Chapter 134: Cutting Off Someone's Path to Wealth is Like Destroying a Seven-Story Pagoda

A gentle breeze blows, and the West Lake ripples slightly.

The awning boat pushes aside the water chestnut leaves, and a white egret shoots into the sky, skimming over the corner of Gushan. The leaves of the plane trees on Baidi drift down with a rustle, covering the reflection of the Leifeng Pagoda.

Gently pushing open the carved window, the scent of osmanthus mixed with thick water vapor drifts in.

With a "swish," the rice paper on the table sways slightly.

Lin Sicheng turns back and slowly lets out a breath.

He remembers that when the Xu Weili Documents were recovered in his past life, the public security authorities explicitly reported that there were seventeen sets.

But Li Jinqian found him thirty-seven sets in total, more than double what there were in his past life.

Seven volumes of Recorded White Official Credentials: records of Xu Weili's official documents from the fourteenth year of Jiading (1221) to the twelfth year of Chunyou (1252).

These are equivalent to the "letters of appointment" for modern officials, detailing the selection and appointment process for Southern Song Dynasty officials.

Five Volumes of Recorded White Imperial Edicts: these are the imperial decree documents issued by the court, involving the government affairs and cases handled by Xu Weili during his tenure, reflecting in detail the local administrative operations of the Southern Song Dynasty.

There are also twenty-five pieces of Recorded White Seal Paper: these are official performance appraisal files, recording Xu Weili's performance reviews, rewards and punishments, terms of office, and so on.

All are very rare.

No, they should be called extremely precious: not only do they provide continuous original archives for researching the Southern Song bureaucratic system—such as the processes for performance appraisal, salaries, and official assignments—but they also reveal the high achievements of Song Dynasty paper document production and preservation technology.

As well as the unique Southern Song "scroll packaging (wax-coated axis heads) for oxygen prevention, and outer alum-glue silk pouches for waterproofing" technology for sealing paper materials.

Just mention one point: after the grave-robbers went down into the pit, these documents were all fished out of the water; who would dare believe it?

What's more: they are comparable to the completeness of the documents in the Dunhuang Library Cave. Because these things overturned many historical research conclusions that had already been established. It is equivalent to saying that the decades of hard work by many Song Dynasty archaeologists and historians were all in vain.

So, how could it be just two billion?

And he only spent one hundred thousand, and of this one hundred thousand: fifty thousand was the cost price the Cultural Relics dealer paid to buy them back from the grave-robbers, and the remaining fifty thousand was the hard-earned money for Li Jinqian's underling.

Even though he had anticipated it, Lin Sicheng still finds it miraculous: things like this, selling for only fifty thousand?

On the contrary, the other few volumes, which in Lin Sicheng's view were like throw-ins—the "Longquan Wu Family Land Deed" and the "Wu Family Funerary Buddhist Scriptures"—cost Lin Sicheng over three hundred thousand.

These were bought back from Yongkang, more than thirty kilometers away from Xu Weili's tomb, with the same paper quality and the same packaging technology.

With these items, one can further verify the authenticity of the Xu Weili Documents; they count as an unexpected joy.

And Li Jinqian only took two days...

Lin Sicheng sighs inwardly and leans down to roll up the documents.

Gu Ming also comes to help.

"Cheng-wa, these things must be quite expensive!"

Lin Sicheng nods: things like this can no longer be described as "expensive."

Gu Ming's eyes light up with a "ping": "How much can they sell for?"

"Sell?" Lin Sicheng is stunned, "Is there a hole in your brain?"

He would have to burn high incense just to ensure these things aren't confiscated, and you want to sell them?

Everyone inside is a talent, and they speak so nicely... right?

Glaring at Gu Ming, the two of them pack up efficiently, and just as they finish putting them in the box, the phone "buzzes."

Li Jinqian?

Lin Sicheng answers it smoothly, and a hearty laugh comes from the other side: "Brother Lin, you haven't left yet, have you?"

"Not yet!"

"That's good... It's like this: I have a friend who has heard that you have a superb eye and that your restoration skills are extraordinary, and he admires you very much. So he would like to get to know you, Brother Lin; I wonder if you could do him the honor."

Lin Sicheng pauses, very much wanting to ask: Is your friend surnamed Chen?

If it were the day before yesterday, or yesterday, he probably would have agreed.

