Reborn back to the day I descended the mountain, Miss Ji, I will take responsibility for you!

On the day of the Ji family's great-grandmother's 70th birthday.

The entire Ji family villa was adorned with red lanterns. Although the time was somewhat rushed, the decorations were still quite luxurious.

During this period, the Ji family first secured a contract with the Zhao family and then received investment from Tianfeng Group.

Now that they are considered prominent figures in Wucheng, some of the Ji family's distant relatives came to join in the fun.

It should be noted that both the Zhao family and Tianfeng Group are powerful figures in Wucheng.

The Ji family has made connections with them, and their future success is just around the corner. Of course, they need to come and curry favor with them in advance.

Grandma Ji originally didn't want to make it too grand; she just wanted the family to have a good time.

However, Ji Xiaoren and his daughter Ji Ruoyun were not about to miss such a good opportunity to show their faces.

After all, in the past, even if they went to invite them, those big families might not come, but now it's different.

Many of the families and business partners they had previously curried favor with now actively requested to participate.

Moreover, everyone brought generous gifts, which made Ji Xiaoren and his wife, who were greeting them at the door, beam with joy.

Ji Xiaojun also wanted to be a part of the event where he could show his face by greeting guests at the door.

Unfortunately, as the eldest son, Ji Xiaoren had absolute say in this situation.

In the end, Ji Xiaoren was only assigned the task of guiding guests inside the venue, a thankless and arduous task.

As time went on, more and more people came, many of whom were uninvited guests from the Ji family who had not sent invitations.

Moreover, each of them held a high position, so Ji Xiaoren naturally felt it wouldn't hurt to be overly polite.

Grandma Ji sat at the head of the main table in the banquet hall, with Mei Ruofang beside her as she spoke.

Seeing that most of the people he had invited had arrived, Ji Xiaoren returned to the banquet hall and picked up the microphone.

"Cough! Cough!"

After clearing his throat twice, the banquet hall gradually quieted down. Ji Xiaoren was now riding high on his success.

He looked around and said, "Today, I am here on behalf of my mother to express my gratitude to all of you for coming."

"It is an honor for the Ji family that you all have taken time out of your busy schedules to attend my mother's birthday banquet."

"Please forgive me if there is anything I have done poorly in our hospitality today."

"I'd like to offer three toasts in advance as a way of apologizing to everyone."

As he spoke, Ji Xiaoren picked up the three glasses of wine in front of him and drank them all in one gulp, immediately drawing cheers from those around him.

Seeing Ji Xiaoren's smug expression, Ji Xiaojun and Mei Ruofang both looked somewhat displeased.

However, today is the birthday banquet of the Ji family's great-grandmother, so they can only endure it.

Ye Chen was somewhat puzzled. It was strange that Ji Ruoyun wasn't there in this setting.

Could it be that the other party is planning something? Ye Chen wondered, a thought forming in his mind.

Mei Ruofang complained to Ji Xiaojun, "Look at how glamorous they are. You do all the work, and you don't even get a word of praise."

"At least I can go up there and show my face, and I can benefit from it too. What's the point of just sitting here getting angry?"

It should be noted that, as a daughter-in-law of the Ji family, Mei Ruofang, apart from her wedding, had a different experience.

There are almost no more opportunities to show one's face in such a setting.

Every time, it's the couple Ji Xiaoren and Li Furong who steal the spotlight.

This made Mei Ruofang feel ashamed in his own circle, and he complained about it quite a bit.

Although Ji Xiaojun also wanted to go on stage, it was his mother's birthday banquet today, and he didn't want to cause any trouble.

All I could do was reassure her, "Next time, you'll definitely be the most glamorous woman."

Just then, Li Furong stood up and said, "Mom, I've gotten several gray hairs these past few days from picking out a birthday gift for you."

"I hope you like this birthday gift." Li Furong said, taking out a wooden box.

With a confident smile on his face, he opened the wooden box, took out a long scroll, and presented it to everyone.

Li Furong unrolled the long scroll, revealing a painting with a white-robed Guanyin in the center.

Beneath Guanyin's lotus throne, a small demon carries her, and Guanyin is surrounded by thousands of Buddhas.

What's most special is that this Guanyin statue has a male appearance, rather than the usual female appearance.

The brushstrokes are vigorous and the composition is simple, giving people a sense of natural perfection.

Someone immediately exclaimed, "Wu Daozi's White-Robed Guanyin painting!"

When Li Furong heard that someone recognized its value, a smug smile immediately appeared on her face.

"That's right, this is an authentic work by the painting master Wu Daozi, the White-Robed Guanyin."

"I had to use a lot of connections to buy this painting from Japan."

“I know my mother is a Buddhist, and only my mother is worthy of this white-robed Guanyin statue.”

The fact that the great-grandmother of the Ji family was a Buddhist was common knowledge in Wucheng.

Therefore, most of the birthday gifts sent were related to Buddhism, but they paled in comparison to this painting.

Ye Chen frowned when he heard that it was bought from Japan.

