Chapter 1: The Strongest Art Thief in History

  "We now interrupt your regular programming to bring you the latest news." The TV announcer's voice was smooth and rounded, accompanied by a smile. The screen then switched to show a well-dressed man appearing before the audience.

  "Notorious art thief Shen Ao died today in a cliff fall while evading Interpol, relevant departments have organized a search at the scene and found related relics, but the body has not been found yet."

  Let's review Shen Ao's criminal process. In 2001, Shen Ao forged the Ming and Qing dynasties' handed-down work "Five-color Bamboo Forest Seven Sages Ceramic" and gained a profit of 70 million yuan. After that, the suspect went crazy and stole a $7 million painting "Spanish Castle" from a museum in the Netherlands.

  In 2003, the suspect forged one of Van Gogh's most valuable works, "Sunflowers", and sold it smoothly to an international collector for $140 million. In 2006, the suspect attempted to sell a fake "Along the River During Qingming Festival" but was foiled by an international organization, and has been on the run ever since.

  During the escape, multiple forgeries of famous paintings and antiques were sold, with malicious behavior, and repeatedly used fraudulent and thieving means to commit crimes, obtaining dozens of famous paintings and antiques through illegal means at various times.

  Interpol upgraded the wanted level to Red Notice, offering a $1 million bounty for information leading to the suspect's capture. It wasn't until five years later today that the suspect was finally brought to justice.

  The TV screen switched to a cliff, where police in various uniforms, detectives in suits and ties, and military police had set up a cordon. A helicopter was circling in mid-air, and someone was lowering a rope to try to enter the overhang for a search.

  "We will continue to follow up on this case. Next, we bring you the latest news from Kenya..."

  ……………

  Spring water, peach blossoms, and a pleasure boat. Interwoven in the spring by the shores of Lake Ruoshui, the lake's surface is slightly rippling, as still as a young lady. Facing the sunlight on the lakeshore, the painted pleasure boat stopped on the river's surface is filled with the fragrance of peach blossoms.

  On the painted barge, several young masters were in their prime, with laughter unending.

  "This young master's poetic inspiration is greatly stirred, and he can't help but recite a poem to add to the excitement."

  A loud and clear laughter, a short and stout young master with a pockmarked face beamed with joy, clasped his hands and said: "A group of ducks by the river, quacking away, I stood by the river, the ducks scattered."

  "What a great poem!" The two young masters at the same table jumped up and applauded, their excitement overflowing. The tall and slender young master almost kowtowed, while the shorter one's eyes shone brightly as they exclaimed: "Young Master Zhou's paintings are excellent, but his poetry is unmatched! Such a great poem is hard to find in this world!"

  "I heard that Qinghe Junzhu loves talented men, and Zhou Gongzi gave this poem to Qinghe Junzhu, but is he worried that he can't capture Qinghe Junzhu's heart?"

  "Hahaha……" The short and stout Zhou Gongzi burst out laughing, with a hint of humility in his pride, and a hint of arrogance hidden beneath. He sat down and said: "You gentlemen are overpraising me, my poetry is still a little bit inferior to that of Li Bai and Du Fu."

  Under the willow tree on the shore, several young servants were waiting quietly. A handsome servant spat out a mouthful of saliva: "Ptoo!"

  It's just dogshit poetry, but what's worse is that they have to cater to a group of self-proclaimed 'gentlemen' who are shamelessly flattering each other. Shen Ao has an urge to hit the wall.

  Shen Ao didn't die, on that day he was being chased by the police, and below the cliff was the vast ocean, while Shen Ao had set up a lifesaving device in the sea beforehand. His plan was simple, to fake his own death to make Interpol believe he was dead, then change his appearance and restart his life of crime.

  That one jump went wrong, and for some reason, he changed his identity again and became a miscellaneous servant of the Zhou Mansion in Bianjing City, Northern Song Dynasty, Xuanhe 4th year.

  He had crossed over, and what he was wearing seemed to be a bit disappointing for Shen Ao, a low-ranking miscellaneous servant.

  The contract is still in the hands of the Zhou family, which means he has no personal freedom. Once he leaves the Zhou family without permission, the authorities can arrest him, tattoo his forehead and send him to a border garrison for military service.

  As a great thief, Shen Ao naturally had many ways to start a new life. However, he was not familiar with this place, and simply escaping from the Zhou Mansion would make him wanted by the authorities, which wasn't very worthwhile. So, he still had to continue doing this miscellaneous job.

