Chapter 99 Xie Cheng Returns Why... are you treating me so well?
White candles flickered in front of the mourning hall, and the sky was dim.
Fang Xiangshi, dressed in black robes and red skirts, wearing a golden mask, held a spear and shield, and stepped forward with the Three Pure Bells to drive away Fang Liang.
If Ah Hui hadn't come from a Taoist family, there would have been no need for items like the Three Pure Ones Bell in this ceremony.
While Fang Xiangshi attacked the four corners with his spear, Huan Xun, Gu Xiangzhi, Xu Cai, and Xiao Chengyan gently lifted the blankets covering the corpse and moved the body into the coffin.
Fang Xiangshi put down his halberd and took a spoonful of white rice, feeding it into A Hui's mouth. In the last few moments, he put the jade artifact that Yu Nie had prepared into the rice.
According to regulations, this is an overstepping of the bounds. Ordinary people can only put grains and copper coins in the "rice offering" ceremony.
But she didn't care.
At the end of the ceremony, Fang Xiangshi used a wick dipped in water to wipe A Hui's eyes and ears, reciting auspicious words wishing him to ascend to the Eastern Pole and join the ranks of immortals as soon as possible.
After the body was properly dressed, Yu Nie wept bitterly and stepped forward in a daze, placing a talisman he had personally written into the coffin.
They accompanied Cui Miaochang to perform religious rites when they were in Huaiyuan.
At that time, she didn't know how to write the Rebirth Talisman, so he taught her how to use the brush stroke by stroke.
She never imagined that one day she would use the calligraphy he had personally taught her to send him to his death.
Finally, with Fang Xiangshi's cry of "Seal the coffin," the heavy coffin slowly closed.
She threw herself onto the coffin several times, refusing to leave.
Song Ai and the others pulled her back, advising, "Princess, you mustn't... Tears must not fall on the deceased, much less into the coffin. Otherwise, Master Ahui will not rest in peace, his soul will be restless..."
These words of advice stunned her instantly, and a tremendous sense of powerlessness gripped her.
Yes, how could she let her reluctance to part with him cause him unease?
Thinking of this, she stopped struggling, and a boundless sense of emptiness quickly engulfed her.
Her strength to struggle vanished in an instant, her sobs choked in her throat, and her tears dried on her face.
She stood there, as if all her soul had been drained away.
Huan Xun released her hand, and could clearly see the tears on her eyelashes.
Her tears fell onto the back of his hand. He looked down at the tear and felt a burning pain in his heart.
The encoffining is complete.
She knelt before the coffin, her eyes gazing blankly at the white mourning hall.
With red-rimmed eyes, Cuiwei stayed with her while burning paper money with Sui En.
Prime Minister Gu instructed Mei Nian to find a good burial site.
After saying that, he watched Mei Nian's departing figure, but he was still worried and decided to check it himself.
Before the mourning hall, Yu Nie thought of Lang Xi, who was far away from Jian'an.
The distance between Huaiyuan and Jian'an was too far; even if Cui Miaochang and Aunt Liu rode their horses at top speed, they wouldn't be able to reach Ahui one last time.
Yu Nie discussed with Xu Cai the idea of preserving A Hui's body for a few more days so that when Lang Xi, as his senior sister, returned, she could see her junior brother one last time.
Xu Cai looked at her, his thoughts a jumble of emotions.
Even at top speed, it would take ten days to travel from Xuzhou to Jian'an. For a lifeless body, ten days is far too long.
Xu Cai had been pondering how to preserve the body for the past two days.
His elder brother Xu Jingyang's body has been lying in the secluded mansion he secretly bought for four days now. Even though it is wrapped in layers of thick ice, when he went to check on it last night, a faint smell of corpse still got into his nose.
Staying here like this isn't a solution; he won't be able to wait for his parents to come.
Cremation is the only option right now.
Having offended the reigning emperor, his elder brother could not even hope to be buried peacefully, let alone have a tomb erected for him.
