Chapter 924: Returning to the Cultural Relics Restoration Center
The investigation team spent most of the day at the Jinhe Prince's Mansion, working tirelessly until evening.
Even at night, their work was not completely finished.
The items at the scene have been mostly sorted out. Some people stayed behind to continue packing up the damaged or confirmed valuable items and send them away safely. After checking all the items, they returned to the laboratory to begin investigating the completely sealed boxes.
Ever since discovering that the sealed tin box might contain one of Emperor Chen's authentic works left behind among the people, Qian Shunping has been distracted. After hastily checking everything, he immediately made arrangements to return and begin his new work.
Before leaving, he couldn't help but glance at Xiao He one last time, then turned around and walked up to Xiao He, inviting him, "Little Xiao, would you like to come with us?"
Xiao He: "Huh? Can I go?"
It was already 10 p.m., and about six hours had passed since Xiao He received the news in the afternoon and rushed over.
The Beijing police acted very quickly. After discovering this series of events, they swiftly eliminated the hazards in the basement and documented and moved most of the items.
Qian Shunping and his team of professionals have also conducted a thorough investigation and search of the surrounding area, confirming that there are no other suspicious places or hidden dangers in the entire Jinhe Prince's Mansion.
So if nothing unexpected happens, once the police have finished cleaning up the place tonight, Jinhe Prince's Mansion can resume normal construction tomorrow without being greatly affected.
Xiao He could also rest assured to stop the construction team that was still digging holes in the garden, and let Carlansen readjust the construction direction to restore the garden to its original appearance as soon as possible.
He never expected that Qian Shunping would invite him to check the contents of those boxes.
"Xiao Xiao, aren't you very familiar with Emperor Chen's handwriting? You even provided Professor Ye at the restoration center with important materials for copying. And now, another of Emperor Chen's works happens to be buried in the garden of the Prince's Mansion that you bought. Aren't you curious? Don't you want to see for yourself if this work is truly an authentic work of Emperor Chen that has been circulating among the people?"
"Uh—" Xiao He hesitated, indeed somewhat tempted.
Most importantly, he had a premonition that the contents of this tin box were the book "Peace and Stability Under Heaven," which had been missing ever since.
"Peace and Stability Under Heaven" first appeared at an auction in England, where the Yun family used underhanded tactics to acquire the work. However, it was never shown to anyone else again, nor were domestic experts and professors allowed to view it.
Until this year, driven by their desire for the mainland market and their aim to boost their family's fame through the entertainment industry, the Yun family returned a calligraphy copy by a Qian family elder, claiming it to be the original. They then staged the burning of the "work" in an attempt to stage a fraudulent incident with no way to prove their innocence.
Unfortunately, they were one step behind in the end, encountering Xiao He and the increasingly advanced technological identification techniques of today, which prevented the Yun family's schemes from succeeding.
However, the painting "Peace and Stability Under Heaven," which held special historical significance, also completely disappeared from the world during this process.
The only person who might have known his whereabouts, Old Master Yun, also died overseas.
Other members of the Yun family were completely unaware of this matter.
Thus, this matter became an unsolved mystery.
No one can even be certain whether the painting auctioned in England that year was truly authentic.
After all, the results of the identification are determined by humans.
Even if China were to question that auction house now, they would never admit that the goods sold back then were counterfeit.
Therefore, whether "Peace and Stability Under Heaven" actually exists or has completely disappeared into the annals of history, no one can be certain.
until--
"I think you, Xiao Xiao, have a bit of luck with you."
Qian Shunping said with a smile, "You helped our Qian family a lot before, and I have a feeling that you will be able to help us again this time."
Xiao He's recent interactions with them were all due to Emperor Chen's authentic calligraphy. To say there was no connection would be an understatement.
Qian Shunping wondered if Xiao He's presence had helped them uncover the Yun family's conspiracy last time, and whether they could continue to exert their influence this time.
Did Emperor Chen's original painting ever actually exist?
Perhaps bringing Xiao He along will provide the answer.
Well, these people who collect antiques and deal with tombs sometimes have to rely on metaphysics and superstition.
After thinking for a moment, Xiao He nodded and said, "Alright, then I'll take my leave."
The card draw for this "crime base" set took place right after the Yun family's downfall, which was after all the current versions of "Peaceful World" on the market were confirmed to be counterfeits.
Given the system's past patterns with card draws, this time the royal garden might actually hold a surprise related to the previous case involving the real and fake Emperor Chen's works.
Without much hesitation, Xiao He got into the car with Qian Shunping and the others.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to remind Carlanson and Xiao Chen: "I'll leave the situation at Jinhe Prince's Mansion to Mr. Carlanson. And Xiao Chen and Lao Qi, thank you for your hard work today. Go back and rest early. I'll come find you after I'm done here. Oh, by the way, tell Sister Liu that she doesn't need to worry about me. After I understand the situation, I'll probably go straight to the National Theater. Let her take care of her own business."
"Yes, Mr. Xiao."
Carranson bowed again in a gentlemanly manner.
Xiao Chen and Lao Qi nodded, and even Wei Feng, who wasn't assigned a role, barked goodbye.
-
Soon, Xiao He and his group arrived at the familiar museum restoration center.
This is an official unit that has cooperated with the police on many occasions. The "original" artifacts that were burned before were also restored here, so this situation is no exception. The items will be handed over to this unit for inspection and processing. If any damage is too severe, it will be convenient to carry out on-site repairs.
Xiao He also met Professor Ye here.
Professor Ye was also a little surprised to see Xiao He, then greeted him with a smile: "It's Xiao Xiao? I just heard from Lao Wang a while ago that the AI you installed on our system last time has been upgraded to version 2.0. I was just thinking of contacting you recently, wondering when you could come over and help us upgrade the system again. I didn't expect to run into you today."
"Hello, Professor Ye!"
Xiao He quickly greeted them, then said with some doubt, "I remember that Engineer Wang has already taken over the integration and development of the official XI intelligent system for this Xiao Hei 2.0 version. Didn't he tell you about this? When they finish developing it, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° you can just ask Engineer Wang to help you upgrade the system."
Professor Ye was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but mutter, "Oh, so that's how it is? Old Wang is quite tight-lipped; he didn't even tell me. Did he think I'd bother them every day?"
Even among official institutions, it's obvious that new technologies and systems sometimes take time to be distributed and implemented one by one; they can't be allocated to every unit immediately.
If the official system has truly made groundbreaking progress, then the first step certainly wouldn't be to allocate it to their cultural relic restoration center.
Therefore, Engineer Wang did not say anything, firstly to maintain confidentiality, and secondly to prevent Professor Ye from coming to him asking for preferential treatment in resources.
Xiao He paused, realizing he might have inadvertently revealed the research institute's ulterior motives. He immediately coughed lightly and casually changed the subject: "I came with Professor Qian this time, so I'll head over now. Professor Ye, we can talk again later!"
He then quickly made a run for it.
Professor Ye watched Xiao He's departing figure, shook his head and smiled helplessly: "This kid is growing too fast. He always brings new surprises every time we meet."