Unexpected Discovery

Just from the craftsmanship alone, these two chairs were enough to catch the eye. However, it still needed to be verified whether they were truly made of rosewood.

The first step was to examine their "color" and grain. We knew that rosewood furniture generally had a noble purplish-red or purplish-black surface, with orderly grain and few, if any, patterns. Golden stars, golden threads, or fine, dense S-shaped curls resembling ox hair could be seen.

Under a 60-to-100-power magnifying glass, the pores could be seen to be filled with golden rosewood pigment, resembling a vast starry sky glittering with starlight.

Although both chairs were works from the Qing Qianlong period, their condition showed that all their owners had preserved them fairly well. Though their surfaces had already taken on a slight grayish-white color, the characteristics mentioned earlier could still be made out faintly.

Moreover, the silky, curled grain of rosewood furniture and its fine, smooth, skinlike texture could not be replicated by other woods. Thus, it was basically possible to conclude that both five-panel armchairs had been made of rosewood.

In that case, both the pear wood table and the rosewood five-panel armchairs could be considered extremely valuable. What was more, the three pieces of furniture happened to form a complete set, which increased their value considerably.

At that moment, Grandpa Li returned carrying two brocade boxes, one large and one small. He smiled at everyone and asked, "What do you think? Does everyone like this set of furniture?"

Everyone exchanged glances. The items were excellent, but Grandpa Li clearly would not sell them separately, which made things difficult.

At that moment, Zhao Qirui coughed and said with a smile to the others, "Don't mind me. I'm not interested in furniture or anything like that this time. You can discuss it among yourselves."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere among them relaxed. Things would be easier now. Zhao Xueyi was merely acting as the intermediary, so he did not need to be considered. Although Uncle Wu liked the set, setting aside the fact that he could not gather that much money immediately, he dealt in porcelain, so he lacked some confidence when competing with the others.

Thus, without any surprises, the set of furniture went to Zhu Dafu.

However, Chu Chen also witnessed a small episode during the process. After Zhao Qirui finished speaking, Qian Changxing, who was standing beside him, seemed interested in buying it as well. But after Zhao Qirui shot him a warning glance, he immediately fell silent.

Afterward, Qian Changxing looked somewhat indignant. Although that expression vanished in a flash, Zhao Qirui was the boss of a major company and had a sharp eye, so he still noticed it. From then on, the look he directed at Qian Changxing became even more displeased. Qian Changxing, however, seemed completely unaware of it.

Chu Chen sneered inwardly. Qian Changxing really is an idiot. He's far too full of himself. No wonder Uncle Wu and the others dislike him.

While they were negotiating the price, Chu Chen took the opportunity to examine the room.

This room should have been specially used by Grandpa Li to store antiques. It was kept extremely clean, but aside from the three pieces of furniture they had just seen, it was completely empty. The other items had probably been taken away by other collectors, just as Grandpa Li had mentioned earlier.

When his gaze swept over a corner of the wall, Chu Chen discovered that a Buddhist statue was still standing there, which aroused his curiosity. However, the lighting there was rather dim, and he could not see it clearly from where he stood, so he walked over to examine it at close range.

But after taking a look, Chu Chen felt extremely disappointed. The statue was less than forty centimeters tall and had the common form of a Buddha seated on a lotus pedestal. It had been carved entirely from ordinary camphor wood, and the carving was also quite ordinary. Judging from its patina and carving techniques, it should have been an item from the late Qing and early Republic period. No wonder it had been left in the corner.

Since he had already come to look, he decided to examine it thoroughly. Just as Chu Chen was about to turn the statue around, his mind stirred. His left hand had suddenly sensed that there were actually two streams of energy inside the Buddhist statue.

One of them was undoubtedly from the statue itself. The other stream of energy caused Chu Chen to start imagining things. Could something be hidden inside this Buddhist statue?

With that thought, Chu Chen did not hesitate and immediately activated his ability. Sure enough, both streams of energy were drawn into his left hand. One was short and extremely weak, while the other was long and incredibly powerful. In fact, it was the strongest stream of energy he had sensed so far.

This immediately lifted Chu Chen's spirits, and he began examining the Buddhist statue carefully. Yet after inspecting it inside and out, from front to back, he could not find anything wrong. That was normal. If it had been so easy to spot, the statue would not have still been sitting there.

However, the price negotiations nearby were almost finished. If they saw what he was doing now, they might guess that there was something wrong with the statue. Thus, he had to hurry. If he still could not find the problem, he would have to get the statue first and worry about the rest afterward.

Perhaps luck was on his side. Chu Chen soon used a magnifying glass and spotted an extremely fine crack where the Buddhist statue met the lotus pedestal, one that was virtually impossible to notice with the naked eye. This should be where the problem lay. He took a deep breath, calmed himself, picked up the Buddhist statue, and walked toward the others.

By then, Zhu Dafu and Grandpa Li had already agreed on a price. In the end, Zhu Dafu had obtained this precious set of furniture for four hundred and fifty thousand yuan. Both sides should have been satisfied with the price, as could be seen from the smiles on their faces.

After placing the Buddhist statue on the ground, Chu Chen scratched the back of his head and said to Grandpa Li with a foolish smile, "Old Li, my mother believes in Buddhism. Usually, I can't afford to get her a decent Buddhist statue. I happened to see this one here today, and I think she'll like it. Could you let me take it home so I can show her some filial devotion?"