When he unexpectedly learned of Ah Hui's accident, he secretly instructed his confidants to cremate his brother when all was quiet at night, put the ashes in an earthenware jar and hide them, and send them back to their hometown for burial when the opportunity arose in the future.
He barely managed to keep his position in the Wuwei Camp by personally enforcing the law.
If he loses this job and leaves the palace, how will he avenge his unjustly killed brother?
Thinking of this, he turned to look at the coffin and said, "Let Ah Hui be buried on time. No amount of ice can prolong the wait until Lang Xi returns."
Listening to Xu Cai's words, she considered using mercury or salt to slow down the decomposition of the corpse, but "our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents and should not be damaged," which went against the ideas of their time and would be considered an insult.
Even if she wanted to use what she knew, she couldn't do that.
Xiao Chengyan seemed to want to give her some advice, but after thinking for a long time, he couldn't come up with anything.
Huan Xun stood quietly to the side. His robes, which had been soaked by the rain last night, were now completely dry, though some rain stains remained on the fabric.
He has to go to the palace today.
The one in the palace must have something to say to him about what happened last night.
He could probably guess the nature of this conversation; it was nothing more than a feigned probing. But even knowing this, he still had to play his part well.
Just as he was about to instruct Song Ai on some other matters and prepare to leave quietly,
But then he saw Lu Jinshi with a white linen strip tied around his waist walking towards him at a very fast pace.
Seeing Lu Jinshi's expression, he knew in his heart that something important must have happened.
He whispered to Song Ai to comfort Yu Nie and to come to Ji Heng Mansion if anything happened, then he walked towards the door.
When Lu Jinshi saw him come out, he quickly went up to him and whispered a few words in his ear.
He walked a little further out, reaching the outside of the corridor, deliberately avoiding being seen or heard.
"My lord," Lu Jinshi said in a very low voice, each word brimming with the tension of an urgent situation, "something has happened in the Northern Frontier."
Huan Xun's gaze suddenly sharpened: "Speak."
"General Hou Chong'an, the left vanguard of the Beiya Army, was ambushed at Sanzhu Pass. All eight thousand of his elite troops were wiped out, and General Hou fought bravely and died for his country."
Huan Xun came from the Beiya Army, and he was familiar with all the generals in the army who had some seniority.
Hou Chong'an had personally taught him swordsmanship on horseback, making him half his mentor, and was also a capable general in the Beiya Army.
Sanzhuxing was originally one of the fortresses of the Xiutu Khanate. Hou Chong'an, as the left vanguard, had been fighting the enemy here for many years and knew the terrain like the back of his hand.
At this moment, his usual calm expression turned grim, and his voice deepened:
“Sanzhuxing is the enemy’s most important supply route, garrisoned by 20,000 elite troops, each a veteran of countless battles. Given the current situation, there is absolutely no need to attack. General Hou, as a veteran, must know this. Why did he advance so rashly?”
"The secret report said that he was acting on the Grand Commander's orders to launch a surprise attack on Sanzhu Pass, cut off the enemy's supply lines, and hold out for reinforcements."
“A surprise attack at this time is clearly a terrible idea.” Huan Xun’s eyes were icy cold, filled with incomprehension: “How could the Grand Commander issue such a military order?”
Although he harbored resentment towards Yan Yue, he never denied the latter's military talent.
That person might occasionally show some arrogance, but would never make such an inexcusable mistake.
Whether the war in the northern frontier is currently advancing covertly or has been presented to the court as a stalemate and retreat in the past two days, given Yan Yue's shrewdness and experience, he would never issue such a military order.
Lu Jinshi shook his head: "Guard Xie will report the details to you, sir."
"Xie Cheng has arrived?"
The newly appointed magistrate of Huaiyuan County had just taken office when Xie Cheng went to the northern frontier and is now rushing to Jian'an.
"I entered the mansion just after dawn, and my subordinates have already prepared a room for Guard Xie."
