Chapter 3 Don't vomit!

"Miss Tao?"

Chen Jinghe walked forward with a puzzled look, but the moment his eyes met hers, he stopped and turned his head away. At the same time, he subtly covered his nose with his hand, revealing a hint of disgust in his eyes.

The corpse's face was bluish-purple, with bulging veins and black lips. The flesh exposed on its medium build was swollen, and there was a bloody hole in its chest. The dark red blood was congealed on the wound and clothes, a shocking sight. The broken arrow was buried deep in the flesh and blood, and a faint stench could be smelled.

Tao Tao frowned.

It seems that the arrow was highly poisonous, otherwise the death wouldn't have been so gruesome.

Suddenly, she noticed with her sharp eyes that there were very faint dark purple lividity spots on the neck of the deceased, which was covered by the collar. She then reached out and pulled back the collar. Sure enough, it had only been one night, and the lividity spots had appeared so quickly. This poison must have been able to accelerate the corrosion of the corpse.

"The water's here!"

The guard, carrying a copper basin filled with milky white rice water, strode over, placed it on the shelf, looked up and saw Chen Jinghe, bowed and saluted, and respectfully called him Consul.

The shouts outside the door stopped, the soul-summoning ceremony ended, and Yu He turned and walked in.

Seeing this, Tao Tao asked Yu He and Wei Jun to move the soft couch to the south window. She reached out and tied the curtains on both sides with beaded chains. Just as she was about to tell them to move the deceased's body up there, she saw Yu He cover his mouth and run out quickly. Then, a sound of vomiting came from outside the door.

As a member of the Privy Council, the guards were not so bad as to vomit, but their faces looked rather pale.

But the sound quickly startled Duan Gan, who was standing in the background. He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze unfocused, as if he were half-awake. "Is this what you mean by experienced?"

The low, husky voice with its lazy, drawn-out ending gave Tao Tao goosebumps. She truly was a beauty; even her voice was so alluring.

Before she could think of a word, she heard him say slowly, "If it's not done well, the Privy Council wouldn't mind hosting one for you as well."

What kind of event? What else could it be but a funeral!

Tao Tao, thinking about it, couldn't help but feel a little panicked. She smiled apologetically and said, "Oh, my lord! Don't worry, my... my attendant vomits blood at the sight of it. It's a problem that can't be cured. I'm so sorry, everyone!"

Fortunately, Yu He didn't stay outside for too long.

Immediately afterwards, Yu He, his face ashen, and the guards carried the body to the soft couch. Tao Tao composed herself and instructed Yu He to put on sheepskin gloves and then help her remove the clothes from the body.

She had just unbuttoned her clothes when she found Yu He standing there blankly, his outstretched hands trembling uncontrollably, and cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

Tao Tao sighed silently and said in a low voice, "Don't be nervous, calm down. If you really can't handle it, go see if your brother is back. Go with him to set up the mourning hall later."

Yu He gritted his teeth and insisted, "I...I can do it."

Tao Tao pursed her lips and didn't say anything more. She understood that this was already quite good for ancient people who revered ghosts and gods. If the brothers could persevere and do well, perhaps she could hire them as long-term laborers. Of course, it would depend on their own wishes.

While she was thinking, her hands were not idle either. After removing all the clothes from the corpse, she picked up a soaked cloth and began to wipe it from top to bottom without any distraction.

Completely oblivious to the strange looks and admiration in the eyes of others, after all, even young men rarely did this kind of work in ancient times, let alone women, especially such a beautiful young lady with bright eyes and white teeth, it was something they had never even heard of before…

The reason why Chen Jinghe and Wei Jun pretended to be calm was simply because they were bound by the rules of the Privy Council. In fact, only they knew the shock in their hearts.

Duan Gan, meanwhile, sipped his tea and watched with great interest, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Time passed slowly, and after an unknown amount of time, footsteps were heard outside the door.

Yu Shan bowed his head respectfully to Duan Gan, who was seated in the main seat, and then walked to Tao Tao's side:

"Boss Tao, everything has arrived." As he spoke, his gaze inevitably fell on the naked corpse, then he looked away as if he had seen something terrifying.

Tao Tao was completely focused and did not respond. Cleaning the deceased's body, trimming his nails, and combing his hair were already tedious and meticulous tasks, and she also had to apply powder and draw his eyebrows.

After changing into clean and elegant silk robes, he took a horn and inserted it between the upper and lower teeth of the deceased, pried open the mouth and put in a copper coin. Then he ordered the guards to pour the used rice water and fingernails back into the pit and bury them.

She did everything with such ease and fluency that she surpassed even seasoned veterans who had worked in the field for many years, leaving those who still had doubts about her to have to admire her.

Tao Tao took off her sheepskin gloves and said, "The body will be placed in the coffin tomorrow. You can now notify the family to come and pay their respects tomorrow."

Duan Gan lowered his eyes, sipped his tea, and remained silent. Chen Jinghe looked up at his master, nodded, and said, "Okay."

The group then headed towards the mourning hall.

...

Early the next morning.

Tao Tao also led her two brothers to the Privy Council early in the morning. She found many impressive carriages parked at the gate, and the people dressed in unusual attire. She stepped forward, took out the pass given to her by Chen Jinghe, and went inside.

"It's unbelievable that Qiu Yanling was assassinated so easily!"

"Isn't the Privy Council's guards supposed to be even more formidable than the Embroidered Uniform Guards? Now that something like this has happened, they've completely lost face! The Crown Prince and Empress won't let this go so easily..."

"You two are thinking the wrong way. Duan Gan is the biggest winner..."

The man's face revealed an expression that could only be understood intuitively, and the two people who were whispering suddenly realized what was going on.

They were all shrewd people who had made their way in the imperial court. With just a little guidance, they would understand everything. But no one dared to say these words out loud. Who knew if they would reach the ears of the wrong people and bring about their own demise? They would regret it then.

"Have you noticed? Why aren't any of the Qiu family members here...?"

Tao Tao and her companions quietly passed through the crowd, inevitably overhearing some gossip. They thought to themselves that not most people in ancient times were pedantic; gossip was a natural instinct everywhere.

As they entered the courtyard, they found even more people inside. A beautiful young woman dressed in a plain blue dress stood in front of the coffin, attracting the attention of many who wondered what was going on and how someone so ignorant of etiquette could dare to stand in front of the coffin of a high-ranking official.

Not only that, Consul Chen did not stop her; on the contrary, he stood beside her, as if waiting for her to do as she pleased.

Tao Tao asked in a low voice, "Where is the body?"

“In the side room,” Chen Jinghe replied.

The group entered the side room, where someone was guarding it. One of the guards greeted Chen Jinghe, and they seemed to know each other well.

Tao Tao didn't see Duan Gan and asked in confusion, "Where is your father? He's going to be put in the coffin soon, we can't be late."