I called Fang Zhen again and asked him to send two thousand yuan to the library, and Fang Zhen agreed without asking. I put down the phone, looked around, and ...... Then I suddenly realized that I had nothing to do.

Since I went to Zhengzhou to investigate Lao Chaofeng, I have been non-stop these days, tired of running for my life, my mood has fluctuated, and my schedule has been very busy. Now that I'm suddenly relaxed, I'm really a little unaccustomed to it.

As I walked down the street, a sense of emptiness came over me. Now that all the clues have been thrown, and everything I can do has been done, I can only passively wait for the unknown outcome of the blessing and misfortune. This feeling is like a senior high school student walking out of the college entrance examination room, and he can't do anything about the next fate, so he can only wait anxiously for the results to be released.

I had nothing to do but go back and look at what I had done. I was stunned to find that my predicament was caused by myself. My obsession is both an effect and a cause. I insisted on removing the false and retaining the true, but in the end, the five veins faced a catastrophe; I was bent on tracking down the old courtiers, but I had to join forces with Yao; I wanted to make up for my mistakes, but the more I filled the hole, the bigger the hole, and the more I made up for it, the more confused I became. Contradictions are one after another, fog obstacles are numerous, and in the end, they are at a loss.

Liu Yiming said that people can learn antiquities, and antiquities can also learn people. Along the way, Donglu Zheyan identified an impetuous me, Shanshui Xiaoyu identified a hateful me, and Nanjing Ancient Monument identified a weak-minded me...... So what kind of me is identified in this "Qingming Riverside Map"? I do not know.

I found a random street bench and sat down slowly, feeling weak and weak, like I had finished a marathon. The weather was fine today, and I leaned back in my chair and raised my head slightly, letting the sun shine on my face, and a warm tiredness hit my heart. Just as I was about to fall asleep, my waist shuddered, and the BP machine rang.

The pagination on the Hanxian screen reads: "I just got the news that the schedule of the Beijing-Hong Kong cultural exchange exhibition has been determined, a week later. ”

I frowned, it seems that Liu Yiming and Lao Chaofeng joined forces to snipe, and they could only stop this step. The two "Qingming Riverside Pictures" still have to face each other after all. I looked up and looked left and right. The streets are bustling with traffic. Otherwise, it must be hidden in a corner and peeking at me. He was holding my big brother and could call the pager at any time. All I could respond was to nod or shake my head.

Soon another message came in: "How are you doing?" ”

I nodded slowly but firmly in the sunlight and shook my head again.

I didn't expect that this obscure action pill would actually be understood: "When a person starts to wait, he thinks, when he thinks, he doubts himself, and when he doubts, he falls into confusion." But there's still a long wait. Dude, this feels bad, doesn't it? ”

Before I could respond, a fourth message came in: "I'm pretty much there, so I'm too busy to think about it." When I get there, I don't have to play hide and seek. Let's have a good talk then. ”

In order not to make the young lady at the paging station suspicious, Yao Else used an obscure statement. Hong Kong has not yet returned to the motherland, and it will take a lot of trouble for the mainland police to arrest people. Otherwise, if he can successfully infiltrate Hong Kong, he will be free to operate.

But what did he want to talk to me about?

"Talk about life and ideals." This is a typical medicine answer. Then he added a message: "It's been a long time since we've sat down and talked nonsense, just like we used to." ”

A sneer appeared on my lips, who is to blame? He had a bright future, but he chose to betray himself, and this situation was fundamentally self-inflicted on himself - what qualifications did he have to regret and talk to me about life? Otherwise, he probably saw my mocking look on my face and sent another message: "You know, people live in this world, and they always have to insist on something that seems stupid. ”

I looked at this sentence and stayed for a long time. This was originally what I said to Liu Zhanzhan, and now he actually brought out this sentence, which made me angry and funny. If the medicine had told me that he was in it for money or hatred, I would have been able to accept it a little; Now he actually said it righteously, as if it was a great cause to take refuge in the old court and be the enemy of the five veins, an ideal that he was willing to sacrifice for, and he was willing to bear hardships and grievances for this ideal.

No kidding!

I unhooked the BP machine from my waist, raised my hand, and threw it out. The tiny mechul fell into the asphalt in a half-arc, and the battery and screen cover were shattered. Then a dirt truck rumbled by, crushing the rest of the parts.

At half past seven in the evening, I finally couldn't bear the pain of waiting, and called the library and asked him if he had found anything.

The library didn't bother me to call half an hour in advance, and he told me, "I found something, but I'll make it clear first, whether it's useful or not, I won't return the money." ”

I held the microphone and tried to keep my voice as agitated as possible: "Say." ”

The library said: "In 1947, due to poor management, there was a run on the Jinjing Huiyin and finally went bankrupt. But if you're lucky, the old account books of a few years have been thrown away at a shareholder's house, and I haven't moved the place, and I took the price of waste paper before. But there are a lot of account books, I pouted and turned over all afternoon, tired and my back hurts, this is a separate money. ”

"Hurry up and get to the point."

"I've checked, almost all of the business between Jinjing Huiyin and Fan Huji is antique mortgage loans, and there must be more than 30 loans. The amount of money was more or less, but in the end it was all settled. ”

I suppressed my excitement: "So, is there any record here about the missing corner of the Great Qi Tongbao?" ”

"Let me see, huh...... There really is. On July 13, the 25th year of the Republic of China, Dai Lao's shopkeeper pledged two things, one of which was a large Qi Tongbao with a missing corner, and a total of 50 taels of gold was loaned, with three points of interest, which was paid off after a month. ”

"What's the other one? Is it Dai Xi's copybook? ”

"Huh? How do you know? ”

My palms suddenly became extremely wet, and my voice became different: "Look at the line of records, there is a row of words written next to it." ”

Silver number received antiques as collateral, to write its situation in detail, especially such as the word book is easy to be cut, as long as the words are not too much, will be copied in full, so as not to redeem the goods when the customer redeems, causing disputes.

"Oh, yes, there are quite a few words." Library Road.

"Read it to me."

"There's an extra charge."

"One hundred dollars, read quickly!"

