Cheng Ruyi could clearly feel the other party's goodwill and accepted the elder's care very naturally. In fact, judging from their appearances, it was not hard to see that Cheng Hua in her youth did look about six or seven parts like her.
However, due to the nourishment of spiritual energy over the past year, Ruyi's appearance has changed, making her younger and her skin whiter and smoother. So now she looks quite different from Cheng Hua, who has been suffering from illness for many years. It has to be said that Xiu Xiu has a very good eye; she was able to spot her accurately in the crowd even under the circumstances last night!
"Speaking of which, is this your first time in the prefectural city?" As soon as He Gang, who had a rather dignified demeanor, spoke, everyone immediately sat up straight and listened quietly as he continued, "Ah Zheng, you can show everyone around later. There are some places in the prefectural city worth visiting, haha."
"I understand, Father, that's exactly what I was thinking too!" He Zheng happily agreed, then turned to Cheng Yan and the others and asked, "Uncle, cousin, is there anywhere you'd like to go? The City God Temple in the west of our city is very efficacious; I've heard that many people from other places come here specifically to pray! By the way, the banks of the Luoyang River that you strolled along last night are actually just as lively during the day. My wife loves to shop there, and I think you'll like it too, cousin! There's also Chenxian Lake in the east of the city; the scenery is very beautiful, but it's a bit far. If you want to go, you can leave now and be back before dark."
The whole family chatted away, and before they knew it, it was noon. Fortunately, the He family usually stocked up on a lot of food, and He Zheng's wife, Tian Fenfang, was very good at cooking large portions of food. The taste could not be guaranteed, but at least the portions were definitely enough for everyone to have their fill.
In the afternoon, Cheng Yan chose to stay at the He family home to continue catching up. Several young children also needed to take a nap, so in the end only Cheng Ruyi, Xu Cui, Cheng Yun'an, and Cheng Yunping went out with He Zheng.
The group didn't go anywhere particularly far. After visiting the City God Temple, they returned to the banks of the Luoyang River, which they hadn't finished exploring the day before. After all, this was the most bustling central business district of the prefecture, where everything was readily available.
After wandering around for most of the day, Ruyi discovered a place that was most different from the prefectural city and the county town.
"Cousin, why are there so many antique shops in the city?" They were quite surprised to find that the streets were full of shops selling antiques and calligraphy.
"This... is it a lot? Ah, sorry, I rarely go shopping, so I haven't paid much attention..." He Zheng saw that his usually calm cousin was unusually curious, and he was thinking of answering her properly to fulfill his duty as a host. He didn't expect that this question would touch on his blind spot.
"It's nothing, I was just asking casually, cousin, don't take it to heart."
How could he not mind? He wouldn't know how to explain it to his parents when he got back. He Zheng scratched his head, then suddenly clapped his hands. "That's right! I happen to know the clerk at that antique shop at the end of the street. I'll take you there. Ruyi, you can ask him any questions you have. He definitely knows more than I do, hahaha! Come on, follow me!"
After finishing speaking, He Zheng ignored Ruyi's reaction and strode towards the end of the street.
The Cheng family members exchanged glances and couldn't help but laugh.
"Ruyi, your cousin seems to be a kind-hearted person, but he's a bit dull and stubborn in everything he does!" Xu Cui thought of He Zheng's behavior over the past few years, where he would grab anyone on the street who looked like him and take them home. She thought it was really silly, and not something an ordinary person could do.
Cheng Ruyi watched He Zheng turn around and wave foolishly after realizing they hadn't followed, but she didn't think her cousin was stupid. "He's quite nice like this. How should I put it? He has a kind of wise foolishness about him."
Pinzhenyuan is located at the end of Luoyang South Bank Street. Although the shop is not large, it is decorated very elegantly and mainly sells mid-range porcelain and jade.
Cheng Ruyi made a point of browsing around here, but the system didn't give any notifications. It seemed that the quality of the antiques in this shop was probably not very good, at least none of them could compare to the valuable gifts given by the two great figures from the Wen family.
However, He Zheng's friend answered Ru Yi's question. There was no particular reason; it was simply because Fucheng was a city with a very long history. If you really think about it, the city was probably founded earlier than the current capital of Dai Viet.
As a city has a long history, it naturally produces a great many powerful and influential families that have risen and fallen. When these families rise to prominence, they love to collect antiques like crazy, and when they fall into decline, they sell off their antiques like crazy. Over the years, the city has accumulated a considerable number of antiques, so there are naturally many related shops.
Another reason is that the concubine of the Gu family is said to be very fond of collecting antiques. People from the Gu family's collateral branches in the prefecture often collect some and send them to the capital. This is common knowledge in the industry, so some people choose to open antique shops in the hope of currying favor with the Gu family.
After obtaining the information she wanted, Ruyi had some plans in mind. Seeing that everyone was a little tired from shopping, she asked He Zheng to take everyone to a nearby teahouse to rest. Then, she took the opportunity to stroll around all the antique shops in the central area by herself.
Of the twenty or so shops, only two had items that prompted the system to issue a notification. Ruyi wasn't actually disappointed, considering she had visited all the antique shops in Huaishan County several times before, and the system had never given her any notification. It seemed that antiques containing spiritual energy must be quite rare.
The two shops are Baohua Pavilion, the largest and most luxurious shop in Fucheng, run by the Gu family, and Boyazhai, which is opposite it and has a simple and understated decor.
Baohua Pavilion looks magnificent from the outside. The shop has three floors, each with countless precious collections. As soon as Ruyi enters the door, she feels as if she has entered a modern museum. The dazzling array of exquisite items is a feast for the eyes!
The most prized possession of Baohua Pavilion is displayed in the center of the lobby on the first floor: a giant jade sculpture, "Qilin Offering Auspiciousness in a Jade Pavilion," which is nearly two meters tall.
The massive jade stone is clear and lustrous, with auspicious clouds and pavilions and various birds carved around it, which, combined with the texture and color of the jade itself, appear faintly visible, giving it an ethereal feel. Meanwhile, the auspicious Qilin slowly descends from the sky, lifelike, majestic and sacred. The entire jade stone carving is exquisite and full of spiritual energy. It is unknown which master craftsman created this masterpiece.
Without waiting for a system notification, Cheng Ruyi could see the golden spiritual energy emanating from the stone carving.
That's right, she can see spiritual energy with the naked eye, something she only recently discovered.
Since learning the art of observing qi, her body had not changed at all, and over time she did not pay much attention to it. Until one day, when she was making a medicine bag for the hot spring, she was so focused that she unknowingly entered a subtle mental state. Suddenly she could see a faint greenish-blue gas inside the medicine bag. When she tried to look at it more closely, the feeling suddenly disappeared.
After repeated attempts, she finally discovered that as long as she concentrated her mind and focused her energy, she would have a chance to enter a state in which she could observe spiritual energy with the naked eye. However, this state was very mentally taxing. If she looked for too long, she would have a splitting headache or even faint. Therefore, she could not maintain this state for too long.
Cheng Ruyi naturally wouldn't dare to covet the store's prized possessions. Her target wasn't these exquisite pieces that anyone could recognize, but rather those that looked decent, weren't prohibitively expensive, but contained spiritual energy—the kind of bargains that slipped through the net. Yes, she actually wanted to "find a hidden gem."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com