Hearing Mr. Sun’s question, Ye Fan smiled slightly and said in a low voice, “Actually, it’s very simple. We’ve walked this passage several times, but besides this spot, there are no obvious traces anywhere else. And the original builders would never have created unnecessary trouble for themselves, so the passage must have been built in an easy-to-find place. Only this one spot fits.”
“Then how did you know to rotate it clockwise? Old Zheng rotating it clockwise before cost us two lives.”
Mentioning this, President Zheng’s face turned pale, unable to face everyone.
Ye Fan glanced at President Zheng, then sighed, “This is a guess about human nature. I’m not sure it *had* to be clockwise, but since the designer placed the mechanism here, then according to common thought, the next rotation should be counter-clockwise. We can think of it, so the designer could too. Therefore, we can’t use common sense. The fact is, I guessed correctly.”
“I understand. The porcelain bowl must have been tampered with. Rotating the bowl clockwise would turn the knob underneath counter-clockwise, thus triggering the mechanism. This kind of trickery appeared in the Spring and Autumn period to confuse outsiders,” Chen Fei said at this point.
Ye Fan nodded, “It should be exactly like that.”
With Ye Fan’s explanation, everyone finally understood everything. At this moment, their faces were no longer so tense, and they felt considerably more relaxed.
Having found the passage, the group soon arrived at the entrance of a palace.
Looking at the magnificent palace before them, everyone couldn’t help but gasp.
“What a spectacular palace.”
Green bricks, red tiles, and glazed walls; the vermillion main gate, after centuries, had still not faded.
The palace walls, over ten meters high, shone resplendently, exuding an air of luxury.
Even Ye Fan, who had seen his share of palaces, couldn’t help but sigh. He had to admit that the palaces built by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were indeed stunning.
“This palace has been built for hundreds of years. It was constructed for refuge, so it must be filled with intricate mechanisms. Getting inside probably won’t be easy. We must remember to be extremely careful.”
Having learned from their previous experiences, everyone nodded heavily.
This time, there was no perfunctory agreement, but rather a solemn promise.
Then, Ye Fan slowly stepped forward and approached the main gate.
“There is a door-stopping stone inside. The stone must be moved to open the gate,” Ye Fan said with a sigh after a careful inspection.
The so-called door-stopping stone, also known as a gate-blocking stone, was typically a rectangular stone slab used in underground palaces to secure tomb doors. It was large and heavy, and once activated, it would brace the bolt of the gate, making it difficult to open from the outside. This method had existed for a long time, but it had never been encountered in a palace for the living.
“Leave it to me. I have a way,” Mr. Sun said with a slight smile and then quickly walked over, pushing the vermillion main gate open by a crack. This was the disadvantage of the door-stopping stone; it always left a sliver of a gap. And this gap provided an opportunity for outsiders to enter.
Then, Mr. Sun took out a specially made iron hook from his pocket. He extended the hook through the gap in the gate, firmly hooking the bottom of the door-stopping stone.
“A few people come help,” Mr. Sun said after securing the hook, beckoning to the others behind him. Several of President Zheng’s subordinates quickly ran over and, along with Mr. Sun, grabbed the rope left outside.
“Pull hard,” Mr. Sun instructed, and he and the others began to chant in unison. As they all exerted their strength, a thudding sound of collapse came from behind the vermillion main gate.
A cold smile played on Mr. Sun’s lips. “It’s open.” He then stepped forward and kicked the vermillion main gate.
With a sharp grinding sound, the vermillion main gate gradually opened.
“Mr. Sun, you truly are an expert. You’ve opened our eyes today,” Ye Fan said with a smile as he looked at Mr. Sun. He had to admit that everyone had their specialties. Ye Fan was a complete novice when it came to the traps and mechanisms found in tombs, far inferior to Mr. Sun.
Mr. Sun smiled and waved away Ye Fan’s praise, saying, “These are just trivial tricks. Compared to you, these methods are hardly worth mentioning.” Ye Fan’s performance today had truly and deeply impressed Mr. Sun. It was a genuine admiration, completely without pretense.
The two exchanged a knowing smile, ceased their polite remarks, and walked in side by side.
The palace was built in imitation of the imperial palace. After entering the main gate, there was a passage, followed by the palace. The area before the main hall was paved with white marble. Such a wide expanse was paved entirely with white marble, demonstrating its extravagance. In front of the main hall stood three stone bridges: a seven-arched bridge in the center and five-arched bridges on either side. This was also a configuration found only in imperial palaces.
Seeing this scene, both Mr. Sun, Chen Fei, and President Zheng sighed.
“The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom truly had grand ambitions, building palaces that mirrored the imperial palace, showing their immense aspirations. It is a pity that such a behemoth ultimately vanished into the dust of history. How regrettable and lamentable.” Everyone present was naturally aware of that period of history. After all, for those in the antique trade, understanding history was the most basic requirement. However, opinions on that era varied.
“Let’s not worry about the ancients and focus on finding the treasure as soon as possible,” President Zheng, having regained his authoritative demeanor, said with his hands behind his back as he strode towards the main hall.
Watching President Zheng’s determined expression, Ye Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling that President Zheng was somewhat peculiar. However, as the situation was still unclear, he could only observe.
President Zheng entered the main hall first, followed closely by his subordinates. Ye Fan and the others then quickly followed.
The main hall was exquisitely decorated, with all furnishings present. However, after centuries of disuse, some parts had become dilapidated. After searching all over this grand hall, no trace of any treasure was found. President Zheng frowned, “It seems that to find the treasure, we must continue further.” Although they had found the palace, with the palace being so large, and the treasure hidden in only one spot, it was still difficult to find.
Ye Fan looked around the hall and found nothing unusual, so he continued to move further back. After going through more than a dozen large halls, they had searched them all, but found no sign of hidden treasure. At this point, everyone frowned.
“How could this be? We’ve found the palace, so why is there no sign of the treasure?” Chen Fei said, frowning in confusion. Hearing Chen Fei’s words, Ye Fan also furrowed his brow, “Could it be that the treasure isn’t hidden in the palace? That shouldn’t be.”