Li Ang's face suddenly turned bitter.
"Where's your wife? Bring Baliu with you, she won't let you be bullied."
Li Ang left with the mission.
Xia Yibing had been talking for such a long time, and she finally had a chance to take a break. She couldn't help feeling dry mouth and naturally turned her gaze to the glass of water in the hand of the passenger in the front passenger seat.
What is the relationship between us?
Without waiting for the girl's consent, the woman took the cup, took a few big gulps, and let out a very comfortable moan.
"How is it?" She handed the cup back to the girl, "Did you come up with any ideas?"
"No."
Hitzfeld took the cup, closed his eyes and shook his head.
"The eyes of God are blocked, and I cannot see the past."
When the police surrounded the corner tower, she took the opportunity to go back to Ross Golden Crown's store and found that the traceback in that area was also abnormal.
It must be because of the interference caused by the purple sapphire and gold crown... You know, it was originally exhibited there.
"The good news is that the curse has not spread in the surrounding area." Xia Yibing said, "Not a single case. I really hope that this can be resolved in the end..."
Changning District has been blocked off at present, and no one is allowed to enter but not leave except people like them.
This is of course necessary. Even if it seems that there is no curse now, you have to wait and observe for a period of time and only release it when you are really sure.
The murderer was not found, and based on the clues obtained, it can be preliminarily inferred that the "Light of Salvation" organization sent people to silence them. In addition, Ms. Yusilian was sure that the crown was in the murderer's possession, so the jewelry theft case can also be attributed to this organization.
The next step is to investigate this organization, using almost the same method as Xia Yibing, to see if we can find more clues.
"There's one thing I don't understand."
Hitzfeld ran his right hand across his cheek from below, inserted it into the gaps in his hair and pulled it twice.
"Why did he choose today?"
"Maybe it's just a coincidence." Xia Yibing said, "They planned to take action this morning, but just like they didn't expect Alfred to suddenly commit suicide, they also didn't guess that we would get clues and rush here so quickly. That means they wouldn't have met us in their original plan."
"I hope that person just happened to be carrying the crown." Hitzfeld closed his eyes.
If that was intentional, the case would be more difficult to investigate.
"At least we have nothing to do until new clues come out."
Xia Yibing started the car directly.
"Gritzer won't wake up for three days. I heard you say you're very interested in someone's painting... why don't you go to the museum first?"
"can."
The girl looked back at Daryl.
"…Just think of it as relaxing."
Chapter 42 Dodge Gallery
Next to the Bedlake Museum there is a place called "Dodge Gallery" - just from the name you should know that this is a place for art exhibitions.
"I've read the reports there." While driving, Hitzfeld was reading the newspaper while giving the other two people some basic knowledge. "The Dodge Gallery was originally only used to exhibit the owner's paintings, but as the owner became more and more famous, he no longer needed to prove himself in this way. The Dodge Gallery began to undertake more exhibitions of paintings by other painters. Now it has also developed to include many non-painting artworks. The nature of the exhibitions is very similar to that of the Bedlake Museum."
"You are the best at this kind of messy knowledge~" Xia Yibing sighed, while scanning something on the street.
"I remember we didn't have lunch. Do you want to buy something?"
"Meat pie will do."
What kind of snacks could there be in this era? There were no salted peanuts. The only things sold on the street were bread and meat and vegetable pies. If you were lucky, you might come across a stall selling roasted sweet potatoes or potatoes. As for candied people and candied haws, there was no way they could find them.
Xia Yibing stopped the car to buy some pies and baked potatoes.
She didn't buy water - there were two jugs of water in the car, so she wouldn't be short of water for the time being.
After having lunch on the way while driving, they could focus on exploring the gallery after arriving at the central square.
After getting off the bus and taking a quick look, Hitzfeld discovered that there were more people in the square than he had imagined.
The return fever of the Elsa continent is still having its stimulating effect, just like the royal family held the treasure exhibition in the beginning to catch the limelight. As a museum and gallery that was originally an authentic exhibition hall, the business here is extremely hot.
But most of the crowds gathered at the Bedlake Museum, and there were not many people at the Dodge Gallery.
