antique on the run

On a quiet night, the sky was full of stars, and at the foot of Yuejian Mountain shrouded in darkness, only the huts where Sai Wei and Qi Xiao lived still shone with dim candlelight.

The hour hand on the pocket watch has already pointed to twelve o'clock, but neither Sai Wei nor Qi Xiao slept.This was the last night of the Edo period in Japan. One person and one cat were watching the night together as if they had made an appointment.

"In a few hours, we will be able to leave this time and space." Saiwei sat cross-legged on the tatami, absently playing with Xiachuan Qingquan's gold pocket watch, and said to the kitten squatting beside him: "How about Qi Xiao?" , is there any reluctance?"

Qi Xiao squinted at him and shook his head.

How can he be reluctant, he has been enough of being a cat, it's better to turn back into a human soon.

"Neither have I." Sai Wei smiled and rolled his eyes. "Leaving here means seeing you. No matter how beautiful or nice this place is, I'm willing to part with it."

Since Sai Wei unilaterally decided to go further with Qi Xiao, he has given full play to the advantages of the French, trying to use his own romance and enthusiasm to cover up this dull oriental ice beauty. It is to take money out of the country.

Qi Xiao didn't feel any embarrassment about this. He had experienced more enthusiastic and unrestrained love in the past when he was chasing antiques. As long as he instilled in himself the thought of "this is work", he could immediately switch states, and he would be able to talk to all love words. immunity.

Although Qi Xiao himself knew that he was deceiving himself and others, because Saiwei's feelings could not disappear with the completion of his task in a time and space, but before he figured out how to deal with it, let's make do with it.

After all, he is still a cat who can't even talk.

In order not to make this last night too boring, and of course to prevent Saiwei from having more opportunities to say more love words, Qi Xiao dragged a few pieces of rice paper and ink from the low table where he usually wrote big characters, and dipped his paws in it. Then write on the paper:

【That thing, tell me】

At that time, because the time of 6 minutes was too short, he didn't have time to ask, the "that matter" in Sewei's mouth.

The night was still long, and Qi Xiao had enough time to listen to him this time.

"Oh, that incident..." Sai Wei did not shirk this time, folded his hands behind his head, looked at the starry sky outside the window, and said slowly: "That happened more than two years ago. You know, my family has been a French aristocrat for generations, and I have been raised according to the standards of heirs since I was a child. Although I have received the best education, I can't help myself many times."

In this regard, Sai Wei and Xia Chuan Qingquan are somewhat similar. They are also trapped by the family and cannot help themselves. Sai Wei's parents hope that he can inherit the family property and title in the future, so they set up many restrictions for him. The industries he was really interested in, such as hunting for antiques, were not favored by his parents.

Unlike Xia Chuanqingquan, Sai Wei did not break with his family, nor did he choose to escape. While fulfilling his family's expectations, he also strengthened his favorite career. He studied antique hunting in college, but this It is based on the premise of obtaining a double degree in finance and business analysis.

Even after graduation, Sai Wei’s main business is still running and managing the family business, and he can only be distracted by the pursuit of antiques in his spare time, but because of the opposition of the family elders, he cannot use his real name, but can only use his real name. Pseudonym to conceal identity.

"At that time two years ago, I had actually been involved in hunting antiques for four years, and I actually made some fame by recovering a few antiques that were relatively difficult."

More difficult antiques?

Qi Xiao's eyes showed surprise. He didn't know how deep the pursuit of antiques was. Saiwei managed to become famous when he could only hunt down antiques in his spare time. This person's talent should not be underestimated. .

"Of course, that little fame is definitely incomparable to yours." Sai Wei smiled, "But I was too conceited at the time, and such a little achievement made me very proud, so that... soon, I ushered in a new era. A colossal failure."

"It was this failure that made me so depressed that I didn't participate in any antique hunting for the next two years, until my father couldn't stand my decadence, and regardless of the family's opinion, he just relied on his relationship and sent me to Lu In the floating palace, I have finally stepped into the field of hunting antiques again."

Sai Wei spoke slowly with a gentle speed, but Qi Xiao felt a little doubt in his heart while listening.

I always feel that the two-year period... seems a little familiar.

