when the moon whispers

Chapter 501 Rose-Collection (Part )

Case Seven Rose
Thirteen Collections (Part 1)

On the projected TV screen that was turned off and on standby, the second hand of the electronic clock flickered and jumped one by one.

Jiang Mo silently watched Shao Jie's trembling and cowardice that he tried hard to hide under his skin. He put his arm around Shao Jie's shoulders with some difficulty and slowly soothed and caressed him.

"It was almost after I was recruited by Lao Gu into the Criminal Investigation Division that the murder weapon was determined to be a modified oil painting scraper. When the police received the anonymous tip-off call, it seemed that the reporter did not mention any murder weapon..."

"I wasn't sure at the time." Shao Jie first tilted his head in surprise to see Jiang Mo's fingers rubbing his shoulders without any method. He lowered his eyes and blinked, then leaned pitifully against Officer Jiang beside him. "I... started to seriously investigate the Red Mansion case privately after my anonymous call to the police was rejected."

Jiang Mo raised his eyebrows: "That's nonsense? I took great pains to hide you--"

"I know. But I really didn't know at that time..." Shao Jie snorted and laughed, and Jiang Mo bent his elbow on his waist. He cleared his throat and sat up straight with a serious face. "I rested in Shen Ning for more than half a year before I dared to think about the snowy night in the Red Mansion... But... I couldn't remember the murderer's appearance. I had nightmares all night long for almost half a year. Then I remembered that the murderer was holding that strange knife and walking towards me... After finding out that it looked like an oil painting scraper, I searched on various major websites, wondering if I could find an oil painting knife that was exactly the same as my impression, until now."

"Then, I happened to be attending a competition abroad. I was browsing a foreign browser website and accidentally clicked on the promotional page of an art gallery. I saw this painting - the painting has no name. When I went to the art gallery, I learned from the Chinese visitors at the exhibition that this painting is considered a series of paintings. Each painting depicts a separate content, but the collectors who bid for them have a unified name for them - 'Girls with Blooming Roses'."

Shao Jie frowned imperceptibly, then turned to look at Jiang Mo's surprised and unbelievable profile, slightly smoothed his hair that was messily ragged by Officer Jiang, and shook his head slightly at her suddenly raised gaze: "I still haven't found out the exact information about who the author is."

"I heard that even the exhibition hall and the auction agent didn't know the original artist's name, and no one was willing to uncover the mysterious gimmick of this anonymous artist. After all, some unknown secrets are always more attractive... Not to mention that it is circulated in the foreign market, and the sale proceeds of this painting, except for the commission, are almost all donated to various environmental protection charity organizations. It is difficult for collectors to take the opportunity to see the real face of this painter."

"This is a bit of a coincidence..." Jiang Mo pulled his arms across his chest, thought for a while, then picked up Shao Jie's phone, unlocked it, opened the photo of the oil painting, and flipped it upside down. Finally, he saw a few strokes of handwriting and a date that were almost mixed with the pattern outlines at the place where the signature should be. He frowned and said, "The time when this painting was made is really not too far from the time when Ren Dongran's mother reported her missing. In the same month..."

"Ren Dongran, the girl who was reported missing and looks very similar to the one in the painting." Jiang Mo paused, pursed his lips, raised his eyelids and looked at Shao Jie, and asked tactfully: "Besides Ren Dongran...are there any other discoveries in these paintings?"

"Privately collected paintings are not often circulated in the market. In addition, the painter is relatively niche, so there are very few art galleries that exhibit them. Basically, they are sold through auctions. It is even possible that foreigners are actually using these paintings to speculate on the prices and then use them to clean up their own money... I have been asking around for two or three years, and I have only found a few of these paintings." Shao Jie could roughly guess the hesitation that Jiang Mo swallowed into his throat, and he still remembered the list of missing persons that Officer Jiang was holding in his hand. He shook his head in embarrassment and helplessness, sighing heavily: "This painting that looks very similar to Ren Dongran... Apart from the first time I bumped into it by accident, I happened to see it for the second time in a small gallery when I was attending an event in France last year. Who would have thought that this painting would be auctioned off again just a few months later. I originally asked Han Lu to help me keep an eye on the auction, but he and Yang Tangguo... were so busy that they had no time to take care of me. In the end, this painting was actually bought by Manager Xu and sent to China. A while ago, I was planning to hang it on the wall of the base, but it was removed after less than a day and a half."

"This painting... is so... exactly the same as the crime scene in the Red Mansion..."

Before Jiang Mo could relax his frown, he raised his hand and gently patted Shao Jie's chest, "I didn't expect that Xu Muyang was interested in this kind of oil painting collection. I always thought that Manager Xu, who is so decisive, would like those with clear lines and a bit of abstraction..."

"He's a rich second-generation after all, so it's normal for him to be influenced by his family's art. Manager Xu's sister-in-law seems to be from an art school - but this kind of painting is really not her preference." Shao Jie snorted lightly, looking meaningfully into Jiang Mo's puzzled eyes: "Manager Xu bought this painting to give it to Liang Ji."

"Liang Ji?!" Jiang Mo shouted in surprise, and only after she finished speaking did she see Shao Jie's face, which was tinnitus from her sudden high volume. She leaned over apologetically and pinched his ears twice, then took a breath of cold air: "It's not right to involve Manager Xu... How is this related to Liang Ji... How did the painting that Xu Muyang bought for Liang Ji end up in your base? Did the two of them have a quarrel? The painting is now-"

"It's been torn down. Manager Xu saw that I wasn't in good shape, and was afraid that if I was stimulated again, something might happen to me... After all, the mid-season tournament is just around the corner when I return from vacation." Shao Jie waved his hand, "It's not convenient for me to ask directly where the painting is now... It was originally intended to be a gift for Mr. Liang, but I didn't know until I got the item that this painting... seems to have some tricks that Mr. Liang wants to take advantage of to get his hands on."

Jiang Mo was stunned for two seconds, then he laughed and said, "Shengcheng International has been in trouble recently. It seems that Liang Ji was planning to keep a backup plan to make some temporary turnover or spare funds for his escape. Then he didn't expect that Manager Xu would intervene halfway. Now... I'm afraid that both his career and love will be in crisis."

Jiang Mo shook his head speechlessly, lowered his eyes and flipped through the photos of the oil paintings in Shao Jie's mobile phone over and over again. After a while, he suddenly raised his head and looked into Shao Jie's eyes from bottom to top.

"How do I see it...except for the one in Ren Dongran's painting...the other girls all look like - foreigners?"

Jiang Mo shuddered suddenly when he said this.

"——After the Red Mansion case, the murderer never stopped."

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"All things in the world are like snow on the hairpin, and life is like spring in the jar."