Back at the hotel, William and a very excited Ambrosio worked out together for over an hour. After exercising, William finally started working on the script, spending more than three hours to complete it.
He saved the script on a USB drive, stretched, and went to bed, hugging Ambrosio as he fell asleep.
The next morning, William didn't wake up until 9 AM. After getting ready and having a quick breakfast, he sat in the hotel's Bentley and, with the help of a professional provided by the hotel, spent over an hour completing the process of submitting the script. Once that was done, he had someone send the script to Ridley, and now it was just a matter of waiting for Ridley's feedback.
With nothing else to do, William took a nap at the hotel in the afternoon and then went out with Ambrosio to explore New York. Although he was annoyed by the paparazzi following them, there was nothing he could do to shake them off.
The paparazzi, aware of William's wealth, never approached closer than ten meters, leaving William with no choice but to tolerate them. As long as they didn't interfere with his time with Ambrosio, William let them be. Ambrosio seemed to enjoy the attention, often clinging to William's arm and smiling sweetly for the cameras.
The couple spent the afternoon shopping, ending up with over a dozen bags of luxury goods. By 6 PM, William took Ambrosio to a Michelin three-star restaurant for a delightful Italian dinner. During the meal, he received a text from Brian about meeting up.
After spending over an hour at dinner, they returned to the hotel, where they worked out together. Once Ambrosio was asleep, William dressed and drove a regular SUV provided by the hotel, avoiding the paparazzi to meet Brian at their agreed location.
Arriving in an ordinary neighborhood several blocks from the hotel, William found a slightly rundown house. As he got out of the car, he saw Brian sitting by a grill, cooking meat.
Brian greeted William cheerfully, "Come try my Brazilian barbecue," handing him a plate and utensils and giving him a large piece of grilled beef.
The two ate, drank, and chatted for over an hour. Once they were full, Brian wiped his mouth and said seriously, "Let's get down to business. How can I help you? As long as it's within my power, I won't refuse."
William looked at the serious Brian, smiled, and shook his head. "Don't worry, I won't ask you to do anything illegal. You have extensive connections in the USA. Have you considered running for office in New York?"
Brian was taken aback. "You want me to go into politics? How would that help you? And it's not something that can be achieved overnight."
William chuckled, "What I really need are your connections in the USA. I won't interfere with how you run your campaign or what you do if you get elected. I just need you to have an official position, so you can lobby the right people when I need it. How you lobby, who you lobby, I don't care. I'll provide the funding."
Brian was relieved, realizing William's request was simpler than he had imagined. "Just that? There are countless groups like that in the USA. With enough money, you could find dozens or even hundreds of them without funding my campaign."
William shook his head. "I don't want to get involved in politics. I need someone I can trust to work with. When I need something, I'll provide the funds, and you help me manage the relationships. How you do it, I don't care, and I won't interfere."
Brian thought for nearly half an hour before nodding in agreement. "No problem." He took a swig of beer and said with a sigh, "I'm over fifty. I never thought I'd start a second career at this age. Well then, here's to a successful partnership, William."
Due to certain reasons, William had no other choice. He happily shook hands with Brian. "Once you're ready, make sure to register a few foundations related to New York's public welfare. I'll legally donate to these foundations. Then you can start building your momentum. Who knows, next time we meet, you might be a congressman."
Brian laughed. "Hopefully."
They discussed some details, then William hugged Brian and drove back to the hotel to wash up and sleep.
After a good night's sleep, William woke up to a bright morning. At 9 AM, he was having a leisurely breakfast with Ambrosio when his phone rang. It was Felix from the Swiss bank.
After exchanging greetings, Felix said, "Mr. Devonshire, we've shortlisted over a dozen suitable properties for you in Manhattan and Long Island. Do you have time to take a look today? There's a particularly nice penthouse on the Upper East Side, close to the financial district and adjacent to Central Park. It's 369 square meters and priced very reasonably. The owner, a financier, bought it for $48 million in mid-September 1999 and spent another $12 million on renovations. But before he could move in, the stock market crashed, and now he needs to sell to save his company. The asking price is $40 million."