"Two years ago, when I was at my peak, I was entrusted by a wealthy businessman to help him track down the oval-shaped diamond-studded emerald ring of Charlotte, the second queen of King Andre IV of Portugal in the [-]th century. "

The emerald ring was originally only inlaid with ordinary gold rims. It was a coronation ring passed down from generation to generation by the Portuguese royal family when the queen was crowned. It was taken back after the death of the first queen Catherine of Andre IV. The second queen's Only reappeared during the coronation.

Because of Andrew IV's love for Queen Charlotte, before he got married, he invited famous craftsmen from all over the country to remake the ring, leaving the precious emerald gemstones, peeling off the surrounding gold rims, and reapplying the gemstones with platinum. Surrounded and inlaid with 8 diamonds, the Charlotte emerald that amazed future generations was born.

Not only that, because Queen Charlotte liked this ring the most, Andre IV even broke the royal tradition for her and recreated a ruby ​​ring as a token passed down from queen to queen, while the original emerald ring was It became exclusive to Queen Charlotte. After her death, it was enshrined in the St. Celia Cathedral in the center of the royal capital, and accompanied the Queen to her final rest.

It is a pity that due to the several internal Portuguese national revolutions in the seventeenth century, the flames of war spread to St. Celia Cathedral. Unfortunately, the emerald ring was stolen. After several twists and turns, it reappeared in an underground auction house and was bought by a Belgian collector. Serve's client.

"After accepting the commission, I went to Portugal in the [-]th century and became Andrew IV. At that time, Queen Catherine had not died, and the emerald ring had not yet fallen into the hands of Queen Charlotte."

He was obviously just stating a piece of history, but Qi Xiao found that Saiwei's brows became more and more tightly frowned, and even clenched his hands into fists involuntarily.

"I checked a lot of historical materials before I went. According to the historical records, Queen Catherine was assassinated due to public riots when she was inspecting the people with the king, leaving Princess Anna, who was only three years old, to pass away. A year later, Ann Andre IV married Princess Charlotte of Austria and soon had a little prince."

As a king, it seems normal to marry a new queen after the death of the previous queen, especially if the queen is still an Austrian princess. Marriage is conducive to promoting the relationship between the two countries.

"But after I actually arrived in that time and space and received the memory of Andre IV, I discovered that all the history books were wrong. Queen Catherine did die because of an assassination, but the assassination was not because of a public riot at all, but It was carefully planned by King Andre IV because the mistress of King Andre IV at that time, Charlotte, the woman he so-called sincerely admired, was already pregnant!"

Qi Xiao's pupils shrank sharply. If things were really as Seve said, then the historical Andre IV would no longer be a wise and sought-after monarch, but a cold-blooded and ruthless wife-killer.

Seville seemed extremely unwilling to recall this incident, and pressed his index finger between his brows, "My task at the time was actually very simple. I entered the time when Andre IV had just learned that Charlotte was pregnant and decided to treat his wife After killing the killer, I hired the assassination organization to plan to act a week later. All I have to do is to invite Catherine to leave the palace with me to inspect the people's situation, and then hold a wedding with Charlotte after her death. The gemstone ring was remodeled and given to Charlotte."

"I'm very hesitant, Qi Xiao. I know that everything should follow the track of history, but every time I try to send an invitation to Queen Catherine, seeing the smiles on her and Princess Anna, I can't say anything."

That is a gentle and smiling blonde woman with an elegant appearance and a kind heart. She loves and trusts her husband deeply and takes care of their children with all her heart. She never thought that one day her husband would want her to make room for other women.

【So, you violated history】

Qi Xiao wrote on the rice paper stroke by stroke with his paws.

"Yes, I violated history, because I can't do anything about this kind of thing." Saiwei confessed, "A week passed quickly, Catherine did not die because of the assassination, history was completely changed, and I was judged to have failed in the pursuit , forcibly sent back to the original time and space, and that emerald ring will never come back."

Although his persistence led to the complete disappearance of an antique, Sai Wei did not show any shame on his face.

"I don't think I was wrong until today. Although the antique world lost a precious gemstone ring, although I paid a huge amount of compensation for it, I still don't think I was wrong. I insist on what I think is right. , even if I do it all over again now, I will still do it.”

