Chapter 69 The grave robbers disturbed the new grave, and my heart is breaking.
It's neither Qingming Festival nor winter clothing season; the seasons themselves are unpredictable.
The group, however, arrived at Wan'an Mausoleum on the outskirts of Beijing.
The pine and cypress trees here are so tall that it takes two people to encircle them; ordinary people are not qualified to be buried here.
Su Jinxiu led Qingyi by the hand, while Fengxun carried Qingluan. The group carefully stepped over the snow-covered stone steps.
The servant set up a bronze incense burner and lit incense and candles in front of the monument, and also placed several plates of the latest pastries and fine wine.
The wine and food are ready, and the offerings are all arranged.
Feng Xun took out the prepared paper money and threw it into the fire one by one, whispering: "The seasons change, rain and dew nourish. I remember your voice and appearance, forever separated by the netherworld. I offer this cup of libation, though I am too ill to be with you. I believe you still understand my feelings."
Then he lowered his head and whispered a few words in Qingluan's ear in his arms. Qingluan then called out softly to the grave in her childish voice, "Uncle, may you rest in peace."
Hearing Qingluan's childish voice from behind, Su Jinxiu's lips twitched slightly.
The heavy snow that had lasted for several days finally stopped, as if the snowflakes that had blanketed the sky a few days before were merely mourning his passing. And now, as he truly returned to the underworld, even the heavens could no longer bear to send down wind and snow.
Su Jinxiu stepped forward, and a quick-witted servant beside her immediately offered her a whisk. She shook her head, and instead reached out and gently brushed away the snow from the stele with her palm. Then, she grabbed a handful of snow and lightly smeared it over the two characters "Feng Chen".
The gesture seemed to be an attempt to polish the name with snow, or perhaps to erase his identity as "Feng Chen" with this futile effort.
He has already passed away here, yet even his real name cannot be preserved. This made Su Jinxiu feel as if Wen Shiqin had never existed.
Like fleeting traces in the snow, we come into this world in vain, leaving no mark as we pass by.
But he was clearly once a spirited young man who won the imperial examination and whose life had just begun.
Putting aside their past relationship, she couldn't bear to see such a person perish. He should have established merit in the imperial court and left behind a lasting name. Or perhaps he could have roamed the world freely; with his talent and vision, he might very well have become a poet comparable to Li Bai and Du Fu.
Whichever path you choose is better than being confined to a wooden coffin in this desolate wilderness, waiting to rot away ten years later, to be devoured by insects and ants.
Su Jinxiu grabbed another handful of snow and smeared it on the two characters "Feng Chen," letting it melt in her palm. Then she grabbed another handful and did the same, until her slender hands were frozen red.
Feng Xun was standing by, intending to step forward and offer some words of comfort, but his attendant whispered a reminder: "My lord, look."
He looked in the direction the carriage was pointing, and saw another carriage rumbling down the mountain. Its grandeur and imposing presence indicated that it was the Grand Tutor's carriage, and it must also be coming to pay respects. Feng Xun had once studied under the Grand Tutor, and now that he had unexpectedly encountered his mentor, it was only right and proper for him to step forward and pay his respects.
He turned and glanced at Su Jinxiu, who was still staring intently at the tombstone. He then instructed Qingluan and Qingyi behind him, "You two stay with your aunt and remember to wipe away her tears if she cries."
He then straightened his clothes and, with his servant, quickly walked down the stone steps.
Su Jinxiu was lost in her own thoughts, oblivious to the commotion around her, and completely unaware that Feng Xun had already left with his servant.
It wasn't until Qingluan gently patted her sleeve and called out "Auntie" that she came back to her senses.
"Auntie, let's go downstairs and wait for Father," Qingluan said, looking up at her.
Su Jinxiu looked around and realized that only the three of them remained in front of the tomb. Afraid that the two children would get cold, she agreed, carefully tightened the cloaks around their necks, and then took their little hands and slowly walked down the stone steps.
When they reached the middle of the mountain, they saw a hexagonal pavilion, so they led them to sit down inside and wait for Fengxun to return.
