Chapter 7: Anyone Who Smashes the Imperial Seal for Fun Should Be Paraded Through the Streets for a Hundred Days

I concede.

Gesheng said it as a matter of course.

Pitting a superior horse against a medium horse, and a medium horse against an inferior horse.

As for pitting an inferior horse against a superior horse, it was better not to race at all.

That was why Gesheng was so persistent about winning the first vow; only in this way could he calmly welcome the subsequent trials.

As for actually engaging in physical combat with Gelian, Gesheng had no such contingency plan before Gelian made his move, and after Gelian struck, Gesheng had even less thought of it.

"How straightforward." Gelian gently applauded. "Not even leaving me the chance to leave a mark. So, it is the third vow?"

"Indeed." Gesheng nodded.

During the Imperial Vow one hundred and ten years ago, physical combat was the fourth vow, and the victor became the Emperor Shuhua. Only that battle was a protracted duel lasting seven double-hours.

At this moment, it had taken no more than a few breaths.

Gesheng had returned to Phoenix Sleep Manor four quarters past noon, and by now it was afternoon; at most another double-hour would bring nightfall, since deep autumn nights were long.

No matter what, he had still used various means to buy enough time for this manor.

The third vow was the Trial of Jade.

The Lanye Empire had revered jade since ancient times, boasting that out of ten parts of jade in the world, eight belonged to Lanye. Therefore, the custom of jade tasting had flourished in the world since antiquity. If a great noble family did not possess an heirloom jade to suppress its fortune, its foundation would be considered lacking, and the quality of this jade determined the family's strength and status.

Thus, the custom of jade tasting had fertile soil for survival in this empire since ancient times.

"The Trial of Jade?" Gelian smiled faintly. "I came in a hurry and did not bring any fine jade, only a jade pendant from my person. I hope my cousin will be magnanimous when I make a fool of myself."

Gesheng shook his head. "My jade is still hidden in the manor. Give me a quarter of an hour, and I will go get it."

"Very well, but no one else here is allowed to leave." Gelian said.

Gesheng walked out of the reception hall. Ever since Gelian's arrival, the entire manor had been desolate and deserted, save for that white cat—which had come from parts unknown and taken up residence—lying lazily on the courtyard wall and glancing at him.

He rounded several corners and walked straight into An Ning's room. This was the secluded inner chamber, where outsiders were not ordinarily permitted to enter, but he was naturally an exception. Twisting the third paperweight on the left side of the desk, a hidden compartment slowly rose from the center of the huanghuali wood table, and inside the compartment was a small brocade box wrapped in red silk.

Gesheng untied the red silk and opened the brocade box to find a cluster of purple grapes resting quietly inside.

Those were not grapes; they were jade.

Purple jade grapes carved from the most precious violet jadeite among hard jades, An Ning's only dowry.

If one were truly to convert it into currency, this cluster of grapes could buy half the city of Lanyin.

That was why Gesheng was so confident in the Trial of Jade, because from the very beginning, he had absolute confidence in this piece of jade. The Gesheng family's heirloom jade was a cracked-ice jade *ruyi*, which he saw every time he offered sacrifices to his ancestors; although it was also an extraordinarily rare piece of fine jade, it fell far short of this cluster of purple jade grapes.

Moreover, the family heirloom jade would not be brought out for a jade trial by a junior like Gelian.

Gesheng brought the brocade box and hurried back. Barely half a quarter had passed. Seeing the brocade box in Gesheng's hand, Gelian raised an eyebrow. "You brought it?"

Gesheng nodded.

"It seems my cousin is very confident." Gelian smiled lightly.

Naturally confident; Gesheng had never been so confident before. He pressed his hand on the brocade box and looked at Gelian. "Who goes first?"

"I am afraid that once I produce my jade, my cousin will lose the courage to display his." For the first time, Gesheng used the address "cousin," and for the first time, he was so proud. "Therefore, cousin, please go first."

"So confident." Gelian shook his head. "I am truly terrified."

Saying this, he casually untied a jade pendant from his waist and tossed it to Gesheng. "This is my jade."

Gesheng raised his hand to catch it, looking closely.

White jade. This was a jade pendant carved from white jade, simply tied with a cyan silk ribbon. Upon careful observation, one could still see traces of carved characters on one side of the jade pendant, though they were indistinct, much like a large piece of jade that originally bore inscriptions had been broken into pendants, yet the craftsman had failed to break it cleanly.

In terms of material, this jade was top-tier mutton-fat white jade—milky, flawless, warm, and crystalline. Such a jade pendant could easily buy half a street in Lanyin City. Using jade like this for the trial meant he had nothing to fear.

However, in terms of carving craftsmanship, while the jade pendant was rounded and unadorned, it had merely been ground and polished simply, without the slightest decorative carving anywhere on the entire piece. Therefore, no extra points could be awarded on this front.

Thus, Gesheng grew even more certain in his heart that Gelian was bound to take a massive tumble this time—because he could never have imagined that Phoenix Sleep Manor actually harbored such a rare treasure as the purple jade grapes.

Thinking this, Gesheng nodded and placed the jade on the floor. This was the rule of playing with jade: it passed back and forth without going through human hands, so as to avoid accidents and the difficulty of assigning blame, though there were no longer any intact tables or chairs left in this room. Although Gesheng had tossed the jade when handing it over, indicating he didn't hold it in high regard, when returning it, he still had to follow the rules.

With this thought, Gesheng slowly untied the red silk around the brocade box, preparing to take out his trump card.

Gelian reached out a hand, and that piece of jade bounced up from the flat ground and landed in his palm. Turning the jade pendant over, he watched Gesheng's movements and smiled. "Wait a moment, cousin. This jade has a history. Let me tell you about it."

Gesheng could not help but pause, and Xiao Jiu beside him frowned slightly.

When she looked at this jade just now, her expression had not been as relaxed as Gesheng's.

Even if Gesheng did not want to listen, he had to hear Gelian out, because in this room, he was not the one who called the shots. Gelian toyed with the seemingly unremarkable mutton-fat jade pendant in his hand and said, "I picked up this little trinket for nine gold-leaf blades in the markets of Lanyin."

Gesheng widened his eyes. "But it is worth at least a thousand gold-leaf blades."

"Yes, at least a thousand." Gelian had not expected Gesheng to be so discerning, and said with pride, "That seller was too shrewed. He felt that the color of this jade was too new, and the engraved characters were archaic and vigorous enough to possess a thousand years of charm, but judging by the polishing and handling, this jade was at most a hundred or so years old. The jade was too new, the characters too old, yet the jade material itself was too fine. He grew suspicious, and after inviting a few connoisseurs to examine it, their views aligned with his. They all believed it was likely a deliberately aged trinket, and since it lacked any carving craftsmanship, they were afraid there might be something wrong with the jade material itself. So the seller offered a price of a hundred gold, which I mercilessly beat down by ninety percent."

Gelian spoke with great pride, and Gesheng understood his pride. Such top-tier soft jade probably did not exist in many places across the world, so those who saw it did not believe it could truly be such a supreme material. Thus, he had picked up a bargain, making a hundredfold profit. Anyone would be proud of such a feat.

Yet, this pride was probably not yet finished.

"Yes, I am very proud." Gelian said with a smile. "After I bought this jade and took it back, I examined it back and forth several times and still couldn't be certain. Coincidentally, that year I went to Yeye City for the examinations, so I asked a grand personage of the academy to examine this jade. That grand personage told me the astonishing origins of this jade."

"It is a fragment of the Imperial Jade Seal."