Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Su Yuan opened the voice message and heard his father's voice was a little hoarse:

"I remember now, there should be three in total, made by your great-grandfather a long time ago. Your grandfather told me that one of them was hidden inside the bronze mirror in your hand."

"I have absolutely no recollection of what those two keys and these other keys were for..."

"Sigh~ I've been like this for so many years, my brain just doesn't work properly anymore. How could I remember if you didn't bring it up!"

"I didn't expect you to have found two!"

"Turn the bronze mirror over and see if there's a way to open it on the back; it might be there."

Su Yuan immediately picked up the bronze mirror, turned it over, and carefully examined the back. Sure enough, he found the four characters "Su Yuan's Seal" there!

Below the handwriting is a ring of fine, hair-like marks that are almost imperceptible unless you look closely.

He picked up the scalpel from the toolbox and began to carefully cut along the seam. It had been buried for so many years that the seam had long since rusted shut.

I took out the repair brush and steel needle and carefully pressed it in place. Fortunately, the seal in this area was done very well.

After cleaning for more than half an hour, I gently pried along the seam with a scalpel, and a corner of a copper piece on the back of the bronze mirror was lifted up.

He used his fingernails to pry open the copper sheet, then gently and slowly lifted it with a scalpel.

The back of the bronze mirror is hollow!

Inside the recess, a key lay, both the key and the recess being embedded clips, no wonder it never made a sound.

The style is exactly the same as the other two, so all three keys are now complete.

Su Yuan took out the third key, placed the three keys side by side on the table, and then pressed the copper plate on the back of the bronze mirror back into place.

I put the rust powder back in, mixed a small amount of gelatin with water, and used a brush to gently fill the gaps. After a while, I wiped it lightly with a soft cloth.

He was pressed down so tightly that he couldn't see any difference, which made him feel even more that this matter was not simple!

Su Yuan picked up his phone and sent a message to his mother:

"Mom, tell Dad we found them, all three are complete."

The reply was just one word: "Okay".

Su Yuan put down his phone, found a thin string to thread the three keys together, tidied up his tools, and lay down on the bed.

My mind kept replaying the three keys.

Why did Great-Grandpa make three identical keys? And who put the key that A-Wu had on the shelf, and when?

The small spot in the bronze mirror on the table was still shining, and the little shadows in the mirror were whispering among themselves:

"There's a key inside."

"Yes, we didn't even notice..."

"Miss A-Wu didn't say that either..."

The old man-like figure stood at the front, bent over, and didn't say anything, just quietly watching Su Yuan on the bed.

A moment later, it slowly returned to the pile of shadows.

Su Yuan lay in bed with his mind in a mess. What exactly was his great-grandfather going to open with those three keys?

He had no clue as to who had put the gun hidden under Awu's shelf.

He lay there with his eyes closed for a while, but couldn't fall asleep. So he sat up, took the three keys that were strung together with rope in his hand, and looked at them, thinking.

Even though my father is now lucid, his memory is still fragmented!

The sky outside the window gradually darkened, and light footsteps echoed in the stairwell again. Su Yuan knew it was them.

Without thinking further, he put the key into the large pocket inside his work clothes, along with the small blue stones, talismans, and jade pieces.

After carefully putting away the sword Su Zhi forged on the table, I glanced at the time and saw it was only a little past six. Not feeling hungry, I lay back down on the bed, pondering the mystery as I slowly drifted off to sleep…

The next morning, Su Yuan, who had slept well, went to the cafeteria for breakfast as usual. Just after he finished eating, he received a call from Zhang Weiyi, asking him to come to the office.

Zhang Weiyi was flipping through documents when he saw Su Yuan come in and said:

"During yesterday's warehouse registration, Chen Xiaohe said he found an old key to the Su family's house?"

Su Yuan didn't hide anything: "Yeah, I found one too, so now I have three."

Zhang Weiyi didn't ask where the third one came from, and his expression didn't change much.

"These are all things left by your great-grandfather, right? I heard Old Wu, your father, and Zhao Huaidong mention them a few years ago."

"They say there's an item that the Su family has guarded for generations, hidden in the central warehouse, but no one knows its exact location, nor has anyone found the key to unlock it."

Su Yuan was thrilled: "You know where it is?"

"Yes, in the third section of the old warehouse."

"Those are old items that haven't been touched for many years, and people aren't allowed to go in casually."

As Zhang Weiyi spoke, he opened a drawer, took out a brass key, and handed it to him:

"Take this. I'll go with you later, but don't touch anything else inside!"

Su Yuan took the key and nodded.

After Zhang Weiyi finished dealing with some documents, he took Su Yuan to the old warehouse.

The old warehouse was a single-story building, not connected to the main building. As soon as Su Yuan opened the door, he smelled a musty odor.

The dusty air was filled with the scent of antiquities!

When the light switch was turned on, the room was still quite dim, as there were no windows and only a few old light bulbs overhead were lit.

Su Yuan suddenly felt the bronze mirror in his pocket sink twice!

I noticed something: those figures that are usually everywhere in the workplace are nowhere to be seen here.

It was as if there was some kind of oppressive force in this room, preventing them from getting close!

Zhang Weiyi walked to the innermost part and stopped in front of a dusty wooden box. The box didn't look very big, and it was dark brown all over.

The edges were worn smooth, and there was no keyhole, only three small grooves side by side, which looked to be a good match for the size of the brass key in Su Yuan's hand.

"Is this it?"

"Um."

Zhang Weiyi took two steps back, leaving room for Su Yuan, and said, "These are your Su family's things, open them."

Su Yuan put down the toolbox in his hand and took out the three brass keys.

My heart was pounding, and I touched the Su character on the key twice, holding my breath!

Following the grain of the key and the grooves, insert the keys into the grooves of the wooden box one by one…

The moment all three keys were inserted, a click came from inside the wooden box, and the lid automatically popped open a crack.

After the dust kicked up by the lid settled, the box was opened and found only a jade ring on the brocade.

Su Yuan touched the ring. The ring was warm and smooth, made of a calm and understated bluish-white jade.

The texture is delicate and there are no extra carvings. There is only a tiny "Su" character engraved on the inside of the ring. Holding it in your hand, you can feel a slight warmth.

He sensed it!

The jade ring, the bronze mirror in his pocket, and the Su-made sword in his toolbox all seemed to resonate with each other.

It produced a tremor that only Su Yuan could perceive.

Su Yuan picked up the jade ring and put it on his index finger; the size was just right.

He could clearly feel a gentle force emanating from the ring, flowing along his finger and into his body, even easing his recent feelings of depression and physical fatigue!

Zhang Weiyi stood aside watching without saying a word, until Su Yuan had put on the ring before speaking:

"Xiao Su, this thing feels unusual. You need to keep it safe. It's from Han Zhengming who's coming from above..."