Si Hongjing’s expression instantly became unnatural, his eyes darting around:
“It’s nothing, just a friendly spar with a friend.”
“Are you hurt?”
Si Hongjing shook his head, then asked Yuan Ying if she had encountered anything.
Yuan Ying pondered for a moment before saying:
“I want some authoritative and comprehensive literature about Daqian.”
Si Hongjing instantly understood: “Is it because not many records about Daqian have survived after a thousand years?”
“Yes.”
Si Hongjing’s eyes darkened.
He didn’t expect that even historical documents couldn’t escape this fate.
“Okay, I’ll keep an eye on it.” Si Hongjing said solemnly, “Thank you.”
Yuan Ying didn’t need to worry about this matter in the first place.
If it weren’t for him…
Therefore, no amount of thanks could express his gratitude to Yuan Ying.
“Also, the things you give me don’t necessarily have to be masterpieces. You can also bring me the tools and weapons that you usually discard,” Yuan Ying added.
These were useless to them.
But to modern people, they are of great cultural value.
“Okay.” Si Hongjing kept Yuan Ying’s words in mind.
The night was late, and he didn’t stay long before leaving. He went back to have the damaged or too old weapons in the military camp collected, planning to bring them to Yuan Ying next time.
The next morning.
Yuan Ying was woken up by Zheng Guoping’s phone call.
He must have driven overnight from Beijing with his assistant, which shows how curious and obsessed he was with the artifacts of Daqian.
Sensing his attitude, Yuan Ying felt a sense of satisfaction.
It was as if her own things were being cherished by others.
Therefore, when Zheng Guoping arrived, although he saw a strange woman in full armor, he could sense her friendly attitude from her tone.
“I only have a portion of them here. You can take a look first.”
“Thank you, young friend!”
Zheng Guoping didn’t bother with pleasantries and immediately walked to the display cabinet Yuan Ying had custom-made some time ago, gazing at the well-preserved cultural relics through the glass with fascination.
“These… are these really cultural relics from Daqian?”
He was like a mouse falling into a rice jar, a greedy person encountering a gold mine, his eyes shining, and his hands trembling with excitement.
“Yes, you can open the cabinet and take a closer look.”
Hearing Yuan Ying say this, Zheng Guoping was flattered and stammered, “R-really?”
Yuan Ying nodded.
Zheng Guoping quickly had his assistant bring out his tools, put on gloves, carefully opened the glass, and took out the jade hairpin and other items Si Hongjing had given her. After more than ten minutes, he said:
“It’s from Daqian! It’s really from Daqian!”
“And every piece is so new, as if it was just made…”
As he spoke, his eyes turned red.
“You can take your time,” Yuan Ying said.
Zheng Guoping blinked back his tears and bowed solemnly to Yuan Ying.
Yuan Ying stepped aside, not accepting the bow.
“Although I don’t know where these things came from, thank you, young friend, for preserving the cultural relics so well, thank you!”
After he finished speaking, he continued to look at the things in the display cabinet.
His assistant chatted with Yuan Ying to avoid an awkward atmosphere.
“Old Zheng has been studying Daqian culture for decades, but unfortunately, there are too few Daqian artifacts left in the world, and the literature is also scarce. Usually, when we hear rumors of Daqian cultural relics, we will fly over immediately, but unfortunately… most of them are fake.”
“Yesterday, when I heard that you agreed to let him come, Old Zheng immediately dragged me to drive from Beijing.”
Regarding Si Hongjing, she could only find a few words on the internet.
But when this name was mentioned, Zheng Guoping could immediately say his identity and related information.
This shows that he has thoroughly studied the existing literature.
Yuan Ying greeted the assistant and left the small room to do her own things.
It wasn’t until noon that Zheng Guoping came out of the room, still very excited.
Seeing Yuan Ying, he immediately asked:
“That painting is…”
“It’s Hao Songpo’s painting of a beautiful woman.”
“It’s really a painting of a beautiful woman! I never thought that in my lifetime I would actually… I could actually see the legendary painting of a beautiful woman!”
Hao Songpo was a famous writer and poet of Daqian.
Many of his poems are still widely circulated today.
Once, a winter snow scene painting by Hao Songpo appeared in the world, but unfortunately, it was bought by a foreign rich man, and his failure to see it had always been a great regret in his heart.
But he never thought that he would see Hao’s painting of a beautiful woman today!
It should be known that the reputation of the painting of a beautiful woman is second only to Hao Songpo’s “Looking at Immortals” painting, so it is imaginable how precious it is.
It would be worth dying now!
Zheng Guoping was really crying now.
A man in his fifties or sixties was crying like a child.
Yuan Ying looked at him with a complex expression.
It was hard to imagine that someone could be so fascinated by a period of history that was not related to him.
After hearing him talk about how precious this painting of a beautiful woman was, infected by his emotions, Yuan Ying said without any hesitation:
“Then donate it to the museum.”
She is not a person who knows how to appreciate calligraphy and paintings.
Since this painting is so meaningful, it is better to let it go to where it should go and exert its own brilliance.
Zheng Guoping: !!!
He thought he was hallucinating.
The next second, seeing the assistant’s affirmative look, his eyes went dark, and he almost fainted with excitement.
“Don’t get excited. As long as you promise me to study the history of Daqian well, fill in that blank, and there will be other Daqian artifacts for you to study in the future,” Yuan Ying dropped another bombshell.
“There are many more!?”
“Yes.”
This time, Zheng Guoping really fainted.
Yuan Ying touched her nose guiltily, watching the assistant skillfully put the person on the sofa and apply cooling oil to his philtrum.
“Don’t be so excited. If you are hospitalized, it will be difficult to study these treasures again,” the assistant advised.
After Zheng Guoping woke up, he took several deep breaths before calming down.
Seeing this, Yuan Ying asked:
“Do you know Dongping Pass?”
“I know.” Zheng Guoping replied in seconds: “Since Xu Jing, a famous general of Daqian, betrayed the country and Shuoguan fell, Dongping Pass has become a strategic location for military strategists.”
“If it weren’t for the victory in the battle of Dongping Pass, which resisted the Jin Kingdom’s offensive, I’m afraid it would have been destroyed earlier.”
Yuan Ying frowned almost imperceptibly.
Then Zheng Guoping should know that Si Hongjing is not a bloodthirsty demon.
She tentatively asked: “Then the general of Dongping Pass should be very famous!”
After hearing Yuan Ying’s words, Zheng Guoping sighed regretfully:
“The general’s name is not recorded in the history books, which is also where I am puzzled.”
Sure enough.
Since Emperor Xiang had the idea of killing Si Hongjing and portrayed Si Hongjing in the history books like that, he would definitely not publicize his deeds, letting Si Hongjing be loved by the people in vain.
While Yuan Ying was in a daze, Zheng Guoping quietly glanced at her face and asked, “Young friend, you asked about Dongping Pass, do you know anything?”
Yuan Ying sighed, stared at Zheng Guoping with a serious face, and said:
“If I say that the great defender of Dongping Pass was Si Hongjing, would you believe it?”