Chapter 358: Imperial Edict

"Brother Jin, where are we going?"

"To Daiyuexuan."

"You're going to buy brushes?"

Tang Nanjin was stunned: "San'er, you're beating around the bush to insult me, aren't you?"

"If you go to Daiyuexuan and don't buy brushes, then what are you buying?" Jing Zeyang said with conviction, "If you don't believe me, ask Cousin Lin?"

Tang Nanjin glared, and with a flick of his hand, he swung a slap: "I'll give you a smack first!"

Lin Sicheng smiled: Daiyuexuan does indeed sell brushes; it has at least three hundred years of history, even older than Rongbaozhai.

But this place doesn't just sell brushes; it also sells paper, ink, inkstones, and even antiques. However, most of these are calligraphy and painting, ancient books, and stationery-related items.

There is an advantage to hunting for antiques here: although there is no legally binding guarantee of authenticity or after-sales service, you basically won't buy fakes. If you happen to buy a reproduction, you can generally return it for a full refund.

The downside is that it's expensive, and the prices are high: for the same item, it might only sell for five thousand outside, but here, it would cost at least twenty thousand.

Therefore, Lin Sicheng rarely enters such places, including Rongbaozhai, because there is no way to pick up a bargain, and naturally, there is no cost-effectiveness.

But for ordinary collectors, enthusiasts, or those looking for an item to give as a gift, such a place could not be more suitable—

It wasn't far, and the three of them walked over.

It was three stories tall with a bright red lacquered wooden storefront, and brocade curtains hung from the carved door lintels.

Stepping over the threshold was like entering a forest of brushes: grasping, lifting, pairing, long, short, wolf, sheep, rabbit, rat, goose—all kinds of writing brushes hung like swords.

Tang Nanjin gave his name, and the shop assistant led them to the exhibition hall.

The place was quite large, with calligraphy and painting on the walls and bookshelves all around. A rough scan showed that while it was hard to tell if the ancient books in the cabinets were real, the calligraphy and paintings on the walls were all imitations.

But this is normal: firstly, to prevent theft; secondly, to prevent unruly children; and even more so, to prevent unruly adults with wandering hands.

There weren't many customers, just a few here and there. Seeing Lin Sicheng, Yan Wenjing hurried over to greet him.

Over the past month, the two had basically been together every day and were as familiar as could be, but Yan Wenjing remained very polite.

To the point of giving a feeling of being respectful and submissive: he shook hands with both hands and even kept his waist hunched.

Jing Zeyang didn't understand the reason and looked on with curiosity, but Tang Nanjin didn't think much of it: if it weren't for Lin Sicheng, it would be a question of whether Yan Wenjing could keep wearing this uniform, let alone serve as Captain.

Isn't it normal to be respectful?

Xu Qin was even more polite, even a bit uneasy.

But this was also normal: anyone who knew what Lin Sicheng had done over the past month would feel a sense of looking up to a high mountain, unable to catch up.

Only Tang Nan Yan felt wrong no matter how she looked at it.

Tang Nanjin was her own cousin, and Jing Zeyang was a mortal enemy she had beaten since childhood; they knew Tang Nan Yan's personality best: fiery as fire, carefree, and if she was close to someone, she was incredibly intimate.

Like with Xu Qin, or Jing Zeyang's ex-girlfriend.

If she didn't get along with someone, it was like an enemy; if the conversation didn't go well, she would resort to violence, like with Jing Zeyang.

It wasn't that there weren't people who were neither close nor distant, like colleagues such as Yan Wenjing; they basically only spoke when there was business and didn't interact otherwise.

But at this moment, Tang Nan Yan seemed to want to be close but didn't dare, so she deliberately kept her distance. She wanted to show her gentle side as much as possible but didn't know how to express it. Even her thoughts, her words, and her physical expressions were completely different things.

Not only was she twisted, but she was also awkward.

Subconsciously, Jing Zeyang suddenly remembered a line: "A woman adorns herself for the one who understands her."

