False evidence

Chapter 150 Mao Zangjin

“A birdcage is worth 200,000 yuan, you’ve really struck it rich this time!” Meng Chao said to me.

As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to realize something, and the room became unusually quiet.

The meaning of the nickname "Hidden Gold in Hair" is not hard to understand from the literal meaning of the words—gold can be hidden in hair.

The reason why the birdcage made by the King of Northern Cages was so sought after by high-ranking officials and nobles was not only because of its exquisite craftsmanship, but also because the cage itself had hidden compartments that could be used to hide things.

So here's the question—what kind of thing needs to be hidden so secretly?
After a moment of silence, it was Xiao Shen San who spoke first: "A birdcage alone is worth a fortune. What kind of treasure could be hidden inside?"

When he said this, his expression was rather strange, not one of greed, but rather a kind of indescribable oddity.

At this moment, Yan Fengwei was most interested in him and asked, "Guess what's hidden in here?"

Xiao Shen rolled his eyes and said slowly, "I'm not a diviner, nor do I have X-ray vision, so how would I know what's inside? But when you mentioned Emperor Zhengde, I immediately thought of my elder brother."

"Your elder brother?"

I was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening, and when I looked at the birdcage again, I started to feel a little nauseous.

Xiao Shen, observing my expression, chuckled and said, "You're quite clever, with a good memory; you knew what I was thinking."

I couldn't help but purse my lips: "I have to say you're an extraordinary person. Every word you say is so shocking that I can't help but remember it."

Meng Chao said in a deep voice, "With just a few of us, do you two need to play riddles?"

Xiao Shen San grinned mischievously, "As I just said, my older brother is a eunuch."

Meng Chao knew he was from a hundred years ago, and asked him, "Did your elder brother originally serve in the Qing Palace?"

Xiao Shensan shook his head: "He did serve in the palace, but he served the Ming Dynasty emperor. Everyone called the emperor 'Your Majesty,' and he was only a hundred years younger than the emperor."

Yan Fengwei laughed heartily: "One hundred years younger than the emperor, nine thousand nine hundred years old, ha... isn't that Wei..."

He was stunned after only uttering the word "Wei".

Because Xiao Shen nodded very seriously.

Although he is young, when he is not smiling, he has a special aura that makes people feel that he is not a child, but an old man who has experienced the vicissitudes of life.

Therefore, when he nodded, I was certain that he wasn't lying.

Yan Fengwei was a smart man, and naturally he saw this as well. He exchanged a glance with Xiao Shen, and after confirming the connection, he shook his head with a dry laugh and said:
"There are all sorts of strange things in this world. If I had the chance, I would really like to meet the infamous... the very same infamous Ninth Prince."

Xiao Shen rolled his eyes at him: "Notorious is notorious. Even my second brother said that about him to his face."

Seeing the conversation drifting further and further off course, I chuckled dryly and looked at Yan Fengwei, saying, "Haven't you figured out what he was really trying to say?" Seeing that Yan Fengwei and Meng Chao still looked confused, Xiao Shensan laughed again, "Anyone who can afford such an expensive birdcage must be rich. As far as I know, in the early Republic of China, many seemingly wealthy people around Beijing were originally eunuchs. Guess what kind of treasures they valued most?"

Hearing him emphasize the word "baby" and give a mischievous grin, Yan Fengwei and Meng Chao finally understood what he meant by "baby".

Meng Chao looked like he'd swallowed a dead fly: "I hope there's no eunuch's thing hiding in this cage. If there is... this cage is unusable!"

Xiao Shen laughed loudly: "Kid, I was just joking with you, and you actually took it seriously? Don't you think about it? People like my brother are one of only two or three in five thousand years of history. The eunuchs from the Qing Dynasty who ended up in the common people may have smuggled a lot of palace treasures, but even if you gave them ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to use things with dragon and phoenix carvings on them. Putting their 'treasures' in a birdcage, that's just ridiculous, hahahaha..."

Yan Fengwei was also amused by him, "I don't care if you're an adult or a child, you're really fucking funny. When you're free, come stay at my place for a while, and I guarantee we'll have endless things to talk about."

The truth is, I had similar thoughts.

This Shen San may not be very learned, but he is witty and clever to the core, and no one will ever find it boring to talk to him.

I checked the time and said to Yan Fengwei, "Brother Yan, can you open the mechanism in this birdcage?"

"Nonsense!" Yan Fengwei put his gloves on again. "Have you seen the safe at Kouzi's house? The way to hide things is to hide them in unexpected places. Once the trick is exposed, it's not worth mentioning. Take this birdcage, for example. It's just sitting here. How big of a thing can it hide, and where can it hide it? It's as obvious as a bald man's lice."

Hearing him say that, Meng Chao, Xiao Shen San, and I all looked up at the top of his head without prior arrangement.

Yan Fengwei realized his 'slip of the tongue' and almost burst out laughing. He went over, picked up the birdcage, and let Meng Chao carry it. Then he gestured for me to squat down with him.

"Unless it's a gold or silver needle, the only place it could be hidden in the birdcage is at the bottom, or perhaps in the hollow of the sun bar (the horizontal bar in the middle of the cage for the bird to step on). Your cage doesn't have a sun bar, so if something is really hidden there, it can only be at the bottom of the cage... in this location."

As he spoke, he pointed to something and said, "The reason why the Marquis of Jizhong is so famous is said to be because he obtained the Luban Book. The secret compartments and mechanisms mostly use Luban locks. And for modern people, Luban locks are not too difficult to open..."

"what?"

He suddenly looked puzzled. "Could it be that I'm mistaken?"

Xiao Shensan squatted down beside him, looking up at the bottom of the cage, and said, "Is that even a question? You must be mistaken. There must be a hidden layer at the bottom of the cage, but it's just a single piece of board. Where would there be any mechanism or lock?"

Yan Fengwei watched for a while longer, then stood up, straightened his back, and looked even more confused.

He was already overweight, and after squatting for a while, he was sweating. He took off his suit jacket and threw it into the chair, wiped his forehead, but his eyes never left the birdcage.

Seeing something on his waist, a sudden thought flashed through my mind: "I think I know where the mechanism is. But... the hidden compartment is most likely empty right now."

Yan Fengwei was taken aback: "How do you know it's empty?"

Xiao Shen noticed my gaze and reached out to tap his waist: "Was this originally hidden in the secret compartment?"

Yan Fengwei glanced down and took off the keychain hanging from his waist. "Keys?"

(End of this chapter)