The library cleared his throat and read: "Yu tasted the so-called Huizong's "and Spring Stepping Flower Picture" on silk, the painting is flamboyant, the pen is timid, and its fakes are revealed, and there are double dragon small seals on it, which is quite true and incomprehensible. Now enter the palace to read the "Shiqu Baoji", there is Zhang Zeduan's "Qingming Riverside Map", carefully examined, the volume is swept into three, Huizong signature and the double dragon mark are not existing. As a result, Zhang Hua's paintings will be cut horizontally, and the rest will be crushed and distributed among the paintings, and "Spring" is just one ear. Woohoo, such a masterpiece, it is a pity that there is no completeness, and it is sad to be true and false. However, the Son of Heaven hid it, and he didn't dare to say anything, so he recorded it here, and later generations will testify it. ”

Dai Xi made it very clear here: he had seen a painting called the authentic work of Song Huizong, but the painting style was so poor that he could see through it at a glance that it was fake. But the small seal of the double dragon on this fake painting seems to be real, and Dai Xi has never figured out why. Today he went to the palace to see the "Qingming Riverside Map" collected in "Shiqu Baoji", and speculated that the "Qingming Riverside Map" was missing almost one-third of the length, including Huizong's signature and Shuanglong small seal. Dai Xi realized that it was likely that one-third of the "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" had been cut out before this, cut into a number of pieces, and embellished into a dozen other fakes, and "Walking on the River in Spring" was just one of them. It's really sad that such a masterpiece ended up incomplete, and it was still pretended to be true. However, "The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" was collected by the Son of Heaven, and he didn't dare to say anything, so he had to write it down here and wait for future generations to verify it.

The situation that Dai Xi said is very common in antique counterfeiting. Counterfeiters often cut up a real painting or calligraphy and add it to a dozen or even two dozen fake paintings. In this way, fake paintings can be sold as genuine, and the profits can be increased dozens of times. Dai Xi loved painting all his life, and when he found out that "The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" had also suffered such a catastrophe, and the lost third could never be recovered, he was agitated for a while, so he wrote such a notebook.

I put down the microphone and finally had a thorough understanding of the bumpy experience of "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival".

At that time, there were two people painting the scenery of the Bianhe River in the academy, Zhang Zeduan and another unknown author. Song Huizong selected Zhang Zeduan's painting, and personally inscribed the five characters of "Qingming Riverside Picture" with his own signature, and accompanied by a double dragon seal. The other painting was stored in the academy and disappeared into oblivion, so it will be called Yiben.

"The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" has been handed down to the Ming Dynasty, and after Li Dongyang's collection, this painting was brutally murdered and one-third was cut. The counterfeiters cut this third into a dozen or even dozens of pieces to make a batch of fakes. One of the most important pieces is called "Walking on Flowers in Spring", and the silk cloth of "Qingming Riverside Picture" with the small seal of Shuanglong is added to this painting.

In the Jiajing Dynasty, the incomplete authentic "Qingming Riverside Map" flowed into Yan Song's hands. At the same time, Wu Huang Biao got the second copy, and based on this, he made several fakes of "Qingming Riverside Picture", which can be messed up, and flowed into the hands of Wang Shizhen's younger brother. When Yan Song was defeated, the two versions of this true and fake were completely confused. No one knows whether it was true or false that Emperor Jiajing copied into the inner mansion.

In the Qing Dynasty, Dai Xi first saw the "Spring Walking Flower Picture" elsewhere and had doubts, and then saw the fragment of "The Riverside Picture of Qingming Festival" in the palace. He pointed out that the double dragon seal on the "Flower Picture of Spring" originally belonged to the "Riverside Picture of Qingming Festival". But because of the emperor's prestige, he didn't dare to make a noise, and wrote this discovery as "Dai Xi's Character Post", which was treasured in the iron box with the missing horn Daqi Tongbao, and was not shown to anyone, even his son Dai Yiheng had never seen it.

After Dai Xi's death, "Dai Xi's Calligraphy" and the missing corner of the Great Qi Tongbao disappeared together, and they were secretly taken away by someone, and these two things fell to Fan Huji. The old shopkeeper Fan regarded it as a treasure and never sold it, and only used it as collateral once when he took out a loan from Jin Jinghui. Since then, wars have occurred frequently, and Dai Xi's calligraphy has been lost, leaving only the missing corner of the Great Qi Tongbao in his hand. After the liberation, the cultural relics shop engaged in public-private partnerships, and Fan Lao's shopkeeper went to the cultural relics store to sell goods, and was bullied by Liu Zhan, but fortunately Huang Kewu spoke up. The old shopkeeper Fan gave him the big Qi Tongbao with the missing corner to show his gratitude. Then now, Huang Kewu handed over the Great Qi Tongbao to me and asked me to negotiate with the descendants of the Dai family......

That's the conclusion of my survey.

There are two versions of the Palace Museum and Hong Kong Bairuilian, one of which must be true and the other is a fake made by Huang Biao. However, Huang Biao faked the original book of the same era, so the results cannot be compared with carbon-14.

The tragic incident of the cutting of "The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" occurred decades after Li Dongyang and before Huang Biao's counterfeiting. Theoretically, as long as you find the third of the fake paintings that have been cut off, you can piece together a complete "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival". It's a pity that it will never be known which paintings have the genes of "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival". The only thing I know the name of is a "Flower Picture of Spring" with a small seal of Ssangyong.

Although I haven't seen "Walking on Flowers in Spring", I have heard this story. It is said that Song Huizong once presided over the examination at the Academy of Fine Arts, and gave the candidates a question: horseshoe incense when stepping on flowers. It means that when I rode a horse out for a spring outing, I stepped on the flowers all the way, and even the horse's hooves were stained with the fragrance of flowers. Some candidates draw horses with flowers on their hooves, and some draw horseback riders among flowers. There was only one candidate, who did not draw flowers, but drew a few lingering butterflies near the hooves of galloping horses. Song Huizong was overjoyed, rewarded this person, and promoted him to the first place. This painting, I am afraid, comes from this allusion.

As long as you find the "Spring Walking Flower Picture" and compare the silk cloth of Shuanglong Xiaoyin with the two versions of "Qingming Riverside Picture", you can know which version is true.

This is exactly the hole card that Liu Yiming asked me to find.

And how to find "Walking Flowers in Spring" is not a problem that I can solve.

