Origin

The epitaph records the life of the owner of the tomb, some of which were written by the owner himself before his death. The content is more realistic, more like a memoir.But most of them were written after the death of the owner of the tomb, and later generations asked literati to help them write. This type of epitaph is often taller, and more words of praise are used, more like singing hymns.

Qian Yunzhi’s epitaph is the second case, it was written by others after his death. More than [-]% of the entire epitaph’s words are praises and have no practical significance. The rest of the records are Qian Yunzhi’s life experience .

Qian Yunzhi was in his 70s when he died, and the experience of more than 70 years can be summed up in just a few hundred words, which is as simple as can be imagined.

Those things before Qian Yunzhi retired and returned to his hometown are of no further significance. If there are any clues, they must be hidden in some things that this person did after he retired and returned to his hometown.

Like other officials who retired and returned to their hometowns, Qian Yunzhi also did some good deeds of building bridges and paving roads and helping victims of disasters after his retirement. Although he was a general, he believed in Buddhism and spent most of his later years eating fast and praying to Buddha.

However, believing in Buddhism and becoming a monk are two different things. According to the epitaph, Qian Yunzhi has two sons, one born by his wife and one by his side. The son born by his wife is also an official.The other child is a side note, that is, the child born to a concubine. There is not much record about this child on the epitaph, it only says that "the youngest son died of illness, and Qian Lao was sad, depressed, and his life was short." '

After reading the epitaph, Wu Zhongyuan said happily to the king, "Go and get their genealogy."

Wang Xinran didn't ask the reason, nodded and got up to leave.

Wu Zhongyuan stayed where he was, frowning and thinking. "Young son" was usually used to describe children under the age of eight in ancient times. It can be seen that after Qian Yunzhi retired, his concubine once gave birth to a child for him. Because the youngest son died of illness, Qian Yunzhi Very sad, and finally died in depression.

Soon, Wang Xinran brought over the genealogy, and there was a record of Qian Yunzhi's son on the genealogy, but there was no record of his son.

Naturally, Wang Xinran knew what Wu Zhongyuan was looking for. Seeing that there was no concubine's name on the genealogy, he asked suspiciously, "What's going on?"

"Boys who die young are not included in the genealogy." Wu Zhongyuan said casually.In ancient times, people valued sons over daughters, and boys from the side house would be recorded in the genealogy, and girls, even if they were born in the main house, would not be written in the family tree. Therefore, the reason why the bastard did not appear in the family tree is not Not because of his status, but because he died when he was very young.

"If you don't get included in the genealogy, you can't be buried in the ancestral grave?" Wang Xinran asked.

Wu Zhongyuan nodded.

"My son's tomb is also nearby." Wang Xinran said.

Wu Zhongyuan knew what Wang Xinran meant, "Wait a minute, let me think about it."

Wang Xinran did not insist on digging up the grave of Qian Yunzhi's eldest son, because the descendants of the Qian family were watching not far away, and these were their ancestral graves, so they should not be dug randomly one by one.

Before considering who Qian Yunzhi might have given the spirit stone to, Wu Zhongyuan re-evaluated the possibility of Wu Lu giving the spirit stone to Qian Yunzhi in his heart. After thinking about it, he still felt that Wu Lu gave the spirit stone to Qian Yun There is a great possibility that Wu Lu's tomb was dug up before, and there were only some wine jars and weapons inside, but no gold and silver buried with him. This shows that Wu Lu regards money as dung and has no savings, and lapis lazuli is very Precious, suddenly got such an expensive commemorative gift from the boss, Wu Lu had to return something out of reason, and the Hetian jade in his hand was also called Khotan jade, which was a very precious jade in ancient times, so Wu Lu could only take it It was only given as a gift in return.

After confirming this point, he began to deliberate on what Qian Yunzhi would do after he got the spirit stone. Qian Yunzhi is a fourth-rank military officer who retired and returned home, which is equivalent to the retirement of a vice-provincial or department-level leader. He must not be short of money. Souvenirs given to myself will definitely not be pawned for money, nor will they be given to outsiders casually, and they will be kept forever if there is no accident.

But no spirit stone was found in Qian Yunzhi's tomb, which meant that Qian Yunzhi probably gave the spirit stone to his relatives. Who would he give this spirit stone to?Is it the eldest son, or the younger son who died young?

Seeing that Wu Zhongyuan kept frowning and remained silent, Wang Xinran called the archaeological team and asked them to investigate the condition of the tomb on the right side of this tomb. According to ancient funeral regulations, sons are usually buried on the right side of their parents.

The Luoyang shovel is a good thing. This thing was first invented by tomb robbers, and was later adopted by the archaeologists. After drilling a few holes around them, they came to the conclusion that the tomb on the right is also complete, and it was a little later. Yu Qian Yunzhi's tomb.

"Let's gamble again." Wang Xinran said.

"Bet on someone's ancestral grave?" Wu Zhongyuan frowned and shook his head, "Don't worry, let me think about it again."

"Don't think about it, there is a great possibility that Qian Yunzhi will leave the jade to the eldest son." Wang Xinran said.

"I don't think so." Wu Zhongyuan shook his head.

"What do you think?" Wang Xinran asked.

