Chapter 49

“Where did you get this jade ring?” Qin Cheng had seen this jade ring on Su Jingmo’s finger. Su Jingmo should’ve been used to riding horses and shooting arrows for years, so the jade ring on his thumb had worn out. However, this one in the seller’s hand was smooth, and the jade didn’t have any marks….

In ancient times, the jade ring was originally used to pull the bow and arrow when snapping the string. It was set on the archer’s right thumb in order to protect the archer’s right thumb from being hurt by the bow string. During the Shang Dynasty, the jade ring also had the function of pulling the bow and protecting the finger, which was not only longer than the later jade ring, but it also had groove marks on it. In the Warring States period, it began to become shorter, while in the Han Dynasty, the jade ring had 3 sharp jade thin pieces, similar to a jade pendant, with a small hook used to pull the string, however, this functions didn’t allow the jade ring to accept the force of pulling the bow so much. In the Song Dynasty there were some limitations of the jade ring from the Han Dynasty, and its style was more diverse, some flaky and some short cylindrical. In the Qing Dynasty, the jade ring was cylindrical, with one end concave inward, and one edge protruding forward. This way, it was more difficult to be used for archery because its raw materials were more rounded and lubricated, so it ended up becoming a symbol of decoration, identity, and popular trend.

During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong was fond of jade rings. Everyone who likes watching tv dramas knows that, and most of the well-known jade rings to modern society are from that period.

Qin Cheng remembers that not long ago, the price of a set of seven Qianlong Imperial jade rings were sold for more than 40 million HKD ¹ , which shows the great value of the jade rings.

Su Jingmo’s jade ring is different from the late Qing Dynasty, which is a symbol of power and nobility. Except for the necessary ornaments, it’s not as round as the ones the Emperor Qianlong liked. Instead, it’s slightly thick up and down, with grooves in the middle, which was convenient for archery.

The jade ring the seller had on his hand was almost identical to the one Su Jingmo has on his finger, except that this one wasn’t as worn and teared, as if the owner of this jade ring was someone who wasn’t good at riding and shooting……

If that person had the same jade ring as Su Jingmo, then his status must’ve been similar to Su Jingmo’s. Qin Cheng guessed that, at least, the owner of this jade ring should also be a member of the Royal Family of Great Xu.

The middle-aged man, who took out the jade ring, heard Qin Cheng’s words. When he saw that Qin Cheng’s eyes were glowing, he knew that he might’ve found a big treasure. With a big smile on his face, he put the jade ring away. “I obtained this ring by looking at it over and over, since the jade is quite good. At first, I thought that it was a homemade high imitation jade ring, after all, it’s hard to find a jade ring that was used thousands of years ago, let alone one that has such an exquisite pattern as this one.”

Qin Cheng agreed on this. One should know that a dragon pattern hollowed out jade ring from the Tang Dynasty was sold for 400 million yuan ² .

‘ However, I believe that this man also thinks that this jade ring doesn’t look like any known Dynasty craftsmanship, so that’s why he hadn’t put it on display yet. ’

“Do you know from what period this is from?” Qin Cheng asked tentatively.

“It should…. be from the Tang Dynasty, right? Or is it from the Northern and Southern Dynasties?”

The middle-aged man wasn’t sure when he spoke, because the one who gave this ring to him at the beginning was also confused about the age of this jade ring, so that’s why he sold it to him for such a low price….

Carefully observing the middle-aged man’s expression, Qin Cheng was sure that the man in front of him wasn’t sure from where this antique had come from. Then, he pretended to be a Taobao customer and approached the middle-aged man to ask him in a low voice: “Did you ‘take’ this antique out of the ‘wood’ from the ‘earth slope’?”

‘Earth slope’ and ‘wood’ is the local dialect for ‘tomb’ and ‘coffin’, respectively. When Qin Cheng said those words, the middle-aged man hurriedly shook his head: “I don’t dare to do such a thing. It’s enough for me to resell antiques, I don’t have the heart to dig other people’s ancestral graves, let alone the courage.”

After hearing this much, Wu Hai would naturally guess that this jade ring must be a precious item from Great Xu, so he said: “It’s hard for us to talk with people coming and going on this street, so why don’t we find a quieter place to talk?”

After hearing this, the middle-aged man couldn’t agree. He sensed that there was something wrong with these two, and he was afraid that they’ll be some grave robbers. When such thought crossed over his mind, he really regretted saying all that. “No no no. I’ve business to do here. If you have nothing else to say, then just give the 2500 yuan for the black jade hairpin, and go.”

