Snail Senior Brother

Chapter 338 The True and False Bronze Dagger

I returned home with Lu Yao, and Lin Han was already waiting. She was a bit anxious, as the timing of this theft was rather peculiar. I knew Lin Han had many questions, so I stopped her before she could voice them.

"Wife, we can talk about that later. Lu Yao, take Grandpa's safe and leave, now."

"What do I need to take that for?"

Lin Han also chimed in, "This item is a national treasure, how can you just take it away so casually?"

"I'll explain when we get back. Where's Mom?"

"She's not home, probably out grocery shopping."

"Good, let's move!"

We all lifted the safe into Lu Yao's car. I had Lu Yao take the general's head and the bronze dagger from the safe.

After Lu Yao left, Lin Han asked me, bewildered, "Husband, what's going on?"

"Someone is trying to frame us."

Lin Han gave a wry smile, "There's a saying, 'one wave has not subsided, another rises,' it's true. Your arm injury is still there, and their methods are coming at us again. Who is it?"

"It should be Cao Qian."

"She really loves you, doesn't she?"

I was a bit puzzled and said with a smile, "This morning, when we were having lamb soup noodles, I told you not to add vinegar, but you insisted. Now look, your words are laced with jealousy."

Lin Han smiled, "I'm serious. Hatred stems from unrequited love. The deeper your senior sister's hatred for you, the deeper her love for you must be."

Her words made me extremely uncomfortable. "Stop talking about it, let's focus on getting out of this. Tell me, why did the thief only steal a dagger and not the general's head?"

"There isn't a general's head anymore."

"How so?"

The Terracotta Army is a symbol of Xi'an and a spiritual treasure of Chinese civilization. Today, thousands of tourists visit the Terracotta Army Museum. However, when these majestic figures were unearthed, they were not all intact. Many were pieced together from fragments found at the archaeological site. Because of this, artifacts like terracotta warrior heads and hands would appear on the black market shortly after excavation. Now, only complete terracotta warrior figures remain.

In 1987, a single terracotta warrior head was worth three to four hundred thousand yuan. Considering current prices and the collector's market, a complete terracotta warrior would now be worth over a hundred million yuan. A general figure is priceless. Over the years, there have been rewards offered in the antique market for terracotta warrior figures, but no one has ever sold one. Such national treasures are prohibited from sale, and any attempt to do so is punishable by death. However, there are always people who aren't afraid of death. Besides this reason, the security at the Terracotta Army is extremely strict. Stealing something so large while evading sophisticated anti-theft systems would be absolutely impossible.

After Lin Han explained this, I understood. Then, a more serious problem occurred to me: "If that's the case, and all the Terracotta Army figures have been repaired and are now complete, sending our general's head back would be harder than climbing to heaven."

Lin Han nodded, "Exactly. Forget returning it, if we're discovered, we'll be sentenced to death for trafficking national treasures."

I chuckled helplessly, "Cao Qian is using the country's authority to try and kill me."

"Yes. Are you sure it's too risky to give the bronze dagger from the safe to Lu Yao? Lu Yao just returned to Xi'an and doesn't even have a permanent residence. Losing a national treasure would be a great loss. Even if it's not lost, being discovered is a dead end."

"Lu Yao isn't an idiot, trust him."

Lin Han was about to say more, but at that moment, a siren sounded, growing louder as it approached. It didn't sound like just one police car.

Lin Han frowned, then a smile lit up her face. She hugged my arm, "I was still worrying about how to return the national treasure, but it seems my unparalleled husband already had a plan."

"The police aren't my arrangement, they're likely here to arrest us," I said truthfully. The police coming to our house had nothing to do with me.

"Even if it's not you, what does it matter? You foresaw this and had Lu Yao take the safe in advance. Even if the police arrive with a search warrant, what can they do?"

As we were speaking, several police cars had already stopped at the entrance. The first to get out was a portly man in a police uniform. I recognized him; it was Director Lu. I had dealt with him during the X driver fraud case.

"Director Lu!"

"Good, you haven't run. I had the officers turn on the sirens two blocks away."

I looked at Director Lu's plump, smiling face, unsure of his intentions, and decided to play along. "I'm not a criminal, why would I run just because I hear a siren? I was just wondering if it was a fire alarm, why is it so loud?"

