Antique Mansion, second-floor hall.
At that instant, the entire hall fell deathly silent.
Every gaze turned toward Huo Sanjian onstage, filled with both shock and confusion.
The host stared, dumbfounded. She clearly had not expected Huo Sanjian to speak up for Jun Wangchen.
Elder Pei and Master Hou's expressions changed dramatically. Huo Sanjian enjoyed tremendous prestige as an appraiser in Jinling City, and his connections were extensive. If he really meant to protect this young man, even all of them together would have little say in the matter.
The organizers could no longer sit still. "Master Huo, what do you mean?"
"I support this young friend's request to examine the painting." Huo Sanjian pointed to Jun Wangchen as he addressed the hall.
"An auction should accept any challenge, rather than stubbornly shutting out the truth. When I examined this painting earlier, I also felt something was wrong, but I couldn't identify the problem. Since this young friend wishes to examine it, we might as well let him try.
"If the painting proves genuine, or if he damages it during the examination, I will take full responsibility."
"Well..." The organizers were suddenly at a loss.
Honestly, they had never expected Huo Sanjian to favor Jun Wangchen so openly. Could Jun Wangchen be his successor?
But this was no time to dwell on that. Now that Huo Sanjian had spoken, refusing to let Jun Wangchen examine the painting would make everyone suspicious of them and might even expose their scheme.
All they could do now was gamble and pray that Jun Wangchen would not uncover the forgery.
Seeing the organizers give a slight nod, the host changed her tune. "Since Master Huo is so supportive of this gentleman's request, the auction will naturally respect his proposal. Please welcome this gentleman to the