The Next Day, Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, China.
A large Mercedes sedan with windows tinted so dark the interior could not be seen sped along a quiet coastal road, escorted by a Public Security patrol car with flashing lights.
Seok-won, dressed in a dark gray suit, sank into the soft leather seat and gazed at the scenery passing beyond the car window.
Beside the two-lane road stretched a wide expanse of white sand. The deep blue sea met the sky at the horizon, and the rolling waves toward the shore crashed into white foam. The scene was peaceful and beautiful.
Within a radius of several kilometers, the area had been designated a restricted zone where unauthorized people were not allowed to enter, making the surroundings even more secluded and leaving the natural landscape largely untouched.
On the opposite side of the asphalt road stood a dense forest filled with old, towering trees.
After driving a little farther along the road as it curved to the right, a massive iron gate appeared at the end of the road, accompanied by a high wall that easily rose more than five meters.
In front of the gate, soldiers armed with automatic rifles stood guard in rigid formation.
"Please stop for a moment."
An officer wearing a lieutenant's insignia, a pistol holstered at his waist, briefly checked the license plate attached to the Mercedes.
He then bent slightly and exchanged a few words with the official riding in the Public Security patrol car ahead, before gesturing to his subordinate.
"Pass!"
As the soldiers moved the barricade blocking the road aside and swung the heavy iron gate wide open, the large Mercedes sedan that had briefly stopped began moving again.
Seok-won, seated in the back, looked expressionlessly through the passing car window at the officer standing rigidly at attention, saluting as they drove past.
Once they entered the state guesthouse—completely cut off from the outside by high walls—a vast, meticulously maintained garden unfolded before them.
Ancient pine trees that seemed to be several hundred years old stood among clusters of flowers in full bloom, filling the air with fragrance. A large artificial lake and a waterfall also came into view.
Only after driving across the garden for quite some time did the main building appear—a Western-style villa with an antique atmosphere, where red brick walls and marble columns blended harmoniously.
When the large Mercedes sedan came to a smooth stop at the entrance, a middle-aged man of average height wearing gold-rimmed glasses approached to greet him.
"Welcome. I am Mao Hua, the chief secretary serving Vice Chairman Hu."
Recalling from the briefing materials he had studied beforehand that Mao Hua had been a close aide who had assisted Vice Chairman Hu Jintao since his days as the Party Secretary of Guizhou Province, Seok-won extended his hand first and spoke in Chinese, which he had now become quite proficient in.
"I've heard that Vice Chairman Hu has an outstanding aide who serves as his eyes and ears by his side. It's a pleasure to finally meet you today."
Though still quite young, Seok-won's demeanor carried both confidence and composure. Mao Hua's eyes briefly flickered with interest before he quickly concealed it.
"You flatter me."
Seok-won lightly shook hands with him and gave a faint smile.
"Vice Chairman Hu is waiting, so I will guide you inside."
Following Mao Hua, who walked ahead, Seok-won entered the main building together with his executive secretary, Manager Han Ji-sung.
Passing through a large arched doorway, the first things that caught their eyes were the floor and walls adorned with natural marble, and a massive chandelier hanging above as if it might pour down from the ceiling at any moment.
Even at a glance—seeing Qing Dynasty porcelain with ornate patterns placed throughout the room—it was clear that this place was not merely a resort but a deep inner sanctum of power.
Entering the reception room along the corridor connected to the hall, they saw a thick carpet covering the floor, with sofas and tables made of the finest leather and solid wood placed in the center.
Across from them hung an old ink painting framed on the wall, which matched beautifully with the traditional Chinese garden that spread out like a painting beyond the large window.
At the center of the reception room, where the rich scent of wood lingered faintly in the air, a middle-aged man wearing rimless glasses and possessing narrow, elongated eyes sat alone, looking at the group.
It was Vice Chairman Hu Jintao, the man they had come to meet today.
Seok-won's first impression upon seeing him was that he resembled a typical elite bureaucrat rather than a powerful figure who wielded influence within a vast nation like China.
"Chairman Park Seok-won has arrived."
At the words of Chief Secretary Mao Hua, Vice Chairman Hu Jintao rose from the sofa and extended one hand first.
"Thank you for coming all the way here."
"Not at all. Thanks to the many conveniences arranged for me, I was able to come without much difficulty."
Seok-won greeted him with confidence and proper courtesy, showing no sign of intimidation.
"Hmm."
Hearing the natural Chinese pronunciation, Vice Chairman Hu Jintao showed a slightly surprised expression.
Then he spoke again, his attitude a little more cordial than before.
"I had heard that you could speak Chinese, but I didn't realize it would be so natural that one might mistake you for a Chinese person."
"It's only enough to get by in conversation."
Seok-won replied modestly with a small smile, and Vice Chairman Hu Jintao burst into laughter.
"Hahaha. Originally, I planned to have the chief secretary here act as an interpreter and conduct the conversation in English, but seeing this now, it seems that won't be necessary."
More than simply being pleased that they could converse comfortably, he seemed very satisfied that Seok-won—known as the world's richest man and a genius investor on Wall Street, often called the Midas Touch—had taken the time to learn Chinese.
'It was a good thing I squeezed time out of my schedule and even took private lessons to study Chinese.'
Seok-won watched as Vice Chairman Hu Jintao openly revealed his favorable impression and silently praised himself once again.
The Chinese possessed a strong sense of pride, to the extent that they held the Sinocentric belief that they were the center of the world. Naturally, seeing him speak Chinese could not help but make them feel somewhat pleased.
'Considering the money I'll be making in China in the future, this much flattery is nothing.'
Seok-won concealed his true thoughts perfectly and wore a faint smile.
"A distinguished guest has arrived, and yet I haven't even offered you a seat. Come, let's sit and continue our conversation."
