David Sullivan immediately understood from seeing Edward Cooper like this that Brian Carter was right. Although he was puzzled as to how Brian Carter knew the name of the flower, he was still overjoyed and said, “Flamingo... what a good name. This flower is like a crane, and the crane is like fire. Only someone with true knowledge and talent could come up with such a name!” In his delight, he did not forget to jab at Charles Thompson.

Charles Thompson's expression changed at once, realizing that the Jinyiwei had gained the upper hand.

Of the two questions posed by Edward Cooper, Brian Carter actually knew the answer to one? But how could Brian Carter recognize such a strange flower? Olivia Morgan frowned and said, “Commander Qiu, even if the flower is really called flamingo, how can you be sure it wasn’t painted by someone from the Song dynasty?”

Brian Carter replied, “Because this flamingo flower was brought back from across the ocean by Lord Zheng when he sailed to the Western Seas during our dynasty. Ten years ago, there was no record of the flamingo flower in the Central Plains. So how could anyone from the Song dynasty have painted this flower?”

When everyone heard the words “Lord Zheng,” they fell silent. Even David Sullivan, upon hearing this name, showed a measure of respect on his face.

Lord Zheng was Zheng He! The famed admiral who sailed to the Western Seas and made his name known throughout the world!

In the current court, if Zhu Di could trust two people, one was Edward Cooper, and the other was not the commander of the Jinyiwei, David Sullivan, but Zheng He!

Now, Zheng He was once again sailing to the Western Seas on Zhu Di’s orders and had been gone for over a year. Although he was not in Shuntian Prefecture, no one dared show any disrespect when his name was mentioned.

Charles Thompson frowned, as if pondering something, and did not speak again.

Emily Harris gazed at Brian Carter, her eyes showing surprise for the first time. Suddenly, she said, “Your reasoning isn’t entirely rigorous. Although records of the flamingo flower only appeared after Lord Zheng, who can guarantee that this flower didn’t exist in previous dynasties? Just now, Mr. Morgan also said... many in the Huang school painted rare flowers, strange rocks, exotic birds, and auspicious animals. Perhaps this flower was simply imagined by a Huang school painter.”

Although her argument was somewhat forced, even David Sullivan found it hard to refute after hearing it.

Princess Taylor clapped her hands and laughed, “Exactly, exactly.”

Olivia Morgan chimed in, “Chief Harris is right. My knowledge is limited, and I truly don’t know the origin of this flower. But I do recognize that this painting paper is ‘Chaotian Paper’ made by the Guan family of the Later Liang in the Five Dynasties. At that time, it was exclusively for the imperial court, and it bears the unique Tian Guan watermark of the Guan family.”

Everyone looked closely and could vaguely see the gate pattern on the paper, nodding in agreement.

Olivia Morgan perked up and continued, “And the red silk tying the scroll is even more special—it was personally used by Li Yu of the Later Tang, made by the Shui Xie Pavilion in Jiangnan. Back then, a single foot of this silk was worth ten taels of gold.”

Charles Thompson laughed, “Li Yu’s extravagance ruined his country, while today’s emperor rules with diligence and frugality, strictly forbidding luxury. There’s no way such red silk could exist now.”

Olivia Morgan nodded, “Scholar Thompson is right. The Guan family has long since disappeared, and the Shui Xie Pavilion is also gone. Both Chaotian Paper and the red silk stopped being produced in the Song dynasty. So how could this painting not have been created in the early Song?”

Princess Taylor and the others were all greatly encouraged and nodded repeatedly.

Even David Sullivan felt that Olivia Morgan was knowledgeable and made a lot of sense, and couldn’t help but frown.

But Brian Carter remained calm and said indifferently, “Mr. Morgan is indeed well-informed, but your method of deduction is quite flawed. It’s true that the red silk and Chaotian Paper were no longer produced in the Song dynasty, but if these two items were preserved and used by someone today to paint, it’s not impossible. Using the paper and silk to deduce the era of the painting and trace the artist is reasonable, but if you look more closely, you’ll see that there are ways to tell when modern ink is applied to ancient paper.”

Emily Harris was slightly startled. Although she was a chief constable, she hadn’t expected Brian Carter’s thinking to be so meticulous, his knowledge so profound, and his logic even more rigorous than hers. Olivia Morgan's face changed dramatically, and he couldn’t help but step forward to examine the painting again.

A deathly silence filled the tower.

Charles Thompson was anxious, hoping that Olivia Morgan could overturn Brian Carter’s argument.

Charles Thompson looked at Olivia Morgan anxiously, while Olivia Morgan stood before the painting, his face ashen, staring blankly for a long time before finally saying with difficulty, “Commander Qiu is right. The ink and the paper are indeed from different eras!”

Charles Thompson was shocked. He hadn’t expected a mere commander in the Jinyiwei to have such ability. Frowning, he immediately said, “Commander Qiu, your eye for detail is indeed unique. But do you know who painted this picture?”

David Sullivan knew that Charles Thompson was deliberately making things difficult. He thought, if this painting was done by someone of today, then it must have been someone imitating the Huang school, and probably only Edward Cooper would know the origin of the painting. Casting a sidelong glance at Charles Thompson, David Sullivan sneered, “Scholar Thompson, as the Grand Academician of the Left Spring Chamber, your talent is second to none. Do you really need to ask Commander Qiu?”

Charles Thompson smiled, “There is no order in learning; the wise are teachers. I truly would like to hear Commander Qiu’s opinion.”

Everyone’s eyes fell on Brian Carter, some hopeful, some resentful, some hateful, some mocking...

Brian Carter remained as calm as ever and simply said, “This painting follows the Huang school style, but has its own unique character. I haven’t heard of anyone in our Ming dynasty who is highly accomplished in the Huang school style...”

Princess Taylor retorted, “So you don’t know?”

Brian Carter smiled, “Not necessarily. There are still a few clues in the painting that can be traced.”