It was a slightly purple-tinted round bowl, which seemed unremarkable, but who was Jiang Ruobai?
No matter how he looked, that bowl seemed to be something that Master Xuanyun had used during his travels.
It was a personal item of the rare master Xuanyun, truly priceless.
Such a collectible treasure, and the girl was using it as a cat bowl?
Jiang Ning doubted his own eyes.
But it really did look like it.
Jiang Ruobai couldn't help but move closer, squatting down, and staring at the bowl.
The cat was enjoying its meal when it noticed someone trying to snatch its food. It immediately turned around, hissing, and puffing up its fur.
Jiang Ning was stunned.
What happened to the wealthy father he promised?
Dressed so splendidly yet squatting on the ground trying to grab food with a cat?
This must be a fake, thinking of abducting the beautiful girl to sell her off!
That's not right either; if he was really a kidnapper, he wouldn't be so hungry as to snatch food from a cat.
Then he must be really starving.
Jiang Ning spoke up, "Uncle, if you really can't stand the hunger, I have a bit of mushroom soup left in the pot... It was supposed to be dinner, but I'll give it to you."
"Oh, oh..." Jiang Ruobai was so absorbed in looking at the bowl that he didn't hear her clearly. He just nodded a few times until a porcelain bowl appeared in front of him, making him realize that his actions could easily be misunderstood.
He chuckled, "Actually, I... Hm?"
He smelled a rich and special fragrance reaching his nose.
It came from the porcelain bowl in front of him.
When Jiang Ning saw his eager eyes, she smiled encouragingly, "Go ahead and eat."
The girl's smile was so bright, and the soup too fragrant. Jiang Ruobai couldn't help but accept the soup and took a small sip.
It was deliciously smooth and the mushrooms tender, with a lingering aftertaste.
Jiang Ruobai had never tasted such soup before, and he drank half a bowl in one go.
He came from a noble family and had seen all kinds of things in life and had experienced luxuries. Yet, in this thatched hut, he had tasted the most delicious soup of his life.
How could he not be shocked?
He couldn't help but lick his lips.
Seeing his face, Jiang Ning's heart sank.
Such a reaction to half a bowl of soup, this guy was even more miserable than Old Man Li!
And he lied to her, saying the Jiang Family had money, she could have as much as she wanted.
Pah.
She didn't want to go anymore.
Jiang Ruobai had no idea that he was marked as a pauper just for drinking half a bowl of soup.
He was staring at the porcelain bowl in his hand.
This porcelain bowl...
Its glaze was azure, with a gentle luster and brown cracks at the base. It was undoubtedly... a rare antique from the old official kiln.
The price of just this one bowl alone was worth 100 taels of silver.
Jiang Ruobai glanced at the wooden table in the main room and trembled.
There was a complete set on the table, identical to the one in his hand.
Such a set was even more precious.
It wasn't that he hadn't seen these things before, but not in such dilapidated thatched huts.
What was going on?
Shocked, Jiang Ruobai walked into the room and saw a painting spread out on a high wooden stand near a pot of orchids. Some parts were even covered in mud.
Jiang Ruobai's pupils constricted, he darted forward and took the orchids off the painting, examining it carefully.
The paper, the brushwork, the seal, and the grand atmosphere conveyed by the painting—
Yes, it was a genuine work from Zhang Linxian, a master calligrapher and painter of the Southern Dynasties period—The Sunset Glow.
He had a copy of this painting in his study, copied by a renowned painter from the Imperial Court. Although it was still a good painting, compared to this genuine piece, the gap was too big.
No, there was simply no comparison.
The fake would always be fake.
It could never become real!
Jiang Ruobai swallowed and glanced around the room, finally resting his eyes on an inconspicuous large wicker basket behind the door.