"Boss, I've brought the items from the shop for you," Huang Yongshou announced loudly, deliberately raising his voice.
He then unloaded the hiking backpack from his shoulders and respectfully placed it before Li Chonglou.
He also took the opportunity to greet Lv Yunxu, "Miss Lv is here too. Apologies for disturbing your meal."
Lv Yunxu recognized Huang Yongshou; he was the middleman for the transaction of the Yu Xianglu with Jiang Tao, and Li Chonglou had introduced them.
However, she couldn't figure out why he was appearing here at this time.
Could that large bag contain some treasure?
"You've worked hard," Li Chonglou said, taking the bag. "Find a seat."
"This esteemed guest from afar wished to see my items. I arranged to meet him in three days, but he was too impatient."
"So I had to trouble you for this trip."
With that, he unzipped the backpack. Inside was indeed the bronze mirror he had seen that morning.
He felt a slight sense of relief.
This matter had to be traced back.
After Tian Shoucheng left Donglin that morning, he couldn't sit still at Tian Lingli's house. So, while Tian Lingli was live-streaming, he, alone, took his bag and went to the Wenmiao.
He intended to find a buyer himself, but lacked experience and inadvertently showed off his wealth in public.
Naturally, he was targeted by several unscrupulous individuals lurking in the market, and then the bag and its contents were all snatched.
As it happened, these people approached Huang Yongshou, the old middleman.
When the bag was opened, they found a business card from Donglin. This was the business card of Lin Ying, which Tian Shoucheng had casually picked up when leaving Donglin.
Given the connection to Donglin, Huang Yongshou immediately called Li Chonglou.
Upon learning of the situation, Li Chonglou decisively told him to intercept the goods and send them to him.
As for Tian Shoucheng's situation, whether it was revealed or not was no longer important.
The matter was now simple.
Someone had robbed him and sought Huang Yongshou's help. Huang Yongshou found him, and he happened to need these goods. It was a perfect situation.
It was as if heaven itself was secretly helping him.
Now, as long as Mo Zhigao accepted the goods, the original money would be divided into three parts: Tian Shoucheng would get 20%, he would get 60%, and Huang Yongshou would take 20% back.
Then, everything could be considered as if nothing had happened.
As for the robbers, Li Chonglou had no interest in managing them; he wasn't a police officer.
Ensuring that Tian Shoucheng would still receive 20% of the total price was already a favor, considering Tian Lingli.
"Are these the bronze mirrors you mentioned?" Mo Zhigao pointed at the bag, his face full of disbelief.
Such precious items, and Li Chonglou had packed them all in one bag? Wasn't he afraid of damaging them?
As soon as he spoke, Li Chonglou began taking them out of the bag one by one in front of everyone.
He handed one to each person.
Mo Zhigao received the mirror with the portrait of Wu Zixu.
His eyes bulged, and he gently stroked the lifelike portrait, his expression complex.
After examining it back and forth for a long time, he feigned nonchalance and asked, "It looks like it's been unearthed for over a hundred years. It's considered semi-heritage, I suppose."
"Where did you get these things? Did your ancestors steal them from a Han tomb and leave them to you?"
The rule in the antique circle was not to ask about the origin of items.
But bronze wares were different. If the origin wasn't clarified, one could end up in prison.
Mo Zhigao's question wasn't a violation of the rules.
"If you want to know, you can go ask my ancestors when you have time," Li Chonglou replied indifferently. "The goods have been brought."
"Since you consider yourself an expert, for these twenty-four bronze mirrors, excluding the Bagua mirror, two million is not too much, right?"
"Two million?" Mo Zhigao sneered. "Li Chonglou, you really are an ignorant bumpkin. Just two million, and you think you can fool us with these things?"
Before seeing the mirrors, he had thought Li Chonglou had some truly extraordinary items.
But upon inspection, apart from the star-cloud patterned mirror and the Wu Zixu portrait mirror, the rest were extremely ordinary.
Two million was a fair price.
But this was not the exceptional merchandise he had hoped for.
Therefore, he would still be the ultimate winner of this competition.
"You have eyes but cannot see true treasures," Li Chonglou retorted, picking up the bronze mirror with the plum blossom-like edges and the engraved Bagua pattern inside, and sneered, "And you blame me for not bringing real treasures?"
"Open your damn eyes and see clearly what sort of origin this Bagua mirror has!"
His words stunned everyone present.
Hiss.
Everyone gasped. They were all laymen. This mirror looked very ordinary, with nothing remarkable except for the Bagua patterns.
But now that Li Chonglou held it and mentioned it specifically, it must be extraordinary.
Everyone eagerly awaited Li Chonglou to reveal the answer.
Lv Chenggong and his daughter's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Even Mo Zhigao's pupils contracted to the extreme.
He stared intently at the Bagua mirror in Li Chonglou's hand, his eyes filled with confusion.
"May I examine it?" Mo Zhigao finally asked, unable to contain himself.
In that instant, his arrogance vanished without a trace. He had become solemn.
Li Chonglou generously handed the bronze mirror to him, allowing him to inspect it.
More than ten minutes passed without anyone speaking.
Everyone was waiting for Mo Zhigao.
Finally, Mo Zhigao looked up, his eyes bloodshot, his face slightly pale, indicating significant mental and physical exhaustion.