Xia Yibing took out a cane from the car, checked her weapons and clothes, and she and Hitzfeld used each other as mirrors to check each other's makeup before getting out of the car and walking over there.
The Dodge Gallery is located on a row of large steps. It is a temple-like building supported by a circle of cylindrical columns. Its style is very grand and majestic.
As he walked up the steps, Hitzfeld immediately saw a person sitting by the fountain.
"James?" she whispered the other's name.
As if sensing some movement here, James Lawrence looked up with a look of ecstasy on his face.
"Ah!" He immediately opened his arms and came over to greet us, "You finally remembered!"
"Wait." A cane was pressed against his throat first, but Xia Yibing stared at him coldly: "Explain to us why you are here first."
"Because the Earl said he was very interested in those three paintings when we parted last time?" James glared, raised his hand to indicate that he was not threatening, and spoke faster: "I guess you will definitely find a chance to investigate Ebony Dodge later, but it's not polite to go to his house right at the beginning. I guess you will choose to come here first - there are still many of his paintings in this gallery!"
"You have the potential to be a detective...James." Hitzfeld began to look at him with admiration.
As expected of the new generation that Baron Larence can rely on, he has a keen sense of smell... but he's not very smart.
"That's a good analysis!" Xia Yibing also said, "But this doesn't explain why you want to get so close to us!"
She remembered that she had hinted clearly last time that neither she nor Aisuen wanted to be disturbed.
Even homosexuality is not allowed, let alone James is a man?
He should not fail to understand what was meant by this, so why did he follow them? Was he planning to investigate the case with them? Was this old Lawrence's idea?
After thinking about it, Xia Yibing felt that it was really possible.
Whether it was the jewel theft or the “light of salvation,” these were minor inconveniences at best.
Really... Even though so many people died, this is normal for a city. Wayne even survived the evil disaster like the Death Tree, these troubles can't stop... The royal family is determined to carry out the investigation.
Whether one can foresee this in advance depends on one's sense of smell and political wisdom. Lawrence has always been a leader in this field. If it were them, they might really be able to guess the direction of the wind.
"I don't know either!" James followed Baron Le Fay's instructions and started to play dumb. "Uh... I didn't intend to get involved, but my father suggested that I come over to help... He said that if you continue to investigate further, you will definitely encounter resistance from the Barish family. With me by your side... maybe it will be more convenient for you?"
The cane head moved away and James breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that this was the other party's initial recognition of him.
"Lead the way, Mr. Larence," Hitzfeld said. "Since you are also a noble - a great noble, I think we can save some money on the guide fee."
"Of course!" The young man hurriedly chased after him and said seriously, "Forget about other places, Dodge Gallery, I can recognize the history of everything."
The gallery guard didn't know Hitzfeld, but he obviously knew the sheriff and James. He didn't stop them when they entered, and even took a half step back.
Upon entering the gallery, everyone was immediately attracted by the dark red carpet and luxurious chandeliers, and felt that the interior decoration was extremely luxurious.
It can be said that if the paintings hanging on the walls are removed, this place would be large enough to host a top-notch salon cocktail party.
"This is Film's work, and this is Eli Haier's."
There were almost no customers in the gallery, so they fell behind and let James walk ahead to introduce the paintings and exhibits. He was like a real guide and could describe them in detail.
"And from here on it's all about Ebony Dodge himself."
Entering a long corridor, James coughed emphatically.
Hitzfeld looked up and saw paintings on the walls on both sides.
There is probably a group of paintings every four meters, and most of them are large paintings, with very few delicate small paintings.
She suddenly doubted the point of coming here to see all this.
If Wu Muli-Dodge is not a superhuman, wouldn't it be enough to just ask him a few questions?
But Xia wanted me to relax.
Well, she probably thought that I didn't sleep last night, and seeing such a bloody scene would be a mental shock...
The corners of his mouth trembled, and Hitzfeld wanted to laugh.
She knew that this was a woman's unique way of comforting herself.
This guy is sometimes very bold, and sometimes very shy. She refused to express this meaning directly, but was tough, trying to make this side accept her good intentions according to her arrangement.
Forget it.
Just treat it as a serious trip.