But now, since he has decided to cut off someone's path to wealth, it is better not to meet.

From another perspective, it is also saving their lives.

Like in his past life, Chen Wei got the death penalty, and his wife, son, and son-in-law got life imprisonment.

Li Jinqian was the same, *biubiu*... his son got twenty years.

But regardless of the rest, just considering the two extra volumes of documents that appeared out of thin air on the table, as well as the twenty-four pieces of Recorded White Seal Paper.

Especially the latter: this is the main body of the "Xu Weili Documents," and in his past life, the public security authorities only recovered twelve pieces. But Li Jinqian found him a full twenty-five pieces.

And he is still looking... just for this, he has to keep Manager Li's kindness in mind.

While pondering, he sighs inwardly and laughs: "Manager Li, it's really a coincidence, I've made plans with a friend to go to Suzhou this afternoon. Look, can we do it next time?"

"Of course!" Li Jinqian laughs heartily, "Then it's settled, you must call me when you come next time!"

"Okay!"

After exchanging a few polite words and hanging up the phone, Lin Sicheng sighs again.

There probably won't be a next time.

Packing up the scrolls, he picks up the case: "Let's go!"

"Ah?" Gu Ming is stunned, "We haven't bought tickets yet!"

"We'll go back tomorrow, let's go to Shaoxing first!"

"Oh~"

Everything is arranged by Lin Sicheng; Gu Ming is too lazy to even ask, picking up the suitcase and following behind.

About two hours later, the two arrive at Zhenbao Mountain in Shaoxing.

Gu Ming watches the boxes at the foot of the mountain, while Lin Sicheng climbs Qingfu Peak to the south of the mausoleum alone.

Looking into the distance from the height, the six emperors and six empresses of the Southern Song Imperial Tombs are all in view.

At first glance, there are green hills and clear waters, with beautiful scenery, a typical Four Symbols layout: backed by Zhenbao (Black Tortoise), facing Ruoye (Vermilion Bird), and surrounded by low hills on the left and right (Azure Dragon, White Tiger).

But if Lin Sicheng were to interpret it from the perspective of Feng Shui: the mountain behind is gentle and lacks a majestic aura. The water dragon is even more scattered, and the Vermilion Bird facing the mausoleum is merely a stream.

To go a step further: Zhenbao Mountain is merely a spur of Huiji Mountain; it is uncertain whether Huiji Mountain even has a dragon vein, let alone a spur.

Even if it did, it could not gather it, because of the two Azure Dragon images: both are hills, but the terrain is low, short, and flat; it possesses neither the spirit of a crouching tiger nor the momentum of a coiling dragon, and it can neither hide the Wind nor gather the Qi.

The so-called "if the Feng Shui is insufficient, human popularity makes up for it"—when the Southern Song Bureau of Astronomy chose the site, they cited the *Book of Rites: Office of Geography* to classify Huiji Mountain as the "Guardian of Yangzhou," renamed Shangfu Mountain to Zhenbao Mountain, and endowed it with the metaphor of "the rise of the dragon in the southern kingdom" to compensate for its geographical disadvantages.

It is estimated that it did not work, because the ending was very bad:

After the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Jiangnan Buddhist Affairs Commissioner (a monk official), Yang Lianzhenjia, acting on the orders of Kublai Khan, "severed the Qi pulse of the Han people" and "excavated the Song mausoleums."

How did he sever it?

Tao Zongyi's *Record of the Southern Village* records: "He collected over ten cartloads of gold, silver, and treasures, and cut off the skull of Lizong to use as a drinking vessel," and took the remains of the Song emperors, "mixed them with the withered bones of oxen, horses, pigs, and dogs, and built a pagoda at the Forbidden City in Hangzhou, naming it the Suppress the South Pagoda."

The good thing is that later, Lizong's skull was recovered by Zhu Yuanzhang, temporarily placed in the Tianzhang Temple in Nanjing with imperial rites, and later reburied in the renovated Yongmu Mausoleum.

It is still there today:

After that, Zhu Yuanzhang renovated the Six Mausoleums, and they were peaceful for five hundred years. Then, the War of Resistance Against Japan broke out, and they were suppressed by the Japanese once more:

The trees were chopped down, the mausoleums were leveled, all the stone figures and stone horses were smashed to pieces, and the ground was plowed three feet deep.

