Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 569: Title: Chapter 567: Jin Lü Jade Clothing

There was nothing wrong, the glass cabinet indeed housed a complete set of Gold Threaded Jade Clothing!

It seemed that this was the real focus of the black market auction, this set of Gold Threaded Jade Clothing must be what Ji Kun and his group were searching for!

Because Huo Sining’s seat was in the front row, he was the closest to the glass cabinet, only needing to slightly lift his head to see the glowing green radiance of the Gold Threaded Jade Clothing under the lights.

This set of Jade Clothing consisted of six parts: the hood, upper body, sleeves, gloves, trousers, and shoes, the entire Jade Clothing pieced together from thousands of jade plaques linked by gold threads.

Huo Sining carefully observed it; the head of the Jade Clothing featured eye covers, nose plugs, earplugs, and a mouthpiece, with the visage of eyes, ears, nose, and mouth etched onto the face area.

The front piece was made broad across the chest and bulging at the abdomen, while the lower end of the back piece was shaped like human buttocks. The trousers consisted of separate left and right legs.

The hands were made into fists, each clutching a huang-shaped jade artifact, while the feet were shaped like shoes.

From an outside view, the shape of this Jade Clothing was almost identical to a human body, completely modeled after a woman’s figure. At a glance, it was as if there truly was a person wrapped inside the Gold Threaded Jade Clothing, giving off a rather eerie feeling.

Jade Clothing is unlike other jade artifacts; a set of Jade Clothing required at least two thousand jade plaques and over one thousand grams of gold thread to assemble, with strict demands on the materials and craftsmanship.

The Jade Clothing originated from two thousand years ago during the Western Han, given the production levels of the time, creating a set was no easy task.

First, the selection of materials had to come from the distant Kunlun Mountain, then through numerous processes, the jade was turned into thousands of plaques. After being polished and drilled, with size and shape undergoing meticulous design and intricate craft, they were then strung together using specially made silk threads.

The cost in manpower and resources that this required was astonishing.

Thus, in ancient times, Jade Clothing was not something ordinary people could afford to wear; typically, only the wealthy and the nobility were buried in Jade Clothing after death.

Gold Threaded Jade Clothing was the funeral attire of the highest standard in the Han Dynasty, during which only the Emperor and high-ranking nobles were eligible to wear it after death. Jade Clothing symbolized one’s status and rank.

Typically, the Emperor and some of his close officials had Jade Clothing joined with gold threads, referred to as ”Gold Threaded Jade Clothing,” while other nobles could only use silver or copper threads, called ”Silver Threaded Jade Clothing” and ”Copper Threaded Jade Clothing” respectively.

According to ”Xijing Magazine”, Han Emperors were buried with ”Pearl shirt jade box”, shaped like armor and linked with gold threads. This jade box is exactly what we refer to today as Gold Threaded Jade Clothing.

People of the Han Dynasty were superstitious, believing jade to be the essence of mountains. They thought by placing gold and jade in the nine orifices of a corpse, the vital essence would be preserved preventing the body from decaying, in hopes of achieving rebirth in the afterlife. Therefore, jade artifacts used in funerary practices held a significant place among ancient Han jade items.

Taking photographs was not allowed at the black market auction, so everyone present held their breath, quietly observing the Gold Threaded Jade Clothing lying within the glass cabinet.

Huo Sining also watched, fascinated, and subconsciously touched his right hand, feeling an urge to open the glass cabinet and touch the Jade Clothing with his own hands.

”This Gold Threaded Jade Clothing was just unearthed from a Han Dynasty tomb, a rare opportunity. If any bosses wish to take a look, please cooperate with our staff and wear gloves.”

As everyone was entranced, Hong Si suddenly dropped another bombshell, sending the room into an uproar.

Everyone knows the preciousness of gold-threaded jade clothing; so far, the jade clothing unearthed from Han tombs in our country have mostly been made with threads of silver or copper, and the real gold-threaded jade clothing was found only in the tombs of King Jing of Zhongshan, Liu Sheng, and his consort Dou Wan, with two pieces discovered.

Because of the value and rarity of gold-threaded jade clothing, once unearthed, it was kept at the Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Research Institute, beyond the reach of ordinary people, let alone allowing them to touch it.

Now, not only was Hong Si auctioning this set of gold-threaded jade clothing, but he was also giving everyone the opportunity to have direct contact with it.

The tactile shock of personally touching a national treasure is definitely more thrilling than just seeing it with the naked eye.

Therefore, upon hearing this, the room instantly erupted into a frenzy, with everyone scrambling forward and putting on the clean gloves distributed by the bodyguards.

With such a learning opportunity, Huo Sining naturally would not miss out. She lined up behind Qin Lianshan, and after Elder Qin had finished looking, she stepped forward.

Only when examining the jade clothing up close did Huo Sining realize that although the pieces of jade were well preserved, they seemed to have suffered erosion, as there were many fine white precipitates on the back of some pieces.

Moreover, it seemed that the fragments of jade in this set were not from the same piece of Jade, but from several pieces with similar colors, as the textures of these fragments differed; some appeared smooth in texture, while others were rougher.

Upon close observation, the direct impact of the gold-threaded Jade Clothing was still very strong, but Huo Sining was somewhat puzzled in her heart.

Generally speaking, only Emperors and Empresses were buried with gold-threaded Jade Clothing, consorts used silver-threaded Jade Clothing, and Princesses were given copper-threaded Jade Clothing. If this set of Jade Clothing truly belonged to an Emperor or Empress, why were there such differences in the material?

With such doubts, Huo Sining gently brushed her finger across the arm of the gold-threaded Jade Clothing, and as she touched it, her vision was filled with a deep purple hue—the pieces of jade each emitted a strong purple aura.

Seeing this, Huo Sining was certain that this set of gold-threaded Jade Clothing was the real deal. She walked down from the platform and nodded slightly to Qin Lianshan to signal her recognition.

As for the differences in the quality of the Jade’s texture, Huo Sining speculated there might be a possibility that the one for whom this gold-threaded Jade Clothing was made was not a conventional Emperor or Empress, or perhaps there was some hidden story.

In the Han Dynasty, the management of ranks and statuses was extremely strict, especially regarding the use of Jade Clothing, which required reporting to the Imperial Household Department.

The material of this set did not seem to belong to a legitimate Emperor or Empress, but if it was used by a feudal lord, its regulation would have been overstepped.

Therefore, Huo Sining hypothesized that the identity of the wearer of this set of Jade Clothing indeed did not reach that of a legitimate Emperor or Empress, but their status was in fact indistinguishable from that of the sovereign, officially unnamed; hence the arrangement for the burial.

Huo Sining racked her brain, searching through Han Dynasty history for which consort could fit such circumstances.

A status equivalent to the Empress, but not formally declared as such—there seemed to be few such people.

Huo Sining felt that perhaps by following the traces of this set of Jade Clothing, she might find that Thousand-Year Ancient Tomb and uncover a lost Chapter of Han Dynasty Imperial Court history.

While she was deep in analysis, Qin Lianshan suddenly spoke in a low, determined voice:

”Miss Huo, this set of gold-threaded Jade Clothing must not fall into the hands of foreign bandits. It is a gem of our nation and must not be allowed to leave the country!”