Then, Attendant Lu revealed something even more urgent:
"But as soon as news of the Grand Commander's command failure reached Jian'an, Gao Chou, Wang Situ, and their group, like vultures smelling blood, had already started to move. Yang Zhongshu secretly sent someone to deliver a message that their memorials impeaching the Grand Commander for being stubborn and making command failures were already on the Emperor's desk, and the Emperor was furious at the moment, saying that he would punish the Grand Commander."
Such a battle report could not possibly have been transmitted back to Jian'an so quickly without any reason. If Yan Yue had not done it intentionally, any second party that transmitted the matter back in this way would have aroused suspicion.
Even if there were spies from the aristocratic families on the northern frontier battlefield, they would never be foolish enough to expose themselves so quickly.
The incident happened suddenly, and after hearing all this, Huan Xun already had a vague idea of what was going on.
However, he could only draw a conclusion after meeting Xie Cheng.
He gazed at Yu Nie burning paper money in the mourning hall, the firelight dancing on her lowered profile.
After a moment of silence, he turned to Lu Jinshi and asked in a solemn tone, "Have the other arrangements for the funeral that I asked you to prepare been completed?"
Last night, he instructed his attendant Lu to purchase a burial plot, a tombstone, and all other necessary items.
"Everything is ready, just waiting for Your Excellency's inspection," Lu Jinshi replied in a low voice.
Huan Xun nodded slightly, his gaze finally sweeping over Yu Nie's slender back.
He left Lu Jinshi behind and instructed her, "Do whatever she says."
After Lu Jinshi finished speaking, he said no more, turned around and strode away from Hongzheng Pavilion.
Xiao Chengyan was filled with remorse at this moment.
Perhaps he really shouldn't have beaten Li Yunsheng so badly.
This caused this vile creature to harbor resentment towards Yu Nie, leading to such a tragedy.
But what's the use of regretting it now?
He glanced at Yu Nie's profile from time to time, the emotions surging in his eyes gradually settling into a cold, hard expression, as he had already made up his mind.
No matter what, he was determined to make Li Yunsheng pay a bloody price.
*
The light was dim, pressing heavily on the rooftops.
Yu Nie knelt on the futon, her pale white back looking exceptionally thin.
The white candles on the offering table burned very slowly, and the burning wicks made the redness and swelling at the corners of her eyes even more noticeable.
She had been kneeling in the same position for too long, and the cushion beneath her knees had been flattened.
Gu Xiangzhi had just returned from the cemetery outside the city. The hem of his dark blue court robe was covered in wet mud, clearly soaked by the cold rain that had seeped in from the dark clouds along the way.
His gaze swept past Xiao Chengyan and then over the low table.
The herbal soup in the bowl on the table had long since gone cold, and the food remained untouched.
With just one glance, he knew she hadn't eaten anything from beginning to end.
He walked quietly to her side, and squatted down, staring at the exposed sleeve of her wrist, which was so pale it was almost transparent.
Outside, a light rain swirled in the wind, rustling softly as it passed over the treetops.
He spoke in a low voice: "That hillside by the river in the western suburbs outside the city looks wonderful to me. It's sheltered from the wind and faces the sun. In spring, it will be covered with wild chrysanthemums. It's a peaceful place to settle down, and quiet enough."
Her gaze paused slightly, her hand twitched as it hung in front of her knees, but she remained silent.
"The stonemason has prepared the stone; we are just waiting for you to calm down and finalize the inscription."
He spoke slowly, his gaze shifting to the ancestral tablets behind the altar: "If you have time tomorrow, you can come with me to take another look and see if it's suitable."
After she finished speaking, she remained silent for a long time.
A breeze swept into the hall, and the candlelight flickered gently.
She finally spoke, her voice low and hoarse: "Gu Xiangzhi, why... are you so good to me?"
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Author's Note: I originally wanted to recreate the lottery, but since I've already participated once, I have to wait until 30 days later. I just discovered this rule exists [laughing and crying emoji].
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