After I sorted out my thoughts, I called Fang Zhen and asked him to transfer Liu Yiming. Liu Yiming had already rested, but Fang Zhen knew that the matter was serious, so he still woke him up. The old man's voice was very tired, and he had worked hard to maintain the five veins these days, and the burden was not small. But I knew that this was not the time to feel guilty, so I even omitted the greetings and told Liu Yiming the original story of my discovery.

After listening to me, Liu Yiming sighed with emotion: "The predecessors' methods are so hard for you, Xiao Xu." ”

I also reminded: "The Flower Picture of Spring is an imitation of the Song Dynasty painting, and if it has been handed down to the present, it should also be regarded as a cultural relic. I think you should be able to find a clue to such a precious painting, right? "I am alone, but Hongzimen has always been engaged in the appraisal of paintings and calligraphy, and I have dealings with many big collectors, so it should be easy for them to find out the whereabouts of a painting.

"I know the painting of "Walking on Flowers in Spring"." Liu Yiming said, I was overjoyed, but his next words made my heart sink, "It's a pity that it has long been torn apart." ”

"How did you tear it apart? By whom? ”

Liu Yiming said: "After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, there was a dispute between Henan and Shaanxi in the five veins, you should have heard of it, right?" ”

"I know." It suddenly occurred to me that this allusion was actually told to me by Zhong Aihua, and fate is really wonderful.

"Seven Zhengzhou shops set up a treasure appreciation meeting in Yushun Building to fight Huang Kewu. Huang Kewu won a series of battles, and they had to invite a master called Yin and Yang Eyes from Kaifeng to gamble with Huang Kewu on the 'Sword Mountain and Sea of Fire', using this "Spring Flower Map". Yin Yang Eye finally defeated Huang Kewu, but the price he paid was that "Walking on Flowers in Spring" was reduced to pieces. ”

"It doesn't hurt either. What we need is not a complete "Spring Flower Picture", but a piece of silk cloth from Shuanglong Xiaoyin. Even a fingernail-sized scrap of cloth is enough for us. ”

"I don't know exactly what happened. After Huang Kewu came back, he never mentioned the people in the five veins, and it seemed that he had sworn a poisonous oath to keep it secret. So no one knows the details of that battle. ”

"That's not easy, don't you just ask Old Man Huang?"

I had asked Huang Kewu about Yushunlou once at Nanyuan Airport before, and he scolded me at that time not to meddle in my business. Now that this matter has become the key to the survival of the five veins, it is time for him to speak, right?

"Alas......" Liu Yiming let out a long sigh. A sense of foreboding rose in my heart, and I asked what was wrong. Liu Yiming was silent for a moment and said: "I just got the news that Kewu had a heart attack and has been sent to Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong, and is still in a coma. ”

As soon as I heard the news, I thundered: "What's the matter? ”

Liu Yiming said: "Kewu was talking to a woman when he suddenly had a heart attack and was taken directly to the hospital. ”

"Mei Sulan?" The blind old lady popped into my mind.

"According to the entourage, she appeared when Huang Kewu returned to the hotel, and the two of them only talked a few words in the lobby before Kewu became ill." Liu Yiming replied.

I clenched the microphone and cursed secretly. This should also be one of Berry's plans. Sister Su was originally a card in their hands, which was used to deceive me first, and then defeat Huang Kewu. Now that the five veins have lost another general, the situation has become even more precarious.

Now that Huang Kewu is seriously ill and admitted to the hospital, his life and death are uncertain, and the truth of Yushunlou is unknown, and naturally there is no way to trace the whereabouts of the fragment of "Qingming Riverside Map".

I held the microphone blankly, could it be that we had tried so hard for so long, and in the end it was in vain?

Liu Yiming listened to me for a long time without saying a word, and said slowly: "Xiao Xu, don't blame yourself too much, you have done your best." Don't worry, since ancient times, the fake is invincible, the evil is invincible, and even if you can't find that fragment, the five veins may not lose. As long as I uphold the heart of truth-seeking, hold the unfalse things in my hands, and let the wind blow from the southeast and northwest, I will not move. ”

That being said, his voice was exhausting. I knew it was the old man comforting me. Liu Yiming said again: "I'm old, and the doctor doesn't allow me to travel long distances. In this cultural exchange between Beijing and Hong Kong, Xiao Liu will represent me in the past. You should rush back to Beijing as soon as possible. ”

Listening to his tone, it was almost a bit of a lonely meaning. I exclaimed, "It's not time to throw in the towel yet!" Then he hung up the phone with a "snap".

Although Mr. Liu assured me that the Forbidden City edition is genuine, it is difficult to have a 100% guarantee for the identification of antiques, what if he loses his eyes? What if the Forbidden City appraisal team is fundamentally wrong? What if Hundred Radiant suddenly reveals an irrefutable piece of evidence? Bai Ruilian has been planning for so long, and she must have a sharp killer move that can prove that the Forbidden City version is a fake, and if we don't have the hole cards to fight against, the risk of failure is extremely high. At that time, it is not only the five veins that will fall, but also the great fortune of the Chinese antique market.

In this case, how can I give up, how dare I give up?

I have no other virtues than stubbornness. Ren Er's southeast and northwest winds, I insisted that Qingshan would not relax. Our Xu family has always been so pedantic and stubborn.

I came out of the phone booth, looked around intently, and suddenly a strange thought came to me. It was already past ten o'clock in the evening, and there were few vehicles and pedestrians, except for rows of white-glowing street lamps standing on both sides of the street. I walked out onto the sidewalk, took a step and started running. It started out as a jog, then gradually picked up speed, my feet rhythmically treading on the pavement, fists clenched, alternating swings, like a clumsy dove flapping its wings. I ran down this wide street without stopping, and the wind was whirring in my ears.

I'm not a keen sportsman, and my physique is only average, so suddenly my body reacts to such a large amount of exercise. After only running for about a kilometer, my breathing started to pant and my legs ached. I gritted my teeth and let my brain whip the motor nerves to squeeze out the last bit of energy and continue to run at a constant pace. Soon my forehead started to sweat and the back of my shirt started to stain.