With this in mind, Hitzfeld put aside several cases for the time being and asked James, "So what style does this Ebony Dodge excel at?"
Or in other words, what style of painting is he really good at?
She also likes painting, so she knows very well that it is not comprehensive to judge a painter's characteristics based on just a few works.
Because those may be works left over from different periods. Take Picasso as an example. His early paintings were not abstract blocks of color. Every famous master basically experiences more than one style transformation. This kind of transformation is considered to be "extremely valuable" in the field of art, because each transformation means a new spiritual perception, which is exactly the kind of "mysterious" thing that art likes to emphasize.
Hitzfeld didn't like this kind of thing very much, which was why she didn't really delve into the art path. But she could understand it, and this professionalism surprised several people, including Xia Yibing.
"You still know this?"
James was stunned, then quickly changed his words: "Oh, I'm not looking down on you, Count...but after all..."
"Just tell me the answer."
"Mr. Dodge was fond of realistic techniques in his early years, and in his middle age he began to delve into something called 'hyperrealism'."
"Really? But those three paintings don't seem to be in this style."
"Yes, they all adopt a... uh, rather plain and sloppy style... some people call it 'impressionism'. I think that's a very apt description."
“But he actually has a fourth style.”
After hesitating for a moment, James stretched out his hand to point forward.
"…Just follow me and you'll find out."
Chapter 43 Aesthetics and Style 2-in-1
As they quickened their pace in the corridor, the paintings flashed before Xia Yibing's eyes more frequently.
They were all large paintings, and as James had said before, most of them looked...very realistic.
Xia Yibing knew a little about art. After all, living in a place like Vien Port for so long, even people without any artistic talent would be influenced by it. But it was difficult for her to distinguish between different painting styles, as her evaluation of artworks was always extremely subjective.
These paintings are indeed worthy of the evaluation of "hyper-realism". It is a completely different painting style from the classical Misty School, full of sharpness, but just the right amount of publicity.
For example, the painting we just passed by is called "Suburban Night Scene". Most night scene paintings are pitch black with stars and lights, but this one is the opposite, depicting the lights projected on the streets of the town at night in an extremely colorful way.
It's very real, and from a distance it looks like a freeze-frame of a real scene.
"Are these paintings valuable?" she asked James halfway.
"He is the best painter today!" James widened his eyes as if it was a matter of course, "Of course he is valuable! He can even be said to be the most valuable!"
"I believe it's valuable, but what's the most valuable..."
Xia Yibing expressed some doubts.
She didn't know much about this circle, but thanks to Hitzfeld, she more or less knew some of the "dark history" of gallery exhibitions.
What can I say about this circle? According to the girl, "there are many masters who concentrate on studying skills, but compared with the total number of people, the proportion is still on a downward trend."
Aisuen believes that this is "an inevitable trend of the development of the times" and says that the reason these people still have room to survive is because there has never been a true master who has opened up a certain path and walked through it thoroughly. A group of people are studying classicism and the Misty School. They feel that there is still a way ahead, so they will continue to walk on this path until this path has been drilled by countless people and there is no space left.
Xia Yibing didn't quite understand what this meant. She didn't care about this kind of thing, and only understood the following sentence: "But even so, secular art is mostly a toy, and its value does not depend on the professional quality of the creator, but on mutual contrast."
This is easy to understand - take a young person who takes this path as an example. If this person comes from a good family, he may be able to stay at home and hone his skills.
Polishing skills has become an almost formulaic process. They will stay at home and paint like crazy, but the most important thing is to spread the word.
It is useless to just paint without doing anything. You should let others know that "you are painting without doing anything". This will add a basic value to your work, making everyone who considers buying your paintings feel that "Oh, at least they are not easy to come by."
How long this step lasts depends on how good his background is.
For a moderately wealthy family, it would take about 10 to 20 years. For a more upscale family, it could be shortened to less than 10 years.
After you persevere, become famous, and have recognition, your paintings will sell well. At this point, you can build relationships, go around, and open a gallery. At this point, you have to rely on the shadows of those seniors in the industry.
Most of them are well-known masters with a long-standing reputation, or powerful people of a slightly lower level.
