Chapter 8 — In my previous life, I fought for three generations of queens, but in this life I just want to eat my fill

Queen Lieu Nhu Mi faintly spoke, her voice was gentle, but carried invisible pressure, "You came just in time."

“This slave is the one you kept from the Drunk Palace.”

“Now guilty of grand theft.”

“You have something to say.”

I walked into the middle of the hall and bowed properly: "This servant pays a visit to the Queen." After that, I looked at Tieu Man who was miserable on the ground, then looked at the phoenix hairpin.

“Your highness.”

I raised my head and looked straight at the Queen, "You brave slave, can you show me this phoenix brooch?" The Queen's eyes moved slightly, seemingly surprised by my calmness.

"Allow."

Mama Liu picked up the phoenix hairpin and gave it to me, her eyes unkind. I received the phoenix brooch. As soon as it was put in hand, it felt heavy, forged from red gold, densely inlaid with small jade and blue gemstones, the feathers were lifelike, and the workmanship was extremely sophisticated. Truly the Queen's belongings. I held the phoenix brooch and carefully observed it, especially at the end of the brooch and the gaps where gems were inlaid. I looked closely a few more times. And then, I burst out laughing. The smile was somewhat sudden.

“What are you laughing at?”

Concubine Dung couldn't help but sarcastically said, "Miss Shen, could it be that the person under your hand stole the Queen's phoenix brooch, do you still find it funny?" I didn't pay attention to her, turned to the Queen, my voice was calm.

“Your Majesty the Queen.”

“This phoenix brooch… is a fake.”

The entire main hall of Phuong Nghi Palace instantly exploded.

"What? Fake it."

"No way. How could the Queen's phoenix brooch be fake?"

"Is Tham Van Thu crazy? How dare you say the Queen's things are fake."

Queen Lieu Nhu Mi's face changed clearly for the first time. She sat up straight, her eyes sharp as knives, shooting straight at me.

“Miss Shen, do you know what you are saying?”

“I know.”

I held up the phoenix brooch and pointed to an extremely small spot at the end of the brooch. The ligature was so delicate that it was almost impossible to see.

“My lady, please look at this place.”

"The jade phoenix brooch is made of genuine red gold, crafted from a solid block of red gold, carved and inlaid into shape, absolutely impossible to combine."

"The mark here is clearly the mark that was later patched with a glass needle."

“Even though the techniques are sophisticated, they cannot escape the eyes of those in the profession.”

I pointed to the inlaid prong that holds the largest blue gem.

“And this place.”

“The inlay force is not correct, too hard and rough.”

"The royal palace's inlaid pieces are delicate and round, and absolutely cannot be handled like this."

“This gem… although the color looks very beautiful.”

“But if you look closely, there are cotton-like impurities inside.”

“Not the top grade ‘Royal Blue’.”

"Your highness has a noble status."

“How can people use such a secondary product for everyday wear?”

My voice is not loud, but every word and every sentence is clear, carrying a certainty that leaves no room for doubt. Are you kidding? In my previous life, I was in charge of the six palaces, I had never seen any good things, and I had never received any teachings on any counterfeiting methods. Appraisal of a piece of jewelry is just something that is within reach for me. The palace was as quiet as paper. Everyone was shaken by my words. The Queen stared at the brooch phoenix in my hand, his face changed continuously. Dung Tan's face turned even whiter, her eyes filled with disbelief.

“Luu ma ma.”

The Queen shouted coldly, "Go. Take the red gold phoenix brooch from the palace's tureen page." Mother Liu was also quite frightened and hurriedly ran into the inner hall. Very quickly, she brought out an exquisite purple sandalwood box and opened it. Inside lies an almost identical red gold phoenix brooch. Bright flowers, dim treasures. The Queen picked up the real phoenix hairpin, then took the fake one from my hand, placing the two next to each other to compare. High and low are immediately clear. The real phoenix brooch is one piece and complete, the points are delicate and flexible, the gems are pure and flawless, and the inlays are round and delicate. As for the fake brooch, standing in front of the real one, it looked completely gloomy. If you look closely, you will see that everywhere it looks is clumsy and incompetent.

"Good. Very good."

Queen Lieu Nhu Mi was so angry that she burst out laughing, suddenly waved her hand and threw the fake brooch to the ground. Gold and jade collided, emitting a harsh sound. Her cold eyes swept across the crowd of people in the palace who were as silent as winter cicadas, finally stopping on Dung's pale face.