But as the physical exhaustion intensified, the boredom in my heart was gradually exuded from the body, and my mind became clearer and clearer. I learned one thing from Lao Xu, bad mood is like water in a sponge, which can be squeezed out of the body by heavy physical exercise. At the foot of the Purple Mountain, I used the stele to squeeze out the imbalance and chaos of emotions, and now I use this crazy running to consume my irritability.

I ran back to the hotel where I was staying, sweating all over, as if I had just crawled out of the Huangpu River, my lungs were hot, and my legs were shaking so much that I could barely stand. When I walked into the room, I couldn't close the door, sat down on the couch, and couldn't stand up again.

The body is extremely tired, but the mood is extremely relaxed. I leaned back on the couch, my head tilted back to the ceiling, and began to recall every event, every detail, from Zhengzhou to Zhengzhou, carefully searching for any clues that had been missed. Strange to say, I couldn't even lift the tip of my little finger, but my thinking was clearer than ever, and everything before me was like a movie, unfolding in front of my eyes.

I just sat quietly on the couch and let these scenes replay in my head. I don't know how long it took, but one scene lit up before my eyes, and then another scene lit up, a seemingly thin line connecting the two; Then another line is thrown, and the third point is pulled out of the deep memory, followed by the fourth and fifth...... Soon an intricate spider web was constructed in my mind.

I closed my eyes and tried to see the cobweb more clearly. I reached out in my imagination, and the once vague clue became unusually clear this time. I can feel the combination of lines and figure out where they are going. I felt like I could even tear the cobwebs apart and put them back together bit by bit.

I opened my eyes, and it was exactly twelve o'clock in the night. I spread my arms and pressed myself on the armrests, barely trying to get myself up from the couch. Next, I had to rush to a place, but I found that I might not even be able to walk through the corridor in front of my room.

It's a great way to get rid of irritability by exercising a lot, but when you want to keep moving, it can have the inevitable negative effects.

But I don't have time to waste.

I endured the severe pain, moved to the front desk step by step, borrowed a cane from the waiter on duty, and then moved out of the hotel step by step under the gaze of her strange eyes.

The place I'm going to is Fudan University. By this time, the campus had fallen into a deep sleep, the doors were closed, and only a few laboratories were still lit up. I told the doorman that I had injured myself playing basketball and had just come back from the hospital. The doorman didn't ask much, waved me in. I discerned the direction a little and headed straight for the doctor's building.

Although there are dormitory teachers in the doctoral building, they are not as strict as the undergraduate dormitory, they are all past twelve o'clock, and the door is not locked. I climbed up to the third floor and knocked lightly on Dai Haiyan's door. Before Dai Haiyan got up to open the door, several nearby dormitory doors quietly opened a crack, and ambiguous eyes shot out of the crack in the door and swept around me. I ignored them and continued to knock rhythmically. After more than 20 knocks, a lazy voice came from the door: "Who?" ”

"It's me, make a wish."

The door was opened, and Dai Haiyan was wearing flowered pajamas, sleepy-eyed. She said in a daze, "If you're trying to pursue me, you've really chosen the wrong time." ”

"I know it's too late to disturb your rest. But there's something urgent I have to ask you. I lowered my voice.

"It's a matter of life and death?" Dai Haiyan asked.

"It's a matter of life and death!" I nodded solemnly.

Dai Haiyan let out an "oh" and opened the door a little more to let me in. I grabbed the door frame and said, "It's urgent, I won't go in, I'll just ask a few words, and I'll leave after asking." ”

"Say it." Dai Haiyan simply leaned against the door and put her hands on her chest.

I asked, "I remember you mentioned last time that Dai Hexuan's line is a branch of the Dai family and moved out of Qiantang very early. ”

"That's right."

"What you said that time was that their family went to Henan first, and then moved to Nanjing?"

"Yes."

"What does their family do in Henan for a living?"

"Antiques. It is said that it is not bad, and there are several large fonts on the ground in Henan. It was not until before the liberation that they moved back to Nanjing. Dai Haiyan replied.

"Thank you!" I arched my hand, leaned on crutches and turned away. Dai Haiyan didn't expect me to leave so simply, she glanced at the dormitories with a crack in the door, muttered in a low voice, "So you're really here to ask", and then turned around and closed the door.

After leaving Fudan University, I returned to the hotel and called Dai Hexuan.

At this time, Dai Hexuan didn't sleep, and the disciple who answered the phone said that he was practicing Gong Tuna, and it was quiet in the dead of night, which was just right for nourishing qi. I didn't bother to listen to this big set of nonsense, so I simply moved out of the identity of the promotion ambassador of the Universe Yellow Emperor Culture Promotion Co., Ltd., and asked Dai Hexuan to listen to the phone immediately. The disciple didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly told the master. After five minutes, Dai Hexuan slowly picked up the phone: "Good apprentice, you called so late, do you have any doubts about the exercises for the teacher?" ”

"I've got something to ask you." I don't want to be too long-winded, so I'm straight to the point.

"Haven't you already found my wonderful niece?"

"It's nothing to do with her."

"That's Yellow Smoke? She's already out of the detention center, don't you know? ”

I paused, and I didn't even think about it for the past few days. When I thought that I didn't even pick her up when she left the detention center, I felt a little guilty. But at the moment, the situation is critical, I don't think much about it, and said: "It has nothing to do with them, I want to ask you, the form of your gambling with me is called a hundred steps through Yang, is it a unique saying in Henan?" ”

Dai Hexuan didn't expect me to ask such a question, and said, "That's right." The name '100 steps through Yang' does not belong to Beijing or Nanjing, but only on the ground in Henan. ”

I scolded myself for being careless. When Dai Hexuan proposed to gamble with me before, he used this word, which obviously showed that their family was originally in Henan. I was suspicious at the time, but when I got busy, I forgot about it. Later, Dai Haiyan mentioned that Dai Hexuan's family moved to Henan, but I still didn't wake up. It wasn't until now that I connected the two things.

"Dai Haiyan said that your family also used to stay in Henan, and they still ran an antique business."

"Not only has it been opened, my family's shop in Henan can be regarded as the leader of a province, and it can be ranked within ten. It's a pity that after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the old man of my family trusted Chiang Kai-shek too much, and moved his family to Nanjing for development, and then ...... Cough. Dai Hexuan said regretfully.

"Then have you heard of the appreciation meeting of Yushun Tower?" I tried to restrain my heartbeat.

