Chapter 136: If All Else Fails, Do It Yourself!

Guan Xingmin pressed his hands against the armrests of the sofa, his upper body leaning forward forcefully.

Hao Jun's eyes darted back and forth, glancing at the porcelain jar one moment and the Rhino Horn Cup the next.

The Emperor's Cupping Jar was shocking enough, but now a Wanli Chixia Cup had suddenly appeared?

Lin Sicheng, did you go to the imperial mausoleums to buy things wholesale?

A series of gazes, thick as substance, nailed themselves onto his face. Lin Sicheng acted as if he hadn't heard and beckoned: "Gu Ming, come here!"

Gu Ming, who had been playing the invisible man, stood up. Lin Sicheng had him undo the second button of his shirt and pull the collar down from the back of his neck.

Then, he picked up a small jar, first wiping it, then washing it, then warming it.

He narrated simultaneously:

"'Continued Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government · Song Annals Volume 105' (Zhao Gou): The Jin People captured Lin'an... The Emperor went to Mingzhou. The Jin People captured Yuezhou... The Emperor stopped at Dinghai County, then went to Wenzhou, and stayed at the provincial government office..."

"At that time, he lived in a place of four-fold distress, surrounded by demons and monsters, plagued by illness, attacked by miasma and malaria, and his long-term sickness would not heal..."

"He summoned his ministers to discuss it. Attendant Gentleman Fu (Su Shi's grandson, Su Fu) submitted a memorial: His grandfather (Su Shi) was banished to Qiongzhou (Hainan), a land of miasma where the climate caused dizziness and alternating chills and fevers. Later, he wrote a prescription himself:"

"(The jar) is soaked in medicine, heated by fire, and pressed onto the affected area. When the jar sticks, one immediately feels a tight suction, and the miasma poison is drawn out... He then instructed the Imperial Physician to practice this, and the Emperor (Zhao Gou) recovered..."

"Afterward, this medical prescription was preserved, first recorded in 'Su Scholar Prescriptions' (Su Shi's self-authored medical prescriptions), and later compiled with the 'Shen Kuo Good Prescriptions' into the 'Su-Shen Good Prescriptions'..."

Lin Sicheng tested the temperature of the jar, pulled out a tissue, lit it, swirled it inside the jar twice, and then pressed it onto the back of Gu Ming's neck.

With a "pop," the jar stuck tightly to the skin.

The eyelids of the others twitched.

Lin Sicheng continued: "Although it is recorded in History Books and medical texts, both historians and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners believe it to be a case of rumors being passed down as truth... and it really is a bit: using a fire cup to treat malaria is indeed somewhat absurd."

"It wasn't until 1978 that a set of twelve magnetic kiln Cupping Jars was unearthed from a Southern Song Dynasty tomb in Jiangxi Zhangshu. From the human blood cells remaining on the inner walls, oval-shaped traces of malaria parasites were detected..."

"Later, they were sent to Beijing for further Artifact Research, which confirmed that both the porcelain body and the Glaze Material contained twenty-six medicinal ingredients, including cinnabar, realgar, and mugwort ash. When the temperature reaches forty degrees, it automatically releases the medicinal properties... sixty degrees is optimal!"

"Pop~" Lin Sicheng pulled the small jar off and placed it on the table: "Just like now!"

The few of them sniffed, and their expressions changed in unison: the small jar still held residual heat, and wisps of vapor drifted out from the mouth of the jar.

The key was that it carried a medicinal fragrance.

They didn't know about the others, but they could certainly distinguish the scent of mugwort and realgar.

"Whether it's the coarse thin glaze, the raised dots on the glazed surface, or the twelve raised ridges inside, they are all designed for better absorption of medicinal power and release of medicinal properties. At the same time, it secretly aligns with the Twelve Meridians... of course, the last point belongs to metaphysics, but there is more..."

Lin Sicheng picked up a Flashlight and shone it inside, and the others all crowded around.

Under the light, dense, tiny dots were clearly visible on the jar wall and bottom, yet they were extremely symmetrical.

Hao Jun's eyes lit up: "Acupoint Map!"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "To be precise: Bronze Human Acupoint Map!"

The group was stunned, looking at each other in dismay.

