For his second time 'attending' the jewelry exhibition, Xu Qian specially rented a suit. It was a high-end item and cost him a lot of money, but it looked really good on him. Of course, the most important thing was that his figure was good enough. These were the exact words of the young lady who rented him the suit.
With this outfit and the exotic look of the Ming Cult, Xu Qian strolled around the exhibition hall with ease, occasionally grabbing a bite to eat. To be honest, the desserts here were quite delicious.
After walking around, he found that the security in the exhibition hall was very strict, at least much stricter than the one in Yongchang.
Before coming, Xu Qian had Meng Ziqiu look up the three jewelry appraisers for this appraisal: one was a Chinese named Li Yu, and the other two were a Diefen and a Luxtan. He wrote down all their names.
If Xu Qian were to imagine the best time to steal the treasure, he would choose the time when the treasure is being appraised, as that would be the only and most likely opportunity.
These three are the entry point.
The appraisal event will begin at 2 PM, and three appraisers will arrive at the appraisal room before 1:45 PM to conduct a 15-minute appraisal.
Seeing that it was almost time, Xu Qian put down his champagne and headed towards the restroom. Just as he closed the door, he activated his invisibility ability.
Following the directions on the mini-map, he arrived at the legendary appraisal room.
There was a long row of chairs with soft cushions outside the testing room, and only three people were sitting there.
Xu Qian saw the situation he had anticipated: the only Chinese face among the three—'Li Yu'.
It's 13:45.
The three entered in order, with 'Li Yu' being the last.
Xu Qian followed him into the testing room.
In the center stood a pair of dazzling sapphire earrings, the same earrings Princess Aldington Helen wore on her wedding day. More than a century later, these earrings remained as magnificent as ever.
Historically, when Princess Aldington Helen got married, her father, the then King of Clement, gifted her a set of exquisite sapphire jewelry.
There was a crown and a pair of earrings.
This includes the 'Luna', a sapphire detached from Princess Aldington Helen's crown. Unfortunately, the crown was lost during the subsequent exile, leaving only this sapphire named 'Luna'.
The remaining earrings are the ones we're wearing today.
Unlike the 'Moon Goddess' auction which was conducted with a more modest approach, this pair of earrings was displayed as the grand finale with great pomp and circumstance.
Soon, the three appraisers who entered the room began their work for the day.
Xu Qian kept his eyes on 'Li Yu', who was the last person to be appraised and the easiest to switch.
Just as Xu Qian had imagined, the fake Li Yu switched the real earrings in front of everyone in the blink of an eye.
“Confirmed.” Li Yu nodded calmly.
After being examined by three appraisers, the fake earrings were quickly placed back in the glass display case, awaiting their next exhibition.
Xu Qian followed 'Li Yu' out of the testing room. He then slowly entered the restroom, where another 'Li Yu' was waiting. The two didn't even nod, silently switched places, and went in and out.
Li Yu, number 1, tore off his mask, revealing a very ordinary foreign face with plain features and nearly black hair. At the same time, his body twisted little by little, his bones moving forcefully, transforming from a 178cm tall Chinese man into a 184cm tall foreign man. He removed a board from the bathroom ceiling and took out a platinum blonde wig.
Then, he took out a matte black storage container from the ceiling. It looked very soft. He put the sapphire earrings he had stolen into it and then stuffed it back into the lining of his suit.
After changing his appearance, Number 1 walked out of the restroom and into the bustling exhibition hall, blending perfectly into the event and chatting with the wealthy people present.
Xu Qian couldn't help but admire her superb acting skills, exclaiming, "That's what a real actor is!"
What happened next was predictable: the jewelry exhibition proceeded smoothly, but the real earrings had already been stolen.
At 9 p.m., the jewelry exhibition was declared a successful conclusion, and all guests left the venue.
Xu Qian got into Li Yu's Lincoln, but his seat was a bit unusual—it was on the roof.
Besides Li Yu, there was another person in the back seat of the Lincoln, a woman in a long black dress—Agatha Evelyn. She looked to be about twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, but she was probably older.
Before the car even started moving, Xu Qian saw Number One personally hand the dark-colored storage bag to the woman named Agatha Evelyn. When she took it, her expression didn't change at all, and she casually stuffed it into her handbag, clearly not the first time she had done something like this.
Xu Qian lay on the roof of their car all the way to their destination, a cluster of Gothic-style villas—the kind of place where, according to legend, you couldn't afford a toilet even if you earned your whole life.
After getting off the car, Number 1 did not follow. Instead, he stopped beside the car, bowed, and watched the other person leave.
Xu Qian jumped off the car lightly and followed.