Wu Zhongyuan asked without answering, "What are the opinions of the experts at the headquarters?"

"No reply," Wang Xinran shook his head, "Historians are usually very old, and it is impossible to stay up all night."

Wu Zhongyuan said, "When Qian Yunzhi retired and returned to his hometown, his eldest son was already in his 30s and had already left home to be an official. In ancient times, it was not like now. He could sit in airplanes and cars casually. His eldest son was working in the south. It was impossible. Come back to see him often."

Wang Xinran nodded, "You're right, but it doesn't prove that Qian Yunzhi didn't leave the jade to his eldest son."

"The jade quality of Lingshi is very good. The ancients believed that jade has spirituality and is a better funeral object than gold and silver. If he really left the Lingshi to the eldest son, the eldest son would not keep it himself, he would definitely let it go." Bury him in the coffin." Wu Zhongyuan said.

Wang Xinran did not refute, because upon careful consideration, what Wu Zhongyuan said was indeed reasonable.

"You think that spirit stone is in his youngest son's tomb?" Wang Xinran asked.

"It's very likely." Wu Zhongyuan nodded.

"Reason?" Wang Xinran asked.

"Chinese people have the custom of appreciating and playing with jade. Although the quality of Lingshi's jade is very good, it is not big enough to be used as ornaments or bracelets and hairpins. Round and round rough stones are most suitable for making handles," Wu Zhongyuan said. "If the spirit stone is really played by Qian Yunzhi, he is very likely to put the spirit stone in the coffin of his youngest son."

Without waiting for Wang Xinran to intervene, Wu Zhongyuan continued, "Whether it's a relative or a lover, if Yin and Yang are separated, you will always leave your beloved things to the other party and let them accompany the deceased instead of yourself. They will also leave the things that the deceased often used during their lifetime. Things, seeing things and thinking about people, to comfort lovesickness."

Seeing Wang Xinran frowning, Wu Zhongyuan said again, "I didn't say that, it was a university professor."

After Wang Xinran nodded, he said, "You just said that a child who died young cannot be buried in the ancestral grave. If the spirit stone is really in his tomb, the possibility of finding it is very slim."

Wu Zhongyuan shook his head, "Not necessarily, Qian Yunzhi loves this child very much, maybe he will make an exception, let them look in front of Qian Yunzhi's grave to see if there is a grave."

Wang Xinran followed suit and asked the archaeological team to do another survey.

While the archaeological team was investigating, Wang Xinran was in contact with the headquarters, while Wu Zhongyuan continued to frown and meditate.

The area to be surveyed this time is very wide, and it took the archaeological team more than an hour to search the area surrounded by Qian Yunzhi's tomb, but no tomb was found.

"Is there any news from the headquarters?" Wu Zhongyuan looked at Wang Xinran who was stretching.

Wang Xinran said, "They don't think the spirit stone will be in the tomb of Qian Yunzhi's eldest son. We don't recommend digging it up. It will easily intensify conflicts."

Seeing that the sun was about to shine on this area, Secretary Qian came over, first to ask for the genealogy, and second, to hope that the two of them could restore Qian Yunzhi's tomb to its original state.

After confirming that the spirit stone was not in Qian Yunzhi's tomb, the two ordered the archaeological team to carry the epitaph back to the tomb and seal the tomb. Cement smear.

After restoring the tomb to its original state, Secretary Qian took the old men with him on the pretext that he was going out on errands today. They also knew that without their permission, it was impossible for the two of them to dig without permission. People dig again.

The archaeological team was also very tired. Seeing that Wu Zhongyuan couldn't figure out why, Wang Xinran also let them go back.

Soon, everyone left, and finally only two people sat down on the rocks at the foot of the mountain in frustration.

After a long period of time, no new clues came from the headquarters, and the search was deadlocked.

After a long time, Wang Xinran stubbed out his cigarette, "Where are those children who die young usually buried?"

"There is no fixed rule for this. In short, it cannot be buried in the ancestral grave." Wu Zhongyuan shook his head.

"Will it be buried north of Qian Yunzhi's tomb?" Wang Xinran asked.

Wu Zhongyuan waved his hands again and again, "Impossible, the north is the largest, and a son who is buried in the north of his father is riding on my head."

"Where are things?" Wang Xinran pointed left and right.

"The west is the ancestors, and the east is the descendants." Wu Zhongyuan said.

"Is the mother of the child who died young, one of the three women's bones in the tomb?" Wang Xinran asked.

"It should be," Wu Zhongyuan said, "There are rarely three women and one man in the joint burial of husband and wife, usually two women and one man."

"Huh?" Wang Xinran was puzzled.

Wu Zhongyuan explained, "The ancients had two legal wives, one is the regular wife and the other is the ordinary wife. Only they are eligible to be buried with their husbands. Concubines are not eligible to be buried with their husbands. Qian Yunzhi asked concubines to be buried with him. It is an exception, but it actually does not comply with the regulations.”

"Since he loves this little concubine so much, he probably won't bury their child far away." Wang Xinran said.

"It makes sense." Wu Zhongyuan nodded.

"Where will it be buried?" Wang Xinran looked around.

Wu Zhongyuan didn't answer right away, and after pondering for a long time, he said, "The child died at a very young age, and they will probably bury him where they can see it..."