Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 888: Chapter 884 Xuande Furnace VS Ming Ding Incense Burner

As soon as Li Quan and the other two saw the old man coming out, they immediately craned their necks long.

Huo Sining didn’t show much excitement on her face but just stared at the item in the old man’s hand with a faint smile.

As soon as the old man came out, he placed the pitch-black object on the ground.

Only then did everyone notice that the pitch-black object was the same Qing Imitation Xuande Furnace that the old man had taken in earlier, but it seemed smaller now, as if a layer of copper had been stripped off.

At this moment, the outer layer of the Xuande Furnace had been removed, revealing an intermediate layer that seemed to be made of something like fired tin. The old man, wearing a pair of special gloves, slowly peeled off the tin layer, finally revealing the real Xuande Incense Burner inside.

Upon seeing the true appearance of the Xuande Incense Burner, not only Li Quan and the other two but even Zhou Shitao was stunned.

The inner incense burner had a rounded belly, a slender neck, a flat bottom with three legs, and a pair of handles on top. At first glance, its shape somewhat retained the elegance of a Xuande Furnace, but Zhou Shitao was very clear that this was not a genuine Xuande Furnace.

It was also at this moment that Zhou Shitao noticed that this incense burner did not possess the usual beautiful, flowing shape and grand style of the Xuande Furnaces he had seen before, but instead, gave off a feeling of oppression.

This incense burner had a slightly flat overall shape, the handles were half-ringed, and the middle part was slightly sunken, looking almost like a person.

Zhou Shitao couldn’t help but frown. After thinking for a long time, he came up with an appropriate metaphor: this incense burner placed on the ground looked like a person kneeling in earnest prayer and repentance.

Seeing this, Zhou Shitao felt a bit puzzled. His intuition told him that there was something strange about this incense burner. He couldn’t help but reach out and take the incense burner in his hands, turning it over to inspect the cast inscriptions on the bottom.

Seeing the upright and square regular script on the bottom, even Zhou Shitao couldn’t help but widen his eyes. After a while, he couldn’t help but exclaim, ”So that’s how it is!”

Upon discovering that there was another incense burner hidden inside, the eyes of Li Quan and the other two lit up. They all realized that this incense burner was definitely not an ordinary item. Now, seeing Zhou Shitao staring intently at the incense burner, they grew even more curious. Li Quan, unable to contain himself any longer, asked, ”Mr. Zhou, is this incense burner a Xuande Furnace? Why is it hidden so thoroughly?”

Zhou Shitao turned the incense burner over, showing them the sixteen-character inscription on the bottom.

After reading the inscription, Li Quan and the others were still confused, but Huo Sining remained very calm. Zhou Shitao could tell from her demeanor that she clearly knew the origin of this incense burner.

”What does that mean, Mr. Zhou?” Li Quan was an amateur in history. Although Qiao Zhenhuan had an inkling, his thoughts were still muddled. As for Jiang Xiaoqin, it was even less certain.

Seeing that they genuinely didn’t understand, Zhou Shitao didn’t want to keep it hidden and began to explain slowly, ”This inscription indicates the origin of this incense burner. However, to determine its provenance, we must first figure out who this Yuntai Master refers to...”

Zhou Shitao explained step by step, and Huo Sining listened with great interest. Her gaze fell on the Ming Ding Incense Burner, and she thought to herself that it was no wonder she had found the incense burner’s shape odd at first; it was designed to hide the true appearance of this incense burner.

To atone for his sins to his ancestors, Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict of self-blame in the tenth month of the yin-hai year. It was precisely because he felt unworthy of his ancestors that he created this Ming Ding Incense Burner, which looked like it was kneeling in repentance.

Of course, this bronze burner could not have been made personally by Emperor Chongzhen, but the bronze material was excellent, with a mature patina and superior craftsmanship. Huo Sining was sure that this incense burner was very likely made under Emperor Chongzhen’s supervision. The style and kneeling shape of the incense burner also reflected his inner state at that time.

While Huo Sining was still lost in her thoughts, Zhou Shitao had already finished explaining the origin of the incense burner.

Li Quan and Qiao Zhenhuan were still in a daze after hearing the explanation. Jiang Xiaoqin, however, was not happy and frowned, ”So, this incense burner is only an Emperor Chongzhen Burner, not a Xuande Furnace? Then this incense burner is surely not as valuable as a Xuande Furnace. What a pity, I thought we had struck it rich this time.”

Hearing Jiang Xiaoqin’s muttering, Huo Sining staggered and almost fell, looking at Jiang Xiaoqin with a twitching mouth and cold sweat on her forehead.

Zhou Shitao, on the side, also forced a smile and said, ”How did you come to that conclusion? Who told you that this incense burner is not as valuable as a Xuande Furnace?”

Jiang Xiaoqin looked quite justified, ”I read in a bronze artifact appreciation book that the most valuable bronze artifacts from the Ming Dynasty are the Xuande period’s finest incense burners. Going by that, since Emperor Chongzhen came after Emperor Xuande, the incense burners he made must be less valuable than Xuande Furnaces.”

Zhou Shitao smiled and nodded, ”Your analysis makes sense, but you only know one side of the story. I would like to test you. You keep saying that Xuande Furnaces are valuable, but do you know what makes them so valuable?”

”This...” This question stumped Jiang Xiaoqin. She was only interested in how much Xuande Furnaces were worth, but when asked such a detailed question, she was at a loss for words.

Seeing Jiang Xiaoqin’s troubled expression, Zhou Shitao chuckled and began to explain, ”Whether Emperor Xuande was a wise ruler is not for us to judge, but he is quite famous in history, especially for his hobbies, which even historians couldn’t help but record.”

”He had two main hobbies: one was the long-standing practice of cricket fighting, and the other was appreciating incense burners.”

”To indulge in his incense burner hobby, he once ordered a batch of superior red copper from Siam, which is now Thailand, and instructed craftsmen to create incense burners based on the styles of famous imperial kilns and the Xuanhe Bogu Tulu historical records.”

”The craftsmen, with their unique ingenuity, not only used this red copper but also incorporated dozens of precious metals like gold and silver. After repeatedly alloying and refining the metals over a dozen times, they finally produced a batch of exquisite bronze incense burners in the third year of Xuande.”

”This is the origin of the Xuande Furnaces. These incense burners are known for their glossy and perfect craftsmanship, but only three thousand were made from this batch of red copper. Most of these were stored in the imperial court, with a few given to high-ranking officials and major temples, while commoners rarely ever saw them. As a result, these incense burners have become exceedingly rare in the present day.”

Without pausing, Zhou Shitao explained in one breath the brief history of Xuande Furnaces, then looked at Jiang Xiaoqin with a smile and said:

”Because of their excellent quality and rarity, Xuande Furnaces are celebrated as the finest of Ming Dynasty bronzes. However, if you evaluate the value of bronze incense burners based solely on this, it is a grave mistake.”