"What? This is Li Shangyin's stone tablet. Did I hear it correctly?"
Fang Yufei exclaimed and immediately came over excitedly to check the situation.
Elaine and David, who were both at the scene, were confused and didn't know who Li Shangyin was.
However, they also realized that this dilapidated stone tablet was likely to have very high historical and cultural research value.
The next moment, Xiao Ran smiled and explained:
"Li Shangyin was one of the most famous poets in the late Tang Dynasty in China. Together with another famous poet in the late Tang Dynasty, Du Mu, they were collectively known as Little Li Du. They lived 1,200 years ago."
"As one of the most famous poets in the late Tang Dynasty, Li Shangyin created many popular and famous poems throughout his life and is famous in the history of Chinese culture."
"It's a pity that he was born at the wrong time, and his life was very unsuccessful and depressed. He only lived forty-five years old and died young..."
With Xiao Ran's introduction, Yi Lian and the others also had a preliminary understanding of Li Shangyin.
As for Li Shangyin's famous poems that have been passed down through the ages, they still couldn't understand them for a while, so Xiao Ran didn't recite them to them!
"Wow! This is actually a stone tablet from 1,200 years ago, and it is related to a famous poet. No wonder you said that this stone tablet has high historical and cultural research value!"
"Since the value of this broken stone tablet is very high, why did Lu Qinzhai leave it here instead of selling it?"
Elaine exclaimed and was a little curious.
Xiao Ran smiled softly, then pointed to the word "Nansheng" on the stone tablet and explained:
"It is not yet certain whether this broken stele is Li Shangyin's stele or whether it is related to Li Shangyin. Further research and more evidence are needed."
"Li Shangyin's nickname is Yishan, his name is Yuxisheng, and his name is Fan Nansheng. There is only the word Nansheng here, but the word Nansheng above has been smashed and cannot be read!"
"In China, there are countless people with the same name from ancient times to the present. It is impossible to determine the true identity of this ruined monument just by using the two characters Nansheng!"
"If you want to determine the true identity of this broken stele, you can only find the answer by studying the rest of the words on the stele to see if it is related to Li Shangyin!"
"But one thing is absolutely certain. This fragment of stele does come from the late Tang Dynasty. It is enough to prove that it is a very important antique cultural relic and has high historical and cultural research value!"
"As for why Lu Qinzhai didn't sell the broken stele but hid it in the vault, it's probably because he couldn't determine its origin and thought it was very precious, so he did so!"
Listening to his explanation, Elaine and the others all nodded.
Next, Xiao Ran studied the broken stone tablet carefully for a while.
Unfortunately, the state he displayed contained no surprises.
But only he himself knows what the real situation is.
Fang Yufei, who came to join in the fun, was even less likely to find anything.
After checking the stone tablet, Xiao Ran immediately said to his employees standing outside the vault door:
"Come on, two or three guys, and move this broken monument to the ground. Be careful not to bump it again when you move it."
"Okay, boss, leave it to us."
Matthew nodded in response.
Then he brought two people in and moved the broken monument out together.
After they moved away the broken monument, Xiao Ran then went on to check other things in the vault.
Things like china and antique furniture stored in this vault are basically visible at a glance.
Although these things are all genuine and have some collection value, they are not in Xiao Ran's eyes.
He quickly looked at these things and then focused on the calligraphy and painting scrolls.
There were not many calligraphy and painting scrolls stored in the vault, so he opened a few scrolls and admired them.
It turned out that the quality of these calligraphy and painting scrolls was average, and there were no masterpieces by famous artists.
It didn't take long for him to finish reading the contents stored in the vault.
Apart from the broken stone tablet, there were no other surprising discoveries.
After coming out of the vault, Xiao Ran looked at the situation in other places in the basement.
In the process, he discovered two hidden compartments and a small mezzanine.
But these hidden compartments and mezzanines were all empty, not even a hair on them.
This situation is normal and Xiao Ran is not surprised at all.
Lu Qinzhai's descendants have lived here for seventy or eighty years, and they have searched the place thoroughly countless times!
All the secret compartments, mezzanines, and other places that can be used to hide things above and below this villa are empty, nothing!
The treasures that might have been hidden in those places have long been swept away by Lu Qinzhai’s descendants!
Ten minutes later.
Xiao Ran and the others had come out of the basement and came to the back garden of the villa.
This villa has two gardens at the front and back, with different styles.
The small garden in front of the villa is a Western-style garden dotted with some antique artworks from China, and the scenery is nice.
The garden located in the backyard of the villa is more beautiful and artistic.
The difference is that the small garden behind the villa is in Chinese style.
Perhaps because he missed his hometown, Lu Qinzhai built a small garden imitating Jiangnan gardens in the backyard of the villa, and also arranged a landscape.
He also dug a goldfish pond and raised many goldfish and several koi carps.
As soon as they entered the back garden, Elaine and the others were stunned.
Immediately afterwards, they all praised with joy.
"Wow! I didn't expect that there is a world behind this villa. There is such an exquisite Chinese garden. It's so surprising!"
"This small garden is so beautiful. When I saw this garden, it reminded me of the small garden we had in the courtyard house in Beijing. They looked a bit similar."
While marveling in admiration, Fang Yufei and Elaine quickly walked to the goldfish pond and looked at the beautiful goldfish and koi in the pond.
Xiao Ran followed immediately and introduced the situation with a smile.
"This is a Jiangnan-style garden with small bridges and flowing water, and it has a very authentic taste. It can be said to be very rare to appear here."
"Lu Qinzhai was from Jiangnan. He probably built this Jiangnan garden to express his longing for his hometown. However, he did not dare to return to his country until his death, and eventually died in a foreign country."
His descendants obviously also liked this small garden very much and did not demolish it. It has been kept until now. From this perspective, these prodigal sons have done a pretty good job..."
Hearing his words, Elaine and the others laughed.
Next, Xiao Ran admired the scenery in the garden while checking the situation here.
He inspected all the grounds, flowerbeds, goldfish ponds, and rockeries in the garden.
Unfortunately nothing was found, at least on the surface.
After a while, Xiao Ran had finished checking the small garden.
By now, they had visited the country house inside and out.
Next, it’s time to explore further.
Xiao Ran called Matthew and Liangzi over and said to these guys:
"Guys, now you can take out your exploration equipment and start exploring. I hope you can find something."
"Everyone worked in pairs and used pulse metal detectors and deep ground-penetrating radar to carefully explore all the places inside and outside the country villa."
"If you find anything, remember to notify me immediately. We will go check out some other villas. We can come over at any time."
Before he finished speaking, everyone responded immediately.
"Copy that, boss"
After saying that, Matthew and the others turned around and walked towards the front yard of the villa, ready to take action.
Xiao Ran took Elaine and the others out of the back garden and went to another country villa not far away.
