Chapter 78 Mass Grave
When Tao Tao returned to the shop, Chen Jinghe had already arrived, along with another familiar face, Zhang Cheng.
Yu Shan tied the carriage to the tree, and Yu He took the things and went into the shop to tidy them up.
Her brows relaxed, and she smiled, "Lord Chen, Lord Zhang, please have a seat."
Seeing this, Tao's mother served tea.
Have you decided where to place the cenotaph?
Chen Jinghe looked up at her and asked, "What are your thoughts?"
She took a sip of tea, thought for a moment, and said, “I think we can transform the mass graves into burial grounds for the soldiers of the Celestial Empire. Whether it’s a cenotaph or a final burial, as long as the families are willing, they can be buried together with their comrades.”
"Moreover, this also includes the lonely widows who have no relatives at home. With a grave, there will always be kind-hearted people to pay their respects. They protected their country and home in life, so they are spared the desolation of having no one to pay their respects after death, and they can also enjoy incense offerings every year."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Cheng's eyes lit up: "I think this is a great suggestion."
Indeed, there were many people from the countryside who had nowhere else to turn who joined the army, or people who had no relatives or friends at home and had no choice but to join the army in order to have a way to survive. They had colleagues and superiors while they were alive, but no one cared about them after they died. It was truly a desolate and lonely place.
Chen Jinghe nodded and said, "Then I'll have someone clear out the mass grave now, so that we can make room for the next person."
How do you plan to clean it?
She thought of the corpses abandoned in mass graves.
"Of course, we burned it down. What else could we do?"
He spoke nonchalantly, completely disregarding the corpses.
Tao Tao frowned almost imperceptibly. "I'll go take a look later. I'll survey the terrain first and make plans for what to do next."
"Then I'll have Zhang Cheng take a few people with you. It'll take quite a while to go there and back, and I'm afraid you'll be back by dark. Besides, that place is rather remote."
It's too desolate, overgrown with weeds, and frequented by wild animals that gnaw on carrion. It would be too dangerous for you to go alone."
Tao Tao was about to say something when he interrupted her.
"Even if you bring your shop's employees, I don't think they'd be of much use in a real danger given their small stature."
She's going to such a dangerous place; if Fourth Master knew he hadn't sent anyone to follow her, he would definitely be angry.
Tao Tao was thinking about what dangers might be involved and was about to refuse, but then she thought that if they encountered any danger, it was hard to say. Anyway, it wasn't her idea to let them follow, so she decided to let them follow.
"Then I'll have to trouble you."
Tao Tao looked at the magnificent carriage in front of her, then turned her questioning gaze to Chen Jinghe.
“We have our own carriages.”
Chen Jinghe turned his gaze to the cart under the tree, his lips twitched, and his eyes revealed an emotion of disgust.
She followed his gaze and suddenly scratched her head.
Two wheels and a bare plank—the horse's mane was a bit rudimentary these past few days, as I'd been too busy to groom it, and there was no saddle.
It seems a bit shabby; the people from the Privy Council must be ashamed to be with her.
"Yu Shan and Yu He, you two move the things onto this carriage."
She instructed the two men to bring the birthday money, incense, candles, and paper offerings onto the carriage, thinking they might need them later.
"Okay, boss."
Zhang Cheng rode ahead on his fine horse, leading the way. Two Privy Council guards followed on each side of the carriage, while Yu Shan and Yu He sat in front of the carriage, holding the reins.
After passing through Zhengyang Gate and leaving the city, we walked towards the desolate mountains in the distant suburbs.
When I arrived, it was dusk, and the horizon was a blood-red sunset. A few crows were circling in the air, cawing and cawing, creating a strangely desolate and beautiful scene.
Before even getting close to the mass grave, the first thing you smelled was a putrid stench, and you could hear the occasional barking of wild dogs.
Since the carriage couldn't easily go up the mountain, Zhang Cheng dismounted and tied it down with the carriage at the foot of the mountain.
New corpses were piled on top of old ones; some had just died, others had exposed white bones, and they were being carried away by wild dogs. The ground was littered with limbs, broken bones, and tattered clothes.
Two figures could be vaguely seen crawling on the corpse, groping for something, behaving furtively.
One of them found a fine jade pendant and a purse containing copper coins on the female corpse, and a joyful smile appeared on his dirty face.
"Brother, look at the jade pendant! And the silver!"
The other person wiped his hands on the tattered clothes, took the item, and his eyes lit up instantly.
"Looks like she's a maid from a wealthy family. I'm in for a good meal today, hehe..."
Suddenly he felt someone grabbing his foot, and he turned around impatiently, saying, "What are you doing? Are you crazy?!"
The younger brother was completely baffled. "I didn't do anything, what are you saying, brother?"
Hearing this, he became even angrier: "If it wasn't you, who else would it be? Who would grab my foot? Is it a ghost?!"
After saying that, the two of them froze at the same time. As if realizing something, they slowly looked down and found that the blood-stained, withered hand, which looked like a chicken claw, was tightly gripping his ankle.
He immediately let out a sharp cry and desperately kicked the owner of the hand with his other foot.
"Help me...help me..."
Her voice, weak as a mosquito's buzz, was drowned out by the piercing scream, but her pale face and trembling lips were enough to terrify and horrify them.
The two scrambled down the hillside, their faces pale, and ran downhill without daring to stop for a moment.
Even Tao Tao and the others who were passing by on the way up the mountain did not notice.
Tao Tao and her group frowned as they watched the fleeing figures, feeling utterly bewildered.
Yu He pointed at them and said, "What did they do? Why are they so scared?"
Suddenly, Yu Shan realized something, his whole body stiffened, and he looked at Tao Tao with a grim expression, saying, "Boss, could it really be up there...?"
Is there really something dirty inside?
He didn't dare say it.
"Don't worry, we'll know once we go up and take a look," Tao Tao said calmly.
Fearing something might go wrong, Zhang Cheng stopped her from going any further: "Let's go up first, you and your people wait here."
"It's alright, let's go up together. It's getting dark, let's not waste any more time."
She didn't take it seriously; she was just worried about wasting time, so she decided to go back when it seemed like it was about time.
Seeing her determination, Zhang Cheng didn't say anything more, but walked in front of her to protect her.
Before long, they arrived at the mass grave. There was nothing unusual about it, except that occasionally a few birds that ate carrion would land on the corpses and gnaw on them.
The wild dogs in the distance didn't dare to approach when they saw strangers coming; they just watched from afar, seemingly waiting for them to leave.
Tao Tao stepped forward, chased away the birds, and then squatted down to examine the corpse.
Yu Shan and Yu He were terrified, their faces pale, and they stood frozen in place, too scared to move.
She frowned. The corpses were too badly damaged, and the long-term fermentation of so many bodies had polluted the environment. If not handled properly, it could very likely lead to the spread of disease.
That won't be good.
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