He suddenly raised his head and looked directly into Qi Xiao's eyes, and asked word by word: "So Qi Xiao, after listening, can you tell me, am I wrong?"

It was rare for him to speak in such a serious tone, and he didn't know whether it was because of anger or humiliation. The veins on his forehead were throbbing, and his originally romantic and gentle temperament suddenly became gloomy and fierce, a little scary.

Qi Xiao looked into his eyes, those beautiful eyes that were originally azure blue now turned gray, as if covered with a layer of haze.

Before answering Sai Wei's question, Qi Xiao's mind turned quickly.

Two years ago, the pursuit of antiques failed and disappeared for two years, then suddenly appeared in front of me...

Combined with his previous judgment on Sai Wei: a veteran who pretends to be a pig and eats a tiger, possesses superb skills but has a distorted concept of hunting for antiques...

He was really too careless, Saiwei had already clearly put his identity in front of him, but unfortunately he never found out!

Qi Xiao remained silent all the time, and Saiwei didn't speak, and looked at the kitten silently, but the cloud covering his body gradually dissipated.

Qi Xiao can always give people a sense of reliability and peace of mind, even if it is a cat.

With the passage of time, the sky turned white, and the bright stars in the dark night gradually became dim, and they retreated from the glory of the morning sun.

"Forget it, things have passed for so long, and it seems unnecessary to be entangled in right and wrong." In the end, Saiwei was the first to break the silence. He sighed softly, got up from the tatami, moved his sore neck and shoulders, and Picking up Qi Xiao in his arms, he said, "Let's go, let's go see if the pottery plate with claw claws is ready."

The fire in the kiln had been extinguished, so Saiwei put on special gloves, opened the kiln door, and took out the baked pottery dishes inside.

The milky white and the glaze become smooth and delicate, covering the pottery plate perfectly. The light pink hollowed-out cherry pattern is staggered on half of the pottery plate, while on the other half side, a small cat's claw is pressed there, and each piece of meat Pads are clearly visible.

"It's finally finished." A smile appeared in Sewei's eyes, "It's a pity that the old man hasn't woken up yet, so he can't see the finished product. If he saw it, he might say that one day I can surpass Xiachuan Qingquan."

He gently put the pottery plate on the table, and took out Qi Xiao's meteorite of time hanging around his neck. He saw light golden water patterns appearing on the dark surface of the meteorite, gradually becoming more and more golden, Dazzlingly bright.

Suddenly a familiar voice came from behind.

"You think you're right."

Saiwei turned his head and saw Qi Xiao standing behind him instead of the kitten.

"Yes, I think I'm right," he said.

The exquisite brows were slightly frowned, Qi Xiao pondered for a moment, and said: "But unfortunately, if it were me, I would not go against history, because this is my job."

Sai Wei raised his eyebrows, showing a clear look.

This is indeed something Qi Xiao would say.

"but--"

Qi Xiao suddenly added a twist.

"If I have to make a judgment, I can only say that you did nothing wrong."

A rare faint smile appeared on his face, "Although I don't agree with your idea of ​​hunting down antiques, you didn't do anything wrong in this matter."

"In this line of work, failure is always inevitable, and history is not always as glamorous as it seems on the surface. I can't guarantee that I will not encounter failure in the future. If I never recover because of one failure, it can only be It shows that your mental quality is not up to standard."

"Since I firmly believe that I am not wrong, there is nothing to doubt. I insist on going on this road, but I have to grasp the limit. Being too stubborn is not a good thing."

Because of what happened two years ago, Sai Wei had doubts about himself. He was eager to prove that he was right and that history was wrong. It's called history.

History is an established fact that happened in the past. Distinguishing right from wrong and assessing merit and demerit have always been the work of later generations.

But just as Qi Xiao planned before, before Saiwei finds out the most suitable path for him to pursue antiques, it doesn't matter if he goes against history occasionally. Lou Zi is here.

The golden light emitted by the time meteorite became more and more intense, and soon overwhelmed Qi Xiao and Saiwei, and Qi Xiao's last words came from the time-space distortion.

"I left half of the pursuit mission because of your email and came to France. Before we meet in the next time and space, you'd better think about how to explain it to me, silver-bird-"