Jiang Ning's heart pounded against her chest as she passed the bowl to them.
If she tried to make excuses, it would only make the two girls suspicious. But if she handed them…
Well, they would surely realize that it was just an ordinary broken bowl she used for her cat.
There was no turning back now. All Jiang Ning could do was to commit to the lie.
Truth be told, Jiang Ning couldn't care less about whether it was real. And as she observed the fifth and sixth lady inspect the "monk's bowl", she still didn't fully understand why it seemed to be a big deal.
"This... Seems to be genuine." Jiang Yan muttered to herself, "I once went out with big brother and was lucky enough to see something similar to this. But I've only seen it once."
"How is that possible?" Jiang Yuan asked in disbelief. She was still stubborn to believe that someone like Jiang Ning could ever possess something as precious of this caliber.
But her heart had already begun to waver.
Although the two of them were born from concubines, the Jiang family was famous for its literary reputation. They trained all their daughters, legitimate or not, the same way and asked a high-class female teacher to teach them.
These two girls knew how to play the
Jiang Yuan looked at it carefully for a long time. The more she looked at it, the more she couldn't deny that the object in her hand was a real, authentic piece of pottery. However, she still couldn't believe that such a priceless item would appear in the hands of a poor girl like Jiang Ning.
And she even used it as a cat bowl! The girl was probably lying to get the upper hand.
She can already imagine how stupid the younger girl would look once they unearth the truth.
This was too thrilling to ignore.
"This is definitely a fake!" Jiang Yuan insisted.
"No way. I think it's true," Jiang Yan said in a low voice.
"What do you know? There are commoners outside who have excellent skills in making counterfeits, which look even more real than the real ones. How will you ever recognize the difference?" Jiang Yuan sneered, "Besides, I heard that the royal family kept Master Xuan Yun's purple gold alms bowl. How do you think she has it in her possession? Are you insinuating that a crippled girl managed to sneak into the palace to steal it? That's impossible!"
"But, I heard Big Brother say that the real purple-gold alms bowl has a mark at the bottom of the bowl. It's a symbol that glowed with golden light. It's something that no imposter can ever imitate."
Jiang Yuan scowled. There was no way that this was actually Master Xuan Yun's bowl.
"I'll take a look."
"Then I'll just watch. "Jiang Yuan said as she handed the bowl to her younger sister.
When Jiang Yan turned it over, they didn't need to look for it for long. As the light hits the bottom of the porcelain, a
Jiang Yuan was stunned.
She subconsciously pressed her finger onto the small symbol and tried to scratch it.
It was printed onto the bowl, not carved or painted afterward.
It was like the natural golden talisman that the bowl itself emitted.
"Ah! The symbol is really there! This is real!" Jiang Yan exclaimed loudly.
"What are you shouting for!" Jiang Yuan's yelled back. Her heart was beating fast.
This bowl was real!
Just this bowl alone was worth at least tens of thousands of silver.
And Jiang Ning, this girl who had been living in the slums for the past twelve years, was using it as a cat bowl?
"Meow!"
As if sensing someone was talking about it, Miaomiao meowed on Jiang Ning's lap.
"My cat is hungry. Give me back the bowl," Jiang Ning said as she reached out her hand.
Jiang Yuan glared at her and didn't say anything.
"Fifth Lady, that is a cat bowl. You're not going to steal a cat bowl, are you?"
"Since it's a cat bowl, why don't you sell it to me?" Jiang Yuan said, clutching onto the item closer to her.
Jiang Ning rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness.
"Do you think I would say yes? In your dreams. Don't you dare to take away what's mine." Jiang Ning firmly said and grabbed the bowl from her sister's hands. The younger girl then asked Chun Lai to get some food for Miaomiao.
Jiang Yuan watched the servant girl take the bowl away to fill it with more cat food. She subconsciously clutched her heart.
Her heart ached!
Jiang Ning looked at their expressions and wondered if these two silly girls really thought the cat bowl was real.
It seemed that the Jiang family was not as scholarly as the rumors said.
Then two elderly maidservants entered the room, carrying a large, heavy-looking box in their hands, "Seventh Lady, Master asked us to move this to your quarters. Where should we put it?"
Jiang Ning glanced away from her cat to look at the box. She recognized that the box contained the miscellaneous items that Old Li had given her. "You can place it in my bedroom. I'll unpack it myself later," She casually replied.
She remembered that a few pretty paintings would look lovely hanging in the study.
The two elderly women bowed in understanding and were about to walk into the bedroom when Jiang Yuan stopped them.
There was a sinister glint in the fifth lady's eyes as she sized up the box. "This is where Seventh Sister's stored your clothes and accessories, right? Why don't you let me see what you used to wear? After all, I want to know more about my Seventh Sister."