The wedding was livestreamed by the sister, revealing his identity as a Taoist priest.

Shen Nianqing took a step forward.

Hundreds of eyes in the audience followed her every move.

The leading disciple presented a box with both hands and bowed.

"Miss Shen, please accept the offer."

Shen Nianqing reached out and took it.

Chen Xiaoyu's phone camera was fixed on the box.

The number of viewers in the live stream has exceeded two million, and the comments are so fast that they are impossible to read.

【It's here! It's here! It's here!】

[OMG, I actually got to watch Miss Shen's wedding live!]

[Open! Open it now!]

I bet 50 cents there are three pounds of walnuts inside.

The upstairs space is too small; it weighs at least five pounds.

Chen Xiaoyu didn't have time to read the comments.

Her attention was entirely focused on the box.

The box was not large, about a foot long and half a foot wide.

The color is very dark, almost black, but under the light, a layer of golden silk-like patterns faintly shines through, as if there are living things swimming inside the wood.

Chen Xiaoyu didn't know much about wood, but she had a gut feeling that this thing was not simple.

Because Marco Bellini got up again.

This Italian guy stood up more times today than he does at all the fashion weeks he attends in a year.

He stared at the box, his lips trembling slightly, but he didn't say anything.

But his assistant next to him gasped.

"Marco...the wood grain of that box..."

"I saw it."

Marco's voice was very low.

"Shut up, let me think."

On the other side of the front row, a middle-aged woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses suddenly sat up straight.

She is the Asia-Pacific director of an auction house, surnamed Zheng, and known in the industry as "Zheng the Half-Eyed".

You can estimate the price with just a glance.

At this moment, "Zheng Banyan" has changed from "half-eye" to "staring".

She took out her phone, snapped a picture of the box, and sent it out quickly.

……

at the same time.

Jiangcheng Museum, Ancient Wood Identification and Research Center.

Zhou Mingyuan is eating takeout.

A bowl of braised chicken rice with two chicken drumsticks—life is good.

He is the youngest researcher in the museum's ancient wood restoration team, at the age of 27, and is an apprentice of his grandfather, Zhou Dechang.

A leading figure in the field of ancient wood appraisal in China.

Zhou Mingyuan ate his rice while scrolling through his phone.

The homepage recommended a live stream to him.

With three million viewers online, the headline read: "[Shen Nianqing Receiving the Betrothal Gifts! Shocking!]"

"Probably just trying to ride the wave of popularity."

Zhou Mingyuan scoffed and casually clicked on it.

There are no people in the picture, only a close-up of a box.

Zhou Mingyuan stopped using his chopsticks.

He brought the phone closer and squinted.

Then his braised chicken was overturned.

He placed the whole bowl over the keyboard, spilling sauce all over the table, but he didn't notice at all.

"wrong……"

He turned the brightness up to the maximum, his face almost touching the screen.

"The texture...the color..."

Golden Phoebe zhennan submerged wood.

It is not ordinary golden nanmu submerged wood.

It is the kind that has been buried underground for at least three thousand years, completely carbonized and shaped, with gold threads that resemble flowing water waves.

The absolute best!

The last time this thing appeared in the public eye was eight years ago at a top auction, where a piece of raw material smaller than the palm of your hand fetched a hammer price of sixteen million.

The box in front of us was dug out from a single piece, without any splicing.

It is one foot long and half a foot wide.

Zhou Mingyuan let out a very undignified sound.

Holy crap!

He kicked over a chair and stormed out of the lab, leaving a long trail of braised chicken broth on the floor.

On the third floor, next to the curator's office, is Zhou Dechang's private workroom.

The door was kicked open.

Eighty-three-year-old Zhou Dechang was examining a wood sample with a magnifying glass when the noise startled him so much that he dropped the magnifying glass.

"You bastard!"

The old man glared.

"What's wrong now!"

"grandfather!"

