Wen Ruhai saw that beauty-shouldered vase for the second time before the statue of Mazu in the Tianhou Palace.

Three altar tables were arranged in a row before the Mazu statue. The center table naturally held offerings from the Ministry of Rites, the left held offerings from Quanzhou Prefecture, and the right held offerings from Quanzhou sea merchants. As for other common people, they could only place their offerings outside the hall.

The thirteen major sea merchant families of Quanzhou Prefecture had, this time, offered thirteen pieces of precious porcelain from the sea. The most eye-catching among them was naturally the beauty-shouldered vase retrieved by the Long family. Presumably, after being brought up from the sea, this vase had undergone careful washing, and the dark traces of seawater had completely disappeared. Even in the dim temple hall, the vase body flickered with a subtle luminescence, lustrous as pearls and jade, like a veiled beauty hiding in mist and covering her mouth in a gentle smile.

In comparison, the offerings from the Ministry of Rites and Quanzhou Prefecture indeed appeared rather shabby.

Wen Ruhai and Quanzhou Prefect Wang Shiwen naturally stood at the very front, followed immediately by the heads of the thirteen sea merchant families.

Meng Jianqing stood to the right and slightly behind Wen Ruhai, coldly observing the various people in the temple hall.

The thirteen sea merchant families had a tacit understanding about seating arrangements. The wealthiest Long family naturally stood at the front, followed immediately by the deeply-rooted Pu family, while bringing up the rear was naturally the Chen family, who had suffered repeated setbacks in recent years and seen their family fortune greatly diminished—though they weren’t from Chen Youding’s clan, unfortunately bearing the surname “Chen” made them inevitably suffer collateral damage.

The head of the Long family was Long Yan, the only daughter of the previous head Long Yin.

That eighteen-year-old young woman, wearing a face veil, stood quietly at the leading position among the thirteen sea merchant families.

Although Meng Jianqing had already filled Wen Ruhai with sufficient background information along the way, when Wen Ruhai suddenly witnessed this scene, he was still greatly shocked.

This truly… opened his eyes.

The sacrificial ceremony was about to begin.

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the temple entrance.

Meng Jianqing turned to look and saw the Yun family siblings parting the crowd as they entered leisurely, with Yun Yanjiao holding a three-legged blue and white porcelain incense burner in her hands.

Wen Ruhai couldn’t help but exclaim, “Eh!”

What surprised him was, naturally, that blue and white porcelain piece.

Even Meng Jianqing could see that this blue and white porcelain was extraordinary. The pattern of coconut groves and setting sun reflecting pagodas and Buddhist halls was distant South Seas scenery, while the coloring was unusually brilliant and vivid, as if it would come alive and leap out, completely different from the light blue or even somewhat grayish blue and white porcelain everyone usually saw. As Yun Yanjiao walked closer step by step, the shifting, alluring luster on the porcelain incense burner made it increasingly impossible to look away.

When Yun Yanran’s gaze swept over, Meng Jianqing already understood his intention and stepped forward to explain to the bewildered Wen Ruhai, Prefect Wang, and the various sea merchant families: “This is Yun Yanran from the Immortal Mountain of the Sea. Greetings, Brother Yun. Greetings, Miss Yun.”

The great name of the Immortal Mountain of the Sea was naturally thunderous in a place like Quanzhou. As everyone suddenly understood, there was inevitably a flurry of activity. Yun Yanjiao had already placed that blue and white porcelain piece on the altar table for sea merchant offerings, then naturally retreated to stand beside Long Yan.

Yun Yanran stood shoulder to shoulder with Wen Ruhai and Prefect Wang, surveyed the surroundings, and said in a clear voice: “This blue and white porcelain incense burner was just fired, and is an offering to Mazu from the Immortal Mountain of the Sea and the overseas Chinese of the South Seas.”

The sea merchants were in an uproar, and Wen Ruhai also frowned.

Amid the commotion, Long Yan, who had been silent all along, suddenly said softly: “Miss Yun, the Persian cobalt used for firing blue and white porcelain was depleted long ago, so for a long time now, even Jingdezhen can no longer fire such brilliant blue and white porcelain. May I ask Miss Yun, what glazing material did you use?”

She spoke gently, and though the great hall was so noisy, every word was as clear as if spoken right beside one’s ear. Without years of breath cultivation, this would be impossible.

Meng Jianqing couldn’t help but be startled with alarm.

Why wasn’t this mentioned in the Imperial Guard’s intelligence? Was it because Qin Youming was getting old and his energy was inevitably declining, or because the person responsible for collecting Quanzhou intelligence had subconsciously only seen Long Yan as a delicate young lady and overlooked her true nature, or had the Long family intentionally given people this false impression?

What Long Yan said was exactly everyone’s question. The great hall immediately fell quiet.

Yun Yanjiao smiled and replied: “This type of glazing material comes from a place in the Western Ocean called ‘Sumali,’ so we call it ‘Sumali Blue.’ Our ship was overloaded with cargo, so we brought very little—only enough to fire three pieces, two of which have already been sent to the palace.”

Long Yan said “Oh,” but had no follow-up, only turning her head to gaze intently at that blue and white incense burner. From her back, everyone in the hall could see her concentration and admiration.

Instead, it was Pu Jian, the head of the Pu family, who continued with everyone’s question: “The Immortal Mountain of the Sea has come from afar and specifically offered such an offering—it wouldn’t be just to let us all get acquainted with this new glazing material, would it?”

To make Quanzhou sea merchants quickly notice this new glazing material, this was undoubtedly the most expedient method.

Before Yun Yanran could answer, Long Yan had already turned back and said gently: “Tonight the Long family is hosting a banquet at Flowing Gold Garden to entertain Magistrate Wang, Master Wen, and all the merchant houses of the Sea Merchants’ Guild. Please, Miss Yun and your brother, do attend without fail.”

The implication was: any questions can be saved for tonight, when there will be plenty of time for questions and answers. Right now, don’t delay the proper business of the sacrificial ceremony.

Meng Jianqing couldn’t help but smile slightly.

He really couldn’t tell that this gentle and quiet young woman from the Long family was so skilled at imperceptibly managing such a grand scene.