Li Yang pressed down on one of his hands, lest he accidentally absorb this jade suit.
Such a precious and rare ancient artifact was incomparable to imperial green jade. Once absorbed into powder, it could never be restored.
However, there were still quite a few pieces of imperial green jade. As long as Li Yang was willing to try his luck, he would eventually encounter them.
Moreover, this jade suit was very unusual.
“Mr. Li, what do you think of this jade suit?” Master Long asked with a smile.
Li Yang stared at the jade suit and said, “I’m afraid this is the jade suit of a vassal king, and judging by the situation, it should be from the early Han Dynasty, belonging to a particularly powerful vassal king.”
“Why do you say that?” Master Long asked.
Li Yang chuckled, “The golden threads used to stitch these jade pieces together to form the entire jade suit are made of twelve strands of gold wire.”
“Generally speaking, only the Son of Heaven has twelve strands of gold wire. For ordinary vassal kings, nine strands are sufficient. However, the quality of this jade material is clearly not up to the standard of a Son of Heaven’s jade suit.”
“In ancient times, with its strict system, such a situation would likely only occur in the early Han Dynasty, when the system was not yet fully established and fixed.”
“But Li Yang, many dynasties in history have had periods of incomplete systems. Why do you believe it must be the Han Dynasty?” Long Lingling asked curiously.
Li Yang smiled, “Before the Han Dynasty, ancient people believed that jade could house the human soul. Especially in the Han Dynasty, many jade burial objects appeared, such as the famous Eight-Cut Han Dynasty Jade Cicadas, jade pupae, and the like.”
“Han Dynasty people believed that humans had souls, and if the soul could be preserved after death, it was possible to be resurrected. Therefore, for the powerful and wealthy, the best method was to wear a jade suit. This custom of burial objects almost disappeared in later generations.”
“So that’s how you judged it.” Long Lingling understood and looked at Li Yang, saying, “How come you understand both jade and antiques?”
“Antiques and jade both rely on keen eyesight. Once you understand one, learning the other becomes relatively easier,” Li Yang said with a smile.
While that was said, there were not many people who could truly appraise jade and antiques, and even fewer who were proficient in both.
Master Long smiled and said, “It seems I have found a good son-in-law. Lingling, you two should hurry up and get married soon.”
“Dad~” Long Lingling’s cheeks flushed.
Li Yang also felt a little awkward and continued to look at other collectibles.
It had to be said that Master Long’s collection level was very high, and his eyesight was also excellent. There were almost no fakes in the entire collection room.
Master Long smiled and asked, “Mr. Li, after looking at so many things, have you seen any fakes here?”
“To be honest, there are a few fakes,” Li Yang replied.
Master Long was surprised, “There are fakes here? Mr. Li, you’d better take a closer look. I’ve appraised them several times and had them repeatedly appraised by master appraisers before daring to display them here.”
“How is it possible that there are still fakes?”
“This porcelain from Shou’an Palace has a reign mark of the Yuan Dynasty on its base, but it should actually be from the Qing Dynasty. The reign mark was added later by someone to forge a fake and earn more money,” Li Yang took out a porcelain vase and handed it to Master Long to look at.
Master Long asked suspiciously, “Why do you say it’s from the Qing Dynasty?”
“Shou’an Palace is the name of a palace in the Qing Dynasty’s harem. There was no such thing in the Yuan Dynasty,” Li Yang said with a smile. “The person who put the Yuan Dynasty reign mark on it must not have noticed what these three characters represent. They probably thought that the rulers of the Qing Dynasty, like the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, were all from the grasslands, so they didn’t think much about it.”
“Master Long, how much did this item cost you?”
“1.8 million. I thought I had found a great bargain!” Master Long said with a wry smile. When he bought it, he had even compared it to the blue-and-white porcelain vase of Guiguzi Descending the Mountain from the Yuan Dynasty.
Now it seemed that the value of this item could not be compared to genuine blue-and-white porcelain from the Yuan Dynasty at all.
Li Yang glanced at the porcelain vase and said, “The market for Qing Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain has always been quite good. If you scrape off this forged reign mark, this piece can still sell for around 600,000 yuan. You haven’t lost much.”
“Indeed, it’s not a significant loss,” Master Long nodded.
One million yuan was a big deal for others, but it was not a problem for him.
Afterward, Li Yang pointed out a few more fake items for him. These items were not forged from real ones, but were inherently fake and had no value at all. They could only be smashed and disposed of.
Master Long’s home would certainly not have fakes.
“Master Long, we have the results of the investigation,” Old Fan said after a while, approaching to whisper in his ear.
Master Long waved his hand, “No need to whisper to me. Everyone here can be trusted. Just say whatever you have to say directly.”
“Yes, Master Long.”
Old Fan immediately said, “After investigation, the curse might be closely related to Boss Feng. Based on my personal estimation, it’s more than nine times out of ten.”
“You’ve always been cautious. If you say nine times out of ten, then it’s definitely a hundred percent,” Master Long said with a cold expression. “I didn’t expect a brother of over thirty years to betray me like this.”
“Do you know his whereabouts now?”
“Yes, Master Long. He has rented a yacht and hired beautiful women in Kunming Lake and is having a great time,” Old Fan said in a low voice. “And in the evening, he is going to attend the Kunming City Antique Auction.”
“It’s time for the auction? Do you have a catalog?” Master Long asked.
Old Fan nodded, “Yes, Master Long. I’ll go get it for you right away.”
“Mm.”
Auctions generally provide a catalog to some reputable bidders before the auction, allowing them to familiarize themselves with the auction items in advance. If they are interested, they can prepare funds accordingly.
Of course, some auctions also allow bidders to privately negotiate a price before the auction. If the seller agrees, the transaction can be completed without the item going to auction.
The advantage of this is that the money is received faster, and it saves the seller the auction fee. On the buyer’s side, they don’t have to worry about a competitor suddenly appearing at the auction and relentlessly bidding, ultimately snatching away their desired item.
Flipping through the catalog, Master Long said with some boredom, “It’s the same kind of items every year. There isn’t a single heavyweight item. It’s really uninteresting.”
“We won’t go to this auction. I’ll just call Boss Feng and have him come here.”
“Master Long, I think it’s better to go to the auction,” Li Yang said, his eyes slightly gleaming as he stared at something.
This was a good item!
However, at the auction, it was named “Incomplete and Unidentified Antique Fragment” and served as a small appetizer to warm up the auction.
If he couldn’t find a bargain with this, then he wouldn’t be able to find one!