Stepping from the courtyard into the house, the first thing that catches the eye is a long corridor. At first glance, it looks like an art museum. The walls on both sides are covered with Western paintings. A quick glance reveals that they are all portraits. Unfortunately, Xu Qian doesn't know much about art in this world, so he can't intuitively see the value of these paintings, but they are indeed quite beautiful.
Agatha Evelyn walked steadily, but at a considerable pace. Xu Qian only glanced at her twice before continuing to follow.
Soon, Xu Qian followed the other person to a very large study, about two stories high, with books covering every wall. The scene was somewhat like... Hogwarts, the magic school in Harry Potter.
That's amazing.
At that moment, Xu Qian heard a "hmm" sound. He turned his head and saw that Agatha Evelyn had entered a dark room. The sound he had heard was the sound of a bookcase being moved. There was a hidden door behind the bookcase, which was not easily noticed unless you looked carefully.
Seeing the woman go inside, Xu Qian quickly followed.
Inside, the lighting was dim and yellow, complementing the various and exquisite oil paintings on both sides, creating a strange atmosphere. However, it was clear that the owner of the house loved painting very much; he had lost count of how many paintings there were since he entered.
The further he went in, the stronger the distinctive smell of the paint became; it wasn't pungent, just a strange odor.
“Mr. Alddington—” (International Language)
Xu Qian subconsciously looked at the man whom Agatha Evelyn called 'Mr. Aldington.' This surname made Xu Qian think more deeply, because it was the royal surname of the Clementine Empire.
Aldington Felix – He had a rather young and handsome face, platinum blonde hair, and deep blue eyes that resembled the ocean.
At this moment, he was meticulously creating on the canvas. It was a portrait of a woman with hair and eyes the same color as his. The woman in the painting was smiling gently, and she wore a crown on her platinum blonde hair, but something seemed to be missing from the crown.
Considering his surname and their behavior, Xu Qian wondered if the woman in the painting might be... Princess Helen.
After a while, Aldington Felix stopped painting, his expression even more indifferent than expected. He looked at the woman in the black dress not far behind him, slightly raised his chin, and took a pair of pure white gloves from the table next to him and put them on.
Soon, the earrings that belonged to Princess Helen were in his hands.
Aldington Felix stood in a spot above a very bright light, the brightest spot in the entire dark room. So when he took out the earrings, the light of the sapphire refracted from his hands, making them incredibly dazzling.
"Has the real Moon Goddess been found? Oh, and that Chinese guy named Hua Laosan, has he been found?" Aldington Felix suddenly asked, looking at the sapphire on his earring.
Agatha Evelyn lowered her head, her body trembling almost imperceptibly. "A fleet has been dispatched to search the Balearanti Sea. I'm very sorry, Mr. Aldington."
The Baleranti Sea is a marginal sea of the Mamba Ocean, bordering the continental frontier of Arles and Sirenopa, and can also be understood as the marginal sea of the former Creman Empire.
“I have placed a lot of faith in you, so don’t let me down, okay?” Aldington Felix spoke gently, but his expression was somewhat cold, with two complex emotions shifting across his face.
“Yes.” Agatha Evelyn nodded again, her expression obscured by the fact that she was looking down.
"Go down."
Soon, the woman left the dark room.
Xu Qian, who remained behind, was dumbfounded. What was going on? Wasn't the Moon Goddess the one you took? Was it a fake? And what about Hua Laosan? Were they also looking for him? Because of the 'Moon Goddess'?
Before Xu Qian could figure out why, Aldington Felix placed the earrings into a semi-transparent jewelry box. As he closed the box, Xu Qian heard Aldington Felix say something—
"Welcome home, my princess."
Xu Qian then saw the expression on his face clearly—his eyes seemed to have a light, like stars hanging in the sky, so bright.
At the same time, Xu Qian also noticed a sapphire casually placed on the table where the jewelry box was located; it was a fake 'Moon Goddess'.
...
Back in Weicheng, Xu Qian pulled Meng Ziqiu into his room and asked him to help him find information about Princess Helen's shipwreck tomb, the more detailed the better.
"But why did you suddenly think of investigating this?" Meng Ziqiu was surprised.
Xu Qian turned to him, his eyes gleaming. "The 'Moon Goddess' that was stolen from Nanchun Port before was a fake. Didn't you say before that the 'Moon Goddess' was found by Hua Laosan in a shipwreck tomb? I suspect that's why he's hiding now. Many people are looking for him."
The problem now is—
Where is the 'Moon Goddess'?
Was the 'Moon Goddess' really salvaged from a shipwreck graveyard?
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