Chapter 42 The Curator's Confusion

"Shopkeeper, since the Great Ming precious paper currency is no longer of any value to you, I shall take this book and pay for it once I return to the Great Ming."

"Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, just take it with you. There is no rush to pay until your next visit."

Zhang Bo waved his hand generously and spoke with an air of grand wealth to Zhu Biao.

Though somewhat embarrassed, Zhu Biao stared at the *Veritable Records of Emperor Gaozu the Supreme Progenitor* for a long time before ultimately agreeing to Zhang Bo's proposal.

With such a book that foretold the future placed right before his eyes, it would truly be a pity not to read it as soon as possible.

He was eagerly impatient to know what would happen after the fifteenth year of the Hongwu era.

"In that case, I thank you greatly, Shopkeeper. However, since the paper currency is worthless, I wonder if you have any preference regarding other forms of currency—such as silver or gold."

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Bo replied directly and straightforwardly.

"Your Highness, just bring some gold."

The current price of gold was over five hundred per unit, while silver was only around six. Anyone would know how to choose.

Zhu Biao nodded slightly and took the *Veritable Records of Emperor Gaozu the Supreme Progenitor* into his hands.

At the same time, his gaze noticed that there seemed to be several other books alongside the Ming Veritable Records.

"Shopkeeper, what are these?"

"These are the other volumes of the Ming Veritable Records, specifically those of Yongle Zhu Di and the three succeeding generations."

Ah!

The expression on Zhu Biao's face instantly faltered.

"Shopkeeper, are you saying that after the Fourth Prince, the Great Ming was passed down for only three generations?"

He found this somewhat difficult to accept.

In his view, even if the Great Ming could not compare to the Great Tang, it should at least be stronger than the Song Dynasty.

The Northern and Southern Song Dynasties each had nine emperors.

Could it be that the Great Ming only handed down its throne to six generations of emperors?

Hearing Zhu Biao's question, Zhang Bo scratched his head with some embarrassment.

Zhu Biao had misunderstood.

He would have loved to buy all thirteen volumes of the Ming Veritable Records as well, but the problem was a lack of money.

Che Zi's remittance had not arrived yet.

"Your Highness need not worry. This is only a small portion of the records. Besides the five volumes here, there are eight more. As for the Great Ming, there are a total of 16 emperors."

Zhu Biao's expression relaxed slightly upon hearing this.

Although it fell somewhat short compared to the 21 emperors of the Great Tang, Zhu Biao could still accept it.

However, Zhu Biao soon spotted another crucial point.

"Shopkeeper, why are there only 13 volumes of records for 16 emperors? Even if the last emperor lacked a record, there should still be 15."

"Your Highness, apart from the fact that the last emperor of the Great Ming has no verifiable records, Zhu Yunwen and the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di share a single record, and two other emperors also share one."

Zhang Bo did not spell it out completely, because the two emperors sharing that record were Emperor Fortress-Captor Zhu Qizhen and Emperor Daizong Zhu Qiyu.

He was afraid that telling him would give Zhu Biao high blood pressure.

Fortunately, Zhu Biao did not dwell on it excessively, his burning gaze fixed instead on that stack of Ming Veritable Records.

"Shopkeeper, I wonder if you might sell these to me as well."

"That is naturally no problem."

Seeing that Zhu Biao was struggling somewhat to hold such a large stack of books rather inconveniently, Zhang Bo went back inside the room and brought out a backpack for him.

Zhu Biao hoisted the backpack filled with books onto his shoulder, looked around, and appeared extremely satisfied.

"Shopkeeper, this wrapping is quite fine. I wonder if..."

"For sale, everything is for sale."

......

Lintai City Museum.

Curator Zhou Ruihai wore a pair of white latex gloves as he carefully placed several Wu Zhu coins onto a newly established display stand within the museum.

Not far behind him, two researchers were whispering as they watched the scene.

"Old Wang, I heard that when you were on leave last time and went sightseeing in that Qingxing Village, you seemed to have discovered something suspected to be a Han dynasty jade bi."

"Old Zhang, I'm not boasting to you, but that jade bi looked so much like a Han dynasty jade pendant, except that it lacked the mottled soil-stains and surface patina. Furthermore, the quality of the jade—tsk tsk—is rarely seen nowadays. Just the intrinsic value of the jade bi alone is at least five figures."

"Is it really as miraculous as you say?"

"Believe it or not, I told Curator Zhou about this beforehand. After Curator Zhou came back, he told me that even in his eyes, that jade pendant was of the absolute highest grade. What a pity it wasn't a cultural relic. If it were a cultural relic, our Lintai City Museum would probably have gained another prized treasure of the house. But it doesn't matter, Curator Zhou also brought back dozens of Wu Zhu coins."

"Ah, Curator Zhou's Wu Zhu coins were brought back from there?"

"Yes. What do you think of those Wu Zhu coins? Are they authentic?"

"They are genuine, and the details all match the characteristics of Wu Zhu coins from the late Han dynasty. But what a pity, there is no bronze patina."

"Right? The curator said the same thing. That's why these copper coins are only used for exhibition purposes, allowing visitors to see the specific details of late Han copper coins."

Just as the two researchers were conversing, a phone notification sound came from Zhou Ruihai's pocket.

Taking off his gloves and pulling his phone from his pocket, Zhou Ruihai spotted a familiar profile picture.

"Well, Old Qin, what idle elegance brings you, old fellow, to look for me?"

Meanwhile, in the downtown center of Lintai City, inside the study of an unassuming villa, an elderly man of about Zhou Ruihai's age was looking at the reply Zhou Ruihai had sent him on his phone.

Behind him was an entire wall filled with ancient coins.

"Oh my, Old Zhou, aren't you being a stranger? It's been so long, I've really missed you."

With a disgruntled expression, Zhou Ruihai continued tapping his screen.

"Cut the crap. Speak your mind quickly."

"I saw those Wu Zhu coins you posted in your WeChat Moments. I wanted to ask where you got them, and if you could spare a few for me."

A triumphant smile surfaced on Zhou Ruihai's face.

It looked like this good friend of his had spent a lifetime playing with falcons, only to have his own eyes pecked blind by a falcon.

How could he fail to even recognize fake merchandise?

"What, didn't you realize those Wu Zhu coins were fake?"

"Fake?"

The elderly man on the other side of the phone widened his eyes, manipulated his phone, and began carefully examining the Wu Zhu coins Zhou Ruihai had posted in his Moments.

"Old fellow, if you don't want to share, just say so. Why lie to me that they're fake?"

Zhou Ruihai's temper flared up at this.

"Take a good look. Aren't there any copper patinas on these Wu Zhu coins?"

"Of course I know there's no patina. If there were, I wouldn't be coming to you. You know my collection; the very best piece among them only has a tiny bit of patina, yet yours have none at all."

"Then haven't you ever considered that these Wu Zhu coins might be fake?"

"Fake? How could you possibly fool me? You might be able to bluff me in other areas, but when it comes to coins, I am an expert. From the outer and inner rims of the copper coins to the shape of the characters, the curvature of the strokes, and their thickness, I have studied them all and confirmed they are genuine Wu Zhu coins."

Zhou Ruihai was somewhat baffled now. What was going on here?

"Old Zhou, I remember your museum has testing equipment, doesn't it? Why don't you just use the testing equipment to analyze the composition of the copper coins?"