Chapter 30 What is there to talk about with him? You are not his son-in-law
It was too difficult to park in the Shannan residential complex, so Tang Zhixu made up his mind and parked his car at the entrance of the building. He ran up the stairs four or five times before he finished moving all the books and notebooks. Qin Yunjie wanted to say a few words to Tang Zhixu, but Qin Tian was so anxious that he released the handbrake and urged Tang Zhixu to get in the car quickly. Seeing that there was already a car beeping for her, Tang Zhixu had no choice but to stick her head out of the window to say goodbye to Qin Yunjie. Qin Tian ignored him, stepped on the accelerator and drove out. Tang Zhixu then stuck his head back in.
"You said your dad rarely spoke to me, and you were so anxious that I didn't even say goodbye to him properly. It was really rude."
"." Qin Tian had already driven out of the residential complex. After a while, she realized that Tang Zhixu hadn't responded to her.
She glanced at him between red lights. His expression was unfamiliar, even a bit aloof and distant. Is it fashionable to be reserved and quiet these days, like Tong Zhongyuan? She was already giving her a headache with just one person, and now here comes another. The main theme is, guess what I'm thinking.
Tang Zhixu helped her move several bundles of books into her house. Her place was small, and she had no idea how to put them all. It looked like Saturday and Sunday would be a big project.
She said to Tang Zhixu, "How about you help me run a trip to the agency this weekend? I have a lot of things to sort out."
"Okay," Tang Zhixu said, "Don't worry about renting the house. I'll leave my phone number, so you don't have to call me. When your dad moves out, give me the key and I'll just go over when we sign the contract."
"I'll give it to you now." Qin Tian handed the key in his hand to Tang Zhixu.
A busy, fulfilling, and well-organized weekend awaited her. But as things are, plans can't keep up with changes. Ming Yuanxing called her on Saturday morning.
He wasn't here to assign tasks, he was just too excited and wanted to tell her as soon as possible.
"The Ba Tomb has been discovered. It's not in Fenghuangzui, but in the Jiangcun Tomb. Why can't I get through to your dad? I called him as soon as I heard the news. Old Qin, when he was still in my group, he said he suspected the Jiangcun Tomb was the real Ba Tomb. If your dad hadn't left the Shanghai Museum, the Ba Tomb might have been discovered ten years earlier."
Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, the third emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, ushered in the prosperous reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing. Historical records indicate that upon his death, Emperor Wen was buried in the Ba Mausoleum, without a tomb. For two thousand years, no trace of the Ba Mausoleum remained on the ground, and its location remained a mystery.
Since the Yuan Dynasty, ancient people have worshipped Fenghuangzui as the Ba Mausoleum. During the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, the governor of Shaanxi even erected a stele at Fenghuangzui for the Ba Mausoleum of Emperor Wen of Han. This led to widespread belief that Fenghuangzui was the Ba Mausoleum.
After hanging up the phone, Qin Tian lost all interest in sorting things out. Ming Yuanxing said that Qin Yunjie had speculated twenty years ago that the Jiangcun Tomb was the Tomb of the King of Kings. How did he base his guess? Was it from objects? From the pottery figurines stolen from the Jiangcun Tomb? She had always felt that Qin Yunjie didn't understand her, and how could she understand him?
She picked up his work diaries and leafed through them. Dozens of them were densely packed with the places he'd visited and the artifacts he'd purchased. Every day, every month, every year, he'd traversed plains and deserts, mountains and canyons. In just one diary alone, he'd visited the Jiangcun Ancient Tombs six times.
On August 20, terracotta figurine fragments were found in the Jiangcun Tomb, suspected of tomb robbery.
On December 14, fragments of pottery figurines were discovered again in the Jiangcun Tomb. They were black in color and looked like they had been smoked.
On May 10, Lao Yu from Jiangcun Tomb said there was a trade of pottery figurines whose origin was unknown.
A black pottery figurine similar to the fragments of the Jiangcun Tomb pottery figurines was auctioned in the United States on September 4.
…
She read late into the night, and the next day she told Ming Yuanxing she wanted to visit the Ba Mausoleum. Ming Yuanxing agreed. Every cultural and museum worker would want to be the first to witness this thousand-year-old imperial mausoleum, especially since she was Qin Yunjie's daughter. Before leaving, she asked Tang Zhixu to take Qin Yunjie home if she couldn't return by the following Wednesday, and to let him take care of the rental. She took Qin Yunjie's two work diaries, his address book, and the bronze coin to the airport.
On the plane, she continued to read Qin Yunjie's work diary. Most of the time, he was also unremarkable, lonely, and fruitless. He searched, wandering here and there, and might not find anything worthwhile in a month, just like her.
She had thought his diary would hold clues to the bronze coin, but it didn't. When he'd given it to her that day, he'd said it belonged to Han Wenying as a child, and she'd forgotten where it came from. Curious, he'd tried to find its origins, but to no avail. He had only a vague guess, but it wasn't necessarily accurate. He hadn't given it to her to find, but as a remembrance. It had accompanied her mother throughout her life.
