“You are going abroad?” I asked Yan Yuhe, a little surprised.
She gave a wry smile and said, “I have no choice.”
“Today…”
Just as I was about to ask, she interrupted me, “Brother Xiang, I don’t want to bring up what happened today.”
Seeing this, I took a deep breath and said, “Alright…”
I was completely clueless about what had transpired at the election meeting.
Just as I was about to ask who the “Old Chen” in the notebook was, she handed me a piece of paper with an address on it: “This is Uncle Chen’s address.”
It seemed she had already read the contents of the notebook. I didn’t say much, took the paper, and said, “Thank you.”
“Actually, I should be the one thanking you,” Yan Yuhe said. “You were right earlier, I didn’t need to do all this… I’m tired now…”
“What are you going abroad to do?” I asked.
She smiled, “I majored in archaeology. I had the opportunity to study abroad before, but at that time, I wanted to stay by my father’s side, so I didn’t go. Now, I want to go out and see the world.”
For a moment, I didn’t know what to say, only managing to say, “Take care then.”
“Mhm.”
Watching Yan Yuhe’s departing back, Fatty walked up to me and asked, “Reluctant to part with her?”
I turned and shot him a glare, “Why would I be reluctant? We weren’t close to begin with.”
“Not close? I don’t think so,” Fatty said. “She hugged you the moment she saw you just now. Is that not close?”
I couldn’t be bothered to argue with Fatty and got into the car, returning to my residence.
The next morning, I went out and bought a newspaper.
When I saw the news on the paper, I finally understood what had happened yesterday.
“Guangbei’s Largest Counterfeiting Ring Exposed, Guanggu Association Dissolves.”
I was stunned when I saw this headline.
The newspaper reported that at the Guanggu Association’s会长 election, the Water Moon Guanyin was a fake, exposed by experts on the spot. The Yan family, involved in counterfeiting and selling fakes for years, had their second son betray them, reporting the entire process of his father’s years of illicit activities.
My mind was racing. After reading the entire report, I finally pieced together the cause and effect.
At this moment, I finally understood why Yan Yuhe had said earlier that the position of Guanggu Association会长 was the Yan family’s last fig leaf.
So, the Yan family had been stealing from themselves all these years?
Not only the Yan family, but the other three major families were also involved in counterfeiting and selling fakes. Now, all the members of the Guanggu Association had been taken away by the police for investigation.
The implications were too vast. Judging by the situation, the Guangbei antique industry was about to undergo a massive upheaval!
The era of the four great families would end here!
I was deeply shocked, and even more so, incredulous.
Although I hadn’t been deeply involved in this matter, as someone who had touched upon the core events, this was simply unbelievable.
Liu Zaixi’s move of “returning the favor in kind” for revenge was executed to perfection.
I knew that from now on, it would be nearly impossible for the four great families to ever recover.
The newspaper stated that the evidence of counterfeiting and selling fakes by the four great families was conclusive, with many photographs and evidence of artifact trafficking.
Although the newspaper didn’t go into detail, I knew that Liu Zaixi must have endured immense hardship over the years to collect that evidence.
To overthrow the four top families of Guangbei with one’s own strength was truly admirable.
I never expected things to turn out this way…
Just as I was about to put down the newspaper, I suddenly realized something: the report said the Water Moon Guanyin was fake?
How could that be possible?
Did Yan Yuhe not take out the real Water Moon Guanyin?
That couldn’t be right.
Why would she hide an artifact?
Or was the Water Moon Guanyin that Yang Hanxue gave me a fake?
I felt that was impossible; Yang Hanxue wouldn’t do that.
More accurately, Zheng Shuxuan wouldn’t do that!
Where exactly did things go wrong?
I really couldn’t figure out how the Water Moon Guanyin had become a fake.
When I returned home, Fatty had already packed his things, and Liu Jiangmin had also driven over to take us to the train station.
“Lord Xiang, what is this thing? Should I put it in the bag?” Fatty pointed to the brocade box on the table.
This was the gift Liu Zaixi had given me last night. Fatty’s mentioning it made me almost forget.
I walked over, picked it up, and the moment I opened the box, I was stunned.
Inside the brocade box was the statue of the Water Moon Guanyin!
There was also a note next to the Guanyin statue.
I handed the Guanyin statue to Fatty and picked up the note to read.
“Mr. Xiang, I sincerely apologize for switching the Guanyin statue that day. I have completed what I needed to do. This Guanyin statue is now returned to its rightful owner. I hope you won’t be angry… Liu Zaixi.”
After reading the note, it suddenly dawned on me that the day Yang Hanxue gave me the Guanyin statue, Liu Zaixi had followed me and escorted me to the Yan family.
On the way, she had seen the Water Moon Guanyin.
In other words, she had switched the Water Moon Guanyin statue right under my nose!
With this realization, I finally understood.
I took out my phone, about to call Liu Zaixi to get to the bottom of it, but the line was busy.
“Lord Xiang, this Guanyin statue looks so familiar?” Fatty asked.
I snapped back to attention, looked at the Guanyin statue in my hand, and sighed helplessly.
Now that you’ve returned the Guanyin statue to me, aren’t you just causing me trouble?
Getting into Liu Jiangmin’s car, as soon as it started moving, I told him, “Go to the Guangbei Museum.”
Fatty looked confused, “Why are we going there?”
I looked at the Guanyin statue he was clutching tightly and said, “Illegally possessing cultural relics carries a prison sentence of three to five years… Fatty, do you want to try the taste of prison?”
Fatty pursed his lips, “Lord Xiang, you don’t mean…”
The Water Moon Guanyin was a cultural relic that Yan Hongguang had spent a large sum to acquire from overseas, and he had intended to donate it to the museum.
Now that this item was in my hands, it was like a hot potato.
One could say that the way I obtained the Water Moon Guanyin was itself illegal. Such a cultural relic would be difficult to sell in the future, and keeping it would bring me no benefit whatsoever.
Keeping it with me would only lead to trouble.
Perhaps this was also why Liu Zaixi wanted to give the Water Moon Guanyin to me.
Upon arriving at the museum, I handed the Water Moon Guanyin to the curator, insisting that I had found the item.
The curator seemed somewhat skeptical, but I didn’t say much to him.
He had initially wanted to take a commemorative photo, but I found an opening and slipped away, getting into the car and heading straight for the train station.
Finally, I was leaving Guangbei. I breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the receding scenery outside the train window, my heart filled with mixed emotions.
The matters in Guangbei were settled, but there were even more things waiting for me…