Zhou Mingyuan shoved his phone in front of the old man.

"Look at this! This box!"

Zhou Dechang's eyesight wasn't very good, so he squinted for a couple of seconds.

"Golden Phoebe zhennan?"

He didn't care.

"This thing is rare, but it shouldn't be something that would make you..."

"Look more closely! The texture! The direction of the gold threads! And the color!"

Zhou Dechang pushed up his reading glasses and leaned closer.

one second.

two seconds.

three seconds.

The old man's expression changed.

He snatched the phone, zoomed in, zoomed in again, and tapped the screen with his finger.

"This is... a piece of dark, aged material, over three thousand years old?"

"A single piece of material! No splicing!"

Zhou Mingyuan's voice cracked.

"Grandpa, look at the seam! There's no seam! It was carved out of a single piece of log!"

Zhou Dechang's reading glasses almost flew off his nose.

"impossible!"

The old man raised his voice.

"There are only three pieces of this size of solid material in existence nationwide: two in the Forbidden City, and one in..."

He stopped.

"Where am I? Where am I?"

"A live stream, right now, to Jianglan Center in western Jiangcheng!"

Zhou Dechang has already stood up.

An 83-year-old man moves as fast as a 53-year-old.

"Prepare the car."

Zhou Mingyuan was stunned.

"Now?"

"Now!"

The old man shoved the phone back into his hands, then turned and pulled his coat off the hanger before heading outside.

"Right now! Immediately!"

"If that thing is real, using it as a box to store things is such a waste! Such a waste!"

Zhou Mingyuan chased after him.

"Grandpa, slow down, your knee..."

"Enough talk, let's go!"

……

Jianglan Center, Exhibition Hall.

Shen Nianqing held the box in both hands, her fingertips gently tracing the gold thread patterns on its surface.

Everyone in the audience held their breath.

"Open it..."

Lin Keke urged Chen Xiaoyu in a low voice from behind.

Chen Xiaoyu's heart was pounding like a drum.

Shen Nianqing opened the box lid.

Everyone craned their necks to look.

The inside of the box was lined with nine layers of silk velvet, and something was placed flat on top of it.

A paper.

Just one sheet of paper.

Yes, that's all.

The entire audience remained silent for a full three seconds.

The eldest grandson of the He family was the first to break down and burst out laughing.

"ha!"

He quickly covered his mouth, but the laughter had already escaped.

The Zhou family member was even more direct, turning his head to wink at the Second Young Master Lu.

The second young master Lu's lips curled up slightly, and he increased the speed at which he twirled the bracelet.

The live stream chat exploded instantly.

[A piece of paper?]

[No? This is the first betrothal gift?]

[This is hilarious! The box is more valuable than the gift!]

[Buying the casket and returning the pearl, huh? Hahahaha]

[This is ridiculous, it's a complete disaster! This is even more outrageous than three pounds of walnuts!]

[What about your sister-in-law's expression? Was she embarrassed?]

Pei Jingchuan's lips finally curled up again.

He straightened his cuffs, his posture composed.

"A piece of paper."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for the first three rows to hear.

"That's...unique."

Chen Xiaoyu's heart sank to the bottom.

elder brother!

What do you mean by sending a piece of paper?

Even if you're writing a love letter, you should at least include some flowers!

Her gaze turned urgently to Shen Nianqing.

Then she discovered...

Shen Nianqing was smiling.

It wasn't an awkward laugh, nor was it a forced laugh.

It was a genuine, heartfelt, and gentle smile.

She looked at the paper as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

Just as Chen Xiaoyu was about to ask a question, a series of hurried footsteps and arguing sounds suddenly came from the direction of the exhibition hall entrance.

"Sir, you cannot go in! This is a closed event!"

"Get out of the way!"

An aged but powerful voice echoed down the corridor.

"I am Zhou Dechang! Honorary Lifetime Curator of Jiangcheng Museum!"