It might not be entirely fitting, but that was definitely the meaning.

Heavens have mercy, could a tigress actually be lovesick? Fortunately, Lin Sicheng was strong enough to fight and tough enough to take a beating; if it were anyone else, they would have been scared away long ago—

Thinking this to himself, Jing Zeyang was secretly enjoying the show when he was glared at by Tang Nan Yan.

Jing Zeyang curled his lips and tilted his chin: What can you do to me?

Tang Nan Yan didn't say anything, just let out a cold snort: If Lin Sicheng weren't there, she could beat the crap out of Jing San'er.

After some small talk, Yan Wenjing looked mysterious, pulled Lin Sicheng to a glass cabinet, and pointed to an ancient book: "Teacher Lin, look at this!"

Lin Sicheng took a look: thread-bound, blue cover, with five small regular-script characters on it: Thirteen Postures Brief Explanation.

In the lower-left corner was the signature: Yang Fukui.

Lin Sicheng gave an "Oh?": Yang Luchan?

The "Guangping Prefecture Yang Family Genealogy" records: The tenth generation, Fukui, courtesy name Luchan. Because in the late Qing Dynasty, elders and peers mostly addressed people by their courtesy names, while juniors added "Teacher" after the courtesy name. Over time, Yang Luchan became widely known, while few people knew his original name, Yang Fukui.

But if one were to rank the martial arts masters of the late Qing and Republic of China, Yang Luchan would certainly be one of them.

How high his kung fu was, no one knows, and whether he was the legendary top expert in Beijing is no longer verifiable, but it is a fact that he served as a martial arts instructor in the Su Prince Mansion and as a drillmaster in the Shanpu Battalion (Qing Imperial Inner Guard).

This is recorded in the archives of the Forbidden City and the historical materials preserved in the Su Prince Mansion, Dun Prince Mansion, and Duan Prince Mansion.

He studied under the Hebei Chen Family Valley Taiji master Chen Zhangxing, later created Yang Style Taiji, and also practiced Xingyi, though he mostly practiced with the long spear.

His most formidable skill was his practical Taiji, which is exactly this book in front of us, also known as the "Small Frame Thirteen Postures."

It looks like a hand-copied manuscript by Yang Luchan, and looking at the paper and silk thread, it is nine times out of ten a teaching manual from when he taught boxing in the Prince Mansions and the palace.

It's even possible it was a boxing manual studied by one of the princes; otherwise, there would be no need to hand-copy it so deliberately.

Lin Sicheng took a look: "Captain Yan, how much is this?"

Yan Wenjing gestured a "ten" and then an "eight": "They say it flowed out of the Duan Prince Mansion, and it even has annotations by Zaiyi (Prince Duan) on it."

As expected?

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "Not worth it!"

His purpose in practicing boxing was just to stay healthy and incidentally defend himself; he actually didn't have a very strong interest in researching martial arts.

Picking up a bargain is fine, like the Heart Intent Boxing Original Manual by Ji Jike last time, but if it meant spending a large sum of money specifically to buy one to study, it really wasn't necessary.

"Whether it's worth it or not aside, I'm mainly afraid you won't find a use for it," Yan Wenjing said with a smile. "But don't worry, Beijing is so big; if you search carefully, you'll always find something suitable!"

This was 180,000, not 180.

Lin Sicheng sighed: "Brother Yan, there's no need!"

The "Brother Yan" made Yan Wenjing's eyes light up: "Good!"

Jing Zeyang stood to the side, the more he watched, the stranger he felt.

Why did it feel like when Brother Yan stood before Lin Sicheng, it was just like meeting a superior?

More importantly, the book they had just mentioned: no matter what the object was, as long as it had a connection to the Imperial Palace or a Wangfu, there was nothing cheap about it.

That gesture Yan Wenjing had just made was definitely for 180,000. With Yan Wenjing's salary, he would have to work for four years without eating or drinking.

So, what had Lin Sicheng done to make Brother Yan go to such great lengths to curry favor?

