Having read the Mulan flower order on the Jadeite Ring, the lovely Xu Nan was overcome with excitement.

The surrounding crowd was full of shock.

For antique merchants, an old object, once linked to a famous person, would skyrocket in value.

Especially if that person was Nalan Xingde, who was no ordinary celebrity!

"Manager Xu, pardon the interruption, but the antiques market is rife with fakes. As the general manager of Wanxin Hesheng, you can't determine the ring belonged to Nalan Xingde based solely on this Mulan flower order,"

came the challenge from a chubby man in the crowd.

Xu Nan smiled, her face blooming like a flower as she said, "Master Tong, tell him why we're certain this ring belonged to Nalan Xingde."

The middle-aged man responsible for appraisal frowned slightly, then said, "The Man Clan were expert horsemen and archers; originally, rings were simply protective tools to prevent injury from bowstrings.

Upon hearing this, someone in the crowd jeered, "Master Tong, can you cut the nonsense? Everyone has a Qing Dynasty ring, we all know their origin. Just tell us why you think this ring belonged to Nalan Xingde."

Master Tong frowned and said sternly, "Since everyone understands, then it's simple. In the Qing Dynasty, besides protecting the hand, rings also signified the wearer's social status."

"Jadeite rings, during the Qing Dynasty, were not permitted to be worn by anyone outside the nobility."

Someone interrupted, "There were many members of the Man Clan nobility. How can you be sure it definitely belonged to Nalan Xingde?"

The frequently interrupted Master Tong was somewhat displeased and said, "Rings belonging to the nobility of the Qing Dynasty were of two types: those of military officials were usually plain and undecorated, while those of civil officials often bore inscriptions and poems."

"There were many rings inscribed with poems. Isn't it too reckless to determine its owner just based on one poem?" Clearly, someone in the crowd was not convinced.

Master Tong cast a disdainful glance at that person and said nonchalantly, "Inscribed rings of the Qing nobility usually fell into two categories: one bore the Emperor's poems, aiming to demonstrate loyalty and an unwavering allegiance."

"The other kind often featured family instructions, flaunting the family's history as marquises or ministers while also, essentially, demonstrating loyalty."

Another interjection came from the crowd, "Huh? Could there not be a noble who simply liked the poetry of Nalan Xingde?"

Hearing this, Master Tong stopped talking and turned his face away in disdain.

The plump middle-aged man chuckled, "Naive kid. The nobility's circle was small, and in the Qing Dynasty, where a single sentence could provoke deadly trouble, would anyone dare inscribe the poetry of Nalan Xingde instead of the Emperor's?"

The crowd fell silent.

At that moment, the chubby man who had spoken first stepped forward and said, "Literati are often prideful; it's not rare to find poems on their rings."

The Stall Owner, who had been silently slapping his own face, suddenly spoke up coldly, "There were not a few literati in the Qing Dynasty, but not many noble literati could afford jade. This Jadeite Ring has premium water, is translucent to light, and is of the highest-quality material."

"Such material was unattainable in the Qing Dynasty unless one was a royal relative or nobility."

"Nalan Xingde's family, the Nalan Clan, belonged to the Plain Yellow Banner, one of the most distinguished of the Man Clan's eight great surnames in the early Qing, later known as the Aixinjueluo Family."

"His father was a grand academician at the Wuying Hall and a powerful minister, Nalan Mingzhu. His mother, from the Aixinjueluo Family, was the fifth daughter of Prince Yin of the first rank, a lady of the imperial order."

The chubby man demanded angrily, "Are you implying that just because it's made of fine material it belonged to Nalan Xingde?"

At this point, Master Tong patted the Stall Owner's shoulder, signaling him to stop speaking, and then turned to address everyone present, "The foremost poet of the Qing Dynasty, Nalan Xingde, was known to posterity not only for his 349 Nalan poems but also because his given name was Nalan Xingde, styled Rongruo."

"But what few people know is that his original name was Nalan Chengde. To avoid the taboo name of Crown Prince Bao Cheng, he changed his name to Nalan Xingde. A year later, the Crown Prince changed his name to Yin Reng, so Nalan was able to revert to his original name, Nalan Chengde."

Raising the jadeite ring in his hand, Master Tong smiled, "And the signature on this ring is none other than Nalan Chengde's."

Upon hearing this, the crowd present suddenly erupted into chaos.

"A genuine article!"

"It must be genuine!"

And almost simultaneously with the crowd's turmoil,

The fat man who had been skeptical all along suddenly stepped forward, staring at Shen Qiang and said, "My friend, I'll take this ring. Within one ring, three bedrooms and two living rooms at Fudu Jingyuan, plus six boutiques at Haixiang underground shopping mall, in exchange for this ring."

Hearing this, the stall owner became anxious.

"Two storefronts up and down on Pedestrian Street for the ring."

Their words left Shen Qiang dumbfounded.

You should know that although the housing prices in Provincial City can't compare with first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, two interconnected storefronts on both floors of the Pedestrian Street were worth at least six or seven million.

Suppressing the urge to nod in agreement right away, Shen Qiang looked at Master Tong and asked, "Master Tong, how much do you think this ring is worth?"

Master Tong smiled, paused for a moment, and said, "If it were simply sold as a ring, considering the material and craftsmanship, the market price is about 500,000, which would already be the limit."

"However, if it is authenticated by a more authoritative expert institution as indeed belonging to Nalan Xingde, its value would be at least ten million or more. If it comes across a collector obsessed with Nalan Xingde, a price around fifty million would not be too surprising."

The onlookers gazed at Shen Qiang with eyes full of shock.

"Three hundred yuan has made a multimillionaire!"

"Had I known there was such a treasure inside that jar, I would have bought it, even if it cost me everything I had."

"Alas, lucky brat. Who the hell would think that something like that would be in that broken jar? Besides, there are so many jars like that in the market. Who the hell's ever found anything good in them?"

Seeing Shen Qiang's dumbfounded expression, Master Tong became serious and said, "If you just want to make some money, selling this ring to one of the folks present is a good option because you never know how long it will take to sell if you put it up for auction. It could be months, or even ten to twenty years."

Hearing this, Shen Qiang smiled. Had he not had the blood coral and the Observation Skill, he would have undoubtedly chosen to sell the ring right there and then.

But now, Shen Qiang had the blood coral and the Observation Skill. Money was something that would continue to come his way, so looking at the anxious and expectant eyes of those present, Shen Qiang said indifferently, "This ring will be auctioned."

Upon hearing this, the fat man's eyes filled with disappointment. The stall owner looked utterly disheartened, for they knew that when it actually came to a major company like Wanxin Hesheng's auction, wealthy bidders from all over the world would not give them any chance.

Just then, a voice that sounded very unconfident suddenly arose, "Are the pocket watch and the land contract for sale?"

This remark made everyone present suddenly remember that Shen Qiang still had other items.

Master Tong heard this, glanced at the pocket watch, then looked at the land contract, and told Shen Qiang, "The price of a land contract from the late Qing Dynasty is generally under a thousand yuan, and a Big Eight-piece enamel pocket watch, looking at the condition, has a market price of about twenty thousand."

"If you link the land contract and pocket watch together and find the story behind them, you might be able to auction them off for about forty to fifty thousand, but it would be time-consuming and labor-intensive."

Hearing this, Shen Qiang laughed, "The land contract and pocket watch are for sale right now."

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