  The best way out is to find a way to get some money to redeem yourself.

  Today Shen Ao can be said to have died once, he has long been tired of his fugitive life and wants to start anew. He won't resort to drastic measures unless absolutely necessary.

  Moreover, the life of a miscellaneous servant seems not bad either. Although it's hard work, there are many young ladies and maids in the Zhou household, all with above-average looks, which suits Shen Ao's taste just fine.

  It's just that Zhou Gongzi and his several sycophant friends' mutual flattery made Shen Ao, who was far away, feel an urge to escape. He had been immersed in various arts all his life, from poetry and painting to porcelain and sculpture, with extraordinary attainments. When he encountered this group of pretentious people, Shen Ao was speechless and asked the heavens.

  Standing under the willow tree, Shen Ao appeared a bit exceptional compared to other servants and housekeepers. A few housekeepers didn't quite get along with Shen Ao, they chatted in a group, excluding him from their circle.

  Shen Ao smiled slightly, his eyes falling on one of the servants holding a wine jar. His nose twitched slightly as the rich aroma of wine wafted up to tease him.

  "Good wine!" Shen Ao leaned in: "I guessed it right, this should be a ten-year-old Zhu Ye Qing. Just one sniff and I know it's a holy wine."

  The house servant holding the wine jar, named Zhang Shao, was Zhang Gongzi's follower. He gave Shen Ao a cold glance: "Of course, the wine my young master brought is good wine. But this wine isn't for us servants to drink, what are you so happy about?"

  Several family members all laughed, someone said: "Maybe others also want to try, but unfortunately, parents are not kings and nobles, only have the share of watching."

  Shen Ao smiled slightly and said, "So you're determined that I won't be able to drink this wine?"

  "What's it to you?" Zhang Shao hugged the wine jar tightly, his eyes full of disdain.

  Shen Ao sighed and said, "I admire your courage, let's make a bet. If I don't drink this bamboo leaf green tea, each of you will owe me one tael of silver. But if I do drink it?"

  Zhang Shao and several servants looked at each other in dismay, wondering if Shen Ao had gone mad. A month's wages for the servants would be a huge loss, and there were four servants in total at Zhang Shao's place. If Shen Ao lost the bet, he might have to pay out half a year's expenses.

  Zhang Shao's eyes rolled around: "You can bet if you want, but if you can drink this bamboo leaf green tea, we'll give you four strings of cash. Just make it clear beforehand that you have to do it in front of these few young masters."

  Zhang Shao feared that Shen Ao was being deceitful, and this guy secretly took a bit to eat, wouldn't he fall into his trap?

  Shen Ao immediately looked embarrassed: "Well... okay, I'll try."

  The four servants laughed together, and Zhang Shao was overjoyed. This wine is the treasure of Young Master Zhang, his most precious possession. This blind fool actually dared to drink their treasure in front of the young masters, the young masters were furious and would not rest until he was beaten to death.

  Among the three young masters, one was surnamed Zhou, named Heng, and he was the eldest son of Qi Guo Gong. He was also the master that Shen Ao served. The other two were surnamed Zhang and Wang. Young Master Zhang was the son of the Deputy Envoy of the Imperial Secretariat, while Young Master Wang's family background was not simple either - they were one of the wealthiest families in Bianjing.

  Three of them in Bianjing were notorious for being spoiled sons, killing someone was just a trivial matter. This Shen guy really only cared about money and not his life.

  At this time, Zhang Gongzi's voice came from the painting boat: "Zhang Shao, haven't you brought wine for me yet?"

  Shen Ao said to Zhang Shao: "I'll send it over."

  Zhang Shao handed the wine jar to Shen Ao, sincerely wanting to see Shen Ao's excitement. Zhang Shao had been displeased with this newcomer for a long time. At this moment, he could still make a profit of one guan, which was really good.

  Shen Ao carried a wine jar along the riverbank and boarded a painted barge. Zhang Gongzi looked somewhat dissatisfied: "Why doesn't that scoundrel Zhang Shao bring over some wine?"

  Shen Ao smiled and said: "His arm is a bit sore and numb, afraid of disturbing the elegant mood of several gentlemen, so let me take over."

  He opened the mud seal and poured wine for several young masters, saying: "Zhang Gongzi's wine is really good, I've already gotten three-tenths drunk just from smelling its flavor."

  Zhang Gongzi's tall and slender figure appeared even more upright, with a hint of bright red on his powdered face: "This is natural, such good wine I usually don't dare to drink, only when meeting close friends will I take it out."

