Chapter 141: Off to Find the Grave (Bonus Chapter 3/4 for Monthly Tickets)

The trees receded into the distance, and the lights gradually increased in number, displaying a variety of colors.

As the light flickered, it seemed as if a halo had been sprinkled on Lin Sicheng's face.

Ye Anning sat in the back row, recalling what her aunt had said that night: "Ye Anning, Lin Sicheng is shining."

And just now, "Lin Sicheng, you want 120,000?"

"I know, it's better to spend a little than to have it go to the black market."

The problem is, this doesn't resemble Xu Weili's documents, much less the rhinoceros horn cup, so what institution could it be researched in collaboration with? As Lin Sicheng said, this kind of object should be an important artifact representing ancient ritual systems, and therefore can only be given to a museum.

But 120,000... My uncle's salary is only a little over 2,000 a month.

Ye Anning kept thinking about this question all the way home.

Wang Qizhi was drawing and writing in the living room, with Shan Wangshu sitting beside him, while Wang Youjian was doing his homework in the bedroom.

Ye Anning entered the room, and Shan Wangshu looked up: "Have you eaten?"

"I ate it, Lin Sicheng ate it too!"

"Oh, then go wash yourself off, you're covered in dirt!"

Ye Anning nodded, went into the bedroom, and then into the bathroom.

About half an hour later, she came out, drying her hair. Seeing Wang Qizhi and Shan Wangshu chatting, she casually mentioned it:

"Uncle, Lin Sicheng bought a Han Dynasty wooden goblet and a box today, spending 150,000 yuan!"

The couple paused for a moment.

Shan Wangshu was still thinking: Lin Sicheng got another bargain?

It seems that unless Lin Sicheng stays home all the time, he always brings back some treasures whenever he goes out.

Moreover, either the theft is valuable, or the theft has historical value. Like this time, the Han Dynasty bamboo slips?

Wang Qizhi's eyes lit up: "What does it say?"

“He said it was a list of legacy plans, like an account book. However, the box was inlaid with jade inside and out. Lin Sicheng said it should be a jade Wenming from the Western Han Dynasty.”

Wang Qizhi was stunned: What is this, Yu Wenming?

Lin Sicheng, you're getting better and better at picking up treasures. One national treasure after another?

He abruptly put down his pen: "Jade?"

"Yes, jade?"

Whose is it?

Lin Sicheng said, "It's not clear yet!"

Wang Qizhi shook his head decisively: Impossible.

When emperors and empresses were buried, their wills were always written on jade tablets. Only when high-ranking officials were buried would wooden vases be used.

The number of jade ornaments bestowed by the Western Han emperors upon their ministers could be counted on two hands. Lin Sicheng only needed to look at the imperial edicts and count the number and types of funerary objects bestowed by the emperor to know what the regulations were.

From this, one can deduce what official position the owner of the item held in his previous life, and thus know who the owner was.

But why keep it from Ye Anning?

It can't be that this kid wasn't planning on doing anything good, like that time he went to Hangzhou, right?

Seeing Wang Qizhi frowning, Shan Wangshu poked him with her finger: "Yu Wenming, what is that?"

"After the emperor of the Han Dynasty died, a jade box was placed over his head!" Wang Qizhi gestured. "It's like a box, with a bronze mirror embedded in the top, meaning 'to use the mirror to calm the soul and guide it to heaven'..."

Although this vessel is made of jade, it probably didn't belong to the emperor, because the imperial edict was made in a wooden vessel. I suspect it belonged to some important minister, perhaps Wei Qing or Huo Guang?

Shan Wangshu suddenly realized: "It's quite rare, isn't it? No wonder I don't remember it?"

"It's more than rare. There are only about ten such examples recorded in the Book of Han and the Records of the Grand Historian. If Lin Sicheng is not mistaken, this should be the first jade artifact unearthed to date. Even digging up Han bronze vessels wouldn't be as significant as this."

Shan Wangshu was taken aback: "Then does that mean it can't be collected?"

Wang Qizhi nodded: "It has an irreplaceable scarcity: there is only one in the world, a unique piece among unique pieces."

It is highly representative, reflecting the burial system of the Western Han Dynasty. Furthermore, it holds significant historical importance, being directly related to figures who changed the course of history… a true first-class cultural relic. How should it be collected?

“It really can’t be kept!” Ye Anning sighed. “Lin Sicheng also said that it can only be given to a museum. But it’s worth it, at least better than it flowing into the black market and ending up somewhere unknown.”

Suddenly, Shan Wangshu's eyes began to light up, and Ye Anning looked almost the same way.

Wang Qizhi saw it all but remained silent.

Such expressions appeared more and more frequently on the faces of these two women. Each time this happened, Wang Qizhi would have a thought: Why are these two women getting more and more regressive?

It seems like the two of them act silly whenever Lin Sicheng is mentioned.

