Looking at Tai'an from the full moon

Several people presented their gifts one after another. Princess Jiashan also watched without interest until her little sister began to show them. Although the gifts were not very expensive, they were indeed small items that little girls liked, so she was still very happy.

The ornament that King Qing prepared for Princess Jiashan was a colorful glazed tower.

Tai'an does not produce colored glaze. This colored glaze tower was obtained by chance when Baili Qing was still a child, traveling with the Grand Tutor. Baili Qing liked it very much at that time. Now that she has grown up, she feels that although this kind of thing is beautiful, it is not practical, so she took it out and gave it to Princess Jiashan. After all, little girls like this kind of colorful things.

When Princess Jiashan saw the exquisite glazed tower, which reflected beautiful colorful light under the sun, she showed a delighted expression and smiled sweetly at Xiao Zuoqing.

"Thank you, cousin Qing. Jiashan likes it very much~"

The eldest princess also smiled and nodded, waved her hand, and signaled the butler to put away the gift.

Everyone had displayed their gifts, except Xiao Zuochen, who hadn't yet taken out his. Princess Jiashan curiously leaned over.

"Cousin Chen, what did you bring to Jiashan?"

Hearing Princess Jiashan's question, everyone looked at Prince Yun curiously.

It is said that Prince Yun is the emperor's favorite son. Whenever he gets something good, Prince Yun is the first to give it as a reward. I believe that the gift Prince Yun sends must be quite good.

Xiao Zuochen saw that everyone was looking at him, especially the Third Prince, whose eyes seemed to be staring through him.

Xiao Zuochen stood up, and Yun Wei behind him dragged a large box to the center.

"This is...?"

Everyone instantly became interested and were curious about what was inside the box.

But Xiao Zuochen did not give everyone time to guess and directly opened the box, revealing pitch black inside.

"this..."

The officials and ladies who were closer were secretly surprised when they saw what was in the alley. Isn't this just a stone?

Yes, this box of "stones" was one of the surprises Xiao Zuochen had given to the emperor. Xiao Zuochen had heard from others in the Mijin Pavilion that the princess had recently become addicted to gambling, so he thought of giving this as a gift.

The eldest princess was a little puzzled when she saw this, but she didn't show it on her face.

"Zuochen, what is this?"

"Gamble on stones?"

Liuli, who was standing by, seemed to know what it was and said something softly. However, she didn't mean to tell everyone because she was just guessing.

Xiao Zuochen seemed to be inspired when he heard her words.

"Yes, it's gambling on stones!"

"What means?"

When the princess heard the word "gamble", she became very excited. The prince consort who had been silent all this time frowned. He hated the princess's gambling habit, but since she was the princess, he could only be angry but not say anything.

Although everyone present did not like gambling, they were all very curious when they heard the term "gambling on stones" for the first time. They all stretched their necks to listen to King Yun continue talking.

Xiao Zuochen only heard Liuli say that this word was very suitable for these jades, but he didn't know the real meaning. So he looked at Liuli and asked Liuli to explain it.

Liuli didn't expect that King Yun would suddenly ask her to go up and explain the meaning of gambling on stones. She only knew the general idea, and she didn't know what King Yun was going to do. She was afraid that what she said would be different from what he wanted to do.

Xiao Zuochen seemed to see her concerns and whispered to her.

"It doesn't matter, just say it."

After getting the affirmation, Liuli boldly walked to the middle.

"The so-called gambling on stones refers to a trading method of jadeite raw stones or jade raw stones. In fact, when jadeite jewelry or jade products are first mined, they are covered with a layer of weathered skin. For example, the stone we see now is one of them. Usually, when we see it for the first time, we think it is just an ordinary stone. It is precisely because of its appearance that we cannot know whether it is good or bad. Only after cutting can we know the quality of the jade inside, so it is called gambling on stones."

After listening to Liuli's explanation, Xiao Zuochen also had an idea. He asked Yun Wei to move all the stones out, and asked the servants to move a table and put the stones in the middle of the table. He looked around and finally locked his eyes on the third prince.

"Third brother, do you want to make a bet?"

