Chapter 7 — Guardian of the Frescoes

"Crucify her. Not even her soul can escape."
In the meeting room, Luc Nghien Chu suddenly rushed to the trash can and vomited. Chu Nam Chi did not scold him, just said:
"Is it disgusting? When Minh Duong is in pain, she is ten thousand times more uncomfortable than you."
At the end of the video, Kieu Thanh Le bent down and leaned close to my ear.
"Ms. Minh Duong, do you think Luc Nghien Chu will come to save you?"
Dark image. My voice is very quiet.
“Luc Nghien Chu, I'm in pain.”
This time, everyone heard it. Luc Nghien Chu knelt down in front of the screen, his forehead pressed against the cold floor.
“Minh Duong, I'm sorry.”
I floated in front of him. Those three words are too light. So light that it couldn't fill the nail holes in my bones. Kieu Thanh Le's guilty plea was not easy. She insisted that she had accomplices, someone to buy it, and someone to help her take the mural away.
“I can testify, but I want to see the two children.”
Dad sat across the interrogation table, his voice hoarse.
“You have no right to dictate conditions.”
Kieu Thanh Le smiled:
"The mural still hasn't been found. What your daughter risked her life to protect, don't you need it anymore?"
Dad's hand pressed on the table, the blood vessels on the back of his hand appeared. Luc Nghien Chu says:
“Let her meet.”
Chu Nam Chi immediately scolded:
“Are you soft-hearted again?”
Luc Nghien Chu looked at Kieu Thanh Le.
“Let the children see firsthand what kind of person their mother is.”
When An An and Ninh Ninh were brought in, they still didn't know what had happened. Kieu Thanh Le cried and shouted through the glass:
"Children, mother has been wronged. Please quickly beg your father, beg your grandfather."
An An turned her head to look at Luc Nghien Chu.
“Dad, why is mom wearing handcuffs?”
Luc Nghien Chu squatted down and handed the tablet to the boy.
“See for yourself.”
Mother rushed to stop.
“The children are young!”
Chu Nam Chi stood in front of her.
"Young? When they scolded Minh Duong for being an evil woman, why didn't anyone say they were young?"
The video only plays the first half. An An saw Kieu Thanh Le commanding the smugglers to capture me, her small face gradually turned pale. Ninh Ninh burst into tears.
“Mom is a bad person.”
Kieu Thanh Le shouted behind the glass.
"Turn it off! Luc Nghien Chu, how can you show this to the children?"
Luc Nghien Chu hugged two children.
“When you do that, you should think that they will see.”
Kieu Thanh Le finally collapsed.
"I said! The mural is at the old dock of Giang Thanh. The buyer's name is Luong. I didn't take the money alone, Deputy Director Trieu also had a share. As for the appraisal report that year, he helped me edit it."
Deputy Director Trieu just learned that he was being brought into the door. Hearing this sentence, he immediately shouted:
“Kieu Thanh Le, don't bite other people indiscriminately!”
Chu Nam Chi burst out laughing.
“Oh, the dog bit the dog.”
Deputy Director Trieu was escorted to the next room. At first he refused to accept. It wasn't until the police took out the records of him suddenly buying a house five years ago that he began to wipe away the sweat.
"I only received a little money. The report was not edited by me, it was signed by Director Luc."
Luc Nghien Chu looked at him. Deputy Director Trieu immediately said:
"Director Luc didn't know. At that time, he was distracted by Kieu Thanh Le's crying. The document hadn't been signed yet."
Chu Nam Chi turned his head to look at Luc Nghien Chu.
"You're really good. One stroke of a pen.“This is what that girl gave me before she died.”
Luc Nghien Chu stood still, not saying a word to justify himself. Dad led people to the old wharf. When the warehouse was opened, moisture immediately hit my face. The fresco was rolled up and placed in a wooden crate. The outer protective layer has become moldy. Teacher Ha quickly ran over in a wheelchair. As soon as he saw the picture, the teacher held the edge of the box and burst into tears.
“Minh Duong, the thing you used your life to protect is still damaged like this.”
Chu Nam Chi put on gloves and gritted his teeth.
“It can be restored. In the past, she taught me that as long as the drawing on the base layer is still intact, it can still be saved.”
Luc Nghien Chu says:
“I also participated in the restoration.”
Chu Nam Chi didn't even look at him.
“You should learn how to be human first.”
The day the mural returned to the restoration center, the outside was filled with reporters. Dad proactively stood in front of the camera.
“I am Tham Truong Xuyen, father of Tham Minh Duong. Five years ago, I didn't trust my daughter and personally signed the paperwork to break off the relationship. I feel sorry for her.”
Mom stood next to me, crying so much that she couldn't stand.
“Minh Duong, mom was wrong. Mom was wrong.”
The reporter asked:
"Miss Tham has passed away, does your apology still have any meaning?"
Dad closed his eyes.
“It doesn't make sense. But it still has to be said.”
Luc Nghien Chu also walked out.
“I am Luc Nghien Chu. Five years ago, as her fiance, I did not investigate the truth, allowing her to suffer a bad reputation. Regarding my signing the false report, I accept all investigations and sanctions.”
In the crowd, someone asked:
“So what should Kieu Thanh Le's two children do?”
Luc Nghien Chu says:
“I will nurture them, but I will not deceive them.”
Chu Nam Chi held my photo and walked onto the stage.