Traveling back to the Northern Song Dynasty: Picking up a princess as my wife

The old man who came in with Cao Hua's uncle was deeply attracted by the Buddhist beads on the table. With Li Zhen's permission, he put on his reading glasses and gently placed them in his hand to examine them carefully.

The other old man also carefully unfolded the painting and examined it bit by bit with a magnifying glass.

In less than a minute, the old man put the prayer beads back on the table: "What a treasure! I never thought I would see such a precious thing in my lifetime."

Uncle Cao Hua asked eagerly, "Old Zhang, how much are these Buddhist beads worth?"

The old man, referred to as Mr. Zhang, smiled and said, "This string of Buddhist prayer beads should be a product of the Western Xia Dynasty during the Northern Song Dynasty. Judging from the carvings and patterns, it should have come from the Western Xia imperial palace. Fortunately, I went there for archaeological excavations when I was young, so I was able to recognize such a treasure at a glance. With such good preservation, it should be worth at least six million."

Cao Hua and his uncle stared in disbelief: "How much?"

Mr. Zhang said with a smile, "A conservative estimate is six million, but if it were put at an auction, it could easily fetch seven or eight million."

Just then, the old man who was studying the painting called out, "Old Zhang, come and appraise this painting. Judging from the calligraphy and painting, it should be an authentic work by Emperor Huizong of Song, but the paper is too new, as if it is less than ten years old. This is really difficult to authenticate."

Old Zhang: "Hahaha... There aren't many things in the company that can give you, Old Wang, a hard time. Let me see."

As he spoke, he picked up a magnifying glass and examined it carefully.

Cao Hua pulled Li Zhen aside and whispered, "These two old guys are national treasures in our company. They are experts at appraising antiques. No matter what kind of antique it is, as long as it is placed in front of them, they can immediately tell you about its origin and craftsmanship. Where did you get so many good things?"

Before the two of them could exchange more than a few words, Old Zhang exclaimed excitedly, "A genuine work! Absolutely a genuine work! And it's in such good condition that I estimate this painting is the only one of its kind in the world. A similar painting by Emperor Huizong of Song sold for 13 million at Christie's auction last year, but that painting is not as good as this one, so I'm pricing this painting at 14 million."

This time, not only Cao Hua and his uncle, but even Li Zhen were dumbfounded: My God, 14 million! That's more valuable than gold!

After they paused for a while, and once Cao Hua confirmed that Li Zhen wanted to sell these items, he produced a sales contract. After both parties signed and confirmed the contract, Cao Hua's uncle immediately notified the company's finance department to make the payment.

The painting by Emperor Huizong of Song was worth 14 million, the Buddhist beads 6 million, and the gold, weighed at 8 million, brought Li Zhen a total of 28 million in funds. Looking at the amount displayed on his phone, Li Zhen felt like he was dreaming. If he had known that Emperor Huizong's paintings were so valuable, he would have definitely brought back several more after traveling back in time.

After all the goods and money were traded, Uncle Cao Hua insisted on treating Li Zhen to a meal, hoping to strengthen their relationship. However, Li Zhen politely declined Uncle Cao Hua's offer, worried about Zhao Yingluo being home alone, and said he would invite him to dinner after he finished his work for the next few days.

Cao Hua personally escorted Li Zhen to the company entrance. At the entrance, Cao Hua said, "These past few days, Qin Rong has been calling me non-stop, wanting to repair our previous relationship. Since I didn't get your consent, I ignored her."

Li Zhen patted Cao Hua on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Forget it, I'll go to a show in a few days and talk to her face to face then, so as to avoid this trouble."

After leaving Cao Hua, Li Zhen went straight to the largest clothing market in the county. He found a sales assistant in the women's section, held up Zhao Yingluo's figure, and bought several sets of currently fashionable clothes. After browsing around, Li Zhen spent several thousand yuan on clothes alone. This was something he wouldn't have dared to dream of before, but now that he had money, it was a piece of cake for him.

After buying the clothes, Li Zhen was eager to get home and couldn't wait to step on the gas. He returned home in less than ten minutes.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Zhao Yingluo curled up on the sofa, sobbing uncontrollably, with the Qing Dynasty drama still playing on the TV.

Li Zhen threw down the clothes he was holding and immediately went to Zhao Yingluo, pulling her into his arms: "Yingluo, I'll only be gone for a little while, what happened?"

Zhao Yingluo sobbed, "That woman in there is so wicked! She actually killed another woman's child. What business is it of a child to fight between adults? Waaah... So pitiful."

Li Zhen thought to himself: Well, this adds another character to the TV drama's emotional drama.

After Li Zhen's lengthy explanation, Zhao Yingluo finally understood that what she was looking at was a television set, and that the TV dramas on it were all fake and acted out by people.

Li Zhen helped Zhao Yingluo change into her newly bought clothes, and sure enough, this makeover instantly transformed her demeanor. Her already beautiful face and slender figure, combined with the latest summer fashions, made her an absolute beauty.

Li Zhen, sitting on the sofa, was stunned when he looked at Zhao Yingluo. He hadn't expected her to be so beautiful. Zhao Yingluo felt a little embarrassed and wanted to go inside to change her clothes.

Just as Li Zhen was about to continue enjoying the show, his phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Wang Pengfei calling.

After hesitating for a moment, Li Zhen pressed the answer button: "Hello, this is Li Zhen."

Wang Pengfei's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Old classmate, it's so hard to get through to you! Are you free tonight? Let's get together!"

Li Zhen glanced at Zhao Yingluo, also thinking of taking her out to experience modern life, and agreed. He had barely hung up the phone when Cao Hua and Fang Zhen called, asking if Li Zhen was attending the party that evening, and stating directly that if Li Zhen didn't want to go, they wouldn't go either. Only after receiving Li Zhen's reply did the two feel relieved.

Li Zhen pulled Zhao Yingluo to his side and said gently, "I'll take you out for a while to show you what life is like in our time. By the way, you can't call me 'husband,' you have to call me 'husband,' and I'll call you 'darling.'"

Hearing such cheesy words, Zhao Yingluo lowered her head shyly and agreed. Seeing this, Li Zhen couldn't control himself anymore. He didn't care about Zhao Yingluo's saying that the ancients said one shouldn't do things during the day, and the two went straight into the bedroom to discuss life.

After a series of passionate escapades, the two dressed neatly and prepared to leave. Considering that Zhao Yingluo might not be suited to wearing high heels, Li Zhen bought her a pair of flat leather boots, which made Zhao Yingluo, who was 1.7 meters tall, look very well-matched with Li Zhen.

Li Zhen drove Zhao Yingluo out. Along the streets, the neon lights of the skyscrapers flickered incessantly, their vibrant colors creating a dazzling spectacle that painted the night sky with a dreamlike hue. The passionate reds, the deep blues, the vibrant greens, and the warm yellows—some converging into flowing rivers of light, others twinkling alone in corners, each telling its own story. In the distance, atop the skyscrapers, LED screens displayed dazzling advertisements; amidst the interplay of light and shadow, the city's prosperity and vitality leaped to life before their eyes.

These were all sights Zhao Yingluo was seeing for the first time, so she kept praising them as she leaned against the carriage window the whole way. Li Zhen smiled knowingly when he saw this, after all, he had been like this when he first arrived in the Northern Song Dynasty, and he would get used to it.