Chapter 33 Frosty Dawn (Part 3) You've been holding me for far too long...

No, we can't close the coffin yet. A chill ran down Ye Mu's spine. There must be something wrong with these prayer beads.

But at that moment, she was gently pulled aside by Madam Wang, who placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "Good child, let your grandmother go in peace. Your aunt knows that you are most reluctant to part with her..."

At this point, Wang's voice choked with emotion, and tears streamed down her face.

But right now, there are more pressing matters to be confirmed than weeping.

Ye Mu's heart was burning with anxiety. If she misjudged the situation and rashly stepped forward to disturb her grandmother's body, it would not only be a desecration but would also make her the laughingstock of the entire clan. She herself could not forgive herself for that.

She needs evidence, she needs an opportunity that's within reach, all she needs is a little more time to observe.

But now she could only watch helplessly as the coffin was slowly lifted by four strong servants and placed into the heavy outer coffin.

"Mother!"

A piercing wail came from outside the hall.

But then we saw Third Master Ye rush into the mourning hall, covered in mud and dust, as he had sped all the way there.

He rushed to the coffin, pushed aside the servants, and almost fell into the coffin himself. "Mother! It is your unfilial son who has arrived late—"

"You insolent fool! I haven't seen you all day, and you only show up now!" The Marquis, seeing his recklessness, turned pale with anger and gritted his teeth, "Get off your mother at once! What kind of behavior is it to disturb the spirits of the dead!"

People rushed forward to help and pull, and the mourning hall immediately descended into chaos.

Ye Mu's mind raced, and it was the perfect moment!

She hurried forward, pretending to help her father, but her right hand, concealed by her wide sleeve, reached towards her grandmother's wrist. The moment her fingertips touched the string of Buddhist prayer beads, she pretended to be pushed, and with a sudden movement, she clenched the beads into her palm.

She silently prayed, "Grandmother, please don't blame Fourth Sister."

But this grasp sent a jolt through her; she knew there must be something mixed in with the prayer beads.

She must have played with this string of agarwood prayer beads countless times when she was a child. It should be light and smooth, never so heavy and weighing down her palm.

Ye Mu was certain that there was indeed something wrong with the bead.

She remembered her master saying that when catnip encounters a certain catalyst, it will stimulate its nature and disturb the heart's blood. Could this Buddhist bead be the catalyst?

Ye Mu quickly stuffed the prayer beads back into her grandmother's wrist, and the tears she had been holding back burst forth instantly. "Grandmother, this is the guidance you gave to Fourth Sister, isn't it? Don't worry, Fourth Sister will definitely seek justice for you."

Inside the mourning hall, the white banners fluttered slightly. Ye Sanye was half-supported and half-carried to the front of the coffin, where he staggered and fell onto the prayer mat.

He was covered in dust, his hair was disheveled, he looked utterly wretched, his lips trembled incessantly, and he seemed as if all his bones had been removed.

The Marquis stood beside the coffin, his voice heavy with sorrow, "Now that you're back, feed your mother one last meal. Let her pass away peacefully, so that her love and indulgence for you throughout her life won't have been in vain."

Master Ye wiped his face haphazardly with his sleeve and took the jade rice bowl handed to him by the maid.

He trembled as he scooped up a spoonful of glutinous rice and carefully brought it to his mother's lips, but his hands shook so badly that grains of rice fell onto her burial clothes. Third Master Ye hurriedly tried to pick it up, but tears rolled down his cheeks first, landing on his mother's calm face.

"Useless! You can't even do this simple thing right!"

The Marquis, unable to contain his anger any longer, said with veins bulging in his throat, “You can’t even feed her her last meal in peace, what else can you accomplish? When Mother was alive, you were a troublemaker, always fussing over your antiques and paintings. Now that Mother is gone, you still put on this act in front of her coffin. Are you deliberately trying to make her restless?”

He kicked Third Master Ye hard, yelling, "Open your eyes and look! If it weren't for your good daughter, how could your third branch of the family stand up? You unfilial son! You worthless wretch! Your mother has wasted her whole life loving you!"

