Chapter 143 This is a treasure! (Please give me a monthly ticket)
Li Changhe and Zhu Lin followed Zhang Shiqi to the backyard, a bright house in the backyard with a table placed in the middle.

The table was covered with velvet, which was rare. There were several people standing around, some of them holding magnifying glasses in their hands.

Li Changhe looked at the table curiously, and saw two yellow seals on the table with some patterns carved on them. Li Changhe didn't quite understand what they were looking at.

There is also rice paper next to it, which seems to have been stamped with the seal.

Seeing Li Changhe coming in, several people in the room looked at him curiously.

"This is the Li Changhe I told you about, the fool with lots of money."

"Lao Guan, the price you're asking is really outrageous. State-owned stores usually can't afford it. But if this kid likes it, he'll probably be able to afford it."

Zhang Shiqi then spoke to a hunchbacked old man next to him.

Hearing this, the old man looked at Li Changhe, and a glimmer of anticipation flashed in his eyes.

"Then please have a look, Mr. Li."

Li Changhe was a little surprised and looked at Zhang Shiqi curiously.

Zhang Shiqi then introduced Li Changhe.

"This is the Tian Huang seal you want to see. And it's not just any seal, it's the prince's seal!"

"Prince's seal?"

"So, the previous owner of the seal was a prince?"

Zhu Lin asked Zhang Shiqi curiously at this time.

Zhang Shiqi nodded: "Yes, in fact, the prince's seal is what we call it internally. The general prince's seal is actually the king's seal. Those princes and beile are basically granted the title of prince or county king."

"But there is only one kind, which we call the Prince's Seal, which is the prince who will become the emperor in the future."

"I think you two are destined to meet today, because what Lao Guan took out happened to be a pair of dragon and phoenix seals from the Qing Palace."

"And the owner of the seal is Prince Heshuo Bao and his princess."

"Qianlong"

Li Changhe spoke subconsciously and said that Prince Heshuo Bao usually refers to Qianlong.

Yes, this guy loves cultural relics and has countless seals.

"You kid, be respectful to Emperor Qianlong."

"Be careful Yuan Bai will hit you!"

At this time, Zhang Shiqi tapped Li Changhe with his fan and said bluntly.

"it's okay no problem!"

An old man nearby smiled and waved his hand, not minding at all.

Li Changhe looked at the old man in confusion. Could it be that this man was a descendant of the Qing Dynasty?

Sure enough, Zhang Shiqi then introduced to Li Changhe.

"Forget it, let me introduce you, this is Mr. Yuan Bai, of course, his real name is Aixinjueluo Qigong"

"Just call him Qigong, no need to add Aisin-Gioro, I've never used that surname!"

Qi Gong waved his hand and said nonchalantly at this time.

When Li Changhe heard this, he was shocked. It turned out to be Mr. Qi Gong.

He actually knew Qi Gong. His ancestor was the fifth prince Hongzhou, who was born in the same year as Emperor Qianlong and Hongli.

The famous Jinzun Yin, it is rare to have a true friend in life, we can toast each other and talk about the past and present!

This poem was written by Hongzhou while he was drinking with Qianlong, and it is also the only "life-saving poem" that has been passed down.

It is not known whether he could save his life or not, but Hongzhou lived a life of wealth and glory. Even the treasures in the Yongzheng Palace, that is, the Yonghe Palace, were given to Hongzhou by Emperor Qianlong.

It is equivalent to one brother inheriting his father's throne and the other inheriting his father's property.

Mr. Qi Gong is the eighth-generation grandson of Hong Zhou, and a legitimate descendant of Prince Heshuo He.

However, this old gentleman was not like a group of people in later generations who were eager to brag about their status as being from the Bordered White Banner or the Bordered Blue Banner, and even showed off their surnames like Yehenara.

He is a legitimate descendant of the Aisin-Gioro clan, but only uses the two characters Qigong in his name. He never claims his royal identity and keeps a very low profile.

The most important thing is that Mr. Qi Gong’s calligraphy is unique and of a very high artistic standard, making him a master of his generation.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Qi Gong, it's me who is Meng Lang!"

Li Changhe still admires the old artist Qi Gong very much, he is an old senior with integrity and good character.

Although Qianlong is not his direct ancestor, he is also from his uncle's line, and the two people above him belong to Yongzheng's line.

So when facing Qi Gong, Li Changhe was still willing to apologize.

After all, this is equivalent to calling someone's ancestor by his or her name.

"It's okay, it's just a name, it's been around for hundreds of years."

"It's not the same as before. Why shouldn't you call me by my name? Otherwise, if you are like me, still here to identify Emperor Qianlong's seal, I would be considered a traitor and a disrespect to my teacher and ancestors."

"So, don't take it to heart."

Qi Gong said this humorously at this time.

