Chapter 76 Jade Plaque

"You should find what you're looking for here," Jiangsu nodded.

Next, our fourth item, the auctioneer spoke eloquently about, this item is a jade plaque, this jade plaque is made of superior Hetian jade, the crane carved on it is lifelike.

The starting bid is two million, and each bid must be at least five hundred thousand.

Li Mu stared thoughtfully at the jade pendant on the screen. While Li Mu was pondering, the price was raised to five million and then stopped.

Li Mu reacted immediately and raised his paddle: six million.

VIP number 21 offered six million. Is there anyone offering a higher bid?

The person who bid five million frowned and said, "Six million five hundred thousand."

Six and a half million, VIP number 17, six and a half million.

Seven million," Li Mu said calmly.

VIP number 21 offered seven million.

The seventeenth VIP stood up and said, "I really like this item. I wonder if you would be willing to part with it."

"Sorry, if you have money, keep playing cards; if you don't, shut up," Li Mu replied in a completely flat voice.

Eight million, and seeing that communication had failed, number seventeen raised his paddle again.

Ten million, Li Mu bid again.

Number 17 remained silent, and the auctioneer continued counting down: ten million once, ten million twice, ten million three times, and the sale was complete.

Jiangsu only spoke up after seeing Li Mu bid on a jade pendant. "This jade pendant of Xiao Xiao's is very beautiful. If you hadn't bid, I would have bid on it too."

Li Mu was somewhat helpless. He didn't know where he had seen this jade pendant before, but he wasn't sure if it was the same jade pendant. He would have to take a picture of it to find out.

Jiangsu was quite excited. "Tell me quickly, is there any secret behind this jade plaque? Is there a great treasure hidden within?"

Li Mu rolled her eyes. Li's imagination was too wild. Just look at the items being auctioned.

The seventeenth lot of this auction is a white jade tortoise-shaped inkstone from the Qing Dynasty (1170-1175), with a starting price of three million.

Jiangsu immediately took a liking to it, and after fierce bidding, Jiangsu won the bid for 13 million.

The third-to-last item in this auction is a manuscript by Leonardo da Vinci. The manuscript contains da Vinci's scientific research notes and is an exceptionally valuable historical reference that is of great significance to contemporary society.

After the auctioneer finished his passionate account of the item's provenance, he concluded by saying that the starting price was 80 million, and each bid must be at least 10 million.

It was acquired by Li Mu for 280 million.

Next up was the second item of the auction. As they spoke, the screen switched to display a painting.

Su Hezhong's ink painting "Withered Tree and Strange Rocks" is mounted as a handscroll, approximately 27 x 543 cm, with the painting itself measuring approximately 26 x 50 cm. The painting can be divided into three sections. Apart from the blank space at the beginning, the first section is the painting itself, which depicts withered trees, rocks, and vegetation. The auction will begin with a starting price of 130 million, and each bid must be at least 10 million.

Two hundred million.

Two hundred and ten million.

Two hundred and fifty million.

Two hundred and sixty million.

Two hundred and eighty million.

Three hundred million.

The third VIP bid 300 million, and the auctioneer's voice instantly rose several decibels.

Five hundred million! A commotion erupted throughout the room. The bidder was VIP number one, and the price of five hundred million silenced VIP number three.

The lighting changed, creating a truly immersive atmosphere. The final, highlight lot was the Pink Star of Geneva, Switzerland, a rare gemstone weighing 59.60 carats.

After the auctioneer finished his vivid description, the bidding began. Ultimately, it was sold to bidder number one for 600 million.

After the auction, those who purchased items at the auction followed the cheongsam-clad attendants to settle their accounts and collect their items.

Li Mu and Jiangsu waited until everyone had paid their bills before they went over.

After leaving the auction, Jiangsu went back home first. Li Mu was also about to go home when someone came out from behind and called him back.

Li Mu turned his head and saw that the person who called out to him was Number One.

He walked up to Li Mu wearing the Azu mask.

What's up?

"Little girl, you've forgotten me so quickly," she said, taking off her mask.

Li Mu was somewhat surprised. "Uncle Qin, how come it's you?"

There are too many people here, let's get on the bus and leave.

She saw Qin Yin trying to take her to his car.

Li Mu held up his car keys, indicating that he had driven over.

Qin Yin smiled as he saw the car keys held up, took them from Li Mu's hand, and walked towards Li Mu's car.

Li Mu naturally followed. Qin Yin opened the passenger door for Li Mu, and Li Mu got in. He then went around to the driver's seat on the other side, started the car, and Qin Yin's car followed behind.

Qin Yin slowly spoke from inside the carriage, "Why did you bid on the jade pendant today? It couldn't have been just because it was pretty, could it?"

Uncle Qin's words had a hidden meaning.

I had this jade plaque auctioned off.

How did you obtain this jade pendant?

You don't remember that time you wanted to invite me to dinner, but you couldn't go because of your brother's situation. You originally planned to invite me to an auction after dinner, but in the end, I went alone.

I bought it at that auction. This jade pendant was passed down in my friend's family, and I found it strange that it had ended up outside of his family, so I put it up for auction again.

Would you investigate someone just because they took a picture of them?

Silly girl, I put this jade pendant up for auction on the third floor. The price is far beyond what it should be. People who don't know about this jade pendant will definitely not buy it when they see the price. People who know the origin of this jade pendant will not dare to provoke this family. So who do you think will spend a lot of money to buy it?

"Old fox," Li Mu muttered under his breath, somewhat unconvinced.

Who was Qin Yin? Even the softest voice could be heard by Qin Yin.

I felt a sense of loss for no reason.

He chuckled lightly, his expression unchanging, and said, "Ha, I'll take that as a compliment."

"Using sweet talk and shameless words," Li Mu said defiantly.

Qin Yinqing scoffed, "Alright, hurry up and tell me what you want to do with that jade pendant. Maybe I can help you."

After cursing Qin Yin twice, Li Mu felt somewhat guilty and honestly replied.

Four years ago, Lu Wan was cyberbullied, but the situation later reversed and the blame was placed on Lu's family. There were internet celebrities present and broadcasting the event live. I glanced at it and noticed that Lu's mother looked a little guilty after hearing someone doubt that Lu Wan was not her biological daughter. I then had someone investigate and found that Lu Wan was taken away by her mother as an infant, and there was also a jade pendant in her swaddling clothes.

The detective agency showed me the video and pictures, and I thought it looked very similar. I was just about to go there to confirm it again when you stopped me.

Hmm, where is that place? I'll go with you.

Sixth Ring Road Xianfeng Antiques.

Soon Li Mu and Qin Yin arrived at the antique shop.

What antiques do you two want?

Boss, have you seen this jade pendant before?

The shop owner looked at it, then nodded. "Twenty years ago, a woman brought it to me and sold it. More than four years ago, I needed money, so I auctioned it off."

After listening to the shopkeeper's explanation, Li Mu pulled out a wad of cash and thanked the shopkeeper.