This Treasure Collection Pavilion was different; regardless of whether customers came in to buy anything, the Shopkeeper and the Shop Assistant were always polite, with smiles on their faces.
In no time at all, the Shop Assistant returned, followed by a middle-aged Man.
This Man had a slightly plump figure and wore a stiffly starched ink-blue Long Gown, with a moist and lustrous jade belt tied around his waist; one look and it was clear he was the Shopkeeper.
When he smiled, two shallow dimples would appear on his cheeks, and his gaze was gentle, possessing a certain scholarly air and amiability, unlike the shrewdness usually displayed by a typical Businessman.
"Young lady, do you have an object you wish to sell?" The Shopkeeper's voice was gentle, his gaze landing on the Package tightly wrapped in Jiang Tang's arms, carrying a hint of appropriate curiosity, yet without a shred of disrespect.
Jiang Tang nodded and, following her previous actions, gently lifted a corner of the Package.
The moment that touch of translucent, lustrous light was revealed, the Shopkeeper's eyes brightened slightly.
Upon seeing the texture of the object clearly, an expression of disbelief instantly welled up in the depths of the Shopkeeper's eyes.
He steadied himself before speaking solemnly: "Young lady, this object of yours is very special. I am afraid I cannot make the decision myself; I must ask our Owner to come and take a look."
"That is fine." Jiang Tang agreed readily.
Having received Jiang Tang's agreement, the Shopkeeper immediately instructed the Shop Assistant beside him to go to the prince's manor to invite him.
The Young Master happened to be here inspecting the shops these past few days, and just last night he was fretting about the Empress Dowager's Birthday next month, worried that he could not find a satisfactory gift, and had told him to keep an eye out for one!
This object had truly arrived at the perfect time!
If the Young Master saw it, he would certainly like it.
Afterwards, the Shopkeeper invited Jiang Tang to the reception room on the second floor.
The room was elegantly decorated, with a pear-wood long desk placed against the window, on which sat Celadon tea sets, and a wisp of faint Sandalwood burning in the corner, dispelling the stuffiness in the room.
The Shop Assistant soon brought over a pot of hot tea and a plate of exquisite Dim sum. The Shopkeeper personally poured tea for Jiang Tang: "Young lady, please have some tea and eat some Dim sum. The Young Master's manor is a bit far, so I estimate you will have to wait a while."
"It is no trouble." Jiang Tang picked up the Teacup and took a sip; the tea was mellow and pure, better than she had imagined.
She simply and generously removed the old clothes wrapped around the outside, revealing the full appearance of the glass vase, and gently placed it on the table.
From the reactions of the Shop Assistant and the Shopkeeper just now, she knew that this glass vase must be a Rare item in this era.
She also hoped to sell it for a good price.
The Shopkeeper's gaze followed Jiang Tang's movements, landing entirely on the vase, and he was completely stunned.
He had been a Shopkeeper at the Treasure Collection Pavilion for over a decade and had seen his fair share of rare treasures, but he had never seen an object as crystal clear as this.
The vase was completely transparent like congealed dew, and as the sunlight spilled onto it through the Window Lattice, it looked as if it were holding a handful of moonlight, the lustrous light shimmering, so clear that one could see the patterns on the desk opposite it.
The body of the vase was fully carved with peony branches, the layers of petals overlapping from the shoulder of the vase down to the base, each petal plump and full, the depth of the carvings perfectly balanced, sculpted so three-dimensionally and fresh that it seemed as if the bright red peonies were truly blooming upon this icy, lustrous Glazed Ware, elegant in bearing, gorgeous yet not vulgar.
Such a translucent material, paired with such masterful carving craftsmanship, blended the rigid and the soft, the clear and the gorgeous, just perfectly.
The Shopkeeper was filled with amazement and kept exclaiming in wonder, calling it a celestial object that had fallen into the mortal world, a second of which could not be found on earth.
Seeing him like this, Jiang Tang felt even more confident and did not disturb his appreciation.
She picked up a mandarin duck roll to eat; half was a delicate red bean paste filling, and half was a sweet lotus seed paste filling, the texture dense and the sweetness moderate, not overly cloying.
