Jiang Ci and his team met with the legendary Mr. Lu at a luxurious hotel in Hong Kong.
Mr. Lu was around forty years old, dressed in a well-tailored suit. He seemed to have a slight limp in one leg and held a jet-black, shiny cane that looked almost submerged in water. The cane head had intricate patterns and was edged with gold. The part of the cane that was held in his hand seemed to be inlaid with gemstones that shimmered with a deep blue light.
"This is Mr. Lu, who is in charge of all the preparations for your departure," the person who led them to Hong Kong introduced Jiang Ci and the others.
The leader in the lead went over first to greet Mr. Lu.
"Hello, Mr. Lu, I am the head of the delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Trade in charge of this voyage. My surname is Xu."
"Commander Xu, hello."
Mr. Lu switched his cane to the other hand and shook hands with the other person.
Jiang Ci and Liu Ke exchanged a glance, then followed the leaders from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to step forward and greet Mr. Lu.
"Mr. Lu, these are Comrade Jiang Ci and Comrade Liu Ke from our European Department. They are mainly responsible for the negotiations of this trade."
Jiang Ci extended her hand, looked into Mr. Lu's eyes, and said, "Hello, Mr. Lu."
Mr. Lu's gaze lingered on her, and he shook hands with her. "Ms. Jiang, hello."
The two strangers didn't exchange many words; they shook hands politely and then quickly let go.
After exchanging greetings, Mr. Lu's dark gaze swept over everyone and he said, "You have come from afar, and as the host, I should treat you with the utmost hospitality. Please come in."
Mr. Lu and several leaders walked in front, with Jiang Ci and others following behind.
Some people who had never left Beijing stared at the magnificent hotel.
"This place is even prettier than the Western restaurants run by the Mohists and foreigners in Beijing!"
"Absolutely, the economy here is better than back home, and you can do business here."
Having seen a lot, Liu Ke didn't look around aimlessly. Instead, he walked with Jiang Ci and said in a low voice, "This Mr. Lu is really intimidating. I didn't dare to look him in the eye when I shook hands with him just now."
Jiang Ci patted her on the shoulder and said, "What's so scary about this? Haven't you met enough important people? We're just staying in Hong Kong for one day, and we'll be heading out to sea tomorrow. It's nothing."
Liu Ke nodded. "Although I wanted to treat him with a normal attitude, I just knew he was a big shot and very powerful, so I couldn't help but feel inferior in front of him."
Jiang Ci laughed and said, "Then you really admire Qiang."
When they arrived at the restaurant, there were more than forty people in the group, plus Mr. Lu's people and the local government officials, so one table was naturally not enough to accommodate everyone.
The people were separated and seated at five tables that could accommodate twenty people each.
Jiang Ci and Liu Ke sat down with the leaders in an inconspicuous spot at the main table.
There are only so many rules at the dinner table, and Jiang Ci and Liu Ke are well aware of them.
Jiang Ci and Liu Ke ate while answering some work-related questions for the leaders, and nothing went wrong during the meal.
It was Mr. Xu, the head of the delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Trade, who said, "We brought another batch of goods with us this time that need to be transported away. I'm afraid we'll have to trouble Mr. Lu to make proper arrangements for them."
Mr. Lu hummed in agreement, "No problem."
Jiang Ci's ears twitched; she knew what the other part of the goods Commander Xu was referring to were.
This Commander Xu is a member of Shan Shengshuo's group. He is in charge of transporting the antiques he sells to the nobles.
The leader said that someone would intercept these things domestically, but it's unclear at which point they would be intercepted.
As long as it's not transported away, even if it's on a ship, Jiangci doesn't need to worry about anything.
Jiang Ci was lost in thought and managed to get through the dinner party.
The accommodations were located upstairs from the hotel where we had dinner. Mr. Lu was very generous and arranged a room for each of us.
Jiang Ci took the key and followed the others, carrying their luggage to their respective rooms.
"Although we're leaving tomorrow, everyone should still be careful not to wander around outside!" Commander Xu shouted, ordering everyone not to run around.
A few scattered responses rang out. Jiang Ci had already taken out her key and opened her room door. She waved to Liu Ke next door and said, "I'm going back to rest."
"good!"
Jiang Ci was quite uncomfortable on the bus and didn't eat much at the dining table. After closing the room door, Jiang Ci took a hot shower. Experiencing the modern-style shower and toilet, Jiang Ci felt as if she had stepped into another world.
After taking a shower, she changed her clothes, washed the ones she had taken off, and hung them out to dry on the balcony.
I glanced at the time; it was past eight o'clock, and all the convenience stores in Beijing were closed.
Jiang Ci then abandoned the idea of calling Zhou Mingli and decided to call his workplace the next morning.
She stood on the balcony, feeling the evening breeze of Hong Kong. The hotel by the sea had an indescribable fishy smell in the wind.
Jiang Ci's gaze fell on the main road through the broad-leaved plants. Mr. Lu and Commander Xu got into their cars one after the other and drove off into the distance.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, pondering Cheng Huasheng's assessment of her cousin.
He is decisive and efficient, and holds an undisputed position in Hong Kong.
Could it be that Shan Shengshuo has somehow gotten involved with this person, and that he is in charge of transporting the cultural relics?
Jiang Ci frowned, thinking she would go and find out more about it tomorrow.
...
Guo Zhen held the documents from the reinvestigation of Jiang Ci in his hand, his expression somewhat solemn.
The information that has been investigated so far differs somewhat from the previous information about Jiangci.
Guo Zhen knew that Jiang Ci was arranged to come to Beijing by the Cheng family, but the information that has been investigated now states that she is "a native of Beijing, married to Zhou Mingli, and has a son and a daughter."
Zhou Mingli's background information is exactly the same as Jiang Ci's.
Someone altered their family's information.
Which of the Cheng family's sons did it?
Guo Zhen frowned, instinctively feeling that this shouldn't be the case.
Although the Zhou and Cheng families are close, they are not close enough for the young man from the Cheng family to go to such lengths.
But who changed the background?
Guo Zhen pursed his lips, put the stack of documents aside, and went to look at a few other sheets of paper.
This belongs to the boy who is staying at the Zhou family's place.
Huang Zheyue.
A resident of Beijing.
Father (deceased): Huang Zhiyuan, museum artifact editor and archaeologist.
Home address: ...
Guo Zhen stared intently at the annotation in the "Father" column.
Huang Zhiyuan…!
How could it be his child?!
Guo Zhen suddenly stood up, his suspicions about Jiang Ci reaching their peak.
Jiang Ci's family only came to Beijing last year and adopted this child. Did their money come from nowhere?
Jiang Ci must have known Huang Zheyue's identity and Huang Zhiyuan's identity, which is why she raised such a boy!
Guo Zhen clenched the paper in his hand and began to think about what Liu Yinyin had said to him.
She and Xia Lei dug up the jade seal deep in the mountains.
Huang Zhiyuan hid the imperial seal deep in the mountains. Wasn't he afraid that the pearl would be covered in dust and never have the chance to be seen again?
No, that's impossible.
He must have left some traces.
Liu Yinyin stumbled upon the mark by chance, while Jiang Ci... learned about the mark but failed to find the imperial seal!
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