Brother Dao Took the Entertainment Industry by Storm, Fans Beg Me Not to Kill Anymore

Chapter 731: Burning Emperor Chen's Authentic Script? He Became the Prime Suspect!

There was no doubt that after something like this happened, the person in charge of the Yun Family's handover and the appraiser couldn't possibly sign off and accept the documents anymore.

They might even consider themselves lucky.

If they had signed, most of the blame for what came next would have fallen squarely on their shoulders. But since they hadn't signed yet, all responsibility naturally fell on the art center and the main person in charge who had borrowed the authentic script.

So, the unlucky ones became the art center, the Calligraphy Association, and the "Imperial Enterprise" production crew, which should have been filming properly.

After watching the surveillance footage, Xiao He and Liu Rulan found it hard to defend the art center people.

If you only looked at the footage, the destruction of the authentic script seemed incredibly unjust and almost absurdly careless.

And it was full of suspicious points.

First, it was a habit for many people to load goods into the truck and then do a final sign-off. Let's set aside whether there was a procedural order issue here, but why were all the people on-site doing the handover at a different location in the warehouse?

Was no one left over there to keep an eye on it?!

Also, why did the truck compartment suddenly catch fire? Could something flammable have been placed inside in advance?

Furthermore, since the authentic script had already been loaded into the truck, the packaging and protection must have been very thorough. But why did it burn so easily into fragments?

The staff on-site had clearly discovered the fire and taken immediate measures to extinguish it and salvage the item. That speed was relatively fast. Yet, looking at the photos of the script fragments that were salvaged, the damage was severe.

Xiao He felt there had to be something fishy here.

If they wanted to investigate further, they would need to trace the origin of the truck and check the basic information of everyone on-site, then eliminate suspects one by one…

But Xiao He didn't pursue the investigation in that direction.

After all, he wasn't a police detective, and this wasn't his responsibility. The police, who also had access to the surveillance footage, should have been in the best position to get information. Besides, a week had already passed; the police probably had their investigation results by now…

The next moment, a person's image appeared before them.

"Huh?"

Liu Rulan stared at the photo in front of her and the red stamp below it. She didn't dare ask Xiao He which corner of the internet he had dug through to find this information. Instead, she fixed her gaze on the person in the photo, very confused. "This person looks a bit familiar…"

Where had she seen this young man before?

In an instant, Liu Rulan's thoughts drifted back to last month.

It was the night of the "Let the Mistake Slide" premiere.

On their way back to the hotel, Xiao He had invited a young man into the car and dropped him off at the Calligraphy Association.

It had delayed them for about ten minutes before Xiao He came back out from the entrance of the Calligraphy Association.

Although what happened that night was just a little episode in their busy lives, and many more things had happened since then, and they had met many people, Liu Rulan could still remember the young man's name—

"Qian Wenhao?" the woman murmured softly. "Is he the prime suspect in this case? Why? Why would he burn that authentic script?"

"Impossible!"

Xiao He had already blurted out a rebuttal, "Qian Wenhao… he wouldn't do that."

Initially, Xiao He had indeed suspected that Qian Wenhao might have ulterior motives because of his sudden invitation. He wondered if Qian Wenhao was trying to pull a switcheroo, replacing the genuine with a fake, in order to keep Emperor Chen's authentic script in China.

But first, forging the authentic script wasn't that simple. It required many special materials and tools. Just by helping write a single piece of calligraphy, it couldn't possibly pass an appraiser's inspection.

Second, later on, Xiao He had chatted intermittently with Elder Qian from the Calligraphy Association during breaks on the "Imperial Enterprise" set. It was only then that he slowly came to understand Qian Wenhao as a person.

Although Qian Wenhao was indeed a bit impulsive, openly challenging Elder Qian regardless of the occasion and questioning the association's and officials' strategies, he was a very pure person.

Because he didn't want Emperor Chen's authentic script to leave China in the future, he had a huge argument with Elder Qian at the art center to express his discontent.

And because he genuinely admired Emperor Chen as a historical figure and his calligraphy, upon learning that Xiao He was very skilled at imitating calligraphy, he asked Xiao He for a piece of calligraphy to keep as a souvenir.

But did he have any malicious intent? Probably not.

After all, he said whatever came to his mind. And judging by Elder Qian's current status, the other elders in the family were likely quite distinguished as well. Would he risk doing something that was bound to be discovered?

That was absolutely impossible.

Besides, although Elder Qian always looked helpless and disdainful whenever he mentioned Qian Wenhao, Xiao He could tell that the senior actually thought highly of Qian Wenhao and intended for him to inherit his legacy in the future.

So, after roughly understanding Qian Wenhao from Elder Qian, Xiao He finally felt relieved.

If the authentic script had to go back, so be it. Life was long. Yun Ziqi was still developing his career in China, and given the Yun Family's recent activities, they were likely planning to return home too. There might be another chance to get the script back later. But it wouldn't be worth it if a promising young man was implicated, losing his innocence and his youth.

But he never imagined…

Xiao He's expression turned complicated. He never imagined he would find Qian Wenhao's name in the police investigation report.

Moreover, looking at the investigation report they provided, Xiao He couldn't even say that Qian Wenhao had no suspicion—

Because the report clearly stated that during the exhibition of the authentic script, Qian Wenhao had repeatedly violated regulations, entering the art center late at night to get close to the script.

So if he was involved, he would have had ample opportunity to tamper with the script during that time.

This would explain why the fire started inside the truck compartment and why the script was so severely damaged.

The report even included detailed surveillance screenshots.

They were from different dates but the same location. In the images, Qian Wenhao was leaning over the authentic script, carefully brushing something on it with a brush. Every so often, he would catch it with a tray and continue studying the strokes of the characters with a lamp in his hand.

His identity and background were special, so it was indeed possible for him to have access to the keys and codes. The art center staff weren't wary of him.

But why?

Wasn't looking at it through the glass during the day enough? He had to secretly open the glass at night and look at it up close?

Could he really be making a copy?

Xiao He was baffled by the surveillance footage. As a complete outsider, he didn't understand Qian Wenhao's actions, and he never expected the kid to become one of the prime suspects in the destruction of Emperor Chen's authentic script.

Thinking back, it was indeed at the entrance of the art center that they had run into Qian Wenhao that night.

So, had he been sneaking into the art center at night to study the script ever since?

"I remember he's Elder Qian's kid, right?"

Liu Rulan, unaware that Xiao He's mind was already in turmoil, continued muttering.

"Since you believe in him, he's probably innocent. But from the clues the police have found so far, it looks very bad for him."

The main issue was that after being taken in for questioning, Qian Wenhao's mental state was terrible. He refused to cooperate with the investigation and consistently failed to provide a clear reason for entering the art center late at night. This, in turn, made the suspicion on him grow heavier.

The matter had reached a stalemate.