Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
9:00am the next day, a residential area in Feng Ping City, Zhao Yun Province
“Old Yuan left too soon…” Yuan Juncheng’s wife said. She let out a sigh and choked on her tears. “It was the La Ba Festival. He had been fine in the morning. He even had La Ba porridge in the afternoon and some dumplings for dinner! Who could have known, when the night came, he would leave us!”
“Auntie, where were you when Professor Yuan was having difficulties?” Cui Lizhu asked.
“At home!” The old lady said. “I had just come home from dancing at around 9:00pm and he was already half-unconscious on the floor. There was white foam at the edges of his mouth, and he seemed to be in great discomfort. I was so scared! When I asked him what was wrong, he just said his chest hurt. He was gripping his chest, barely able to say a word, and his face was as white as a sheet! I hurriedly called my children, and I even dialed 120, but by the time he reached the hospital it was too late!” The old lady started wiping her tears away again while recalling her painful memories.
“What you’re saying is that Professor Yuan was alone at home when all this began?” Zhao Yu asked her.
“Yes!” The old lady sighed remorsefully. “It’s all my fault! If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have gone dancing. When I left, he was still okay! As always, he was working on his own stuff and I was doing mine…”
“It was during La Ba!” Zhao Yu said. “Feng Ping’s cold seasons are always subzero, and you still went to dance?”
“Yes. It’s not a public square dance!” The old lady said. “It’s in a culture hall in the community. We have several performances during the lunar new year season, so we were rehearsing on a tight schedule. It’s my fault, if only I had come back earlier, perhaps he wouldn’t…”
“That can’t be…” Cui Lizhu said. What she meant was obvious: if Yuan Juncheng was still able to speak, why didn’t he call his wife when he was in pain? It was rather suspicious.
Before Cui Lizhu could finish her question, Zhao Yu cut in. “After reaching the hospital, what did the doctors say?”
“Uhm… they said it was a case of acute heart disease. Something about cardiac arrest? I can’t really remember!” The old lady said. Her face was remorseful.
“Did Professor Yuan have a history of heart disease?” Zhao Yu asked.
“No!” The old lady replied. “Old Yuan would be 67 this year. Other than slightly higher blood pressure, he was considered very healthy! He paid attention to his health and exercised, so if he had heart problems he would definitely have noticed!”
Cui Lizhu looked at Zhao Yu, understanding why he changed the subject. Even though they had come to investigate the case, some things shouldn’t be made too obvious. “Auntie,” Cui Lizhu asked after some thought. “What does Professor Yuan do usually? On the day of his cardiac arrest, what was he working on?”
“Hmm, well,” the old lady didn’t really seem keen on answering. “Although he had retired, his workload hadn’t decreased. From planning a training seminar here to giving a lecture over there, he was never able to properly rest. Sometimes if a relic was found, they would still call him up! Also, the museum called him every other day, so he didn’t have a single day of rest this year. He was actually busier than he was when he was at work! On that day, he was probably doing the same thing as usual.”
“Oh,” Cui Lizhu said, glancing at Zhao Yu and waiting for his approval. She then took out photographs of the other four people on the list for the old lady to see. “Auntie, look at these. Do you recognize anyone from the photographs? Do they know Professor Yuan?”
“Oh?” The old lady put on her reading glasses, took a close look at the photographs, and shook her head. “No… I’ve never met them before. Who are they?”
“It’s nothing, we’re just asking… uhm…” Cui Lizhu stopped midsentence. “Auntie, so do you know what he was working on?”
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“What else would he be studying? Cultural relics of course!” the old woman replied. “He’s been working with them his whole life, what else would it have been?”
“Uhm…” Cui Lizhu wanted to ask about the treasure but didn’t know how to start.
“Auntie,” Zhao Yu said. He had more experience with this and was able to find the right words. “Where did you retire from?”
“I worked in the cultural center!” The old lady replied.
“Oh! No wonder you look so classy!” Zhao Yu complimented. “So, you’re a dance artist?”
“Ha, that’s a fancy way of putting it!” The old lady smiled. “It was just one dance, I can’t be considered an artist!” Her smile eased the tense atmosphere.
“One is into culture and the other is into relics!” Zhao Yu said. “So, did you understand what Professor Yuan did?”
“No way!” she said, waving her hands. “Even though we were a couple, I’m clueless about these things!”
“Ah, if that’s the case, can we take a look at his workspace?” Zhao Yu asked politely.
“Since it’s you, then sure!” She hurriedly opened the room and invited them in. “Take a look around. After Old Yuan passed away, I only packed up a few of the things here. I’m still not ready to decide what I want to do with all this.”
“Wow…” As soon as they entered, Cui Lizhu was drawn in by the African Rosewood furniture on the left that were lined with many antique artifacts. “All this…” Cui Lizhu said as she walked up to take a closer look. It was as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.
“Oh,” the old lady said. “These are some of Old Yuan’s collections from when he was still around. But since he was the museum’s director, he had donated some of the more valuable relics to avoid suspicion. The ones here are not worth much!”
“Was anything thrown away after Professor Yuan passed on?” Zhao Yu asked.
“Probably not,” the old woman answered. “The children counted and nothing was missing.”
“What about notebooks or documents?” Zhao Yu continued, pointing at the desk.
“I’m not sure about that, I’ve yet to clean it up,” she replied. Zhao Yu nodded. He checked Yuan Juncheng’s desk with Cui Lizhu, taking photographs of the documents that were there. Nothing was related to the treasure. They were just about ready to wrap up. “Old lady!” Zhao Yu said, taking out a pen and some paper. “We still want to understand some things, is there any chance you could share the contact information of the people who knew about Professor Yuan’s work?”
“No problem!” The old lady wrote a few names down. The names she wrote were friends and colleagues of people close to Yuan Juncheng when he was alive. After that, Zhao Yu left his business card with her and told her if there was anything that she needed help with she could contact him. Calling it a day, they left Yuan’s house.
Right after leaving, Cui Lizhu excitedly tugged at Zhao Yu’s shirt. “Boss, there’s something off about Yuan Juncheng! Those treasures were something else!”
“What?” Zhao Yu was slightly surprised.
“Let’s put the porcelain artifacts aside for now,” Cui Lizhu said. “Did you see the ghost face on the African Rosewood furniture? That’s rare rosewood reserved for royalty! The market price would be over two million! That’s the real thing!”