But think about it, as a descendant of the Aisin-Gioro clan, for him to openly authenticate Emperor Qianlong's seal was, to some extent, a heinous act of treason.

"You!"

Zhang Shiqi shook his head at Qi Gong and felt a little admiration for his open-mindedness.

"Yuan Bai and I have both appraised this prince's seal. It should have been engraved when Emperor Qianlong was conferred the title of Prince Bao."

"Do you know why I said this seal is meant for you? Look at the poem next to it."

Zhang Shiqi pushed the seal to Li Changhe, and sure enough, there were two lines of poetry on the side.

[I will climb to the top of the mountain and look down on all the other mountains]

This is exactly the sentence from Du Fu's "Viewing the Mountains".

"These two lines of poetry should have been engraved later, probably after Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne, otherwise he would not have dared to engrave these two lines of poetry at that time."

"That's why many people were unsure at first whether it was Emperor Qianlong's seal, because there was a slight difference between the time of the seal and the time of engraving."

"But I've seen that this is the handwriting of Emperor Qianlong. The engraved handwriting is all written by him. After all, he is the only one who can write so ugly and likes to show off."

Qi Gong also explained to Li Changhe at this time, and then took the opportunity to complain about Qianlong's calligraphy.

After all, he is a master of calligraphy and his level of appreciation is obvious.

Qianlong spent his entire life learning from Zhao Mengfu and Dong Qichang, but in the end he learned nothing.

"But old monster, do you think this poem has something to do with this young friend?"

Qi Gong finished his speech and asked curiously.

He didn't understand what this poem had to do with Li Changhe.

"You don't know that."

"The pen name of this kid is Ling Jue."

"Just think about it, today this couple accidentally found this seal shop, and it happened to be this dragon and phoenix seal."

"His pen name is Ling Jue, and he happened to be in the same situation as this poem on the seal. If this isn't destiny, then what is it?"

"Now that you put it that way, it's true. This pair of dragon and phoenix seals are meant to be with you two."

“But the price is not cheap.”

"Don't worry, he can definitely afford it."

"Boy, this is a pair of top-grade Tianhuang stone Heshuobao Prince Dragon and Phoenix seals. The combined weight of these two seals exceeds 1kg. This can be said to be the most precious of Tianhuang seals."

"One thousand yuan, plus five hundred kilograms of national food coupons. If you can come up with it, you can take it."

"Lao Guan, this is the condition, right?"

Zhang Shiqi turned around and spoke loudly to the old seller.

"My friend, you are very lucky. If it doesn't work out, you can give me 800 yuan, but you can't give me less national food coupons."

The old man surnamed Guan hesitated for a moment, then heartbrokenly cut down the price. "No need, just round it up to one thousand. This kid can afford it."

"How's it going? Do you like it?"

"I tell you, it's because the state-owned store can't approve this price right now. Otherwise, they would take this thing back and put it in the Forbidden City."

"This pair of seals is only slightly inferior to the pair of three seals in the Forbidden City."

"But if we really talk about the allusion, this was carved when Emperor Qianlong was conferred the title of Prince Heshuo Bao. Add to that the poem he wrote and the characteristics of this seal, and this pair of dragon and phoenix seals are actually not much different."

Zhang Shiqi spoke sternly to Li Changhe.

Qi Gong on the side also nodded: "Although what the old monster said is a bit exaggerated, it's actually not that far off."

"The price Lao Guan wants right now is a bit outrageous, but in the long run, this thing is worth it, it's a good thing!"

"I guess this pair of seals is Lao Guan's lifeblood. It's only at this time that he is willing to take them out."

"Well, to be honest, if it weren't for the two children still suffering in the countryside, I would never take this thing out, even if I died. This has been passed down from my ancestors for hundreds of years. It has been buried underground for nearly twenty years."

As soon as Li Changhe heard it, he knew what was going on.

The country just issued a notice in April to pacify the rightists. People in the literary and art circles like Lao Guan have most likely suffered over the years.

Even if I come back now, I won’t be able to arrange a job for the time being and I have to wait in line.

There are probably children in the countryside, so he took out such good things for the children.

"Okay, no problem, we'll buy it."

"As for money, I only have 500 left. Wait for me for a moment. I'll go back and get the money and food coupons."

"Go ahead, we'll wait here."

"By the way, you want a seal, so tell Xiao Liu and ask him to make it for you."

"Yuan Bai, can you please give him a word?"

At this time, Zhang Shiqi smiled and said to Qi Gong.

Qi Gong smiled and said, "No problem. Today, we have helped Lao Guan solve a big problem. We all have to thank this young friend. I will write a word and let Xiao Liu carve it."

"My dear friend, what kind of seal do you want to put on?"

"Just my name, Li Changhe"

Li Changhe thought for a moment and spoke.