Shan Wangshu was certainly not stupid, and neither was Ye Anning. From childhood to adulthood, they had been evenly matched in their battles of wits and courage with their uncle.

But why do they think that the "donation" Lin Sicheng mentioned was a pure act of giving without asking for any benefit?

Because of their overly emotional and biased views, these two people only thought about how Lin Sicheng spent 120,000 yuan, but didn't consider whether this thing had any hidden value.

Just like when Lin Sicheng returned the bronze fish worth 80,000 to the tomb robbers, the tomb robbers found Xu Weili's documents worth tens or hundreds of billions for him.

The same principle applies to both: the title of a national-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor is worth more than ten times 120,000.

Look, a first-class cultural relic, a national treasure among national treasures. With such a valuable gift, even if the museum wanted to refuse, wouldn't it be too embarrassing to say it outright?

Of course, even without this box, the provincial museum wouldn't refuse, because Lin Sicheng's skill is truly exceptional. The significance and value of the Tang Dynasty gold and silver craftsmanship restoration techniques are also substantial.

But will this make the cooperative relationship between the two parties more solid?

He sighed inwardly and took out his phone again.

Shan Wangshu glanced at it: "It's so late, why are you still calling Lin Sicheng? Can't you ask him tomorrow?"

"You don't understand!" Wang Qizhi waved his hand. "I have a gut feeling this kid isn't up to any good."

Shan Wangshu scoffed: "Intuition?"

Wang Qizhi ignored it and kept dialing. But it rang for a long time: "Sorry, the number you dialed is not being answered!"

"Huh?"

Wang Qizhi was stunned: So that's why this kid kept it from Ye Anning.

But it shouldn't be.

This isn't like the trip to Hangzhou. Lin Sicheng wouldn't do anything that would make him wary of his teacher, right?

Wang Qizhi thought for a moment, then called Gu Ming again.

The call went through, but the call didn't go through the first time.

He called a second time, the call ended, and Lin Sicheng called back: "Teacher!"

Wang Qizhi cut to the chase: "Where is Lin Sicheng?"

"Nowhere, just bored, so I came out for a stroll with Gu Ming!"

"Heh~" Wang Qizhi sneered, "Lin Sicheng, you better explain yourself..."

But before he could finish speaking, he uttered: "Coo coo~ Coo coo~"

Huh, what kind of bird is that?

owl?

But where in the city can you find this?

Wang Qizhi paused for a moment, then jumped up: "Lin Sicheng, where are you?"

There was a long silence on the phone: "Chang'an District, the place where I bought things during the day."

fart.

Owls are not commonly seen in cities, nor are they commonly seen in the countryside.

Furthermore, the environment in which they were talking was very open, and the sound of the leaves was so loud and dense that it was most likely happening in the wild.

Wang Qizhi let out a sigh of relief: "Lin Sicheng, whose Yu Wenming is Ye Anning talking about!"

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone: "Zhang Anshi!"

Sure enough?

No wonder he kept it from Ye Anning? That bastard, he went looking for graves...

"Lin Sicheng, you're in Duyi (Duling), right?" Wang Qizhi gritted his teeth and sneered, "You seem to know quite a lot."

There was another pause on the phone: "Teacher, it's not just me and Gu Ming. I asked the old lady who sold me things during the day to help us find a guide..."

"Heh, guide?"

Are you a local tomb raider from Chang'an?

Lin Sicheng, are you getting better and better at fitting in?

Wang Qizhi sneered again: "Lin Sicheng, is it you who should come back, or should your teacher go to me?"

He remained silent for a while, then said, "Teacher, I'm going back!"

"Okay, call me when you get home!"

After hanging up the phone, Lin Sicheng glared at Gu Ming: "I didn't hear it, and you didn't hear it either?"

"Professor Wang is Professor Wang, what are you chickening out for?"

Now look what happened, the truth has been revealed?

Gu Ming hung his head and didn't say a word.

It was truly because Ye Anning had left such a deep impression on him that he felt Ye Anning could see right through him at a glance.

Lin Sicheng often reminded him to be respectful to Professor Wang and not to try to outsmart him. This made Gu Ming realize that Professor Wang was definitely more capable than Ye Anning.

Besides, he really hadn't done anything good, and when the phone rang, he started to panic and didn't dare to answer it.

As it turned out, the obvious misunderstanding led Wang Qizhi to guess that the two were together, and certainly not up to anything...

Lin Sicheng looked up: the sky was clear and blue, full of stars, a rare good day.

But unfortunately.

He sighed, "I'm leaving!"

Gu Ming lowered his head and picked up the suitcase, following behind Lin Sicheng.

After descending the hill and getting into the Santana parked by the roadside, Lin Sicheng took out his wallet and gave two hundred yuan each to the old man and the man sitting in the back seat: "That's enough for today, come again another day!"

The two readily agreed.

This money was easy to earn: I just sat in the car and waited for a while, less than half an hour.