Chapter Sixteen: Plain-colored dress inlaid with gold thread
Su Zhenzhen saw the Li family's daughter wandering through the gallery, with its pavilions, towers, and winding paths, much like a 906-century imitation natural garden.
Li's daughter walked to the pavilion in the lake and sat down. Su Zhenzhen followed, but she seemed unable to see herself.
Soon after, two men dressed in fine clothes arrived, one wearing a gold crown and the other a jade crown.
Su Zhenzhen guessed that the man in the golden crown was of higher status, and sure enough, he sat in the superior position.
The man in the jade crown spoke first, "How are you feeling today, Sijin?"
Li's daughter, Sijin, had a faint worry between her brows. "It's no different from usual. This auspicious place is really deceptive. Living here is no different from my princess's mansion. My brother has wasted his money."
The man in the golden crown laughed and said, "The national treasury is still full. It's just a feng shui garden. Sijin doesn't need to take it too seriously."
Sijin still frowned, "Brother, in principle, I, as the younger sister, shouldn't be so nosy, but Sister-in-law has been unable to conceive for many years..."
"As splendid as brocade." The man in the golden crown interrupted her, "Don't worry, I can stabilize the situation in the court."
The dream ended there, and Su Zhenzhen woke up. The first thing she did was check the comments in her mind to confirm whether she was the only one who had seen what had just happened.
[I thought this cross-time and space live stream was called "Did the Ghost Messenger Get Promoted Today?" I thought it was about exorcising ghosts, but why haven't they caught a single ghost after broadcasting for so many days?]
[What channel are they trying to get me on this time? Why is there this palace drama, with the emperor and princess involved?]
After a while, the comments section was flooded with messages urging people to give a bad review. Su Zhenzhen didn't care; she didn't get paid anyway, so she didn't care if people gave her a bad review or not.
What I care about is whether this dream was arranged by the organizers. Since it can be seen in the comments, it shouldn't be a big problem.
If someone from a past life could send a dream to help me end my old dreams in this mortal world, wouldn't that be the end of me? After all, my current level is only at summoning ghosts; my partners in the underworld in the 906th century didn't teach me anything more.
The officers asked the questions again, and the coroner examined the body once more.
There wasn't a single external or internal injury, but the person was still gone.
After thorough investigation, no one else had any motive to commit the crime; the closest people to the scene were actually Mr. and Mrs. Li.
But the incident definitely happened at the inn.
I've only ever heard of children dying young and elderly people passing away peacefully in their sleep; I've never seen a sixteen-year-old virgin disappear without a trace.
Just one day later, a strange smell appeared in the air.
Many people covered their mouths and noses and criticized Mr. and Mrs. Li.
“We cooperated with your investigation, but what did you find? Hurry up and let your daughter rest in peace. It’s so hot these days and there’s hardly any rain. If another epidemic breaks out, we can all go to the underworld together.”
The shopkeeper's expression changed repeatedly. If a plague were to break out here, no matter if his brother-in-law was a county magistrate, even a prince or a king would burn the entire inn down.
"Alright, alright, I won't hold it against you for accusing me and causing trouble. Just send your daughter away quickly. Considering we've known each other, I'll provide you with a coffin." The shopkeeper lowered his stance considerably. "Brother Li, I understand your feelings, but if a plague really breaks out, neither you nor your wife will escape."
Li Da's mood softened a bit, and his wife tugged at his sleeve.
"Honey, it's not good to just leave it like this, after all, there are so many innocent people here."
Li's eyes were red. "Did Sijin just die in vain?"
Su Zhenzhen's brow twitched. The Li family's daughter was also named Sijin? Could it be that last night's dream wasn't just a coincidence?
A customer in a hurry took out some loose silver and said, "I'll also contribute some silver. The Li family's daughter has been pampered since she was a child, so we can't let her leave in a shabby way, can we? We should use the best coffin possible, and we can also buy the best clothes for her upper body. Not to mention the gongs and drums, we should make sure it's a lively and grand send-off for the girl."
As soon as he finished speaking, many people took out their money.
These days, people who are willing to stay in a guesthouse usually have some assets, and even if they don't, the love of parents for their children is the same.
Mr. and Mrs. Li had a daughter late in life and doted on her. Now, the elderly couple has lost their daughter. After all, they had known each other for a long time, so they wanted to express their condolences in some small way.
Of course, the most important thing is to get this matter settled so they can continue their journey.
The smallest contribution was one penny, and no one refused to contribute.
Old Man Bai looked at Su Zhenzhen.
Su Zhenzhen nodded, took out one tael of silver and handed it to Old Man Bai, asking him to give it to Li Da.
After all, Old Man Bai is the "head of the family" outside, so it wouldn't arouse suspicion if he delivered the money.
Looking at the money being handed to him, Li Da finally acquiesced to his daughter's burial.
As the old saying goes, many hands make light work. With everyone in the inn working together and the help of the officials, the best coffin in town, along with all the necessary funeral supplies, was delivered to the inn in no time.
Li Da's wife boiled hot water to wipe her daughter's body, then changed her into the clothes she had brought, before she and Li Da carried the body into the coffin.
It's inconvenient to carry the coffin upstairs, and the shop owner is unlikely to agree to it; at most, they can let it be placed in the lobby.
So when Mr. and Mrs. Li carried their daughter out, everyone saw the gold thread embroidered inside her plain white dress.
Su Zhenzhen's unease was amplified infinitely because the clothes were exactly the same as those in her dream last night.
We even consulted a funeral home owner about the burial site, but since he wasn't a professional, he could only roughly determine that the eastern side was a good location.
So the group, with drums and gongs, sent the Li family's daughter to the east of the city in a grand procession. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were marrying off a daughter.
Su Zhenzhen led Old Man Bai and Hensheng along the way. After all, Hensheng's special constitution made it difficult for him to carry the coffin, and Old Man Bai was too old to abuse the elderly for the sake of his reputation.
Besides, now that we're parting ways, we'll all go our separate ways and no one will recognize anyone else.
Little by little, the yellow earth was piled up, and the tombstone was erected.
Mr. and Mrs. Li lit three incense sticks at the grave, thus bringing the funeral to a satisfactory conclusion.
The crowd, who had initially been clamoring to hurry on their way, now walked extremely slowly, with some even turning back every few steps to check if Mr. and Mrs. Li had left.
Su Zhenzhen suddenly became interested and, stroking her chin, asked Hensheng, "Let me test you. Why do you think these people are walking so slowly?"
Hensheng thought about it carefully, "Could it be that they're tired from handling the funeral arrangements? Are they planning to stay another night at the inn and continue their journey tomorrow?"
Su Zhenzhen shook her head. "Someone died in the inn for no reason, and the body was left there for a whole day. Would you still stay there? Besides, no one knows when the barbarians will completely break through the border defenses."
Su Zhenzhen then asked Old Man Bai, "Do you think the clothes worn by the Li family's daughter in her burial were valuable?"
Without hesitation, the old man replied, "It's exceptionally valuable, with so much gold thread inlaid; the garment seems to glow."
Hensheng still didn't quite understand.
Su Zhenzhen decided to explain it to him clearly: "These people are waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Li to leave so they can come and rob the tomb."
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