Chapter 70: Faking an Accident? It Doesn’t Seem Like It

At this moment, he too was crouched beside Sui Yi, watching the items just like her, occasionally recounting some idle tales about the people on this street. The stall owner was in the midst of a transaction with a woman, and it looked as though they were about to close a deal—a large sum seemed to be involved, enough to make Su Ziyi purse his lips in mild disdain.

Sui Yi, however, paid them no mind. Instead, she picked up a zisha teapot, its appearance simple and old-fashioned. One glance was enough to make her smile—a smile filled with subtle amusement. The square-faced, dull-looking stall owner raised an eyebrow at the sight, and even Su Ziyi was momentarily taken aback.

What’s this now, do you like that teapot? Su Ziyi frowned, about to say something—

But suddenly, a force surged from behind Sui Yi. So abrupt, it pushed her forward over the crowd, making her lose her balance—

Her palm landed on the table as her brows knitted. She dodged to the side, clutching the teapot, managing to steady herself—only to bump abruptly into someone behind her.

“Ah!”

A sharp crash rang out along with a woman’s shrill scream! Sui Yi turned to see a touristy-looking woman standing beside the shattered remains of a colorful porcelain piece on the ground.

“You bumped into me... you broke my porcelain!” The woman was furious, storming up to Sui Yi. “I spent a hundred thousand yuan on this!”

“Give me back my porcelain!”

The woman’s voice was piercing and aggressive. Beside her stood a middle-aged man, his face full of anger as they blocked Sui Yi in, shouting, “Pay up! That porcelain cost us a hundred thousand yuan!”

“Pay up…”

Sui Yi sidestepped the woman’s attempt to grab her arm, placed the teapot on the ground, and looked at the couple, her gaze sweeping over them before settling on the broken fragments at her feet.

By now, a crowd had gathered, pointing and whispering.

No matter where you are, people are always drawn to a spectacle. The crowd grew thicker—some silent, some laughing, others egging things on...

Was this a scam, or did she really bump into them?

Sui Yi raised an eyebrow, about to speak, when an elderly man emerged from the throng. Dressed in a scholarly blue robe and carrying a magnifying glass, he walked over, bent down, and picked up one of the fragments for a closer look. After a moment, he wore an astonished expression.

“What a pity, what a pity…” he lamented. “Such a fine piece… now ruined.”

What was such a pity?

The couple’s faces, full of anger and grievance, suddenly stiffened. The woman asked, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what a shame about your porcelain. It’s genuine, you know—if you were willing to sell, I’d have bought it from you myself. But now it’s broken…” the old man sighed.

Genuine!

“How much is it worth?!” the man demanded anxiously.

The elder put away his magnifying glass, stood, and raised a single finger…

Did that mean…?

“A hundred thousand?” someone in the crowd muttered.

“Two million. I’d pay that much. This is a Ming dynasty underglaze red piece, and it’s remarkably well preserved. Of course, if you took it to auction, it could fetch even more—though the commission would eat into that. I’m being fair,” the elder said sternly.

The crowd erupted. Most had assumed this was a scam, but now an expert had declared the piece authentic.

Still two million!

The noise swelled—many sighed at Sui Yi’s misfortune. The stall owner shot Sui Yi a look and said, “Everything here is genuine. You doubted it? See for yourselves…”

The couple seemed on the verge of madness. The man, fierce and menacing, demanded, “Two million! Pay up! You must pay!”

Su Ziyi had never expected something like this. Though he suspected a scheme, he couldn’t find any flaws.

A scam? Usually, these scams involved the stall owner: a fake item is broken and then the victim is asked to pay for a real one. But this time…

“Sui Yi, you…” Su Ziyi tried to step in front of her. “It was an accident. Don’t bully a girl…”

He was familiar with the area and not easily intimidated.

But the couple ignored him, cursing and refusing to back down, becoming increasingly entangled. The elder, meanwhile, watched Sui Yi with a leisurely air, raising an eyebrow as he said, “Strictly speaking, this is none of my business, but young lady—you did break their item, costing them two million. If you refuse to compensate at all, isn’t that going too far?”

It was a reasonable argument.

Many in the crowd agreed. If they were in the same position, they’d want compensation too. After all, the couple had spent a hundred thousand on the piece.

“Two million is a lot, especially for a young person. It was an accident. Why don’t you pay seven hundred thousand to compensate the couple? You can call your family to discuss it…” the elder said, as though trying not to be too harsh on Sui Yi.

