Chapter 260 Augustine''s Birthday Banquet


    One of the prominent families invited was the Tang family. The Tang couple considered the birthday


    banquet a perfect opportunity for their daughter to get on Augustine''s good side. yton recalled


    with bitterness how Charlotte humiliated Alina at the dinner on the lunar New Year''s Eve, but he


    knew she needed to please Augustine and Charlotte. He believed that it would be better to have


    Alina apany James to attend this banquet. With James around, his grandparents might not be


    harsh on her.


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    Augustine, in a Chinese tunic suit, was sitting in the hall. Next to him was Charlotte, who was


    sporting a dark blue cheongsam. The two of them were smiling politely as they received birthday


    blessings from the guests.


    John stood to the side, ready to receive gifts. He would then hand them to the bodyguards behind


    him.


    Ethan showed up by himself. After exchanging a few words with the two elders, he left them


    grinning from ear to ear and handed his gift to John.


    Just then James and Alina arrived-perfect timing, too. There weren''t too many guests yet.


    Today, Alina was garbed in a light blue cashmere overcoat. Her long hair hung loose over her


    shoulders, parted neatly from her face thanks to a diamond-studded hair band. On her delicate feet


    were expensive high-heeled shoes. After James was done greeting the two elders, Alina stepped in.


    "Happy birthday, Mr. Xi! I wish you and Mrs. Xi a long and prosperous life. Here is a red sandalwood


    ornament I bought specially for you. I hope you like it, Mr. Xi."


    It was no secret Augustine was fond of red sandalwood


    —in fact, many of the gifts tonight were made from it.


    Perhaps it was because they were in public, Augustine didn''t make things difficult for her. As she


    held her breath anxiously, he nodded ever so slightly. "Thank you, Ms. Tang."


    Just as John was about to hand Alina''s gift to the bodyguard behind him, Augustine held up one


    hand. "Open it and let me have a look. I''m curious to see what she got me."


    "Yes, sir."


    John opened the gift himself, carefully unraveling the silk ribbon. Inside the box was an ornament


    with twin lions ying with a ball.


    The workmanship was exquisite.


    Augustine took it in his hands and examined it up close. After a while, he nodded in satisfaction.


    "Good."


    Seeing his nod of approval, Alina finally let go of the breath she was holding.


    However, before James could take her aside, a girl''s voice chirped from behind him. "Mr. Xi, happy


    birthday. I wish you and Mrs. Xi good health and prosperous lives."


    Upon hearing that familiar voice, Alina whipped around.


    ''What''s Sandra doing here?'' she thought to herself, frowning unhappily.


    Augustine squinted at the girl questioningly. "May I know who you are?"


    Sandra handed the gift to John. "I''m Sandra Shen. Actually, I''vee here on behalf of Maria; she


    couldn''t make it."


    "Oh, I see." Then, turning to a servant, he asked, "Show Sandra to her seat."


    "Mr. Xi, I hope you like Maria''s gift. She knew you like red sandalwood, so she had her men search


    for this piece some time ago. Why not take a look at it?"


    Augustine raised his eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. He gestured to John to open the gift box.


    Once the lid was removed, everyone nearby gasped softly. Alina practically choked, unable to


    believe her eyes.


    John took out the gift. Whispers began to spread around the hall.


    The ornament was exactly the same as Alina''s. One of them must be a fake.


    Alina was confident hers was the authentic piece. After all, she had been paying attention to it a


    long time ago. The second she heard there was a red sandalwood antique on the ck market


    worth nearly ten million, she had her people inquire about it. They had found out that truly, the piece


    was from the Tang dynasty.


    When she snapped back to her senses, she said hurriedly, "Mr. Xi, I spent eight million dors on


    this gift, so surely it''s the original one. I don''t know where Maria Song got that fake one."


    Not only was it expensive, Alina had gone through lengths to authenticate the piece. There experts


    had confirmed that the material of the piece truly was red sandalwood, and that it was an antique.


    Things were getting heated. Sandra stepped forward and cleared her throat. "There is only one


    authentic antique. Since Ms. Tang insists hers is the real deal, why don''t we ask a professional to


    identify the fake from the authentic?"


    Alina narrowed her eyes. She wondered why Sandra was so confident. Perhaps it was because the


    girl looked up to Maria. Alina smiled mockingly. "Miss Shen, you are young and naive; you don''t


    even know you''ve been deceived. But it doesn''t matter. Consider this a teaching moment."


    Among the guests who hade here today, there was a number of dealers and collectors familiar


    with red sandalwood.


    One of them, a middle-aged man with grey hair lightly brushing his forehead, stepped forward. "Mr.


    Xi, please let me have a look!"


    This man was considered an expert with red sandalwood, and Augustine knew him well, so


    Augustine nodded at him calmly. "Give him both pieces, " he said to John.


    "Yes, sir."


    While everyone held their breath in anticipation, the middle-aged man put on his sses and


    carefully examined the two treasures. After a while, he even took out a portable magnifying ss


    from his pocket and studied them up close.


    At longst, he took off his sses and turned to face Augustine. In his hands was the piece Alina


    had procured. "This one is..."


    The hall fell into silence, waiting impatiently for his answer.


    "This is rosewood," he said decisively.


    Then he pointed at the identical piece sent by Sandra and said, "That''s the real antique from the


    Tang Dynasty."


    "No way!" Alina raised her voice in protest.


    The middle-aged man red at her. He was quite angry that someone questioned his authority on


    the matter. Calming himself down, he started to exin, "There are fifteen kinds of sandalwood, two


    of whiche from our country. One is red sandalwood, and the other one is rosewood. Modern


    botany dictates that rosewood refers to wood that''s hard, resistant to corrosion, and durable. They


    grew in the tropical and subtropical areas. Rosewood is very different from traditional red


    sandalwood, so we do not regard the two woods in the same way. However, because of their simr


    appearance, they are often mistaken for each other."


    Alina remained unconvinced. "Even though it might not be the best red sandalwood, it is still an


    antique from the royal collection!"


    The middle-aged man smiled. "Ms. Tang, do you think the royal family would have a piece that isn''t


    even made from red sandalwood?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "Among the fifteen kind of sandalwoods we know about today, except for the ruddy sandalwood


    produced in Mysore State in southern India, they are all called scented rosewood. Rosewood is only


    a variety of the scented rosewood. No matter which kind of rosewood it is, its color, texture, and


    hardness cannot bepared to red sandalwood. In short, your piece is a fake!"


    Chaos broke out among the crowd.


    All the color drained from Alina''s face. She hade here to celebrate Augustine''s birthday, yet the


    birthday gift she offered was a fake.


    It would be theughingstock of the town.


    Sandra raised her chin triumphantly and stuck her tongue out at Alina. "I knew yours was the fake.


    Maria started paying attention to this piece two months ago. She''s always been treating Mr. and


    Mrs. Xi as her own grandparents. Also, she has the money. Why would she buy a fake?"