Chapter 210: The Very Treasure It Should Be
"What do you mean it’s more than just ’Spring with Color’? Does that mean there are other colors? Wouldn’t that be..."
"Wouldn’t that be what?"
The guest who had spoken shot Timothy Donovan a look, clearly displeased with his tone. But in the end, his desire to share his knowledge won out, and he turned his back to Timothy to enlighten the other guests.
"With jadeite, a piece that’s purple with green is called ’Spring with Color’—’spring’ refers to the purple and ’color’ refers to the green. If you add a touch of red to that, it becomes ’Blessing, Fortune, Longevity’. And if you add yellow to that, you get ’Blessing, Fortune, Longevity, Joy’. It’s already difficult for a single piece of jade to contain multiple colors, let alone this specific combination."
As he spoke, the guest turned to look at the raw stone in the master craftsman’s hands, his gaze so intense it was hard to ignore.
"’Blessing, Fortune, Longevity’ jade is already rare, but ’Blessing, Fortune, Longevity, Joy’ is the kind of thing you see once in a century. Its value goes without saying. If the colors are distributed evenly, with few impurities and good translucency, then it would be a truly priceless treasure! It’s the sort of thing that would have people fighting tooth and nail for it at any auction house!"
Timothy Donovan’s expression darkened. The last thing he wanted to hear was that Arabella Donovan might have found a treasure and was about to make a fortune. He scoffed instinctively, "I think you’re just talking nonsense. Jadeite is only beautiful and valuable when it’s pure in color and translucent. How can a rock mixed with several colors be any good? I wouldn’t even take it if you gave it to me for free."
The guest who had been speaking was clearly a jade aficionado, and his face paled with anger at Timothy’s words.
He stewed for a moment before sputtering, "You can’t discuss ice with a summer insect, nor the ocean with a frog in a well. I have nothing more to say to you. A ’Blessing, Fortune, Longevity, Joy’ ornament was just sold at an overseas auction recently. The final price was one hundred million. If you don’t believe me, look it up yourself."
At his words, some curious guests had already taken out their phones to search for the news.
"It’s actually true! It really sold for a hundred million. And that ornament was only half the size of a palm, yet it sold for so much money. In that case, her stone..."
While they were talking, the master craftsman had already ground down another side, and sure enough, a faint hint of red was revealed.
The guest who enjoyed explaining things brightened up. "Miss Donovan, I was wondering if you might be interested in selling this stone? I’m willing to offer you three million for it!"
"Three million? Are you insane? He’s only cut away a tiny piece. Who knows if the rest is just dirt? You’d spend three million on a useless rock like this? You must be out of your mind!"
The man completely ignored Timothy Donovan, focusing his earnest plea on Arabella Donovan. "Miss Donovan, I am asking in all sincerity to make this deal with you. If you’re willing to part with it, the three million will be in your account immediately."
"Lynch, you call that ’sincerity’? I’d say you’re just taking advantage of Miss Donovan’s inexperience and trying to swindle her. A ’Blessing, Fortune, Longevity’ of this quality would fetch at least five million on the market, yet you’re only offering three million to get something for nothing. You’re a real shark! Miss Donovan, I’m willing to offer five million. What do you say...?"
"Crook Quinn, don’t you go too far! If you want to compete with me for this treasure, just say so. No need for your underhanded remarks. Miss Donovan, I’ll offer six million."
"Seven million!"
"Eight million!"
"Nine million!"
"Ten million!"
The two bosses grew more and more agitated as they shouted their bids, each afraid that a moment’s hesitation would let the other gain the upper hand.
The surrounding guests watched with great interest. No one had expected an impromptu encore after the auction had already ended.
The two of them shouted back and forth for a long time without a clear winner, nearly coming to blows right in front of everyone.
Arabella Donovan hadn’t expected that just cracking open the stone would cause such a commotion. She quickly spoke up to make her position clear. "I’m sorry, but if this stone really is the ’Blessing, Fortune, Longevity’ that Mr. Lynch just described, I don’t plan on selling it."
"Well..." Mr. Lynch knew that, logically, since she had put it that way, he shouldn’t press the matter any further.
But with the treasure right in front of him, he couldn’t help but feel an itch of curiosity. "If you don’t mind me asking, Miss Donovan, what do you plan to do with this stone?"
"If, as you said, I’m fortunate enough to get a ’Blessing, Fortune, Longevity’ from this stone... an elder in my family has a happy occasion coming up, and I haven’t decided on a gift for them yet."
As soon as Arabella Donovan gave her explanation, everyone understood instantly.
’An elder in the family has a happy occasion? Isn’t the Ninth Master getting married this month?’
’So if she really can get something from this stone, it’s going to be a wedding gift for the two of them?’
Although Mr. Lynch coveted the treasure, he didn’t dare compete with the Ninth Master for it, especially since it was a gift from a junior to her elder as a sign of respect.
If he kept pestering her, it would be unreasonable both emotionally and logically. He could only shake his head and sigh with regret.
"In that case, I wouldn’t want to take something you hold so dear."
Just then, the master craftsman finished grinding the last little section.
"Blessing, Fortune, Longevity, Joy! It really is ’Blessing, Fortune, Longevity, Joy’! Red, yellow, purple, and green—all four colors are here, not a single one missing!"
The onlookers, who had been waiting to see if another color would appear after Mr. Lynch’s explanation, immediately cried out in astonishment when they saw the master craftsman wipe away the dust to reveal the yellow. All eyes were instantly drawn to the stone.
"It’s really ’Blessing, Fortune, Longevity, Joy’! All four colors are there, and each one is so evenly distributed, translucent, and clear, with almost no impurities. This is truly the best of the best!" Mr. Lynch, who had just said he wouldn’t want to take it, felt his resolve waver now that most of the treasure was revealed.
"Miss Donovan..."
"This is wonderful. The jadeite is of excellent quality; it couldn’t be more perfect as a wedding gift for my grandparents." Arabella Donovan didn’t give him a chance to speak, turning directly to the craftsman. "Master, could you help me get the whole thing out?"
"Of course. Don’t worry, I’ll be extremely careful. I guarantee I won’t let so much as a corner of this stone get damaged."
It had to be said, the craftsman Man Vance had found was very reliable. He said he wouldn’t let a single corner of the "Blessing, Fortune, Longevity, Joy" be chipped, and he truly didn’t damage it in the slightest.
When it was fully extracted, it nearly blinded everyone present with its brilliance.
The palm-sized piece of jade lay on a red cloth-lined tray, shimmering with a magnificent, colorful light under the lamps. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
Even those who weren’t fond of jade or jewelry couldn’t help but be captivated by the beauty of nature upon seeing this sight.
"It’s so beautiful," a lady standing behind Arabella Donovan couldn’t help but exclaim.
The other guests didn’t laugh at her. Instead, they offered her kind smiles, because they were all thinking the same thing.
Man Vance’s hand, gripping his cane, trembled slightly. His eyes were fixed on the shimmering treasure, his expression a mixture of excitement and deep emotion. "Yes, yes. A stone like this was meant to hold such a treasure. It was meant to hold such a treasure!"
The only ones who couldn’t accept this reality were Timothy Donovan’s family, especially Victor Donovan.
The thought that his younger son had missed out on such a treasure simply because he had stopped him sent a sharp, twisting pain through his heart.
"Dad! Dad, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me!"