Whether these were Southern Song Dynasty Cupping Jars, and whether they were as miraculous as Lin Sicheng claimed in curing malaria, was hard to say for now. But this faint medicinal fragrance and the Acupoint Map on the bottom and walls of the jar were surely real, right?

But to say these were imperial artifacts?

Hao Jun and Guan Xingmin exchanged a glance, then looked at Wang Qi Zhi.

The two of them finally understood why Lin Sicheng's phone had been unreachable and why Professor Wang's face was so dark.

These four jars were definitely bought by Lin Sicheng from Grave Robbers. And nine times out of ten, they were dug up from the Southern Song Six Mausoleums.

If they came from an imperial mausoleum, weren't they imperial artifacts?

But daring to engage in Grave-robbing at an imperial mausoleum was definitely a business where you put your head on the line; you kid are purely tired of living.

Just as they were shocked beyond belief, Lin Sicheng picked up the Rhino Horn Cup.

The group's spirits lifted.

Ordinary rhino horn is mostly pitch black, or gray within black. Only in higher quality specimens does the bone structure gradually lighten from the tip.

It generally looks like this:

But this one looks like this:

This one in the back must have been dyed.

But how it was dyed, and what it had to do with the "Chixia Cup" of the Wanli Emperor, Guan Xingmin and Hao Jun truly did not know.

In astonishment, Lin Sicheng began to manipulate it: first, he drew a cup of warm water, then found two thermometers.

He had Hao Jun hold one in his palm, and used the other to measure the water temperature.

"I have indeed never seen what the one unearthed from the Wanli Dingling looked like. But during the Republic of China, when the Jingling of Emperor Zhu Zhanji was robbed, one flowed into England and was once featured in the 'British Medical Journal' (a famous medical journal, the third in the world...)"

"After testing and analysis: the rhino horn was harvested from a living specimen: the horn base was severed when the Asian rhino was dying, using the residual warmth of the heartbeat to force blood into the keratin fibers; microscopic examination showed the hemoglobin crystals were snowflake-shaped..."

"Afterward, it was cellar-stored and soaked in medicine: buried for seven years in a Three-Yang Soup prepared from cinnabar, human hair ash, and boy's urine, allowing the blood color to penetrate to a depth of 7-9mm. Then, it was solidified with arsenic vapor. Only then was it carved..."

"Later, after further testing, active platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB) was detected on the cup wall. This thing has only one function: to accelerate wound healing, but the British researchers never figured out the specific mechanism."

"Secondly, after holding yellow wine for thirty minutes, the concentration of flavonoids in the wine was found to have increased seventeen-fold. The mechanism and the reason are likewise unknown."

"Later, it was also detected that: when held, within one minute, the cup's temperature abnormally rose by 2℃... the principle is likewise unknown."

Lin Sicheng retracted the thermometer: the water temperature was 32, and Hao Jun's hand temperature was also thirty-two.

He handed over the cup: "Senior Brother, hold it!"

Hao Jun, half-believing and half-doubting, took it in his hand.

Then, the thermometer inserted into the cup saw the mercury scale rise at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The group looked at each other, as if they had seen a ghost. This included Wang Qi Zhi and Ye Anning.

Hand temperature thirty-two, water temperature thirty-two, why did it rise by two degrees out of thin air just from holding it?

Guan Xingmin looked astonished, pressing his hand against Hao Jun's chest: "Is your heartbeat too fast?"

"I'm curious, not nervous, why the hell would my heartbeat be fast?"

Hao Jun put down the cup and took out the thermometer. Immediately, the scale began to drop.

The five of them widened their ten eyes: had they really, damn it, broadened their horizons?

So, could this still be fake?

As he watched, Hao Jun gave a start, met Guan Xingmin's eyes, and then, both of their expressions sank.

There is only one in the country, right? The one unearthed at Dingling and kept in the Forbidden City.

According to what Lin Sicheng said, there is also one abroad, which means this is the third one, right?

Never mind the active factors or the flavonoid substances; just the fact that it can raise the temperature by two degrees out of thin air is enough to prove how miraculous this thing is.

It feels like the term "national treasure" isn't even enough to describe the rarity of this item.

So, just how bold must Lin Sicheng be?

Guan Xingmin's lips twitched: "How did they not bury you in a grave?"