Master Ye was kicked to the side, his body and mind aching, but he could only lie on the cold brick floor, his shoulders shaking violently, emitting a mournful cry like that of a young animal.

"Alright, my lord!" Madam Wang stepped forward to comfort him, pressing a handkerchief to her swollen eyes. "This is in front of Mother's coffin! Let her rest in peace. If the coffin isn't closed soon, the burial will be delayed."

Zhou also came to persuade, "Yes, the most important thing is to prepare Mother's body for burial. If you want to scold someone, it's not too late after Mother is buried."

“It’s too late,” Ye Mu stepped forward, dressed in white as snow, and knelt before the Marquis and Madam Wang. “Please, Marquis and Madam, choose another day to bury Grandmother. There is something wrong with the Buddhist beads on Grandmother’s hand!”

"What trouble are you going to cause now?" The Marquis was already furious, and his earlier words had backfired. Fourth Madam was hardly a troublesome daughter. His anger flared even more. "None of you from the third branch of the family are easy to deal with!"

“My lord, it’s not that Fourth Sister is trying to cause trouble for no reason. Just now, when I was feeding my grandmother, I noticed that the color of the Buddhist prayer beads on her wrist was different. Upon closer inspection in the light, I could see several fine cracks on the beads. These are Buddhist prayer beads bestowed by the emperor. How could they be cracked?”

Ye Mu raised his eyes, his gaze calm and unfazed by the Marquis's stare. "I suspect that the inside of this string of prayer beads has been hollowed out and stuffed with something that shouldn't be there. In order to investigate the cause of my grandmother's death, I implore Your Majesty to immediately summon a coroner to the manor for an on-site examination!"

The mourning hall was utterly silent for a moment.

The Marquis stared at Ye Mu for a long time with a livid face. He was not a fool, and finally turned around and walked to the coffin. He slowly took the old lady's hand and said, "Mother, I am going to do something very disrespectful today. If it disturbs your peace, please do not blame me."

By the candlelight, he examined the beads closely and, as Ye Mu had said, there were a few beads among the dark brown beads that had unusually mottled surfaces. He gently placed the old lady's hand back on the brocade quilt and said in a voice as sharp as tearing silk, "Inspect! Examine the beads!"

Upon receiving the summons, Liu, the coroner of the Jingzhao Prefecture, dared not delay for even a moment. In less than half an incense stick's time, he hurriedly entered with his examination kit.

With the Marquis's approval, Liu the coroner stepped forward.

He first bowed solemnly three times to the coffin, then took out a thin silver knife and a jade plate, and carefully removed the Buddhist prayer beads under the watchful eyes of everyone.

The coroner, Liu, moved with extreme gentleness. He first carefully wiped the bead with a soft cloth, then gently pried along the crack with the tip of a silver knife. With a click, the dark brown bead split in two.

In an instant, a few specks of grayish-white powder fell into the jade plate.

Liu, the coroner, bent down to examine it closely, then picked up a small amount with his fingertips, sniffed it lightly, and placed it in clear water to observe its reaction.

Ye Mu also stepped forward to look, and saw that the powder was settling in the water but not completely dissolving, with a layer of metallic luster floating on the surface.

The coroner, Liu, turned around, bowed deeply to the Marquis, and said in a deep voice, "Reporting to the Marquis, this substance is undoubtedly lead powder. Although the amount contained in a single bead is not large, if this string of Buddhist beads is worn close to the body for many years, the toxins will slowly seep into the body through the skin and pores, silently."

He paused briefly before continuing, "Over time, it will first damage one's mental state, causing lethargy and insomnia, followed by dizziness and splitting headaches. Moreover, the symptoms progress gradually and are not easily detected, just like being afflicted with a long-term illness. Even imperial physicians would find it difficult to detect anything unusual."

"No wonder Mother has been suffering from headaches and bedridden for the past few years." Third Master Ye suddenly looked up, his mind clearing up after being scolded by his brother. "So my mother was killed by this lead powder?"

Coroner Liu shook his head, "Although lead poisoning is dangerous, it is not ingested orally, and the amount is not enough to cause death."