Everyone was stunned at first, especially Uncle Wu, whose eyes flashed with a strange look. Zhao Qirui appeared even more disappointed. Then everyone began examining the Buddhist statue. It seemed to have been made from ordinary camphor wood, and the carving was ordinary as well. Fortunately, it was an item from the late Qing period, so it could still be considered an antique. It would make a decent offering for an ordinary household.

Grandpa Li looked at the Buddhist statue, then at Chu Chen, and said, "This Buddhist statue was something my grandfather acquired back then." At this point, he paused and looked at Chu Chen. But Chu Chen still wore an honest, foolish smile and showed no unusual reaction, which immediately left Grandpa Li somewhat disappointed. He thought that he must have been overthinking things.

Thus, he smiled again and said, "But no one in our family believes in Buddhism anymore. Since you're so filial, you can take it home."

Chu Chen immediately breathed a sigh of relief. When Grandpa Li had stared at him just now, he had been so nervous that he had nearly let his emotions show on his face. Fortunately, he had managed to control himself in the end. Suppressing his excitement, Chu Chen thanked Grandpa Li with a foolish smile and a trace of gratitude, ultimately obtaining the Buddhist statue for one thousand yuan.

At that moment, Qian Changxing said disdainfully, "Wu Ziping, your nephew has terrible taste. He'll even take such an ordinary Buddhist statue. Has he never seen the world? Do you want me to introduce you to a better one?"

As soon as he said this, the atmosphere became extremely awkward, and a trace of anger rose in everyone's hearts.

Needless to say, Chu Chen and the others had already held a poor impression of him. For one thing, his words had offended Grandpa Li. Grandpa Li had just said that this Buddhist statue had been acquired by his grandfather. Wasn't Qian Changxing implying that his grandfather had no taste? How could that not make Grandpa Li angry?

As for Zhao Qirui, he was angry that Qian Changxing had spoken without considering the occasion. If he and the other party had a personal grudge, he could compete with him however he wanted somewhere else. But now Qian Changxing was the appraiser Zhao Qirui had invited, representing his position. Wasn't he causing Zhao Qirui trouble for no reason by speaking like that?

Seeing that he had become the target of everyone's anger, Qian Changxing immediately realized that what he had said was inappropriate. He felt a wave of regret. Why have I become so unable to control my temper after not seeing Wu Ziping for several years? Is Wu Ziping incompatible with me by fate? How unlucky.

Seeing this, Qian Changxing awkwardly retreated to one side.

Zhao Qirui coughed, breaking the awkward silence, and said to Grandpa Li, "Hehe, Old Li, what treasures are in those two boxes of yours? How about opening them and letting us broaden our horizons?"

Old Li exchanged a few pleasantries with a smile before opening the boxes. The moment everyone saw what was inside, they immediately cried out in astonishment.

The smaller of the two boxes contained a doucai bowl.

Doucai, also called "doucai," was a porcelain decoration technique that combined underglaze blue-and-white painting with overglaze colors. Doucai porcelain was first created by the Jingdezhen kilns during the Ming Chenghua period. With its novel decorations and elegant colors, it became famous throughout the world and represented a major achievement in the history of Chinese ceramic craftsmanship.

It combined underglaze blue-and-white painting with overglaze polychrome enamels on the same piece of porcelain, creating an artistic effect in which the underglaze blue and overglaze colors competed in beauty. It possessed considerable artistic appeal.

The inner and outer rims of this doucai bowl were respectively decorated with blue-and-white Sanskrit and a cloud-and-dragon-playing-with-a-pearl border. The center of the bowl and its outer wall were painted with a doucai lotus pond and mandarin duck design. Its precise name should have been a doucai lotus pond and mandarin duck low-foot bowl.

Judging from its patina, body material, painting, glaze color, and other aspects, it should have been a doucai bowl from the Qing Kangxi period modeled after Ming-dynasty doucai porcelain.

The large brocade box, meanwhile, contained an exquisitely beautiful White Jade Eight Auspicious Symbols Ruyi. It was this ruyi that had drawn everyone's astonished exclamations.

The ruyi was an ancient Chinese object symbolizing auspiciousness. It evolved from an ancient back scratcher. The earliest ruyi had a handle ending in the shape of a finger, symbolizing how it could scratch places the hand could not reach, thus fulfilling one's wishes. That was why it was called ruyi. Later, it gradually evolved into a writing tablet, also called a court tablet, before eventually transforming into a purely ornamental treasure like the ruyi of today.

This ruyi was around forty centimeters long and had been carved from a single piece of Hetian white jade. It was massive, with lustrous jade of excellent quality. Its form was supple and gracefully curved, its carving exquisite, and its grinding and polishing meticulous. It was a rare treasure.

The head of the ruyi was shaped like a lingzhi, with a raised line following the contours of its edge. A shallow-relief shou character occupied the center, surrounded by four treasures: a jeweled parasol, lotus flower, endless knot, and golden fish.

The raised section of the ruyi's handle contained a cartouche with a white canopy, jeweled vase, and conch, while the cartouche at the end of the handle contained ** and bats. Cloud patterns alternated across the front and back of the handle, drifting freely and uninhibitedly. The carved decorations on this ruyi were clear and distinct, fully conveying auspicious meanings and embodying the style of a palace object.