Chapter 3957

Xia De had to visit Mr. Copus at night, so Xia De still went to Arcadia City during the day. It's just that as soon as he walked out of the hidden space under the "Blue Ink Library," he felt that there was someone on the first floor of the library above his head.

Xia De was surprised, and after sensing the space, he moved from the underground to the alley outside the library.

He was worried about thieves visiting, but fortunately, when he went around to the front door of the library, he saw at a glance that the door was open, and it was old Mr. Lebory cleaning.

"Good morning, Mr. Lebory."

Xia De took the initiative to walk in and say hello, and was very curious about why the old man suddenly came here to clean. Judging from the dust on the ground before, Mr. Lebory should not have been here for a long time.

Seeing Xia De walk in, the old man was also very happy:

"Good morning, Mr. Watson, I have good news to tell you, but I couldn't find you for a while, so I thought maybe you would pass by here."

He put down the duster in his hand, obviously not thinking about relying on himself to clean the place up:

"You also know about the baron's theft, right? There is news about the 【Mark I Steam Engine】 original design manuscript that the thief stole from the baron."

Xia De raised his eyebrows. What he was thinking about was not the design manuscript, but the very old Rod card mentioned when Mr. Finch told him about the baron's collection being stolen a few days ago.

"Is someone selling stolen goods?"

He asked, and the old man nodded immediately:

"Yes, an old friend of mine told me. They all know that I have been looking for that manuscript. Mr. Watson, then it's up to you next. I don't care how you get the last manuscript, but as long as you can bring the three manuscripts to me together, this place belongs to you."

He handed Xia De a note. On the note was an address in the upper city and a time point this afternoon.

"This is a secret auction that cannot be seen. Although it involves stolen goods, there are never fewer people in this world who don't care about the origin of the collection. I don't have the ability to get the invitation qualification for this auction, but since you can even get the books in the Candlekeep Library, I believe you can definitely do it."

Xia De wrote down the information on the note:

"No problem, I'll go and handle it. It's an auction held secretly in a club, right... However, Mr. Lebory, many people locally must know that you want those three manuscripts. Once I really get the last design draft and trade it with you to get this library, the stolen Baron Ramsey will immediately know that one of his lost collections is in your hands, right? I am not afraid of the baron's accountability, but you..."

The old gentleman obviously thought of this too:

"Don't worry, I also have connections locally. As long as I don't take out that design manuscript publicly and claim to the outside world that I have offered you other conditions, he won't be able to embarrass me."

The old man lowered his voice slightly:

"When I was suspected of being related to the Delin-Or elements, I was able to be released completely, not just because I was really innocent."

Xia De nodded knowingly. He didn't have any resistance to buying stolen goods. Because strictly speaking, that "passed down in an orderly way" manuscript was also stolen goods when it fell into the hands of Baron Ramsey:

"Then Mr. Lebory, just wait for my good news. If I can buy that manuscript this afternoon, I will entrust someone to send you a letter. I have other things to deal with tonight, so I won't go to your place."

The old man nodded:

"I have waited for so many years, and I still have the patience to wait a few more days. Then I wish you a smooth action, Mr. Watson."

Although this manuscript does not involve any illegal Ring Mages, if he can completely turn the Blue Ink Library into his private property, Xia De feels it is worth his running back and forth.

So in order to get the admission qualification for the secret auction this afternoon, Xia De went straight to the Fragrant Mansion, hoping to get Vigo's help.

It's just a pity that Vigo, who was lying on the bed yesterday, felt much better early in the morning, so she went out after breakfast, and even Miss McDonald was not here.

However, the housekeeper Miss Rollin was still in the mansion. Although she could help Xia De with small things like getting auction qualifications, for the sake of her master's happiness, Miss Rollin guiltily did not inform her savior of this point.

"The master returned to the old mansion in the morning, Mr. Watson, you can go there to find her."

"Is it the old mansion of the Astley family?"

"Yes, only a few relatives of the Astley family live there now. The lady wants to go back and check if there are any relics of her mother that were missed in the past, so she will be there all morning."

"I'll arrange a carriage for you. The old mansion of the Astley family is very close to here, so it won't take too much time."

The history of the Astley old mansion is even longer than "Fragrant Mansion." It is also a building that existed in the Delin-Or Kingdom era and is a small part of the former Duke's manor. Although it has been renovated several times over the centuries, the basic shape has remained as it was in the past.

