Chapter 270: Prelude to the Identity Reveal!

Chapter 270: Chapter 270: Prelude to the Identity Reveal!

At Ophelia Warren’s words, everyone’s eyes widened in shock. "What? You know how to restore this Ancient Painting?"

"Yes." Ophelia Warren smiled, her expression as gentle as a spring breeze.

Miles Everett slowly began to speak. "Ophelia said she went through many relevant books and finally found a way to restore this Ancient Painting. She came here specifically to tell us, hoping she could help."

Hearing this, the crowd exchanged glances, uncertain of what to do.

The Ancient Painting was severely damaged, and everyone had been at a loss. With the state banquet just a few days away, time was growing increasingly tight, and they were all stressed out.

Now that they heard Ophelia Warren had a solution, how could they not be tempted?

One of the more senior Restorers stepped forward and asked, "Miss Warren, could you explain your method?"

Ophelia Warren smiled faintly and explained with confidence, "First, we use conventional methods to clean the stains on the painting, then rinse the Ancient Painting with 60-degree hot water to remove the surface blemishes..."

Ophelia Warren went on, rattling off a long string of technical terms.

The more the Cultural Relics Masters listened, the more excited they became. By the time she finished, their eyes were shining. "This method sounds very feasible! What does everyone think?"

"It’s worth a try! It’s certainly a good method!"

...

Watching the Cultural Relics Masters gather around Ophelia Warren, Keith Sterling, who stood a short distance away, felt his mouth twitch. ’These people change their tune way too fast.’

But it couldn’t be helped. The Ancient Painting was incredibly difficult to restore, and time was short. Of course, everyone was eager to know the method.

Keith Sterling’s eyes shifted, and he asked Sienna Everett, who was beside him, in confusion, "Sierra, can you really pour 60-degree hot water on an Ancient Painting?"

Sienna Everett nodded. "You can. In ancient times, painting pigments were generally divided into mineral and plant-based pigments. The ancient paintings that have survived to this day were typically made with mineral pigments, which don’t dissolve in water, unlike our modern inks. Besides, in ancient times, the paper-making process itself involved scooping pulp from water, so rinsing it is fine."

Fabian Vance stroked his beard in agreement. "That’s right, just as Sierra said."

This was an eye-opener for Keith Sterling; he had learned something new.

In that short time, the Cultural Relics Masters had finished listening to Ophelia Warren’s restoration method and formulated a plan.

Miles Everett summarized, "This is the best restoration plan we have right now. As long as we are careful and make no mistakes, this Ancient Painting can be restored to the greatest extent possible."

Another Restorer urged excitedly, "Then let’s start quickly! Time is of the essence. We’ll be too late if we delay any longer!"

"Wait." A young man with glasses standing nearby raised a hand to stop them. "We’re all deep in discussion here, but Sienna Everett, Fabian Vance, and Keith Sterling have been standing in the corner this whole time. Let’s call them over."

Miles Everett’s brow furrowed immediately. "They don’t know anything about cultural relics restoration."

’Sienna Everett only knows how to paint; she doesn’t understand restoration. What good would it do to have her over here, other than cause trouble?’

"Uh, that’s true..." The young man with glasses dropped the subject and continued, "Then, to be safe, how about we have the most senior and experienced person do the restoration? That way, we can avoid any mistakes."

Many Cultural Relics Masters dreamed of restoring a famous ancient painting; it was a professional achievement.

But time was short. To ensure the Ancient Painting was restored successfully, they had to choose the most experienced person to avoid any slip-ups.

The crowd looked at each other. "Among our group, the most senior and experienced has to be Miles Everett."

"Miles, you do the restoration! We’ll all be right here watching. Just say the word if you need help. The most important thing now is to get the painting fixed!"

Miles Everett thought for a moment. It wasn’t arrogance; he truly was the most senior person here.

"Alright, I’ll do it then," Miles Everett agreed.

Ophelia Warren spoke up thoughtfully, "Mr. Everett, let me be your assistant. We’ll be able to work faster that way. Besides, we’ve restored other ancient paintings together before and have great chemistry!"

