Zhuo Yu Feng Yang Chapter 28

Chapter 28 Underglaze Dragon Pattern, Palace Secrets

When dusk spread over the window lattice of Xianyunzhai, Jiang Zhuo and Lu Jingyang stopped what they were doing.The porcelain bottle was temporarily placed in a wooden box covered with soft velvet, and the dust at the punching line had been cleaned away, revealing the delicate texture of the carcass.

Lu Jingyang rubbed his sore neck, picked up the magnifying glass and put it to the bottom of the bottle, staring at the dragon pattern that was so faint that it was almost invisible, frowning: “The lines of the dragon pattern are too thin, and they are covered by the glaze of the mark. It doesn’t look like it was added later. But the mark of the Yongzheng official kiln has strict rules, so there is no reason to hide the mark under the mark?”

Jiang Zhuo came over with a cup of warm tea, handed it to him, and tapped the bottom of the bottle with his fingertips: “Look at the claws of the dragon pattern again.”

Lu Jingyang followed the instructions and took a closer look, and suddenly shouted: “It’s a five-clawed dragon! And the dragon’s head is facing… towards the inside of the bottle.”

Dragon patterns on official kiln porcelain in the Qing Dynasty were strictly regulated. Five-clawed dragons were exclusive to the royal family. Even if dragons were painted on ordinary official kiln wares, they usually had four claws.The five-clawed dragon pattern on this enamel bottle is hidden under the style, and the dragon’s head is still facing the body of the bottle, which is obviously not an ordinary decoration.

“I’m afraid this porcelain vase is not an ordinary display porcelain.” Jiang Zhuo said thoughtfully, “I checked the official kiln archives of the Yongzheng Dynasty. At that time, there was a batch of porcelain in the manufacturing office, which was specially made for the Yangxin Palace. It was used to store secret edicts. Many of the bottles had hidden inscriptions.”

Lu Jingyang’s eyes lit up: “You mean, this porcelain vase may be the secret edict bottle from that year? But the bottle body is complete, and you don’t see the secret compartment where the secret edict is stored?”

“The secret grid may not be on the bottle.” Jiang Zhuo put down the tea cup, picked up the magnifying glass again, and looked along the lotus pattern on the bottle. “Look at the orientation of these ribbon birds. Three are facing left and two are facing right. They are arranged very regularly.”

As he spoke, he reached out and gently turned the porcelain bottle. The afterglow of the setting sun happened to fall on the intersection of the inconspicuous lotus pattern on the body of the bottle.The glaze there is slightly darker than the surrounding area, like there are slight depressions.

Lu Jingyang immediately leaned over and held his breath: “There seems to be a hidden button here?”

Jiang Zhuo nodded, took out a hair-thin probe from the tool box, and carefully probed into the depression.There was only a very light “click” sound, but there was no change at all on the surface.

Jiang Zhuo’s hand gently rubbed the bottom of the porcelain bottle. Not only was he thinking of something, he did not touch the bottle again. Instead, he leaned over and put his ear against the porcelain surface. He gently held the bottom of the bottle with his other hand and used his wrist to drive the bottle and turn it clockwise very slowly.When it turned to the third and a half circle, the aftertaste of the “chang” sound seemed to resonate with the mechanism inside the bottle, and the bottom of the bottle actually separated from the bottle body.

There is a secret compartment hidden at the bottom of the porcelain bottle.

The dark room was empty, with only a thin layer of dust, but a faint scent of ink remained.

“The secret edict must have been taken away.” Lu Jingyang was a little disappointed, but then he cheered up, “But at least it proves that the identity of this porcelain bottle is extraordinary! The owner of a bottle that can hide the secret edict must have been a big shot in the palace.”

Jiang Zhuo didn’t say anything. He picked up a little dust in the dark cell with his fingertips and put it to his nose to smell it.The ink fragrance is very light, but it has a unique smell of sandalwood, which is the smell of ink ingots used by the imperial court in the Qing Dynasty.

“This ink fragrance is the same as the smell on the rubbing of the Yongzheng Dynasty secret edict that Mr. Zhou collected.” Jiang Zhuo raised his eyes with a deep look, “When Mr. Zhou got this rubbing, he heard that the secret edict was involved in the injustice of a pottery supervisor. The pottery supervisor was one of the founders of enamel.”

Lu Jingyang’s heart skipped a beat: “Is this porcelain vase related to the pottery supervisor?”

“Most likely.” Jiang Zhuo pushed the porcelain pieces back into place and made them fit tightly without any trace. “The pottery supervisor was dismissed from office because he refused to cooperate with officials in smuggling official kiln porcelain. It is said that before he was exiled, he wrote his grievances in a secret edict and hid it in an enamel vase.”

“Who took the secret edict?” Lu Jingyang asked.

Jiang Zhuo shook his head: “I don’t know. But the fact that this porcelain vase can be handed down and retain the secret of the hidden compartment shows that the person who took the secret edict wanted to protect it, not destroy it.”

The two looked at each other and saw shock in each other’s eyes.

A seemingly ordinary enamel vase actually hides a palace injustice case from a hundred years ago.Those entangled lotus patterns and ribbon birds are no longer just exquisite decorations, but carry the innocence and obsession of a loyal minister.

“We must repair it.” Lu Jingyang’s voice was more solemn than ever before, “Not only must we repair its cracks, but we must also let more people know the story hidden in it.”

Jiang Zhuo looked at the light in his eyes, with a faint smile on his lips, and nodded gently: “Okay.”

When the sun sets, the lights of Xianyunzhai shine especially warmly.The two sat down at the table again. Jiang Zhuo took out the palace color materials sent by Mr. Lin, while Lu Jingyang began to mix porcelain clay and glutinous rice paste to prepare for the reinforcement of the carcass.

Amidst the sound of mixing the paste, Lu Jingyang suddenly remembered something, raised his head and asked, “By the way, we haven’t found the materials to repair the missing corners of the bottle mouth yet. It would be too inconsistent to use ordinary porcelain clay to repair the missing corners of the palace enamel bottle. We have to find a piece of Hetian white jade seed material with a similar texture to use the jade-inlaid porcelain technique.”

Jiang Zhuo paused in his movements and thought of the jade fair to be held next week in Antique Street. A glimmer of light flashed in his eyes: “I heard that there will be a stone betting session at the fair. Maybe I can try my luck there.”

Lu Jingyang’s eyes suddenly lit up: “Betting on stones?! It sounds very interesting! Then let’s go together! I have never seen a scene of gambling on stones!”

Jiang Zhuo looked at his excited expression and smiled helplessly.

He originally just wanted to keep a low profile and look for suitable seed material, but he didn’t expect that this stone gambling trip would be more thrilling and full of waves than they imagined.

The moonlight from the window shines in and falls on the enamel bottle. The flower and bird patterns on the bottle seem to come alive in the moonlight.

Injustice a hundred years ago, restoration a hundred years later.

The story of this porcelain bottle has just begun.