Chapter 67 Who taught you to perform ancestral worship like this?
"Summon—Song Xi to the palace—"
The chief eunuch's voice carried outside the hall, and a tall young man dressed in black armor strode into the hall.
Song Xi was only in his early twenties, but his aura was more imposing than most of the military generals in the court. He had a layer of bluish stubble on his chin, which showed that he had not dared to delay on his way back to Shangjing from Xiling.
"Your subject Song Xi greets Your Majesty." Song Xi walked into the hall, knelt down and kowtowed, his voice loud and clear.
Seeing Song Xi like this, some court officials couldn't help but mutter to themselves, no wonder they wanted to switch the legitimate son and the illegitimate son. If it really was Song Chengliang who did it, he might really be doing it for the good of the Song State Duke's Mansion.
Song Xi is indeed a handsome and talented man, and also a martial arts prodigy. His only flaw is his background. If this matter had not been exposed, the future of the Song State Duke's Mansion would have been promising.
"Song Xi, do you know your crime?" the emperor's voice rang out.
"Your Majesty, I am unaware of this matter. Please enlighten me."
Have you ever heard of the name Song Yu?
Song Xi remained silent for a long while, a hint of helplessness appearing on his face: "Your Majesty... has heard of it."
"When did you find out that you were not the eldest son of the Duke of Song?"
"I only learned the truth after investigating Song Yu's identity."
"And then what did you do?" the emperor pressed.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, secretly sent someone to bring him back to the capital."
"Then why did he die?"
Song Xi knelt silently in the center of the main hall.
"Song Xi, answer my question."
Song Xi lowered his head and finally spoke: "It was my failure to manage my subordinates properly that led to his death."
He repeated, "It was I who killed him."
"You failed to manage your subordinates properly? To whom did you tell this?"
Song Xi did not answer the emperor's question, but said, "This man has already been executed by me. Song Yu's death was ultimately due to my subordinates trying to protect my position. I am willing to pay for Song Yu's life and beg Your Majesty to punish him."
These words made even Qi Hai, who had previously pressed the emperor so hard that he had to recall people from Xiling, take a second look at Song Xi.
With such a smart and talented son, how could the Duke of Song's mansion not prosper?
"I'm asking you, who is that subordinate?" The emperor's voice carried a hint of displeasure, but Song Xi remained unmoved.
Finally, the emperor snorted coldly: "Song Xi has deceived the emperor and disobeyed his position as commander of the Xiling Army and his status as the heir of the Duke's mansion."
Song Xi remained unmoved and kowtowed to the emperor again: "This humble subject, Song Xi, thanks Your Majesty for your grace."
The emperor did not stop there, but continued, "The Duke of Song protected his son, a crime that cannot be forgiven..."
“Your Majesty.” Song Xi finally spoke, interrupting the emperor. His face was tense, his shoulders slumped, and he finally uttered the name: “It is Uncle Liang, Song Chengliang.”
After the name was uttered, the court officials began to whisper among themselves.
The fact that Song Xin could utter this name doesn't necessarily mean anything. Perhaps he had already been notified by the Duke of Song's mansion, or perhaps he had already exchanged statements with Song Chengliang.
But he only relented after being repeatedly pressed by the emperor, which made people believe that what he said was true.
Regardless of whether it's true or not, it's clear that Song Xi is much smarter than the rest of the Song State Duke's family.
The emperor did not look at Song Xi again, but instead asked, "Minister of Justice, Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, how is the investigation going?"
The Minister of Justice stepped forward first: "Your Majesty, based on Song Chengliang's confession, I have interrogated those involved in the plot to murder Song Yu. It can be confirmed that the order to kill Song Yu was issued by Song Chengliang. After Song Yu's death, he also ordered and bribed Song Yu's relatives to bury him ahead of schedule under the pretext of an emergency."
That's all?
"I also interrogated Song Xi's servants, maids, and guards, but none of them could prove that Song Xi had ordered the killing of Song Yu."
The emperor showed no reaction and asked again, "Where is the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review? What did he find out?"
