In the novel the female protagonist and her group found the conch shaped brooch in a stall by the very end of the street. The stall was a bit inconspicuous with its wares just laid down in a cloth in an secluded corner, the brooch was described as an old looking brooch made of brass with a very detailed sculpture of a conch shell.
It was written that when Yu Xiyun first saw the brooch, it was as if the ornament itself was calling out to her. The suitor bought it when he saw her looking at it intently. Yu Xiyun wanted to buy it for herself because she can feel some energy fluctuating on the brooch that she knows will be a good thing, but her suitor insisted on buying it on her behalf as her birthday gift. In the novel, she at first didn't want him to do that for her, but using his identity as Zhang Qian's cousin along with Zhang Qian's insistence, Yu Xiyun relented.
Ruan Wen cannot recall any other details on the brooch's whereabouts, but she can't stop to ponder some more about it and urgently made her way through bypassing the female protagonist and her entourage without them noticing her.
One problem was that there were a lot of vendors selling their wares with only a cloth on the ground, giving Ruan Wen a headache!
And just as she near the end of the street still looking around, Ruan Wen was sidetracked when she noticed an energy flactuation emanating on one of the nearby stalls. She heard a loud argument between an old man and a girl who looks like in her early twenties. Ruan Wen found that the stall owner arguing with a customer about the price of a incense burner, the very piece that emits the energy flactuation that she had felt!
The stall owner wanted price the burner at 1000 dollars indisting that it was a real antique once used a noble family, but the customer wanted to lower the price down to 300 dollars not even half of the asking price!
Getting close, Ruan Wen heard the vendor reason with the customer.
"...1000 is already cheap!" the vendor said, "This is an authentic antique piece passed down from my family!"
"Who ate you kidding this isn't even a real! Only an idiot will buy this for that price!" the customer shouted.
They have been going on at it for quite a while with no one backing, the old man selling the incense burner just wanted to jack up the price and secretly agreed with the customer. He only bought the incense burner for less than a hundred dollar and that story about it being passed down in his family was lie!
"Litte girl can't you leave this old man a way to live?" he said, "That price is too low, its not even half the price I'm asking for!"
"I'm already offering too much with 300!" the girl replied, "Old man, you shouldn't deceive people too much!"
About to relent, he was about to give it for 300 since he'll still make a profit when he heard someone shout, "I'll take it for 500!"
Ruan Wen was just about to counter the girl's offer, when a rowdy looking teenage boy shouted. Startling everyone especially the girl trying to buy the incense burner and by the looks of it both of them seems to know each other.
"You brat!" the girl shouted, "stay out of this!"
"Ayy...auntie, I know you've always been cheap but isn't these too much?" the boy mockingly said.
The both of them kept arguing as if they don't feel the crowd gathering to watch them. It was not until the girl's face turned so red from anger did she stomped out ending the episode with the boy taking the incense burner!
Throughout the interaction Ruan Wen felt like both the boy and girl that was fighting for the incense burner was familiar to her. She thought that both of them might be an important character in the novel and just haven't placed the names yet!
While watching them, Ruan Wen also thought about taking the inccense burner for herself but since she have a feeling that both of them are important characters, she better not mix in and make an enemy early on for herself!
Ruan Wen almost forgot about the brooch as she contemplated who those two were, when she heard the familiar voice of her roommate, Zhang Qian exclaim snapping her out of thoughts.
Turning around she can see them nearing where she was! There's not much time, she needs to find that brooch before them, or else it will too late. Plus she knows that it will never be good to have an altercation with the female protagonist this early!
Ruan Wen did not linger there anymore any went on to find the stall selling the brooch.