Chapter 345 Estimated Value: Ten Million
Everyone was stunned by Ye Wanxi's sudden appearance, and they stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.
Finally, the staff member who was busy negotiating with Zhao Xiaoqin was the first to react, looking distressed: "Teacher Ye, you've come at the right time! Teacher Zhao's violin is broken, and the show is about to start, and we..."
Just then, Director Li and his team arrived, having heard the commotion: "What's going on? It's almost time, why are you all gathered together? Do you want to fight?"
The stagehand who arrived first said with a wry smile, "If you hadn't come earlier, a fight might have really broken out."
Director Li glanced at everyone, then at Zhao Xiaoqin, who was on the verge of tears, and his face darkened instantly: "What exactly happened?"
Seeing that Director Li was angry, the staff dared not hide anything any longer and briefly explained the whole story.
It turned out that after the afternoon rehearsal, Zhao Xiaoqin went back to the dressing room with Zheng Baihong.
Since it was still early, the two left the piano and flute they would be using that evening inside, locked the door, and went out for dinner.
Unexpectedly, when she returned after dinner, her perfectly good violin had become such a terrible mess.
"You just said you locked the door when you went to eat?"
Zhao Xiaoqin nodded.
"Was the door open or locked when you came back?"
"It's locked."
"Locked?" Director Li frowned. "Besides them, who else has a spare key to this house?"
"I have another one here." The stage manager in charge of these things offered his help. "I have a spare key for all the rooms in the station, big and small."
As they spoke, everyone's eyes were drawn to the stagehand.
The old man then realized the seriousness of the matter and said solemnly, "I swear on my integrity that this has absolutely nothing to do with me. It's true that the key is with me, but I was eating in the cafeteria the whole time and never left. Many people in the cafeteria can testify to that."
The staff members who were having lunch with the stage manager nodded hurriedly and said, "Yes, yes, we can all vouch for him on this point. He really didn't leave."
"Is it possible that someone stole your key? Or made a copy of it?"
The stagehand frowned: "That's impossible. I usually carry these keys with me at all times and don't let anyone touch them easily."
Director Li took a deep breath and turned to look at Zhao Xiaoqin and the other person again: "Besides this piano, is there anything else in your room that has been broken or messed up?"
Zhao Xiaoqin and the other person exchanged a glance and shook their heads.
Seeing this, the assistant director tentatively asked, "Is it possible that your instrument was originally..."
"Impossible!" Before the assistant director could finish speaking, Zhao Xiaoqin interrupted him emotionally. "My Qin usually pays great attention to skincare and maintenance, and goes to a specialized skincare clinic for a check-up every month. I just had a check-up before coming here, and everything was normal. It's absolutely impossible for her to have become like this for no reason."
Zhao Xiaoqin finally couldn't hold back her tears as she spoke, feeling wronged, heartbroken, and somewhat guilty.
This zither was left to her by her maternal grandmother, and it holds extraordinary significance for her. She cherishes it very much and rarely shows it to others.
Who would have thought that coming to participate in a program would result in being treated like this!
Ye Wanxi glanced at Zhao Xiaoqin, who was silently weeping with her head slightly lowered, walked to the guqin with three or four broken strings, and reached out to touch it.
"The break is very clean, it is definitely not a natural break."
Zhao Xiaoqin paused, then looked up at her in surprise, seemingly astonished that she would speak up for her.
Director Li and the others looked rather dark; it wasn't a natural break, so it must have been man-made.
To dare do something like this right under their noses, it's safe to say they don't take them seriously at all.
What about the surveillance cameras around here?
The staff member in charge of this area said cautiously, "Director Li, you forgot, the surveillance cameras in this area broke down a couple of days ago. The station has been busy these past few days and hasn't had time to fix them."
"..."
Even though Zheng Baihong had a good temper, he was still a little angry when he heard this. He couldn't help but say sarcastically, "Why did it have to happen these past two days? It's hard to believe it wasn't premeditated."
Director Li and the others' expressions changed again. Before they could say anything, they heard Ye Wanxi standing beside the guqin and say softly, "It has a paulownia wood top, a catalpa wood bottom, silk strings, a deer antler ash base under the lacquer, and a hemp cloth bottom. The tuning pegs under the head of the guqin are made of sandalwood."
All eyes immediately turned to her again: "This zither is at least five hundred years old, and its estimated value is between eight and fifteen million. Of course, this is a conservative estimate. If it were to be auctioned, it might fetch even higher. After all, in the eyes of zither enthusiasts, a zither of this quality is extremely precious, the kind that is hard to buy even with a thousand pieces of gold."
Ye Wanxi's words caused an uproar in the room. Although these artists all had some family wealth.
But a single instrument can cost hundreds of millions, which is not something that ordinary people can afford.
A few people had previously tried to advise Zhao Xiaoqin to be forgiving, since it was an official TV station's territory and making too much of a fuss wouldn't do her any good.
He was speechless. If it were him, he would have yelled louder than anyone else if his precious instrument had been destroyed.
Ye Wanxi ignored the noise around her and turned to Director Li: "If someone is really deliberately causing trouble behind the scenes, you should know how serious this is, Director Li."
Director Li's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, looking terrifying as if he wanted to tear someone to pieces.
"Investigate! Investigate for me!" The zither was broken in their possession, so they need to take some responsibility and give the zither's owner an explanation.
Moreover, this instrument is so valuable that if Zhao Xiaoqin really wanted to pursue the matter, she could send the person who damaged it to jail.
They don't want to take the blame, nor do they want to tolerate this bad practice; this matter must be thoroughly investigated.
"We'll definitely investigate." The assistant director couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his brow. "But the more important thing now is that the show's time is almost up. What do you think, should we postpone the competition, or reschedule it..."
Zhao Xiaoqin and the other person understood what the assistant director meant. No matter how much resentment they harbored, Qin had already done it.
They now have two options: either quit or find another instrument to play on stage.
Whether they compromised or were defeated without a fight, it was a regret for both of them, but for the person who destroyed the zither, his goal had been achieved.
Just as Zhao Xiaoqin was feeling annoyed and resentful, she suddenly heard Ye Wanxi say, "I have a zither that is similar to this one. If Teacher Zhao doesn't mind, you can try it."
(End of this chapter)
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