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review stepped forward: "Your Majesty, I have questioned the Duchess of Song, and she has admitted that her son was taken away by Song Chengliang's men on the day he was born. Shortly afterward, she discovered that her son had become the legitimate heir of the Duke's mansion, but she did not tell anyone about this and kept it a secret. Now, the Duchess of Song has been detained by the Court of Judicial Review for the crime of deceiving the Emperor."
"Your Majesty, it all started with me. I am the one who truly committed the crime of deceiving the emperor. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."
The emperor looked calmly at Song Xi, who was kneeling in the main hall, and asked, "Did the Duke of Song also not know about this matter?"
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review paused for a moment before saying, "I inquired with the elders in the Duke's mansion and learned that on the night the late Duke passed away, the Duke of Song left midway through the journey. I heard that his wife suffered a hemorrhage, but the Duke of Song went to see her once. I cannot confirm whether the Duke of Song knew about this matter."
After hearing the two men recount the investigation results, the officials all understood that no matter how likely it was that Song Chengliang was instructed by Song Xi to kill Song Yu, Song Chengliang had now confessed, and the Ministry of Justice had not found any other evidence. Therefore, Song Xi was innocent.
The only charge that can convict Song Xi now is deceiving the emperor, but whether or not this charge should be placed on Song Xi depends on His Majesty's decision.
"The Duke of Song is incompetent and foolish, which led to the murder of his eldest son. He is hereby dismissed from his post and ordered to reflect on his mistakes in his residence for a year." The emperor then looked at Song Xi, "Song Xi... reflects on his mistakes together with his father."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After the court session, Song Xi walked alone out of the palace. Unlike when he arrived, he now had neither title nor official position, and seemed to have nothing.
But it's clear to everyone that His Majesty didn't strip the Duke of Song of his title. Once this matter is over, the position of heir apparent will eventually belong to Song Xi again.
However, if he wants to rise in the imperial court, it will probably take a few more years. But he is a cultivator, and his lifespan is longer than others, so he can afford to wait.
Therefore, when they saw that Song Xi was alone, several nobles went up to him, patted him on the shoulder, and said a few words of comfort.
The case that caused such a stir has now been settled by the Emperor. All that's left is for the case to be concluded so that everyone can have an explanation.
This time, the emperor did not warn his court officials, so news of the case spread to the common people that very afternoon.
Sometimes, Achan couldn't help but wonder if those who spread the messages were lying under the beds of court officials every day, otherwise how could they know so much?
Actually, if she hadn't read the revenge story, she wouldn't have had any objections to the verdict, since the case had been investigated and there was no evidence.
Almost all the details in Mr. Ke Baomu's book correspond to the real culprit. Could he possibly have written it wrong?
If what Mr. Baomu wrote is the truth, and the legitimate son is dead, and the real culprit was merely stripped of the heirship that never belonged to him, then this ending doesn't seem so satisfactory.
There may be many others who share Achan's thoughts, but they can only confide their grievances to those around them and curse the Duke of Song's mansion. No one knows whether the deceased eldest son would feel resentful upon learning of this outcome.
The next day, Achan and Huiniang did not open their shop for business.
Today, Hui Niang was going to pay respects to her deceased family members, so she sent A Chan back to her residence in Chongmingfang ahead of time. A Chan was going to perform the ancestral rites at the residence, which happened to be spacious enough for her to move around freely.
Hui Niang escorted A Chan to the outside of the mansion, then carried the sacrificial offerings and a basket of flowers she had bought into the mansion before driving away.
Achan moved the offerings to the garden in the backyard. She had never tended to the garden; only Huiniang had swept away the tall grass, so it looked more like a wasteland.
She found a sickle in the woodshed, swept out a clearing, and then searched around the garden for a while before finding three large stones and moving them over.
She planted the stones side by side into the ground, and then placed flowers and offerings made of pork, beef, and mutton respectively.
According to the records in that book, pigs, cattle and sheep were not considered in the original sacrifices. The real offerings were high-level and rare demon beasts or directly from the demon race.
However, this condition was a bit difficult for Achan to meet. She couldn't even order a whole animal for human sacrifices. She would just have to make do with this one for now. She couldn't hear her ancestors' complaints, so she would just assume they were satisfied.