Before William could respond, Ambrosio, sitting next to him and clinging to his arm, exclaimed, "That means it's dropped $20 million in less than a year?"
Felix, recognizing Ambrosio's voice from their time together in Switzerland, replied, "Yes, Ms. Ambrosio. If you pay in full, I believe we can negotiate it down to around $35 million. The owner is in urgent need of money, and the property was only listed for sale the day before yesterday."
Ambrosio's eyes sparkled with excitement as she thought, "My God, how many years would I have to model to buy that house? It would be amazing to live there."
"Alright, arrange for someone to take us to see it. Also, are there any large estates on Long Island? I like big houses," William said.
Felix paused, looking up some information. "There is one, but it has a long history and has been vacant for many years. It would require a significant investment to renovate."
"Doesn't matter. Let's take a look first," William replied. Renovation costs weren't an issue; it was more about whether he liked the place or not.
"Understood, Mr. Devonshire. I can be at your hotel in half an hour. See you soon."
William hung up, feeling pleased with Felix's dedication. Felix had flown from Switzerland to New York just to provide him with excellent service.
In less than half an hour, Felix arrived at the hotel with three assistants. After the hotel staff showed them in, William greeted Felix warmly and patted his shoulder. "I didn't expect you to come all the way from Switzerland, Felix. I'm very satisfied with your attitude and professionalism. Perhaps I should commend you to President Jang Grace. By the way, has Jang Grace been promoted to President of National Bank yet?"
Felix was delighted by William's praise. He had come to New York personally to strengthen his relationship with William. Recently, William hadn't required much of his services, which made Felix worry that William might be considering switching banks.
William's words reassured him. Knowing that William had nearly $3 billion in funds with the National Bank, Felix feared being torn apart by President Jang Grace if William moved his money.
"Mr. Jang Grace has been performing exceptionally well in the stock market recently. I believe his promotion to president is just a matter of time. He also asked me to bring you a gift."
Felix turned and took a briefcase from one of his assistants, making William curious about its contents.
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Felix carefully opened the combination lock on the briefcase in front of William, donned white gloves, and delicately placed a square, milky white jade seal on the table.
Curious, William put on gloves and cautiously picked up the jade seal to examine it. The first thing he noticed were the characters "Nine Dragons and the Emperor's Treasure" carved on it. This made William nervous. After receiving confirmation from Felix, William's breath became uneven with excitement. This was the long-lost Han Dynasty imperial jade seal.
With a trembling voice, William asked, "Is this real?"
Felix, seeing William so excited, quickly nodded. "Of course, Mr. Devonshire. This was mortgaged to the bank by a French National Bank client a month ago. The client had to sell his family's collection due to the stock market crash, and this jade seal is the finest artifact among them, priced at $20 million. Mr. Grace spent over a month consulting the best appraisal agencies in Europe to authenticate it before allowing me to present it to you. He thought you would be very interested in this great Chinese jade seal."
"Of course I'm interested, this is a national treasure," William said, caressing the nine dragons on the seal with delight. These foreigners really didn't know the value of what they had. If this seal was genuine and brought back to China, it could easily fetch billions of dollars.
Taking a deep breath, William carefully placed the jade seal back into the briefcase and asked, "How much do I need to pay to own it?"
Felix smiled and said, "As a gift from Mr. Grace, you only need to pay $16 million to have it."
Without hesitation, William signed a check for the National Bank and handed it to Felix. "Please keep it in the National Bank for now. Once I finish my business here, I'll have it sent to Oxford Castle. If you come across any other valuable Chinese artifacts, let me know. And thank you to President Grace."