Lin Sicheng paused: "They didn't know what this was; they just thought it was a dyed Rhino Horn Cup!"

"Nonsense!" Hao Jun gritted his teeth, "If they had known, you would have been in pieces long ago!"

"Then what should I do?" Lin Sicheng sighed, "I can't just pretend I didn't see it, can I?"

The few of them were stunned, speechless.

No need to guess; if Lin Sicheng hadn't bought it, this item would have had only one fate: to flow overseas.

Either it would be bought by someone who didn't know its value, changing hands again and again, until sooner or later it was discovered by someone who did.

Or it would just be left on a shelf until, one day, it encountered someone who knew its value and was bought. But either way, it wouldn't stay in the country.

Lin Sicheng definitely didn't buy it because he wanted to hoard it or anything like that. Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought it out so openly to show them and explained it so clearly.

For a moment, Wang Qi Zhi felt a complex mix of emotions in his heart.

This student of his was truly... he no longer knew how to describe him.

With a wistful sigh, he pointed again: "What are those three boxes?"

"Southern Song Dynasty documents!"

After replying, Lin Sicheng opened the silk pouches; he didn't take much, just one of each type.

They were all very new: the silk pouches were new, the documents were new, and the scroll ends were new. At first glance, it looked like they had been forged recently and hadn't had time to be artificially aged yet.

Instinctively, the few of them thought of those two paintings by Ma Yuan: they were almost exactly the same.

Wang Qi Zhi hadn't seen them, but he had heard of them, and he knew that it was for those few paintings that Lin Sicheng had run off to Hangzhou.

Surely, this couldn't have some connection to Ma Yuan's paintings, could it?

While secretly pondering, Lin Sicheng untied a silk pouch, took out a document, and then poured water into it.

At first, everyone was confused, but then, they narrowed their eyes.

It was clearly made of silk, but even though the pouch, as thick as a thumb, was filled to the brim, not a single drop of water leaked out?

No, it didn't even seep through!

Modern high-tech?

Just as they were suspicious, Lin Sicheng poured the water out and spread the pouch on the table:

"Fish maw, pig skin, and tung oil synthesized into gelatin, then three parts alum to one part glue to make alum-glue, applied evenly... one for preservation, two for waterproofing!"

Lin Sicheng picked up a scroll only as thick as an index finger: "The two ends are capped, then sealed with beeswax and cinnabar mud to seal the gaps: one for waterproofing, two for preservation, three for oxygen-proofing: even if an oxygen-free vacuum state forms inside the scroll..."

Pulling off the caps at both ends, Lin Sicheng spread out the document: "Wuzhou (modern-day Jinhua) bamboo paper, treated against silverfish for preservation, then brushed with alum-glue: water-resistant, oxygen-proof, rot-proof, moth-proof...

And the special Pine Soot Ink: one jin of pine soot to one liang of glue, seasoned with one liang of sweet gale and patchouli... same thing: water-resistant, oxygen-proof, rot-proof, moth-proof..."

Putting down the document, Lin Sicheng took a wooden box about the thickness of an arm out of the crate: "The wood is camphor, the documents are placed inside, and then lacquer-sealed..."

He paused, then gestured in a circle: "When the grave-robbers went down into the pit, these Southern Song Dynasty documents were all soaked in water... so, these are the lost techniques of lacquer-sealing, wax-sealing, and pouch-sealing, as well as the highest papermaking and ink-making craftsmanship of the Southern Song Dynasty."

Then, Lin Sicheng spread out the three types of documents one by one:

"Seven Records of Personal Confession: recording the Jiading era, from Xu Weili's time as Attendant Gentleman for Merit (secondary ninth rank), Gentleman for Cultivated Conduct (primary ninth rank), Gentleman for Service (secondary eighth rank), Gentleman for Directing (primary eighth rank), Assistant Magistrate (secondary seventh rank), Grand Court Evaluator (primary seventh rank), and finally Prefect of Xinzhou (secondary sixth rank)..."

"Five Imperial Edict Yellows: Acting Prefect of Jianchang Military, remission of drought taxes in Xinzhou, and meritorious service in water management, specially bestowed with a scarlet fish bag..."

