Chapter 32: Sitting at Home, the Pot Falls from the Sky

Two streets south of Wealth Street is Qipan Street.

This place is lined with shops, elegantly decorated, with a subtle fragrance lingering in the air; though not as bustling as Wealth Street or Dengshi Street, once night falls, it is filled with brilliant lanterns and surging crowds.

Just past the You hour this day, Zhang Yunxiu led the Wanli Emperor to the entrance of Qipan Street.

Peering inside, the Wanli Emperor saw that most of the pedestrians were just strolling about and not really buying anything, so he couldn't help but ask Zhang Yunxiu, "What kind of place is this? Why is no one buying anything?"

"It's not that they aren't buying, it's that they have to be selective," Zhang Yunxiu smiled and explained patiently. "This is Qipan Street, the largest place for trading antiques in the capital."

"Perfect, I am still short of some basins in the palace; I shall buy enough for today in one go."

As he spoke, the Wanli Emperor stepped onto the bluestone floor and entered the street.

The attendants behind him dared not be slow and followed closely.

Because the Wanli Emperor looked young and was wearing a magnificent robe, he looked like a mark at first glance.

Sure enough, as soon as he stepped in, a middle-aged man with a goatee immediately came up to greet him, shouting, "Yo, this young master looks unfamiliar; is this your first time here?"

The Wanli Emperor was noncommittal; he glanced at the man and said, "If you have any good items, bring them all out for this young master."

"Got it." The goatee-wearing boss smiled, led the Wanli Emperor into the shop, took out an exquisite porcelain basin, and introduced it, "This is Jun porcelain from the Song Dynasty. It is already a masterpiece to have survived until now. I spent a great deal of effort to buy it."

The Wanli Emperor looked down and saw that the patterns on the Jun porcelain were clear and the workmanship exquisite, and he couldn't help but feel delighted.

"How much?"

"Two hundred taels, final price!" The goatee-wearing boss smiled and held up two fingers.

The Wanli Emperor immediately took two silver notes from his bosom and handed them over.

"Wait!" Zhang Yunxiu saw it clearly and snatched the silver notes away.

The goatee-wearing boss was stunned and cast his gaze toward the Wanli Emperor again.

Zhang Yunxiu smiled at the confused little emperor, hooked the boss by the shoulder, pulled him to the side, and whispered, "You dare to ask for two hundred taels of silver for this piece of junk? You have a lot of nerve."

"Don't talk nonsense, the things here are all genuine." The goatee-wearing boss was anxious and hurriedly explained.

"Thirty taels, take it or leave it." Zhang Yunxiu couldn't be bothered to argue with him and gave the bottom price directly.

"You..." The goatee-wearing boss widened his eyes, struggled for a moment, and gritted his teeth, "Fine, I see that you two young masters are sincere, and I haven't made a sale today, so I'll take it as a good omen."

Damn you.

Zhang Yunxiu almost cursed out loud; this boss was making at least 25 taels in pure profit.

He glared at the boss, took out a thirty-tael silver note from his bosom, and handed it over. The boss looked miserable and reluctant as he handed the Jun porcelain to Zhang Yunxiu.

"What are you two whispering about?" The Wanli Emperor saw the two of them dawdling and couldn't help but shout.

"Oh, nothing, it's just that the boss said he wanted to give you a small item, and we were thinking about what would be good to give." Zhang Yunxiu smiled at the Wanli Emperor, then turned cold and threatened the boss, "We are friends with the Ceremonial Eunuch Zhang Jing; throw in another item, or I will burn down your shady shop tomorrow."

When the goatee-wearing boss heard that Zhang Yunxiu had such connections, his body immediately began to tremble with fear.

He darted his shifty eyes around, added a smaller piece of Jun porcelain, and presented it to Zhang Yunxiu.

"This is my first sale of the day, so consider this a gift for the young master to bring you good luck."

When the Wanli Emperor heard there was such a good deal, he felt he had saved quite a bit, so he smiled at the boss, grabbed the Jun porcelain, and walked out.