Ye Mu gave Ye Xingjian a look, and the latter understood and stepped forward, opening the handkerchief in his sleeve, "Please have the coroner examine this."

The coroner, Liu, rubbed the herb between his fingers, examining it closely. "This is catnip; it's harmless..."

His gaze inadvertently swept over the lead powder on the side, and his expression changed drastically. "Young Master, where did this come from?"

"It was found in the house of Granny Li, who was in charge of preparing medicine for my grandmother."

Liu, the coroner, knelt down with a thud and kowtowed heavily to the Marquis. "Your Excellency, please forgive me! I dare to beg you to examine the old lady's mouth and nose again!"

After receiving permission, he took out a silver sniper and carefully inserted it into the old woman's mouth.

As he touched the throat, the tip of the silver instrument gradually turned bluish-black. He then opened the old man's eyelids and saw that his eyes were covered with spiderweb-like blood vessels.

"Your Excellency is wise!" Liu the coroner prostrated himself on the ground. "The old lady truly died of poisoning! If she had worn lead powder for a long time before taking the herbal medicine containing catnip, the two would have combined to create a deadly poison. The old lady's throat turned black and her eyes were filled with blood vessels, which are symptoms of poisoning!"

The room erupted in uproar.

Lord Ye, the Marquis of Yong'an, was furious. "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly for me! Who handled these imperial prayer beads, and when were they tampered with? Tie up that old woman Li who brewed the medicine right now!"

Ye Xingjian stepped forward and said, "Father, I have already sent people to retrieve it, but Granny Li absconded with her valuables on the afternoon of the day Grandmother had her accident, and my men have not yet reported back."

"He escaped?" The Marquis immediately ordered his men, "Immediately take the Marquis's name card and pursue him at all four city gates, and at the same time report to the Prefect of the Capital."

“Brother, please calm down. You must not lose your composure because of grief and anger,” Zhou, who had been standing quietly by the sidelines, stepped forward and said. “If we make a big fuss and report to the authorities now, and let the yamen runners break into the mourning hall, not only will we disturb Mother’s spirit, but more importantly, our Yong’an Marquis’s mansion will become the talk of the town.”

She turned slightly to the side, her gaze sweeping over the coffin. "At that time, outsiders won't delve into the details; they'll only say that our Marquis's family has been disrespectful, that such a disgraceful act as the murder of the mistress has occurred. My mother valued the Marquis's family's reputation above all else. If our honor is tarnished because of what happens after her death, how can she rest in peace in the afterlife?"

This explanation is truly watertight.

"Why is Second Aunt so insistent on burying Grandmother so hastily?" Ye Mu's anger flared up. "This old woman Li used to work in your courtyard before she started working in the kitchen. Now that she poisoned Grandmother and ran away, you're in such a hurry to bury her. Could it be that she's acting on your orders?"

"Ye Mu! How dare you speak such nonsense?!"

“Second Aunt, whether I’m talking nonsense or not, the Marquis will know once he investigates,” Ye Mu said. “Before Granny Li ran away, her son suddenly paid off his gambling debts and even bought a house in Qinghe County. Where did this windfall come from? Besides, how could a mere maid in the inner courtyard dare to add catnip to the prescription if she didn’t have a master behind her?”

Zhou sneered, "What a sharp-tongued girl! According to you, everyone who has stayed in my courtyard is my fault? Then it was your mother who served the medicine in the end! How many opportunities did she have to do something along the way from the kitchen to your mother's room? I haven't even asked you about the wicked intentions of the Third Branch, and you're already turning around and accusing me!"

"You're spouting nonsense!" Ye Mu retorted without backing down. "It's precisely because our third branch of the family has acted uprightly and honestly that we're not afraid of being investigated. Would Second Aunt dare to do that?"

"Enough!" Madam Wang shouted, interrupting the verbal sparring. She had to consider the reputation of the Marquis's mansion; appearances were of utmost importance.

The ancestors are dead, but the living must still maintain a decent standard of living.

Family scandals are ultimately matters within the family.

