Huitong Tongbao

The candlestick in the notes had a flared rim, a straight body, and a ring foot. Its body was cylindrical, supporting an open, dish-shaped upper section. The hollow center of the dish served as a candle holder for "inserting" candles, while the bottom rested on a tall, rounded foot. Its mark was the six-character seal script inscription "Made in the Great Qing Dynasty Qianlong period."

Generally speaking, official-kiln candlesticks were most commonly decorated with famille rose or blue-and-white designs. Doucai pieces were already rare, and the patterns on candlesticks were even more elaborate. From top to bottom, the entire vessel was divided into eight decorative bands, including honeysuckle patterns, scrolling lotus patterns, key-fret patterns, ruyi cloud patterns, and inverted lotus petals. Besides blue-and-white, the underglaze colors also included glazed red, making the vessel even more eye-catching.

The three candlesticks in the room were all the same style. They looked quite similar to the one in the notes, but candlesticks generally came in pairs. From that alone, it was possible to tell whether these three candlesticks were genuine.

Even so, Chu Chen held to the principle of "better to mistake a genuine piece for a fake than let a fake slip through," and examined all three candlesticks. Unfortunately, their inscriptions all read "Great Qing Yongzheng year made," not the item he was looking for.

After setting down the candlestick in his hand, Chu Chen looked over the other things as well. Finding nothing he liked, he walked out.

After that, Chu Chen visited several more rooms, but likewise found none of the remaining clues from the notes. He had expected as much and was not particularly disappointed. Still, he had not found even one thing he liked, so he could only sigh inwardly at his bad luck.

When he entered another