Chapter 153: The Tomb of Zheng He’s Good Brother

Lu Shijing sent her a message: "I found a doctor for you. He’s waiting at the hospital now. Go get yourself checked out to see if you’re injured anywhere."

This time, Gu Shengsheng didn’t refuse, replying, "Okay."

On the other end, Lu Shijing thought for a long time, still not knowing how to respond. He was even a little nervous, feeling as if the phone was scalding his hand.

Lin Kai, watching from the side, was also anxious, wishing he could just reply for him.

He said, "Boss, you’re killing me. You have to show her you care, let her know you’re there for her!"

"You’re so quiet all the time. It’d be a miracle if the Young Madam even noticed you."

This made Lu Shijing even more conflicted...

After some thought, he asked, "Are you getting used to things over there? How are you getting along with Professor Zhang?"

Gu Shengsheng replied, "It’s going well. Mr. Zhang even invited me to do my graduate studies under him."

Lin Kai said excitedly, "Nice, nice. Young Madam tossed out a conversation topic! That proves she’s not completely indifferent to chatting with you."

But then, after a moment of contemplation, Lu Shijing said something astonishing. "I did my master’s and doctorate at Stanford, but I’ve never studied in China. Maybe I should go to Qing University and do it all over again?"

Lin Kai was speechless. ’Boss, that’s not going to grad school! You clearly just want to be with Young Madam.’

’But that’s the wrong approach! If they’re both focused on their studies, they won’t have any time to date!’

’This isn’t some CEO romance novel, this is real life.’

Lin Kai heaved a deep sigh. His thoughts drifted back in time, and he knew exactly why this was a bad idea...

When his boss studied abroad, he was a legendary overachiever, pulling all-nighters to study and practically living in the lab throughout his master’s and doctoral programs.

When he hit the books, his world narrowed to his rivals. Gender, romance, friendship—none of it existed...

If he went back to school, it wouldn’t be for romance. He’d probably still have his head buried in a book even when he was with Young Madam.

So when would they ever get around to actually dating?

They might not be in a hurry, but Lin Kai certainly was! And so was the Old Madam!

Just thinking about that predictable outcome... Lin Kai was terrified.

Lin Kai quickly cut him off. "Boss, you don’t need to go back to school. Look, if Miss Gu decides to apply for grad school, you can guide her. You can teach her how to get papers published and even help her find an advisor. Isn’t that better? You could be her mentor and her friend."

"Imagine it—the two of you would be the envy of everyone wherever you go."

"..." Lu Shijing gave a slight nod in tacit agreement.

He said, "Let’s work overtime. Try to compress the next two weeks of work into the next few days."

Lin Kai: ???

’Wait a minute, didn’t I just help him? Why more overtime? Do these capitalists have no soul?!’

Seeing the look of utter despair on his face, Lu Shijing added, "Finish two weeks of work in one week. After that, I’m going to Anxi."

Lin Kai was instantly re-energized. ’Ah, so the boss is worried about Young Madam!’

As long as it meant getting his favorite couple together, a few days of overtime were grudgingly acceptable. Of course... the pay had to be high.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to handle it... His daily resentment from work was powerful enough to rival a demon lord’s.

——

「Anxi City.」

After replying to the message, Gu Shengsheng no longer had time for her phone. She was pulled away by the department head and the museum director to help sort the artifacts.

She helped with the appraisals, pieced together the fractured epitaph, and evaluated the supporting evidence from the other artifacts and items left behind.

In the end, Gu Shengsheng, Wang Yu, and the others unanimously concluded that the tomb belonged to an outstanding navigator from the Great Ming Dynasty who was also a friend of Zheng He: Wang Jinghong.

Come to think of it, it had once been suspected that Wang Jinghong’s tomb was in the Niu Shou Mountain area. But after some initial speculation, his epitaph was never found, and with no further evidence, the investigation was shelved.

Now that the epitaph and other missing evidence had turned up in Anxi City, it proved that there had been clues all along and that he had lived out his final days and died of natural causes in Anxi.

The young man with glasses, who was taking notes, spoke up. "Wang Jinghong? I’ve never heard of him."

In fact, many of the surrounding appraisal experts hadn’t heard of him either. The Ming Dynasty frequently employed eunuchs, and there were many brilliant individuals among them. But when it came to maritime explorers, most people only knew of Zheng He.

Who was this Wang Jinghong...?

They had been wanting to ask for a while but were too embarrassed to speak up.

Gu Shengsheng smiled and said, "To put it one way, Wang Jinghong actually went on more voyages to the West than Zheng He did. While Zheng He was alive, Wang Jinghong was always by his side, serving as his second-in-command."

"Zheng He died in the middle of a voyage. It was Wang Jinghong who took command of the fleet, kept the bigger picture in mind, and brought his friend’s body back, all while ensuring the fleet’s preservation."

As she spoke, a hint of emotion flickered in Gu Shengsheng’s eyes. "He was a truly remarkable man."

"After Zheng He’s death, he continued to lead the fleet to many places, including Sumatra. In short, he was a great man, but after a certain point, historical records of him become scarce. That’s why his burial place has remained a mystery."

After her explanation, the surrounding experts and graduate students began to look at the find with a newfound sense of reverence.

Now that they had a clear direction, the process of checking sources, making comparisons, and conducting historical research became much faster and more efficient.

Zhang Zhengyi said cheerfully, "Ah, Shengsheng, having you on the team is a true blessing. If we’d left this to the kids, there’s no telling how many all-nighters they would have pulled."

"You bring so much energy with you. Plus, everyone is just happy to have you around."

The two researchers who had gotten scraped in the tomb were also immensely grateful. "Miss Gu, if it weren’t for you, we might not have made it out."

This reminded Gu Shengsheng of the two who had been burned by the concentrated sulfuric acid.

She asked, "How are the two who were sent to the hospital?"

"They won’t be able to use their right hands anymore. They probably won’t be able to work in this field in the future. The archaeological team will, of course, provide sufficient compensation. But these days, it’s so difficult to train two graduate students, especially in an unpopular field like ours."

"I’m just saddened by the loss of talent for our field."

But everyone knew such things were unavoidable.

Gu Shengsheng said, "Very few people choose archaeology as a profession. It’s not popular, and it’s hard to find a good job after you’ve studied it. Hordes of graduates face unemployment right after getting their degree. Not everyone wants to just bury their head in academic research."

"So, you have to take things as they come."

Zhang Zhengyi sometimes felt that this young woman, Gu Shengsheng, was remarkably perceptive. Her emotions were always so stable; he’d never once seen her flustered, at a disadvantage, or lacking in confidence.

The more he looked at her, the more pleased he became. "You’re such an emotionally stable young woman. You’re made of the right stuff for research."

"..." Gu Shengsheng said with a sigh, "It’s not that I’m emotionally stable. I’ve just seen so many absurd things in my life that I don’t get shocked anymore."

’They say the most emotionally stable people are the ones who have actually gone mad. In her past life, she’d seen every kind of weirdo imaginable. Now, it was like she’d been re-employed in a parallel universe.’

’She’d gone mad a long time ago. It was just a very quiet sort of madness.’

Just then, Zhang Zhengyi and Wang Yu flanked her, one on her left and one on her right.

Both were looking at her with smiles in their eyes, but there was something a little strange about their grins.