Read Novel Full Chapter 733: Who Would Dare Say It’s Real? And Who Would Dare Say It’s Fake?
Chapter 733: Who Would Dare Say It’s Real? And Who Would Dare Say It’s Fake?
The next day, the Beijing Museum’s Cultural Relics Protection and Restoration Center welcomed a special consultant.
“Hello, I’m Xiao He. It’s a great honor to meet you, Teacher Ye.”
Xiao He extended both hands and shook the elderly man’s hand with heartfelt enthusiasm.
Professor Ye pushed up his reading glasses, scrutinized Xiao He from head to toe, and then broke into a warm smile. “Young man, you’re quite handsome! When Old Qian told me you were an actor with tons of work and popular among young people, I didn’t believe it! But seeing you now, I can tell he wasn’t lying!”
Just from his face and demeanor, Professor Ye felt he couldn’t be wrong.
Hearing this, Xiao He even bent a little lower and quickly said, “Old Qian flatters me too much. Here, I’m not an actor, just a newcomer. I have to thank you, Teacher Ye, for giving me this chance to learn and help out. It’s truly my honor.”
“It’s nothing, nothing. Your coming here is actually a huge help to us.”
Professor Ye waved his hand casually, then looked Xiao He in the eye and cut straight to the point. “Old Qian told me you can reproduce a perfect one-to-one copy of that ‘Stabilize the Realm’ piece displayed at the art center?”
Professor Ye actually trusted Old Qian quite a bit, but he’d originally assumed that person was someone his own age with similar experience and skill. He never expected him to be this young, let alone have a real career completely unrelated to their circle.
If Old Qian’s copied version of “Stabilize the Realm” weren’t already sitting in front of him, he’d have a hard time believing that the calligrapher capable of hand-writing something with machine-detected error margins approaching zero was this very person standing before him.Faced with this question, Xiao He just gave a shy smile. “Honestly, my calligraphy mastery isn’t that high. Old Qian taught me a lot. But my imitation ability is pretty solid. I can basically reproduce most characters after just one look. I can’t guarantee it’s a hundred percent identical, but no one would spot a difference with the naked eye.”
During the time filming the dialogue-heavy scenes for “Imperial Enterprise,” Old Qian would often come to the set to give basic calligraphy guidance, and Xiao He would take the opportunity to learn from this calligraphy master.
His hands already had a golden touch, and since he’d been deliberately practicing and copying, his calligraphy skills might not be top-tier, but they definitely surpassed eighty percent of people.
So facing Professor Ye’s skepticism, he remained calm, confident, and utterly unflustered.
“Wow, that’s quite a claim.”
Professor Ye raised an eyebrow and squinted slightly. “But I like it.”
Old Qian, who’d been standing silently to the side, finally stepped forward and said to Professor Ye with great pride, “Back when I lent that ‘Stabilize the Realm’ piece to you for reference research, you were nagging me every day to bring the copyist here in person. Well, now I’ve brought him, so you better treat him well!”
“Let me tell you, he’s a precious seedling of our association, a special technical talent with unique abilities! He’s usually very busy and can’t get away. This time, he only came because I told him the restoration work here was extremely tough and we needed someone who understands Emperor Chen’s calligraphy to help. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to invite him on a normal day!”
Old Qian kept raising Xiao He’s status without stopping, and Xiao He could feel his face burning red.
Xiao He: ... Old Qian, I know you’re trying to help, but you can’t just blatantly lie at such an important occasion!
An association seedling? A special technical talent? Busy with work? You dare to brag, but I don’t even dare to listen!
Yet despite sweating bullets, Xiao He could only keep smiling and maintain the composed demeanor of a top-tier expert.
...
This all actually started from Xiao He’s arrival in Beijing this morning.
Liu Rulan had gone to find Qiu Zhenlong early in the morning, so Xiao He went straight to the Calligraphy Association to meet Old Qian.
The Calligraphy Association was already a complete mess, but hearing that Xiao He had come to visit, Old Qian still agreed to see him. When Xiao He mentioned wanting to help with the investigation, the usually carefree old man’s eyes actually lit up with rare hope.
“That’s right! Based on the current situation, your understanding of Emperor Chen’s calligraphy far surpasses mine!”
The already haggard old man grabbed Xiao He’s hand like it was his last lifeline.
“Maybe we all misjudged. Maybe we were all wrong...”
Seeing Old Qian suddenly so agitated, Xiao He worried he might pass out from the emotional surge, so he quickly helped the old man sit down and told him to drink some water before speaking.
Old Qian seemed to worry that a sudden collapse would delay the investigation, so he followed Xiao He’s lead and sat down, taking deep breaths to calm himself.
Finally, he let out a helpless laugh. “Ah, getting old really means being useless.”
“Old Qian, don’t say that,” Xiao He consoled. “You’re everyone’s anchor. The fact that the association is still so stable right now is all thanks to your support.”
“Ah—” Old Qian waved his hand. “That little brat Qian Wenhao! Something this big happened, and he didn’t even tell us. It just weighs on my heart...”
“So what exactly happened?”
Xiao He seized the opportunity to press further.
“Hehe...”
Old Qian shook his head with a bitter smile, was silent for a moment, and then said, “Qian Wenhao suspects that the authentic Emperor Chen piece ‘Stabilize the Realm’ on display at the art center is actually a fake!”
Xiao He stood frozen in shock.
Huh? It went from being genuine to fake?
No way, when did this happen?
Could it be that what the Yun Family lent out was the fake?
But how was that possible?
If it had been fake from the very start, then this whole thing was utterly and bitterly ironic!
What did that mean?
What about all those experts and visitors who’d spent days studying the so-called genuine article, marveling at Emperor Chen’s calligraphy style and spirit back then?
And what about them—innocent parties now caught up in a cultural relic damage scandal that shut down the entire production team?
“He told you this?”
Xiao He frowned and asked.
Old Qian shook his head. “That stubborn kid won’t tell us anything. Even when his dad went to see him in person, he didn’t say a single word. But we’ve all watched the surveillance footage. Anyone with a bit of experience can tell he was actually trying to verify whether that piece was real or fake.”
Qian Wenhao didn’t say a word himself, but others weren’t stupid. They could learn a lot from other clues. So by now, the Qian family and the police all knew Qian Wenhao wasn’t the prime suspect. The reason he snuck into the art center every night was simply that he suspected this “Stabilize the Realm” was a fake.
Regardless of whether the piece was real or fake, based on Qian Wenhao’s timeline during that period, it was basically impossible for him to have had a chance to start the fire.
So his innocence was still intact.
But that only made the case even more confusing.
Was this burned cultural relic real or fake? When was it real? When was it fake? Had someone switched the relic in the meantime? Why couldn’t any of the appraisers tell the difference when they examined it? And why did Qian Wenhao refuse to talk about his suspicions?
Ironically, during the time this “authentic piece” was on display at the art center, many experts had come to study it. Masters from the nearby Calligraphy Association had also analyzed Emperor Chen’s brushstrokes and state of mind, dissecting the mindset behind his writing of “Stabilize the Realm.”
And now, when the police went door to door asking, not a single one dared to guarantee that this “genuine piece,” which had been displayed at the art center for over a month, was real.
Of course, even fewer dared to say it was fake.
It was as if, in an instant, they had all drawn a clear line separating themselves from the versions of themselves that had once waxed poetic about it.