After the offerings were arranged, Achan took out a slightly larger incense burner. She took out three incense sticks from the wooden box containing incense beside her, lit them, and then took out three more.
She repeated this process many times until the incense burner was filled with incense sticks before she stopped.
Offerings can be omitted, but incense cannot.
Unfortunately, she has a lot of ancestors, so she needs to burn a lot of incense. Anyway, she has to burn all the incense she made today.
The incense made by Achan has tried her best to replicate the incense used in sacrificial rites; its only drawback is that it produces a lot of smoke.
The incense in the incense burner hadn't even finished burning yet, and the whole garden was shrouded in smoke. However, she had adjusted the recipe yesterday, so the smoke still had a sweet fragrance. Apart from the possibility that she might get a little pungent from the smoke, there shouldn't be any major problems.
Just then, a gust of wind blew through the garden, sending plumes of smoke soaring into the sky and scattering the flowers from the basket all over the ground.
Achan looked up at the sky. Although she couldn't feel anything, her ancestors must have been very satisfied with her sacrifice.
Just then, a head suddenly popped up on the wall next to them: "Miss Ji."
The voice sounded familiar. Achan turned her head and saw that it was Jiang Kai.
"Lord Jiang, what are you doing on my wall?" Ah Chan blinked, her eyes full of surprise.
"The master knocked on the door outside, but no one answered, so he sent his subordinates here to look for the young lady," Jiang Kai said.
"Lord Bai is here too. What brings you here?" Achan wondered. Could it be that he's here to deliver a tiger skin to her?
Jiang Kai gave a dry laugh, offering no explanation.
Achan got up and walked towards the front yard. Not long after she walked, she heard the sound of the door knocker being knocked.
She stepped forward and opened the door, where she saw Bai Xiuming standing outside in a crimson official robe with his hands behind his back, followed by a squad of Mingjing Guards.
The middle-aged man standing next to Bai Xiuming, knocking on the door, looked somewhat unfamiliar; he had never seen him before.
At this moment, Jiang Kai had already circled back from the outer wall of the garden and quietly stood back behind Bai Xiuming.
"Lord Bai, is there something you need from me?" Achan asked.
What were you doing in the garden just now?
"It's for ancestor worship." A-Chan looked puzzled. "Is there a problem?"
Isn't this supposed to be a human custom?
"Take us to see it." Bai Xiuming's tone was not forceful, but it brooked no refusal.
"Alright then." Achan felt these people were acting strangely, so she turned around and led them into her house, heading towards the garden.
As soon as they entered the park, everyone was enveloped in a thick cloud of smoke.
“Lord Bai, you see, I told you, this is clearly not normal,” said the middle-aged man who had knocked on the door earlier.
Bai Xiuming ignored him and continued walking forward. Then he saw the stone that A Chan had erected, the simple offerings laid out, and a full incense burner.
"What are you worshipping?" Bai Xiuming asked again.
“Ancestor, didn’t I just say that?”
Where is the memorial tablet?
Asan replied matter-of-factly, "I don't remember their names, so I'll just use stones instead. Our ancestors won't mind."
"Then what's with all this incense?" Bai Xiuming looked at the incense burner that was still emitting smoke, a rare look of doubt appearing in his eyes.
"Those are incense offerings for our ancestors."
Bai Xiuming stared at A Chan in silence for a moment before asking, "Who taught you to perform ancestral rites like this?"
“I did my own research.” Achan was very happy to share her experience. “The books say that our ancestors communicated with their forefathers through smoke. With so much smoke, our ancestors will definitely be very happy. They might even appear in my dream tonight and praise me.”
Apart from Bai Xiuming, everyone else present wore strange expressions.
Especially that middle-aged man, he was the one who called over the patrolling Mingjing Guards, only to find that they were actually seriously performing ancestral worship, which was quite awkward.
Seeing that his master was speechless for a long time, Jiang Kai had no choice but to say tactfully, "Miss Ji, such heavy smoke might offend your ancestors."
“Impossible, this is incense I made especially for my ancestors, they would definitely like it.” Ah Chan was exceptionally confident most of the time.