Seeing his eyes rolling, as if he were up to no good again, Tang Nanjin patted him on the shoulder: "Don't be pointlessly curious if there's nothing going on!"

No—Brother Jin, I can't even think about it?

As the words reached his lips, Jing Zeyang turned a corner in his mind, recalling the scene in the car: "Sicheng, I heard from Second Uncle that you put in a lot of effort for this case?"

Looking at Brother Yan again, then at Section Chief Xu, Jing Zeyang obediently shut his mouth: This case was definitely not as small as Lin Sicheng had said.

And it was definitely not as he had said, just beating the drums on the side or just tagging along.

Brother Jin wasn't afraid of his curiosity; he was afraid of him prying blindly: with this mouth of Jing San'er's, as long as he could find a hole the size of a Needle tip, he could definitely blow out a Wind the size of a Bowl—

Just as he was secretly suspicious, a noisy sound came from outside, and several people turned their heads subconsciously.

It was the side hall at the other end, separated by the main hall filled with calligraphy brushes. It was a bit far, so it wasn't very clear, but they could only see a few people gathered in a circle, as if they were arguing about something.

Suddenly, another roar came: "This is too bullying, you only offer 20,000—and this is an Imperial Edict?"

Several people were all startled: What the hell?

Jing Zeyang stood on tiptoe: "Manager, Manager, what did he just say? An Imperial Edict?"

The manager turned his head and looked: "It seems they came for an appraisal; they've been talking for a long time. I don't know exactly what it is!"

"Can we go over and take a look?"

"Of course you can!"

As the words fell, Jing Zeyang took the lead and ran over in a flash.

Lin Sicheng was also very curious: after all, an Imperial Edict was not a common thing.

"Let's go, let's go see!"

The group marched imposingly to the other side.

It was much smaller than the exhibition hall, more like a reception area, and four people were sitting on the sofa in the corner. Two men wearing Daiyuexuan uniforms were slightly older; they should be the master experts specializing in appraisals.

Sitting opposite them were a man and a woman, who looked like a mother and son. A leather suitcase was placed by their feet, the lid half-closed, looking like a simple storage box.

The man was muttering, the woman had a face full of sorrow and sat motionless. The two master experts opposite looked very helpless.

No need to ask; one look at the expressions of these four and one knew: it was likely the mother and son had come for an appraisal, or more likely to sell something, but they were not very satisfied with the appraisal result, and even less satisfied with the valuation.

But thinking about it, it didn't seem right: it was an Imperial Edict after all; if it were fake, it would certainly be worthless. If it were real, it wouldn't be as low as 20,000.

Not wanting to go right up to them, the group went to the side, and Jing Zeyang blinked his eyes, watching the young man pack things into the suitcase.

Whether there was an Imperial Edict or not, he didn't know, but there were indeed two scroll-like objects.

Seeing the young man pack them up and lock the suitcase, looking like he was about to leave, Jing Zeyang couldn't hold back: "Buddy, do you have an Imperial Edict?"

The young man paused and looked at him: "Are you buying?"

"Buying, whoever doesn't buy is a grandson!" Jing Zeyang patted his chest, "But don't we have to look at the goods first?"

Although he hadn't been in Beijing for long, nine out of ten people who liked to brag were like this. One look and he knew this guy was purely here to watch the fun.

The young man sneered: "E zei!"

Jing Zeyang didn't understand, was stunned for a moment, and turned his head again: "Cousin Lin, this is a Shaanxi local, right? Is he scolding me?"

Lin Sicheng held back a laugh: "Scolding isn't quite it, he's just expressing an emotion!"

After replying, he smiled at the young man again: "Big brother, where are you from?"

The young man paused slightly: "A fellow Xie?"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "My family is from Xijing!"

"I'm from Tongchuan!" The young man nodded: "Brother, are you here to sell antiques too?"

"I'm not selling, I'm just here to look around with friends. We heard you mention an Imperial Edict over there, so we came over specifically to take a look!"

