Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1400: Chapter 1385: Dragon Pattern

Just as Professor Xie had predicted, when Heitan entered, the sound of ”soso” could be heard from where its feet landed.

Huo Sining followed the strong flashlight beam inside and saw that from time to time, hidden weapons like arrows and ropes shot out from the floor, walls, and ceiling of the tomb chamber.

Heitan, this fellow, was almost becoming a spirit; it was nimble and alert within the tomb corridor. Among so many obvious and hidden threats, it surprisingly wandered through quickly and came out unscathed. It even stuck out its tongue and drooled at Huo Sining, wagging its tail eagerly to please.

Huo Sining felt both proud and amused, reluctantly taking out a biscuit from the storage ring, imbuing it with a considerable amount of spiritual energy, and stuffing it into the mouth of this proud Tibetan Mastiff King.

Despite its mighty appearance, when it saw the biscuit, Heitan’s eyes lit up immediately, carrying the biscuit out quickly like a fool, afraid others might snatch it away.

Seeing Heitan return safely, the group of experts let out a sigh of relief, especially Xie Daoyuan. After Huo Sining entered the tomb with Heitan, Su Qingqing had quietly told him that someone once offered twenty million to buy Heitan, but Huo Sining couldn’t bear to sell it.

Such an expensive Tibetan Mastiff King, if it had perished inside this tomb, he couldn’t afford the loss.

Although Huo Sining might not really ask for compensation, if something happened, he would still feel guilty.

Now that Heitan came out alive and energetic, it was proof there was no danger inside, so Professor Xie called the other experts, and they once again headed for the entrance of the ancient tomb with their flashlights.

Professor Xie led the way, standing at the stone doorway, shining the strong flashlight inside.

Beyond this doorway, on either side, were the north and south Auricle Chambers, used to place the tomb owner’s belongings and burial items. After scanning the surroundings with his light, Professor Xie signaled everyone to follow him inside.

Huo Sining was still a bit worried, leaning against the wall at the stone doorway cautiously examining it. After confirming there were no hidden mechanisms inside the walls and ceiling, she remained silent.

The group entered the passageway behind the stone door, with Auricle Chambers on either side containing burial items, and straight ahead was the main chamber, the primary tomb chamber.

Each corner of the main tomb chamber had a tall stone pillar for support to strengthen the chamber’s weight-bearing capacity and enhance its resistance to earthquakes and collapse.

The main tomb chamber was around sixty to seventy square meters in size and about five or six meters high. The walls and ceiling of the entire tomb were arched, made of relief-carved bluestones, with intricate patterns carved on each stone.

Upon seeing the main tomb chamber, everyone’s attention was drawn in, no longer interested in the burial items in the Auricle Chambers. Their gaze fell on the three-meter-long and two-meter-wide vermilion stone coffin in the center of the main tomb chamber.

Beneath the stone coffin was a huge bluestone base, perfectly matched with the stone coffin.

Seeing the stone coffin, everyone couldn’t help but gasp.

The Dingling from the Thirteen Tombs of Ming was once opened, revealing an underground palace made entirely of large whitish-blue stones, containing a vermilion coffin taller than a person.

The coffin in this main tomb chamber used the same materials as the one in Dingling, and the layout inside the main chamber was identical to Dingling. Even more astonishing, this coffin was engraved with numerous cloud-pattern reliefs, which only one person was permitted to use within the Royal family because these reliefs were dragon patterns, ferocious and majestic!

Seeing this situation, all the experts, including Professor Xie, were extremely shocked and excited, their expressions flushed red.

Huo Sining’s eyes widened like cowbells, thinking to herself, could it be such a coincidence?

Beside her, Su Qingqing still seemed as clueless as a monk, her eyes flickering with confusion and a lost expression as she looked at the experts. Turning to Huo Sining, seeing her face filled with disbelief, she could no longer hold her curiosity and asked:

”Ningning, whose coffin is this, and why do you all have such strange expressions?”

Huo Sining glanced at Su Qingqing, then at Xie Daoyuan, who was carefully inspecting the stone coffin. She couldn’t help but sigh.

She really wanted to say, girl, you really shouldn’t have skipped classes. Treasure appraisal and archaeology are all about the basics. Without a solid foundation, even with great intuition, you won’t excel.

But with Professor Xie present, if she said this, not only would it embarrass Su Qingqing, but Professor Xie’s face might not hold either, so Huo Sining swallowed her thoughts.

”Did you see the stone statue forest outside?” Huo Sining hesitantly asked, guiding her gently.

Su Qingqing nodded: ”I saw it. I even looked at each stone stele and copied the characters down.”

Huo Sining said: ”Then you should be able to deduce from the characters on those steles which period this ancient tomb’s owner is from, right?”

Su Qingqing smiled: ”Of course, I did that homework. The tomb owner is from the Ming Dynasty, and there are several officials from second to sixth rank buried with him, indicating he was either wealthy or noble.”

”And what do you make of this stone coffin?” Huo Sining continued to ask.

Su Qingqing hesitated, pointing at the dragon patterns, tentatively asking unsurely: ”Emperor?”

Huo Sining slightly nodded: ”Throughout the three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, more than ten emperors were replaced. Where were these emperors buried?”

”I know this,” Su Qingqing began counting with her fingers like reciting a familiar list, ”the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang established the capital in Nanjing. After his death, he was buried on the sunny side of Nanjing’s Zhongshan, called the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum. Afterward, the Yongle Emperor made Shuntian Prefecture the capital, moved from Nancheng to the Imperial Capital, and established the Forbidden City. From Yongle to the Chongzhen Emperor, all were buried in Changping County, known as the Thirteen Tombs.”

Huo Sining laughed and asked: ”You recited it well, but according to you, there were only fourteen emperors in the Ming Dynasty? Your count doesn’t add up.”

Su Qingqing frowned, quickly shaking her head: ”No, the Jingtai Emperor isn’t in there. Emperor Jingtai, or Emperor Daizong Zhu Qiyu, was Emperor Xuanzong’s second son. After his elder brother, the Yingzong Emperor, was captured by the Oirat, and the palace was left without a ruler, Zhu Qiyu was enthroned under the orders of the Empress Dowager and ministers.”

”Later, when Yingzong was released, he orchestrated a coup with confidants, executed a ’seize-the-gate’ maneuver, and reclaimed the throne, becoming emperor again, resulting in Zhu Qiyu’s demise.”