In her childhood, she always thought that the family's collection of coins and stamps was her father's hobby. In her memory, her mother had no interest in archaeology or collecting. She was a traditional, gentle woman who took care of the family and considered the happiness of her husband and daughter her own responsibility. If there was one thing that made her special, it was her ability to carve seals. The seeds of her seal carving came from her mother.
Arriving at Xianyang Airport in the evening, she arrived in a hurry and found a hotel to stay in. She figured two days would be enough to see the Ba Mausoleum, and she had a high tolerance for accommodations and transportation.
The next day, she contacted the Jiangcun Tomb staff, who sent a staff member named Xiao Liu to meet her. Xiao Liu resembled a Terracotta Warrior and spoke Mandarin with a Shaanxi accent. Xiao Liu said her arrival was quite fast, as he's been seeing quite a few visitors every day lately. Most of them are from the news media, while cultural experts like her have appointments for next week.
Xiao Liu took her to the excavation site. The remaining section measured 1,206 meters from east to west and 863 meters from north to south. The outer mausoleum's rammed-edge wall enclosed the Jiangcun Mausoleum and Empress Dou's mausoleum, forming the Ba Ling Mausoleum. In excavation pit No. 1, her eyes welled up at the sight of the endless, densely packed, clothed terracotta figurines. Unlike the imposing, life-size, and stunningly colorful Terracotta Warriors, these figurines were each only one-third life-size.
I have heard that all things in the world, from their very beginnings, must eventually die. Death is the order of heaven and earth, a natural part of things, so why should we mourn so deeply? Nowadays, people universally value life and despise death. Lavish funerals ruin careers, and heavy mourning clothes harm life. I strongly disapprove of this.
Emperor Wen of Han wrote in his will that he was a remarkable and wise ruler in history. From his lifetime to his death, he was always consistent and practiced what he preached.
Seeing her absorbed in this, Xiao Liu, thinking about the possibility of facing these terracotta figurines every day for the next week, was also going bald. His boss called him, and he stepped aside to answer it, saying hello to Qin Tian and saying he was going out to pick someone up. Qin Tian absentmindedly told him to do as he pleased and returned to digging the pit.
After a while, Xiao Liu said from behind her with a smile: "Hey, you said you are from the same company, why are you shipping in two batches?"
She didn't know he was talking to her and didn't turn around until a familiar voice called her name.
"Qin Tian."
She turned back in astonishment. No matter how many times she guessed, she would never have guessed that the person Xiao Liu brought was Tong Zhongyuan.
Tong Zhongyuan's lips curved into a faint smile as he looked at her from a distance.
"Why are you here?" Qin Tian blurted out.
How did he come here? How should he answer this question? The news of the discovery of the Ba Tomb yesterday spread all over the world at the speed of wind. The Chinese Pavilion of the British Museum was also paying attention to this matter. His boss in charge contacted him and said that he happened to be in China and asked if he could go to the scene to learn more and get first-hand information. As a cultural and museum person, he naturally wanted to go, but in this excitement, he might not be able to get in with his status. He had to wait for a chance to ask Ming Yuanxing. He had nothing to do, and thinking that he had not visited the Shanghai Museum properly in the past three weeks, he went to the museum. Unexpectedly, Ming Yuanxing was there and asked him to have lunch together. Ming Yuanxing's hot spot was also the Ba Tomb. He excitedly told him about the Jiangcun Tomb and was impressed by Qin Yunjie's foresight.
Seeing that this topic was timely, he opened his mouth and said that he wanted to visit Ba Ling. Ming Yuanxing had no reason to refuse, so he agreed and let him enter Ba Ling as a Shanghai Museum employee.
Ming Yuanxing said that Qin Tian happened to be at Ba Ling as well, so with her there, there was nothing to worry about. Tong Zhongyuan hadn't expected Qin Tian to be there either. If she knew he'd come to Ba Ling for the British Museum, she'd probably feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Director Ming asked me to come here to broaden my horizons." Tong Zhongyuan replied.
Qin Tian was still wondering why Ming Yuanxing sent the person here without telling her, when Ming Yuanxing called. He said on the phone that Xiaotong was also here, and asked her to take care of him. Tong Zhongyuan was someone he had managed to keep, and he was indeed a VIP. She didn't know what kind of business trip benefits Ming Yuanxing gave him. She promised and said that she would take good care of Tong Zhongyuan. Ming Yuanxing said with relief: "You did a good job in keeping Xiaotong this time, and you have made a great contribution. I was thinking about how to express my gratitude before, so how about this, keep the invoices for your and Xiaotong's expenses in Xi'an this time, and I will report them to you when you come back. Just consider it a reward."
Qin Tian was baffled. It was Ming Yuanxing who had clearly kept the person, so how could she be credited with such a great achievement? He wanted to ask more, but Ming Yuanxing got a call and he hung up.
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