She looked down at Qingluan and noticed that half of the child's hair had come undone. Su Jinxiu then lifted her onto her lap and said softly, "Qingluan, sit still, Auntie will restyle your hair into a pretty bun, okay?"
Qingluan nodded: "Alright, Qingluan will not move."
Su Jinxiu carefully combed her hair and said softly, "Auntie won't comb your original double buns into a braid, will she?"
"Okay, okay!" Qingluan replied cheerfully.
Qingluan was a lively girl, so the two started chatting. She looked up at her and said, "Auntie, Qingluan's birthday is at the end of this month!"
"Birthday? Great! Your aunt will definitely prepare the best birthday gift for you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Jinxiu suddenly remembered something.
He was born in October, which is also Wen Shiqin's birthday month.
Last year at this time, he went to Bailudong and missed it, but this time, he won't even have the chance to celebrate his birthday again.
"Auntie, why are you crying?"
Qingluan looked up, remembering her father's last words, and awkwardly reached out her small hand to wipe away her tears.
Su Jinxiu rubbed her head: "It's nothing, it's just the wind getting in your eyes. Qingluan, sit up straight, your braids are almost up to your neck."
Upon hearing this, Qingluan immediately sat up straight, but when she turned to look around, she asked in confusion, "Where did my brother go?"
Upon hearing this, Su Jinxiu immediately looked around and, sure enough, Qingyi was nowhere to be seen. Her heart skipped a beat. In this desolate wilderness, if the child had wandered far away and gotten lost, and then frozen unconscious, he would truly be hard to find.
It's all my fault for being distracted.
Su Jinxiu quickly picked up Qingluan and stood up, anxiously searching around, her fear growing ever stronger.
Fortunately, she soon spotted the small figure standing on a high ground not far away, looking up at the mountaintop.
"Qingyi!"
Su Jinxiu, standing below, said softly to the child who had somehow climbed up, "Come on, slowly walk down, Auntie is here to catch you."
She dared not let her voice carry even a hint of urgency, for fear that her scolding would startle the child and cause him to tumble down the mountainside.
Qingyi turned around, nodded, and then carefully descended the steps.
As Qingyi approached, Su Jinxiu quickly stepped forward and pulled him into her arms, patting the snow off his body before scolding him with lingering fear, "From now on, when you're outside and leave your parents' side, you must inform them first, understand? If you run off like this, your aunt will be so worried about not being able to find you."
Qingyi then realized his mistake and murmured softly, "I'm sorry, Auntie. I saw two big black rats over there and got so engrossed in watching them."
Su Jinxiu hugged him tighter and sighed, "It's good that you know you're wrong. You must never do it again next time."
She carried Qingyi back to the pavilion, and Qingluan immediately started scolding her brother like a little adult, hands on her hips. Qingyi felt a little wronged and whispered in defense, "But that black rat really was very big."
Upon hearing this, Su Jinxiu suddenly became puzzled.
Black rats? How could there be large black rats in the freezing cold mountains these days?
She immediately pressed Qingyi for an answer: "Qingyi, what does the black rat you mentioned earlier look like?"
Qingyi tilted his head and thought for a moment, organizing his thoughts like a little adult: "It's a human-shaped black rat, dressed in black and with its head covered." He paused, then added, "Actually, it doesn't seem like a black rat, it's more like a person in black."
Upon hearing this, Su Jinxiu's heart tightened. Just then, she saw two servants coming up from the foot of the mountain, presumably sent by Feng Xun to meet them, worried about them. She quickly called over one of the servants and carefully instructed him to look after the two children. Then, she took the other servant and hurried towards the tombstone at the top of the mountain.
Before even reaching the cemetery on the mountaintop, Su Jinxiu could already hear two thieves whispering in front of her.
One of them lowered his voice and said, "Hey, wait a minute."
The other person replied impatiently, "Aren't you going to leave? We've taken all the offerings; that's enough for us to live on for months."
The greedy voice rang out again: "Look how abundant the offerings are, how much more abundant must the burial goods in the coffin be? Since we're already here, let's just go all the way and open the coffin directly."
The other person remained silent for a moment, seemingly weighing the options, before gritting his teeth and saying, "Fine!"
