After putting away the Earring-Handle Vase, Li Qingxian and Zhou Chunfeng lingered a while longer before bidding Meng Huaichuan farewell.
Ye Han left the Dingnan Prince's Residence, utterly crestfallen.
Before long, Meng Huaichuan returned to his residence in a carriage with two attendants.
"Marquis, that Earring-Handle Vase made those two fight over it. Either it holds some great secret, or it is a treasure that conceals its own brilliance. Why did you not take it back?"
Meng Huaichuan smiled. "Back then, my father sold a treasure cheaply to a Fate Arts Master. I asked the same question. Can you guess what Father said?"
"What did the Duke say?"
"No matter how fine a treasure is, it is still only an object. To the Dingnan Prince's Residence, one or two treasures are of little use. But trading treasures for goodwill is never a loss."
"But what if, after buying it, they think we are even? Would we not be taking a loss?"
"If they remember the Dingnan Prince's Residence's kindness, then the Dingnan Prince's Residence gains one more friend. If they do not remember the kindness but remember the Dingnan Prince's Residence's generosity, then the Dingnan Prince's Residence gains one fewer enemy. If they repay kindness with enmity, then the Dingnan Prince's Residence sees through a person early on. That is still a good thing. In the end, this world belongs to people. The Dingnan Prince's Residence cannot gather people fast enough; what use is there in keeping all the treasures under heaven locked within the residence?"
"The Marquis is wise."
"Take this Sage Speech handwritten by Spring Breeze, for example. Once it is placed in the residence, over the coming decades, do you know how many literary cultivators will come begging to copy it? Could those imperial edicts and paintings