The prince was confused when his name was called.

"What are you gambling?"

"You choose a stone and cut it open in public, and we'll see what's inside."

After hearing what he said, the Third Prince stood up and straightened his clothes, looking very confident.

"What's so difficult about this?"

"Of course it's not over once you've chosen. Since it's gambling on stones, naturally someone has to bet with you. If you lose, there will be a punishment. How about a glass of wine first?"

"No problem~ You choose someone!"

It was just a glass of wine, and the Third Prince didn't care.

Xiao Zuochen now looked directly at the eldest princess.

"Aunt, do you want to try it?"

The eldest princess naturally wanted to give it a try, and since her nephew had put the words in her mouth, of course she had to agree.

"Okay! I'll play first!"

The eldest princess walked down from the main seat and, under the guidance of Liuli, chose a stone first. Then the third prince chose another one, and then they each returned to their seats.

Yun Wei held the sword in his hand, ready to strike. Xiao Zuochen had already stepped aside, leaving Liuli to preside over the situation.

"Then let's take a look at the Third Prince's jade first."

Liuli nodded to Yun Wei, and Yun Wei raised his knife and cut off a thin piece from one side of the stone.

Liuli walked forward to check, and the others also stretched their heads out of curiosity, but saw nothing.

Liuli shook her head at everyone and held up the jade to show everyone, indicating that she saw nothing.

“That’s all?”

The third prince was a little puzzled, as he had only cut a thin slice.

"Of course it's not over yet. I have to take a look at the eldest princess's and cut them to the same thickness for comparison."

Liuli explained.

Unfortunately, the eldest princess' stone was also colorless.

So they cut them again. The third prince's jade still showed no reaction, but the eldest princess' jade had turned clearly emerald green.

"Looking at the color, it should be of good quality."

When Xiao Zuochen saw the color, he nodded with satisfaction.

"But it doesn't look very transparent, does it?"

The eldest princess thought that the quality of this jade was average.

"This is just the appearance. The quality will be better if you cut into it."

Xiao Zuochen told the princess very confidently not to ask why, because she would naturally know the answer after cutting it many times.

He gestured to Yun Wei, who cut deeper into the jade, and this time the jade appeared crystal clear and warm.

"A piece of jade like this can be made into a pair of jade bracelets and a pair of rings. If the craftsman's skills are better, it can also be made into a pair of earrings."

"Doesn't that mean half of the suit will be exposed?"

Xiao Zuochen nodded.

The eldest princess, who originally didn't quite understand, seemed to understand something.

"Doesn't that mean this piece is worth more than ten taels of gold?"

The princess covered her mouth, very surprised. If such a piece of jade is so valuable, then the rest... The princess looked at the various stones on the table, and her heart was filled with excitement.

"But aunt, not every piece is of this quality and size. Some may not be as good as this one, and some may be better. It's hard to say."

The eldest princess nodded to show that she understood.

"Do we need to continue cutting Zuo Ming's piece?"

"No need. Third brother's piece should have some jade in it, but even if it is cut out, it is not as big as your jade. So, aunt naturally wins this round."

The eldest princess nodded. She was willing to appreciate the finished product, but she couldn't understand these jades. Anyway, whatever Xiao Zuochen said was what it was.

"Third Prince, please drink a glass of wine by yourself~"

Liuli reminded the Third Prince, and he had no complaints. It was just that his luck was not as good as the eldest princess', and it was not shameful.

"Zuo Ming, take your piece of jade back with you. Do you have any objection to my arrangement, Zuo Chen?"

The eldest princess directly gave the jade to the third prince. After all, it had been cut into pieces, so she might as well give it to him directly, otherwise she would seem too stingy.

Xiao Zuochen smiled slightly.

"What are you talking about, aunt? These jades belong to you. You can do whatever you want with them."

The princess nodded with satisfaction. This answer pleased her very much.

The third prince stood up and thanked the princess. But his piece didn't have any color at all, so it might just be a waste stone.

Everyone looked at the Third Prince with envy. He only exchanged a glass of wine for a piece of jade. Although they didn't know what the jade would be like, it was better to have it than nothing.