A Clash of Gods - Chapter 71

Chapter 71 Fall into the Trap
Since Yang Ning said the colored glaze horse was a family heirloom, Dou Lianzhong held it with both hands cautiously even though he was doubtful. At the beginning, Dou Lianzhong was serious but soon showed disdain. He glimpsed at Yang Ning. “Is this a family heirloom of the Marquis of Honor?”

“Of course.” Yang Ning even showed a proud expression on his face. “Dou, have you found something magic?”

“I can’t see anything magic. I think you are crazy.” Dou Lianzhong didn’t show mercy. “Except that the posture is not bad, the colored glaze is roughly made. I said that it is worth at most fifty taels of silver, but I change my mind. Even if you sell it at the price of five taels of silver, nobody would buy it.”

Yang Ning sighed. “Can you buy such a treasure at the price of five taels of silver? It seems that you still think it’s a colored glaze horse.” He paused for a while and then continued, “This horse is special because it can shine at midnight, and the color is changeable. What’s more, as my grandmother told me, this colored glaze horse looks rough on the surface, and somebody who doesn’t know the truth might think it’s the problem of the colored glaze, but a real expert can see something magic in it.”

“I have told you there is nothing magic. It’s just that you are crazy.” Dou Lianzhong sneered. “Qi Ning, don’t be unreasonable. Do you want to repudiate a debt?”

Yang Ning frowned and was also unfriendly. “Dou Lianzhong, you don’t have a good insight. Don’t belittle my family heirloom. You think it is just a low-quality colored glaze horse. Why don’t you respect the late emperor?”

“The late emperor?” Dou Lianzhong was petrified. “What does it have to do with the late emperor?”

Yang Ning replied complacently, “This colored glaze horse was given to my grandfather by the late emperor and it is priceless, so my grandfather took it as a family heirloom.”

“This… is this a gift from the late emperor?” Dou Lianzhong was dumbfounded and looked the horse up and down once more. He knew that the old Marquis of Honor was favored by the late emperor. The glory of the old Marquis of Honor could be imagined as he was titled as a hereditary marquis and received the rent of three thousand families. The reward given by the late emperor to such a man couldn’t be something simple.

Yang Ning asked, “Do you know the saying, the Sagittarius is in charge of life and the Big Dipper is in charge of death?”

Dou Lianzhong was confused but still pretended. “Sure, I know.”

“There are images of six stars of the Sagittarius and seven stars of the Big Dipper on this horse.” Yang Ning pointed at the colored glaze horse and explained mysteriously, “It’s said that as long as you check it carefully, you can see the Sagittarius and Big Dipper on this horse. And as time goes by and the stars move, the people who understand the stars can tell the life and death with this stuff.”

Dou Lianzhong was astonished, and Zhao Xin next to him was also startled.

“I stared at it for half a day and just found some star images, but you disturbed me.” Yang Ning regretted. “If I had known that this colored glaze horse is such a treasure, I should have asked my grandmother for it and enjoyed it earlier. Now…” He smiled bitterly and shook his head, looking helpless.

Dou Lianzhong half believed him but thought if it was a gift from the late emperor, he couldn’t look down upon it. So he picked up the horse with caution again and checked it carefully. After a long time, he didn’t find anything special. Seeing him frown, Yang Ning stated, “My grandmother said this horse has colorful lights at night, and maybe it can show the star images at midnight. In the daytime…I don’t know if I can find something unusual under the sun.”

Hearing that, Dou Lianzhong echoed, “Right. Maybe we can see it under the sun.”

The sun came up in the east. Dou Lianzhong had just been brought in from the back door, which was dark because the tree blocked the sun, but there was sunshine outside the front door of the side room.

Dou Lianzhong was clear that many rare treasures are not eye-catching at first glance, but they could find the value after checking carefully. Even an awesome appraiser would misjudge by sight sometimes.

Although Dou Lianzhong liked antiques and ancient paintings and studied them for many years, thinking that he was capable of appraising, he noticed that Yang Ning didn’t seem to be joking and even mentioned the late emperor. He wouldn’t believe anything easily. And he was doubtful. Then he looked at the front door and walked out with the colored glaze horse.

Before Dou Lianzhong went out, Yang Ning shouted, “Be careful!”

Dou Lianzhong thought this guy was worried about the family heirloom, so he didn’t pay attention and just stepped out of the door. After taking just one step, he slithered suddenly and lost his balance in an instant. He was off guard and his expression changed all of a sudden. Then with a bang, he fell on the ground. Zhao Xin who was following him stepped forward as soon as he saw Dou Lianzhong falling and tried to help him up. As he walked out, he slid after only one step and then fell, too.

Yang Ning hurriedly ran over and yelled, “Dou, I told you to be careful. You…” He stopped abruptly and shock was shown on his face. He just stared at the ground blankly.

Dou Lianzhong fell on the ground for no reason and got furious. When he was about to lose temper, he saw Yang Ning’s expression and followed his eyes. Then he turned pale immediately.

