Tang Dynasty: The pot is tied to the duck nest, the little rhinoceros is here!

Each of these pearls is of the highest quality, not only large but also perfectly round. And it looks glittering and precious.

To the naked eye, it appears snow-white, without any impurities or haze, smooth as a mirror, with flawless skin—naturally perfect.

If this were in ancient times, each one would have been of royal quality.

What surprised Li Jinfu the most was the jade ruyi, especially its craftsmanship. Although it was an imitation of Tang dynasty jade, it was even more exquisite.

If the previous golden nanmu box was a one-to-one imitation of the Tang Dynasty, then this jade ruyi was carved by a top master craftsman of the Tang Dynasty.

Seeing Li Jinfu's dumbfounded expression, Jiang Fan was at a loss for words. If he were to bring out his family's treasures, it would probably shock the antique world.

However, this jade ruyi was a gift from Emperor Taizong of Tang to Li Tai, so it must not be an ordinary item.

If it weren't for the fact that the design looks so new, it would be priceless even now.

"Damn it!" Li Jinfu couldn't help but curse inwardly. He was, after all, a master appraiser, and looking at these items one by one...

The artifacts, which are both "real" and "fake," are even more exquisitely carved than those of modern masters, completely overshadowing his decades of experience in appraising antiques!

Twenty minutes later.

Jiang Fan walked out of Jinfu Auction Company with satisfaction. The items included golden nanmu wood, pearls, and a jade ruyi.

The three items sold for a total of 50 million! The jade ruyi, in particular, was worth 38 million.

According to Li Jinfu, this jade is top-grade Hetian mutton fat jade.

Moreover, mining is extremely difficult, requiring the extraction of raw materials from glaciers. Ten kilograms of raw stone often yields only one or two ounces of usable material.

The characteristics of mutton fat jade are that it is white like solidified fat, warm and lustrous, and has a semi-transparent, creamy feel under light, and it feels warm to the touch.

Besides white jade, top-quality jade can also be made of yellow jade (imperial yellow), bluish-white jade, or rare black jade, but flawless mutton fat jade is the most prized.

Moreover, this jade ruyi is not only large in size, but also made from a single piece of material, without any flaws, cracks, cotton-like inclusions, or water lines. It was even carved from a single piece of material in one go.

Moreover, the carving employs ancient Tang Dynasty techniques, blending Western Region and Central Plains methods. The ruyi head is often carved in the shape of a lingzhi mushroom or a cloud.

The handle is decorated with scrolling vines, lotus flowers, or auspicious beasts.

The most valuable part is the grinding process—using abrasive powder to repeatedly polish the jade.

The lines are smooth and rounded, with no tool marks at the turns. Sometimes, the back of the handle is engraved with gold-filled inscriptions.

Moreover, the cloud-shaped head or handle is inlaid with gold wire and gold sheet, creating a "gold-inlaid jade" effect.

Although this is not an authentic piece, the jade and the carving alone are quite valuable!

~

In the Great Tang Dynasty, at the Lizheng Hall, inside the palace of Empress Zhangsun.

Si Zi was about to show off her tablet computer. She didn't come with her older and second older sisters. Instead, she sent them back to their palace and then drove there herself.

~

"Mother, Father, let me show you the talking sheep," Little Sizi said in a childish voice as he snuggled into Empress Zhangsun's arms.

"Did Sizi bring back the talking sheep?"

"Hmm~" Xiao Sizi said, taking a tablet computer out of a bag.

Inside were animations that Jiang Fan had downloaded in advance. The moment Xiao Sizi opened the tablet, Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun were stunned.

This little black board can actually light up, and somehow it even displays images.

The little boy kept swiping the screen with his tiny hands, and the content on the screen kept changing.

Li Shimin felt his brain wasn't working properly.

Xiao Sizi swiped a few times, found the "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" that Jiang Fan had downloaded, and clicked play.

At this time, the Tang Dynasty established the Lizheng Hall.

The theme song of Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf was playing from the Empress's palace;

"Don't underestimate me just because I'm a sheep."

"Even the green grass smells sweeter for me..."

As they watched the scene unfold on the screen, Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun were completely absorbed in the story of the sheep and the wolf, remaining silent for a long time.

"These sheep really can talk," Li Shimin exclaimed in astonishment.

Empress Zhangsun nodded: "I didn't expect such a small board to house so many sheep!"

"No! I don't think these sheep are real either; they don't look quite like real sheep."

"I think the sheep in the celestial realm are naturally different from those in the mortal realm, especially since they can talk."

"Yes, yes, yes! The Empress is absolutely right."

Li Shimin felt that this small board was likely a magical artifact, and that it must contain many things.

"Sizi, are there only sheep in here?"

"And there's the Big Bad Wolf, this is a movie my brother made for me, it's not a real sheep!"

"Grandpa, this can even play Candy Crush!" Little Sizi said proudly.

"What is Candy Crush?" Li Shimin asked in confusion.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Sizi paused the playback, returned to the homepage, and then opened the match-3 game to play.

The little rhinoceros was about to rise, and Li Shimin watched it with longing eyes, finding it more and more interesting the more he looked.

"Sizi, can Grandpa play that match-3 game for a bit?"

Li Shimin looked at the little rhinoceros with great interest.

"Okay, Grandpa taught you~" Little Si hesitated for a moment, then finally said thank you to Grandpa.

Li Shimin was deeply moved when he saw that Si Zi had agreed so readily this time.

"Alright! Sizi, teach your father!" Li Shimin quickly sat down with the little princess.

"Grandpa, did you see that? This one is just like this one. Just point at it with your hand and it'll disappear!"

"Grandpa, did you see that? This one is just like this one. Just point at it with your hand and it'll disappear!"

As Xiao Sizi spoke, he demonstrated, and the connected fruits of the same kind disappeared with cool special effects and sound effects.

This match-3 game is simple to play, but it doesn't seem to offer much replayability.

But every time Li Shimin saw the rows of fruits disappearing from the screen, he felt a great sense of satisfaction.

In modern terms, it's incredibly stress-relieving, which is perhaps why the game attracted Li Shimin.

As the ruler of a country, Li Shimin was extremely busy with state affairs, which led to some overwork and considerable pressure at times.

In fact, Li Shimin didn't need to learn anymore; he had already learned it when he watched Xiao Sizi play.

"Grandpa~ Have you failed your studies?"

"Grandpa has learned it!"

"Okay~ Grandpa can play with it~"

Xiao Sizi handed the tablet to Li Shimin, who felt that the game was too easy for him.

It was quite amazing to use a tablet computer for the first time.

The moment your finger touches the screen, the clusters of similar fruits disappear.

Li Shimin unconsciously smiled, and his mustache twitched even higher.

Soon all the fruit on the screen was cleared, and the words "Congratulations on passing the level" appeared.

"Wow~ Grandpa is so awesome~" Little Sizi clapped his hands and praised.

Li Shimin stroked his little mustache with a smug look on his face.

Then another line of text appeared on the screen: "Please challenge the next level."

"Oh? Koji, is this an increase in difficulty?"

"Hmm~ It's not difficult~ Grandpa, don't be afraid~"

Li Shimin chuckled. What difficulty could this possibly be?

I had only occasionally glimpsed my little princess playing this match-3 game before, I never imagined that it could increase in difficulty level by level?

This piqued Li Shimin's interest even more. And just as he had predicted...