I'm only five years old, how come I've become the military region's darling?

As night deepened, Xie Mingzhou left the Public Security Bureau as usual, carrying his belongings. Everyone knew he was about to be transferred to the provincial capital, so no one said much.

It's no wonder no one noticed; Xie Mingzhou has been acting as if he's about to retire lately, and he's declined offers from several people who have approached him.

So everyone assumed he didn't want to get involved, and no one blamed him for skipping work and going to the archives today.

After all, the easiest place in the whole bureau to slack off is the archives room, oh wait, there's also the place where corpses are kept.

Of course, most people would choose to go to the archives.

Xie Mingzhou left on time after get off work, which was one of the few times he didn't have to work overtime.

He first went to the state-run restaurant and bought a few dishes, and also picked up a pot of wine. He seemed to be doing quite well.

Once home, he immediately signaled to Xing Yong and Xiao Chun that they were home.

The three of them met up again shortly afterward.

Xie Mingzhou watched them arrive, then shook the camera in his hand. "Thanks to Comrade Zhou's camera, everything was taken care of. I photographed every single case file from the past ten years involving unearthed antiques, cultural relic disputes, and antique fraud. Not a single one was missed."

Xing Yong smiled knowingly, "That's perfect. I'll have Comrade Zhou wash it later so we can know for sure."

Zhou Yun has been using cameras for so many years and knows how to develop and print photos, so he can ensure that no one else knows about this.

Xing Yong: "What about you? You weren't discovered, were you?"

"Don't worry." Xie Mingzhou pulled up a chair and sat down, loosening his collar. "Ding Sheng transferred most of the bureau's staff to Ganzi Village to investigate the Xinjianzhan incident. Everyone's attention is there, and no one has time for the archives. I went in under the guise of handing over work, and there's not a single fault with it."

"By the way, He Jingshan's side is making quite a fuss too." Xie Mingzhou said in a deep voice, "Zhu Biao made some moves this afternoon, asking around to make arrangements. When I got off work, I heard them discussing the authenticity of Jianzhan teacups. I also heard that he invited a lot of young female comrades, saying it was to entertain a team of experts from all over the country."

Xing Yong frowned. "He Jingshan is a cunning old fox. He's clever enough to cover up a case from ten years ago with the controversy over whether it's true or false."

"Yes, He Jingshan seems quite cunning now," Xie Mingzhou chimed in. "By the way, He Jingshan privately asked Ding Sheng to thoroughly investigate the whole matter, probably because he sensed something was amiss and suspected someone was deliberately setting a trap for him."

"His reaction was quick enough, but unfortunately, it was too late." Xing Yong and Xie Mingzhou exchanged a smile.

"Alright, let's eat. We'll talk more after the photos are developed. By the way, how's your matter going?"

Although Xing Yong and Xiao Chun didn't go into details, Xie Mingzhou was still somewhat worried.

"Let's wait and see."

Xie Mingzhou delivered the items to Zhou Yun overnight, and the following evening, Xie Mingzhou received the photos that Zhou Yun had someone deliver.

To avoid arousing suspicion by frequently coming and going, they randomly selected beggars, making it less likely to be discovered.

Having received the items, Xie Mingzhou, Xing Yong, and Xiao Chun quickly sat down to read the contents.

The room fell silent instantly, with only the sound of papers turning.

Xing Yong was in charge of organizing the case information on antiques, Xie Mingzhou was in charge of verifying the official excavation records and the files for the approval and filing of cultural relics, while Xiao Chun watched them organize the information from the side, as it was not suitable for a child to read a lot of words.

Time passed by, and the night outside the window grew darker and darker. Before we knew it, two hours had gone by.

Xing Yong rubbed his sore eyes, shook his numb hands, and let out a long sigh. "I've finished reviewing all the cases from the past ten years, a total of twenty-seven cases, big and small. They were either small vendors making and selling counterfeit goods for huge profits, or out-of-town merchants bringing fake antiques to Ning City to stage accidents and commit fraud, and a few minor cases of antique shops switching genuine items. The people involved in these cases had no connection except for the name He Jingshan. They seemed like scattered, ordinary cases with no pattern."

As soon as Xing Yong finished speaking, Xie Mingzhou chimed in.

"My excavation records and cultural relic approval process are very clean. All the relevant cases have complete documentation, and there are no errors in the process. By the way, this is a case from Ganzi Village ten years ago. The record is watertight and there is nothing that can be found."

"Then this is a dead end?" Xiaochun sighed.

Although they had guessed this would happen, the three of them were still somewhat disappointed when they actually found out it was the result.

"Is it really true that only Ganzi Village has a problem?"

Xiaochun scratched her head in frustration.

The three of them fell silent again.

Xiao Chun rummaged through the developed photos, glancing to the right at the notes compiled by Captain Xing and Captain Xie.

Look again, and look once more.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

Then his movements became faster and faster, before Xing Yong and Xie Mingzhou noticed.

Xie Mingzhou was about to speak when Xing Yong covered his mouth.

The two of them watched as Xiaochun quickly flipped through the documents.

for a long time.

Xie Mingzhou saw that Xiao Chun had stopped and whispered quietly, "Can you talk now?"

Xiaochun suddenly raised her hand and slammed the thick stack of photos on the table: "I understand!!"

"What did Xiaochun notice?"

Xing Yong's eyes sparkled as he looked at the little girl.

Xiaochun turned around and said, "The individual cases are fine on their own, but when you put them all together and compare them, they all have one thing in common."

"Huh? What do we have in common?" Xie Mingzhou perked up instantly and immediately leaned closer.

Xiaochun quickly placed the photos one by one on the table.

"Look, this is the attached file of the first batch of cultural relics unearthed in Ganzi Village ten years ago, this is the unsolved case of the theft of an ancient tomb in the desolate mountains in the suburbs eight years ago, this is the case of a large number of fakes flowing into the antique street in the city six years ago, this is the dispute of ancient jade artifacts unearthed on the riverbank four years ago, and this is the case of antique counterfeiting two years ago."

"These cases include tomb robbery, counterfeit goods trading, and disputes over unearthed cultural relics. The circumstances of the cases are completely different, and the perpetrators and victims involved are all different. Anyone would think they are just random, scattered cases."

Xing Yong nodded: "I also noticed this when I was sorting through them just now. These cases seem completely unrelated and can't be connected at all."

Xing Yong froze, his pupils suddenly contracted, and a chill ran down his spine.

He muttered to himself, "They're all fake, counterfeits?"

Something flashed through his mind.

Xiaochun continued scrolling through the photos, "For ten whole years, all the antiques and cultural relics in Ning City, no matter what they were, turned out to be fake."

Xie Mingzhou's brow twitched, and he instantly grasped the key point: "Normally, it's the case that there are genuine and fake items; it's impossible for them to be 100% fake. This..."

"That's the principle. Anything privately unearthed, regardless of its origin, will ultimately be classified as a fake. So what makes a genuine item?"

Xiao Chun's voice turned cold. "If, in the past ten years, all cultural relics unearthed through channels not controlled by He Jingshan are forcibly classified as fakes, and only those he handled are considered genuine, then how many are actually real?"

Xing Yong could hardly imagine the chain of interests involved in having one person who held the power of life and death over the authenticity of all antiques in Ning City.

If He Jingshan can control this matter, then there are too many things he can do. Since ancient times, antiques have always been the beautiful skin of dirty transactions.