The moon hung high in the sky, and the woods were filled with the cawing of crows, along with the occasional stench of decay carried on the wind.
"Dr. Du, are we almost there?"
"Um!"
Su Luo was very familiar with this smell, so she took a thick cloth and covered Du Xiuyuan's mouth and nose with it: "Put this on."
The road ahead was impassable by horse-drawn carriages; one could only proceed on foot.
Du Xiuyuan unloaded everything from the carriage and carried it on his back.
"Madam Su, take this talisman for your safety."
Seeing Du Xiuyuan's serious expression, Su Luo took the talisman and stuffed it into her sleeve. This thing was useless; she just didn't want to disappoint Du Xiuyuan's good intentions.
With each step Du Xiuyuan took, he felt the air grow colder, still that dry, cold kind.
The mountains here surround each other, forming a natural pit.
The two men carried oil lamps as they wandered through the woods, the stench growing stronger and stronger.
The crows in the night sky were startled and flew around wildly, their hoarse cries sounding as if they were driving away intruders.
"Dr. Du, pick one who has just died recently."
Su Luo stepped over a skeleton and addressed Du Xiuyuan behind her.
The atmosphere outside was terrifying, but once inside, it was as if the struggle was abandoned and the fear subsided.
It just smelled terrible.
"Miss Su, how about this?"
Su Luo walked to Du Xiuyuan's side, looked at the corpse he was pointing to, and placed the oil lamp on the tombstone that was leaning precariously.
"Madam Su, this person looks like he was strangled to death."
A male corpse dressed as a servant, being dumped in a place like a mass grave, usually means it was thrown there by its master.
Slaves were not protected by the government and could be killed at the master's discretion.
"No, it's hanging himself. Let's choose him."
"So it was suicide," Du Xiuyuan murmured.
The ground was littered with bones, and only this young servant had just died.
Du Xiuyuan took out all the items, and Su Luo taught him how to dissect them step by step.
"Dr. Du, tonight we will learn about the internal organs of the human body. You must remember this well."
Du Xiuyuan already had a foundation in the subject, and once Su Luo explained it to him, he quickly got into it, even forgetting for a moment that they were in the Chaotic Mourning Ridge.
Su Luo discussed each organ, from the heart to the liver, gallbladder, and stomach.
Finally, Du Xiuyuan was allowed to put it back on, and he was shown stitching it up again.
Du Xiuyuan was extremely serious, and indeed, sewing on a human body is different from sewing on pigskin.
"Lady Su, it's ready."
Seeing the results of Du Xiuyuan's hard work these past few days, Su Luo was very satisfied.
"Your suturing skills have improved somewhat, but this is only the simplest medical technique. You should not be proud of it."
Having gained Su Luo's approval, Du Xiuyuan quickly stood up and bowed to her, saying, "Yes, disciple will follow Master's teachings."
"Madam Su, what should we do with this servant?"
Su Luo glanced at the handsome young servant, who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old. It was a pity that he had taken his own life at such a young age.
"This servant has contributed to your academic career, so bury him."
"yes!"
Du Xiuyuan personally tidied his clothes, so that even in death he could leave with dignity.
When they put the coat on him, Du Xiuyuan felt something thick inside. When he took it out, he found it was a blood letter written on a strip of cloth.
"Lady Su, look, there's something here."
Du Xiuyuan handed the strip of cloth to Su Luo.
Su Luo had to bring the lantern closer before she could see the words written on it.
The inscription reads: "My name is Huang Bao. I am a servant in the household of Master Xu in Deliang County. Master Xu is over seventy years old, frail and sick, and he has been listening to the false words of a Taoist priest."
Just because my birth date and time match, he forced me to marry him to bring him good luck, which is both bullying and humiliating.
Only death can free me; today I write this letter in blood, determined to plead with the King of Hell about Xu Tianhe.
After seeing this, Su Luo and Du Xiuyuan got goosebumps all over.
"Pervert!" Su Luo cursed.
“Madam Su, I’ve heard of this Xu Tian before. He owns some land, but his character is questionable.”
This servant was just unlucky to have met him; he's a pitiful fellow too.
It took the two of them half an hour to dig the hole before they could bury the man named Huang Bao.
...
When they returned to Changping Village, it was still dark. Su Luo told Du Xiuyuan to go back first, and she went to the river to wash her hair and take a bath before returning.
Zhao Ruyun carefully returned to the kiln, but still woke up with a start and looked up at Su Luo.
"I'm back."
Su Luo hummed in agreement and went back to her bed to sleep.
I slept until the afternoon before waking up.
The houses at the village entrance had all been demolished; all that was left was to remove and dump the mud bricks, leaving the foundations empty.
The happiest people these past two days have been Chen Yan and Liu Fangfang. They picked eggplants and handed them to Su Luo, asking her to remember how many kilograms they weighed, so that the money would be distributed to them at the end of the month.
Aunt Li would come over every day when she had free time to help Su Luo and the others, washing dishes and vegetables, and so on.
~
On the way to Changping Village, Nangong Qing urged Axu on.
"Ah Xu, hurry up, hurry up!"
Ah Xu was driving the carriage at its fastest speed; the county magistrate's carriage was still behind.
Nangong Qing looked at the reply in his hand. It was a letter from the Grand Minister of Agriculture of Nanning, sent by fast horse.
The letter only stated that the eggplant was edible, a new species, and that seeds should be saved for large-scale cultivation next year.
In order to provide Nanning with another type of food for the whole country, Nangong Qing was afraid that if he arrived too late, Su Luo would pick more to sell, and the seeds would be scarce again.
"Young master, even if this horse is killed, it can only go this fast."
Upon arriving at the entrance of Changping Village, we saw villagers diligently repairing the foundation, with two horse-drawn carriages parked there.
Nangong Qing got out of the car and looked around, but didn't see Su Luo.
In the carriage behind, Magistrate Jiang and his advisor also got out.
When the village chief saw the county magistrate coming to their village, he quickly ran over.
"Your Excellency, I was unaware of your presence and have failed to greet you properly."
The village chief bowed to the county magistrate.
"Village Chief Li, you're too kind. I'm here to accompany Young Master Nangong."
Nangong Qing asked the village chief, "Village Chief Li, where is Madam Su?"
"Su Luo and a few other women went to the river to wash vegetables. If you need to find her, I'll take you there."
"Thank you for your help, please..."
Su Luo and the others had already washed the vegetables and were about to make dinner when they turned around and saw Nangong Qing and the others.
"Why are you here?"
Su Luo nodded slightly to Magistrate Jiang as a form of greeting, after all, he was an official.
"I've come to see you about something important," Nangong Qing said.
Su Luo handed the washed vegetables to Zhao Ruyun and told them to go back and cook. With the county magistrate there, the village chief could only follow along.
"What could be so urgent that you're in such a hurry?"
"It's about eggplants. It's better if Magistrate Jiang tells you about it."
Nangong Qing was not an official, and to villagers like Su Luo, his voice was less powerful than that of Magistrate Jiang.
"Lady Su, it's like this, the eggplants you've been selling recently are a fresh, edible variety of vegetable from this dynasty."
The higher-ups know and want you to save the seeds for planting nationwide next year.
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