  Zhou Heng had just finished reciting a poem, his mouth was dry and he was full of expectation. He picked up the cup and took a sip, then hastily said: "Good wine, good wine! Zhang Gongzi's poem is great, and the wine is also very good."

  Zhang Gongzi hastily humbly said: "The Qi Guo Gongfu has plenty of good wine, I'm afraid I've made a poor contribution."

  A few people were flattering each other, Shen Ao had already heard enough and smiled: "Actually, when it comes to this wine, I have a special skill, but I'm afraid it will make several young masters laugh."

  Zhou Heng's face fell, and he scolded: "You dog, how dare you be so presumptuous! I'm drinking with these two gentlemen, what right do you have to speak?"

  Shen Ao hastily confessed his guilt, while Zhang Gongzi on the side said: "Brother Zhou, don't be in a hurry, let's first hear what he has to say? We've recited poetry and admired the scenery, but we were worried that we couldn't find any fun."

  Shen Ao pretended to be cautious and said, "I have a congenital disease. Whenever I drink inferior wine, black spots will appear on my face. But if it's good wine, there won't be any problem. To know whether this wine is of high quality or not, just let me taste it."

  Zhou Heng was slightly annoyed: "You scoundrel, are you saying that Zhang Gongzi's wine is inferior?"

  Shen Ao shook his head: "It's not that I mean, wine is naturally good wine, but how good it is can't be known."

  His words were extremely rebellious, and Zhou Heng was about to erupt. Just at this moment, Zhang Gongzi suddenly became interested and hastily said: "This can only distinguish between good wine and bad wine, but how to estimate the extent of good wine?"

  "The more flaws in the wine, the more black spots on the face. The better the wine is, the less abnormal it will be."

  "Excellent!" Zhang Gongzi's spirits lifted, he had been storing this ten-year-old Zhu Ye Qing for a long time. If it weren't for trying to curry favor with this young master Zhou, he wouldn't have taken it out. However, there was one drawback to wine: although good and bad wines could be distinguished, it was difficult to tell apart good wines from each other. If Shen Ao couldn't prove that this wine was a top-notch product, wouldn't Zhang Gongzi lose face in front of Zhou Heng? After all, Zhou Heng was the son of a duke, with countless treasures stored at home, and every drink he had was a rare item. If he couldn't taste the excellence of this ten-year-old Zhu Ye Qing, wouldn't it be a waste?

  "So you just pour yourself a cup and give us an eye-opener."

  The prince on the side also took an interest, a pair of eyes staring straight at Shen Ao. Zhou Heng didn't dare to get angry anymore, smiling and watching with his arms crossed.

  Shen Ao brought over an empty cup, filled it up and took a sip. The wine was mellow and fragrant, with a hint of bamboo leaf aroma that lingered on the palate.

  "Good wine!" Shen Ao smacked his lips, savoring the aroma of the liquor, and then put down his cup to ask Zhang Gongzi: "Do you see any black spots on my face?"

  Zhang Gongzi carefully examined it and shook his head: "No."

  Shen Ao showed it to Zhou Heng and Wang Gongzi again. The two of them also looked at it with interest for a while, both shaking their heads.

  Shen Ao sincerely praised: "This wine is already a top-notch among fine wines, and it's probably impossible to buy it even with 100 taels of silver in the market. Zhang Gongzi is really generous, willing to share such good wine with others."

  Zhang Gongzi was already delighted, and didn't care whether Shen Ao was being pretentious or not. He just wanted to hear this evaluation, and said to Zhou Heng: "The Zhou family is indeed extraordinary, even a humble servant like you has such good taste and knows how to speak."

  Shen Ao toasted Zhang Gongzi's wine, and Zhang Gongzi turned around to toast the family style of the Zhou family. On Zhou Gongzi's pockmarked face, he immediately looked radiant, and when he looked at Shen Ao, he felt more comfortable, haha laughed humbly: "I don't dare, I don't dare."

  Shen Ao poured wine for several young masters, then withdrew from the painting boat and returned to the willow tree. He saw Zhang Shao's servants with pale faces, looking at Shen Ao in surprise as he came back unharmed with a hint of wine on his breath. Earlier, they had witnessed Shen Ao drinking a full cup of bamboo leaf green tea in one gulp, leaving them speechless.

  "Bring me the money!" Shen Ao smiled slightly, stretched out his hand and nodded towards the four stunned house servants.