Wang turned to the Marquis and said, “Arguing before the coffin is not what Mother wants. Why not let Mother be laid to rest first? After the funeral, we can conduct a thorough investigation behind closed doors. This way, we can honor Mother’s honor and avoid making a laughing stock in front of outsiders. Wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds?”

Dignity, a joke, is more important than human life... Ye Mu wanted to step forward to stop him again, but Ye Xingjian gently pulled her sleeve and shook his head slightly. Her mother had already taken charge of this matter, and it would be a bad idea to confront him head-on.

Ye Mu paused for a moment, then shut her mouth. She looked over his shoulder and saw the figures of the crowd stretched and twisted on the plain white curtain, like countless demons whispering in the shadows.

Living ghosts lurk here.

After a moment of calm, the Marquis finally nodded, "As the lady says."

Just as the servants were preparing to lift the coffin again, the old steward came to report, "My lord, we have already missed the auspicious time for today's burial."

The next auspicious time is 3:45 AM tomorrow.

With things having come to this point, there was no other way. The old lady's coffin had to stay in the mourning hall for another night. That night, Ye Mu knelt before the coffin and hardly closed his eyes.

Humans, ghosts, corpses, and coffins were all in the same dark room, with the constant cawing of crows and the occasional weeping of dogs. She knew perfectly well who the ghost was, but she couldn't catch it.

Before dawn the next day, Madam Liu woke up and insisted on personally seeing the old lady off on her final journey. Her face was ashen, and she needed a maid's help to stand, yet she insisted on dressing properly. Ye Mu was heartbroken at the sight, knowing that she wanted to do her best to show filial piety to her grandmother, and could only agree with tears in her eyes.

The funeral procession set off in a grand procession, with mournful music playing all the way and paper money flying everywhere. Finally, the old lady was buried in the Ye family ancestral cemetery in accordance with the rites. By the time they returned to the Marquis's residence, a light drizzle had begun.

According to custom, all relatives attending the funeral must step over a burning cypress brazier outside the mansion gate to ward off the bad luck associated with the funeral. The Marquis was the first to step over it with a somber expression, followed by Wang, Zhou, and others.

When it was Ye Mu's turn, she was about to lift her plain white skirt when she suddenly heard the sound of hurried hooves coming from the official road outside the mansion.

The guards sent to investigate Granny Li dismounted and staggered to the gate. "My lord! We've found her! Granny Li is at the bottom of Broken Soul Cliff, thirty miles west of the city. She's already dead."

"Dead?" The Marquis frowned.

The guard, panting heavily, presented a mud-stained blue cloth bundle with both hands. "It was found next to her body at the bottom of the cliff. Inside were fifty taels of silver, and this..."

He unfolded a piece of paper that had been soaked by rain and then dried by the wind.

Ye Xingjian strode forward and took the note. On it, five words were written crookedly, seemingly in charcoal: “I am ashamed before the old lady.”

With Granny Li's death, all the overt clues came to an abrupt end.

A blurry confession seemed to confirm her guilt, but it also completely concealed the deeper forces at play. Although the mansion was investigated behind closed doors, there was no way to verify the facts. In the end, only a few insignificant servants were found to take the blame for lax supervision. They were picked up heavily but put down lightly.

Ye Mu looked at it and felt a chill run down his spine.

The truth about Grandmother's poisoning death was beyond dispute; the Marquis's family valued appearances and feared trouble. This attempt to settle the matter peacefully played right into the hands of the real culprit, fulfilling his wish. A massive bloodbath became a deeply unsolved mystery.

She just couldn't understand why that person was so determined to kill her grandmother. Her grandmother was already old and rarely concerned herself with household affairs, so why would she suffer such a cruel fate?

But soon, Ye Mu received the answer.

That was the tenth day after the old lady's burial, the day Ye Xingjian left.

Early that morning, the sky was a pale gray, and a thin mist had not yet dissipated.

The dock was lined with cargo ships, and the canal transport vessels were already busy, with the sound of oars echoing through the air.

Ye Xingjian stood on the shore, dressed in a blue official robe with egret embroidered patches, his figure as upright as bamboo.

