209 Emperors’ Relics! Major Museums Go Crazy! Bring 50 Billion! Come and Buy Treasures! (1)
As he felt the object inside, it seemed like a piece of clothing. Apart from a dragon robe, Luo Feng could not think of any other garment that would lead Li Zicheng to stitch together 2 tiger skins to protect it. The fabric inside felt smooth to the touch, and the garment appeared to be entirely intact.
The agate in the box was valuable enough, and yet, the rebel king has simply left it in the open and stored it in a chest.
In contrast, whatever this item was, was wrapped in actual tiger skin. If it were indeed a dragon robe, it might be the only Ming dynasty dragon robe in the entire world. After all, throughout history, most existing dragon robes come from the Qing dynasty, which is much closer to the present time and thus easier to preserve. The Ming dynasty, even the late Ming period, is far removed from the present, separated by hundreds of years and the entire Qing Dynasty. As a result, it is nearly impossible to maintain a perfect condition of a 500-year-old garment.
If the dragon robe inside was real, it would undoubtedly be the only one in the world. Of course, such clothing had not been buried with the emperor, so oxidation would not occur. Sealed in a cave, the cool and damp environment was ideal for preserving objects. If the tiger skin wrap incorporated some unique preservation techniques, the dragon robe could be preserved flawlessly without any issues.
!!
Luo Feng could not help but want to tear open the tiger skin to see if it really was a dragon robe in there. However, doing so now would be inappropriate. Although it felt intact to the touch, who knew if it would oxidize upon exposure to the air after tearing it open?
“Is this really tiger skin? Genuine tiger skin?”
“Should be a South China tiger, right? Did old Li actually hunt a tiger in the mountains?”
“If it weren’t for these ancient treasure chests, I’d think this was a cave that primitives used to live in.”
Luo Feng spoke up, “These are two tiger skins sewn together, and they encase something inside!”
“Two of them sewn together? How did I not notice that?”
“I see it now; the seam is tiny!”
“Could you open it and have a look?”
“Could it be hiding some secret martial arts manual?”
“Is it the Jiuyin Scripture?”
Ignoring the tiger skin, Luo Feng turned to one of the chests and said, “I felt the object inside; it should be a piece of clothing.”
“What? Clothing?”
“Are you sure it’s not a jade seal or a luminous pearl?”
“Yeah, why would they store something like that in tiger skin? That’s not logical!”
After some thought, Luo Feng made a shocking statement: “What if I told you it could be a dragon robe; would you believe me?”
Everyone was stunned upon hearing this, and the livestream chat erupted into chaos.
“Damn! A dragon robe? Don’t scare us like that, host!”
“Was old Li trying to become an emperor?”
“Seems like he was an emperor at some point, right?”
“Can you even consider him an emperor? We don’t acknowledge him. He was the root of the Ming dynasty’s chaos! Otherwise, the Qing Dynasty wouldn’t have come to be!”
“Judging by the size of the tiger skin and the fact that it’s nailed to the wall, it could really be a dragon robe.” “If it is a dragon robe, our host has struck it rich. It’s worth several houses in Shanghai.”
Upon sharing his speculation, many people were on edge, brimming with curiosity. They could not wait to reach through the screen and tear open the tiger skin…
Their curiosity was even more intense than the anticipation of tearing silk stockings…
…
“If we acquire the dragon robe, our Shanghai Museum would surely become the second-largest museum in the country, only surpassed by the one in the Forbidden City!”
“So, I suggest we request an increased budget from the higher-ups!”
“What? They won’t increase it?”
“Then what should we do?”
“If we apply for a bank loan, we’ll get scolded!”
“Should we seek sponsorship from wealthy patrons?”
“That seems to be the only option!”
Upon hearing Luo Feng mention the possibility of a dragon robe being discovered, the Shanghai Museum staff became excited as well. They were already on their way to the site. If Luo Feng’s words proved true during the unveiling, they would definitely have to acquire the dragon robe, although the competition would likely be fierce.
…
“There’s no way I’d possibly get my hands on this treasure, right?” Qin Rubing watched the livestream with a sense of helplessness. Such a cultural relic would be nearly impossible for a private collector like her to lay her hands on. After all, official museums would go all out to acquire it. At this point, Qin Rubing dared not even guess the potential price or estimate its value.
“Miss, as long as we pay, why can’t we buy it through a normal transaction? I’m just afraid the price will be too high, but if you inform Mr. Luo in advance and owe him, I think he would agree!” The assistant, not understanding the situation, spoke up.
“Hehe, a normal transaction? You’re right; we might be able to bid later, but no matter how much we offer, the official museums will always offer more. Moreover, raising the price like this would definitely offend the authorities,” Qin Rubing patiently explained.
Dragon robes were on a completely different tier from other relics. It had the same ranking as the imperial jade seals were used by emperors, but unless they were already in private hands, the rightful owner of such cultural relics must be an official institution.
“I see; it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to bid against the officials,” the assistant finally understood and nodded.
At this moment, they were preparing to head to the mountain as well. Luo Feng’s previous items had already been sold off at their latest auction, and thus, they had to report the results to Luo Feng.
As for Luo Feng’s latest round of relics, besides the dragon robe, they would try and compete for the remaining valuable antiques and bring the rest to their auction house.
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