Movie variety show soul travels between two worlds to become a rich man

Chapter 662: Evil people still need to be punished by evil people

“You are the one who destroyed the Five Families, so you are the only one who can save them,” said Liu Yiming, the leader of the Five Families, standing to the side.

Xu Yuan nodded. A traitor who was appointed to a critical mission—what a peculiar character.

Liu Yiming added, "You have enough momentum now, but you still lack a trump card to influence the situation. Director Luo and Professor Zheng don't want you to show your face because they don't have any trump cards to give you."

Everyone's eyes lit up. Judging from Liu Yiming's words, he seemed to have a backup plan to resolve the current crisis.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Liu Yiming smiled and shook his head: "I have no cards to play either. The other side has already blocked all the Five Families' methods. You can only find a different path and look outside the Five Families."

Everyone shook their heads and smiled wryly. Seeing Xu Yuan's troubled expression, Liu Yiming said again, "Tell me, where is the key move in this game?"

"The authenticity of 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival'?" Xu Yuan immediately replied.

"That's right. To break this deadlock, you need to find decisive evidence to prove which of the two 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' paintings is genuine. Only you, only this trump card, can save the situation."

"What kind of trump card is that?"

"I don't know what the trump card is. All I know is that it's a big secret about 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival'."

As soon as Liu Yiming spoke, everyone looked at him in astonishment, while Huang Kewu frowned thoughtfully.

Liu Yiming didn't keep you in suspense, and said with a hint of helplessness, "But what this secret is, I don't know either. I can only give you a hint, a name. I don't know if he will help you, or even if he has the trump card we want, but this is currently the only option outside of the Five Families. Only by finding him can the 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' scroll have a chance to break the deadlock."

At this point, Liu Yiming sighed, which was rare for him. "However, this person is hard to evaluate, and it will be quite difficult to get his help."

A person who can be difficult for Liu Yiming to evaluate must be incredibly eccentric. I puffed out my chest, indicating that no matter how troublesome this person was, I would give it my all. Liu Yiming held up one finger and said, "This person's surname is Dai, and his name is Dai Hexuan. He was also in the 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' appraisal group back then."

Huang Yanyan and Director Luo were both taken aback and unconsciously looked at Gao Dongxu.

"Dai Hexuan, there's no need to look for him anymore. He's already been exposed for fraud and has fled the country," Gao Dongxu said with a smile.

"Huh?!" Liu Yiming was dumbfounded, and Xu Yuan even gave a wry smile.

We finally got a clue, but before we could even start investigating, it all went cold.

"Hehe, although Dai Hexuan ran away, he told me about the Dai family's connection with the Qingming Scroll during my interrogation of Dai Hexuan, as a secret," Gao Dongxu continued with a laugh.

"You know?" Director Luo, Liu Yiming, and Huang Kewu looked at Gao Dongxu in surprise and asked in unison.

"Yes, according to Dai Hexuan, his ancestor Dai Xi was skilled in painting flowers, birds, figures, plum blossoms, bamboo, and rocks, and was very famous, known as the 'upper generation of the Four Wangs'."

During the Daoguang era, he was frequently summoned to the palace, leaving behind many calligraphic works and paintings. Through this connection, he had the opportunity to see various treasures in the Palace Museum, including "Along the River During the Qingming Festival".

At that time, there was a great collector named Bi Yuan who spent a lot of money to buy "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" from a man named Lu Feichi. Unfortunately, he later committed a serious crime and his entire family was executed. The painting was then taken into the palace.

The Jiaqing Emperor particularly admired this work and included it in the book *Shiqu Baoji Sanbian*. During the Daoguang reign, Dai Xi once entered the palace to paint a birthday gift. The emperor, in high spirits, granted him permission to view the painting in the imperial archives. Taking this opportunity, he finally saw its true form.

“I’ve seen the seals and inscriptions of Lu Feichi and Bi Yuan, the brothers Bi Long. That’s right, the order of this lineage is accurate,” Liu Yiming confirmed excitedly from the side.

Gao Dongxu smiled slightly and continued, "According to Dai Hexuan, a family notebook records that one day, Dai Xi returned home very late, looking rather strange. His son, Dai Yiheng, also a renowned painter, asked him if he had seen 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival.' Dai Xi said something odd: 'Zhang Zeduan's masterpiece is brilliant, but unfortunately, it's incomplete.'"

Upon hearing this, everyone asked in unison, "What do you mean by 'regretfully incomplete'?"

Gao Dongxu said with a smile, "It is a pity that the 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' scroll is incomplete. The one in the Palace Museum is only a fragment, missing a section, which is why the Dai family ancestor sighed about it."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a sudden dizziness, as if their minds had been overwhelmed by an overwhelming amount of information.

Everyone wore expressions of disbelief, because no one had ever imagined that a famous painting that had been passed down for so many years was not the complete version!
"The Palace Museum's version of 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' is 528 centimeters long, painted on silk, and both sides have been carefully mounted, showing no signs of damage or breakage. Historical records and writings have never mentioned it as a fragment... Dai Xi's viewpoint..." Liu Yiming, pale-faced, murmured the data for the scroll, finding it hard to accept.
"So, why did Dai Xi say that? What evidence do you have?" Director Luo asked, his brows furrowed.

Gao Dongxu shook his head helplessly: "Dai Hexuan said that Dai Yiheng asked the same question at the time, but Dai Xi didn't answer and instead dismissed him. There was nothing that could be done about it. The 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' is a precious work that the emperor personally included in the 'Shiqu Baoji Sanbian'. Who would dare to say anything against it? He said it was a bit short. What if the emperor heard him and made him complete the painting?"

