Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1538: Chapter 1522: Quibbling

Zhuang Xiangyang glanced at Professor Qian indifferently and turned his head to ask Xie Daoyuan, ”What do you think?”

Xie Daoyuan chuckled, ”You’re the expert in miscellaneous items, specialization yields expertise, I won’t take your job.”

Seeing Xie Daoyuan’s slick appearance, Zhuang Xiangyang couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. He pointed at him, shook his head, and helplessly said, ”Alright, I’ll handle it myself.”

”Old Qian, this sword is indeed a fine sword. Judging by its quality, it should be a masterpiece from the Northern Song period. However, determining it as Lu Junyi’s sword just based on the ancient jade kylin on the sword’s hilt and the words Jiazi Yichou is somewhat arbitrary.”

Zhuang Xiangyang slowly began to speak.

His words immediately made everyone’s heart skip a beat, but Zhuang Xiangyang hadn’t addressed the main point. After all, what everyone was concerned about was whether the Qingbai Jade kylin and the ancient sword were originally paired, whether it was Lu Junyi’s weapon was secondary.

Especially Professor Qian, he stood rigid, focusing all his attention on Zhuang Xiangyang.

Professor Qian was a man who valued his reputation. If he argued with a young girl and was proven right, it wouldn’t matter much, but if he lost, it would be quite humiliating.

Though Huo Sining was an expert from the Forbidden City, she was, after all, a young girl. Considering his age of fifty or sixty, if his discernment couldn’t match up to a young girl, then his decades of accumulated reputation would be disastrously tarnished.

From the side, Tang Jun, who came downstairs with Zhuang Xiangyang and Xie Daoyuan, hadn’t spoken a word, but he clearly sensed Professor Qian’s anxiety and tension at that moment.

After all, Professor Qian was an external expert for Tang Jun’s store, and he wanted to maintain and care for him. Seeing that Zhuang Xiangyang spoke so subtly, he couldn’t help but interject, ”Professor Zhuang, in your view, was this jade kylin originally on this ancient sword?”

Zhuang Xiangyang paused for a moment before slowly shaking his head, ”My answer is negative. This Qingbai Jade kylin is indeed a product of the Song Dynasty, but it is from the Southern Song period. Although there’s only a few decades’ difference, they were certainly not crafted simultaneously.”

As soon as Zhuang Xiangyang said this, everyone looked at Professor Qian and Huo Sining in astonishment, while Professor Qian’s face turned completely pale.

Huo Sining’s gaze towards Zhuang Xiangyang was filled with admiration. She was able to determine that the Qingbai Jade and the ancient sword were not from the same period by using her Heavenly Eye Skill; the rich purple aura on the Qingbai Jade was a whole shade different from the sword, and there were other engravings inside the kylin’s inlay spot. That’s why she dared to conclude that the jade was added later.

However, Zhuang Xiangyang could differentiate it with just the naked eye and even see that there was a decades-long difference at a glance.

An artifact that’s hundreds of years old, differing by a few decades, wouldn’t have been a huge discrepancy, which is why Professor Qian and others failed to notice it.

But Zhuang Xiangyang, after just a few observations, was able to quickly make his judgment; such sharp discernment was indeed formidable, earning even Huo Sining’s deep respect.

”Where did you see that this jade kylin is from the Southern Song?”

Professor Qian, still somewhat unwilling to concede, felt that with Professor Zhuang’s statement, it would mean admitting defeat to Huo Sining. Winning or losing was trivial, but his reputation would be lost.

So he stared at the jade kylin for another few moments, but even after half a minute, he couldn’t see the problem Professor Zhuang mentioned, which left him doubting and irritated, prompting him to ask aloud.

Zhuang Xiangyang, observing Professor Qian’s expression, knew what he was thinking, and the smile on his face faded slightly:

”The reason is actually simple, the relief craftsmanship of the jade kylin is indeed exquisite, but the design is incorrect.”

”The kylin is an ancient divine beast with a status at least equal to that of the dragon, not lower. Before the Southern Song, it was typically depicted with a lion’s head, deer’s antlers, tiger’s eyes, moose’s body, dragon’s scales, and a cow’s tail all combined.”

”But the head of the kylin now clearly resembles a dragon’s head.”

With Zhuang Xiangyang’s explanation, everyone couldn’t help but follow his gaze to examine the jade kylin, and upon looking, they indeed found the kylin’s head to be more dragon-like.

”Why is this so? It’s because, during the Southern Song period, Temujin from the northern desert was invading wildly, and the Han people were driven southward by the Mongols, failing repeatedly in wars, living in harsh conditions.”

”Therefore, the Han people hoped that the country could reinvigorate and restore the glory of the Han dynasty. To express such wishes and expectations, craftsmen made corresponding modifications to totems of auspicious beasts.”

”The kylin is a symbol of auspiciousness, and with a status equal to the dragon, people placed high hopes in the kylin, changing its head to resemble a dragon’s, hoping it could, like a true dragon emperor, bestow them with blessings, defeat the northern Yuan Mongols, reclaim lost lands, and restore the prosperity of the Han people.”

With Zhuang Xiangyang’s explanation, everyone suddenly came to a realization.

This reasoning was simple yet very convincing, the national conditions of the Southern Song and Northern Song were different, leading to distinct characteristics in many antiques, and with Zhuang Xiangyang’s analysis, distinguishing whether this Qingbai Jade was from the Southern or Northern Song became much simpler.

However, Professor Qian was still not giving up, he absolutely did not want to admit defeat, because if he did, it would mean losing face in the Dexin Society:

”Professor Zhuang, is there a possibility that Lu Junyi, being highly skilled in martial arts and of high virtue and repute in Mount Liang, after reaching the second-in-command position, might have considered that post-rebellion he could become emperor, so he commissioned an artisan to carve this dragon-headed jade kylin to inlay on his sword?”

As soon as these words were uttered, Zhuang Xiangyang ran out of patience, glaring at Professor Qian in exasperation:

”If Lu Junyi really intended to become emperor, during the court’s amnesty he could have simply killed Song Jiang to become Mount Liang’s top leader. Moreover, if he truly desired to be an emperor, would he so blatantly carve a dragon on his personal sword to showcase his ambition? If he really did that, Song Jiang would be the first not to forgive him!”

Professor Qian’s argument seemed to Zhuang Xiangyang to be baseless sophistry. Initially, Zhuang Xiangyang wanted to give him some face considering his age, but unfortunately, Professor Qian was too narrow-minded. Making a wrong judgment in the antique circle was not shameful, as long as one admitted it openly, nobody would harshly criticize it. But stubbornly clinging to pride when proven wrong was somewhat irritating.

With Zhuang Xiangyang’s explanation, everyone understood clearly, and all the people in the shop looked at Huo Sining with astonished expressions.

Although many had heard about the recent international treasure appraisal conference, it was the first time they had seen Huo Sining appraise antiques up close, and no one expected that despite her youth, her appraisal skills were already so advanced.