Lin Sicheng looked at the suitcase under his hand, "Is there really an Imperial Edict?"

"Would I lie to you?"

"How about taking it out for us to see? If it's real, we can talk!" As he spoke, Lin Sicheng looked at the shop assistant, "Don't worry, we're just looking. If we make a deal, we'll go outside!"

The manager looked at the two masters, and the masters looked at Yan Wenjing, nodding imperceptibly.

Of course, it wasn't according to the rules, but rules are dead and people are alive; one couldn't apply rules to everyone—

The young man was stunned for a moment: "What do you mean, you want to buy!"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "Of course!"

The young man didn't speak, looking around at the group.

It was no wonder he was suspicious: there were six of them in total, and every single one was young.

The only one who was a bit older was Xu Qin, who looked to be in her early forties, but one look told him she didn't look like the one in charge, and even less like someone who bought antiques.

On the contrary, this fellow Xie looked young, but he exuded a calmness rare for his age.

The key was that he looked very imposing at first glance, and didn't look like someone who was short on money—

He looked back at the woman, and seeing that she didn't say anything, the young man carried the suitcase and sat down on this side: "Fine, looking is fine, it's okay if you don't buy!"

As he spoke, he took them out one by one: two short scrolls, one long and one short, and an ancient book, all packed in an acrylic box.

Jing Zeyang looked curious and was just about to get up, but was pressed back down by Tang Nanjin: "Don't make trouble!"

Pouting, Jing Zeyang sat back down.

There were only three items, placed one by one on the coffee table. The young man looked at Lin Sicheng: "You can look, but let's agree first: if you buy, you buy all three together; I won't sell them separately!"

"What about the price?"

"Three pieces for five hundred thousand!"

Lin Sicheng nodded: not all Imperial Edicts are valuable.

If the reign was short, or if it was from a local regime, even if the Imperial Edict is genuine, it is only worth three or five hundred thousand.

It is not unheard of for them to be worth a little over a hundred thousand, or even just a few tens of thousands—

In a flash, the young man took out the scroll, untied the cord, and leaned back, signaling for Lin Sicheng to take a look himself.

Tang Nan Yan thoughtfully borrowed a pair of gloves for him, along with a high-magnification High-intensity Flashlight.

When looking at Calligraphy and Painting, one doesn't actually need these much, but since they had been brought over, Lin Sicheng did not decline.

Putting on the gloves and picking up the Magnifying Glass, he first spread out the longer scroll.

It was not an Imperial Edict, but a colored Landscape Pattern. The size was not small, a full four-foot sheet (138cm x 69cm).

What was strange was that there was only the painting: no title, no signature, no name, and no colophon.

After a rough scan, Lin Sicheng understood: this should be one piece from a paper-based colored landscape album; judging by the terrain and composition, the entire set must have at least ten pieces.

Looking at the composition again, he was stunned for a moment: the one in the middle looked somewhat familiar; it looked like the Luoyan Peak of Huashan.

Looking at the two peaks in the distance, Lin Sicheng suddenly realized: the one slightly closer was Songkuai Peak, and the one slightly further away was Xiaozi Peak.

Green mountains and clear waters, stone paths in the distance, three peaks standing side by side, and two woodcutters climbing the steps—this should be the Mount Hua South Peak Painting.

The key was that the paper was old enough, and the painting was done extremely well. Moreover, it was highly distinctive: the mountain rocks used the Southern Song Dynasty Ma Yuan Axe Cut Texture, with the edges and corners of the granite clearly defined.

The trees were outlined with thin, hard brushstrokes for the branches, and the leaves were rendered using the cluster-dot method to present an autumnal mood, with a profound artistic conception. The figures were outlined with simple strokes, yet they were vivid and lifelike.

Especially the coloring: with ink as the base, light ochre and indigo were applied only to the clouds, mist, and moss dots, maintaining an elegant and harmonious balance.

No matter how one looked at it, this should be the work of a famous master—

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