Dai Hexuan thought for a while before saying: "I know, there is a sensation in the Henan antique world. Huang Kewu lost that big defeat, and since then he has been suppressed by Liu Yiming. ”

"That time it was jointly organized by seven big shops in Henan, did your family participate?"

When Dai Hexuan heard this, he was full of energy: "Yes." My shop is ranked sixth. Our family moved to Henan in the late Qing Dynasty, and it is amazing that we can have such a high ranking as an outsider. The Yellow Emperor originated in Henan, and my internal strength of the Yellow Emperor is to get inspiration from family learning......"

I didn't listen to his boasting, and continued to ask, "Do you know the details of that apprecial?" I suddenly thought of Dai Hexuan's age, so I changed my words, "The old man in your family, have you mentioned what happened at the Yushun Lou Appreciation Party?" ”

Dai Hexuan said: "The requirements of that appreciation meeting were strict, and the major shops only sent one shopkeeper, and there were only seven people in total. The one sent by our family came back and said nothing but 'luckily won'. The older generation of them had a very stubborn temper, and they swore that they would not open their mouths when they were killed. ”

I'm disappointed, I've already traced it to this point, didn't I have a chance at all?

"You really didn't say anything at all?" I asked unwillingly.

"Uh...... He really didn't say it, but there is nothing seamless in this world, and I heard others mention it one after another. It is said that the seven shopkeepers were full of confidence, but they didn't expect Huang Kewu to have the help of God, and he won the battle and broke the set they set up one by one. The seven shopkeepers couldn't hold it anymore, and one of them proposed to invite a mysterious master surnamed Liao from Kaifeng overnight to settle the battle. ”

"The one surnamed Liao is nicknamed Yin Yang Eye, right?" I asked.

Dai Hexuan said: "Yes, but I don't know where he came from." When this person arrived at Yushun Tower, he went directly to the top floor with Huang Kewu, saying that he was going to fight a sword mountain and a sea of fire. Everyone else retreated to the second floor and couldn't go up. Half an hour later, Huang Kewu went downstairs to admit defeat, and as for Yin Yang Eye, he was carried downstairs. As for what happened on the top floor, no one really knows. ”

"What is the whereabouts of Yin and Yang Eyes, does no one really know?"

"I don't know."

I sighed in frustration, I had already learned this information from Zhong Aihua and Liu Yiming, and I even knew that these two people used the "Spring Walking Flower Map" for their gambling fights, which was more detailed than Dai Hexuan. Now it seems. The people who went to Yushun Building back then, the seven shopkeepers have all died, Huang Kewu is unconscious, and his yin and yang eyes are nowhere to be found. The clue of the "Flower Picture of Spring" is completely interrupted here.

"That yin and yang eye, can you really see through the way Huangquan came from?" I scratched at my hair in frustration, thinking to myself that if he really had this special ability, he wouldn't just use it this time, he would make a splash everywhere he went, and maybe he could find clues elsewhere.

Dai Hexuan laughed: "You are the promotion ambassador of the Yellow Emperor's internal strength, how can you believe in these absurd things?" The special function is not cabbage, how can it be everywhere - the so-called yin and yang eyes, that is a local saying in Henan, in fact, it is a big eye, a small eye, and the congenital small cleft eye is just a genetic deformity in the family, which has nothing to do with the underworld, feudal superstition. ”

My gripping at my hair stopped abruptly.

One eye is big, the other is small.

Origin Kaifeng.

The surname is Liao.

These three conditions were combined, and I suddenly thought of a person who was not very familiar, and my heart suddenly set off a storm.

Isn't this the big-eyed thief who invited someone to eat and was caught in prison by my own hands!

I distinctly remember that the big-eyed thief was caught with his son. The eyes of both people are one big and one small, which can be seen to be inherited. During the interrogation, he reported to his family, that is, his surname was Liao, and his family lived in Kaifeng. Listening to Dai Hexuan's reminder, could it be said that the big-eyed thief is the descendant of the yin and yang eyes? Is it so coincidental?

I went in a big circle, and I actually turned back to square one. The person I was looking for in the end was actually the first person I met, and fate really played a big joke.

I hung up the phone and rushed into the bathroom to rinse my face with cold water. The cool water hit my face and slightly irritated my skin. I looked up, and in the mirror I saw a face that didn't show any confusion.

I took out the document from the Ministry of Public Security that Fang Zhen gave me, time was running out, and I had to rush back to Beijing as soon as possible.

I didn't even bother to take care of my luggage and walked out of the hotel gate. As soon as they went out, a flash light came on and several reporters jumped out of hiding. When I saw it, it was still the same people who surrounded me at Fudan University. It turned out that they had not given up, and they were stuck at the door of the hotel, and even the camera was following behind them.

"May I ask you entered Miss Dai Haiyan's dormitory at night just now, has your relationship been confirmed?"

"Why do you keep refusing to comment, is it an official threat?"

"Does what happened to your grandfather Xu Yicheng have an impact on your choice?"

Messy questions come to mind. I pushed away the annoying flies with a calm face and walked forward without saying a word, the reporters following me. In the midst of this noise, I suddenly heard a reporter shouting: "The Beijing-Hong Kong Cultural Exchange Exhibition is about to be held, and the Forbidden City will confront Bai Ruilian on the "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival", as the initiator, what do you think?" ”

I stopped and walked over to the reporter who was asking the question. It was a woman in her forties, with a chubby face, wavy hair, and lips painted blood-red. I stared at her, and she took a step back a little fearfully. I reached out and snatched the microphone from her hand, then turned to the camera and said word by word: "I will go to Hong Kong, I will bring the truth, I hope you are ready." ”

I know that Zhong Aihua must be able to hear it, and Bai Ruilian and the people behind it must also be able to hear it. With that, I threw the microphone to the woman and turned to leave, a high-spirited battle spirit rising beside me.

I've figured it out. Even if the clue is broken by the big-eyed thief, I will go to Hong Kong. This matter arose because of me, and must be settled because of me. How I pushed the five veins down the cliff, I had to drag them back. This is the responsibility of a treasure connoisseur.

That special document was so useful that I relied on it to catch the nearest military flight and arrive in Beijing early the next morning. When I got off the gangway, Fang Zhen's jeep was already waiting on the tarmac. I didn't bother to take a breath of fresh air and jumped straight into the car.