After they left, the boss took a deep breath, went to the backyard, and took four or five more pieces of Jun porcelain out of a basket.

On the other side, the Wanli Emperor visited two or three more shops but did not find anything he liked.

However, during this time, under Zhang Yunxiu's guidance, his haggling skills had improved significantly. No matter how much the other party asked for, he would cut it in half first.

While the group was resting, a young eunuch ran back excitedly, his face flushed as he shouted, "Young Master Emperor, there is a painting shop ahead; I guarantee you will like it."

"Let's go, let's take a look!" The Wanli Emperor immediately got energized and started walking.

The painting shop consisted of three small connected rooms, decorated with great care.

A red carpet was laid at the entrance, with a Yuan Dynasty large blue-and-white vase on each side. Looking inside, the candlelight shielded by glass made the whole room shine brightly.

As soon as the group entered, the painting shop owner immediately came up to greet them.

He said proudly, "Young masters, feel free to look around. I can guarantee that whatever other shops have, I have here too. And what they don't have, I have as well!"

"Oh?" The Wanli Emperor became interested and shouted at the boss, "Then bring out everything that others don't have. If I like them, there will be no shortage of rewards for you."

Seeing that the group was wealthy, the boss knew business had arrived, so he didn't hold anything back.

He turned and paced back to the inner chamber, taking out several scrolls. He took one out and led the group to a bright spot.

As he unrolled it, he smiled and introduced, "This is an authentic work by Tang Yin, Tang Bohu. I guarantee it will satisfy you all."

As he spoke, the painting was unrolled.

Watching with appreciation, except for the few eunuchs, Zhang Yunxiu and the others felt their hearts heat up.

One had to admit, Old Tang's spring palace paintings were truly excellent.

The Wanli Emperor was just worrying that his techniques weren't skillful enough, so he immediately decided to buy it.

"Three hundred taels each, five in total. If the young master wants them, I'll charge you one thousand taels of silver," the boss said, finalizing the price.

"Five hundred taels!" The Wanli Emperor held up five fingers.

"This," the boss looked troubled, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said with a bitter smile, "Fine, I see that the young master is sincere. I'll treat these five paintings as a way to make a friend of you, young master."

The Wanli Emperor was overjoyed and was just about to take out money to pay when someone suddenly called out, "Wait, one thousand taels, I want these paintings."

Zhang Yunxiu and the others were startled by this interruption and hurriedly turned their heads to find the owner of the voice.

They saw a man of about twenty-five or twenty-six, of medium build, with sunken eyes and a pale face, looking like someone who had indulged too much in wine and women.

He was waving a gold-paper fan, glanced at the group sideways, and walked up to the boss with an arrogant look.

"One thousand taels, I'll take them."

"Oh, yes, yes, yes," the painting shop owner hurriedly replied with a fawning smile.

"Boss, there should be a first-come, first-served rule for things, right?" The Wanli Emperor was extremely displeased.

"What first-come, first-served? Buying things has always been about the highest bidder since ancient times. Why pretend to be a rich young master if you have no money?" The sleazy youth chuckled and mocked.

The Wanli Emperor was completely enraged, but thinking he couldn't reveal his identity, he could only coldly memorize the youth's appearance, preparing to settle the score later.

Seeing that the few did not dare to pursue the matter, the young man felt immensely pleased with himself; he pointed at the paintings and calligraphy and said, "Wrap them all up for me and send them to the residence of Eunuch Zhang Jing. And those few over there, I want those as well."

"I was wondering who it was; so it is someone from Eunuch Zhang's residence, no wonder they are so generous," the shopkeeper said, and could not help but add a remark to the Emperor, "Look at them, that is what you call a young master from a wealthy family."

Upon hearing this, the Wanli Emperor was so angry his face turned black, and with a flick of his sleeve, he stepped out of the painting shop.

Zhang Yunxiu was delighted to the extreme, while Wei Qing and the others looked at each other in dismay; they knew that this time, Zhang Jing was truly going to be in for a dark surprise.

(End of this chapter)