Mr. Leng's asking price was more than double what I wanted.
Although Hu Shahu built an imperial mausoleum for himself, he did not actually rebel during his lifetime, so the treasures he possessed were limited. These burial items all belonged to his wives, and they were not even comparable to the jewelry of imperial concubines or princesses. The only advantage of these items was that they were well preserved.
According to my estimate, once this batch of items reaches the market, its price will increase at least fivefold, and that's just the price in private circulation.
Once the goods leave the country and are put up for auction, their value will likely at least double.
However, at Mr. Leng's level of collecting antiques, he no longer needs to make money from them. The reason I sold the items to Mr. Leng is because I know very well that as long as he doesn't reach the point where he can't make a living in China, the items will definitely not end up overseas.
Now that the country is peaceful and prosperous, it is impossible for the cabinet officials of the late Beiyang period to abscond abroad with national treasures. Moreover, given Mr. Leng's strength, his background is probably quite extraordinary.
Although my relationships within the four gates were already quite tense, the principle that cultural relics must not be allowed to leave the Duan family was an ancestral precept and a red line that I have always adhered to.
After a brief moment of thought, I shook my head slightly: "Mr. Duan, I came to you to sell this batch of items, and the ten million is a figure I set myself. In the antique business, a promise is a promise, and there is no rule against raising prices on the spot! If you really like these items, I can give them to you, but the transaction method must be as I said, I will only take ten million!"
"Alright, whatever you say!"
Mr. Leng is not one to take advantage of others. He accepted my things at a low price, but he didn't feel happy. Instead, he seemed somewhat reluctant.
I know that Mr. Leng is a wealthy and powerful man, and it is difficult to bribe him with money. The reason why he gave me gifts and made concessions is because of the following matter.
After selling the items the monkey brought out to Mr. Leng, I picked up the travel bag next to me again and placed an object wrapped in yellow silk on the table: "Mr. Leng, in addition to the items before, I have one more thing that I need your help to sell."
"Anything else?"
Mr. Leng looked at me suspiciously: "Since it's the same thing, why not take everything out together?"
"Because this object is quite special."
While I kept everyone in suspense, my hands never stopped moving. I untied the silk, revealing the jade seal underneath.
"this……"
Even a great collector like Mr. Leng was speechless with anger upon seeing this jade seal. His lips trembled for a long time, and he couldn't utter a word.
Although he was startled by the jade seal, Mr. Leng was a man who had seen many big scenes, and he quickly regained his composure: "This jade seal, you also took it from the tomb of the King of Ze?"
“That’s right, this jade seal is from the tomb of the Prince of Ze, and it was privately carved by Hu Shahu.”
The “water head” I’m referring to is the burial items that the tomb owner brought with him: “Although this jade seal is not a genuine imperial heirloom, the materials, craftsmanship, and age match those of a real jade seal. As long as no one knows its origin, it is genuine, but it is only a Jin Dynasty jade seal, not the kind that has been passed down through the dynasties.”
"Great stuff! Really great stuff!"
Mr. Leng looked at the jade seal on the table and praised it highly: "Xiao Duan, may I take a look at this?"
There are rules in the antique trade: items cannot be handled casually, especially valuable items. They must be placed on a stable surface by the seller before others can view them. This is to prevent everyone from shifting responsibility in case of an accident.
Even someone of Mr. Leng's status would need my permission to pick up and examine this jade seal, which shows that even Mr. Leng felt its value was immeasurable.
I put on a relaxed expression: "We live in modern society now. This jade seal is just a work of art. It's not something that no one but the emperor can touch. What's wrong with looking at it, Mr. Leng? Please go ahead!"
After obtaining my permission, Mr. Leng carefully held the jade seal in his hand, examining it closely with great affection in his eyes. He scrutinized it for about half an hour before reluctantly putting it back and turning his gaze to me: "Xiao Duan, if you want to sell this, I'll trade you this house for it, how about it?"
Even without considering the furniture inside, Mr. Leng's mansion is conservatively estimated to be worth over 300 million. In other words, once I sell this jade seal, I will be set for life.
Even though I consider myself to have seen a lot in life, I still felt my mouth go dry when I heard this price.
I took a deep breath and shook my head slightly: "Mr. Leng, I don't intend to make a move on this jade seal."
"Was my offer unsuitable?" Mr. Leng was still unwilling to give up: "If you don't want the property, I can give you cash, or overseas assets will also work. As long as you can come up with a solution, I can satisfy you."
"Mr. Leng, this isn't about money."
I saw that Mr. Leng made no attempt to hide his love for the jade seal, but I still dampened his spirits: "I hope you can help me spread the word that someone wants to sell this jade seal, but the price needs to be discussed with me in person, and you also have to guarantee that these people are clean."
"If you want to sell, why won't you sell to me? Is it because of our relationship that you're afraid you won't get a good price?"
Mr. Leng looked displeased: "Since you're not satisfied with my terms, then name your price. As long as I can afford it, I won't haggle. How about it?"
"You misunderstand. I did this simply to leak this information, not to actually sell anything."
After thinking for a moment, I added, "I need to use this to find a very important person."
Mr. Leng is a smart man. When he heard what I said, he knew that I really couldn't buy the jade seal. He said with a regretful look, "You need to understand one thing. The value of this jade seal is too high. People who have the ability to buy it are not ordinary people. If you release the news but then break your promise, you will offend people."
I smiled and said, "That's why I need you to cover for me and come up with a reasonable explanation. At worst, I'll just use the excuse that the price wasn't right and say that I sold the item to you."
"You little rascal, you really like to take unconventional approaches to things."
Mr. Leng stroked the jade seal on the table with his hand, and after a while, he nodded: "Okay, I'll help you with this. Lao Mao, go get some Xuan paper and ink pad. Use this jade seal to leave a few marks and send them to the bosses I had tea with last weekend. Tell them that a friend of mine has acquired an interesting collectible and see if they are interested... Remember, tear all the seals in half, don't send them in their wholety."
"Mr. Leng, thank you so much!"
Seeing that Mr. Leng had agreed to my request, I stood up from my chair and bowed with my hands clasped in greeting.
The reason I sought out Mr. Leng was simply because I valued his extensive network within the industry. I wanted to use his connections to spread the news of my possession of the Imperial Seal among top circles without causing a huge uproar and forcing Duan Jinyan to come looking for me.
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