Director Lu laughed heartily and pointed at me, "Tang Nan, I'm retiring this year, don't cause me any trouble."

"No, no."

"Then I'll be direct. A national treasure has been stolen from the museum."

"I saw it on the news."

"This is a search warrant."

Just as Lin Han had guessed, Director Lu, having apparently received confirmed information from somewhere, actually arrived with a search warrant. The police divided into teams to search my house. Director Lu stayed put, smiling at Lin Han, "Calm and collected, truly a legend in the antique world, the Queen of the Underground Palace, living up to her name."

"Director Lu, you jest."

Director Lu smiled, making it difficult to discern his thoughts. The loss of a national treasure was a serious matter. Without evidence, they wouldn't have come to my house with a search warrant. But judging by his unhurried demeanor, he was indeed a seasoned veteran.

I feigned surprise and engaged Director Lu in conversation, "Director Lu, you don't think I'm the one who stole the national treasure, do you? Honestly, my business has been doing well lately; I wouldn't get involved in such a mess for a few million."

"Someone reported you."

"Who? They must have a grudge against me."

"Possibly. It was an anonymous tip, but I can't ignore it, after all, it's a national treasure. Tang Nan, please cooperate. If we don't find anything, I'll apologize on behalf of the Public Security Bureau. If we do, your identity as a member of the Criminal Investigation Bureau won't protect you. However, you haven't run or caused a disturbance, so I suspect my officers will have been busy for nothing."

At that moment, Lu Yao's Audi car returned. He got out and spoke a few words to the auxiliary police officers maintaining the cordon. The auxiliary officers hurried over to report. Following that, Director Lu walked over to the perimeter and spoke with Lu Yao. From a distance, we couldn't hear their conversation, but we could visibly see Director Lu's calm demeanor gradually disappear, replaced by a look of tension.

Lin Han watched, and asked me, puzzled, "Lu Yao seems off. What's really going on?"

"It's okay, wife. I've got everything under control. After the police arrest us, just tell them the truth."

"The police will arrest us... Ah! He... he..." Lin Han pointed at Lu Yao, unable to speak. Lu Yao was humbly speaking to Director Lu, and finally, he took out the bronze dagger from the safe and handed it to Director Lu.

From the current situation, it seemed Lu Yao had betrayed me. Director Lu's arrival with the police clearly indicated they intended to arrest someone. I hadn't stolen anything, and without evidence, Director Lu could only search the house based on the anonymous tip and bring us to the police station for questioning.

Now, with Lu Yao handing over the bronze dagger, my guilt is confirmed. It won't be as simple as just a few questions.

We were about to enter the interrogation room. Lin Han, initially nervous, suddenly relaxed and asked me, "At the police station, will just telling the truth be enough?"

"Yes!"

I agreed, noticing the relaxed tone in Lin Han's voice. I glanced at her, and she smiled slyly, "I suspect this is all your plan."

"Not bad. How did you figure it out?"

"While the bronze dagger is a national treasure, it's only so because it was unearthed from Pit No. 2. In Xi'an, there are many bronze artifacts. For this single dagger, the motive isn't strong enough given our wealth. If Lu Yao truly wanted to condemn us, he would have handed over the general's head as well."

"Clever?"

Lin Han smiled proudly, "When you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken; when you marry a dog, you follow the dog!"

Just then, the police who had been searching the house with the warrant came out. They seemed very excited. The theft of a national treasure was a major event, and to solve the case with an anonymous call was incredibly lucky.

However, when these police officers presented the bronze dagger to Director Lu, his expression turned grim. These astute officers were also taken aback. The bronze dagger in Director Lu's hand was identical to the one they had found.

Despite this, someone approached with handcuffs. Reporters hidden in the shadows were snapping photos frantically.

Director Lu had lost his initial composure. He walked up to me, looked at me with handcuffs on, and said sternly, "Tang Nan, you need to explain yourself clearly."

"Actually, the situation has always been clear, much as you suspect. I've been framed by an enemy."

Director Lu furrowed his brow. I smiled, "Director Lu, please don't mix up those two bronze daggers. The one you're holding was given to you by Lu Yao and has something to do with me. The one your men found, although discovered in my home, it's not yet certain if it's truly related to me."