In the second year of Zhengguang year, it was the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

On the large table in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, there was an exquisite red lacquered sandalwood treasure box.

The treasure box is carved with a coiled dragon pattern, with the dragon soaring above the cloud pattern, exuding a powerful aura.

Emperors are represented by dragons, while princes are represented by chi (螭).

The Guangya says: "A dragon without horns is called a Chilong."

Chi is a dragon without horns.

A dragon with horns is a true dragon, and only the emperor and the crown prince can use it.

Slightly inferior to the dragon is the Chilong.

Princes, in terms of both treatment and regulations, including their ceremonial robes, carriages, flags, and residences, were all one rank below the emperor.

Inside the wooden box was a gold seal about five inches square, with four seal characters engraved in relief: "Treasure of the King of Yue".

Outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, three court drums sounded.

The ceremonial music was played in unison.

The officials in charge took their places, including the ceremonial attendants, the guides, the master of ceremonies, the announcers, the presiding officials, and the readers, all dressed in their finest attire.

Emperor Zhao Changheng, the true dragon emperor, stood in the palace wearing a ceremonial robe with twelve tassels and twelve symbols.

Zhao Changqing, dressed in the ceremonial robes of a prince with nine tassels and nine chapters, ascended the main hall under the guidance of the master of ceremonies.

The ceremony for the investiture of the prince has officially begun.

After the ceremonial music finished playing, Zhao Changqing knelt to receive the imperial edict and seal.

The official reading the imperial edict knelt and read aloud the prince's edict, saying: "Your fourth brother, Ruizhi, is exceptionally talented and outstanding. You stand tall and proud among the noble, your brilliance shining like jade. You are a pillar of the family, a descendant of the imperial lineage. I hereby bestow upon you the title of Prince of Yue, and grant you this edict and seal. You shall respectfully accept them. You shall be granted land and territory to protect the nation, to serve Heaven and Earth, and to worship the gods. As the ruler of your kingdom, you shall keep Heaven and Earth in your heart and never transgress the rites. You shall offer sacrifices to your ancestral temples, mountains, and rivers, and do so at the proper times. Be diligent in guarding the army, care for the people, and fulfill your duties to the utmost. Diligently serve the people and Heaven, assist the imperial family, and uphold the middle way. Then you will forever enjoy abundant blessings. Understand my instructions and be cautious!"

Zhao Changqing lay prostrate on the ground, his eyes fixed on the stone bricks of the palace.

The stone bricks were polished smooth and flat, and after years of wiping, they were so shiny they could reflect a person's image.

He saw his own reflection in it.

A blurry mess.

When he was a child, he often rubbed against these bricks.

He didn't like reading back then, and was more lively and active than other children.

She was always making a fuss and pestering her elder brother, the Crown Prince, to play with her.

If his elder brother refused, he would lie on the ground and throw a tantrum.

Zhao Changheng often teased him, saying, "Fourth brother, look, you've polished the bricks on the ground until they're shiny."

He thought about it the whole way to Jizhou.

If he had been more obedient and studied harder, he wouldn't have been sent away.

Many years later, he finally understood that being sent away was never his fault.

It was his life.

At this moment, as he was receiving his title in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he was thinking: What is He Youyou doing in Jizhou City at this time?

He Youyou is moving graves.

The seventh month of the lunar calendar is said to be the month with the heaviest yin energy in the human world.

The gates of the underworld open on the first day of the lunar new year and remain open until the end of the month.

The housekeeper consulted feng shui and divination masters, calculated an auspicious date, and selected a propitious burial site near the Han family's ancestral graves.

The day for moving Ahri's birth mother's grave was set for the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

He Youyou thought to herself, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the Qixi Festival, the day when the fairies in the sky meet the children.

The relocation of graves must begin before sunrise, just as dawn breaks.

Han Wenzheng took leave from the academy, dressed in mourning clothes, and went to collect his mother's bones.

He Youyou also followed them back to the Han family's old house.

The housekeeper handled everything today; she didn't understand these formalities.

Only show up briefly when required to attend; it's enough to go through the motions.

While they were busy with the burial, He Youyou went along the path to visit the Han family ancestral graves again.

Three generations of people are buried in the ancestral graves.

Three generations, totaling no more than a dozen graves.

He Youyou was very disappointed.

The Han family is truly pitiful in terms of population; the very first generation had five male descendants.

By the second generation, only three remained.

But in Han Silang's generation, there was only this one son.

The ties between the descendants of the Han family are exceptionally shallow.

Han Silang, the only son of the family, died of illness before he could get married.

It's really tragic.

Han Silang's father...

He Youyou found the tombstone and looked at the name on it.

Oh, Han Shizhao.

To her shame, she still hasn't remembered the person's name.

My father-in-law's name is Han Shizhao, and my mother-in-law's name is...

etc!

He Youyou suddenly realized that she didn't have a mother-in-law.

Every time she performed the ritual, she would recite a prepared script, one that the money steward had written in advance.

I never paid attention to the other details.

Simply follow the procedures step by step and that's it.

Since Han Wenzheng entered the family, he has been in charge of the sacrificial rites, and He Youyou has never had to worry about them. She just goes through the motions each time and never takes them to heart.

This time, when she looked closely at these tombstones, she discovered—

There is no trace of Han Silang's mother's grave here.

So...where did Han Silang come from?

If the mother-in-law is dead, at least there should be a grave. If the mother-in-law is alive, then where is she?

Was she divorced? Was she sent back to her parents' home?

Han Silang couldn't have just popped out of a rock, could he?

As she looked around, she noticed something strange.

Before moving the grave of Su Luoluo, Ah Li's birth mother, she had seen a series of preparations arranged by Butler Qian.

One very important aspect of this is the customization of a tombstone.

When children erect a tombstone for their parents, they inscribe "the late father/late mother" before their names to show respect.

Surprisingly, none of the tombstones belonging to the Han family contained these inscriptions; they were all simply inscribed with the names and titles of the family members.

Could it be that these people were not the ones whose tombstones were erected by their descendants?

Even on the tombstone of Han Silang's father, Han Shizhao, there is no inscription "Father", but rather "Han Gong Shizhao".

besides……

None of these tombstones bear the dates of birth or death.

He Youyou didn't know much about these traditional customs, but based on her limited knowledge, even the simplest tombstone wouldn't be without a year inscribed on it.

Su Luoluo's tombstone clearly has the year engraved on it, so why doesn't the Han family have it?

People in this society abide by etiquette and pay attention to details in everything they do.

There's no reason why the Han family wouldn't pay attention to this.

Judging from the meticulous way Butler Qian handled everything, the Han family doesn't seem like such a casual household.

Why is that?

She was deep in thought, squatting in the cemetery, when the sun had risen high in the sky.

After Han Wenzheng finished the ceremony of relocating and burying the deceased, he came to find her with red eyes.

"Mother."

He Youyou stood up: "Ali, is everything settled?"

Han Wenzheng nodded: "It's all settled, thank you, Mother."

"That's good. From now on, your birth mother will be buried here. You can come and pay your respects on holidays or the anniversary of her death. The small ancestral hall at home has also been prepared for you. You can put the memorial tablet up when you get back."

"Yes, Mother."