Zhang Moyan didn't sleep much all night. Last night, after she discovered that the porcelain pieces of the Wang family's plum vase had two layers of base, Xiao Xingyu took the box into the workshop in the backyard and never came back.

When everyone was having breakfast, Xiao Xingyu and Xiao Guotao were not at the table. She asked Uncle Chai, and Uncle Chai said that the grandfather and grandson had already had breakfast in the studio. In short, it would be best for everyone not to disturb them.

Zhang Moyan had a vague feeling that the secret was about to be revealed. Now it was in this process, and the result still needed to be waited for.

I was bored the whole morning and I don't know how many times I looked at my phone. It was almost ten o'clock when Xiao Xingyu suddenly called me.

"Mo Yan, come to Grandpa's place. We have made a major discovery."

Zhang Moyan immediately rushed to Xiao Guotao's yard, stepped over the threshold and walked into the rows of porcelain shelves that looked like a warehouse. Xiao Guotao and Xiao Xingyu were already waiting for him at the workbench.

Xiao Xingyu came forward and took her hand: "Wait a moment, Mrs. Yuan is on her way."

"Okay." Zhang Moyan's eyes slowly swept over the plum vase that was glued together on the wide workbench. Judging from the shape of the vase, it should be the Sima Guang-smashed vase from the Wang family. Why can it only be judged by the shape? Because the glaze layer on the surface of this plum vase has been removed, leaving only a bare body.

Soon, Old Lady Yuan, Wang Zhongguo and Xiao Wa arrived, and Xiao Weizhou and Xiao Huai were also called over by Xiao Guotao.

Xiao Guotao said to Zhang Moyan, "Sorry for the wait!" and beckoned everyone to come forward. "Yesterday, Xingyu's wife discovered two layers of clay beneath the glaze of this plum vase. Xingyu brought it to me overnight for research. After analysis, we suspect the two layers were made at different times. To understand why the vase was made twice, we discussed and decided to grind off the glaze and outer clay layers. Sure enough, we discovered the secret. Take a look here!"

"Is this... sculpture porcelain?" Xiao Huai couldn't help but sigh in surprise.

"That's understandable." Xiao Xingyu stood aside with his arms folded, giving the spot to watch to others.

Zhang Moyan looked at the bottle body that Xiao Guotao pointed to, and saw a pattern carved on the grayish-white body with the intaglio method. In fact, the structure of the picture was very similar to the previous "Sima Guang Smashing the Jar Picture". There were several figures on the ground, but they looked like adults instead of children. There was also something like a big jar in the center of the picture, with a little girl's upper body outside and her lower body inside.

"Brother Yu, what is this thing? The expression of the person on it is so weird. It looks so eerie!" Xiao Wa spoke his mind without any pretense.

However, what he said was exactly what Zhang Moyan felt. This painting did not have the feeling of revival like Sima Guang's previous painting of breaking the jar. Instead, it exuded a strong gloomy and suffocating temperament.

Old Madam Yuan and Wang Zhongguo were also confused and worried: "What does this mean? Could this be the secret of the legendary celadon porcelain that our family possesses?"

Xiao Xingyu was silent for a few seconds: "I think so."

Yuan Hongying, Wang Zhongguo and Xiaowa were all cheered up at the same time, and they changed their admiring eyes and looked at the plain bottle again.

Yuan Hongying asked excitedly: "What is this secret? What does this painting express?"

Xiao Xingyu and Xiao Guotao fell silent at the same time.

"Could it be..." Xiao Weizhou speculated with a cautious tone, "This is human sacrifice?"

"Human sacrifice?!" Wang Zhongguo was shocked, his hair standing on end. "This, this...how could this be human sacrifice?"

Xiao Xingyu lowered his folded arms, took a complicated look at the off-white plum vase carving, and narrated, "There's a legend recorded in Tsinghua University's handwritten copy of 'A Compilation of Materials on Famous Ancient Kilns.' It's said that the emperor issued an imperial decree to fire a new piece of sky-blue porcelain. Two porcelain officials failed to fire it and were beheaded. The third failed after firing two kilns. Finally, his seven-year-old daughter jumped into the third kiln and successfully fired the sky-blue porcelain."

Wang Zhongguo nearly fainted upon hearing this. "No, that's impossible! Is this what the painting is about? How could our ancestral secret...how could it be this?"

Xiao Wa angrily pointed at the thing that looked like a tank but was not a tank and half submerged the little girl, and asked loudly: "So what is this thing?!"

Xiao Huai's voice lost its warmth: "It's a kiln for firing porcelain."

"ah?"

The house was as quiet as after a bomb had been dropped. Zhang Moyan, Yuan Hongying, Wang Zhongguo and Xiao Wa were horrified and could not believe it for a long time.

After a moment, Zhang Moyan asked in confusion, "Why do you have to sacrifice people? Grandpa, you've also produced a few pieces of celadon-glazed porcelain, right? You shouldn't have used human sacrifice, right?"

Xiao Xingyu affirmed: "Of course not. Killing is against the law. There is no way Grandpa would be so cruel."

Xiao Guotao agreed with him: "The firing process of celadon porcelain is very difficult to observe, and there are many legends. Agate in the glaze is a common one, and there is also a less popular folk legend that human sacrifice was carried out. But I think these two are of little significance."

"Ah?" Xiao Wa was shocked. "Master Guo Tao, you have used people..."

Before he could finish his words, Xiao Xingyu glared at him and he quickly covered his mouth and stopped talking.

"Of course not," Xiao Guotao said. "Agate is mainly composed of silicon dioxide. I tried mixing agate into glaze and firing it, but it didn't work. I think it's probably because agate was also a precious gem in ancient times, and this legend is used to enhance the nobility of the celadon glaze. As for human sacrifice, although I have never used human remains, I have tried adding various animal bones to the kiln and firing them together, adjusting the proportions and changing the possible firing temperature, but I have not succeeded. The celadon glaze porcelains that I have occasionally fired have nothing to do with these two ingredients. It is more due to luck!"

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