Chapter 351: You Cannot Call the Shots

The vast Command Center was deathly silent.

The body double turned themselves in this afternoon; counting it up, it has barely been half a day.

No one was taken into custody, and even the interrogation took place at Wang Chun's home. There were not even many leaders in the bureau who knew about it; how did Ren Danhua find out?

Assuming Lin Sicheng was worried that this place wasn't safe, Ren Danhua explained, "Manager Lin, this place does belong to Big Sister, but it isn't under her name; the Police can't find it!"

Lin Sicheng was noncommittal: "And the goods?"

"The goods are even harder to find: they are all old stock; when the person dies, the accounts are cleared!"

Ren Danhua made a gesture of firing a gun, "You must want to ask me, since it's old stock, why the rush? Because Big Sister's crimes are too heavy, she can't hold out for long. Sooner or later, she will confess this place, and incidentally, she will confess me too."

Lin Sicheng did not speak.

At first glance, it sounded quite reasonable: since Wang Chun had fallen, revenge was naturally out of the question. With no tiger on the mountain, the monkeys rule; if Ren Danhua didn't take the opportunity to profit, she would truly have a hole in her brain.

But thinking about it carefully, it made no sense at all.

Ren Danhua had several backers, and the Police knew exactly what level they were, how many gifts she had sent, and how many times she had bribed them. The ledger in the Wang Clan home recorded it even more clearly; she simply did not have the connections to access the news of the body double's arrest.

Then how did she know?

The key was this place: how did she find it, and how did she get in?

Lin Sicheng looked at the burly man and the woman, and countless threads emerged in his mind, winding into one tangle after another.

"Manager Lin, these two are not outsiders, and you have met them before—that time at the Xidan Shopping Mall!" Ren Danhua introduced them from the center, "Steel Bar, Cuiqin, both are experts at being Pole-Climbers. They have followed Big Sister for over ten years; they are the most trusted of the trusted!"

Lin Sicheng did not speak, merely nodding.

Assuming he was still hesitant, Ren Danhua smiled, "Manager Lin, since you're already here, why not go down and take a look? Don't worry, it's just a look; even if the Police could find this place in the next second, what could they do to you?"

Of course, they couldn't do anything.

There is no law that says looking at Cultural Relics is a crime.

"General Manager Ren, there won't be a trap in this, will there?"

"Manager Lin is overthinking it: with your experience and General Manager Zhao's reputation, I wouldn't dare trap you, no matter who else I trap!" Ren Danhua feigned a relaxed tone, "Besides, you didn't bring money, and you didn't bring goods; what could I possibly trap you with?"

Lin Sicheng sighed: they were talking past each other, not on the same wavelength at all.

So, to enter, or not to enter?

Since he was already here—

"Fine!"

Seeing him nod, Ren Danhua felt relieved and took the initiative to lead the way.

The burly man closed the iron gate, slid the bolt, and hung a large padlock. The woman took a ring of keys and ran to the front.

With a few "clatter-clatter" sounds, the security door on the first floor opened in response, revealing a staircase. But it did not lead up; it led down.

Ren Danhua stepped onto the stairs and made a gesture of invitation.

Lin Sicheng stood still and looked at the burly man and the woman guarding the side of the door: "Are you two not going down?"

The man's eyes bulged, and just as he was about to say something, the woman stopped him: "Boss Lin, someone has to stay up here to keep watch."

"Oh, such a large building, and only the two of you are guarding it?" Lin Sicheng feigned surprise, "It seems there isn't enough manpower; that's perfect, I brought plenty of people!"

"Of course it's enough!" The woman averted her gaze from Lin Sicheng, "But downstairs are all Supreme goods; the stakes are too high, we don't dare let too many people know!"

"Indeed!" Lin Sicheng echoed, "Better safe than sorry!"

He nodded, but his feet did not move, leaving Ren Danhua bewildered.

What does he mean? Is he afraid my people will stab him in the back?

If they were going to stab him, they would have done it long ago; there was no need to wait until now. Besides, there is more than just Steel Bar and Cuiqin here; what is the point of only guarding against the two of them?

Thinking secretly, Ren Danhua gave a look: "Steel Bar, Cuiqin, you go together!"

The woman was startled, a trace of a smile forced onto her face: "Alright!"

Afterwards, the couple also went down the stairs.

Lin Sicheng followed closely behind. Having descended three steps, he turned around and looked at the Special Duty Team member at the very back: "Xiao Zhang, you and Xiao Yang stay in the car; if there is a situation, call immediately."

As he spoke, he also made a gesture.

Ren Danhua didn't pay much attention, assuming Lin Sicheng was just being paranoid. But that was normal: everyone in this line of work was like that.

