The cops arrived on the scene before long and asked what happened. After they found out it was an accident, they got the crowd to leave, including Gu Ning and the others.
Since Chen Darong got such a scare from the incident, he was unable to drive, so Gu Ning took over the driving.
Mengda also took over the driving of the museum transport vehicle. Although Mengda also got a terrible fright, he was a mature man, so he quickly composed himself.
Now that Harada Honichi’s ploy had failed, he stopped trying to attack them. He did not have a backup plan, so he could only watch as his target drove off.
…
For the rest of the trip, nothing else happened and they reached the Palace Museum without a hitch.
After the bronze chimes arrived at the museum, all the antique experts came over to study them.
Cai Wenhong transferred money to Gu Ning after the bronze chimes were placed in storage. Gu Ning and the others then left and brought Zi Beiying out when everything was settled.
Both Master Xu’s daughters-in-law happened to be in the living room talking about Xu Jinchen when he got home.
“Sigh! I bumped into Fang Ling and her daughter at the beautician’s today. They asked me about Jinchen. Although he doesn’t like Ji Zijing, I could not bring myself to tell them. I simply said he is so busy that he can’t even come home, so I was unable to tell him about matchmaking him and Ji Zijing. I really don’t get it. What’s wrong with Ji Zijing? Other than her family background, she is very compatible with him! Also, she happens to be my friend’s daughter, so I know her well,” said Mrs Xu.
Just thinking about the matter made Mrs Xu annoyed.
“I know it is inappropriate for me to say anything about it, but he isn’t interested in that girl, he will only get annoyed if you force him. You might even end up getting into a fight over this,” said her sister-in-law. Although Xu Jinchen’s mother was very anxious about his love life, it was wrong to force him to date Ji Zijing.
“I know, but he is not getting any younger. All he cares about is work. I wonder when he will get married,” said Mrs Xu. Her son had been single all his life, so she was naturally anxious.
“Who says Jinchen only cares about work?” The moment Master Xu entered the living room, he overheard the conversation and said, “From now on, stop trying to matchmake Jinchen. He already found himself a target and is busy courting her! If you make arrangements for him to meet other marriage prospects, the girl might get angry with Jinchen. I don’t want him to lose the girl because of this.”
Mrs Xu stood up in shock from the couch and looked at Master Xu as she asked excitedly, “Huh? Is Jinchen wooing some girl?”
“Uh huh! I bumped into them today,” said Master Xu. He smiled just thinking about Zi Beiying.
“Really? What is she like? That stupid boy. Why didn’t he tell me? If he told me about it, I wouldn’t have tried to get him to see other girls,” asked Mrs Xu curiously as she griped about Xu Jinchen.
Master Xu sat down on the couch and said, “She is in her 20s. She is very pretty and has an elegant aura. Although I do not know what family she comes from, I can tell it is no ordinary family from her poise. In any case, we don’t care about her family background as long as they are in love.”
“I don’t care about her family background as long as she is a decent and well brought up girl,” said Mrs Xu.
In the past, she used to care about family status, but not anymore. However, it would be an edge if the girl came from a good family.
“Enough. Stop fretting over this. I think your son stands a good chance of winning the girl,” said Master Xu.
After talking to Master Xu, Mrs Xu immediately called her son to ask about the girl.
Xu Jinchen was speechless when he saw his mother calling him. Even without talking to Mrs Xu, he knew Master Xu must have told her about Zi Beiying. Otherwise, she would not have called.
Despite his reluctance to talk to Mrs Xu, he answered the phone. After all, she was his mother.
Mrs Xu told Xu Jinchen what Master Xu had just told them and asked about the girl. She wanted to know where the girl was from and what her family did for a living. Although she did not care about the girl’s family background, she still wanted to know more.
“Why are you asking so much? We aren’t even dating yet! I will tell you when I succeed. Whatever it is, she is 1000 times better than those other girls you found for me,” said Xu Jinchen impatiently. Even though he did not divulge Zi Beiying’s family background, he was implying she came from a powerful family so that they would not look down on Zi Beiying.
Although family status did not matter to the Xu family, he wanted them to show respect to Zi Beiying.
…
News about the bronze chimes getting auctioned off for 8.5 billion dollars spread like wildfire online. Everyone felt envious of Gu Ning for making such a killing.
People also suspected Gu Ning of obtaining the bronze chimes through illegal means and doubted her character. They suspected Gu Ning of committing grave digging. Gravedigging and stealing cultural relics were illegal in the country, so people demanded that the National Cultural Heritage Administration investigate the matter and punish Gu Ning accordingly.
Gu Ning’s diehard fanatics did not care how Gu Ning obtained the bronze chimes. Even if she did, they would never hate Gu Ning for it. Instead, they found gravedigging very cool.
Some slightly smarter people felt the National Cultural Heritage Administration would have already investigated Gu Ning if they wanted to. Why would they allow her to auction the bronze chimes off? A lot of people agreed, so the suspicion died down a little.
Despite that, many people found Gu Ning’s ethics questionable, so a lot of people continued dissing Gu Ning online.
A lot of Gu Ning’s friends called or sent text messages about the bronze chimes to congratulate and comfort her.
Although they knew Gu Ning got the bronze chimes through illegal methods, they did not doubt her character. Even if Gu Ning obtained them through gravedigging, it did not matter as long as the National Cultural Heritage Administration did not object.
Gu Ning did not care about the gossip online, but it did not mean other people who cared about her a lot could let it go.
Chu Peihan and the others tagged Gu Ning in their group chat and spoke in her defense. Even though they had a feeling Gu Ning obtained the bronze chimes through gravedigging, they supported her unconditionally.
Gu Ning comforted them a little before they finally calmed down and demanded that Gu Ning buy them dinner since she made such a killing.
Gu Ning naturally agreed right away, but she was only free to meet them over the weekend. Everyone had to attend school during the weekdays, and no one was going to take leave for dinner, right?
