Chapter 150: Discovery of a Ming Dynasty Emperor’s Burial Shroud! So Worth It

The young woman scratched her head in embarrassment.

Zhang Zhengyi came over and asked, "Did you notice something was off?"

"Yeah, this whole place is just a front."

"What’s more, I’m certain this clay jar is from the Ming Dynasty. This skeleton doesn’t look right at all. And everything else around us is a fake."

"This tomb was likely robbed. Then someone came back and rearranged everything."

The surrounding graduate students and staff members were shocked. "We went through so much trouble to get in here," one said, bewildered. "How could it be fake?"

"Then what do we do? Are we trapped in here? I just saw the stone door get blocked."

"We don’t have much food, we can’t get out, and the rescue team isn’t here yet."

’The stone door is blocked?’

Gu Shengsheng was surprised for a moment, but then she realized it made sense.

"It’s fine," she said. "We just need to find the real passage. Don’t worry about food. I’m sure we’ll get out of here today."

Zhang Zhengyi nodded. "I just conducted a detailed geological survey. This area is far too small. The tomb’s total area... We probably haven’t found it all yet."

"The way forward isn’t here; it’s through another, correct passage. This is a decoy tomb. We need to find the main chamber."

"Mhm." Gu Shengsheng was excited, too. They were on the same page.

"It’s just... I can’t seem to figure out where the entrance is." Just before, Zhang Zhengyi had tried several spots to no avail.

Gu Shengsheng stared at the coffin. "Maybe it’s in the last place we’d expect?"

"Everyone, let’s help move the coffin. We’ll see if there’s a mechanism underneath."

At her words, everyone exchanged uneasy glances.

"What if we disturb the dead?"

"Moving someone’s coffin... I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight."

"Me too. After this is over, I’m going to a temple to get a protective talisman."

"I’m going to go recite some Marxist philosophy..."

Despite their grumbling, they all got to work.

Four staff members immediately helped lift it. The moment they moved it an inch, the wall at the very back of the chamber slid upward.

Because Professor Zhang was more experienced, he had been leading the way. They encountered several dangerous traps and a few confusing stone doorways, but each time, he would sketch out some calculations and guide them through.

Finally, after what felt like an endless series of turns, they emerged into an incredibly spacious chamber.

Everyone was so excited they started running around.

"This has to be the main chamber! Oh my god, this is unbelievable!"

"I can’t even imagine putting this discovery in my thesis! I could get published in such a high-impact journal!"

"Just think of all the academic conferences I’ll get to go to... I’ll be the happiest girl in academia..."

Everyone was ecstatic, and Gu Shengsheng was just as thrilled.

Even though she’d seen her fair share of treasures and artifacts, this was the first time she’d ever laid eyes on so many strange and wonderful objects.

’And they all look authentic.’

As soon as she entered, Gu Shengsheng’s eyes were drawn to a conch-shaped object.

**Item:** Conch Cup

**Era:** Ming Dynasty (Commonly used for seafaring)

**Description:** The conch is 10.5 cm high and 14.3 cm long. A gilt-bronze rim has been inlaid along the opening to protect the fragile shell. Collection is recommended.

**Market Value:** Priceless

’This is essentially a type of porcelain,’ Gu Shengsheng mused. ’They must have added conch elements during the firing process. The reason it has no market value is because nothing like it has ever surfaced in the modern era.’

Even in museum exhibits on the Maritime Silk Road, she had never seen anything so exquisite.

’The ancients were truly incredible. Such divine craftsmanship!’

’I’ll have to ask the museum for this piece later,’ she plotted. ’It would be perfect for my private collection!’

Her little scheme already hatched, she was about to look around for more when...

...she heard a voice shouting from a distance. "Mr. Zhang... Mr. Zhang! Are you there?"

Gu Shengsheng knew she wasn’t imagining things.

She quickly said, "Mr. Zhang, you’re good at locating sounds underground. Can you tell which direction that came from?"

Zhang Zhengyi pulled out something that looked like a small compass, along with some kind of precision instrument. After fiddling with them for a while, he puffed up with pride, a smug look on his face. "Shengsheng, come over here a bit. I’d hate for you to fall."

’It wasn’t that he was bragging, but ever since they’d gotten in here, everything had gone smoothly for him. All his calculations had been spot on.’

Gu Shengsheng smiled. "From the looks of it, you’re confident?"

"I’m your professor for a reason. If I wasn’t capable, how could I have dared to invite you to study at Qing University?" With that, he carefully removed two artifacts and placed them on the ground.

He then gently pressed a spot on the wall. Gu Shengsheng immediately pulled him back.

A square opening, like a crawlspace, appeared at the base of the wall.

’This must have been a passage the tomb builders left for themselves, a way to get out for fresh air.’

Zhang Zhengyi then shouted into the small opening, "If you two can manage it, crawl through! If not, we’ll send someone to come get you!"

"No need, Professor, we’re all good!"

Hearing this, Zhang Zhengyi let out a sigh of relief. "Finally, everyone’s accounted for. If those two kids had been a bit more obedient, they’d be standing right here with us now!"

"It’s such a shame."

"There’s nothing to be done about it," Gu Shengsheng said. "This is archaeology. If you’re that impulsive, even if you get lucky this time, you might not be so lucky the next."

’An impulsive personality like that could get a person killed in this line of work.’

Just then, a graduate student wearing glasses leaned over the large coffin in the center of the room.

"Sister Gu, come take a look!" he called out. "There’s a piece of golden-yellow cloth here! It was just thrown here, I don’t know what it’s for."

Several staff members had been walking around and had even stepped on it a few times.

Gu Shengsheng could tell it was something special at a glance, but when she looked closer, she grew visibly excited.

’A burial shroud! This is an imperial burial shroud!’

She rushed over, took the cloth, and spread it out on a flat surface. After gently brushing away the dust, she carefully examined the characters on it.

**Item:** Burial Shroud Commissioned by Zhu Yuanzhang

**Era:** Ming Dynasty

**Description:** Made from precious materials and exquisitely crafted. It is embroidered with Sanskrit scriptures and is said to possess the mystical power to guide the souls of the dead, absolve them of their sins, and bless their descendants.

**Market Value:** Priceless

**Note:** The only one of its kind in existence. Collection is highly recommended!

’How could I not collect this?!’

’This is an incredible find!’

’After Emperor Qianlong died, a similar shroud was used to cover his body. In recent years, that very cloth was supposedly bought by a wealthy businessman for over a hundred million.’

’This one from the Ming Dynasty must be even more extraordinary,’ Gu Shengsheng thought.

’For it to be in a eunuch’s tomb... if this eunuch was a contemporary of Zheng He, then this would have been during Emperor Zhu Di’s reign. By then, Zhu Yuanzhang was already dead.’

’Yet here it is in a eunuch’s tomb, draped brazenly over the coffin.’

’It must have been a gift from the Emperor,’ Gu Shengsheng mused.

’From the looks of it, this eunuch must have made significant contributions to maritime expeditions.’