Hearing the male servant's words, Ning Zhiheng nodded and said, "Thank you!"

Liu Datong, who was standing nearby, saw the whole scene clearly. He secretly curled his lip and thought to himself, "A mere gatekeeper from a schoolteacher's family dares to accept a doorman's gift from Magistrate Ning? He really doesn't know his place. It seems this so-called Professor Fang is no good either!"

Ning Zhiheng and his two companions followed the male servant into the room and into the living room. The servant invited them to sit on the sofa for a moment, then turned to invite Professor Fang.

A short while later, an elderly professor with a thin face and a refined demeanor slowly walked down from the second floor.

Ning Zhiheng and Chen Yanqing immediately stood up. Seeing that the two of them had stood up to greet him, Liu Datong naturally dared not be negligent and had no choice but to reluctantly stand up as well.

When Ning Zhiheng saw Fang Boyi, he was taken aback, but his expression remained normal. He smiled and said, "I apologize for my unauthorized visit, Professor Fang."

Fang Boyi laughed heartily, waved for the three to sit down, and said, "I am but a name without substance. The three of you have come with sincere intentions. What advice do you have for me?"

After Fang Boyi finished speaking, he turned around and sat down in the main seat, smiling as he looked at the three of them, or more precisely, at Ning Zhiheng.

He was experienced and had a sharp eye; upon meeting the three, he immediately recognized Ning Zhiheng's outstanding presence. As the three sat side-by-side, Ning Zhiheng occupied the middle seat. Although he appeared to be the youngest, his upright posture and composed demeanor clearly made him the leader among the three.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Fang Boyi, Ning Zhiheng took two jade boxes out of the iron box and gently placed them on the tea table, pushing them forward. He said, "My name is Ning Zhiheng. My family has some assets. I also enjoy antiques and jade. Today, I happened to acquire two jade pieces, but my eyesight is poor, and I cannot determine their origin. I would appreciate Professor Fang's guidance and expert appraisal!"

In the antique trade, there's an old rule: "Jade should not be handled by others," especially for very fragile antiques like jade and porcelain. One person should always place the item on the table first, and then the other person should pick it up to examine it.

It is considered very taboo for hands to touch. If it is a delicate or fragile item, it may fall to the ground and break if not handled properly, causing trouble for both parties, easily leading to disputes, and damaging harmony.

Don't overestimate the moral bottom line of some people with ulterior motives. It's not just in Ning Zhiheng's previous life that there were people who staged accidents to extort money; there are also some people in this era who specialize in doing so!

However, instead of targeting cars, they target antiques, specifically exploiting these hand-to-hand exchanges to extort money. An item might have a minor flaw that isn't apparent on the surface, but it suddenly breaks when it's handed to you! Then they start extorting money from you.

Ning Zhiheng did just that, gently pushing the two jade boxes in front of Fang Boyi.

"Oh, then I'd like to take a look," Fang Boyi said with a smile.

He steadily picked up a jade box with both hands, gently opened it, and a delicate jade magatama appeared before his eyes. He held it up to his eyes and examined it carefully for a long time before speaking, "This is a jade magatama of excellent quality! Mr. Ning, do you know what a magatama is?"

Ning Zhiheng nodded and replied, "I know. I have some knowledge about magatama. Magatama have appeared in East Asian countries such as China, Japan, and Korea. The purpose of my meeting with Professor Fang is to find out where this magatama came from."

Fang Boyi looked at Ning Zhiheng and noticed that he wasn't concerned about the authenticity of the magatama, but instead asked about its origin. He was a little surprised, hesitated for a moment, and then replied, "It should be from Japan!"

"I hope you can enlighten me!" Ning Zhiheng continued to ask. He had his reasons for wanting to determine the exact origin of this jade magatama. He had a vague feeling that this tenant, Dong Chengjie, was very likely connected with Japanese spies!

Fang Boyi leaned back in his chair, confidently stating, "The magatama, a type of jade ornament, has a history in both my country and Japan, but very few examples have survived in my country. In contrast, it's widely popular in Japan, with some even claiming it's one of the 'Three Sacred Treasures' of Japan, inherited by their emperor from the Japanese deity, Amaterasu! This led to widespread imitation among the Japanese people, resulting in most magatama originating in Japan. Most importantly, the magatama is crescent-shaped, resembling the yin-yang symbol in the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) of Chinese Taoism. Ancient Chinese people revered Taoism, so Chinese magatama often feature the yin-yang shape. Japanese magatama, on the other hand, tend to be more elongated. Look at this jade magatama of yours; isn't it longer and narrower than the typical yin-yang symbol? Judging from its material and type, even in Japan, it's not something an ordinary person could wear! It's for the wealthy and powerful!"

Upon hearing this, Ning Zhiheng quickly picked up the jade ornament on the tea table, examined it carefully for a while, and exclaimed with admiration, "Professor Fang is truly knowledgeable and has a keen eye!"

He finally confirmed that the jade magatama was indeed from Japan, so its owner, the tenant Dong Chengjie, was likely Japanese.

"Then please take a look at this object, Professor Fang!" Ning Zhiheng pushed another jade box in front of Fang Boyi. "Professor Fang, do you know the origin of this gold-inlaid jade seal?"

Fang Boyi stepped forward, picked up the jade box, and gently opened it. His eyes lit up when he saw the gold-inlaid jade seal inside.

He reached out and took it out, examined it carefully, and after a long period of contemplation, finally said, "This is not a Chinese antique, but a very rare Japanese noble family crest seal."

Apart from European aristocratic societies, only Japan has used emblems since ancient times, and it is even more common in Japan than in Europe.

The Japanese have a long history of social hierarchy, with strict distinctions between nobles and commoners. Their nobles, especially those with long-standing family traditions, all have their own family crests.

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