bayedsolid Chapter 406 Museum
Chapter 406 Museum
A servant rushed in: "Master, the Nine Tripods of the Nine Provinces have been delivered to the museum, and His Majesty the Emperor requests your presence."
"Huh? It's already been delivered? Who delivered it? Wasn't it supposed to be after the banquet?" The head of the Yin family was a little confused and angry—they were really kicking him after he'd served his purpose, not even bothering to inform him. What was the rush? The thing wasn't going to run away; he was hoping to show off in front of all the guests...
There was nothing he could do; he couldn't fight city hall. With things having come to this, he hurriedly asked the steward to arrange a car, and instructed the servants to call his three sons and a group of guards, and head towards the main gate. Halfway there, they stopped, and the group almost bumped into each other.
The head of the Yin family made a sharp turn and ran towards the place where the Nine Tripods of the Nine Provinces were placed—it was empty, with only the frames remaining, and they actually managed to take them away.
When the Yin family arrived at the museum, His Majesty had arrived, the Chinese officials had arrived, and the various families who were originally going to celebrate his birthday had also gathered there. There were also many onlookers who were discussing the matter animatedly.
With great difficulty and the help of the guards, the head of the Yinteng family managed to squeeze his way to His Majesty's side, where he overheard Professor Dai from the Chinese side saying, "Your Majesty, you are truly a practitioner of Sino-Japanese friendship! You kept your word and returned the Nine Tripods of Kyushu to our country, and even commissioned experts to create a life-size replica, which is now displayed in a museum for the public to see. Look at it, how lifelike it is! The details are so well done that it's almost indistinguishable from the real thing..."
Professor Dai gave a vivid and engaging explanation of the origins, background, symbolic meaning, and stories of the Nine Tripods of the Nine Provinces, which captivated the audience.
However, His Majesty the Emperor and the Yin Teng family were filled with anxiety, unable to determine whether the Nine Tripods of the Nine Provinces were genuine or not.
Of course, even if it were real, they could only treat it as a 'high-quality replica,' otherwise how could they explain to the public that they had switched foreign cultural relics with foreign ones and hidden them in their own museum?
Although they did this in private, they wouldn't dare to shamelessly expose it to the public. They could only hope that the Chinese side was mistaken and that the Nine Tripods of Kyushu were the genuine article that the Ito family had kept.
While this place was bustling with activity, resembling a Sino-Japanese friendship event, the Yin Teng family's residence was practically a ghost town. The patriarch had left, and the remaining members were still somewhat bewildered—when were the Nine Cauldrons of Kyushu moved away?
The Nine Cauldrons of Kyushu were able to be moved from the Ito family by taking advantage of a time lag. At dawn, Bing Lingxiao led his men and, taking advantage of the Ito family's lax guard duty during the shift change, quickly lifted the Nine Cauldrons of Kyushu onto a trailer. Within minutes, they were hidden in a corner of the Ito family head's courtyard. Owen said, "It's darkest under the lamp."
There was only a glass cover covered by a cloth curtain. The guards who came on duty were exhausted after several days and thought it would be safe by dawn. The master of the house had also gone to sleep, so they didn't take a closer look.
It wasn't until someone informed the family head that the Nine Cauldrons of the Nine Provinces had been sent to the museum, and the family head rushed over, that they realized the inside was empty.
Fortunately, the head of the family glanced at it and then led a group of people outside without asking any questions. Everyone assumed that His Majesty had sent people to take it away.
When Eiko Ito came out of the room, there were only a few servants left. She calmly took the antidote first, and then went into the kitchen.
A moment later, she came out carrying a tray and said gently, "Everyone has worked hard all night. The artifact has been moved away. Please have a cup of hot milk tea to relax. There will be a lot of work to do at the banquet later."
The servants and guards exchanged glances. It seemed that the second young lady had been given important responsibilities by the head of the family recently. She always sat to the lower left of the head of the family during meals and was often called to the study for talks. She should drink the milk tea that the head of the family poured for her.
"What's wrong with you all? The milk tea is here, come and get it yourselves." Yin Teng Yingzi elegantly picked a cup casually and took a sip slowly: "I haven't had breakfast yet, I'm starving."
Soon, Eiko watched them fall one by one, thinking to herself, "Tingnan's sleeping potion really works."
After taking down the shrimp soldiers and crab generals, Song Tingnan, Bing Lingxiao, and others immediately dragged the Nine Tripods of the Nine Provinces out of the courtyard of the Yin Teng family head, covered them with cloth, and pushed them onto the waiting military vehicle. They sped along the road and were placed together with other cultural relics returning to the country.
As Professor Dai was promoting the Nine Tripods of China in front of the museum, he saw Bing Lingxiao appear in the crowd and changed the subject: "Your Majesty, esteemed family heads, we are returning to our country today, so we will not say any more."
I left the books detailing our cultural relics at the diplomatic mission, and they will be donated to various schools, ensuring that each family has a copy. All the cultural relics, including the Nine Tripod Cauldrons of the Nine Provinces, have been wrapped up thanks to your great help. Would you like to go and take a look together?
"Is everything packed up?" His Majesty asked. He was still pondering the authenticity of the Nine Tripods of the Nine Provinces before him and didn't care about the books. After all, they were given to them for free. The Chinese just valued these elaborate rituals.