In the blink of an eye, it's a new day.
In the morning, just after nine o'clock.
Xiao Ran took Elaine and the others to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, preparing to continue cleaning up the remaining stolen antiques.
Also arriving at the same time were Peggy and Thomas, as well as Pierre and others.
Compared to yesterday, there were a few more museum directors present today.
They are the director of the National Gallery of Art and the director of the Freer Museum of Art. They are all heavyweights in the field of American cultural museums.
After everyone met, it was natural to exchange some polite greetings.
After going through the procedures on the scene, Frank and Scott suddenly called Xiao Ran aside, ready to say something to him.
After coming to a corner of the lobby and standing there, Frank immediately whispered:
"Sean, we found some clues about the car accident that happened yesterday morning and the murder that happened in the afternoon."
"Following those clues, my people found a New York art dealer. That guy may be the mastermind behind the scenes."
"But when people from the New York branch arrived at the art dealer's apartment, they found the guy dead in the bathtub."
"Ah! What a coincidence!"
Xiao Ran said in surprise, but a smile appeared on his face.
Seeing his performance, Frank and Scott couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
At the same time, they also felt a slight chill.
They see it very clearly.
Xiao Ran didn't care about the life or death of those guys at all, and was even happy to see such a result!
"Fake! What a cold-blooded bastard"
Frank cursed secretly, and then continued:
"Judging from the traces at the scene, the guy died of drowning. It should be said that he died of drowning after being electrocuted."
"In the bathtub, there was a hair dryer plugged in. It looked like an accident. There was nothing suspicious about it."
"But how can such a coincidence happen in the world? As soon as we found out about that guy, he drowned. How is that possible?"
"More importantly, this happened twice in succession. We believe this should be a deliberate murder..."
Before he finished speaking, Xiao Ran nodded.
"I think so too. As I said yesterday, someone is killing people and silencing them!"
"As for who is behind the murder and silence, it is unknown, but it will definitely not be exposed to the light."
"Who is this guy? That guy in McCann may know. It depends on whether you can get him to speak."
"You must also protect McCann and prevent him from being silenced. The energy of this mastermind is obviously very amazing."
"One more thing, if you can decipher the records of McCann's crimes and disposal of stolen goods, you may also be able to find the answer."
Hearing this, Frank and the others nodded slightly.
After chatting for a few more words, Xiao Ran walked towards Elaine and the others.
Watching his leaving figure, both Frank and Scott fell into silence.
After a moment, Scott suddenly whispered:
"Frank, you said these two murders, is it possible that this guy Sean sent someone to do it?"
"This guy is cruel and ruthless, and his methods are very clever. He has always taken revenge, so it's not surprising at all that he would do something like this!"
Frank shook his head slightly.
"This possibility exists, but it is not very likely. I am more inclined to think that someone is killing people and silencing them!"
"Sean is very cunning. Now he is the center of attention. Under such circumstances, he will not take huge risks to kill two minions..."
After a few more discussions, the two directors ended the topic and returned to the crowd.
Afterwards, everyone walked towards the exhibition hall where they were yesterday.
Today's cleaning and identification work is still being carried out here.
Entering the exhibition hall, Xiao Ran quickly checked the situation here.
After making sure there was no problem, he took David and Nick, Peggy and Frank to the museum vault.
About half an hour later.
Their group returned to this exhibition hall again with many stolen antique artworks.
Next, Xiao Ran directed Nick and the others to take out the antique artworks from the painting bags and boxes one by one and display them.
There are more stolen antiques being cleaned and appraised today than there were paintings yesterday.
There are not only a large number of paintings, but also many sculptures.
As pieces of stolen antique art were displayed, the atmosphere suddenly became more lively.
Peggy and Thomas stepped forward one after another and began to admire the stolen antiques and art. They were all extremely excited.
At this moment, the director of the Freer Art Museum who had just arrived today suddenly walked towards Xiao Ran.
Coming closer, this guy immediately whispered:
"Sean, I want to talk to you about the deal, is that okay now?"
Xiao Ran looked at the museum director and then nodded.
"Of course, no problem, Charles."
"As far as I know, among these stolen antique artworks, there are only two treasures that originally belonged to your museum."
