Chapter 337 A Desperate Gamble

The bottle is slender and graceful, with curves like a young girl's waist. The glaze is applied evenly and delicately all over the body, and the glaze has a warm luster, as if clear water is flowing slowly deep inside the porcelain body.

The blue and white porcelain has a rich and deep color, with a hint of purple, and a subtle fragrance of history.

"Yuan blue and white porcelain?!"

Director Zhang suddenly jumped up from his chair, the movement so forceful that it almost knocked over the teacup.

His reading glasses slipped down to below his nose with a "snap," almost falling off.

He didn't bother to help them up; his eyes were fixed on the two bottles, his pupils contracted sharply, and his breath caught in his throat for a moment.

Just then, "Bang!"

The office door was suddenly pushed open with a loud bang, making the window frame tremble slightly.

Two elderly men, both with gray hair and over sixty years old, rushed in, panting heavily, their chests heaving, clearly having run up several floors to get there.

Professor Liu, wearing round-framed glasses, rushed to the table in one stride, his steps unsteady, yet his hands reached out with remarkable precision towards the pair of plum vases.

His hands were visibly trembling, yet he still carefully picked up one of the bottles, squinted at it, and examined it closely against the light from the window.

His lips trembled slightly, and his voice was almost squeezed out of his throat: "The body is as thin as paper... the glaze is as translucent as jade... the blue color is deep and rich, with natural diffusion... it's cobalt blue! That's right, it's definitely imported cobalt material!"

He looked up abruptly, his eyes burning with excitement. "Genuine! Absolutely a genuine piece from the Yuan Dynasty, during the Zhizheng era! The quality is even better than those pieces in the Palace Museum!"

Another expert, Li, had already taken out a high-powered magnifying glass from his pocket, squatted down, and fixed his gaze on the mark on the bottom of the bottle.

As he looked at it, he muttered to himself, his voice soft but each word clear: "'The eleventh year of the Zhizheng era'... Look at the thickness of the strokes in this blue and white porcelain, the pauses and turns at the beginning and the ending strokes, it's exactly the same as the inscription on the pair of Yuan blue and white plum vases with cloud and dragon patterns in the provincial museum! Not a single word is different! Even the iron oxide matches!"

He looked up, his eyes gleaming. "Old Liu is right, this is absolutely true, and it's at the standard level!"

Director Zhang's expression changed instantly.

His initial doubts, hesitations, and bureaucratic caution melted away like ice and snow meeting the sun.

He took a deep breath, stood up abruptly, walked to the water dispenser, poured a steaming cup of tea, and solemnly placed it in Qiao Wanyin's hands.

His voice softened instantly, as soft as melting sugar, filled with an unprecedented gentleness and respect: "Xiao Qiao, these... are they from your family? Your family has been hiding such treasures all this time?"

"It's not mine."

Qiao Wanyin spoke calmly, but her gaze revealed an unwavering determination.

She glanced down at the teacup in her hand; the rising steam illuminated her profile.

“This belongs to my uncle, Song Heting. When he was young, he was a cadre in the Northwest. The environment was harsh then, but people were pure. Once, he was passing through the Gobi Desert when he found an old man lying in the sand, covered in wounds and on the verge of death. He carried him for more than ten miles to the hospital. Later, he learned that the old man was an old collector who had been living in seclusion. He had collected a large number of cultural relics in his life, but due to the turbulent times, he was all alone and had no one to rely on.”

She paused, her voice still steady, but with a hint of solemnity: "Before the old man left, he entrusted these things to my uncle. He said that these things did not belong to any one person, but to the country. Since then, my uncle has regarded these cultural relics as his lifeblood, hiding them in a hidden corner of the old house, and has not touched them for decades."

Fu Li'an took over, his tone low and firm: "My uncle has always had a wish, which is to return these national treasures to the country intact. But he has no background, no connections, and after searching for decades, it's all disappeared without a trace."

He glanced at Qiao Wanyin, a hint of pain flashing in his eyes. "Right now, he's... locked up because of a misunderstanding, and could face investigation at any time. But on the phone, he repeatedly told us that no matter what, we must finish this. He said it's the last thing he wants to do in his life."

The room was silent for a full three seconds.

No one spoke; even breathing became cautious.

The air was like a bowstring stretched to its limit, almost about to snap.

Time seemed to stand still, with only the ticking of the old-fashioned wall clock jarring in the silence.

At that moment, Director Zhang and the two experts' hearts suddenly raced.

They looked at each other, their eyes filled with a mixture of shock and excitement.

This is no ordinary cultural relic.

This is a national treasure worthy of being recorded in the annals of Chinese archaeology!

It is a top-tier treasure that can rewrite the landscape of Yuan Dynasty porcelain research!

Professor Liu's beard trembled uncontrollably. He grabbed Director Zhang's arm, his voice trembling with excitement: "Old Zhang! Do you understand what this means? If this batch of items can be successfully donated, it will be a national-level cultural relic repatriation event! Our cultural relics bureau will definitely be number one in the national awards next year! Even the State Administration of Cultural Heritage will have to issue a commendation document!"

"I know."

Director Zhang slowly raised his hand and gently pressed on Professor Liu's shoulder to calm him down.

His eyes were deep, and there was no longer the slightest hesitation.

He slowly turned around, his gaze sharp and fixed on Qiao Wanyin, his voice low yet powerful: "You... how many people did you bring this time?"

She had already planned it out in her mind.

From the very beginning, she had been repeatedly analyzing every possible outcome of this matter.

She knew that the situation was so dire that there was no room for error; one wrong step and everything would be lost.

Therefore, she must remain calm and use her chips one by one, instead of throwing out all her cards at once.

She had to give him hope, but not let him see the whole truth.

Only in this way can we strive for the greatest benefits and preserve the most crucial things.

If the official is willing to lend a hand, she can slowly bring out other things.

If he shows a willingness to help, it means he has been moved by what she has.

At that point, she could gradually release more "bargains," using one piece of evidence after another to pull him into her rhythm step by step.

She possesses not only an artifact capable of shaking the highest levels of government, but also more than one clue that could change the course of events.

What she wants is to achieve great things with little investment, and to overcome the strong with the weak, rather than to gamble everything and risk everything.

If he doesn't help, she'll just show off another item at most.

We must never reveal all our cards, lest we end up with nothing.

She knew all too well that people's hearts were unpredictable, and the officialdom was even more unfathomable.

If this person agrees on the surface but has ulterior motives behind the scenes, or even tries to take what she has for himself, then she will have completely lost any chance to turn the tables.

Therefore, under no circumstances should all the evidence be handed over at once.

No matter how much pressure the other side exerts, no matter how urgent the situation is, she must hold the last line of defense.

The trump card is only revealed at the last moment.

Upon hearing "a lot," Director Zhang's forehead instantly broke out in a fine sweat.

The word struck him like a bolt of lightning—"quite a lot".

It's not just one, but "quite a few".