Miles Everett considered it. Ophelia Warren’s skills in restoring ancient paintings were indeed impressive, so he nodded. "Okay."

A flicker of triumph, almost imperceptible, flashed in Ophelia Warren’s eyes.

’If I can successfully restore this Ancient Painting and have it displayed at the state banquet, I’ll earn a national-level honor. By then, I’ll be able to turn my reputation around effortlessly.’

’Sienna Everett wants to see my reputation ruined?’

’Heh, what a shame. The only one whose reputation will be in tatters is Sienna Everett!’

Ophelia Warren shot a provocative glance at Sienna Everett, only to find that Sienna wasn’t looking at her at all.

The feeling of being ignored made Ophelia Warren suddenly clench her jaw.

At that moment, Sienna Everett was being pestered with questions by Keith Sterling. His chatter made her head buzz, and all she wanted was to go outside for some peace and quiet.

Just then, an old man in a military uniform with an upright posture walked into the room. Despite his age, his eyes were sharp, and he had a commanding presence.

A young guard followed beside him.

Seeing the newcomer, all the Cultural Relics Masters in the room stood up respectfully. "Chief Ford, you’re here!"

Chief Ford strode into the room, his voice booming. "I came to see how the restoration of the Ancient Painting is coming along. The state banquet is approaching, and time is tight." 𝐟𝑟ⅇ

"Chief Ford, we’ve already formulated a restoration plan!"

Hearing this, Chief Ford relaxed. "Then carry on. I’ll just watch from here."

With such an important figure present, everyone couldn’t help but feel a little on edge.

After preparing the necessary tools, Miles Everett began restoring the Ancient Painting, with Ophelia Warren assisting him.

The Ancient Painting was first rinsed with hot water, then the moisture was blotted dry with a towel. Many of the surface stains were removed, giving it a refreshed look.

Chief Ford was amazed. "It looks quite effective!"

A Restorer beside him smiled. "Miles is the most experienced Ancient Painting restorer we have here!"

Chief Ford nodded in approval.

Washing with hot water was the first step. The second step was to carefully peel off the painting’s backing paper.

Seeing this, Keith Sterling, who was standing a short distance away, was dumbfounded. He asked in a low voice, "The painting has multiple layers?"

Sienna Everett couldn’t help but smile. "Yes. After a painting or calligraphy piece is mounted, it has many layers. But each layer of paper is incredibly thin, so an ordinary person can’t tell them apart."

"This Ancient Painting, for example, has a total of three layers. From top to bottom, they are the painting core, the life paper, and the backing paper."

"The painting core is the layer of paper the artist painted on. Everything the artist created is on this layer, so it’s the most important."

Keith Sterling clicked his tongue. "So Miles Everett is peeling off the third layer, the backing paper, right now? That must be really difficult, right? Can he handle it?"

Sienna Everett’s eyes flickered. "This step requires extreme care and caution. Otherwise, one careless move could damage the painting core."

The paper of the painting core is already very thin. If it were accidentally torn, it wouldn’t be restoring an ancient painting; it would be destroying one.

At that moment, Miles Everett was holding a pair of tweezers, carefully peeling off the backing paper on the right side of the Ancient Painting, while Ophelia Warren worked on the left.

But when Miles Everett looked up, he saw Ophelia Warren’s face was deathly pale. He couldn’t help but ask, "What’s wrong?"

Ophelia Warren shook her head, but her hand was pressed tightly over the Ancient Painting beneath it. "Nothing."

Miles Everett didn’t think much of it and returned to his work. After all, the task was meticulous and demanded his full concentration.

Time ticked by. Chief Ford curiously circled the table to watch, then took a few steps, and suddenly stopped. His brow furrowed tightly. "What’s going on here!"

Everyone immediately looked over at his words.

There, on the Ancient Painting, was a new area of damage!

Originally, the Ancient Painting only had two damaged holes. Now, in addition to those two holes, there was a new tear!