“It’s really a case of the student starving the master—go ahead and chat, I’ll go in and take a look too.” Henry Brooks said with a laugh and a mock scold. He knew this student very well; the fact that he remembered to say hello before leaving after seeing something good was already quite impressive.

Actually, he had done considerable research on Song dynasty history himself, but Andrew Foster specialized in the Song dynasty, and his research had already surpassed that of his teacher.

If it were someone else, they would never lower themselves—what teacher would ever consult a student? But Henry Brooks was different; in the field of Song dynasty history, Andrew Foster truly surpassed him. Although David Carter hadn’t said much, he greatly admired Henry Brooks’s character.

“Xiao Yu, you really have good luck.” Samuel Foster handed David Carter a cup of tea and said with a smile. Finding a hidden treasure in the antique market had always been his wish, but so far, it hadn’t come true.

“We don’t even know if it’s real yet.” Grace Brooks scoffed at this. Song edition books weren’t that easy to come by, and David Carter didn’t even know what antiques were—how could he have found such a big treasure?

“I think it’s pretty likely. Would your grandfather make a mistake? The only reason he brought it to my dad was to let him take a look and satisfy his curiosity.” Samuel Foster saw things clearly as an outsider. Although Henry Brooks hadn’t specialized in Song dynasty history, he was a well-known appraisal expert in both the city and the province. Since he had determined it was a Song edition book, it was basically certain.

“I actually don’t know much. Director Ren, do you know antiques too?” David Carter asked a bit shyly.

“Xiao Yu, I think I’d better just call you David. Didn’t I say earlier, at home you can call me Big Brother Foster or Brother Foster. If you keep being so formal, I’ll get upset. As for antiques, I just dabble occasionally—more often I get fooled than find treasures.” Andrew Foster said, a bit embarrassed.

“Big Brother Foster, when have you ever found a treasure? How come I never heard about it?” Grace Brooks asked, deliberately feigning surprise.

“That’s why I said it’s rare to find one.” Andrew Foster quickly picked up his teacup and took a sip to hide his embarrassment. Even though there was an expert on Song dynasty history in his family, neither Andrew Foster nor his father had ever found a hidden treasure. Andrew Foster was quite famous, so it was even less likely for him to get a bargain. In fact, whenever he went to the antique market, just picking up any item—even just examining it for a while—would immediately cause its price to skyrocket. As for Samuel Foster, he lacked both the eye and the luck; up to now, just not making a mistake was already pretty good.

“Uncle Ren, have you finished the appraisal?” Grace Brooks wanted to make a few more sarcastic remarks, but when she saw Henry Brooks and Andrew Foster coming out together, she immediately stood up and asked.

“It’s done. Xiao Yu, your luck is indeed very good. This ‘Old Manuscripts of Mount Nanyue’ is a poetry collection by Liu Kezhuang, a famous poet, lyricist, and poetry theorist of the Southern Song. His courtesy name was Qianfu, and his pseudonym was Houcun. He entered officialdom through his father’s influence and served as magistrate of Jianyang and Xiandu counties. Because of his poem ‘Falling Plum Blossoms,’ he offended the powerful and was dismissed for ten years. In the sixth year of Chunyou, that is, 1246, Emperor Lizong, recognizing his ‘longstanding literary reputation and exceptional historical scholarship,’ granted him the status of presented scholar, appointed him Junior Secretary of the Imperial Library, and concurrently editor at the National History Institute and reviewer at the Veritable Records Institute. Later, he served as Hanlin Academician, Vice Minister of War, and other positions.

Liu Kezhuang was the most important writer of the Jianghu poetry school and a key representative of the Xin school of ci poetry. His style was bold and generous, often expressing feelings about current events, with heroic and tragic works reminiscent of Xin Qiji’s poetry. His works include ‘The Complete Works of Master Houcun’ and ‘Collected Works of Recluse Houcun,’ among others. ‘Old Manuscripts of Mount Nanyue’ has never appeared in any public or private collectors’ catalogs, nor is it recorded in the ‘Comprehensive Catalog of Chinese Rare Books.’ But precisely because of this, the book’s value is even greater.

This butterfly-bound book measures 17.8 cm in height and 13 cm in width. Each half-page has 10 lines, each line 18 characters, with blank margins, double borders on both sides, and a single fish-tail. The upper end of the fish-tail is engraved with the number of characters per page, below that is the page number, and beneath the page number is the engraver’s name, ‘Lü Xin.’

Although this book does not show the date or place of printing, at the end of the book there is a note by Liu Kezhuang: ‘In my youth I wrote several thousand poems. In the jimao year of Jiading, I returned south from Jiangshang after serving at a shrine, opened my old chest and burned them all, leaving only a hundred pieces, which became the “Old Manuscripts of Mount Nanyue.”’ This is the reason this book came to be. That year, Liu Kezhuang was 32 years old. This is a self-selected anthology of the best from his thousands of poems, and direct evidence that Liu himself compiled the ‘Manuscripts of Mount Nanyue’ during his lifetime, representing the style of his early works.” Andrew Foster truly lived up to his reputation as an authority on Song dynasty history, quickly finding the relevant information.

“According to the ‘Dictionary of Chinese Woodblock Printing,’ Lü Xin was an engraver in the mid-Southern Song, involved in carving works such as ‘Outline and Details of the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government,’ ‘Collected Works of Master Hui’an,’ and ‘Annotations on Xunzi.’ We just checked many historical records, and among ancient Chinese engravers, there was only one named Lü Xin, so this is direct evidence that this book was printed in the late Southern Song. Also, this book avoids the tabooed name ‘Xuanlang’—Xuanlang was the ancestor of the Song emperors surnamed Zhao, which fits the Song dynasty’s naming taboos. In addition, this book retains the main binding style of Song dynasty books: butterfly binding. So, this also proves that this Song edition is genuine.” Henry Brooks added. He had just checked a lot of information inside; even as an archaeological expert and appraiser, he still needed to consult references for verification.