Chapter 182 The Golden 15 Minutes Before the Fire
Bai Qiuyi also knew that the consequences of disrupting the placement of the exhibits would be serious, so she immediately got into Mo Cheng's Lexus.
Xia Lili was extremely surprised!
Mo Cheng's anxious expression didn't seem fake. If he hadn't sprained his waist, he would have gone back to the exhibition hall in person.
If I hadn't intervened, Mo Cheng would have been the one burned to death in the exhibition hall fire!
Mo Cheng's suspicion of being the mastermind behind the fire was immediately reduced to the lowest level.
Bai Qiuyi and Xia Lili waved their hands hurriedly, and the Lexus drove away.
Leaving Xia Lili and Mo Cheng behind.
Mo Cheng didn't have time to care about Xia Lili, and hurried to the parking area in front, apparently preparing to find Director Chen.
Xia Lili called out to him, "Professor Mo, are you going to your exhibition hall? I can take you there!"
Xia Lili raised the car keys in her hand.
Movie star Lin Hesheng also owns real estate and cars in Haicheng. When he learned that Xia Lili was going to Haicheng for vacation to visit the set, Lin Hesheng asked the housekeeper to give the car keys to Xia Lili and let Xia Lili go to the garage to pick a car to drive. If she liked one, she could drive away directly.
Xia Lili has been driving Lin Hesheng's Aston Martin in Haicheng city these days.
Mo Cheng had no intention of refusing at this moment, and said solemnly: "Then I'll trouble you."
Xia Lili drove Mo Cheng all the way at full speed.
Twenty minutes later, the car stopped in front of an exhibition hall with a very stylish design.
Xia Lili glanced at the time. It was 23:56. The news report said the fire broke out at 00:23. There was less than half an hour left!
Professor Mo got out of the car quickly.
Xia Lili also quickly unbuckled her seat belt and followed.
"Professor Mo! Can I follow you into the museum?"
She followed Mo Cheng: "I'm leaving Haicheng tomorrow, so I won't have the chance to go to the antique exhibition."
Xia Lili chirped like a little sparrow, playing the victim: "I particularly like Master Huang's 'Autumn Chrysanthemums on Ink Mountain' on display."
"The last time it was publicly exhibited was when I was 14, at the Golden Autumn Art Exhibition in Yangcheng. At that time, my family was not well off, and I couldn't afford tickets to private exhibitions. I could only read about it in the newspaper..."
Mo Cheng had an impatient look on his face, but after hearing Xia Lili mention the Yangcheng exhibition, he froze for a moment and quickly relented, "Alright, alright, come with me."
It is said that it is difficult to find relevant information on the Internet about the private exhibition in Yangcheng eight years ago, which proves that Xia Lili is really interested in "Ink Mountain and Autumn Chrysanthemums".
Xia Lili felt relieved and followed Mo Cheng. She quickly tapped the screen and sent a message to Li Qihan, informing him that Mo Cheng had gone to the exhibition hall.
Li Qihan replied quickly: "Don't worry, the fire department's car is already parked near the exhibition hall."
He then sent Xia Lili the phone number of Shang Zhihui, the captain of Haicheng Fire Brigade 1: "If you need anything, contact him. He's waiting at the side entrance of the exhibition hall."
Mo Cheng entered the password for the exhibition hall's gate, opened the main gate, and the lights in the exhibition hall suddenly lit up.
Xia Lili was instantly stunned by the well-arranged exhibition hall. Bronze vessels were scattered on the sandalwood antique shelves, and the air was filled with the faint scent of agarwood, as if she had traveled through time and space back to the treasure house of a prince or noble.
But seeing all the exhibition stands were silk and wooden, Xia Lili felt a pang in her heart.
"Professor Mo, the materials you are using for this exhibition are all flammable. You must be careful about fire prevention."
Mo Cheng shook his head. "You can't have both beauty and fire resistance. This time, to impress our foreign guests, we have to prioritize visual appeal."
After saying that, he prepared to go to the second floor of the exhibition hall.
Mo Cheng walked hurriedly. "I'll go check out the booth location reported by the Logistics Department. The Qiuju painting is in Area C1. Go check it out yourself, but don't mess around."
Xia Lili quickly followed: "Professor Mo, I'll go with you. What if you hurt your back going upstairs?"
"I'm not as weak as you say!" Mo Cheng was speechless and still had no time to complain about Xia Lili.
Xia Lili followed Mo Cheng to the second floor.
Then she only heard Mo Cheng's angry voice: "What's going on? These logistics staff are messing around. So many exhibits are in the wrong place!"
Xia Lili took a closer look and saw that the embroidery exhibits were in a mess, and even she, an outsider, could see it.
Mo Cheng squatted down and moved the exhibits carefully.
Xia Lili noticed that Mo Cheng's movements were very slow due to his old age and meticulous focus.
A chill crept up her spine. If it was Mo Cheng who was in the fire, he would probably die even faster since his body wasn't as strong as that of a young man...
Xia Lili clearly remembered that the fire was caused by a palace lantern that had spontaneously combusted. She anxiously scanned the surroundings, searching for the lantern that was about to burst into dangerous flames.
Soon, her eyes locked onto Mo Cheng's side—an antique palace lantern used as a decoration was hanging quietly.
The current time on the phone is 00:13.
The news report said that the open flame appeared in the exhibition hall at 00:23, and the palace lanterns may have started burning around 00:20!
There are still about five minutes before the palace lanterns spontaneously combust!
Xia Lili stepped directly onto the exhibition stand, reached out and swiftly pulled down the lantern, then ran away!
Kong used his other hand to pick up Professor Mo from the ground.
Professor Mo was short, and when Xia Lili lifted him up, he looked confused: "Hey, why are you running?"
Xia Lili hurried over: "Professor Mo, there's something wrong with this antique palace lantern. It might spontaneously combust!"
"We have to get it to an open area outside the venue!"
Although Mo Cheng looked confused, seeing how anxious Xia Lili was, he realized that she didn't seem to be joking.
Xia Lili and Mo Cheng ran out of the exhibition hall, and Xia Lili placed the palace lantern on the ground, panting.
Mo Cheng was puzzled: "Girl, what's wrong with this antique palace lantern?"
"I... I smell something wrong..." Xia Lili could only lie for now. There was definitely something wrong with this palace lantern.
She couldn't see it, but the firefighters could!
"I'm not entirely sure, but to be on the safe side, we'd better get out first."
Mo Cheng frowned and stared at Xia Lili, a little unsure whether Xia Lili was here to cause trouble.
"I have a friend who works in the fire department and lives nearby. I'll call him and check the fire situation at your exhibition hall while I'm at it."
Xia Lili called Shang Zhihui, the captain of Haicheng Fire Brigade 1: "Captain Shang, where are you?"
"Are you doing fire drills?"
"Great! Would it be convenient for you to come to Mo Cheng's private exhibition hall?"
Three minutes later, Shang Zhihui from the fire brigade arrived at the scene.
He was tall and strong, with a deep voice: "Xiao Xia, is there something wrong with this lamp?"
Xia Lili nodded decisively.
Shang Zhihui looked at Mo Cheng: "I want to open it and check it."
Mo Cheng hesitated. "Although it's not an antique, this antique palace lantern is purely handmade. I ordered ten lanterns, and if I take one apart now, one will be wasted."
Xia Lili cracked: "What, you mean there are nine more lamps like this in the exhibition hall?!"
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