The Day I Walked Away My Empire Began novel Chapter 306

Lucie stood off to the side, her eyes locked on the experts’ every move, her heart beating so hard she could barely breathe.

They were only halfway through the inspection.

One of the ceramics experts paused in front of a display case, frowning as he picked up a delicately painted porcelain bowl from the Yongzheng era. He held it up to the light, checking the glaze, then gently ran his finger across the mark on the bottom.

He did this a few times before finally turning to his colleague. “Logan, can you take a look at this? Something feels off to me.”

Logan took the bowl, pulled out a magnifying glass, and studied it carefully. After a long moment, he grabbed a spectrometer and tested the glaze and the clay. He hesitated, then said, “The glaze is too bright. It’s a really good copy, but it doesn’t have that soft, mellow glow you get with real age.”

“And the iron content in the clay—it’s 0.3 percent lower than the genuine article. That’s a classic sign of a modern fake.”

“Another forgery?” Lucie tried to keep her voice steady, but it still shook a little.

This was already the third swapped piece they’d uncovered in Gallery Three. The fakes were so convincing that even seasoned experts had to check and double-check before calling it.

“Yes, Ms. Anderson.” The expert let out a sigh, sounding both tired and sure. “This one was fired using old techniques, and the clay came from an ancient source. Most people would never know the difference. If it weren’t for the lab tests, we might have missed it too.”

Lucie was an appraiser herself. She took the bowl, giving it another careful once-over. The experts were right. It was a fake.

“Keep going. I want every last piece checked before we leave tonight.”

“Yes, Ms. Anderson.”

The sweep went on.

In the jade section, an intricately carved piece of Hetian jade from the Qianlong period caught the attention of another expert. The craftsmanship was stunning, the jade itself smooth and luminous—anyone would think it was real.

But the lead specialist just stared at the tiny “pores” on the surface, then weighed it in his hands. “No, the density’s off.”

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