He shook his head helplessly, "I am unobservant and cannot discern its uniqueness. Please enlighten me!"
His tone had completely changed, becoming humble.
"In the third year of Yuanshi, Wang Mang held power."
"Fearing that Emperor Ping of Han's maternal relatives, the Wei clan, would usurp his power, he enfeoffed Emperor Ping's mother, the Wei clan, and their kin to Zhongshan Kingdom, prohibiting them from returning to the capital."
"Wang Mang's eldest son, Wang Yu, fearing that Emperor Ping would later harbor resentment and seek revenge, strongly opposed this. However, Wang Mang remained resolute."
"Wang Yu, after consulting with his teacher Wu Zhang, decided to use superstitious methods to persuade Wang Mang to change his mind. He ordered his wife's brother, Lü Kuan, to sprinkle black dog's blood on the Bagua bronze mirror at Wang Mang's residence gate, creating an omen through sorcery, as if a divine sign, to persuade Wang Mang to cede power to the Wei clan."
"However, Wang Mang eventually discovered this. In a fit of rage, he arrested his son Wang Yu and had him poisoned to death."
"Then, he used this opportunity to falsely accuse and execute the Wei clan, implicated and punished powerful families in the regions who opposed him, and forced the deaths of Princess Jingwu, King Liu Li of Liang, and other political rivals in the court."
"Hundreds of people were killed in this incident, shaking the entire realm. It is historically known as the Dog Blood Gate Incident."
"This bronze mirror naturally became the fuse for Wang Mang's usurpation of power and self-establishment!"
"Do you understand now?"
With that, what fool couldn't connect the Bagua mirror before them with the one Wang Yu had supposedly splashed with blood, as Li Chonglou described?
"This is merely your one-sided assertion. What proof do you have that this mirror is the Bagua mirror that caused Wang Mang to kill his son?" Mo Zhigao's eyes were wide with disbelief.
Han Dynasty bronze mirrors were numerous, and ordinary mirrors held little value.
However, if it were associated with a powerful figure like Wang Mang, the difference would be immense.
Its value would likely increase a hundredfold.
"It's very simple. This mirror was splashed with dog's blood. Even after two thousand years, the blood has penetrated the bronze. If you shine a UV light on it, it will reveal itself." Li Chonglou then asked Huang Yongshou, "Do you have the UV light I asked you to bring?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Huang Yongshou quickly took it out from his pocket.
Everyone held their breath in anticipation.
Li Chonglou shone the light on the bronze mirror, and immediately, earth-brown spots appeared.
"This unusual luminescence is the omen created by Wang Yu at the time. As for how they separated ultraviolet light back then, we don't know." After letting everyone see clearly, Li Chonglou retracted the light, flipped the mirror over, and continued, "That was just one piece of evidence. There is a second piece of evidence, which is an inscription on the front of this mirror, a memorial text."
"It is written in seal script by Wang Mang himself!"
"Although time has blurred it, masters familiar with ancient Han characters can recognize it at a glance."
"If you still can't figure it out after this, it means I am blind!"
Li Chonglou's last sentence pierced Mo Zhigao's heart like a sharp knife.
He turned ashen, his eyes bulging, his hands and feet trembling uncontrollably.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! You're so young, how can you understand something I can't even see?" Mo Zhigao's eyes dimmed, but his mouth remained stubborn.
After decades of studying antiques, he had failed in a small place like Qin Prefecture, falling prey to a junior like Li Chonglou.
It completely disgraced him, making him wish he could crawl into a hole.
"It can only be said that you are uneducated. You've looked for a long time and still can't understand seal script," Li Chonglou sneered. "Does this mirror still catch your eye?"
"It does, it does. A good treasure."
Before Mo Zhigao could reply, Zhu Youzhen stood up and took the mirror, exclaiming, "Young friend Li, could you part with this mirror for me?"
"Name your price. As long as I, Zhu Youzhen, can afford it, there will be no objections."
Mo Zhigao's defeat meant no loss for him.
By acquiring such a heritage treasure, his influence in Yong'an would be completely different from before.
"Eight million," Li Chonglou held up a hand.
"Boss, such a precious item, you should ask for more!" Huang Yongshou immediately became anxious.
Lv Yunxu also looked confused. Logically, for a national treasure of this caliber, asking for eighty million wouldn't be considered high.
Was Li Chonglou so wealthy that he didn't know how to earn money?
Even Mo Zhigao looked dumbfounded.
"Mr. Zhu is Ms. Lv's guest and partner. Out of consideration for our relationship, this bargain should be passed on. Eight million is my cost price, I'm giving it to Mr. Zhu without a profit." Li Chonglou's words were extremely eloquent.
Zhu Youzhen was overjoyed and immediately transferred the money, saying, "Good, I'll take it!"
After Mo Zhigao's two million also arrived, Li Chonglou looked at him, who was as if he had lost his soul, and made a gesture with his right index finger, plunging it into his own chest.
In an instant, Mo Zhigao's eyes bulged, and he slumped back into his chair.
His fists were clenched white, and his eyes were filled with immense hatred.
"Little beast, you're killing my spirit!"
Everyone exchanged glances, not understanding what had happened.
Only Li Chonglou smiled faintly, his eyes cold.
Indeed, Mo Zhigao wasn't that foolish, but he was doomed today!