Although he possessed the noble bearing of a nobleman's son, years of immersion in literature had imbued his brows with a maturity beyond his years. The morning breeze brushed against the plain hemp sash around his waist, fluttering along with the hem of his official robe.

“Brother, your journey to Suzhou is long and arduous, please take good care of yourself.” Ye Mu stood in front of him. “I put two pairs of knee pads and two pairs of thick-soled boots in your bundle. You will be tired from the journey, so please change into them. I heard that Suzhou is rainy, so I also put on an oil-paper cloak.”

According to the laws of the Great Jin Dynasty, Ye Xingjian should have stayed home to observe a year of mourning. However, due to the urgent need for disaster relief during the floods in Suzhou, Ye Xingjian submitted a memorial requesting to be allowed to resume his post without mourning. The Emperor granted his request and ordered him to wear mourning clothes and go to his post.

Ye Xingjian stared intently at his younger sister, noticing the dark circles under her eyes, indicating she hadn't slept well for days. Her frail figure appeared even more forlorn against the misty riverbank.

He moved his throat slightly, and finally said softly, "We have both done our best for Grandmother's sake, so don't be too hard on yourselves."

Ye Mu nodded slightly. Her smiling almond-shaped eyes were now shimmering with autumn water, and tiny teardrops clung to her long eyelashes, leaving a faint red tinge at the corners of her eyes. Such a demeanor would melt even the hardest heart.

Ye Xingjian felt a surge of turmoil in his heart. Years had passed, and when they met again, he wondered if she would have her hair tied up and become someone else's bride. Would those scions of noble families who came to propose marriage appreciate her clever and intelligent nature? Thinking of this, he felt a sharp pain in his heart.

In the end, he was just her brother. Even with a thousand regrets, how could he stop her from wearing the phoenix coronet and wedding gown? How could he go against the natural order and morality?

He couldn't stop him.

A surge of heat suddenly rose to his throat, breaking through the barriers of etiquette he had always adhered to.

"Fourth Sister..." Ye Xingjian's voice was hoarse, "May I hug my brother?"

His words carried an unprecedented plea, which startled even himself.

"Of course!" Ye Mu opened his arms to meet him without hesitation.

This is her brother who has protected her since childhood, and she is willing to comfort him with her most sincere embrace on his long journey.

Ye Xingjian's arms tightened suddenly, locking her firmly in his embrace. The force was astonishing; his arms tightened like iron hoops, almost crushing her against his chest. Ye Mu was a little out of breath, her brows furrowed slightly, and she was about to speak when she suddenly felt a hot, wet sensation on her shoulder.

Ye Mu was stunned.

He rested his head on her thin shoulder, his whole body trembling slightly. The suppressed "Fourth Sister" in his throat, accompanied by hot tears, brushed past her ear.

Ye Mu's heart skipped a beat. It was the first time she had ever seen her older brother cry. She swallowed the words "Brother hugged you too tightly" and slowly raised her hand to gently pat his trembling back.

Wang watched coldly from three steps away, while Zhou's sarcastic remarks reached her ears: "What a deep brother-sister relationship! They've been like this since they were little. Jian-ge'er only has eyes for Fourth Sister. Our Qing-jie'er has been standing on the side for ages, and no one has paid her any attention."

She glanced at Madam Wang sideways and said, "They're so reluctant to part. Anyone who didn't know better would think that Fourth Sister is Brother Jian's daughter-in-law."

What was said unintentionally may have been taken to heart by the listener.

Wang was already suffering from a heart attack because of this incident. She glanced at Zhou and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? What daughter-in-law? How can you say such nonsense so casually? Be careful not to bite off more than you can chew!"

Zhou was silenced by that sharp glare, and clenched her handkerchief in frustration. Now that the old lady had passed away, the management of the Marquis's mansion was entirely in the hands of the eldest son, so she dared not act rashly again. But she was still uncomfortable. Was it really necessary to reprimand her so loudly in front of the maids and servants for such an unintentional remark?

They held me for way too long.