"Of course."
After Vice Chairman Hu Jintao sat down first on the sofa to the right, together with Chief Secretary Mao Hua, Seok-won naturally took a seat across from them.
Manager Han Ji-sung, who had been waiting behind, carefully placed the item he was holding onto the wooden table and bowed his head.
"I'll wait outside, then."
When Seok-won gave a slight nod as if to indicate his approval, Manager Han Ji-sung bowed once more and quietly left the room.
"What is this?"
Vice Chairman Hu Jintao looked at the square-shaped item wrapped in red silk cloth embroidered with ornate patterns and asked,
"I felt it would be improper to come empty-handed, so I brought a small gift."
"Oh dear. I didn't prepare anything, so I feel rather sorry."
"That's quite alright. I only hope you like the gift I brought."
Seok-won spoke with a gentle smile.
"Then I will gratefully accept it."
At a glance from Vice Chairman Hu Jintao, Chief Secretary Mao Hua untied the silk wrapping.
Inside was a wooden box that looked extraordinary at first sight, its two corners adorned with gold trim and its surface carefully finished with lacquer.
With a cautious motion, Mao Hua opened the lid of the box.
Click.
Inside, wrapped in soft silk, a turquoise-green jade seal revealed its heavy and dignified presence.
Seeing an item he had never expected, Vice Chairman Hu Jintao looked at it with a puzzled expression. Seok-won then revealed the astonishing identity of the object.
"This is Jiuzhou Qing'an Zhibao, one of the imperial jade seals used by the Qianlong Emperor, the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty."
"...!"
Vice Chairman Hu Jintao's eyes widened. He leaned forward in his seat and asked again as if to confirm,
"You said this is a jade seal used by the Qianlong Emperor?"
"That's correct."
Under Vice Chairman Hu Jintao's gaze, Seok-won continued speaking calmly.
"If you look closely, you will see two dragons intricately carved on the handle, and on the seal face, you can clearly make out the inscription 'Jiuzhou Qing'an Zhibao.'"
Vice Chairman Hu Jintao carefully lifted the jade seal with both hands and examined its surface closely.
The seal, about 10 centimeters wide and 9 centimeters tall, had endured two centuries yet displayed a brilliant lustre without a single crack or fracture.
When he turned the heavy seal over to look at the base, the characters [九州淸安之寶] were indeed engraved across the entire seal face.
As if to show that it had truly been used, traces of old cinnabar seal paste still remained on it.
"Ho…"
Vice Chairman Hu Jintao gazed at the seal with an expression of admiration for quite some time before carefully placing it back onto the silk cloth, wary of even the slightest scratch.
He then lifted his head and asked Seok-won, who was seated across from him,
"Where in the world did you obtain something this precious?"
Seok-won answered in a calm tone.
"It was kept by a French aristocratic family that had produced many generals over the generations. I happened to learn that it was being put up for auction, so I purchased it."
"France, you say…"
For a moment, Vice Chairman Hu Jintao frowned as a thought crossed his mind, and Seok-won added further explanation.
"As it turns out, one of the ancestors of the family that had been keeping the seal participated as a high-ranking commander in the Anglo-French allied forces during the Second Opium War in 1860."
"Hmm."
"It appears that it was taken as a war trophy when Beijing fell, and the imperial garden, Yuanmingyuan, was looted by the allied forces along with the Forbidden City."
"I thought as much."
From China's perspective, it was an extremely humiliating chapter of history, and Vice Chairman Hu Jintao's face stiffened.
Then he looked at Seok-won and expressed his gratitude.
"I'm not sure if I should simply accept such a precious treasure."
"Since it is a treasure of China, wouldn't it be only natural for it to return to where it originally belonged? And seeing how you contacted me for a meeting just as I happened to acquire the seal, perhaps the seal itself wished to return to its rightful place."
At those words, Vice Chairman Hu Jintao's gaze softened noticeably.
"Secretary Liu said that Chairman Park was a man of deep thought and great capacity. It seems he was absolutely right."
Seeing that the level of goodwill toward him had clearly risen, Seok-won smiled inwardly.
The Qianlong Emperor, who succeeded his father, the Yongzheng Emperor, had presided over the golden age of the Qing dynasty known as the Kang-Qian Prosperous Era. Even in modern China, he was regarded as a highly respected emperor.
For that reason, to the Chinese—who hoped to restore the glorious splendor of the past by rising as a powerful nation through reform and opening—an imperial seal of the Qianlong Emperor was bound to be a treasure of extraordinary significance.
Since Seok-won had brought it as a gift, it had struck precisely at the tastes of Vice Chairman Hu Jintao, a likely future leader of China who dreamed of strengthening the nation and building a prosperous state.
'It was a good thing I bought and collected valuable Chinese-related artifacts from auctions, just in case.'
Chinese emperors did not use just a single imperial seal; they had several made and used them for different purposes. Because of that, the value of the Jiuzhou Qing'an Zhibao was not actually that high.
In fact, even though he had paid a premium to acquire it before it appeared at auction, it had cost him only around 500 million won.
If that level of investment could win the favor of Vice Chairman Hu Jintao, who was likely to become China's supreme leader in the future, then it was an extremely low price to pay.
"Thank you for allowing a lost treasure of China to return once again."
Vice Chairman Hu Jintao spoke with sincere gratitude.
With the atmosphere now considerably softened, Seok-won naturally steered the conversation toward the main topic.
"What was it that you wanted to discuss with me?"
"Ah, right."
Vice Chairman Hu Jintao calmed the excitement that had unconsciously appeared on his face after receiving the Qianlong Emperor's jade seal as a gift, then spoke in a serious tone.
"By any chance, are you familiar with the World Financial Center currently being built in Shanghai?"