Chapter 222: Professional Face-Slapping

Chapter 222: Chapter 222: Professional Face-Slapping

Hearing Ophelia Warren so categorically declare it a fake.

Sienna Everett turned to look at her.

Meeting Ophelia Warren’s smile, Sienna Everett smiled back. "Is that so? I think it’s authentic."

Ophelia Warren maintained her gentle smile. "Sienna, this Ancient Inkstone really is a fake."

Orion Hawthorne and Rowan Rhodes exchanged a glance. ’Ophelia Warren is being so absolute. It seems she’s very confident.’

Seeing the two disagree, the viewers in the livestream chat barely had to think before overwhelmingly siding with Ophelia Warren.

[I don’t know anything about this, but I’m siding with Ophelia Warren!]

[Ophelia Warren hasn’t been wrong once so far. If she says the inkstone is fake, it’s almost certainly fake. Why is Sienna Everett being so stubborn and insisting it’s real?]

[See? The moment Sienna Everett stops copying Ophelia Warren’s answers, she knows nothing!]

On the set, the host glanced at the card in his hand. It noted whether the inkstone was real or fake—the result of a professional appraisal the production team had arranged beforehand.

After seeing the expert’s conclusion, and then hearing Sienna Everett’s and Ophelia Warren’s conflicting answers.

The host gave Sienna Everett a look of utter surprise.

’The expert’s appraisal result is actually the same as Sienna Everett’s! This inkstone is authentic!’

’This time... Sienna Everett is actually the one who’s right?’

’She must have guessed, right?’

The host’s first reaction was that Sienna Everett had just guessed. He turned to Ophelia Warren and raised the microphone. "Ophelia, how did you determine that this Ancient Inkstone is a fake?"

Ophelia Warren looked at Sienna Everett, her tone slow, as if a teacher was instructing a student, and began to explain for her benefit:

"In ancient times, subjects had to observe the naming taboo for the emperor. But the top-right corner of this inkstone is carved with the character ’Zhen.’ If this inkstone belonged to Xavier Owens, his emperor at the time was Emperor Sutton Zane Zane. To avoid using the emperor’s name, it would be absolutely impossible to carve the character ’Zhen’ on the inkstone."

After a two-second pause, Ophelia Warren said, "An inkstone bearing an emperor’s name must be a fake."

As she explained, the show’s camera zoomed in for a close-up of the Ancient Inkstone, clearly displaying the character ’Zhen’ carved in the top-right corner for the live audience to see.

After hearing Ophelia Warren, the host looked to Miles Everett at the side and asked, "Mr. Everett, what are your thoughts?"

Miles Everett had a calm and detached personality, but his eyes now showed unreserved admiration. "Indeed. Ophelia is right. An inkstone bearing an emperor’s name must be a fake."

Hearing Miles Everett say this, the livestream’s bullet comments instantly erupted.

[I’ve heard of this rule too! Ancient subjects had to avoid the emperor’s taboo name. What Ophelia Warren said makes sense!]

[Even Miles Everett agrees with Ophelia Warren’s assessment! He’s a professional Restorer, so he definitely wouldn’t be wrong. This inkstone has to be fake!]

[Damn, Ophelia is so amazing! She hasn’t made a single mistake from the beginning!]

[Tsk, Sienna Everett deliberately gave the opposite answer of Ophelia Warren’s, and she ended up being wrong. Whatever, she should just go back to copying Ophelia’s answers. Let’s not be too harsh on her, guys!]

After hearing Miles Everett’s response, the host looked at Ophelia Warren again. "So, Ophelia, you’re certain this Ancient Inkstone is a fake?"

Ophelia Warren nodded with a faint smile. "Yes."

The host turned to Sienna Everett. "Sierra, you still believe it’s authentic."

Sienna Everett hummed in affirmation.

Orion Hawthorne grew anxious. He quietly tugged on Sienna Everett’s sleeve and whispered, "I know you don’t like the Everetts, but Miles Everett is a professional in this field. If he says the inkstone is a fake, it’s almost certainly a fake..."

Sienna Everett raised an eyebrow slightly. "No. It’s authentic."

Orion Hawthorne: "..."

Alright.

He knew Sienna Everett was stubborn.

But what could he do? What else could he do but support her?

Rowan Rhodes’s puppy-dog eyes were fixed on Sienna Everett, full of worry.

’This is awful! I don’t want my idol to be outshone by someone else!’

The netizens were exasperated when they heard Sienna Everett insist it was real. Why was she so stubborn?

[You’ve got to be kidding me, how can she still think it’s real? Miles Everett already said it’s fake, and all that stuff Ophelia Warren taught her earlier was for nothing!]