"Twenty-five pieces of Seal Paper, this is the most important: including tax completion, judicial fairness, agricultural encouragement, population growth, border security...

It amounts to a clear record of the Southern Song Dynasty's politics, military, people, taxes, judiciary, agriculture, water conservancy, and even its official system, administrative operations, and the landscape of people's lives over the forty-plus years from Jiading to Chunyou..."

Lin Sicheng straightened his back and let out a breath: "But there's no need to authenticate them; just like those two paintings by Ma Yuan, the more you authenticate them, the faker they seem. And there's no need to doubt them; the items couldn't be any more real..."

"The most critical point is that the majority of the content is vastly different from, or even diametrically opposed to, previous historical research..."

Wang Qi Zhi's pupils constricted, and his fingers couldn't stop shaking: What is the meaning of archaeology and historical research?

To fill gaps in literature, extend the axis of civilization, and correct historical misinterpretations. Only after that comes the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage.

That was why Lin Sicheng emphasized that the final twenty-five Record of Personal Confession Seal Papers were the most important.

Even more critical was that last sentence he said: the majority of the content is vastly different from, or even diametrically opposed to, previous historical research...

So, if these documents were real, the entire historical academic circle would be blown to bits, wouldn't it?

So many theses, so many conclusions, so many research results—all voided. How many people's so-called "honor," reputation, and even status and position would be involved...

Wang Qi Zhi was considered well-traveled and knowledgeable, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Guan Xingmin and Hao Jun had long since gone numb; from the moment Lin Sicheng spread out the three documents and said "Southern Song Dynasty documents," they hadn't heard a word of the rest.

As the saying goes, one page of a Song Edition is worth a liang of gold. This isn't a metaphor, but a realistic description, or even an understatement: even for the most ordinary Buddhist scripture, as long as it is verified as a Song Edition, the transaction price never drops below ten million.

What if it wasn't a printed edition, but a manuscript, or even official government documents?

And even, an Imperial Edict Yellow.

What is an edict? A holy command. Look at this one on the table: at the beginning, "Edict from the Secretariat..." at the end, "Respect the edict as written, act upon receipt of this dispatch..." written on yellow paper, stamped with the Imperial Treasure... this is an Imperial Edict!

How many Imperial Edicts from the Qing Dynasty are left?

Yet under their feet, there were three large boxes of them...

Guan Xingmin and Hao Jun no longer knew how to estimate the value.

Even the Southern Song Dynasty emperor's cupping jar, and the Ming Dynasty emperor's Rhino Horn Cup—which science couldn't even explain—were just so-so.

For a moment, it was as if a pause button had been pressed; the small office, with its six occupants of various ages, was as quiet as if a pause button had been pressed.

Ten eyes glowed, fixed upon Lin Sicheng's face.

Lin Sicheng spoke unhurriedly, lying with a straight face: "After buying the painting that day, I kept feeling something wasn't right: the brushwork looked genuine no matter how I examined it, yet everything else looked fake no matter how I appraised it?

Afterwards, I thought the old lady was knowledgeable and had lived long enough that she might know a thing or two, so I gave Zhao Xiuneng a call...

Then, Zhao Xiuneng suggested I go to Hangzhou: after all, Ma Yuan, Ma Lin, and Dai Jin were all from Hangzhou. Plus, he had a friend there who was said to be very senior, so I might be able to find out something..."

A senior Grave Robber, right?

Wang Qi Zhi secretly slandered, casting a glance at him.

Lin Sicheng acted as if he didn't see it and continued: "But after I arrived, the other party was very cautious. I mentioned Zhao Xiuneng and the old lady's reputation, but the other party said I had found the wrong place? I thought since I was already there, I couldn't just leave empty-handed, so I wandered around his shop. Who would have thought there were quite a few good things?"

There were quite a few.

If there were few, how could you have brought back these several large crates?

The few people looked at each other, each one looking strange.

Wang Qi Zhi sighed again: "How much did you spend?"

"I spent a little over a million on the first day!" Lin Sicheng pointed, "The Jade Bi, the Lacquer Box, and the ancient books were all bought that day. At the time, I also bought a Western Han Dynasty Imperial Historian's Bronze Fish Key..."

What the hell?

A Western Han Dynasty Imperial Historian?

Subconsciously, the few people thought of Sima Qian.