Fang Zhen told me while starting the car: "The Forbidden City will open the library today to bring out the "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival", and after it is packed with other exhibited cultural relics, Liu Ju will personally lead the team to Hong Kong, and I will also go there as a security supervisor." ”

"What time do you leave?"

"After I send you over, you have to leave immediately, and what you say to the big-eyed thief next, it's up to you." Fang Zhen drove the car expressionlessly, and added, "The case of the big-eyed thief will be sentenced immediately, and if he has meritorious service, his sentence can be appropriately commuted." ”

I laughed, it was enough to have his words.

The jeep was speeding on the road, and Fang Zhen suddenly said, "By the way, didn't you ask me to check on Zhong Aihua?" I found something. ”

"Huh?" I immediately came to the spirit.

"The story he tells you is basically true. He did have an uncle in Anyang who committed suicide because of a mistake in the acquisition of cultural relics, and this matter has a lot to do with Wumai. Ten years ago, the Chinese Society for the Study of Antiquities conducted a nationwide investigation of the fakes of cultural relics in the museum, and found a fake in Anyang, Huang Kewu personally reported it to Anyang, and the local cultural relics bureau in Anyang determined that Zhong Aihua's uncle was engaged in corruption when he purchased the goods, and he committed suicide the next day. The following year, Zhong Aihua moved to Hong Kong with his parents. ”

"That's why he hates us so much?"

Fang Zhen said: "Zhong Aihua's experience in Hong Kong is not very clear. I only know that his parents died very young, he joined Xin Ngee An, and he also caused a life lawsuit, and then fled to the Kowloon Walled City, and no one saw this person again until you met him in Zhengzhou. ”

"The Kowloon Walled City?"

"Forget it, you won't want to know about this place." Fang Zhen frowned, showing a rare trace of disgust.

I closed my eyes. The guy who joined the underworld in Hong Kong at a young age has become a mainland agent of a major international auction house, and this rich experience can almost make a movie. No wonder this guy is as cunning as a fox, with a calm and maturity that does not match his age. Every time I think of the innocent blood that Zhong Aihua performed in Zhengzhou, I shudder.

But strangely, since we met unexpectedly in Fudan, he has not done anything further except to use tactics to scare off the drug and let the reporters restrict my freedom. He stopped pestering Dai Haiyan, and he didn't give me the next series of investigations to make trouble.

His quietness made me a little uneasy, the silence of a wolf before it lowered itself in the grass and prepared to pounce. I tried to take my worries back and tell myself that this wasn't the biggest thing to worry about right now.

Jeep soon found himself at the gate of a secluded prison on the outskirts of the southern city. Fang Zhen explained a few words to the people inside, and then hurriedly drove away. The prison staff took me to a reception room and asked me to fill out an application form to visit the inmate. I didn't have the identity of the police handling the case, so I couldn't enter the interrogation room, so I could only meet the big-eyed thief through the visitation procedure.

The reception room was rudimentary, with most of the paint peeling off and the painted slogans blurred. The room was separated by a dark brown chest-high table in the center, but the top of the table was not separated by glass.

After I sat down, it wasn't long before the big-eyed thief was ushered into the house through another door by a guard. This guy was dressed in a gray prisoner's suit, his hair was shaved, and he was in good spirits, and he was still looking left and right when he entered the door. The big-eyed thief looked at me, and the big eyes glared, but the small eyes narrowed: "Your face, but it's getting more and more wrong." ”

I just remembered that the last time I saw him, the big-eyed thief helped me approve a face, saying that I was facing gold scissors, facing the people, and it was a robbery - don't say it, soon there was a file of "Qingming Riverside Map", I don't know if it is a fulfillment. This guy's yin and yang eyes are really a bit of a doorway.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"The golden scissors on your face, now the two scissors are half-open and half-closed, I can't figure out where to go, I don't know whether to cut it down or open, so it's a suspense. It depends on your own thoughts. The big-eyed thief said with his eyebrows fluttering, the guard next to him coughed, and the big-eyed thief hurriedly waved his hand humbly, "Hey, but these are feudal superstitions, and I'm working on reform, just talk nonsense, don't take it seriously." ”

I got straight to the point: "I came to you this time because I have something to ask you." The big-eyed thief shook his head and looked aggrieved: "The facts of my crime have been explained clearly, and I have not concealed it." ”

"Your family has always been in Kaifeng before liberation?"

"Yes, it will only slowly go out until my generation."

I pointed to his face: "Your eyes are natural?" ”

The big-eyed thief was stunned: "Yes, are you planning to give me medical parole?" I've researched and this one doesn't qualify......"

I interrupted him: "Are all of your family members like this?" When the big-eyed thief heard the words "yin and yang eyes", his face changed greatly: "You...... Do you even know that? ”

"Answer my question."

The big-eyed thief habitually put his right hand to his mouth, and then he found that there was no smoke, smiled bitterly, and his small eyes showed a little emotion: "This problem in our family is medically called congenital small eye cleft, which is hereditary." Everyone is an ancestral treasure, our family is an ancestral problem, you say how unlucky. Growing up like that, not to mention being an official and doing business, even if you work as a long-term worker, you are not welcomed, and you are discriminated against everywhere. My ancestors saw that there was no way, so they simply turned waste into treasure, claiming that this is the yin and yang eyes, and can see through the way of the Yellow Spring. In the past, people were particularly superstitious, and they really thought that our family was born with a vision, and when they encountered fortune telling, fortune telling, burial in the cave, exorcism and sacrifice to the gods, they all looked for our home, and over time, they had the name of yin and yang eyes. ”

"In the whole Kaifeng, is it just that your family has yin and yang eyes?" I asked.

"I don't know anywhere else, in Kaifeng, our family is the only one - this unlucky disease is not everywhere."

I took a deep breath: "More than forty years ago, Kaifeng had a yin and yang eye who went to Yushun Tower in Zhengzhou and defeated a master named Huang Kewu in Wumai. Do you know this? ”

The big-eyed thief didn't hesitate at all: "I know." ”

"Did someone from your family do it?"

"It's my second grandfather." The big-eyed thief replied very crisply.

I grabbed the edge of the high table with both hands, and my heart almost stopped. The mysterious person in the battle of Yushunlou actually appeared like this.

