ink—isn't this a bit ridiculous?

It was indeed a bit ridiculous, because Sheng Guoan and Tian Rulong were thinking the same thing.

Therefore, they were very suspicious that Lin Sigong must have used some other method.

Recalling the appraisal characteristics of Lin Sicheng that they had seen before, the two were lost in thought: Lin Sigong's favorite and most commonly used method was to fire the gun first, then draw the target.

Just like what he said to Zhang Zongxian before: preconceived notions, fitting the facts to the theory.

Especially when appraising characters and paintings, Lin Sigong liked to use this trick.

To put it bluntly: first determine who wrote or painted it, and then judge other details based on the life and resume of the person who held the brush.

For example, the style, the artistic conception, and even more so the paper, as well as the ink and seals—

Those few portraits of Rulong and Yongzheng, as well as the "Eagle and Goose Painting" by Zha Shibiao imitating Lin Liang (the one Feng Sanjiang used to cheat Huang Lan), the "Huashan Painting" by Jie Lü, and even the "Imperial Edict" by Jie Shu, all came about this way.

These few pages of paper before them were likely also handled using this method—

The more Tian Rulong thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed, so he asked directly: "Lin Sigong, who wrote this?"

In an instant, Lin Sigong was stunned, his lips moving twice: Director Tian, you really think too highly of me?

He shook his head without hesitation: "I don't know!"

Impossible, who doesn't know who?

No matter how confident Lin Sigong was, could he guarantee that the ink from the reign of Gaozong didn't contain wood glue?

If he dared to, he wouldn't have been stumped by Zhang Yuanqiao's question.

Therefore, he was very certain this was not Zhu Xi's calligraphy, and at the same time, he knew who wrote it—

Just as Tian Rulong was about to ask, Sheng Guoan shook his head: if he refuses to admit it, can you pry his mouth open, grab his tongue, and force him to change his tune?

It was likely because there were outsiders present, making it inconvenient to say—

Sheng Guoan spoke bluntly: "Lin Sigong, if these problems exist, but the Han Dynasty Department does not agree to testing, what should we do?"

Several people were startled in unison: That's right?

This is an item worth hundreds of millions; usually, they don't even dare to let it be exposed to too much light, let alone put it under radiation for testing?

Without testing, you have no evidence; what will you use to countersue?

Lin Sigong was unhurried; he swiped and enlarged the photo, which happened to be one of the five pages that were in the camera but missing from the catalog: "Director Sheng, look at this sentence: 'The Master's frequent subjects of discourse were the Odes, the Book of History, and the maintenance of propriety. He was respectful and calm, and his words were resilient'—look at these two characters 'Zi' and 'Gong'—"

Sheng Guoan squinted: The character "Zi" lacks the hook at the bottom, and the character "Gong" is missing a dot at the bottom.

This was very normal in the Song Dynasty, known as avoiding taboos, which means "avoiding the names of sages or ancestors."

It is further divided into public taboos and private taboos, state taboos and family taboos: in all official documents, one only follows state taboos, that is, avoiding the names and temple titles of the current dynasty's emperors.

But in interpersonal interactions, academic writings, letters, and biographies or epitaphs written for teachers, there are many more taboos: state taboos (emperors), sage taboos (Confucius, Mencius), ancestor taboos (counting three generations back from one's father), and teacher taboos (counting three generations back from one's teacher, plus the founding master).

This includes both given names and courtesy names. The laziest method is to omit the character, that is, to leave it blank directly. If one does not want to be lazy, or fears that the reader will misunderstand the context, one can only reduce the strokes.

Just like these two characters in the photo: one stroke less.

But there are only two here, and they are the very common "Zi" and "Gong." Furthermore, Sheng Guoan is not an Expert specializing in Song Dynasty history; he truly cannot remember whose ancestor or teacher these two characters belonged to in the case of Zhu Xi.

But he at least knew that it definitely had nothing to do with the emperors of the two Song Dynasties—