Even if it wasn't him, that item would be worth tens of millions on the black market.

Hao Jun lowered his head and took a look around: "Where are the items?"

"I returned them!" Lin Sicheng spread his hands, "They didn't recognize the item, they didn't even know which dynasty it was from, so I gave them a hint... and then, I met the boss the next day!"

What boss, that was the leader of the Grave Robbers.

It meant Lin Sicheng had used that item as a stepping stone...

Wang Qi Zhi was both angry and amused: "With your eye for things, didn't they invite you to join them or something?"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "They invited me, but I didn't agree!"

The group was stunned, lips twitching, not knowing what to say.

Lin Sicheng's nerve could no longer be described as "big"...

Wang Qi Zhi sighed: "And then?"

"Then, to thank me, they let me pick two more items, saying they were a gift. I did pick two items, the cupping jar and the rhino horn, but I paid for them, and not a cent less: 380,000!"

Heh...

For those two items, how about three hundred times 380,000?

"Afterwards, I took out Ma Yuan's painting and asked them to help me look for it. Then, two days later, although the painting wasn't found, they brought over these sixty-plus documents..."

Pausing slightly, Lin Sicheng emphasized again: "But I didn't have them look for free, I spent 100,000..."

100,000?

The group was beyond speechless.

Calculating it, from start to finish, Lin Sicheng spent about 1.6 million. Selling that Jade Bi alone would be more than enough to cover it.

Everything else was essentially free.

But just looking at what was in front of them, if judged by value, "hundreds of millions" wouldn't even cover it.

The problem was, how to handle it?

Except for those two books and the block-printed ancient texts and the Jade Bi, everything else was a First-Class Cultural Relic. One even had to add a note: National Treasure.

So, selling was out of the question: sell it now, and you'd be eating prison food later, the kind that lasts a lifetime.

Keeping them was also impossible; they could be confiscated at any time, any minute...

Thinking secretly, Hao Jun frowned: "So, you intend to: donate?"

Lin Sicheng gave him a strange look.

Senior Brother Hao, I said so much, did you only remember three words: extremely valuable?

"Senior Brother Hao, I am a graduate student... oh, not yet, but I will be soon. Plus, I have a studio..."

Hao Jun was suddenly stunned.

He was so shocked his scalp went numb; his mind was full of national treasures and how much they were worth, and he had momentarily forgotten that Lin Sicheng could also do Artifact Research.

The Lacquer Box uses lacquer and the Engraved Gold technique, which inherits the past: it shares the same craftsmanship as the Tang Dynasty Gold and Silver Flat-removal technique. It also opens the future: developing into the Yuan Dynasty, it derived Mother-of-Pearl Inlay and the Engraved Gold fine-hook lacquer-filling technique.

Just based on these two points, it is enough to apply for a provincial-level project.

The cupping jar and the Rhino Horn Cup could be researched jointly with the Provincial Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Medical School of Jiaotong University (Xi'an Jiaotong University).

No matter which one it was, the relevant Person in Charge would definitely be grinning from ear to ear: these were specimen materials that could be published in top international journals, things that simply couldn't be bought for any amount of money.

As for the documents... with just one phone call, people from the Provincial Museum or Municipal Museum would probably rush to the school in less than ten minutes.

Thinking about these items again, as well as the project itself, the group looked at Lin Sicheng, their expressions turning strange again.

With so many topics spanning so many disciplines, you have one head and two hands, can you even handle the research?

Lin Sicheng did not speak: it was just an expedient measure.

The cupping jar and Rhino Horn Cup didn't matter; Lin Sicheng didn't know much about traditional Chinese medicine and wasn't prepared to change fields. So whether to research them or not wasn't certain. The key was to avoid them being confiscated.

But for the documents, it was best to cooperate with the cultural heritage institutions in Zhejiang Province, otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to check the data.

He couldn't just run to Hangzhou every month and beg for help, could he?

Of course, it definitely wouldn't work now. At the very least, he had to wait until the local authorities took it seriously and began excavating the tomb of Xu Weili.

So, he had to wait for the old lady's side.

It is not Zhao Laotai of Qishan, but the old Mrs. Wang of the Forbidden City.

But as the saying goes: if it doesn't work, one can only do it oneself...