Chapter 41

Perhaps because of Zhang Hao's calm attitude, he even came to the police station himself. As a result, his treatment was quite good; at least he wasn't in the notorious interrogation room but in an office.

Sitting on the sofa, a cup of tea was placed on the marble coffee table. It seemed he had been invited for a cup of tea.

Across from him were two police officers, neither of whom were particularly old. One seemed to be a recorder, while the other was the one who had spoken to Zhang Hao earlier.

As expected, this was a female police officer in her twenties, who introduced herself as Zhou Xiaomin. What Zhang Hao didn't expect was that Officer Zhou Xiaomin was also a beautiful policewoman. Not only was her appearance delicate and graceful, but her figure, wrapped in a police uniform, was also elegant and spirited.

After introducing each other, Zhou Xiaomin cleared her throat and, with a serious face, began to ask questions. She first took out some photos for Zhang Hao to confirm.

Zhang Hao recognized all of them; they were the jade and gold he had sold.

"These jades and gold are family heirlooms. I found them a few months ago when I was cleaning the old house. At first, I wanted to sell them as antiques. Someone said they looked like Han Dynasty jades, but for some reason, they were all so new that the other party didn't dare to confirm. So, I decided to sell them as ordinary jade."

Zhang Hao said this, having already thought it through. As long as he insisted that these were family heirlooms, there was no way for others to investigate, right?

"I want to know what's wrong with these jades that you need me to assist in the investigation?"

Zhou Xiaomin's gaze was fixed on Zhang Hao, as if trying to spot any inconsistencies. But Zhang Hao remained calm and composed, and Zhou Xiaomin finally decided to change her approach. She explained immediately,

"A Han Dynasty tomb in Henan was recently found to have been robbed, with many artifacts stolen. After investigating various leads, your jades were flagged."

"Because a Han Dynasty tomb in Henan was robbed, you came to me? We're in Dongshan Province, and I've never been to Henan." Zhang Hao frowned as he said this.

"Because there's not enough evidence, we invited you to assist in the investigation rather than summoning you directly," Zhou Xiaomin's demeanor was unyielding.

"The reason we found you is that during the investigation in Henan, someone mentioned your jades. Because of the timing and the fact that the selling price was significantly lower than that of Han Dynasty jades, we traced it back to you. Whether you've been to Henan or not isn't the issue; if you hadn't, no one would have come looking for you!"

What bad luck! It was purely an unforeseen disaster. Zhang Hao not only thought this but also said it out loud. He then asked,

"If they are unearthed artifacts, shouldn't they be very different from my jades? My jades were all kept in boxes. It's precisely because they were so well-preserved that people suspected they weren't antiques."

"There are techniques to restore antiques. And how do you know there weren't boxes in the tomb?" Zhou Xiaomin countered.

Zhang Hao was speechless and leaned back on the sofa. He couldn't understand why such a thing would happen to him, and more importantly, how to resolve it. How could he prove that these jades were not stolen artifacts?

"Hasn't the Henan police found anything? Just because of this vague lead, they came to me. The real tomb robbers are still at large, truly outstanding ability," Zhang Hao complained, then looked at Zhou Xiaomin,

"Officer Zhou, I've explained everything. What should we do next?"

The current issue was that Zhang Hao had a secret he couldn't reveal. Due to the time portal, he would occasionally disappear in the modern world, creating a blind spot. No one could prove where Zhang Hao had been or whom he had seen.

Zhou Xiaomin and the recorder exchanged glances, clearly finding it difficult. From what they could see, Zhang Hao's suspicion was not significant. After all, tomb robbers were unlikely to sell artifacts directly to jewelry stores; they would have their own channels for fencing.

Moreover, Zhou Xiaomin and her team had not been idle over the past few days. They had investigated some of Zhang Hao's background. Regardless of other details, a few months ago, he was still working on a construction site, and his movements were traceable. It was only after selling the jade and gold that he became wealthy. Before that, he had no money to buy jade.