Since the middle-aged man didn’t want to keep talking to them, they were afraid that he had mistook them for grave robbers…. It wasn’t easy to find some clues, so how could Qin Cheng give up? After thinking it over, he decided to not explain, and he simply said: “I’m simply asking you to tell me what you know.”

The middle-aged man was just a businessman who liked to collect things, and then sell the fake items to tourists to earn some money to make a living. If they can dig up dead people’s items, then these two individuals aren’t afraid of anything. After thinking about this, the middle-aged man sighed: “I really don’t know. I’m afraid that I don’t know much about the man who sold these items to me. But, ah… the man who sold the jade ring to me said this item was bought from this market, and that some people selling antiques in Zhanglan Antique Market, are in ‘that line of work’. He said that there are some rare treasures in Zhongdu Township, but…. I don’t know the details.”

“Zhongdu Township?” When they heard this, Wu Hai and Qin Cheng glanced at each other. It seemed that Qin Cheng’s speculation was quite accurate. There must be ancient tombs in Zhongdu Township for sure.

“Well, I don’t know. I’ve also been to Zhongdu Township, but I haven’t seen any place where a treasure may be hidden. Maybe it’s just a rumor. Ah, well, well, that’s all I have to say. I don’t know anything else. If you want to know more, you’ll have to ask other people.”

In other words, they couldn’t ask more questions anymore. After all, robbing a tomb was a crime in itself…. Qin Cheng put away the black jade hairpin, paid for it, and then left with Wu Hai.

“Do you want to go with grave robbers to find the Imperial Mausoleum?”

“No.” Qin Cheng smiled and shook his head: “I just thought that I could get some information.”

Wu Hai frowned: “It wouldn’t have been good if you were caught. This isn’t a joke…. What are we going to do next? Just now the seller said that there must be grave robbers in the market. Do you want to go look for them?”

“Even if we do find them, they won’t tell us anything. At least, I’m sure that the Imperial Mausoleum is around Pingyao, and that there are some grave robbers who are patronizing it.”

Wu Hai looked at Qin Cheng, and asked: “Was it that jade ring? Have you seen it inside the Ninghua Village’s tomb?”

“Yes, I’ve seen it; and it’s exactly the same.”

These words represented a heavy meaning. Ninghua Village’s tomb is an Imperial Mausoleum. So, generally speaking, those who have the exact same objects as Emperors, can only have the same status as an Emperor, and it’s even more likely that they were forged at the same time.

“That jade ring still looks brand-new, as if it hasn’t been used much.” When Wu Hai said this, he was happy. “If an object is used to accompany the burial, and excluding the favorite objects of the deceased, that object should be something of great significance. What do you think this jade ring represents?”

Qin Cheng probably had the answer already in mind: “Do you mean, that the jade ring is a symbol of the Emperor of Great Xu?”

Wu Hai nodded: “Yes. Speaking of which, the jade ring should’ve been worn on the finger of the tomb’s owner to accompany the burial, so if you saw it, you must have opened the coffin, right? Are the bones of the tomb’s owner in Ninghua Village still there?”

Wu Hai’s words made Qin Cheng stunned for a moment. Then, he shook his head with a complicated expression on his face, and replied: “The corpse must’ve turned into ashes a long time ago…. there’s nothing left behind….”

Without noticing that something was wrong with Qin Cheng’s reaction, Wu Hai continued: “Tsk, such a pity. If the bones were still there, then we could restore the appearance of the tomb’s owner with technology.”

Qin Cheng didn’t reply to this. When Wu Hai saw that Qin Cheng wasn’t speaking to him, and how his mood didn’t seem to be very good, Wu Hai thought about his silence for a long time, and then asked: “Qin Cheng, did you see anything else in that tomb?”

Qin Cheng would hide a lot of things when he speaks, Wu Hai was able to tell. But in the end, Qin Cheng never said anything. Moreover, there were some things that were even more complicated for Wu Hai to ask Qin Cheng about.

“Nothing.” Qin Cheng said. Then, he changed the subject: “Since that person mentioned Zhongdu Township, let’s go there. There’s no way we’ll be able to find any more clues here.” Qin Cheng then looked at Wu Hai, and smiled: “It’s not that I don’t want to say ‘something’. It’s just that I don’t know how to say it. Wait until….. until these things are sorted out, then you’ll know everything about it.”

(๑’ڡ’๑)୨

Footnotes

<ol><b>港元</b> <b>gǎng yuán</b> ; Hong Kong Dollar, is the currency unit of Hong Kong. It’s usually abbreviated with the dollar symbol, but ‘HKD’ is used to differentiate it from other currencies. $ 40 million HKD are approx. usd $ 5 million. Current year (2021). Approx. usd $ 61 million, current year (2021).</ol>