The burly man and the woman exchanged an imperceptible glance, a flash of suspicion deep in their pupils.

But the three Special Duty Team members and Zhao Xiuneng were shocked.

The former recognized the gesture: it was a secret signal for a critical situation, telling him to report immediately.

The latter did not recognize it, but he knew Lin Sicheng well enough: even if he were to be on guard, shouldn't he be guarding against this General Manager Ren? Why was his junior brother staring at these two subordinates the whole time?

After glancing twice, Zhao Xiuneng could not see what was wrong.

Amidst the suspicion, the group entered the basement.

The staircase was very wide, with an elevator installed on one side and a washboard-like auxiliary path built on the other. Judging by the marks, vehicles often went up and down.

The place was not small, but the layout was simple, like an apartment building, with one room after another. There were no windows, and each room only had an iron-barred window slightly larger than a human head.

The sounds were chaotic, with snoring and whimpering; at first listen, they were indeed dogs, and dogs wearing muzzles at that. But if one listened carefully, it seemed to be mixed with the kind of roaring sound a beast makes when its throat is stuck.

The ventilation fan hummed, and one could feel the Wind flowing. Even so, the air still did not smell very good.

The smell of feces, rotting meat, and a faint, lingering scent of blood.

"It seems the scale is not small?" Lin Sicheng feigned curiosity: "Raising dogs here is quite suitable!"

"If we relied on this, we would have starved to death long ago!" Ren Danhua replied casually, "It's just a cover to deceive people!"

"It sounds like it's not just dogs?"

Lin Sicheng tilted his head to listen, "Why is this howling so strange, like a tiger?"

There were no tigers; those were bears—

The burly man and the woman were stunned for a moment, and Ren Danhua laughed it off: "Actually, they are still dogs, just Tibetan Mastiffs; because their barking is too loud, they are wearing muzzles!"

"No wonder?"

Lin Sicheng nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly as he saw several scratches at the corner of the staircase.

But he only swept his gaze over them without pausing, continuing all the way to the third floor.

It was still room after room, but apart from doors, there were only walls; there wasn't even a small window for ventilation.

There were, however, a great many surveillance cameras, basically one at every doorway.

Walking further inside, roughly to the very center of the entire building, the woman unlocked the door with a key and entered a code on the small keypad beside it.

With a "hum," the iron door slid open, and a gust of cold air rushed toward them.

A Lengku?

The burly man pressed the light switch, and as the scene flashed before his eyes, Lin Sicheng was stunned for a moment.

Large ones, small ones, long ones, square ones, standing ones, seated ones—they were all glass cabinets.

But the cabinets were not the point; the supporting equipment was: every single cabinet was equipped with an oxygen scavenger, and the perimeter of every cabinet was covered in deposited film.

As well as air pressure stabilizers, quantum dot oxygen sensors, sulfur-proof and silicon-proof gasification equipment, and so on and so forth. It could be said that all the protective devices one could only see in a Museum were all present here.

Looking at the items inside the cabinets, Lin Sicheng's pupils constricted, and his heart couldn't help but race.

Stunned for nearly a minute, he finally walked over slowly and circled around the cabinet.

Zhao Xiuneng was even more dumbstruck, his eyes wide and his mouth agape as he looked at a hat inside the glass cabinet:

Gold phoenixes, sable fur, and red silk trim.

Counting carefully: there were seven gold phoenixes, each adorned with nine East Pearls, with a gold pheasant decorating the back, and three rows of red tassels hanging down in two layers.

This regulation had a specific name: "three rows and two tiers," the winter court hat of an Imperial Concubine of the Qing Dynasty, only one Level One lower than an Empress.

As far as Lin Sicheng knew, there were only seven in existence today: one in the Forbidden City, two in Taiwan, two in the United States, and two in Japan.

But no matter which one it was, none were as well-preserved or as new as this one.

With this rank and this condition, such an item could no longer be measured by money.

For a moment, the Senior Brothers stood face to face, surrounding the glass cabinet, as if frozen.

Ren Danhua was secretly pleased: as expected, if you want to invite someone, you must invite an expert.

It was precisely because they knew these were genuine items and knew how rare they were that these two were so shocked.

If it had been anyone with a less discerning eye, they would have questioned it one hundred percent: "Your item is so new, is it real or fake?"

Just as she was thinking this, Lin Sicheng let out a breath: "General Manager Ren, good items!"

What did you think?

Without a fair amount of certainty, how would she dare to call them over?

Ren Danhua felt secretly smug, expecting them to ask for the price next, but Lin Sicheng only nodded.

