She turned her eyes to the imperial edict and read it carefully.
Ma Shuisheng said a few more words, then immediately stopped talking and stopped disturbing her.
Although she is not good at weaving brocade, she has a good eye.
Someone is taking advantage of her!
"How much do you plan to sell this imperial edict for?"
Ma Shuisheng's eyes flashed with surprise, and he immediately quoted a price: "Two million."
She was silent for a moment and said, "The price is too high. I need to think about it again."
When Ma Shuisheng heard that she didn't bargain immediately, he hurriedly explained: "Several buyers have contacted me. If you don't want it, I will sell this imperial edict to someone else."
A hesitation flashed across her face.
"I just spent a lot of money on two covered jars at an auction recently. I can't come up with two million right away. Can you give me a month to get the money together?"
Ma Shuisheng hesitated and said, "One month won't work, I can give you a week."
She tried very hard to make a reluctant expression.
"Okay, one week, just one week."
As soon as Ma Shuisheng was sent away, Zhang Xingzu asked, "Brother Zongtang, is the imperial edict fake?"
Having followed Brother Zongtang for so long, he may not have the eye for antiques, but he has become more adept at reading Brother Zongtang's expression.
Fang Zongtang nodded.
"When this imperial edict was issued, the war must have already started or was about to start. In such an urgent situation, the editors of the Imperial Academy would not have the time to carefully review and stamp the edict. If they were to wait until the imperial edict was delivered to the local area, the war would have already ended."
"So these expedited imperial edicts were all issued by the local department, that is, the higher level of the Governor of Fujian, and then replaced by the Hanlin Academy after the victory. The mistake was in the seal. They wanted to show off their skills, but they backfired."
"The imperial edict is made of fine materials and colorful, and it has been aged to look like the real thing. However, it is stamped with the seal of the Fujian Governor's Office."
"What Ma Shuisheng said sounded like the truth. He said this was the first imperial edict, and the rest were supplementary edicts with different meanings. It's sheer nonsense! The person who forged this has definitely never lived in Fujian. Fujian silk raw materials are purchased from Jiangnan. Jiangnan silk emphasizes brightness, smoothness, and moisture. It's different in the north. Even if the materials from the south are shipped there, the moisture is drained out, so they are not as bright, not as moist, and the color is several shades off."
Zhang Xingzu was a little confused.
"Brother Zongtang, is it the seal that's wrong, or the material?"
Fang Zongtang: “Neither of them is right!”
but
"The forger has very high skills. The scroll is lifelike and the silk is fine. It's obvious that he is an expert at imitating fabrics."
She was just looking for such a master.
"Xing Zu, go find out where this person came from!"
Zhang Xingzu understood.
"Brother Zongtang, I've asked someone to follow me!"
She patted Zhang Xingzu's shoulder approvingly, and then went to the backyard to repair it.
As Lao Xingtang became more famous, many people came every day to ask if they had antiques for sale.
She asked Zhang Xingzu to make a sign and put it up at the door.
Only restoration, no antiques sold!
Originally, several antique shops on the street had ideas about Lao Xingtang, but after seeing this sign, they were no longer enemies when they met her again, and they all politely called her Boss Fang.
Zhang Xingzu quickly found out Ma Shuisheng's background.
"Brother Zongtang, this guy's name is not Ma Shuisheng, but Liu Jin. He used to sell silk paintings here. But the silk painting business was not doing well, so he quit after just a few months and went to work in a textile factory. Recently, the textile factory where he worked was not doing well, and many people were laid off, and he was one of them!"