Unfortunately, the exact time of the tomb robbery could not be determined, which made the situation more complicated.

Through bank records, it was clear that the money from selling the jade had all gone into Zhang Hao's account.

The problem arose when investigating the flow of funds in Zhang Hao's bank account. His suspicion could not be cleared because the money, after being transferred to the Tianhe Craft Factory's account, was used in a mysterious manner.

On the surface, apart from some traceable purchases like grain, the Tianhe Craft Factory continued to produce, but the products' whereabouts were unknown. It appeared to be a complete loss. This situation made Zhou Xiaomin and her team wary of Zhang Hao.

After Zhang Hao became wealthy, he bought a car, a house, and a factory, as if the money were all his. The purchases made by the craft factory were all genuine, or else the police might have considered him a suspect.

Although the craft factory's transactions were somewhat unclear, the police knew that Zhang Hao's suspicion regarding the tomb robbery was minimal.

The factory's purchases of various raw materials were all normal. Such behavior could not reasonably be considered money laundering.

"We have investigated the flow of funds in your account, and we have some questions that we need you to answer," Zhou Xiaomin said seriously, wanting to confirm this point. If this could be clarified, Zhang Hao's suspicion could be cleared.

Zhang Hao's heart sank. He had anticipated that the police investigation would be thorough. For the police, many issues were not difficult; a single phone call could reveal everything.

This was what he was most worried about. Some things could be fudged with the factory, but with the police, without concrete evidence, you couldn't fool them.

"According to the records of your craft factory, you should have produced many ancient weapons. It's said that the sales were your responsibility. Can you tell us where those ancient weapons are?" Zhou Xiaomin asked, looking at Zhang Hao. She had been curious about this during her investigation.

At the same time, as she investigated Zhang Hao, she became more curious about him.

Apart from the fact that Zhang Hao's craft factory had purchased some grain and other miscellaneous items, which were used for unknown purposes, Zhang Hao himself was also intriguing. She had only seen photos of him before, but when she met him in person, Zhou Xiaomin almost didn't recognize him.

It had been less than four months, yet Zhang Hao had changed so much. Not only had his height increased, but his face had become more resolute and handsome. If it weren't for his unchanged features, he would be unrecognizable from his ID photo.

What impressed Zhou Xiaomin even more was the unique aura he exuded. She couldn't describe it, but it was similar to that of people in high positions. Just seeing Zhang Hao frown slightly made her feel uneasy.

This was a stark contrast to the photos she had seen before.

"Does my craft factory have any connection to the tomb robbery?" Zhang Hao thought about his words and asked,

"It seems there is no connection, but if you can explain clearly, it will completely clear your suspicion," Zhou Xiaomin replied.

"I know what you're thinking. But don't you think you're overthinking it? Whether it's the grain or other items, there are records, and you should be able to check them. Additionally, the purchase receipts for the raw materials at our factory should also be available. These are enough to prove that I haven't used the factory to transfer assets to others. As for the items I purchased and the products of the factory, they should be completely unrelated to this matter."

Zhang Hao tried to remain calm,

"Also, I don't know if you've checked, but besides the gold and jade, I once sold a few wild ginseng plants, which were also deposited into the factory's account. It's impossible for wild ginseng to be related to tomb robbery. This should be enough to prove that I am not involved."

Zhou Xiaomin frowned and remained silent, deep in thought. After a while, she gestured to the recorder, and the two of them left the room, asking Zhang Hao to wait.

They didn't speak outside the door, and even with his enhanced physical abilities, Zhang Hao couldn't hear them. He leaned back on the sofa and began to think.

Because of the time portal, it didn't matter if his affairs weren't investigated, but if they were, there were too many strange aspects. It wasn't a big deal, but because of the tomb robbery in Henan, he was implicated, purely by bad luck.

This time, he might be able to bluff his way through, but what if he encountered such bad luck again in the future?

Zhang Hao realized he needed to find a legitimate source of income. Since he was currently connected to the Three Kingdoms world, he needed to work hard to make that world self-sufficient.