[Can’t be helped. Sienna Everett deliberately gave the opposite answer. Even if she’s wrong, she has to stick to it now.]

[She’s just suffering to save face!]

Just then, the host looked at the card in his hand and announced, "Unfortunately, this time, only Sienna Everett got it right! This Ancient Inkstone, once used by Xavier Owens, was appraised by experts hired by our show, and it is indeed authentic!"

The bullet comments instantly became: ???!!!!!!

What?

Authentic?

Sienna Everett was right?

Host, are you fucking kidding me!!

The moment Ophelia Warren heard the host’s announcement, her brows furrowed, and the smile on her face instantly faded.

’Sienna Everett got it right?’

’How is that possible?!’

Miles Everett also frowned, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

After their shock, Orion Hawthorne and Rowan Rhodes both felt a sense of relief, as if they had survived a disaster.

"Sienna Everett, you were actually right! It is authentic!" Orion Hawthorne’s voice was filled with pride.

"Sierra, I knew you were the best!" Rowan Rhodes had an adoring expression, like ’my idol is the greatest in the world’.

The host eagerly turned to Sienna Everett and asked, "Sierra, how did you determine this Ancient Inkstone is authentic?"

The netizen who had previously bet to eat shit on a livestream immediately posted a comment: [A guess! She must have guessed! Otherwise, I’ll wash my hair while doing a handstand on a livestream!]

However, Sienna Everett’s voice was clear and melodious, like pearls dropping onto a jade plate:

"This inkstone does indeed bear an emperor’s name. However, the character ’Zhen’ wasn’t carved directly onto the inkstone. A later owner fired a thin layer of sealing clay over the outside, and this character ’Zhen’ was carved into that clay. It was a later addition, a sort of clever trick to conceal and protect the Ancient Inkstone. Near this character, there is a tiny crack in the sealing clay, and the color is slightly different. You can see it if you look closely."

After Sienna Everett finished speaking, the camera immediately zoomed in for another close-up.

Miles Everett squinted, and upon looking closely, he really did see the hard-to-spot, minuscule crack and the slight discoloration.

’He, a professional Restorer, had carelessly overlooked it, yet Sienna Everett had noticed it?’

’When did she learn all this?’

’How does she know so much about ancient inkstones and artifacts?’

Sienna Everett continued, "This outer layer of sealing clay can be removed. This Ancient Inkstone is an Inkstone, one of the Four Great Inkstones of antiquity. From the Thorne Dynasty onward, this type of old-pit Inkstone could only be owned by Princes of The Royal Family or the great writers and wealthy merchants of the era. Add to that the fact this Ancient Inkstone was used by Xavier Owens, and its cultural value is extremely high."

The host was overjoyed after hearing this. "Sierra, you’re absolutely right! The experts we hired for the show confirmed this is indeed an Inkstone, one of the Four Great Inkstones!"

After hearing Sienna Everett’s calm and steady explanation, the netizens were quiet for several dozen seconds before they came to their senses and started spamming the screen.

[Damn, Sienna Everett was actually right! Looks like she wasn’t guessing?]

[Of course not! Her explanation was so logical and well-reasoned, just like the professional appraisal. How could that be a guess? Could you guess your way into an explanation like that?!]

[So in the earlier rounds, Sienna Everett wasn’t copying Ophelia Warren’s answers, she actually knows her stuff?]

[Especially during the painting appraisal, she didn’t even go over for a close look. She just gave it a few glances and could tell if it was real or fake. Her skills are even better than Miles Everett’s and Ophelia Warren’s! I wonder if Sienna Everett can paint too?]

[Hmph, I said earlier that Sienna Everett figured it out herself, and you all called me ridiculous. Now who’s the ridiculous one! And to the guy who bet he’d eat shit on livestream, don’t you dare back out!]

[Tsk, when Ophelia Warren was explaining ’An inkstone bearing an emperor’s name must be a fake,’ she was acting like a teacher lecturing Sienna Everett. Turns out Sienna Everett knows even more than her...]

Ophelia Warren’s fingers suddenly clenched tightly. When she looked at Sienna Everett, her lips still held a gentle smile. "Sienna, you know so much, and you were completely right."

Sienna Everett returned the smile. "It was nothing."

Miles Everett sized up Sienna Everett discreetly, his eyes filled with traces of doubt. ’When did she learn antique appraisal? And how did she learn so much?’

...

Three hours later, after the recording for this episode had finished, Sienna Everett had just reached the backstage area when she received a call from Ian Prescott.

’Did he find out if Ophelia Warren is the Prescott Family’s long-lost daughter?’