"Can you elaborate on that?" I suppressed my excitement.

The big-eyed thief is a performative personality, and it always takes a lot of trouble for me to get clues from others, but this guy is the only one who speaks very happily. As soon as he heard that I asked him to tell the story of his family, he immediately became interested, his thumb cocked, his body leaned back, and he said proudly: "My second grandfather is really an outlier in the Liao family." His name is Liao Ding, and our family all make a living by telling fortunes and looking at people's appearances, only he doesn't do this, and is dedicated to studying antiques. Part of the reason why I joined the antiques industry was also the influence of my second grandfather. It's a pity that the times are not good, and after liberation, my heroes have no place to play, and I can only be reduced to the ...... now."

"Get to the point!"

"Good, good. I heard from the old people in the family that the second grandfather used to be a charlatan, and he roamed in several northern provinces with a pair of yin and yang eyes. Later, he somehow deceived a high-ranking person. They saw through his tricks at a glance and trapped him. He said to my second grandfather that you have good qualifications, and it is too wasteful to deceive people, so he taught him some antique appraisal techniques, gave him a sum of money, and sent him back to his hometown to do some legitimate business. My second grandfather was deeply moved, and after returning to Kaifeng, he accepted all the tricks of deception and devoted himself to studying antiques. The world is afraid of the word serious, my second grandfather was originally a smart person, so dedicated to research, really made a name for himself, and became a master of antique identification. Later, it was said in the circle that his yin and yang eyes could not only see the way of Huangquan, but also run through the ancient and modern times. But my second grandfather knew that he had all this given by the master, but the master did not officially accept him as an apprentice, and he did not dare to claim it, so he set up a shrine at home and set up a longevity card for the master. Later, the master was shot by the state as a traitor for reselling cultural relics, and my second grandfather ......"

"Wait a minute!" I shouted, my eyes almost bursting, "What's that tall man's name?" ”

"The surname is Xu, his name is Xu Yicheng, and he is the head of the five veins - you know the five veins, right? It is also called the bright-eyed plum blossom, which has been ...... since ancient times."

I didn't listen to the big-eyed thief's chatter that followed. I froze in my seat, unable to move, and my heart was full of waves. I never expected that this matter would actually involve my grandfather Xu Yicheng, which is really a ripple.

"Hey, what's wrong with you? Why is your face so bad, why don't we take a break? The big-eyed thief asked with concern.

"No, no, you go on."

"Xu Yicheng was shot as a traitor for selling cultural relics to the Japanese. My second grandfather cried a lot in front of the immortal tablet, saying that he didn't believe that Xu would be a traitor if he was killed. After my second grandfather finished crying, he stopped buying and selling, and announced his retirement, which is estimated to be a lot of stimulation. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, someone suddenly came to the second grandfather and asked him to go to Yushun Building in Zhengzhou for emergency relief. Originally, the second grandfather refused, but as soon as he heard that it was the people in the five veins that he was going to deal with, he slapped the table and said that the death of Xu Zhangmen was so miserable, and it was directly related to the group of ungrateful things in the five veins, and I couldn't help but avenge his revenge, so I immediately rushed over. ”

My hands involuntarily began to tremble, and my eyes moistened. Xu Yicheng died that year, and the whole country was denounced as a traitor, but I can't imagine that here in Kaifeng, there are still people who have always believed that he is innocent.

"And then?"

"And then I don't know." The big-eyed thief said, "When my second grandfather went out, he brought a painting with him, but when he came back, he only brought a pile of fragments. Soon after he returned, he was breathing. ”

I could barely sit still. That painting must be "Walking Flowers in Spring", and as Liu Yiming said, it was dismantled into pieces in the gambling fight.

"Where did that pile of debris go?"

The big-eyed thief said: "The second grandfather's last words on his deathbed said that he had avenged part of the revenge for the head of Xu, and he was worthy of his heart, so let's bury the fragments of that painting with us." In this way, when the Netherworld told Xu Zhangmen that he had avenged him, he had a credential. ”

"Funeral? Where is Liao Ding buried? I asked.

The big-eyed thief said again: "The second grandfather said that he would be buried in the place where Xu Zhangmen left his soul after his death, so that the two souls were close to each other, so that he could find Xu Yicheng's soul." In accordance with the last words, our family cremated the second grandfather, put the ashes into a brocade box, and transported them all the way to Beiping for burial. ”

"Wait a minute, cremation?" I was shocked.

"Our yin and yang eyes can peep into the heavens, which is not tolerated by heaven and earth. Therefore, our family has not left any remains for generations, and all of them are cremated after death. The big-eyed thief said seriously.

I secretly shouted badly, if this is the case, wouldn't the fragments of the "Flower Picture of Spring" that accompanied the burial also turn to ashes? Won't let me go home with a last-minute regret, right? No, no matter what, I have to see the ashes with my own eyes before I stop.

"Where is Liao Ding buried in Beijing?" I asked.

The big-eyed thief nodded, and stretched out his hand to the east and pointed afar: "The place where my second grandfather was buried is next to the execution ground where Xu Yicheng was executed, which is now at the foot of Yanjiao Ling Mountain. ”

I was stupid.

I stood on a raised hill beside the highway and looked into the distance. The vast Yan Mountain winds up to this, the mountain is exhausted, and the remaining veins burst out into a pinnacle Ling Mountain, which is connected to the mountains in the east, and the other three sides are plains. There is a Lingshan pagoda built in the Liao Dynasty on the top of the peak, with five levels of octagonal, and the Panshan Tower in the east, the Gushan Tower in the west to form a triangular trend.

Yanjiao is more than 50 kilometers away from Beijing and belongs to Sanhe City. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, Sanhe belonged to Shuntianfu and has always been regarded as the land of Gyeonggi. The emperor of the Qing Dynasty paid homage to Dongling and stayed here, so Sanhe is known as "the foot of the Son of Heaven, the palace of the imperial driver". The Republic of China moved its capital to Nanjing, and Zhili was changed to Hebei Province, and it was classified as Hebei, but in the minds of the people, it has always been regarded as an extension of Beijing.