Su Jinxiu was furious upon hearing this and quickly whispered to the servant beside her, "Go quickly and call all the servants up here, and also invite my brother here."
The servant nodded in agreement and immediately turned and ran downstairs.
Su Jinxiu walked quietly down the steps, found a thick tree trunk to hide behind before daring to peek out.
Not far away, because Feng Chen was buried here in haste, the grave had not yet been covered with a layer of stone, only a layer of loose soil, and a stone tablet stood there. Therefore, it was much easier for the two thieves to dig it up.
The two worked swiftly, and in no time they had dug a deep pit beside the grave, actually exposing the coffin. Su Jinxiu hurriedly looked down, only to see a vast expanse of snow, with only the sounds of birds in the trees; the servant had not yet returned.
Looking back, the two tomb raiders had already taken out crowbars and started prying at the coffin nails.
Su Jinxiu knew she couldn't possibly deal with these two thieves alone, so waiting for the servant and Feng Xun to return was the best course of action. However, these two were clearly veterans, their tomb-robbing techniques were highly skilled, and somehow, the sound of the coffin sliding could be heard.
Upon hearing that sound, she could no longer restrain herself and rushed up the steps to get there.
The two thieves were so astonished by what was inside the coffin that they were completely unaware of her arrival.
Su Jinxiu rushed forward, grabbed the shovel they had thrown aside, and smashed it hard on one of the men's heads. The man groaned as he was hit on the back of the head and fell to the ground on the spot.
Hearing the noise, the other thief looked up and saw a woman knocking his accomplice to the ground. He roared and tried to grab the shovel from her hand.
Su Jinxiu was unwilling to let go. Thinking that they had prevented Wen Shiqin from resting in peace even after his death, a force came from nowhere and she pushed him away.
Seeing the resolute determination in her eyes to die together with her, and noticing her luxurious clothes, the thief guessed she was a member of a wealthy family and must have many followers behind her. He was immediately intimidated and, ignoring his brother on the ground, scrambled away.
After the thief left, Su Jinxiu collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Looking at the blood seeping from the back of the man's head, she was both shocked and frightened, and tears streamed down her face.
Then, gazing at the half-open coffin, she sobbed as she wiped away her tears and staggered to her feet.
Her legs were already weak and sore. She finally managed to move to the side of the coffin, but she didn't dare to look inside. Instead, she knelt down on the frozen ground beside her and wept bitterly.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I couldn't protect you... I'm so sorry..."
The two children had clearly heard the commotion up the mountain and, ignoring the servant's attempts to stop them, insisted on running up. When they saw their aunt crying bitterly and their uncle's coffin lid half-open, they immediately rushed forward.
Hearing footsteps, Su Jinxiu abruptly looked up through her tear-filled eyes. Seeing the two children almost reaching her and glancing into the coffin, she immediately covered their eyes, hugged them tightly, and angrily shouted at the servant, "What kind of servant can't even keep an eye on two children?"
The servant immediately knelt down and begged for mercy. Su Jinxiu took a deep breath and said softly, "Qingluan and Qingyi, be good. Auntie will let go. Don't look this way. Auntie is afraid you'll be frightened."
Qingluan, with her eyes covered, asked sensibly, "Auntie, why aren't you covering your eyes? Aren't you afraid?"
Afraid?
How could I not be afraid?
At the funeral hall, according to etiquette, Su Jinxiu should have covered his eyes and closed the coffin, but she fainted several times from crying and ultimately did not dare to look at his body.
But at this moment, she said to the children, "Don't be afraid. No matter what he becomes, Auntie isn't afraid."
Su Jinxiu handed the two children to the servant to take away, watched their figures disappear into the distance, then took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and, having prepared herself mentally, slowly turned around.
She could almost picture what was inside the coffin.
His face was surely devoid of any color; it was unclear whether he remained awake with a dying wish or had already closed his eyes in peace. It was unknown whether his hair was still jet black, or whether his face still held the spirited, captivating look of yesteryear.
But no matter what, she should look at him one more time.
However, when Su Jinxiu turned around and looked down to see the scene inside the coffin, she was instantly stunned.
Author's note: This hook is so long it seems to have forgotten what the world is all about [cat paw]. There will be another update tonight.
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