That's true. Although the literary inquisitions during the Daoguang era were not as severe as those during the Qianlong era, these scholars had long been killed off and had lost their courage, remaining silent and trembling with fear. How could they dare to speak recklessly?

Gao Dongxu continued, "That night, Dai Xi wrote a calligraphy piece alone in his study. After finishing it, he kept it hidden away and never showed it to anyone—that's right, he kept it with another of his treasured Daqi Tongbao coins." Gao Dongxu looked at Huang Kewu and said, and Huang Kewu nodded with a furrowed brow.

Xu Yuan asked somewhat unwillingly, "What does that calligraphy copybook say? Does it mention any fragments of 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival'?"

"I've already said I never show myself in public—" Huang Yanyan rolled her eyes at Xu Yuan and said irritably.

Gao Dongxu smiled and put his arm around Huang Yanyan's slender waist. He looked at Xu Yuan and said, "Yanyan is right. Not to mention outsiders, even Dai Xi's son, Dai Yiheng, has never seen him."

Dai Yiheng wrote about this anecdote in his "Zui Su Zhai Notes", saying that his father kept the calligraphy copybook very well hidden and warned his family that the Dai family descendants would not be allowed to publish it unless the truth of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" was revealed.

Dai Yiheng speculated that his father may have seen a fragment of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" in person, and after comparing it with the Palace Museum version, he finally determined that the original was incomplete.

Dai Xi, a renowned painter, discovered this secret but dared not speak of it, feeling a deep urge to reveal it. Therefore, he wrote down his discovery in his calligraphy practice book, leaving it for future verification.

After hearing this, everyone nodded silently. People like Director Luo, Huang Kewu, and Liu Yiming could probably guess Dai Xi's thoughts. It was a typical intellectual's petty mindset—timid and afraid of trouble, yet cherishing his reputation.

He wrote a calligraphy copybook and kept it secret until someone else came forward to prove that "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" was indeed a fragment. Then, the Dai family descendants could publish the copybook to prove that Dai Xi was the first person to discover this secret, thus ensuring their safety and leaving a mark on history.

Gao Dongxu continued, "Dai Xi later returned to Hangzhou to retire, but unexpectedly the Taiping Rebellion broke out. He was forced to commit suicide by drowning, and the Daqi Tongbao coin disappeared from then on. The calligraphy book that was placed next to the Daqi Tongbao coin also disappeared at the same time and was never found again."

Fortunately, this story was preserved because Dai Yiheng wrote it down in his notebook, and the Dai family knows about it.

When the national appraisal of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" took place in 51, Dai Hexuan, as a technician, participated in the appraisal team and suddenly thought of the story of Dai Xi.

However, due to the circumstances at the time, he dared not express his opinions rashly. Regarding the claim of a fragmentary copy, he said he had only briefly mentioned it to the head of the appraisal team, but unfortunately, the evidence was insufficient, and the team did not fully believe him and did not formally raise the issue for discussion. Once the appraisal results for the genuine copy were released, Dai Hexuan found an excuse to return to Jianye.

“I see. I suspected back then that Dai Hexuan had some connection with the Riverside Scene at the Riverside, but I never expected it to be such a secret.” Liu Yiming nodded, his doubts completely dispelled.

"That's all?" Xu Yuan looked at Gao Dongxu and asked with a frown.

"That's all. That's all Dai Hexuan knows," Gao Dongxu said with a faint smile.

Everyone smiled wryly; without evidence, one person's opinion could only be taken as a story.

"Oh, and he also told me that he has a niece named Dai Haiyan who is pursuing her doctorate at Fudan University in Shanghai. Because she is the main wife in the Dai family, he probably knows more about her," Gao Dongxu added with a smile.

Everyone looked at Gao Dongxu, who had a smile on his face, and their lips twitched. Just now, everyone had given up hope, but unexpectedly, they saw a glimmer of hope in the next moment.

"I'm going to Shanghai to find Dai Haiyan; she's our only hope." Xu Yuan threw back the covers and was about to get out of bed.

"Don't be so impulsive, you're not fully recovered yet..." Professor Zheng, who was standing nearby, hurriedly stopped him.

At this moment, Director Luo looked at Gao Dongxu, but Gao Dongxu completely ignored Director Luo's gaze. He had no intention of getting involved and being played around, running around aimlessly. Wouldn't it be better to stay in the capital with his woman?

Seeing Gao Dongxu's completely unresponsive attitude, Director Luo smiled wryly and finally looked at Xu Yuan.

"I can't worry about that now. I'm almost fully recovered. Since it was my fault, I have to take responsibility." Xu Yuan thanked Professor Zheng for his kindness but insisted on continuing.

"Yanyan—" Huang Kewu suddenly called out to Huang Yanyan.

However, Gao Dongxu immediately guessed Huang Kewu's meaning and frowned, saying, "Yanyan went to Jianye this time and was put in the detention center by Dai Hexuan. If I hadn't rushed over, she would still be locked up now..."

"What happened?" Huang Kewu asked Huang Yanyan with a look of astonishment.

Huang Yanyan didn't hide anything and briefly recounted what had happened. When they heard that Gao Dongxu had brutally crippled Dai Hexuan's right hand and forced him to flee overseas, everyone present realized just how ruthless Gao Dongxu's methods were.

Huang Kewu's lips twitched, he glanced at Gao Dongxu, then shut his mouth and gave up on Huang Yanyan.

Director Luo looked at Gao Dongxu and laughed, "It really is true that evil people need evil people to grind them down."

Everyone couldn't help but twitch their lips. Xu Yuan looked admiringly at Gao Dongxu, who was furious for his girlfriend, then hesitated for a moment before asking Liu Yiming, "Grandpa, tell me honestly, is the 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' in the Palace Museum real or fake?"

(End of this chapter)