Emperor Kangxi was indeed wronged. This was the first time he had ever encountered such a shameless girl, and it terrified him.
Youqing knew about Kangxi, so she didn't say anything more.
This was just a minor incident on their journey; they had to keep going.
After leaving Anyang, their next stop was Luoyang.
As they approached Luoyang, around noon, the group stopped to rest and have lunch.
Before we had finished our meal, we heard the sound of suona horns, gongs, and drums. The sound was quite mournful. Were we encountering a funeral procession?
Presumably, they had encountered several weddings along the way, but this was the first time they had seen a funeral procession.
Hearing the sound, Liang Jiugong went to investigate. After a while, he ran over and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it's a funeral procession. They're coming this way and they're almost there."
Kangxi said, "Pack up and keep a low profile."
He wasn't exactly averse to the matter, but eating with it was somewhat inappropriate for him.
The group quickly packed their things, and the funeral procession arrived. Fortunately, the road wasn't narrow, so they managed to avoid it and didn't bother the procession.
Looking at the line approaching, Youqing exclaimed, "There are so many people!"
There were a large and impressive group of people, numbering approximately a thousand.
In families that value kinship, the death of an elder is indeed a significant event, with not only relatives and friends but also the entire village coming to pay their respects.
As the procession entered, Youqing took a look. Although everyone was dressed in mourning clothes, she could still make out some things. These people didn't seem like villagers; they must be from a wealthy family in the city.
They didn't take it too seriously, and the procession was about to pass by in mourning when, as the coffin passed in front of them, something unexpected happened: a sound came from inside the coffin.
Seeing this, those around Kangxi immediately assumed a protective stance, but the funeral procession's expressions remained unchanged, as if they were unaware of the sudden turn of events, as if the sounds coming from the coffin were an illusion.
After a while, they saw another coffin being carried away, but this one made no sound.
A little while later, another coffin was carried over.
The funeral procession finally came to an end.
Good heavens, three coffins! What's going on? It's unlikely that two families would be buried together, but three people from one family died, and the sound that came from the coffin just now... it all seems very strange.
"Liang Jiugong, send two people to investigate."
It's not a big deal to bury three dead people together, but the person in that coffin just now didn't look like a dead person. I wonder what's going on.
Emperor Kangxi wanted to know, so he naturally ordered someone to investigate.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Youqing was beside Kangxi when he spoke. After Liang Jiugong left, Youqing asked, "Did you feel something was off just now?"
"Yes, I have read some travelogues before, and it is said that some places have the custom of burying living animals with the dead."
It's unclear what the situation is. It wouldn't matter if live poultry were used for burial, but the problem is that living people are used, which Emperor Kangxi disliked very much.
Even royal families no longer have the custom of burying their dead with the deceased.
He did not approve of burial with the dead. He believed that when a person dies, everything is extinguished and the past becomes nothing but smoke and clouds. Burying with the dead was simply a disregard for human life.
Besides, Emperor Kangxi would have preferred a larger population for the Qing Dynasty. Even if there were no extra people to be buried alive, they were still people!
Youqing didn't think as "profoundly" as he did, but as soon as she heard that it was about burying living beings with the dead, she immediately thought of the practice of burying animals with the dead.
When I first watched the TV series, I was excited because the Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum was made of real people, not terracotta warriors.
The practice of burying people with the dead was indeed not uncommon in ancient times.
Not far from here was a town, and they found an inn to stay in. Liang Jiugong sent two people to find out what had happened.
It wasn't hard to find out; the results came out that very evening.
Actually, only one person died, not three. The other two were living people who were buried alive with the deceased, but they have now been rescued by the secret guards and reassigned.
There's a small town here, and in that town lived a wealthy family surnamed Yuan. They were merchants, and it was said they had some shady connections. When the matriarch's grandson passed away, she was heartbroken and worried that he would be lonely in the afterlife. So she had someone calculate his birth date and time and specially found two people whose birth dates were compatible with her grandson's to be buried with him, and they were even buried alive.
Of the three coffins, the second one contained a dead person, while the other two contained living people.
The two people were originally drugged and put into coffins, but one of the girls woke up early and made some noise, which led Kangxi to discover something was wrong. Otherwise, even if Kangxi thought it was strange that three people in a family died, he would not have investigated further.
"This is outrageous! These people have no regard for the law and have no respect for the court or the law."
Youqing quickly tried to calm him down. Youqing also felt angry about this, but the person had already been saved, and getting angry would only ruin her health, which wasn't worth it.
"Alright, what's done is done. Instead of brooding, let's think about what to do!"
The Yuan family was clearly not a small clan in the area, and it wouldn't have been difficult to find out about the burial arrangements. The local government should have known about it as well. To know but not report it, to know but not take action, is to disregard the law and human life.
"I know I shouldn't be angry, but I just can't help being angry."
"If you were so easily angered by everything, you would have died of anger long ago. Enough already. This matter really needs to be addressed. Living people's names, a wealthy gentryman has caused the deaths of two living people. This is no small matter. Disregarding human life, it's good to investigate and set an example for others."
Judging from the Yuan family's indifferent attitude, they don't seem to think that having someone die with them is a wrong thing.
"You're right, I really shouldn't have been angry."
He's actually regressing as he gets older, which is really a shame.
At this moment, the matriarch of the Yuan family was looking at her son and daughter-in-law with a mournful face. Her grandson was gone, and it was all their fault for not taking good care of him.
“Mother, please calm down and don’t be angry. Bao’er is closest to you. If he knew you were so heartbroken over him in the afterlife, he probably wouldn’t rest in peace.”
The youngest grandson of the Yuan family who died was named Yuanbao, a very noble name.
Hearing her son's words, the matriarch of the Yuan family couldn't help but cry again: "My precious baby, why did you leave so early? How am I supposed to live now... Waaah..."
It was clear that the old lady was truly heartbroken. Upon hearing this, Madam Yuan lowered her head and couldn't help but reveal a mocking smile. That little bastard deserved to die. He relied on the old lady's habits every day, making it difficult for her son, the eldest legitimate son, to move an inch in the mansion and to do anything.
Just as expected! Evil begets evil. He went out drinking and was beaten up afterward. When he was found the next day, he was already dead. He deserved it.
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