Chapter 612 – Betrothal Gift  

Yu Xiaocao didn’t know much about jade because, in her previous life, she was just a regular citizen struggling at the bottom of the pyramid. She struggled to feed herself and her younger siblings every day. She would occasionally visit the mall and hang around for a few moments by the jewelry stores. She would merely glance at the beautiful sparkling jewelry and jade that were way out of her price range.

She looked at the smooth and radiant jade in her hand with interest. Although the jade had not yet been polished, the jade still exuded a beautiful white color. It was no wonder that the prices of these jades remained as expensive as ever, even in the future. People still flocked to shops to buy unattainable and rare jade!

The top-notch mutton fat jade that was larger than a regular-sized basketball was placed on the table of Xiaocao’s private room. The golden kitten hurriedly jumped onto the table and climbed on top of the jade. It laid on the jade on its stomach and started cultivating. It was unwilling to delay its cultivation even for a few seconds! However, to other people, they merely thought that the young little kitten really knew how to find a place to sleep. It chose the most expensive place to sleep!

Shopkeeper Zhang was shaking at his core when he saw the kitten jump on top of the jade. He feared that the young kitten would damage the jade. However, he was being too worried! If the jade was that fragile, then no one would want to buy it!

If Yu Xiaocao was still ignorant of the mutton fat jade’s value based on Shopkeeper Zhang’s reactions, then she would be stupid. She guessed that she had probably chosen all of the best jades from this batch of jade. In the next month or so, Wisdom Jade Pavilion would probably not have any quality jade to sell! Naturally, she would not take all the jades she found from him. After all, Zhu Junyang owned Wisdom Jade Pavilion, so she should leave some leeway for him to survive, right?

“Shopkeeper, I heard that we have recently found a top-notch mutton fat jade. Can this old man have a look?” An old but enthusiastic voice could be heard from outside the private room. Shopkeeper Zhang’s eyes immediately lit up. Why would this old gentleman be suddenly willing to take the initiative to come here?

He hurriedly walked outside and greeted the esteemed old man with an enthusiastic smile, “Old Lin! We’re honored with your presence. Your presence brings light to our humble shop!”

“Humble shop? If Wisdom Jade Pavilion is a small humble shop, then the other jade shops in the capital are even less worth mentioning! Hurry up and show me the top-notch mutton fat jade, so this old man can take a look!” Old Lin had a petite build, grizzled hair, and a ruddy complexion. He was a hearty and small old fellow.

It turned out that the top-notch mutton fat jade had lured Old Lin out! Old Lin was the best jade craftsman in the capital. He had retired many years ago and unless there was something that caught his interest, he wouldn’t step a foot outside his house. Old Lin had been in the Wisdom Jade Pavilion before and told the employees to inform him if any quality raw material was found. The obedient and good-natured clerk had probably run over to inform Old Lu about the new jade.

“Old Lin, I’m sorry, but that piece of raw jade has already been bought by someone!” Shopkeeper Zhang apologized to the old man.

Old Lin glared at him, blew his beard, and said, “Could it be that you guys already decided on a jade craftsman since the jade has already been bought? If this piece of jade meets my expectation after I have a look, then I am willing to make an expectation and carve this jade!”

The manager was extremely surprised. Old Lin was one of the leading figures in the jade carving world. Even the jade carved from ordinary jade would fetch a high price after going through his hands. Numerous people begged Old Lin to help them carve a piece of jade, but he declined them all! It was unthinkable that this old man would come here after hearing the news and even promised to sculpt the jade if it caught his interest before even seeing the actual jade.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime blessing to have you carve for them. I don’t think that anyone would refuse this offer, right?” The shop manager politely asked Old Lin to wait. Then, he entered the private room and informed his master as well as Lady Fang and her daughter of the news.

