The man named Old Zhang, seeing Su Xi approaching, hurriedly said, "Manager Su, it's like this, the old guy is deliberately causing trouble."

Ling Zhenfei looked towards the old man and saw him to be about sixty years old, with a head full of white hair, but his complexion was good. He was dressed like a farmer, but Ling Zhenfei noticed that the old man's skin was very white, without the weather-beaten appearance that farmers often have.

"I'm telling you, comrade, I'm not here to cause trouble. It's your appraiser who looks down on people," said the farmer-dressed elder with a face full of anger.

Su Xi turned to Old Zhang and scolded angrily, "What exactly is going on, Old Zhang? In Dragon and Tiger Auction House, our customers are gods. How could we possibly look down on anyone?"

With a wronged expression, Old Zhang said to Su Xi, "Boss, I didn't look down on him at all. He's the one who came here to make trouble. Look at this vase, just an ordinary vase, and he insists it's a Yuan Blue and White—it's ridiculous. You can get a bunch of these for one hundred yuan in the antique market."

After Old Zhang said this, Ling Zhenfei finally noticed a vase placed next to the table. The vase looked very ordinary and was only about a dozen centimeters tall, with some blue patterns on it.

Although Ling Zhenfei wasn't well-versed in antiques, he could estimate the approximate age of the object based on the strength or weakness of the Northern Spiritual Energy remaining on it.

Analyzing the Northern Spiritual Energy on the vase, Ling Zhenfei was sure the vase was very recent, possibly even from last month.

The more Ling Zhenfei looked at the old man, the more he sensed something was off, and he couldn't help but become more guarded. He then whispered to Bai Ling, "Do you have surveillance cameras here?"

Bai Ling, somewhat puzzled, replied, "Of course we have surveillance. What do you mean?"

Ling Zhenfei said, "I think this old fellow is here to stir up trouble deliberately. Be vigilant and record everything on your phone."

"Is that necessary?" Bai Ling said, somewhat surprised.

Ling Zhenfei smiled and replied, "Better safe than sorry."

Bai Ling glanced at Ling Zhenfei, then nodded, took out her phone, and secretly turned on the video recording feature.

Su Xi, also examining the vase, couldn't hide his awareness that it was surely a fake, yet he didn't show it. Instead, he spoke amiably, "Old sir, where did this item come from?"

The old man, full of excitement, claimed, "This was handed down from my ancestors. My ancestor was a high-ranking official who served Empress Dowager Cixi in the palace, and she gave it to him when she was in high spirits."

This was obviously a blatant lie. The auction house had seen too many of these kinds of stories. Whenever someone wanted to sell an item for a high price, they all had a grand provenance, but ninety percent of them were false, and this vase was especially fake looking.

"Old sir, your item is indeed nice, but the price is too high, and our auction house isn't quite sure about it. Why don't you take it to another place to see?" Su Xi spoke very politely, having dealt with such matters too often as a leader.

Who would have known that right after Su Xi finished speaking, the old man got upset, jumping up all of a sudden, "What do you mean by this? I want to auction it in your auction house. Why won't you auction it for me? I want to sell it here."

Su Xi could hardly suppress a laugh, her anger barely contained as she spoke, "Old gentleman, then how much do you wish to auction your item for?"

The old man was delighted at the question, "I've already looked it up online. Yuan Blue and White porcelains are the most valuable. Smaller ones than mine are auctioned for hundreds of millions. My vase is so big and well preserved, it's bound to fetch an exorbitant price. I want ten billion for it."

Upon hearing this, Ling Zhenfei almost let out a laugh. Something that costs ten billion just like that? That's faster than robbing a bank.

"I'm sorry, sir, but our auction house can't accept your item. Please leave," Su Xi's face fell, suspecting the old man was either out of his mind or had come deliberately to cause trouble.

When it came to such troublemakers, there was no reason to be polite. Auction houses had some connections with the underworld to some extent. Wei Bingzhong from Zongheng International did, and so did Su Wanlong from Dragon and Tiger Auction. So, they were not afraid of these matters.

At this, the old man became upset, leaping to his feet, "What do you mean by this? Are you bullying me because I'm a farmer, looking down on us farmers, aren't you?"

"Everyone, come and see! The people at the Dragon and Tiger Auction House are bullying us. They look down on us farmers. Come take a look! The Dragon and Tiger Auction House doesn't treat us as humans," he shouted while lying on the ground, slapping the floor and crying, insinuating that the Dragon and Tiger Auction House disrespected farmers. Ling Zhenfei was confused about the old man's real intentions, as tears actually started to form in his eyes.

Ling Zhenfei and the others were stunned. Who was looking down on farmers? Ling Zhenfei thought to himself that he was a farmer too. Who was looking down on him? But as the old man shouted, it indeed seemed strange.

Since Ling Zhenfei sensed something was off from the start, he looked around. The people who had originally come for consultations or to consign items were now all drawn to the commotion.

Chinese people loved a spectacle, especially this kind. Those unaware of the situation began to whisper and point, and some even started taking photos or videos with their phones.

A sinking feeling hit Ling Zhenfei, fearing that if any onlooker took things out of context and shared it online, it could spark a huge controversy.

Su Xi, obviously aware of the serious implications, quickly bent down trying to help the old man up. But as soon as Su Xi's hand barely touched the old man's arm, he let out a shriek and collapsed on the floor.

"The people from Dragon and Tiger are beating someone! They're hitting an old man! They're hitting a farmer!" the old man yelled in pain as he lay on the ground, slapping the floor.

Seeing this, Ling Zhenfei realized the old man had come solely to cause trouble. Thankfully, he had been cautious and had Bai Ling record everything; otherwise, it would have been hard to clarify the situation.

If Ling Zhenfei wasn't mistaken, this old man must have been sent by Zongheng International, likely rehearsed for causing a scene like this. Moreover, there must be people planted in the crowd by Zongheng International with the goal of capturing every moment and releasing only the portion of the old man's shouting to the internet.

Netizens have one critical characteristic: they detest evil but care less about the truth. Any small disturbance could set off a firestorm, consuming everything, and many people have been harmed by such reactions.

But that's how the world is; what is heard and seen might not be the truth because it is only part of the whole. If Ling Zhenfei hadn't witnessed everything from the start, who knows what might have ensued?

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