Miss Rollin was right. It was indeed very close from "Fragrant Mansion" to there. Xia De even felt that the carriage had just started and drove into the mansion he had seen in Vigo's dream.

Although Vigo didn't live here daily, there were still family servants doing daily cleaning, so the mansion didn't look dilapidated. It happened that the weather today was as good as in Vigo's dream, so Xia De was even thinking about whether he could really see Vigo swinging.

But when he really saw Vigo, it was in the large study of the three-story mansion in the center of the manor. The scale of the study even reminded him of a real library, and Vigo was directing the maids to move boxes of old things out of the storage room in the study.

"Ah! Why are you here?"

Seeing Xia De appear at the door, Vigo asked in surprise, and then couldn't help coughing, but this time it should be choked by the dust on the box.

Her mother had lived happily in this mansion with her father for a period of time, so there were actually many things left by the other party in this mansion after her mother passed away.

After Vigo decided to move out of here, she didn't pack up all the items in the ancestral home, so some of her mother's relics were still stored here. In the past, she didn't think those things were very important, but now she thought she might have missed some important clues in the past.

However, since Xia De found this place, Vigo understood that he must have something to ask for her help. And after listening to Xia De's narration, she directed the maid ladies to move the boxes that would be transported back to "Fragrant Mansion" in a while, and said to Xia De with a smile:

"I have also heard of that auction. I have been helping you inquire about the whereabouts of that manuscript. I will get the qualification to participate in the auction for you, which is very simple. However, you definitely wouldn't expect what kind of inside story the girls under my command have inquired about."

Xia De asked curiously:

"Inside story? Is there anything else behind the theft?"

Vigo nodded:

"I was also very surprised when I learned about this, but the theft of Baron Ramsey's collection room did happen. But it is said that when the thieves visited, there was basically nothing in the collection room. The shelves and display cabinets were mostly empty, so the thieves only took away a very small amount of low-value collections."

"But when Baron Ramsey reported to the police, he wrote much more on the list of lost items than what was actually lost."

Xia De blinked:

"This... well, I can guess some of the truth."

"The baron has two purposes. One purpose is to cheat insurance, and the other purpose is to sell the 'stolen' collection himself."

"The Ramsey family did business in Moon Bay. Because of the sudden outbreak of the war, they suffered huge losses and now urgently need a sum of money to fill the deficit. I heard that it seems to be related to the obstruction of the shipping route to the New Continent after the war broke out. In short, if he sells his own collection himself, not only will he lose face locally, but the collection will be difficult to sell in a short time, and it is easy to be suppressed in price. Even if it is sold, the Krona is not enough."

"But it became like this now, the black market sells low-value collections very quickly, and more importantly, the insurance premium is very high. Adding them together is almost enough, and this will not even damage his reputation."

Vigo coughed a few times again, pretending to avoid the maids, and moved a few steps towards Xia De:

"Although there is no evidence, I even suspect that those thieves were also set up by the baron to be cheated."

"So on the night of the charity banquet, even though you took me there, he directly rejected the request you made."

"He didn't really regard that manuscript as a family heirloom, but selling it to you could only make one profit, but 'being stolen' could make two, right?"

And the news that Baron Ramsey failed in business in Moon Bay was actually investigated by Bella entrusted by Vigo, but she didn't tell Xia De about other witches.

Xia De thought about it:

"The 'stolen goods auction' this afternoon, the person behind it is actually Baron Ramsey himself?"

"Yes, I think the old Mr. Lebory you mentioned was also deliberately leaked by the baron, wanting him to participate in the bidding to raise the final transaction price. Even if that old gentleman didn't entrust you, he would probably get the qualification through other channels soon."

"Of course, I am the same. He deliberately let me know about the auction, wanting me to help you buy that manuscript."

Vigo looked at Xia De:

"Why don't I just find him for a deal, so you don't have to run again."

Xia De shook his head:

"There is nothing to do today, I'd better go and see it myself. After getting that manuscript, at least after I came to Arcadia City, I can finally handle a task completely."

Vigo nodded gently. She knew that her identity was not suitable for attending such a stolen goods auction, so she didn't say she would go with him:

"The auction starts at three o'clock in the afternoon, and it is in the upper city. If you have nothing else to do, how about checking my mother's relics with me today?"