Chapter 574: Guessing riddles
Chu Shao Bai placed the stone in front of her and pointed to the surface of the stone. In a surprise and happy voice, he said, “Ning’er, look, there is a faint red glow on this stone and it has this strange weight, this means that there is profound iron inside this stone because profound iron is ten times heavier than normal iron. Now touch it, it is very cold, just like ice. That’s why I dare confirm that this is a rare piece of Profound Cold Iron Stone!”
Once his voice fell, the crowd burst with sounds of disbelief.
Everyone looked at Chen Ning again and the looks of schadenfreude and scorn had turned into looks of envy.
They all stared at the black stone in Chu Shao Bai’s hands, wishing they could grow arms from their eyes and grab it into their own arms.
Chen Ning was not sure what treasure this Profound Cold Iron Stone was, but most people present knew.
This was a mysterious stone produced in the extreme north and was something incredibly rare. It was easily a hundred times more valuable than gold of the same size!
But everyone had only heard of the stone before and no one had ever seen it before. When they found out the prize was the rare Profound Cold Iron Stone, many people held their breaths.
“Owner Liu, you said that it was this miss that guessed the riddle. Please reveal the answer this miss gave so we can be satisfied.” An old scholar said.
That old man hosted the riddle game every year, so many people knew he was surnamed Liu.
“Alright, then I will announce the answer.” Owner Liu nodded and pointed at the riddle as he said, “The first word is “guess” and the second word is “riddle”, together they form “guessing riddles”. What, have a few of you guessed right?”
He spoke as he opened Chen Ning’s handwritten note. On it, there were two clear words written: guessing riddles!
Everyone broke out in cheers.
Those scholars felt like they had lost all face, feeling very embarrassed. They returned to the crowd and no longer revealed their faces.
Chen Ning took the Profound Cold Iron Stone from Chu Shao Bai’s hands. She was prepared this time and firmly held onto it. She felt a cold sensation coming from the stone entering her hand, no wonder it was called cold iron stone.
She put the cold iron stone back in the box and returned it to owner Liu.
Owner Liu said in a stunned voice, “Miss, what are you doing?”
“One can’t reap rewards for nothing. Since this Profound Cold Iron Stone is this previous, how could this young girl accept it? Owner Liu, please take it back.”
Owner Liu did not take the box. He stroked his beard and said with a smile, “This miss has just said that only with eyes can one recognize gold and jade. Only those that know what this stone is will know its value and if someone doesn’t know what it is, that would be casting pearls before swine. Anyone else would treat it as a broken piece of stone and throw it away. This miss and this young master knows what it is, meaning there is fate between you and this stone. This old man will not take back a gift, so this stone is for this miss. Just like swords for heroes and makeup for beauties, this is very suitable.”
When he finished his words, the audience around them said in unison, “That’s right, that’s right.”
Chen Ning saw his sincerity and accepted it with true gratitude.
Chu Shao Bai took it for her and said with a smile, “Ning’er, since you like riddles, there are still many riddles that haven’t been answered yet. Why don’t you guess a few more, perhaps there will be another unexpected surprise among the prizes.”
Chen Ning nodded with a smile, “Then I’ll just answer a few more.”
She looked at the lantern closest to her and written on it was: Leaving a gentleman, giving a flower.