Besides, she was using the same incense recipe used for ancestral worship in the past, so how could there be a problem?
Jiang Kai has been defeated, and this matter still needs to be handled by his family.
Bai Xiuming finally spoke: "Whether your smoke can communicate with the ancestors is another matter. Your neighbors are almost suffocated by the smoke. They even suspect that you are performing a yin sacrifice and want to set the house on fire to sacrifice them as well."
Now it's Achan's turn to be speechless. Who is this neighbor who is so ignorant?
After hearing what Ah Chan said, the middle-aged man looked a little embarrassed and explained, "The smoke in the young lady's residence is really too strong. I misunderstood."
Actually, you can't entirely blame him. In the past, there were always crazy people in the capital who caused trouble during the Ghost Festival.
Some people secretly worship things they shouldn't, and their will becomes unusually weak and easily manipulated on days like the Ghost Festival.
The offerings those creatures demanded were not ordinary sacrificial animals, but blood offerings. Every year during the Ghost Festival, the capital would catch such people, and they would always cause some trouble.
Otherwise, the Mingjing Bureau wouldn't have mobilized its entire force to patrol the capital on the Ghost Festival.
Achan glanced at the middle-aged man and figured he must be the steward from the neighboring mansion.
The other party's attitude was so kind that Achan felt a little embarrassed. Come to think of it, she had been so focused on pleasing her ancestors that she had forgotten about the neighborhood issues.
She quickly said, "It was because I lit too much incense that I disturbed your residence."
Seeing that the two had cleared up the misunderstanding and confirmed that Achan was simply performing ancestral rites, Bai Xiuming planned to leave with his men.
Seeing that he was about to leave, Achan chased after him, calling out, "Lord Bai."
"Is there anything else?" Bai Xiuming slowed his pace.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Kai quickly led his subordinates and the middle-aged man away.
"My tiger skin, have you forgotten it?"
"I haven't forgotten. The tiger skin is at my residence. If you need it urgently, you can go to my residence to get it."
Achan's tone was full of doubt: "Why are you in your residence?"
"Because the commander also took a fancy to that tiger skin, I had no choice but to take it away ahead of time." Bai Xiuming said in a calm tone, as if the commander he was referring to was not his superior.
The moment their eyes met, Achan suddenly understood and exclaimed, "Your Excellency is truly a good official who wholeheartedly serves the people!"
Bai Xiuming's expression remained unchanged, seemingly dissatisfied.
Ah Chan racked her brains to find words of praise, but to no avail, and then decisively gave up.
"How about I treat you to a meal another day?" In human interactions, inviting someone to a meal is the most sincere gesture; this was the first lesson Ah Chan learned.
"...Alright, I'll be waiting."
Seeing that Bai Xiuming had finally relented, Achan immediately pressed, "My lord, you still haven't told me your home address? When is it convenient for you to come? Is today okay? Will you be home?"
Bai Xiuming read out the address and patiently answered her questions: "You can go anytime. I will not be returning to my residence today."
"Oh, do the people in the lord's mansion recognize me?" Achan asked again.
“They don’t recognize it, but they do recognize silver. Don’t forget the thousand taels,” Bai Xiuming reminded him.
Ah Chan pouted and said, "Fine."
Bai Xiuming seemed to be really busy today. He only exchanged a few words with Achan before hurriedly leaving with his subordinates.
After closing the door, Achan returned to the garden and waited for the incense to burn out. Not daring to fill the incense burner with more incense sticks, she lit only seven or eight sticks and burned them slowly, which immediately reduced the smoke considerably.
By the time Chen Hui returned from the Chen family cemetery in the suburbs, A Chan's incense hadn't even finished burning, but she had already made herself smell very fragrant.
After lunch, Achan continued to squat in the garden burning incense. She couldn't help but think that ancestor worship was too tiring. She lacked experience this year, so she would make the incense sticks thicker next year so she wouldn't have to keep an eye on them while burning them.
As the last incense stick burned out, the sky was ablaze with red clouds, and the sun was about to set.
Achan stood up, stretched, placed the offerings in the garden without moving them, and turned back to the front yard.