Others nodded at his fairness, though the stall owners in the crowd wore mixed expressions—some schadenfreude, some shaking their heads…

Su Ziyi felt the situation grow thorny. He didn’t know how to handle it—he was just a student, after all, and lacked experience.

Sui Yi, however, merely gave a soft laugh. She stepped forward, and under the wary, confused gazes of the couple, bent down and sifted through the fragments for half a minute. Finally, she picked up a piece.

Its exterior still bore bright underglaze colors, with a broken landscape pattern.

“Ink outlines with subtle shading, using ochre, pale green, grass green, light blue, and lavender for washes. The scenes on this porcelain are gentle and elegant, the style delicate and ethereal. The famille rose technique here is quite well done,” she said softly, glancing at the old man. “Wouldn’t you say so?”

The elder frowned, thinking this girl seemed knowledgeable… but that only suited his purposes. “Exactly, that’s why I said it’s genuine. Such a pity…”

He shook his head.

Sui Yi rolled the fragment between her fingers, her tone light. “Ming dynasty underglaze red, you claim?”

“Yes! Look at the landscape painting—worth two million!” the man shouted.

“But famille rose didn’t appear until the Qing dynasty,” Sui Yi replied coolly.

The crowd paused, realization dawning. Qing dynasty? Wasn’t it supposed to be Ming?

The elder had claimed it was Ming underglaze red…

“I remember that’s true—famille rose only emerged in the Qing, opening a new chapter in porcelain history…” someone knowledgeable chimed in.

The elder’s face grew awkward. He gave a forced laugh. “Then I must be mistaken. It’s Qing, not Ming… but the value is much the same…”

“Qing dynasty, is it…”

Sui Yi sighed softly, turning the fragment over between her fingers. “It’s even inscribed ‘Made by Xu Yi’… This is modern printed script, burned in by machine.”

“Qing, Ming, and modern—three eras in one. Are you mocking me, sir?”

A hush fell over the crowd, followed by sudden understanding. Damn, this thing was definitely a fake! Qing dynasty porcelain with modern script and machine engraving? This so-called expert had made two mistakes in a single sentence—what kind of connoisseur was that?

They’d almost believed it!

Since it was fake, there was no way it was worth two million. The elder’s face turned ashen with embarrassment.

Su Ziyi looked at Sui Yi, inwardly astonished, though he knew she was not one to be easily fooled.

The couple seemed to realize they’d been led astray by the elder’s nonsense. Two million was out of the question, but—

The woman’s eyes darted as she shouted, “Even so, you broke our item! We spent a hundred thousand on it! Ask the stall owner! I paid him just now!”

She pulled out her phone to show the crowd the payment record…

It was an actual transaction.

By custom, Sui Yi would have to pay at least several thousand, even if the item was fake.

There was a legal gray area here: compensation is sometimes based on declared value, sometimes on actual value. If someone spent ten million on an ordinary piece of glass and it was accidentally broken, would the other party have to pay ten million? Clearly not. The law has no hard rule, but usually takes the real value as a basis, with some leeway. In private settlements, compensation is often most of the declared value.

So, the couple would likely get several thousand out of Sui Yi. Of course, the stall owner would never be held liable—after all, in antique trading, once the deal is done, the seller is no longer responsible.

Such incidents are frustrating—most people would just count themselves unlucky.

But a few thousand was no big deal to Sui Yi. She glanced at the couple, then the stall owner, then let her gaze drift to the elder. After a moment, she took out her phone, dialed a number, and placed it before the stall owner, the speaker facing him. She spoke softly, “This is the new chief of police, Lin Quan. Why don’t you ask him if the four of you, using such an innovative method of extortion, should come down to the station for an interview?”

The chief of police!

On the other end, Lin Quan’s voice came through: “Sui Yi? What happened? Some scam? Damn it, is someone giving you trouble?”

Damn!

The couple and the elder turned green. The supposedly honest-looking stall owner was pale, then flushed, then forced a dry laugh: “This… this has nothing to do with me…”

Sui Yi retrieved her phone and exchanged a few polite words with Lin Quan before hanging up. Lin Quan, having guessed the situation, could only laugh to himself at their misfortune—didn’t they know this young woman’s connections in Nanxun ran deep?

Old Tang, the Nanxun Merchants’ Guild, Mr. Yi, and his own ties in the police force—her network was enough to let her walk unhindered in Nanxun.

After she hung up, Sui Yi addressed the stall owner, “So, does it have something to do with me?”

Was Sui Yi someone to trifle with?

(To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, please visit Qidian () to vote or subscribe. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.reading.)