Felix took the check without looking at it and pocketed it. "No problem, Mr. Devonshire. This is a great time to buy Chinese antiques. Many European collectors are in need of money, and prices might be about half of what they used to be. The French client also has other valuable Chinese artifacts, and the bank has many more from other clients. If you're interested, we can fly directly to Switzerland."
"No problem, I'd love to take a look. Let's go now, Felix," William said with a smile.
Ambrosio, overhearing that William was about to leave, glared at Felix before quickly saying, "Wait, darling, weren't we going to look at the house on the Upper East Side today? Are you not buying it?"
William, in an exceptionally good mood, thought to himself that the value of this jade seal alone could buy him dozens of those 369-square-meter apartments in New York in a few years. Moreover, he was buying a New York property mainly for investment and as a place to stay. It wasn't a necessity.
Looking at the anxious Ambrosio, William hugged his girlfriend and said, "Sweetheart, what I need to do is more important. You go ahead and look at the Upper East Side house and the Long Island estate. If you like them, let me know and I'll sign the check."
"Alright, I'll let you know if I find one I like. I'll take these two days to look at all the properties."
"Okay, I'll have Felix arrange for someone to accompany you. They'll stay with you the whole time, and you can ask the bank staff for anything you need. Right, Felix?"
Felix smiled and nodded. "No problem, Mr. Devonshire. I guarantee our staff will take good care of Ms. Ambrosio."
Thinking about living in a mansion in New York, Ambrosio finally let William go, happily seeing him off before heading out with the bank employees and a specially-arranged real estate agent to look at properties.
Their first stop was the $35 million penthouse in Manhattan's Upper East Side. Standing on the balcony of the 26th-floor penthouse, looking at Central Park across the street, Ambrosio nodded in satisfaction. She was very pleased with the location and the decoration layout. She wondered how to convince William to buy this house, her face slowly turning red as she thought about some "fitness positions" she could offer him in return.
Ambrosio was satisfied, but if William had come to see the house himself, he would definitely not have bought it. Just a few kilometers away stood a uniquely designed skyscraper towering among the buildings.
Completely focused on the Chinese artifacts, William had no idea he might soon regret not coming along.
Later, with Ambrosio's sweet persuasion and her promise of some special fitness positions, William agreed to buy the Upper East Side house without much thought.
Laughing, he moved the phone away from his ear to avoid Ambrosio's excited squeals. After a few comforting words, he hung up.
After spending over ten hours traveling to Switzerland, William got off the plane to find the National Bank's Vice President, Jang Grace, waiting for him with a big smile.
They hugged and exchanged greetings, and Jang Grace rode with William to the National Bank.
In the bank's reception room, Jang Grace introduced William to five or six experts in Chinese antiques. After getting acquainted, Jang Grace led William and the experts to a vault in the bank's basement.
Felix had called the National Bank before leaving New York, so the bank had already prepared a selection of Chinese artifacts, including porcelain, paintings, and jade. The array was as impressive as a crafts store.
William, not an expert in antiques, relied on the experts' introductions, selecting items that he had heard of and found appealing.
Famous pieces like works by Tang Bohu, Ming and Qing dynasty official kilns, and Ming Dynasty Hetian jade caught his eye. After several hours, he selected more than twenty pieces. After the National Bank presented authentication documents from major European appraisal agencies, William signed a check for $18 million to Jang Grace.
With the artifacts stored securely, William boarded a plane back to New York, feeling a bit unsatisfied. Before leaving, he specifically instructed Felix to keep an eye out for any Chinese artifacts mortgaged to the bank in the future.
This time, he had easily acquired more than twenty artifacts, each likely to sell for tens of millions of yuan in the future. He quickly realized that Chinese antiques were still undervalued in Europe, and in a decade or so, their prices would increase tenfold or even more.
This allowed William to fulfill his dream of collecting antiques while making a substantial profit.
This new interest in Henry's Templar treasure also piqued his curiosity. He was eager to find the ship named *Sherlock*.
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