Many later generations who whitewash this blame it on the Wang Jingwei regime's puppet army; Lin Sicheng just says "heh."

By logic, after being dug up time and again, the underground palaces should have been turned upside down long ago, and all the treasures that could be stolen should have been stolen. Not to mention the remains, not even a few stone tables or stone platforms were left.

But do not doubt it, there really are still treasures.

In 2022, the relevant departments announced: through satellite remote sensing, it was discovered that the Southern Song Six Mausoleums still contain intact tombs. And there exist "non-natural underground reflection signals."

In plain language: there is an underground palace beneath the underground palace!

Whether it was truly discovered by satellite remote sensing, Lin Sicheng does not know. He only knows that that year, grass had already begun to grow on the graves of Chen Wei and Li Jinqian.

How many good things those two took from the second-level underground palace, Lin Sicheng is even less clear, but according to historical records, after Yang Lianzhenjia "plowed the ground three feet deep," many more items were successively stolen from the Six Mausoleums.

The Ma Wuyu Brush Box, Copper Cool Carved Pipe, Pearl Play Horse Saddle, Interlocking White Tooth Comb, Incense Bone Case, Tiger-Crouching Pillow, Cloud-Piercing Zither, Gold Cat-Eye, Jade-Colored Rattan Silk Plate, Fish Shadow Jade Fan Handle... and so on and so forth.

Every single piece is a national treasure.

By this standard, if I don't "biubiu" you, who do I "biubiu"?

Looking again at that Gold-Inlaid Lacquer Box from the day before yesterday, Chen Wei and Li Jinqian must have known it was Imperial Palace Ware from the Southern Song, otherwise they would not have sold it for 850,000.

They must also have suspected that there are still treasures in the Six Mausoleums, but they are still fumbling around on the surface. But if these two are allowed to keep messing around, in five or six years at most, they will discover the underground palace beneath the underground palace.

And then, boom...

Therefore, even out of consideration for not letting national treasures flow overseas, Lin Sicheng cannot sit idly by.

And then, biubiubi...

Do not doubt it, there is only one path for robbing an imperial mausoleum: a death sentence.

But now, the two of them are probably only looking at ten years or so. The key is that both of their children are in high school and haven't participated in it at all.

Just for these two points, Chen Wei and Li Jinqian should properly thank themselves.

With these thoughts, Lin Sicheng took out his newly bought phone and newly bought SIM card.

Old Lady, there is an underground palace beneath the underground palace of the Southern Song Six Mausoleums, with so, so many treasures... would you like to come and take a look?

He didn't make a call, just a text message, but that was enough.

Besides having high seniority, the Old Lady has many students, many of whom are in key departments; she will definitely send people to investigate.

Once they investigate, they will certainly discover the recent signs of looting, and since Chen Wei and Li Jinqian are currently in the early stages of development and not yet covering the sky with one hand, the local authorities will also take it seriously.

And with current technical means, discovering the underground palace beneath the underground palace is not considered too difficult.

But what if they don't discover it?

Then he will have to do it himself...

After sending the text, Lin Sicheng dusted himself off and went down the mountain. He specifically took a detour and threw the dismantled phone and SIM card into the lake.

Gu Ming was still waiting at the foot of the mountain, with the taxi parked further away on the roadside.

Lin Sicheng waved his hand: "Let's go!"

Gu Ming squinted his eyes: You traveled so far just to climb to the top of the mountain for a look?

But he remembered clearly: speak less, ask less, look less... so he only felt suspicious for a moment.

But immediately, Gu Ming remembered: "You had better return a call; that Professor Wang of yours called my phone, asking if we are still in Hangzhou and when we are going back?"

Lin Sicheng was startled: "How did Professor Wang know?"

"Probably told by Godfather."

Lin Sicheng nodded.

Not many people knew the two of them came to Hangzhou. It was mainly because he was afraid Wang Qizhi would chase after them, so Lin Sicheng had adjusted his phone settings.

The reason is simple: the teacher's identity is too sensitive: What, a Red Third Generation? And you're looking for documents? I'll give you nothing.

If things go wrong and the dog is forced to jump over the wall, what then?

But he couldn't hide it from his family.

"Book the tickets as soon as we get back to Hangzhou; see if there are any flights tonight!"

Gu Ming shook his head: "I checked, the earliest flight is tomorrow!"

"Fine, then tomorrow morning!"