She remembered that in the village, only when there was a happy event would such Dim sum appear at the banquet, carrying the meaning of "harmony and beauty," and she had not expected to be able to eat it so casually here.
"Young lady, I wonder if you could tell me the origin of this object."
Although the Shopkeeper was asking, he did so with the necessary caution.
For such a rare object, if the origin was not legitimate, their Treasure Collection Pavilion absolutely could not accept it.
Jiang Tang was prepared and said frankly: "I am not afraid of the Shopkeeper laughing at me, but this was a gift of gratitude from a Foreign Merchant my father saved at sea a few years ago.
Our family is truly in difficulty now; Grandma is seriously ill, my Younger brother is still small, and we cannot even afford a meal, so I had to bring this object out to exchange for some Silver Coins to buy food and save lives."
Wanghai Town was by the sea, and most people in the town made a living from the sea; it was not a rare occurrence to occasionally encounter ships from a foreign land when going out to sea to fish.
Seeing Jiang Tang's open and honest expression, with not a hint of evasion in her eyes, the Shopkeeper naturally believed what she said.
About a quarter of an hour later, the sound of light steps came from downstairs, and immediately after, the door was pushed open.
A person wearing a black Hat and black brocade clothes walked in.
Behind him followed a tall and straight Guard carrying a sword, his eyes sharp.
From his figure, one could tell that the person wearing the Hat was a Man, but his steps were somewhat unsteady, landing as lightly as if stepping on cotton, and occasionally he would unconsciously hold his Breath, a barely audible wheezing sound escaping from his throat.
Jiang Tang's eyes narrowed slightly; if she was not mistaken, this person was either suffering from a chronic illness or had been poisoned with a slow-acting toxin.
But what did that have to do with her? She was just here to sell a vase.
Looking at her own clothes, patched upon patches, she looked just like someone who had just come from a refugee road.
If she said she could treat illness, who would believe her?
The Shopkeeper, who had been sitting, saw the person enter and hurriedly stood up to salute: "Young Master."
The person in the Hat waved a hand, and the Shopkeeper respectfully took his leave.
Leaving Jiang Tang to face a Young Master in a Hat whose face she could not see, and who she did not know was a bad person or a good person.
And there was a Guard holding a sword, standing behind his Master, expressionless and looking fierce.
Could the Owner of this Treasure Collection Pavilion be planning to rob her of her vase?
This was the first thought that popped into Jiang Tang's mind.
He is carrying a sword!
It seems the ancients also knew Lightness Skill; what should she do if she cannot run away?
The Young Master wearing the Hat, through the veil, caught a glimpse of Jiang Tang's pale face and trembling legs, thinking that the farm girl was timid and afraid of him.
His gaze soon fell on the Glazed Vase on the table, and in that instant, even his Breath paused for half a beat.
He had never seen such a translucent object, clean like moonlight quenched in ice, the peony carvings on the body of the vase flowing with a moist and lustrous sheen under the light.
It was actually a hundred times purer than the Glazed Vase he had once seen among the tributes from the Xiliang Kingdom.
The tribute Glazed Vase had as many impurities as stars, and the color was yellowish and dark; how could it compare to the one in front of him, which was so clear it could reflect a Figure.
"Young lady, are you looking to sell this Glazed Vase?"
He spoke, his voice cold like jade striking jade, yet carrying a hint of sickly frailty, with an imperceptible hoarseness hidden in the tail of his tone, like a zither string brushed by a cold wind.
He was the Ninth Prince of the Dong Yuan Kingdom, Xiao Mingyuan, who had been weak and sickly since childhood; the imperial physician had long ago predicted he would not live past twenty years old.
He was now nineteen, and only a few months remained until that "death line."
Coming to Wanghai Town this time was, firstly, to find a gift for the Empress Dowager's Birthday, and secondly, to leave the capital and change his environment; even if he were to die, he did not want to stay within those walls of the Imperial Palace.
Jiang Tang was pulled back to her senses by this unique voice, and listening to the frailty hidden within the coldness, she did not find it so scary anymore.
Jiang Tang even had the illusion that she could take down Xiao Mingyuan.
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