Yu Xiaocao did not know of Old Lin, but Lady Fang had heard of the old gentleman’s name before. As soon as the shopkeeper mentioned the old gentleman’s name, Lady Fang didn’t even ask her daughter’s opinion before immediately agreeing. She would be foolish if she didn’t immediately accept the offer. A piece of raw jade that was worth two hundred taels of silver could have its value increase by ten folds or even more after being carved by Old Lin! Only an idiot wouldn’t take up on this chance!

As soon as Old Lin entered the private room, his eyes immediately landed on the raw jade on top of the table. Just at this moment, the golden kitten had just finished cultivating and lazily jumped off the jade. Old Lin’s heart pounded rapidly and he shouted, “How can you let a kitten trample on such a precious piece of jade? If the jade is even slightly damaged, then even skinning the kitten wouldn’t even be enough to make up for it!!”

The little divine stone was comfortably stretching itself when it heard the old man’s words. The little divine stone’s fur stood on its end in anger and immediately screamed at the old man [I am a divine stone that has cultivated for tens of thousands of years! I am the ancestor of all stones, so how can I be inferior to a broken piece of jade like this one? If you start beeping your mouth off again, then this divine stone will push this broken piece of rock from the table and break it!!]

It walked up to the mutton fat jade and put one of its paws on top of the stone. Its dark golden pupils had turned into slits due to anger as it stared at the old man threateningly.

Yu Xiaocao was amused at the little divine stone’s reaction, but she was also angry for the little divine stone. A top-notch jade like this one was indeed rare, but it was a dead object. She was opposed to taking the life away from a living thing for a dead object!

Xiaocao reached out her hands, took the kitten, and gently stroked its fur that was standing on its end. She looked at Old Lin disapprovingly, “Old gentleman, what you had just said is wrong! I was the one who picked up this stone and Royal Prince Yang has already agreed to sell this piece of jade to me. This means that I have full right over how I use this jade, so it’s none of your concern. Little Glutinous Dumpling has been raised by me for five to six years already, so how could my affections for a living being exceed that of a stone? If the jade was destroyed, then at most, the value of the jade would decrease. However, even the humblest life has the right to live and to be respected by others!! What do you think?”

Shopkeeper Zhang was afraid that Miss Yu would cause Old Lin to leave in anger, so he wanted to interfere. However, when he received a sharp glare from his master, he immediately changed his mind. Got it! Since the jade belonged to Miss Yu, then she had full right to do with it as she liked. Why should he interfere?

Old Lin was not a stubborn old antique who was bound to his old fashioned ways. When he saw that the jade was not damaged in any way, he breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, “I cherish this jade a lot, so I accidentally made an inappropriate analogy, so I blurted out something crude. If young lady is still upset by what I said, then this old man will gladly take back what I just said. However, this old man has to remind you that this jade is among the best mutton fat jade I’ve ever seen. Have the two of you discussed the price yet?”

“Oh, that’s right!” Yu Xiaocao turned to look at Zhu Junyang who had a poker face on. She blinked her eyes playfully and asked, “Royal Prince Yang, how much do you plan to charge me for this piece of jade?”

“...” Zhu Junyang silently stared at her charming and adorable appearance. He fell silent for a moment before he raised his index finger and then shook his head lightly.

“One million taels of silver?” Old Lin cried out in alarm and promptly started to talk, “Royal Prince, please think twice about this! This piece of jade is extremely valuable. I believe one million taels of silver is too low!”

“I won’t charge even one tael of silver!” Zhu Junyang had an unhappy expression on his face. Didn’t he tell her that what he owned was going to be hers in the future, and what she owned would always be hers? Didn’t speaking about the price of the jade make the relationship between the two of them too awkward and unfamiliar?

“Uh...” The words that Old Lin wanted to say next were stuck in his throat. He turned to look at the young lady carefully and realization suddenly hit him when he recalled the rumors he heard. “It would be a pity if this piece of jade is made into jewelry. However, if it’s carved into an auspicious ornament such as ‘Lovely Flower, Round Moon’, ‘Amidst the Flowers Under the Moonlight’, and ‘Hundreds of Children and Thousands of Grandchildren’, etc., as a betrothal gift, then it would be the first of its kind in the entire Great Ming Dynasty!”