The colored glaze horse had fallen on the ground and it was broken. The glaze was weak. When he fell, the horse bumped into the ground. The ground outside the side hall was made of bluestone. When the horse fell on the bluestone, how could it be safe? There were dozens of pieces.

Dou Lianzhong was about to vent his anger, but it disappeared in an instant. He had cold sweat down his spine. The muscle on his face twitched, and he expressed with guilt, “Your Excellency, this… this ground is slippery.” He felt that the ground was oily, so he touched it and then put his hand in front of his nose to smell it. A strange smell went into his nose, and he frowned. “What the hell is this?”

Yang Ning lost his wits and sat on the ground, mumbling, “My family heirloom…”

Dou Lianzhong felt nervous and thought it was bad news.

Meanwhile, he heard some footsteps then and saw many people rushing over. The one in the front was Zhao Wushang, with several guards and servants following him. Zhao Wushang stepped forward and looked indifferent while seeing Dou Lianzhong sitting on the ground. When he saw the colored glaze horse which had turned into pieces, his expression changed and he asked, “Your Excellency, is this the family heirloom that Dowager told somebody to send to you?”

Yang Ning just murmured, in a daze, “My Family heirloom, what should I do? This was given by the late emperor and it can show the life and death… How would I explain to my grandmother?”

Dou Lianzhong and Zhao Xin looked at each other, and Zhao Xin’s face was also pale. Dou Lianzhong thought it was indecent to sit on the ground, so he reached out his hand. “Come to help me up.”

Zhao Wushang looked cold, and the others were unmoved. Dou Lianzhong was angry but could do nothing. At this time, he finally found a pool of yellow liquid outside the front door of the side hall. He just wanted to see what was magic in the colored glaze horse and didn’t lower his head when he walked out, so he happened to step on the liquid.

He had to move aside cautiously and then stood up. There was yellow liquid on his brocade clothes, and he felt disgusted, but he didn’t dare to express his emotions. Then he laughed awkwardly and spoke to Yang Ning. “Your Excellency, in fact this colored glaze horse… is not valuable. There is nothing magic. Don’t be so sad.”

Yang Ning raised his head suddenly and looked angry. Then he got up and raised his hand to point at Dou Lianzhong, asking harshly, “Dou Lianzhong, how dare you damage the heirloom of my family?”

“Eh… What kind of family heirloom is this?” Dou Lianzhong was guilty, but under the situation, he had to bite the bullet. “Your Excellency, if you like this type of antique, I will choose a few treasures for you and have them…sent to you.”

“Treasures?” Yang Ning roared. “This colored glaze horse is the only one in the world and there is no similar one. This was given by the late emperor and is priceless. Do you want to get away with it after sending only a few treasures?”

Dou Lianzhong coughed and then argued, “You have seen that just now. I didn’t damage it on purpose. It’s…” His face fell, and he pointed to the yellow liquid on the ground. “What the hell is this? Why is it here?” He rolled his eyes and raised his brows, staring at Yang Ning with a sneer. “Qi Ning, is this a trap set by you?”

Yang Ning stepped forward and crossed the threshold, jumping briskly. Soon he came to Dou Lianzhong, with a cold expression and his eyes like knives, pointing at Dou Lianzhong’s nose. “Repeat what you said. It’s a trap? Did I tell you to pick up my family heirloom and watch it? Did I tell you to walk out with my family heirloom? When you walked out, I have reminded you to be careful. Don’t tell me that you didn’t hear.”

He looked aggressive and exasperated, with his eyes widely open, as if he were going to eat somebody alive. Dou Lianzhong had never seen the heir of the Marquis of Honor like this, and he moved one step backward automatically, smiling flatteringly. “Your Excellency, let’s have a good talk. Don’t be impulsive. We are brothers, and we can discuss anything and solve the problem. You did remind me to be careful just now, but I thought you told me not to damage the colored glaze horse. I didn’t know that you meant that the ground outside is slippery. This…was my negligence indeed.”

“Even brothers won’t owe each other. Don’t say that we are brothers.” Yang Ning looked cold. “Master Dou, you have damaged the colored glaze horse. How do you think we should solve it?”

Dou Lianzhong thought he hadn’t found earlier that this guy was so smart and seemed to be a different person. Yang Ning repeated what Dou Lianzhong had said before. It was known that the family of the Marquis of Honor would repay all the debts. It was so true, and the heir returned everything so soon.

“What do you think?” Dou Lianzhong was not an incapable playboy. His father was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue for many years and had worked in the ministry all the time. He always dealt with the account and was good at calculating. Dou Lianzhong had witnessed and was clear that he might have fallen into this guy’s trap. He always fooled others and had never thought that he would be fooled by the heir of the Marquis of Honor who was known as an idiot in the capital.

But as Yang Ning said, Dou Lianzhong wanted to go out to check the colored glaze horse. The trap was set by the other party, but he cooperated step by step and fell into the trap. At this time, it was difficult for him to reason. He considered how to deal with this accident.