Chapter 93: This is Authentic, What Have We Been Collecting?
Sun Lao excitedly said, “Young man, could you let this old man try?”
“Of course! Just that I have a question…” Lin Beifan was puzzled, “Looking at this ministerial cup, it’s almost a single piece, as if it’s cast from a whole bronze block. Sun Lao, how did you manage to extract the King’s cup from inside?”
“No need to worry, I know the method!”
Lin Beifan: “…”
How does he know everything?
Could he be a plant sent by the authorities? Sun Lao smiled slightly, “In reality, ancient people mixed copper powder with a special adhesive, then applied it. After certain treatments, it results in what we call oxidation. During that process, the copper powder on the surface gradually comes off, revealing the bronze underneath. Just put it into an acidic solution!”
Sun Lao had someone fetch a few bottles of rice vinegar.
Then they had someone bring a bucket of water and poured the rice vinegar into it. “Now it’s all set! Just place the ministerial cup into the vinegar water, and the copper film on the surface will slowly dissolve, revealing its true brilliance!” Sun Lao was very excited.
“Let’s do it one cup at a time!”
Sun Lao carefully placed one of the ministerial cups into the bucket. Then, everyone held their breath and looked closely.
In less than a minute, the water in the bucket began to turn blue. This was a reaction between oxidized copper and the acid in the water, with copper ions dissolving into the water, which turned the water blue. Gradually, everyone saw a bright golden hue emerge from the ministerial cup.
“Golden! This is the color of gold!”
“There really is something inside!”
“It’s highly likely to be the legendary King’s cup!”
Everyone became excited.
Only Wang Pangzi and Wu Ge were dumbfounded.
Could this actually be the real King’s cup? Then, what was the set of King’s cups they had in their hands?
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!” Wang Pangzi shook his head murmuringly.
“We can’t confirm yet whether it’s the King’s cup or maybe something else entirely! Let’s wait and see!” Sun Lao stared intently, holding his breath. His face was sweating, and he seemed more nervous than anyone else.
And so, five minutes passed.
The layer of copper film on the surface of the ministerial cup finally completely dissolved. Its original form was revealed at last!
To their astonishment, it was a wine cup made of solid gold!
It was exceptionally exquisite, incredibly beautiful!
Only eight words could describe it:
Exquisitely crafted, incomparably beautiful!
Compared to this King’s cup, the ministerial cups paled in comparison, they were completely incomparable!
At this point, no further words were necessary!
“It’s truly the King’s cup!!!” Everyone was overwhelmed with excitement.
“How could this be? Impossible… absolutely impossible…” Wang Pangzi collapsed with a thud.
Wu Ge’s face turned pale, he looked frail, on the verge of collapsing.
Although they didn’t want to admit it, the King’s cup before them was indeed much more beautiful than the ones they had been collecting! It was more exquisite, more noble!
When compared side by side, they felt that what they had collected were fakes!
Sun Lao carefully lifted the golden wine cup from the water, held it in front of him, and admired it closely. He was utterly captivated, “Beautiful! It’s truly beautiful! With such intricate design, such a magnificent appearance, I can stake my life and my honor on this, this is undoubtedly the King’s cup!”
“King’s cup!!!” Everyone gathered around to look, their eyes shining as if they were beholding a priceless treasure.
Lin Beifan took a closer look and nodded, “This thing should be worth quite a lot!”
Sun Lao said with a bit of annoyance, “Worth a lot? A wine cup as unparalleled as this, both historically and artistically, is extremely valuable. It’s worth at least 200 million!” “No, 300 million!!!”
“Plop!”
Wang Pangzi, who had just stood up, collapsed again. Wu Ge’s eyelids turned white, as if he had been bitten by a bug in the trap.
They had actually sold a King’s cup worth 300 million to Lin Beifan!
They felt like dying!
“Isn’t 300 million a bit too much? I think something like this is worth at most 200 million!” Lin Beifan offered his perspective.
Sun Lao was upset, “I said 300 million, do you doubt my expertise?”
Lin Beifan shook his head, “I don’t doubt your expertise, I just think it shouldn’t be worth that much money!”
“I actually quoted too low! Because this item has never been sold before, it’s one of a kind in the world. I can’t estimate its value accurately! But if it were to go up for auction, I wouldn’t be surprised if it sold for 400 or 500 million!”
“Four or five hundred million! Oh my goodness!” Wang Pangzi collapsed again.
Wu Ge tightly clutched his chest, feeling the pain returning.
“Sun Lao, since this one ministerial cup contains a King’s cup inside, could the others also be King’s cups?” Lin Beifan asked.
“Very likely! I’m now 90% sure. Let’s try it quickly! I have a hunch that today we’ll witness a miracle!” Sun Lao was extremely excited.
Then, another ministerial cup was placed into the acid water.
After a few minutes, the layer of copper film on the surface dissolved, revealing a beautiful golden color.
Everyone exclaimed in excitement, “This is also a King’s cup!” “The second King’s cup!”
Wang Pangzi collapsed with a thud again, and Wu Ge’s face was turning blue.
The third ministerial cup was placed into the acid water.
After a while, “This is also a King’s cup!”
“Fourth King’s cup!”
Wang Pangzi collapsed to the ground with a thud again, and Wu Ge’s face had turned green and was now verging on purple. He looked as if he had been poisoned, resembling the color of the zongzi in a tomb.
The fifth ministerial cup was placed into the acid water with a sigh.
With a radiant and enchanting golden color emerging. Everyone was now mostly certain that this fifth one…
Was also a King’s cup!
“All five… are King’s cups!!!”
“My goodness! The legendary King’s cups that disappeared for hundreds of years have all emerged!” Sun Lao was incredibly excited, “Today… I have witnessed a miracle! A miracle in the world of collectibles and history!”
Lin Beifan asked, “Sun Lao, since the entire set of King’s cups has come to light, and you are an expert in this field, could you please estimate their value?”
Sun Lao raised three fingers without hesitation, “30 billion!”
This number hit Wang Pangzi and Wu Ge like a thunderbolt.
They were nearly rendered breathless!
