This small town is not too far from the main champagne production area, so the town also produces various sparkling wines using grapes from the surrounding vineyards.
As a result, during the following hours, Leonard and his companion found an outdoor tavern and each ordered a glass of wine to drink.
Although according to trademark laws, the sparkling white wine produced here cannot be called champagne, but in fact, the difference between the two in taste is only slight. At least Leonard's taste buds couldn't tell the difference.
After leisurely chatting and finishing the wine in their glasses, it was about time. So the two returned to the car park to continue their journey.
Honestly, treasure hunting in the market this time had greatly benefited Leonard. Because he found that in Europe, most people have a limited understanding of non-European artifacts.
Therefore, for him, if he wants to find treasure in the future, he can pay more attention to this aspect. This way, he might gain some unexpected rewards.
At 9:30 on this night, the three of them finally drove the truck safely back to London.
As planned, Old Pierce would try to use the connections he had accumulated before to sell the treasures they had obtained this time, and Leonard and Pierce would be able to take the opportunity to do their own things.
For example, the next day, Leonard got up early and began to clean the rabbit statue they had obtained before.
He took a cotton swab dipped in a prepared cleaning solution and tested it on the edges of the statue first. Finding no problems, he carefully cleaned the statue bit by bit.
As he cleaned, the yellow-green paint was gradually wiped off by the cotton swab, revealing the shiny golden surface underneath. Over half an hour later, a golden rabbit appeared before him.
"It seems that I still remember the skills I learned in school."
After inspecting the rabbit and confirming that the paint on the surface had been cleaned, Leonard put down the cotton swab and spoke to himself, then carefully examined the rabbit statue.
Once the outer layer of paint used for camouflage was removed, the sculpture revealed its true form. The beautiful patterns previously hidden by the seemingly dark paint also emerged.
These patterns were gorgeous and delicate floral designs, and the rabbit's eyes were inlaid with two green bean-sized rubies. The overall design was full of the asymmetric beauty of Rococo.
Moreover, unlike what he had previously thought, this object was not made of a single piece of metal. For instance, Leonard found that the rabbit's head and tail could move.
However, before figuring out what was going on with this object, he didn't dare touch the seemingly movable parts. He was worried that using the wrong method might damage it.
Apart from that, the most special discovery came from the rabbit's abdomen, where Leonard saw a badge the size of a fingertip.
"This should be Queen Mary's emblem—" After carefully examining the emblem with a magnifying glass, Leonard quickly recognized who the overlapping capital M and A represented.
Queen Mary, full name Mary Antoinette. After joining the French court as the wife of King Louis XVI of France, Mary Antoinette had no political achievements. She spent her days indulging in balls, fashion, play, and banquets, decorating gardens, extravagant in her spending, earning the nickname "The Deficit Lady," and eventually died during the French Revolution.
There is much controversy over this historical figure. Many people believe that she was one of the main culprits for France's crisis at the time, while others think she was just a victim of the era.
However, as a queen, Mary Antoinette was indeed competent, at least in terms of her tastes in everyday items.
But this emblem also made Leonard Ethan fall into deep thought, because according to tradition, this kind of personal emblem is not the same as a royal emblem, and is usually only placed on personal belongings.
But now, this rabbit statue is neither large nor small, and Leonard couldn't imagine what kind of function it could have.
"Well, it's the only option now." After a simple inspection, Leonard, who couldn't figure out the origin of this object, launched an[Identification (N)] card.
And after the card was used, lines of tiny characters appeared out of thin air in front of Leonard, revealing the secret hidden within the sculpture.
[Louis XVI of France was not a qualified king. If we use the Eastern terms, he was somewhat like Emperor Tianqi of the Ming Dynasty. However, what he liked was not craftsmanship in woodworking but making all kinds of locks.]
[Of course, these complex and exquisite locks of that era were often used to hide various secrets, such as the locks made by Louis XVI for his wife.]
After all the words disappeared, a [Detection (N)] card appeared in Leonard's mind, which meant that he had completely figured out this sculpture, or the rabbit-shaped lock.
It is obvious that a lock made by Louis XVI for his queen, Mary, should be quite a valuable cultural relic. However, Leonard was now more concerned about the secret hidden inside the lock.
But opening this lock is not an easy task, at least Leonard couldn't even find the keyhole of the lock. It is no wonder that Louis XVI thought he had forged a lock that outsiders couldn't crack.
Luckily, times have changed. Facing such complex mechanical equipment, Leonard has a simple solution.
"You're saying that this thing is a lock made by Louis XVI for his own queen, and there's a possibility that it hides some secrets?" In the Emerald Antique Store, Pierce looked shocked at Leonard's words.
"To think I could buy such a valuable item just randomly picking a trinket at a stall, your recent luck is too good. Do you have any magic to increase your wealth?"
"Of course not. I've been buying a lottery ticket every week, but I've never won even the lowest prize." Leonard shrugged his shoulders.
"Alright, it's not time to talk about this now. Can you help me see the structure inside this thing?"
"No problem, but I need some time to check it out" Pierce stood up from behind the counter and walked towards the back room.
"You know, that old machine has been at our house for ten years, but the last time I used it was a month ago. So I have to check if it can still be used before I can use it again——"
Fortunately, the machine, although old, was of good quality. So, ten minutes or so later, they successfully figured out the internal structure of the lock.
Then Leonard picked up the lock from that stand and gently pressed the short tail of the rabbit upwards. There was a click, and the rabbit's head suddenly turned to the other direction and revealed the keyhole beneath it.
"Very inauspicious." Looking at the rabbit-shaped lock with its head twisted to one side, Leonard complained, for he remembered that the royal couple seemed to have been executed by guillotine.