Revolving Heart Vase
Wu Huaisi did not refuse the arrangement. He was not only Kang Shilin's disciple, but also the Minister of Ministry of Personnel, and he represented more than just himself. For the sake of the Ministry of Personnel, he could not move his private room to behind Kang Shilin.
So his private box is now occupied by his family. He came here to keep his teacher company as a sign of respect.
After Kang Shilin finished drawing his cards, the two servants left, and the people sitting downstairs began to draw their cards.
However, this was just a number plate for the auction, so no one cared. They just reached into the box, grabbed one, and that was it. The process was quite quick.
Wu Zong and the others ate some fruit and chatted for a while. After the cards were drawn, Xu Zhou went up on stage again.
He gestured to the left. "The guest numbers for those seated on the left, as well as some guests upstairs, are in this area."
The once open space had been enclosed by a wooden fence into a semicircle, and rows of servants in uniform stood inside, each holding a sign like those held by modern athletes entering the stadium, with a number written on it.
These servants were all trained. As soon as Xu Zhou said this, the servants immediately and quickly raised their name tags one by one, with numbers from smallest to largest.
Zhao Ruxi, with her sharp eyes, noticed that the number "eleven" that her master had drawn was in this line.
She glanced down at the people sitting on the left; they were all nobles.
Wu Zong chuckled and said, "It seems Senior Brother's nameplate is on the right."
Before he finished speaking, Xu Zhou continued on stage, "The number plates for the guests on the right, as well as some of the guests upstairs, are in this area." He gestured to the right side of the audience.
The servants there also raised their signs in turn to indicate their presence.
Is this a plan to pit meritorious nobles against powerful ministers?
Not only Zhao Ruxi, but everyone else understood Xiao Lingyan's intention.
How cunning!
It's well known that noble families and powerful ministers have never gotten along. Although many powerful ministers also came from noble families, those who held power were still very annoyed by the noble families who restricted their actions, let alone those powerful ministers from humble backgrounds.
Letting the nobles and powerful officials fight each other now will definitely yield a high price.
Xu Zhou continued, "There are three waiters standing at the entrance of each private room. If you see something you like and want to make a bid, just tell the waiter, and they will notify the person holding up the paddle to make the bid. The same applies to the seats below."
At this moment, three rows of waiters entered from outside and lined up in the three aisles below. Outside the private room, three more waiters arrived and, together with the waiters who had been serving tea and water, greeted everyone inside.
Presumably because of Wu Huaisi, the auction house assigned an extra errand boy to their private room.
Seeing this, Zhao Ruxi sighed.
This era is too backward; Xiao Lingyan had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure. Otherwise, an electronic bidding system could have solved the problem completely, saving him from all this trouble.
Seeing that everything was ready, Xu Zhou had someone bring out the first item to be auctioned that day.
"This is one of only two porcelain pieces in the Great Jin, called the 'Revolving Vase.' Inside the openwork vase is a rotating inner vase, painted with landscapes and figures depicting the four seasons. When we rotate the outer vase, it's like a carousel, and the landscapes and figures in the inner vase will appear before us one by one."
As Xu Zhou spoke, a servant boy stood beside him, turning a vase around so everyone could see it.
"The reason I say it is one of only two is that one of the vases, which is decorated with the ' Youyu Blessings' pattern, has already been presented to the palace. Only this one remains outside the palace. Apart from that, there is no other vase like it in the world."
Whether in the private room or in the seats below, everyone was a daily attendee of court and was very self-disciplined. Therefore, apart from some commotion when Eunuch Xie arrived and when Xu Zhou introduced the servant holding the plaque, it was generally quiet.
But now everyone couldn't help but start buzzing with discussion.
The people present were all wealthy and noble; what good things hadn't they seen? They came to the auction not only because of the Emperor and the Fifth Prince, but also because there was no entertainment available; they were purely there to watch the spectacle. They didn't have much expectation for the items being auctioned.
In their view, what's being auctioned are nothing more than antiques and calligraphy and paintings by literati. Only these kinds of things can fetch high prices. These things are nothing new to them.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Lingyan produced such a porcelain piece.
They've never even heard of this kind of porcelain, let alone seen it.
Although those sitting in the back and in the private room were far away and couldn't see what the vase looked like, they could still make out its pure white body and brightly colored paint from a distance. At least the vase had a nice shape, not to mention its ingenious design.
Furthermore, the fact that it could be used as tribute was a guarantee of its quality.
Zhao Ruxi's feelings were far more complicated than anyone else's.
Does she remember her past life, when a Qing Dynasty Qianlong famille rose openwork "Auspicious Youyu" revolving vase, hailed as one of the finest porcelains in China, was auctioned in London on November 11, 2010, for a high price of over 550 million yuan?
The one presented to the palace was not only a revolving vase, but it even had the same name. Needless to say, it was definitely a counterfeit that Xiao Lingyan had someone make for him.
This guy is really going all out to make money.
"To ensure everyone can buy with confidence, we will allow you to view these auctioned items up close." As he spoke, Xu Zhou gestured to the servant holding the vase.
A servant carrying a vase came down from the stage, accompanied by a middle-aged man, and went up the stairs on this side.
Everyone recognizes this middle-aged man; he is Eunuch Qin, the chief eunuch serving the Second Prince.
Xiao Lingpu was older and had been involved in government affairs for a longer time. He would usually ask Eunuch Qin to handle things, and almost everyone in the court knew Eunuch Qin.
With Eunuch Qin accompanying them, the princes wouldn't dare to disrespect them, and powerful officials wouldn't dare to act recklessly, thus preventing anyone from staring at the vase for an extended period.
The servant was able to carry the vase around, so he must be a highly skilled martial artist who could protect it.
Kang Yannian had no interest in these things; he had come today simply to keep his elderly father company.
Seeing this, he frowned and said, "Won't this take a long time?"
"There's no way around it. If you want people to spend money to buy it, you have to let them see it clearly. Only if they see it clearly and like it will they spend a lot of money to buy it," Wu Zong said.
Everyone nodded.
The vases were viewed in turn in the private room, and Xu Zhou, on stage, kept the atmosphere lively by telling the story of the revolving vase.
Legend has it that a reclusive porcelain master was deeply in love with his wife, but he made a mistake, and she left him heartbroken. To win her back, the master spent years experimenting and created these two "revolving hearts" vases. Not only do they rotate, but they symbolize unity. His wife finally returned to his side.
To express his affection for his wife, the porcelain master never made a third revolving porcelain piece.
Zhao Ruxi found the story somewhat amusing.
A stroll through antique markets like Panjiayuan will reveal countless stories like this. If it weren't for the emperor of this era, there would certainly only be one and only one such revolving porcelain piece.