He didn't say he wanted it, nor did he say he didn't, and then he looked at a seal nearby:

Silver with Gold-gilding, a dragon head and turtle body, covered in scales, with the dragon tail upturned and four claws on the ground, in a crouching posture.

The seal was placed flat, so the inscription could not be seen, but Lin Sicheng was one hundred percent certain: this was the Heshuo Prince Treasure Seal of the Qing Dynasty.

The number in existence was higher than the Imperial Concubine court hat from before, but its historical significance, political significance, and even symbolic significance were far more profound, so in terms of price, it would only be higher, not lower.

Looking carefully and circling around to confirm there were no mistakes, Lin Sicheng sighed again.

He continued looking further down and was stunned for a moment when he saw something that looked like a rod.

If it weren't for the two of them, if anyone else had come today, they certainly wouldn't have known what this was.

It was quite exquisite, carved with dragons and painted with phoenixes, and even had a tassel, but they didn't know what it was for, let alone who used it.

But as descendants of court Craftsmen, Zhao Xiuneng certainly recognized it, and Lin Sicheng recognized it even more.

This was the Empress Golden Tally.

"Draft History of Qing, Records of Rites IV": "The Empress's ceremonial guard is preceded by the Golden Tally, and when reaching the altar, it is hung in the tent" — this refers to the Empress's ritual of personal sericulture; the altar here refers to the Altar of the First Sericulturist.

"Collected Statutes of the Imperial Dynasty, Rites 27": "When the Empress visits the temple, the eunuch holds the Golden Tally to lead the way" — this is for the Empress's ritual announcement at the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

"Illustrated Regulations of the Great Qing, Volume 73": "The Golden Tally is set to the left of the gate of the Fasting Palace, and is returned after the sacrifice is completed" — this is for the Empress's sacrifice at the Altar of the First Farmer.

Receiving the mandate from Heaven, divine authority and ritual, this was the highest ritual vessel of the Qing Dynasty Empress, the mother of the world, bar none.

If one had to make a comparison: the previous Imperial Concubine court hat plus the Heshuo Prince Treasure Seal could not compare to this.

This single piece was worth more than three times all the lacquerware, Calligraphy and Painting, silk, and phoenix robes confiscated when Qi Song was caught.

And this is without even discussing the law, historical impact, or representativeness; it is merely the valuation of this item on the black market for antiques, conferred by the status of Empress and the function of a ritual vessel.

From another perspective, in another place, this item would be a priceless treasure—

Seeing that he neither moved nor asked, Ren Danhua laughed: "Manager Lin, how is it?"

How else could it be.

Just based on this, it is enough to provide for you for a lifetime—

Lin Sicheng sighed: "Good item!"

Ren Danhua nodded with satisfaction: "Take a look at this too!"

Following the direction of her finger, Lin Sicheng looked. Then, he actually didn't know what to say.

At first glance, it didn't look very new, nor very bright; apart from those few dragons being a bit eye-catching, it felt just so-so.

But do not doubt it, the Dragon Robe of a Qing Dynasty emperor looks just like this.

Among all the ranks of the emperor's ceremonial attire, it ranks third: the first is the court robe, worn only when sacrificing to Heaven, Earth, and ancestors.

The second type, the surcoat, is worn over the court robe and is also only worn during grand ceremonies.

This is the third type, the festive robe, also known as the Dragon Robe; both the front and back of the chest feature a forward-facing dragon, and it is only worn during the New Year and the Emperor's Birthday.

So, since they even have a Dragon Robe, what else could they not dig up?

Even if Ren Danhua were to take out the official seal of some Qing emperor now, Lin Sicheng would not be surprised.

Seeing him silent, as if stunned, Ren Danhua became even more excited: "Manager Lin, there is more here. Although not as good as these few pieces, they are not bad either: Golden Cloud Dragon Ewer, Yellow Ground Famille Rose Tableware, Gold Lacquer Mulberry Basket,"

"Nine Dragon Curved Handle Cover (bright yellow umbrella), Gold-Inlaid Phoenix Flag (regalia for Empress and Imperial Concubine)——"

Before she could finish, Lin Sicheng shook his head: "No need to look."

"Ah?" Ren Danhua was stunned for a moment, "Why?"

"General Manager Ren, let me be honest——" Pausing slightly, Lin Sicheng shook his head, "We cannot afford them!"

Is Senior Brother Zhao rich enough?

Let's assume: even if he were still the local tyrant holding down Sanqin and commanding groups of thieves, never mind whether he dared to break the law again or how many years he would have to serve if he did. Even if he took out all his assets now and sold himself off piece by piece, he still couldn't swallow the things in this room.