Golden light flashed in his eyes, and when he looked at the white-robed Guanyin painting again, a fierce and malevolent aura rushed towards him.

The white-robed Guanyin in the painting is no longer Guanyin, but a Rakshasa demon. If you hang this in your room...

I'm afraid it won't be long before the fierce and malevolent energy invades their bodies, causing them to fall seriously ill or even die.

Moreover, at that time, even the soul will be trapped in the painting, never to find peace again.

Ye Chen sneered inwardly. It seemed that the scoundrel behind this was still up to no good.

It remains unclear whether the Qin family or the Japanese were behind this.

However, regardless of the circumstances, now that he knows, he will not let them succeed.

Grandma Ji was naturally overjoyed when she saw the white-robed Guanyin painting.

"Yes, I really like this gift. You two are very thoughtful."

A smile immediately appeared on Li Furong's face. She glanced at Mei Ruofang without leaving a trace, as if she were showing off.

"As expected of the eldest wife of the Ji family, her filial piety is truly commendable."

"They went to great lengths to bring back this masterpiece from Japan, just to please their great-grandmother. It's truly enviable."

"I remember this painting sold for over ten million at auction a few years ago."

"I wonder how much money this sister-in-law spent this time."

Some of Ji's distant relatives, as if they had conspired together, began to praise Li Furong.

Li Furong was naturally pleased with this and waved her hand, saying, "No matter how much it costs, as long as Great-Grandma is happy, that's all that matters."

Seeing that the other party had given such an expensive birthday gift, Ji Xiaojun and his wife felt as if they were being roasted over a fire.

As the saying goes, there is no harm without comparison. If they were to take out the birthday gifts they had prepared, they would probably become the laughing stock of everyone in an instant.

Just when they didn't know what to do, Ye Chen spoke up: "Auntie, how much did you pay for it? I feel like I might have been scammed. It's fake."

Upon hearing this, Li Furong, who had been beaming with pride, suddenly looked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Pointing at Ye Chen, he said coldly, "You don't know anything. I spent twenty million to buy this painting."

"Besides, there's an official Japanese certificate of authenticity here. Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand!"

At this moment, everyone's eyes turned to Ye Chen, and there was a hint of disdain in their eyes.

They were naturally aware of Ye Chen's identity; how could a country bumpkin from the mountains possibly know anything about appraising treasures?

I'm afraid he couldn't stand seeing others in the limelight, so he said it on purpose, especially in this setting.

Even if the painting is fake, it shouldn't be said out loud, otherwise it won't just be Li Furong's face that gets tarnished.

Also, considering the face of the Ji family's great-grandmother, the Ji family's distant relatives all secretly shook their heads, not optimistic about Ye Chen's performance.

Ye Chen said calmly, "Although this painting is a very realistic imitation, it is almost indistinguishable from the real thing."

"However, the original of Wu Daozi's White-Robed Guanyin painting is still in the National Museum of England. You can find out by searching online."

As he spoke, Ye Chen showed his phone, which displayed an introduction to the collections of the National Museum of England.

Wu Daozi's white-robed movie-watching image is prominently featured, along with related introductions and detailed images.

Li Furong was now embarrassed. The people around her searched and quickly confirmed that what Ye Chen said was true.

The more arrogant she was just moments ago, the more embarrassed she became now. Li Furong was so embarrassed she wanted to disappear into the ground.

Just then, the great-grandmother of the Ji family spoke up: "Although this painting is a forgery, it is so well made that it is indistinguishable from the real thing."

"But it is a rare treasure, and I am very satisfied that Hibiscus has put this thought into it."

Li Furong's expression softened upon hearing this, and besides, he hadn't spent 20 million to buy the painting.

Instead, someone else delivered it to him, swearing that it was genuine and that it was done to repay a debt of gratitude.

Li Furong thought she had gotten a great deal, but now she could only suffer in silence, facing the strange looks from those around her.

Li Furong felt someone constantly saying in her ear, "What a sucker! What a sucker."

Despite a nameless anger rising within her, Li Furong said to Ye Chen, "Although I bought a fake painting, my heart is still with you."

"Unlike some people, the birthday gifts they prepare are probably not even worth 100,000 yuan."

Upon hearing this, Ji Xiaojun and his wife's expressions immediately turned somewhat unpleasant, but Ye Chen calmly said, "Hehe, I'm not like you, buying a fake and then being smug about it."

Before Li Furong could erupt, Ye Chen respectfully addressed the Ji family's great-grandmother.

She said, "Great-Grandma, I know you are a Buddhist, so I made a string of Buddhist prayer beads especially for you. I hope you like them."

Ji Ruoyu took out a wooden box and stepped forward. Ji's great-grandmother opened the box.

A soft, milky-yellow light suddenly emanated from it, and a look of surprise appeared on the face of the Ji family's great-grandmother.

Upon seeing this, Li Furong immediately mocked, "I thought it was something else, just a string of Buddhist prayer beads."

"It looks like a cheap item you picked up from some street stall. It's probably not even worth 10,000 yuan. How can you give it away like that?"

Upon hearing this, some people looked at Li Furong with even stranger expressions.