Chapter 5
Chapter 5
I carefully explained to Zhu Yuanzhang exactly how to use each of the medicines.
Zhu Yuanzhang was half convinced, half skeptical.
But the Crown Prince was gravely ill, and every imperial physician in all of Great Ming was at a complete loss.
Right now, I was his only lifeline. He no longer had the luxury of being picky.
After agreeing on a time for our next livestream call, Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly ended the stream.
The next morning, the museum director called and invited me to come by the museum.
“People from Country A are here,” he said.
I drove to the museum, where the director was already waiting for me at the entrance.
“Those people are saying you’re a thief who stole a national treasure, and they want you to return Portraits of Successive Emperors to them…” As soon as he saw me, he began explaining the situation with a grave expression.
“Return?”
I repeated the word, my brows slowly drawing together.
“What do you mean, return it to them?
“Portraits of Successive Emperors was painted by Yan Liben, a renowned painter of Huaxia’s Tang Dynasty. It is a cultural treasure shared by all of us in Huaxia.
“They obtained this painting through despicable means, and now they want us to send it back to them?
“What kind of ridiculous pipe dream is that?”
The museum director froze.
It took him a long while to come back to himself.
“Yes, that’s right…” he murmured. “It is a cultural treasure shared by all the people of Huaxia.”
The moment the director finished speaking, we had already reached the conference room.
Inside sat several foreigners with blond hair and blue eyes.
The instant they saw me, their faces filled with anger.
“Thief!” one man in black snarled at me in clumsy Chinese.
The man in the lead stopped his outburst, then turned to me and forced a smile.
He took out a large stack of photographs. They were all photos of Portraits of Successive Emperors on display at the Country A Art Museum over the past century or so.
“Miss Xia,” the man said with a smile that did not reach his eyes, “these are all evidence that Portraits of Successive Emperors had been properly preserved in our country’s art museum this entire time.
“But two days ago, this priceless treasure was stolen.
“And less than half a day later, we learned that you had obtained Portraits of Successive Emperors and donated it to a museum in City B, Huaxia.
“We have reason to suspect that you stole this painting from the Country A Art Museum!”
“Why waste so many words on her?” The man who had cursed at me just now shot to his feet in fury. “She’s a thief!”
“A cultural relic thief!”
Instead of getting angry, I laughed.
I sat down on the wide sofa in the conference room, lifted my right leg, and crossed it over the other.
“Your Country A Art Museum lost a painting. What does that have to do with me?
“Could you maybe check your entry records? I’ve been alive for more than twenty years, and I’ve never set foot inside Country A even once!”
“…”
The foreigners were rendered speechless for a moment.
After a good while, someone finally stammered out a retort. “Who knows whether you had accomplices…”
I let out a scoff.
“Do you have evidence?” I asked.
The group fell silent again.
I laughed once more.
“So you rushed all the way to Huaxia to arrest someone, and you don’t even have evidence?
“Take a good look at the country you’re standing in. What era do you think this is?
“You have no evidence whatsoever, yet you think you can pin a charge of theft on a law-abiding Huaxia citizen here in Huaxia?
“Keep dreaming!
“Besides, this painting of mine was personally given to me by Emperor Huizong of Song in front of tens of millions of witnesses.
“If you want to catch a cultural relic thief from Country A, what does that have to do with a fortune-telling blogger from Huaxia like me?
“I’ve been a good, law-abiding citizen since I was little. I check the traffic lights every single time I cross the road.
“I even kept all my Merit Student certificates from six years of elementary school. Want me to take them out and show you?”