My grandfather Xu Yicheng was framed by Lao Chaofeng and executed on the charge of traitor, and he was executed here. And Liao Ding, the key person in solving this five-vein crisis, is also here. If fate is not wonderful enough, I can also tell you that the cemetery of our Xu family of four is not far away in the Lingshan Pagoda Cemetery, which is only a few hundred meters away from the old site of the execution ground. The big hand of creation tossed me back and forth, drew a big circle, and finally sent me back to the starting point. What does this portend?

I looked up, and the sky was so blue and clear that I could see an ethereal soul. A breeze blew, and it seemed that a few wisps of light smoke floated out of thin air, changing shape in the golden sunlight.

"Grandpa, Dad, is that you?" I muttered to myself.

I didn't wait for an answer, and I didn't have to wait for an answer. I took a deep breath of fresh air and stepped down the hill, clutching a sapper shovel tightly in my hand.

The Liao family buried Liao Ding at the foot of Lingshan Mountain, and did not set up a tomb in accordance with the will, but only set up a low earthen bag directly east of the execution ground, and did not even stand a tombstone. Next to the execution ground is a place of great murder, and no one would have thought that someone would be buried here. Fortunately, Liao Ding's tomb has escaped all kinds of tosses in the past few decades and has survived until now.

After so many years, this small dirt bag is covered with a layer of turquoise weeds and densely covered with ant nests, blending in with its surroundings. If it weren't for the big-eyed thief's guidance, I wouldn't have been able to find even if I stepped on the grave bag.

It is immoral to dig up graves, and I asked the big-eyed thief for permission before I came. The big-eyed thief is a good man, and he has no objection to my request, only that in return, I can bring a few of the latest law books to prison regularly, and he is easy to study.

I put the incense and candles I brought with me, and respectfully kowtowed three heads to Liao Ding's grave, saying that the five veins were killed, I had to offend the grave today, the five veins are Xu Yicheng's hard work, if he is alive, he will not stand idly by, I hope that Liao's second grandfather can understand in the spirit of the sky, and don't blame Yunyun.

When I had finished speaking, I picked up the sapper shovel and plunged it into the dirt, then lifted my hands and shoveled out a piece of dirt. The ants scattered in panic, and I didn't care to pity the lives of these little things, so I shoveled up a second time. It was a small mound, and I quickly dug it all up, revealing a standard structure of the main burial chamber and the left and right ear chambers, but very small, about the size of a miniature.

I shoveled a few more times, and in the middle of the burial chamber, the head of the shovel suddenly hit something. I hurriedly leaned over and dug out a brocade box from the soil. The box was also a foot square, made of iron, and covered with a layer of brocade. The brocade had rotted away, the color could not be seen, and it rotted at the touch of a finger. The shell of the box is rusty, and the words "Liao Ding's Tomb" can barely be distinguished on it.

I carefully pulled the tin out and found that there was no padlock on it, just a rotten wooden pin. I pulled the wooden pin open the box and found a pile of gray-white ashes inside. Among the ashes, traces of paper ashes can also be distinguished. The two are easy to distinguish, the ashes are larger and grayish-white, and the paper is black and more delicate.

My face was pale, and I could barely hold the box with my hands. The last glimmer of hope was completely wiped out. I was only a stone's throw away from the truth, but I fell on the last step.

I sat down on the grass in frustration, and the depression in my chest was suffocating. I lost my soul, my right hand was crooked, and the box tilted to the side, I was startled, and quickly regained my balance, Liao Ding is my Xu family's benefactor, digging a grave is already too much, but I can't let his ashes spill out.

Just going back and forth, I suddenly saw that there seemed to be something more in the ashes in the box. I leaned over and widened my eyes to see a withered corner. Holding my breath, I gently pinched the corner with the tweezers I had brought with me, and pulled out a small piece of silk.

The silk was the size of a baby's palm, and it was buried at the bottom of the box. It was very irregular in shape, with blackened edges and curly edges, apparently made by fire. I picked up the scrap of paper and looked into the sunlight. The silk is old, but the traces on it can still be distinguished. It was a small, dark red mark with the shape of a twin dragon on it, and a few tears on the silk surface.

That's right, it's it, it's the remnants of the "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" that has disappeared since the Ming Dynasty, and it's the key evidence that can turn the tide.

I laughed and fell on the grass, limbs outstretched.

It turns out that this is what it is.

Liao Ding and "Walking on the Flower in Spring" are obviously burned separately. The Liao family cremated Liao Ding in Kaifeng, and brought the ashes to Beijing for burial here in Lingshan. Before burying the urn, light the broken silk pieces of "Walking on Flowers in Spring" and throw them into the box, which can be regarded as entering the ground.

Those few tear-like things are called candle tears.

When Liu Yiming trained me in 301 Hospital, he said that when the calligraphy and painting are remounted, glue, alum, and wax should be added to roll out the back. There are many times of remounting, and there will be a layer of extremely thin light on the silk surface when you look at it sideways, which is called mirror and also called Jianyun. This piece of Shuanglong small seal originally belonged to the "Qingming Riverside Map", and after it was patched on the "Spring Walking Flower Map", it was deliberately rolled several times. At the time of burning, the glue, alum, and wax on the silk surface played a little protective role, and when the box was closed, the air inside was thin, so that this piece did not burn completely. When the wax melts, it leaves a tear-like trail.

The counterfeiter intended to fix the flaw, but inadvertently protected the original. The rest of the "Flower Picture in Spring" was burned to ashes, but this one survived because it was smeared with wax.

What an irony that a means used for the sake of falsehood leave behind the truth.

I lay on the lawn, clutching the fragments in my hands, laughing breathlessly, and after laughing, I burst into tears.

Liu Yiming said well, people can learn antiquities, and antiquities can also learn people.

This Huizong fake shows the open-mindedness of my grandfather Xu Yicheng, the glorious loyalty of Liao Ding, and the lowest hope in my heart - my family has never abandoned me, they have always been by my side. Otherwise, I really can't explain why what I have been looking for is hidden near the cemetery where the four members of the Xu family are buried.

I fell to my knees and wept beside the execution ground of Xu Yicheng, in this cemetery where all my relatives were buried. At that moment, it was as if I was back at my real home, everyone was there, they were all looking at me with a smile on their faces and calling my name.

The sky was getting bluer, and a few white clouds drifted by, shielding me from the blazing sun.