Betrothal gift? Zhu Junyang’s heart skipped a beat. After the New Years ended, he was definitely going to head over to the Yu Family to propose. The little lass residing in his heart deserved the best of the best. He would make Old Lin carve this piece of top-notch mutton jade and send it as the defining piece of his betrothal gift. His gift would definitely cause a big sensation in the capital! He had set his mind; this mutton fat jade will belong to his little lass no matter what. But this gift will just be sent to her later than he had originally planned.

Zhu Junyang no longer pretended to be cold and domineering. He looked at Old Lin earnestly and asked, “Based on your experience, what do you think the theme of this jade should be?”

Old Lin’s eyes were still focused on the jade and he answered without hesitation, “Based on the shape of this piece of jade, I believe it would be best if we carved it into ‘Amidst the Flowers Under the Moonlight’. In addition to that, ‘Amidst the Flowers Under the Moonlight’ is more appropriate and suitable for your highness’s needs. When you grow old, you can always reminisce about your youth when you look at the jade carving. Wouldn’t that be great?”

“Okay! Let’s do as Old Lin said! Old Lin, will you be able to finish the final product within two months?” Zhu Junyang already came to his decision, but if he planned on using it as a betrothal gift, then it needed to be completed on time!

“Why? Is the Royal Prince planning to propose in two months?” Old Lin looked down and pondered for a moment. Then, he nodded his head vigorously and said, “This old man will release the vigor from my youth and finish the jade carving for you in two months! I will make sure I won’t delay your matter!!”

Yu Xiaocao rolled her eyes; he had just told her that the jade belonged to her and that she could do whatever she wanted with it. After a span of a few minutes, he selected the jade craftsman for the jade, the theme of the jade, and even the deadline for the completion. He decided everything on his own initiative! Didn’t he tell her that he was going to listen to her?

“Ahem ahem!!” Xioaocao cleared her throat, reminding him of her existence.

Zhu Junyang suddenly turned to look at her and smiled apologetically and said, “Little lass, I’m sorry but you can’t take this piece of jade by for the time being. Rest assured because this piece of jade belongs to you. However, it will be delayed by two months. Oh right, little lass, what do you think about the theme of the jade carving being ‘Amidst the Flowers Under the Moonlight’?”

‘You have already decided on everything, so what’s the point of asking me?’ Could she slap him on his face in public and make him lose face? Yu Xiaocao pursed her lips and said with no interest, “It’s fine as long as you believe it’s fine. Is my opinion even important?”

“Your opinion is important! Of course, your opinion is important! If you don’t like the theme, then we can replace the theme with something else...what do you think of the theme, ‘Hundreds of Children and Thousands of Grandchildren’?” He asked in a fawning manner. Zhu Junyang saw that she was unhappy, so he hurriedly became a filial and devoted dog.

“Scram!”

‘Why would you give a jade carving with the theme ‘Hundreds of Children and Thousands of Grandchildren’ to an unmarried girl? Royal Prince Yang, did you have a brain spasm? Or are you deliberately trying to get scolded?’ Yu Xiaocao took in a deep breath and suppressed the curse that she was about to spit out. She rolled her eyes at him and said, “Let’s go with the ‘Amidst the Flowers Under the Moonlight’ theme. As long as it’s something that won’t arouse suspicion, then it’ll be fine.”

Old Lin watched the young couple with interest as they ‘blatantly flirted’ in front of him while he held the twelve catty jade. He didn’t feel the weight of the jade in his arms at all; he wouldn’t mind holding another ten pieces of jade with similar qualities!

However, the young girl from the Yu Family was as the rumors had described; she was a fascinating person. The interactions between her and Royal Prince Yang were very natural. The communication between the two seemed to have stemmed from their spirits and was not restricted by the morals of the secular world. It was particularly pure and innocent!