Chen Hui was reclining on a chair reading the third volume of "The Record of a Hundred Battles Generals," which A Chan had strongly recommended to her. Upon seeing this, A Chan leaned over and asked, "Hui Niang, what time is it now?"
Chen Hui put down her book, glanced at the sky, and replied, "It's probably late afternoon. Are you hungry?"
"I'm not hungry." Achan calculated the time. It shouldn't take more than an hour to get from her home to Bai Xiuming's residence. She could take advantage of the time she had today to retrieve the tiger skin.
So she said, "Huiniang, get out a thousand taels of silver notes. We'll go to Lord Bai's mansion to get the tiger skin."
Chen Hui had heard A Chan mention this before, but she didn't expect that A Chan would actually buy a tiger demon skin for a thousand taels of silver. That Lord Bai was very generous to A Chan.
"Okay." Chen Hui agreed and turned to get the silver notes. A Chan also went back to her room to change into a light green embroidered floral pattern dress.
After the two finished packing, Chen Hui drove the carriage to Bai Xiuming's residence according to the address given by A Chan.
Bai Xiuming's residence is located very close to the palace. These residences were bestowed by the emperor upon his most valued ministers, so ordinary people are rarely seen in this area.
The carriage stopped outside Bai Xiuming's residence. After getting out of the carriage, Achan subconsciously glanced at the plaque above the gate.
There was only one white character above it, which made it seem like the owner of the house didn't care much about it.
Achan glanced at it a few more times before she and Chen Hui went up to knock on the door.
The gatekeeper, upon hearing that she had come to collect something, did not ask any further questions and turned to call the steward of the mansion.
Before long, the gatekeeper returned, followed by a middle-aged man dressed as a eunuch.
The man was fair-skinned and beardless, with a smile on his face, and seemed to be a good-tempered person.
Upon seeing Achan, Eunuch Ning stepped forward and bowed: "Miss Ji, my surname is Ning, you can just call me Eunuch Ning."
"Greetings, Eunuch Ning." Achan greeted him in a soft, sweet voice.
Eunuch Ning immediately smiled and said, "Hello, Miss Ji."
He couldn't help but glance at Achan a few more times, thinking to himself, "This girl looks so delicate, but she's really beautiful. I suppose she must have something commendable about her character."
This was the first time my young master had ever gone to such lengths for someone else, even sending someone to tell him that this Miss Ji was coming to visit. Perhaps he was worried that some servant in the manor might be too timid and make things difficult for the young lady.
And a few days ago, the young master brought back that excellent tiger demon skin to the manor. Our young master never touches anything from the demon race, and we thought he was bringing it back to give to the prince, but we didn't expect it to be for this young lady.
Eunuch Ning led Achan and Chen Hui into the mansion to wait. The two waited in the main hall for a short while before four people carried out a tiger skin rolled up into a tube and wrapped in a layer of brocade.
The four men put down the tiger skin, and Eunuch Ning stepped forward to remove the outer layer of cloth so that Achan could see it.
The tiger skin was peeled off in one piece, and after tanning, the fur was still dark and shiny. Ah Chan touched it and felt the familiar texture.
After inspecting the goods, Chen Hui handed over the banknotes.
Eunuch Ning accepted the silver notes with a smile, then instructed his men to re-wrap the tiger skin and load it onto the carriage.
Having obtained the tiger skin, Achan got up to take her leave. Eunuch Ning escorted them all the way to the door, and even after the carriage had driven far away, he still looked back in that direction.
Because of the heavy tiger skin on the carriage, the carriage traveled much slower on the way back.
The carriage traveled for a while, and all she could see was a row of white walls. She remembered Bai Xiuming saying that the Song State Duke's Mansion was to the right of his house, so this must be the Duke's Mansion?
Achan couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder it's a mansion bestowed by the emperor. We've traveled so far by carriage, and we still haven't left the area within the walls."
Just then, a familiar figure appeared in Achan's sight. The person was leaning against the wall and staggering forward, seemingly unwell.
Achan frowned slightly. She lifted the carriage curtain, pointed in the direction of the person, and said to Chen Hui, who was driving the carriage, "Hui Niang, do you think that person is Young Master Song?"
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