“The two stolen antique artworks were a painting and a bronze sculpture, both of good quality.”
"According to my disposal method, I only have one of these two stolen antique works of art. You choose first, and the rest belongs to me."
"If you want to exchange for the one I got, we can sit down and talk about a deal."
Charles nodded, and then whispered:
"The way you dispose of these stolen antiques is acceptable to our museum."
"We choose the painting by the neoclassical master David, and the bronze sculpture by Bernini will be yours."
"However, we want to exchange for that Bernini bronze sculpture and use the top Chinese antique art collection in the museum."
“In addition to Bernini’s sculptures, we also want to exchange more top-quality antique artworks to enrich our collection.”
"You also know that our museum collects many antiques and artworks from China, and I believe that we can meet your requirements."
"Wow! Looks like I've met a big customer!"
Xiao Ran smiled and nodded, then the conversation changed.
"Let's talk about Bernini's bronze sculpture first. We'll discuss the rest of the transactions later. It's too early now."
"If you want to exchange for Bernini's sculpture, you need to exchange three treasures."
"Tell me, which three treasures in our museum do you like?"
Charles asked curiously.
The next moment, Xiao Ran gave the answer.
"I want the Shang Xiang Zun collected in your museum, the Tang Jin Yin Ping figure mirror without chariot and horse, and the "Suo Jian Picture Scroll" said to be made by Yan Liben."
"As long as you take out these three treasures, you can exchange for Bernini's bronze sculpture. In terms of market value, this is fairer than art transactions."
“As for the other stolen antiques and artworks, we can’t discuss the transaction until all the cleaning and appraisal work is completed.”
Hearing the conditions offered by Xiao Ran, Charles was stunned and dumbfounded.
After a long time, this guy just woke up and immediately started to sigh.
"I have always heard people say that you are very greedy and cruel."
"I don't really believe it, but now I am extremely convinced that you are far more greedy than the legend says."
"Hahaha"
Xiao Ran chuckled, but did not refute.
After a pause, Charles continued:
"The three treasures you want are all top-notch antique artworks in our museum. Each one is worth a lot of money."
"The Shang Xiang Zun is the most complete Shang Dynasty Xiang Zun in existence and has extremely high historical and cultural research value."
"The Tang Jinyinping mirror with figures without chariots and horses is even more exquisite. It is the most top-notch mirror in the Tang Dynasty and is worth more than 10 million US dollars."
"Although the provenance of Yan Liben's "Suo Jian Tu Scroll" is doubtful, it is undoubtedly a top-notch work of art with astonishing value."
"Can Bernini's bronze sculpture really be exchanged for these three treasures? I doubt it."
Xiao Ran smiled and then continued:
"Charles, it seems that you don't know much about the market value of Bernini's bronze sculpture, that's why you have this question."
"Based on my understanding of the art auction market, once this sculpture by Bernini is put up for auction, there should be no problem if it fetches more than $60 million."
"You know, Bernini is known as the father of Baroque art. This sculpture of his is the work from the birth of Baroque art, and it has a very special meaning."
“Two of the three top Chinese antique artworks I want are bronzes. Since bronzes are prohibited from trading in China, the market price has not gone up.”
"As for the "Scroll of Admonition", there has always been doubt as to whether it is Yan Liben's work. Moreover, the preservation condition is average, so it is difficult to fetch a high price."
"From these aspects, exchanging Bernini's bronze sculptures for three pieces of Chinese antique art is actually a fair transaction. We each get what we need."
"You have a large amount of Chinese antique art. It doesn't matter if you exchange three pieces for it. Bernini's sculptures can attract more attention to you. This is the United States after all."
Charles fell silent and did not respond immediately.
After thinking for a long time, the guy just nodded and said:
"Okay, Sean, we accept your deal terms."
"Use the three top Chinese antique artworks you named in exchange for Bernini's bronze sculpture."
“Although these three top Chinese antique artworks are precious, fortunately we still have alternative collections.”
"Okay, Charles, deal!"
Xiao Ran nodded in response.
As he said that, he couldn't wait to shake hands with Charles, lest the other party might change his mind!
In fact, he was really afraid that Charles would change his mind!
Tang Jinyinping figure mirror without chariot and horse
