Chapter 7: A Basket of Junk

At a glance, there was nothing extraordinary about the wicker basket. It was old, and the edges were already frayed from time. He wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't looked around the room.

He could see the basket was filled with seemingly random objects. 

Jiang Ruobai stepped closer to look at the objects, and what he saw inside shocked him, alerting Jiang Ning.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

'This man is not going to rob me, is he?'

But what could he rob? This house had nothing but four walls and junk. What value could he possibly find in stealing anything from here?

"What is that?" Jiang Ruobai asked, swallowing his saliva as he shakily pointed to the wicker basket. 

"Oh, it's just a basket to store some bits and bobs."

"Some... bits and bobs?" Jiang Ruobai fell into a dazed. He unsteadily walked over and bent down to pick up the grayish-blue teacup on the top of the pile.

He looked at it carefully and wiped the cup with his sleeve.

'Is this a polished sapphire?'

'How much is this gemstone worth?'

Jiang Ning watched as the older man's eyes bugged out and muttered to herself, "That is not Aladdin's magic lamp, Uncle. You can't make a wish out of it."

Jiang Ruobai looked further into the basket. He put the teacup back silently and picked up a soft cloth.

He rubbed and inspected the cloth and almost threw it away when he recognized what it was made of.

'This cloth is…'

'It's made of tiger skin!'

There were also many messy and strange lines drawn on it.

Ordinary people wouldn't be able to see it and would only think of it as wear marks or wrinkles.

However, Jiang Ruobai was not an ordinary person.

After all, he was a second-rank scholar. Jiang Ruobai was the Minister of Revenue, in charge of all the land's money and grain, and he was even rewarded the title Guanglu Daifu1.

Appraising ancient calligraphy and paintings was naturally not a problem for someone like him.

These seemingly messy lines and wrinkles on the tiger skin were actually a priceless picture of the 28 stars of the heavenly cycle used by the ancient people to extrapolate the stars and predict the future.

Predicting the future was abstract, and while many people could fake it, the markings on this tiger's skin were authentic.

In terms of value alone, this piece of fabric was much more valuable than the gemstone tea cup!

The two items he had randomly picked from the pile had been extraordinarily precious and priceless. 

'What about the rest?'

Jiang Ruobai cracked his stiff neck and carefully inspected the other items in the basket. 

He gasped.

Every item in this broken basket was valuable!

They were either precious antiques or small trinkets made of porcelain, gold, and even gems.

These items look unremarkable to the untrained eye. Only an expert would truly understand their value.

If people knew there was a basket full of treasure in this place, they would be ambushed before they even set foot outside the courtyard!

Jiang Ruobai looked around the thatched house and then turned his eyes at the little girl outside the door.

'What kind of situation is this?'

Was the family that took his daughter wealthy people who secluded themselves in the city?

Were this grass-roofed house and dilapidated shop just a cover?

"Xiao Qi, where did you... Get these things?" He asked carefully.

"Old Li gave it to me."

"Old... Li?" Jiang Ruobai felt more confused.

Because "Li" was the Emperor's surname.

When Jiang Ruobai looked into the basket again, he found a ring. The accessory seemed vaguely familiar. He felt as though he'd seen it around someone's finger, but for the life of him, he couldn't recall. 

'Whose ring is it?'

He looked at Jiang Ning for a while, and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind.

"Ah!"

'Isn't this His Majesty's?'

Li...

Old Li...

Could the old man Jiang Ning mentioned actually be the same Li as the...

Jiang Ruobai trembled.

The person who kidnaped his daughter was his Majesty?!

"Xiao Qi, who is Old Li, and what is his relationship with you?" He asked.

"Old Li is an overweight and poor old man who came to by the shop to eat. He used these to pay for the meal." Jiang Ning explained casually, "Although it's just some worthless junk, the old man is a good person. It's strange though. Even though he doesn't look that good, his grandson is actually very cute." She said the last part as an afterthought.

Jiang Ruobai was speechless.

Then Jiang Ning frowned in thought. "By the way, if I leave now, Old Li and little Qian won't be able to find me. I have to leave a note."

'Little Qian?'

'The eldest imperial grandson, Li Tingqian?'

Jiang Ruobai shivered and quickly stopped her, "Xiao Qi, you don't need to leave a note. I'll get someone to guard here, so they could let them know when they come,"