Chapter 574 - Chapter 574: Chapter 561: Yes, Its Him (1/2)

Chapter 574: Chapter 561: Yes, It’s Him

“What about you all then?” Master Xue glanced around at the onlookers.

“Having Master Xue preside over this matter is the best and fairest outcome. We’ll abide by Master Xue’s decision,” someone shouted.

“We trust Master Xue’s judgment.” The others agreed after exchanging glances.

“Then, I’ll settle it as you have all agreed.” Master Xue took the rosewood paperweight from Zhuang Qinglan’s hand, “Let’s start with Zhuang Qinglan.”

“The paperweight is made of rosewood, specifically small-leaf rosewood. It’s heavy and intricately carved, and would likely sell for eighty to one hundred taels of silver in the market. Let’s round it off to ninety taels.”

“What do you all think?”

Mr. Feng and Mister Ye, who were looking on, carefully examined the weight and nodded, “Indeed, that is a fair price.”

“Then let’s settle it this way.”

Master Xue spoke up, “Zhuang Qinglan’s rosewood paperweight is estimated to be worth ninety taels.”

Upon hearing the figure, the onlookers drew in a breath.

Even though they all have the luxury of formal education and relative wealth, ninety taels is a drastic amount. That could buy a large house in a neighboring county. No regular person would be willing to spend all that for a paperweight.

Being the daughter of the Magistrate, Zhuang Qinglan really seems to spare no expense. No wonder she is so haughty and condescending.

However, if a paperweight in Magistrate Zhuang’s household is as extravagant, imagine how costly the rest of their things must be. Surely, Magistrate Zhuang is not an example of integrity.

No wonder his daughter is so arrogant, insolent and thinks she’s above everyone else.

In an instant, the crowd’s disdain for Zhuang Qinglan had increased dramatically.

Zhuang Qinglan, however, didn’t care. She believed they were simply envious of her wealth, and responded with a snort.

Master Xue squinted his eyes, “Next, it’s the calligraphy Zhuang Qingsui’s holding.”

“Even though the paper is torn, it can be restored to its original state by skilled craftsmen. Therefore, I would estimate this snippet would be worth one thousand taels of silver.”

One thousand taels?

Master Xue’s words left everyone in an uproar, frozen in surprise, forgetting even to inquire why the calligraphy was worth such a high amount.

Mr. Feng shook his head, “This paper may be torn, but in my estimation, it should be worth about one thousand and five hundred taels.”

“More than that, indeed it’s even possible that it’s worth two thousand taels,” Mister Ye exclaimed, “This price could even double to five thousand taels if the buyer had ever had a dispute with the artist.”

“Since the value of such items ultimately depends on the buyer’s preferences, let’s meet in the middle and call it one thousand and five hundred taels.”

Master Xue turned to Zhuang Qinglan and Zhuang Qingsui, “The valuations have been determined. Zhuang Qingsui owes Zhuang Qinglan ninety taels, and Zhuang Qinglan owes Zhuang Qingsui one thousand and five hundred taels. So, Zhuang Qinglan, you owe Zhuang Qingsui a total of one thousand four hundred and ten taels.”

“I suggest you pay Zhuang Qingsui promptly, so we can settle this matter.”

She needed to compensate Zhuang Qingsui with one thousand four hundred and ten taels of silver?

Zhuang Qinglan was dumbfounded for a while, then quickly gathered herself, “I refuse to accept this, Master Xue. It’s only a regular person’s writing. How can it be worth that much silver?”

The onlookers vigorously nodded their agreement, equally curious to learn why the calligraphy was valued so high.