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墨書 Inktalez
At that moment, the guard brought in an elderly man whose face was extremely wrinkled. He extended a pair of gnarled hands, covered in age spots, and presented two scrolls. This man was the Old Master of the Lei Family, Lei Zong'ao. He had retired for quite some time, while his descendants were tirelessly working at the Royal Tomb.
Without needing to speak, Shi Yun quickly scanned the blueprints of the two dynasties' tombs. Upon rough estimation, he noted that the overlapping sections reached as high as seven layers.
Lei Zong'ao smiled. "During the reign of the Chongjing Emperor, I had already stepped back from my duties. The Lei Family has distanced itself from court affairs. How did Shi Xiang come to know my name?"
"Distance from court matters little," Shi Yun replied. "In Jingjing City, traces of the Lei Family's craftsmanship are everywhere. The significance of the Lei Family to Great Jing is far greater than you realize; it deserves to be remembered by the Court."
"You flatter me, Chancellor," Lei Zong'ao said.
Shi Yun got to the point. "The reason I made this trip is that there has been an issue at the Royal Tomb."
Lei Zong'ao looked puzzled. "Where did you hear this news? My descendants are at the Royal Tomb and have not informed me."
"There are signs of collapse at the Ming Dynasty Emperor's Tomb," Shi Yun stated.
Upon hearing this, Lei Zong'ao's expression changed dramatically. "That shouldn't be possible! The records indicate that while there is only one burial passage and one chamber, its foundation is made of gold crystal stone with a full eighteen layers, and the supporting pillars are reinforced with solid minerals, built to a thickness that one could embrace."
According to descriptions, it should not collapse at all.
Qi Shuo interjected, "I saw it with my own eyes; there are no pillars as thick as you describe. The walls have only a thin layer of bricks and have already exposed the earth beneath."
Shi Yun decisively stated, "What is written in books cannot be trusted. Continuing this discussion is pointless. Just tell me how long it will take to reinforce the Ming Dynasty Emperor's Tomb and how much it will cost to ensure that the Chongjing Emperor's tomb does not collapse."
Lei Zong'ao squinted at him. "The duration depends on how many workers we have; as for the cost..."
He began calculating aloud, and as he spoke about his expertise, his spirits lifted. However, as Shang Sibian listened to the increasingly high numbers, his breath quickened and then suddenly stopped. In the end, he couldn't catch his breath; his vision darkened and he collapsed.
Qi Shuo quickly caught him and pinched his acupoint. Shang Sibian winced in pain, tears welling in his eyes as he gasped out, "It's just reinforcement; how could it possibly cost so much silver?"
Lei Zong'ao maintained a calm demeanor. "Does Shang Sibian think this is merely about reinforcing foundations? The construction of the Royal Tomb involves many taboos; more money will be spent on these aspects than on construction techniques."
Mingze suggested, "Try to minimize costs as much as possible."
Lei Zong'ao shook his head. "I can reduce costs somewhat, but I'm afraid His Majesty won't agree."
Mingze was at a loss for what to do and instinctively looked towards Shi Yun. After a moment of silence, Shi Yun turned and walked toward His Majesty's chamber.
Cai Zhuo stopped him with a word: "His Majesty is still unwell."
"Can Cai make decisions?"
Cai Zhuo helplessly put down his hands and quickly instructed someone to go to the imperial physician.
Shi Yun entered and not long after, the sound of the emperor's furious roar echoed out. "We are the victors! Do we still have to shamelessly go and repair the tombs for those losers?"
"In my opinion, let's seal off all the entrances to the previous dynasties' tombs and fill them with mud. It will cost less and solve the problem once and for all!"
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