"Well, I just heard Xiao Liu say that you still want the chicken blood stone seal."

"How about I write two for you, one for Li Changhe's seal, using Tianhuang stone, and one for the pen name Ling Jue, using chicken blood stone?"

Qi Gong said to Li Changhe with a smile at this time.

"Then you have to ask him to treat Cuihualou tonight, otherwise I will give him the seal."

Zhang Shiqi, who was standing by, added more conditions for Li Changhe.

"No problem, let's go to Cuihualou tonight, it's my treat."

"It is my honor to have Mr. Qi Gong's seal engraving done."

Li Changhe agreed without hesitation at this time. Qi Gong's seal carving is definitely worth it!
"Okay, then it's settled, let's go home and get the money!"

Zhang Shiqi waved at Li Changhe, and Li Changhe immediately took Zhu Lin away.

After leaving the engraving shop, Li Changhe smiled at Zhu Lin and said, "Wife, you are really my lucky star today."

Apart from anything else, the pair of Tianhuang dragon and phoenix seals, the prince seals of Emperor Qianlong and Prince Shuobao, are so big in size that it will be easy to sell them as a small target in the future.

Of course, he wouldn't sell it either. Sometimes the value of something like this cannot be measured by money.

Originally, Li Changhe had no interest in entering this kind of engraving shop, but he never expected that Zhu Lin would take him in today.

It really is as Zhang Shiqi said, this pair of precious seals are destined to be with them.

Zhu Lin was also a little surprised. Apart from anything else, she also liked the dragon and phoenix seal.

"Come on, let's go home. I'll get you some money, and you can deliver it to the person right away!"

The two people first went to the department store to pick up their things, and then took a bus back home.

After returning home, Zhu Lin took out the money and food coupons again.

Their family has never been short of national food coupons, mainly because Li Changhe replenishes them from time to time.

After all, there were too many letters, and last time, Yanjing Literature and Art also sent all his letters to him.

Then the two men returned to Wangfujing, and Li Changhe counted the money and grain and gave it to the old man surnamed Guan.

The old man took the money and grain with trembling hands, counted them carefully, then bowed and said goodbye.

After Lao Guan left, Zhang Shiqi looked at Li Changhe and sighed.

"Boy, do you know why I didn't ask you to lower the price?"

"He uses this money to smooth over relationships."

"Two hundred dollars may not mean much to you, but to him, it may be the key point that affects the whole family."

"You don't need the two hundred dollars anyway!"

"It's okay, don't mention two hundred more, even if it's two thousand more, I'll buy it!"

Li Changhe said nonchalantly at this time.

This kind of investment is a sure win, and even if you don’t collect it, it’s good to have as a plaything.

"Okay, then let's go to Cuihua Building for lunch later."

"After dinner, I think Xiao Liu will be able to carve the seal for you this afternoon."

Zhang Shiqi readily arranged it.

Then at noon, Li Changhe and his wife had lunch with Zhang Shiqi and Mr. Qi Gong at Cuihualou.

At the dinner table, Li Changhe became familiar with Mr. Qi Gong and after close contact, Li Changhe discovered that Mr. Qi Gong was indeed a gentle elder.

After lunch, I returned to the engraving shop and found that Liu Tiebao had already carved the seals, one from Tianhuang stone and the other from chicken blood stone.

Neither seal is too big, but they look very delicate.

"This is just the engraving. If you want to add more carvings, you have to choose a picture, and then Xiao Liu will slowly carve it. But that will take a lot of time and effort. I don't think it's necessary."

"For a personal seal, a simple and exquisite one will do. With this material and Yuan Bai's calligraphy, it will be fine."

After reading the chapter, Zhang Shiqi said to Li Changhe.

Li Changhe nodded. He also felt that it would be better for the seal to be simple for personal use.

Mr. Qi Gong's calligraphy is already a very high-end decoration.

On the way back, the three of them took the bus.

"Changhe, I think there will be a lot of good stuff on the market recently. If you are interested, you can prepare some money."

"There are many people like Lao Guan who come back home in poverty. They can't find a job, and they can only sell their collections to feed their families."

"If you two hadn't happened to come across this dragon and phoenix seal today, I think Lao Guan would have sold it to the Japanese."

"Recently, many Japanese have come to Beijing and bought these cultural relics everywhere. They paid with foreign currency, and many people couldn't resist the temptation and sold them."

"such a pity!"

Zhang Shiqi sighed heavily, and his words were quite helpless!

Li Changhe felt helpless when he heard this, but he had no other choice.

You just don’t have as much money as others, there’s nothing you can do!

Zhang Shiqi's words also diluted Li Changhe's joy of obtaining the treasure.

When they got home, the two of them had just packed up their things.

At this time, there was another knock on the door.

Li Changhe opened the door and saw that the person standing outside was Shen Juncheng!
(End of this chapter)