Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 880: Chapter 876: The Unique Item

Even though she didn’t know why the original owner of this Xuande Furnace did this, it was indeed a good thing for Huo Sining. The price of a Qing imitation and an original from the Xuande Dynasty differed by nearly ten times. Since she encountered such a good thing and could buy it at the price of a Qing imitation, she’d be a fool not to take it.

Although she didn’t know how many Ming Ding Incense Burners were made back then, the one look at this incense burner and you could tell it was a royal item. There weren’t many halls in the Forbidden City where incense could be burned, so Huo Sining estimated that there wouldn’t be many of these incense burners, and even fewer would have survived.

After the Qing soldiers entered the pass, they tried every possible way to destroy and obliterate the things left by the Ming Dynasty. In the later period of the literary inquisition, even poems like ’The clear breeze stirs the book without reason’ were not allowed, let alone an item that clearly had anti-Ming inclinations like this one in her hand?

Huo Sining even suspected that the original owner of this incense burner had deliberately altered it to preserve it in such a turbulent situation.

If this is the case, this Ming Ding Incense Burner could very likely be a unique item.

An artifact with such a vivid piece of history couldn’t be compared to an ordinary antique, and its value was definitely incomparable to a common Qing Imitation Xuande Furnace.

While Huo Sining was still contemplating, Li Quan and Qiao Zhenhuan had already examined it. The two exchanged glances and had a mutual understanding of the incense burner’s background.

Seeing Huo Sining was still exploring the incense burner, Li Quan didn’t delay and straightforwardly asked, ”Madam, what price are you asking for this incense burner?”

Madam Yan, born into a scholarly family, had always been a respected lady and probably had never been involved in such monetary transactions. So when she heard Li Quan’s question, she was at a loss for words, awkwardly looking at Li Quan and sheepishly said:

”Xiao Li, I truly don’t understand these things, about the price...”

Li Quan smiled and said, ”Madam, it’s alright, tell us your base price first, and we’ll see if it’s above our limit. If it is, we can discuss it further.”

Madam Yan nodded and then hesitantly said, ”A couple of years ago, when my husband was still alive, a friend came to our house and looked at this Xuande Furnace. He wanted to buy it back then, but my husband considered it part of my dowry and a relic left by my father, so he was unwilling to sell.”

Li Quan understood immediately and asked with a smile, ”What price did that friend offer at the time?”

Madam Yan hesitated for a moment before speaking, ”At that time, the price offered was three hundred thousand.”

Three hundred thousand, that should be the highest price for a Qing imitation Xuande Furnace. That friend probably offered such a high price out of respect for Old Master Yan.

Li Quan and Qiao Zhenhuan exchanged a glance and both felt that the price of three hundred thousand was a bit inflated. However, if they offered less than that, Madam Yan, who was not familiar with the market, might think they were trying to take advantage of her.

Li Quan immediately found the situation tricky and was pondering how to explain to Madam Yan. At that moment, Huo Sining, who had been silent and contemplating the incense burner, suddenly spoke up:

”Two years ago it was three hundred thousand, after two years it must have appreciated somewhat. Let’s do this, we’ll offer four hundred thousand. Madam, we will buy this incense burner, what do you think?”

Madam Yan was surprised and raised her head. She knew well that the friend’s price back then was already inflated. Since they didn’t need the money, they hadn’t sold it.

Now Huo Sining increased the price by another hundred thousand, which Madam Yan couldn’t understand. She instinctively wanted to refuse: ”Young lady, Xiao Li should be in charge of your shop, right? You should ask your boss’s opinion, this price is too high. Selling it to you at such a high price, you won’t make any profit...”

As Madam Yan was about to say something else, Li Quan, having received Huo Sining’s signal, spoke up:

”Madam Yan, our shop is jointly run, and she is also one of our partners. Since we’ve made the offer, we won’t go back on our word. If you think the price is fair, let’s finalize it. You sell the incense burner to us for four hundred thousand, how about it?”

Li Quan didn’t understand why Huo Sining wanted to spend four hundred thousand on something worth only about two hundred thousand, but seeing her signaling him, he reckoned she had her reasons and tried to persuade Madam Yan without further thought.

Madam Yan still wanted to refuse, feeling that selling for four hundred thousand might seem like she was ripping them off. But Huo Sining smiled and said: ”Madam Yan, you might not know, in our line of work, we value fate the most. If an item catches your eye, there are people willing to spend lavishly. This incense burner indeed fits my taste, it’s something one can’t even beg for. I am happy to spend money on something I like, you get a high price and feel satisfied. We both benefit, why not?”

Seeing Huo Sining’s persistence, Madam Yan didn’t push further. After a moment of silence, she sighed and nodded, ”Alright, forty thousand it is. Take it.”

Huo Sining’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction. As long as she could buy the burner, she’d be happy. Had Madam Yan been unwilling to sell, she wouldn’t have minded offering double the price. This Ming Ding Incense Burner, more valuable than even an original Xuande Furnace, was something Huo Sining wouldn’t miss out on.

After placing the Xuande Furnace into a box, Huo Sining gestured for Jiang Xiaoqin to hold the box in her arms, as if worried Madam Yan might change her mind.

Madam Yan didn’t notice Huo Sining’s subconscious action and instead smiled, ”Now that you’ve seen this Xuande Furnace, let’s look at this other thing.”

She then brought out another wooden box, about the size of a book, gray-brown in color. At first, Huo Sining didn’t pay much attention to it, but as Madam Yan moved the box closer, she smelled a familiar, fresh scent.

Huo Sining was puzzled and instinctively asked, ”Is this box made of ebony?”

Madam Yan was somewhat surprised and raised her head to look at Huo Sining, ”How did you know?”

Realizing her question was redundant, Madam Yan smiled, ”You have a good eye for a young girl, indeed we old folks can’t compare to the young generation.”

Huo Sining smiled and explained, ”Don’t say that, I recognized the material of this box because I’ve handled golden-thread nanmu wood before, and happened to have an ebony box in my possession.”