It is even doubtful for the first four pieces.

One can imagine how many tombs this group has robbed and how many fine items they have sold.

As if not expecting him to say this, Ren Danhua laughed "Hahaha," "Manager Lin, I know, and I didn't ask you to take them all?"

Lin Sicheng did not speak: Is this a question of whether you are selling or we are buying?

Before, he had been wondering: Why was Ren Danhua so certain that as long as they saw the items, he and Zhao Xiuneng would definitely be tempted?

And why was she so urgent, knowing he would drive the price down, yet without any hesitation, clearly telling him and Zhao Xiuneng: she was in a rush to move this batch of goods.

It even gave the impression that, apart from him and Zhao Xiuneng, all the Cultural Relics dealers in Beijing were dead?

Just look at these few pieces: Imperial Concubine's court crown, Prince's seal, Empress Golden Scepter, and even the Emperor's Dragon Robe——ask anyone, which antique dealer wouldn't be tempted?

To be honest, these pieces are no longer a matter of how much they are worth; even if you want to drive the price down, the items must first have a price for you to drive down.

And don't talk about Beijing; call all the Cultural Relics dealers in the country over, who would dare to be like him, taking a few looks and daring to be certain: what these things are, what their nature is, who used them, and which dynasty they are from?

What Ren Danhua fears is not price-cutting, she fears that no one knows the value of the goods——

But General Manager Ren, do you know that you are about to meet your end?

Sighing inwardly, Lin Sicheng looked at Ren Danhua: "General Manager Ren, let me say one more honest thing, please don't mind!"

"It's fine, go ahead!"

"Good!" Lin Sicheng sighed deeply, "You are not the one in charge!"

Ren Danhua was stunned, not quite understanding. But immediately, she thought of the first time she met Lin Sicheng.

She would never forget that day at Qianjin Lu: Lin Sicheng only looked from afar, without even touching them, and could state the age, grade, and origin of the Cultural Relics in one breath.

Even where they were broken, how they were repaired, how much restoration was done, and so on and so forth.

Also with just a few glances, he saw through Li Jiansheng's little scheme: because he didn't dare to repair the gold watch, he intentionally broke his own hand. Therefore, he was not only accurate in looking at items, but even more accurate in looking at people.

In Lin Sicheng's view: he himself certainly didn't have the ability to obtain these things. Ren Danhua also believed that with Lin Sicheng's eye, he could tell at a glance whether she had been down in a pit or had dug up goods——

Changing her thoughts secretly, Ren Danhua's eyes rolled a few times: "Manager Lin, didn't I say before, these are all the big sister's inventory. If the big sister were here, I certainly wouldn't be in charge. But, the big sister has already gone in——"

She went in, my foot?

Lin Sicheng looked at the strong man, then looked at the woman: "They told you?"

Ren Danhua smiled with feigned profundity.

It wasn't what they said, but it was close enough: when she arrived here, Cuiqin suddenly rushed out the door. She thought at the time that the big sister had asked her to do something, so she quietly followed behind.

She followed all the way to the big sister's home. But from quite a distance, Cuiqin didn't dare to get close, just watching from afar. She was confused at the time, until many people came out of the building, and until the big sister was pushed into a car in a wheelchair, she realized: the big sister had fallen.

So, why would she need to take revenge? The Police had already helped her take it.

Afterwards, she followed Cuiqin here, and then, through coercion and inducement——

Ren Danhua didn't make a sound, but Lin Sicheng could guess. He looked at that woman again and sighed inwardly.

The first time he saw this woman was at Xidan Shopping Mall. He was curious at the time: since she was in disguise, why dress so conspicuously:

Dressed so ordinarily, so plainly, like a rural big sister who had just come from the Xie, yet holding a box of high-end candied haws that only had five or six pieces but sold for over a hundred yuan?

Not until he entered Wang Chun's secret room and saw all kinds of candies did he know: that box of candied haws was used by Wang Chun to suppress the bitterness after taking medicine.

Therefore, this woman's identity was obvious: she was either Wang Chun's cook or Wang Chun's nanny. With her condition and her body, such a person was absolutely a confidant among confidants, ranking only below the private doctor.

Such a person, you say you can win her over just like that?

Never mind that Wang Chun hadn't fallen, even if she had, it would be impossible——

Lin Sicheng shook his head and sighed deeply again: "General Manager Ren, you can be considered an old hand in the business, but it is truly not easy to have lived until now."

Ren Danhua was stunned, not knowing what Lin Sicheng meant.

But she could hear Lin Sicheng's mockery and sarcasm.

Just as she was completely confused, Lin Sicheng looked at Cuiqin: "Call your boss out——"