Chapter 28: The Divine Eye Appraises Treasures

Seeing this, the young attendant completely abandoned his earlier contempt. He hurried forward and bowed to Zhao Erdong. “Miss, Young Master Lu has already purchased twenty first-grade stones. You and the young master may each choose ten. You may cut them yourselves, or ask our shop’s cutter to do it for you.”

The stones were divided into five grades. First-grade stones were naturally the finest, with a relatively high chance of yielding crystal, and their prices were correspondingly steep.

Zhao Erdong pretended to be shy. She drew out a small handkerchief and lightly covered her mouth as she laughed, appearing to admire Lu Tianming’s generosity. Inwardly, however, she was roaring, Damn it, with a pathetic little specimen like you, you think you can seduce me? Just watch—I’ll play you to death today.

“Young Master Lu, please,” Zhao Erdong said with a smile. Her voice was like an oriole emerging from the forest, and every gesture was infused with a captivating grace. She was like a green lotus waiting to bloom—fresh and refined.

Lu Tianming was instantly entranced. He could only stare blankly at Zhao Erdong, utterly unsure what to do with his hands and feet. As the son of the Defender-General, he possessed wealth, power, and influence, and had seen more beauties than he could count. Even his own younger sister, Lu Jiao, was a breathtaking beauty. The imperial princesses themselves might not possess seven-tenths of Lu Zi’s beauty.

Zhao Erdong was clearly not the most beautiful woman in the world, but her bearing was something he had never encountered before. She was cool and distant, yet touched by a hint of warmth; a smile lingered in her eyes. Though her features were delicate and understated, she somehow gave off an air of incomparable nobility. Before he realized it, all his attention had been drawn to her, and he could not pull it away.

The corner of Zhao Erdong’s mouth twitched faintly, a hint of mockery hanging there. Men were all the same, no matter the place or the age.

Without sparing Lu Tianming another glance, Zhao Erdong walked straight toward the first-grade stone section and began examining the stones carefully.

With her back to Lu Tianming, she secretly activated her Divine Eye. After sweeping her gaze over the section, she could not help frowning. This so-called first-grade section did not contain even a single stone with anything worthwhile inside.

They were all solid pieces of worthless rock. What a black-hearted shopkeeper—no wonder business was so poor.

“Miss, you may tell me which stones you have chosen, and I will immediately arrange for a cutter,” the attendant said. He now wore such a meek and obsequious expression that it was difficult to connect him with the person he had been moments earlier. Truly, he was an expert at fawning on the powerful and trampling the weak.

Zhao Erdong stretched out her hand and pointed haphazardly at the first-grade stones. Only after selecting nine did she finally stop. Lightly biting her finger, she appeared to be having great difficulty making her choice. Her delicate, girlish manner was so endearing that Lu Tianming’s heart began pounding wildly beside her.

“Young lady, why have you stopped choosing?” Lu Tianming stepped forward, deliberately drawing closer to Zhao Erdong. As he gazed at her fair skin tinged with a delicate pink, and at her eyes bright as stars, his heartbeat grew even more violent, as though it might burst from his chest.

Zhao Erdong lowered her head demurely. The corners of her lips curved slightly, revealing a shadowy, wicked smile.

“The stones here all look so strange. May I go to another section and choose one?”

Lu Tianming froze. These were first-grade stones. If she could not find a good one here, how could she possibly find anything worthwhile in another section?

The quick-witted attendant hurried forward and said with a smile, “Naturally. The price of the first-grade stones is twice that of the second-grade stones, three times that of the third-grade stones, and—”

Zhao Erdong smiled faintly. She deliberately glanced to the east, then to the west, and only stopped when she reached the front of the third-grade section. “In other words, if I choose stones from this third-grade section, I can select three?”

Seeing this, the young attendant completely abandoned his earlier contempt. He hurried forward and bowed to Zhao Erdong. “Miss, Young Master Lu has already purchased twenty first-grade stones. You and the young master may each choose ten. You may cut them yourselves, or ask our shop’s cutter to do it for you.”

The stones were divided into five grades. First-grade stones were naturally the finest, with a relatively high chance of yielding crystal, and their prices were correspondingly steep.

Zhao Erdong pretended to be shy. She drew out a small handkerchief and lightly covered her mouth as she laughed, appearing to admire Lu Tianming’s generosity. Inwardly, however, she was roaring, Damn it, with a pathetic little specimen like you, you think you can seduce me? Just watch—I’ll play you to death today.

“Young Master Lu, please,” Zhao Erdong said with a smile. Her voice was like an oriole emerging from the forest, and every gesture was infused with a captivating grace. She was like a green lotus waiting to bloom—fresh and refined.

Lu Tianming was instantly entranced. He could only stare blankly at Zhao Erdong, utterly unsure what to do with his hands and feet. As the son of the Defender-General, he possessed wealth, power, and influence, and had seen more beauties than he could count. Even his own younger sister, Lu Jiao, was a breathtaking beauty. The imperial princesses themselves might not possess seven-tenths of Lu Zi’s beauty.

Zhao Erdong was clearly not the most beautiful woman in the world, but her bearing was something he had never encountered before. She was cool and distant, yet touched by a hint of warmth; a smile lingered in her eyes. Though her features were delicate and understated, she somehow gave off an air of incomparable nobility. Before he realized it, all his attention had been drawn to her, and he could not pull it away.

The corner of Zhao Erdong’s mouth twitched faintly, a hint of mockery hanging there. Men were all the same, no matter the place or the age.

Without sparing Lu Tianming another glance, Zhao Erdong walked straight toward the first-grade stone section and began examining the stones carefully.

With her back to Lu Tianming, she secretly activated her Divine Eye. After sweeping her gaze over the section, she could not help frowning. This so-called first-grade section did not contain even a single stone with anything worthwhile inside.

They were all solid pieces of worthless rock. What a black-hearted shopkeeper—no wonder business was so poor.

“Miss, you may tell me which stones you have chosen, and I will immediately arrange for a cutter,” the attendant said. He now wore such a meek and obsequious expression that it was difficult to connect him with the person he had been moments earlier. Truly, he was an expert at fawning on the powerful and trampling the weak.

Zhao Erdong stretched out her hand and pointed haphazardly at the first-grade stones. Only after selecting nine did she finally stop. Lightly biting her finger, she appeared to be having great difficulty making her choice. Her delicate, girlish manner was so endearing that Lu Tianming’s heart began pounding wildly beside her.

“Young lady, why have you stopped choosing?” Lu Tianming stepped forward, deliberately drawing closer to Zhao Erdong. As he gazed at her fair skin tinged with a delicate pink, and at her eyes bright as stars, his heartbeat grew even more violent, as though it might burst from his chest.

Zhao Erdong lowered her head demurely. The corners of her lips curved slightly, revealing a shadowy, wicked smile.

“The stones here all look so strange. May I go to another section and choose one?”

Lu Tianming froze. These were first-grade stones. If she could not find a good one here, how could she possibly find anything worthwhile in another section?

The quick-witted attendant hurried forward and said with a smile, “Naturally. The price of the first-grade stones is twice that of the second-grade stones, three times that of the third-grade stones, and—”

Zhao Erdong smiled faintly. She deliberately glanced to the east, then to the west, and only stopped when she reached the front of the third-grade section. “In other words, if I choose stones from this third-grade section, I can select three?”