Madam Wang's brows furrowed more and more. Unable to bear it any longer, she stepped forward and separated the two. "Alright, alright, the cargo ship won't wait for anyone. Jian-ge'er, hurry up and board the ship. It's not like we'll never see each other again. Anyway, we'll be back in the capital next year for the New Year."

After the brother and sister separated, Madam Wang waved to the carriage. A young maidservant dressed in a light green vest timidly stepped forward.

"The journey ahead is long and arduous, and someone will need to take care of you." Madam Wang gently pushed the maid forward. "This is Qinghe. She will accompany you to Suzhou Prefecture. She can do laundry, cook, sew, and wash clothes. From now on, she will serve you."

Ye Xingjian frowned and refused, "No need, I can take care of myself."

"Can you do laundry or cook? You need someone by your side who cares about you." Madam Wang looked at Ye Mu. "Fourth Sister, don't you think so?"

Caught off guard by being called out, Ye Mu looked up and saw the maidservant's meek and obedient appearance, and softly advised, "Brother, please agree, so that Aunt can be at ease."

The sound of a gong urging passengers to board came from the cargo boat, startling several egrets that skimmed across the water.

Ye Xingjian looked at Ye Mu, hesitant to speak, his lips pressed tightly together as if he were somewhat angry. In the end, he turned around in silence and boarded the boat without saying a word. Seeing this, Madam Wang gently pushed Qinghe, and the little maid hurriedly lifted the hem of her skirt and followed closely behind, almost tripping when she stepped over the gangplank.

The boat slowly moved away from the shore, the oars cutting through the shimmering waves. Ye Mu stood on the dock, waving her handkerchief vigorously at the tall figure on the bow of the boat that was gradually disappearing into the distance.

Only when the ship's silhouette became a tiny black dot on the horizon did Su Yao hurriedly arrive, lifting her skirt, her hair ornament slightly askew.

She stared at the empty river, stamping her feet and lamenting, "Why didn't Aunt send anyone to tell me? I didn't even get to see Brother Jian one last time!"

She went to the Marquis's residence and heard it from the gatekeeper, but despite rushing, she still couldn't see him.

Wang slowly straightened her cuffs, her gaze still fixed on the direction the cargo ship had gone, and said calmly, "The mourning period is not over yet, so it is not appropriate for us to visit casually. Besides, it is not appropriate for female relatives of other surnames to see us off."

Su Yao's fingertips curled slightly inside her sleeve. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but ever since the old lady passed away, Su Yao felt that Wang Shi's attitude towards her had become much colder. She treated her as if she were a different person, no longer as affectionate as before. Could it be that her aunt was going to put on airs as a future mother-in-law?

Su Yao suppressed her resentment. Since the marriage certificate had already been changed, she would become the matriarch of the Ye family sooner or later. For now, she would swallow her anger and settle things when she married into the family.

As everyone boarded their carriages, Su Yao deliberately moved closer to Ye Mu's carriage shaft, so she could at least vent her anger in front of her. "Fourth sister saw it? No matter how much you fuss, I still stepped into the Ye family's gate, didn't I?"

Ye Mu was helping Zijing into the car when he heard this and turned around to give her a cold look. "Miss Su, you're speaking too soon. Let's see. You've only got one foot in. Whether the other half can even get in is still uncertain."

"you--!"

Ye Mu gracefully boarded the carriage. The green curtain fell, separating the two lines of sight. Footsteps moved slowly beside the carriage. Through the carriage window, she saw Su Yao board the Wang family's carriage in front. Thinking that she would have to meet her after returning to the manor, Ye Mu felt a tightness in her chest.

“Uncle Wen,” Ye Mu knocked on the carriage wall, “we’re not going back to the manor; we’re changing our route to Baoxiang Temple.”

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The author writes: "Humans, ghosts, corpses, and coffins share a dark room; the cawing of crows never ceases, and the weeping of dogs can be heard intermittently." (From Shi Daonan's "The Death of a Rat")

Thanks for reading and adding to your favorites! [Thumbs up][Glasses] The next chapter will be a little sweet!