Mao Haifeng, not waiting for the dust to settle, eagerly and nervously rushed forward, peering into the cellar below.
Below, a cloud of dust swirled, but it was clear the gate was wide open, the iron door half-collapsed in place.
One side of the iron door, connected to the stone wall, had been blasted open, but the other side was still locked, so the door hung askew, revealing a large gap, sufficient for a single person to pass through.
“Hahaha, as expected of Lord Zhu, you’ve truly blasted open the treasury gate,” Mao Haifeng exclaimed with joy, laughing heartily.
Once the dust settled slightly, he used branches to prod around for a moment, then lit some straw paper to test the air below was breathable. Mao Haifeng, impatient, was the first to descend into the cellar, lighting a torch and entering Xu San’s hidden treasury.
“Hahaha, Xu San, this lad, is truly a wealth-giving boy, I’ll have to thank him properly later,” he said.
Immediately, Mao Haifeng’s loud laughter echoed from within, indicating the hidden treasury was filled with treasures.
Zhu Ping’an and the others followed.
Upon entering, the hidden treasury was not large, roughly two areas of about fifteen or sixteen square metres. The first thing that caught the eye was ten large wooden chests, filled with gold, silver, jewels, and ornaments. Mao Haifeng stood before the chests, grabbing a handful of gold and silver ornaments, grinning and laughing loudly.
The gold, silver, jewels, and ornaments in these ten chests were worth at least fifty to sixty thousand taels of silver.
In the room, there were also four antique shelves, displaying coral ornaments, jade lions, and ancient calligraphy and paintings.
Zhu Ping’an scanned them. He wasn’t an expert in antiques, porcelain, jade, or coral, unable to discern their authenticity, but he had some ability to appraise calligraphy and paintings.
Most of the calligraphy and paintings were fakes, with only about a third being genuine.
This fool, one of the paintings on the shelf even bore the inscription “Made by the First Emperor Ying Zheng in the Dingmao Year,” written in regular script, with the content proclaiming, “The world united, immortal, I am the First Emperor, ruling the realm for ten thousand years.”
The flaws were glaringly obvious.
Xu San was truly an uneducated fool, treasuring this painting so much as to place it in the centre, likely because it reflected his dreams and ambitions.
Apart from these obviously fake paintings, about a third were genuine, mostly from the previous dynasty.
Zhu Ping’an roughly estimated that Xu San’s treasury was worth around one hundred thousand taels of silver.
No wonder Xu San refused to speak, with so much wealth, it was as good as his life.
“Oi, Xu San, this turtle’s son, really is a turtle’s son,” a loud voice suddenly called from the corner.
It was Mao Haifeng.
Zhu Ping’an looked over and saw Mao Haifeng pointing at a basin at his feet, saying to Zhu Ping’an, “Lord Zhu, come quick, we’re in for a treat tonight, there’s something good here.”
“Heh, what treat?” Zhu Ping’an smiled, walking over while asking curiously.
“Xu San, this turtle’s son, actually kept two turtles, and they’re white turtles at that.”
Mao Haifeng’s voice rang out.
What?!
Two white turtles?!
Upon hearing this, Zhu Ping’an quickened his pace, hurrying to Mao Haifeng’s side, and looked down into the stone basin at his feet.
The stone basin was carved into a lotus shape, with eight petals, concave, about a metre in diameter, and fifty centimetres high. The basin held about ten centimetres of clear water, with a small artificial hill and dozens of tiny fish swimming about. On the hill lay two turtles, slightly larger than a hand, their bodies and shells a pure, glossy white.
Seeing these two white turtles, Zhu Ping’an couldn’t help but feel excited. In modern times, such turtles could be genetically bred and were not rare, but in ancient times, without such technology, white turtles were exceedingly rare.
In ancient times, white turtles were considered significant omens of good fortune.
And here were two of them, how could Zhu Ping’an not be thrilled?
Historically, Hu Zongxian presented auspicious omens to Emperor Jiajing, including a white deer and white turtles. Records state that Hu Zongxian offered two white turtles and a five-coloured lingzhi mushroom, which delighted Emperor Jiajing. He held a grand ceremony at the altar, reported to the ancestral temple, and rewarded Hu Zongxian with a crane robe.
It’s unclear where Hu Zongxian obtained those two white turtles historically, perhaps they were indeed seized from Xu San.
It’s quite possible.
Xu San was truly a generous treasure trove, not only proclaiming himself king but also possessing two white turtles.
Presenting these to Emperor Jiajing would surely secure a place in his heart.
“Heh, looks like Lord Zhu is a kindred spirit, these two white turtles are perfect for stewing soup. Catch a wild pheasant, stew them together, tsk tsk, a ‘Farewell My Concubine’ soup that would make even immortals drool,” Mao Haifeng said.
Seeing Zhu Ping’an’s excitement over the white turtles, Mao Haifeng thought he shared the same taste. As he spoke, he reached out, grabbed a turtle by its shell, and lifted it, imagining the delicious stew with a pheasant, the savoury aroma making his mouth water.
Stew?!
Good heavens, don’t waste such a treasure! You’re not stewing soup, you’re stewing my brilliant future.
Zhu Ping’an quickly waved his hand, stopping Mao Haifeng, “General Mao, hold on, I’m quite fond of these two white turtles, but not for stewing, I want them alive.”
“Huh? Lord Zhu wants to keep them or gift them? Alright, I’ll leave them for you. Just a pity about that soup,” Mao Haifeng said regretfully, smacking his lips as he placed the white turtle back in the basin.
It was just a pot of white turtle soup, and since Zhu Ping’an had spoken, Mao Haifeng let it go, he wasn’t that gluttonous.
Seeing the white turtle swim away swiftly after being returned to the water, Zhu Ping’an breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as they’re alive.
It’s uncertain how well white turtles can be kept, so they must be presented to Emperor Jiajing soon to avoid wasting this golden opportunity.
Yes, not just the white turtles, I should check if Xu San has anything else valuable to present alongside them to Emperor Jiajing.
Also, a memorial must be written, preferably in the style of a qingci (a ceremonial text).
The person for this is already in mind.
Historically, Xu Wei wrote a qingci for Hu Zongxian’s presentation that greatly pleased Emperor Jiajing. I have a decent relationship with Xu Wei, so sending him a letter to ask for help with a memorial shouldn’t be too much.
With the white turtles secured, what about the five-coloured lingzhi?
If Hu Zongxian historically obtained the white turtles from Xu San, could the five-coloured lingzhi be here too?
Zhu Ping’an searched Xu San’s treasury again but found no five-coloured lingzhi, though there was an unexpected surprise.
This surprise was discovered by Mao Haifeng.
“What’s this thing, looks like grey wax, like a lump of dung, why would Xu San collect this?” Mao Haifeng found a fist-sized grey-white waxy item in a box, resembling excrement, and tossed it aside with the box in disgust.
Good lord!
It’s ambergris!
Zhu Ping’an recognised it instantly. In modern times, he had seen ambergris in news reports, and after crossing over, he had seen it once in the palace, though that piece was much smaller. It had an earthy yet sweet scent, just like this one.
