Song QingShu was stunned for a moment before he realized what she meant. It must be that the two of them on the bed … no, the romantic time on the boat was nothing, but now that her husband had died, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty, so she instinctively didn't want him to go with her.
"The goods on the Mirror Lake are safe for the time being. After dealing with things here, I will come to you and send the goods to Yangzhou as promised." After saying goodbye to him, Ruan Xingzhu stood up and left with the people of the Ruan Family.
Song Qingshu was not worried. Not to mention that Ruan Xingzhu was under the Life-and-Death Spell, he had also found time to control some of the backbone members of the Ruan Family. Therefore, even if Ruan Xingzhu risked her life, she couldn't take Liang Yuandi's treasures. At the same time, after entering Sichuan, he asked Ren Yingying to mobilize some people of the Sun Moon Sect to keep an eye on the Mirror Lake. If there was any abnormal movement, they would get the news.
Of course, after the rapid progress during this time, Song Qingshu didn't think that Ruan Xingzhu would take this opportunity to betray him. As the saying went, everything was done. Although they weren't in love, they had some feelings for each other.
Looking at the backs of the Ruan Family members leaving, Ren Yingying couldn't help but say, "Song Qingshu, are you really not going to help her?"
"If I go, her husband won't come back to life. Why should I add to her sadness? I believe Mrs. Ruan can handle the affairs of the Yang Family by herself." Song Qingshu took her hand and said softly, "I came to Sichuan for you, not for her."
Ren Yingying blushed. Although she was a little shy, she felt more sweet in her heart.
"I just asked about Lin Pingzhi. I heard that he abandoned his position and left. He probably went to find Yu Canghai for revenge." A trace of worry flashed on Song Qingshu's face. Although Lin Pingzhi's swordsmanship improved greatly after he taught him the Five Mountain Godly Sword, he didn't have much time to practice. This kind of righteous martial arts focused on accumulation, so he might not be able to help him succeed in revenge in a short time like the Bixie Swordbook.
Moreover, his internal force cultivation had always been his weakness. Qingcheng Sect was a sect that had been passed down for thousands of years. If he went alone, he probably wouldn't be able to take revenge.
"That Miss Yue should be accompanying him. Moreover, I don't think Lin Pingzhi is a reckless person. If he doesn't have absolute confidence, he won't make a move." Ren Yingying explained.
Song Qingshu nodded. "I hope so." With so many things to deal with here, he couldn't make a special trip to Qingcheng Mountain.
At this time, Yi Lin and Tian Boguang, who were in a distant corner, saw that the people at the table were talking about the same things over and over again. They knew that they wouldn't hear any new news, so they stood up and left.
Ren Yingying tugged at her lover's sleeve. "Let's follow them and see if Yi Lin and the others have any information."
Song Qingshu nodded. "Alright." He was also curious as to why these two would appear here.
On the other hand, Ruan Xingzhu anxiously returned to the Yang Family's mansion. At first, she was still holding onto a glimmer of hope. However, when she saw the white cloth hanging at the entrance, her entire body softened.
Pearl hurriedly supported her. "My condolences, Madam." Even though the people of the Ruan Family didn't have deep feelings for this son-in-law, he was still the son-in-law. Thinking that their madam would become a widow in the future, they all felt sympathy for him.
After a long time, Ruan Xingzhu calmed down and took a deep breath. "Let's go in first."
As they walked in, the sound of sobbing could be heard. At this time, the servants of the Yang Family noticed them and couldn't help but cry out in surprise. "Madam is back, Madam …" Halfway through, they suddenly remembered that their master was gone. Where did the joy come from?
Ruan Xingzhu was no longer in the mood to deal with these servants. She quickly walked towards the main hall with a straight face. She saw that it had already been turned into a mourning hall. All sorts of Daoists and the like were performing rituals at the side.
In front of the mourning hall, some women were crying and kneeling in a circle. Ruan Xingzhu glanced at them and recognized that they were all her husband's concubines. It should be known that the two of them only had a political marriage and had been separated for a long time. Ruan Xingzhu was unable to fulfill her duties as a wife. She also felt somewhat guilty in her heart, so she turned a blind eye to the matter of him taking in concubines.
"Sister …"
"Madam …"
When the group of women saw her, they all rushed over and began to cry. The mournful atmosphere made Ruan Xingzhu's eyes start to turn red.
However, she was a woman who had experienced great storms and waves after all.
Very quickly, she collected her emotions. "When did Master pass away?"
"About five days ago, when we received Wu Xi's conscription letter …" One of the concubines couldn't finish her sentence and was already sobbing. The reason why she was so sad was partly because of Yang Zhenzhong, and partly because she was afraid of the future. The fate of women in this world was already rough. After losing their husband as a backer, their fate for the rest of their lives could be imagined.
"Where's Master's body? I want to see it," Ruan Xingzhu suddenly said.
Another person pointed at the coffin at the back of the mourning hall. "After Master's accident, we hastily collected his body and transported it back to Chengdu. We planned to bury him in the ancestral grave. Originally, we had sent someone to inform Madam, but with the chaos of war, we most likely wouldn't be able to find Madam for a while. I didn't expect Madam to return so soon."
"I just happened to come to Sichuan to do something," Ruan Xingzhu answered casually. She walked to the back of the mourning hall and gently stroked the shiny black coffin. Thinking of the marriage alliance years ago, she had married into Sichuan with a heart full of apprehension. Thinking of how although they were far apart these years, they could still be considered to be respectful to each other … Humans were not plants and trees, so how could they be emotionless?
Unknowingly, a layer of mist appeared in her eyes. A stream of tears rolled down her fair cheeks like pearls from a broken necklace. "Zhenzhong, I didn't expect that I wouldn't even be able to see you for the last time …"
After crying for a long time, she suddenly said, "Has the coffin been sealed? Find someone to open the coffin. I want to see Master. "
As soon as this sentence came out, apart from the concubines, even the Yang family instantly burst into an uproar.
"Madam, you can't do that."
"How can we open the coffin? Won't this disturb Master's rest?"
"Opening the coffin will be very inauspicious!"
…
Ruan Xingzhu knew that it was a taboo to open the coffin in this society. If she was in the Ruan family, she could stand up against the opinions of the masses. However, she was now in the Yang family. Moreover, there were already many people in the Yang family who were somewhat critical of her behavior of showing her face outside. Now that her husband was dead, who would listen to her?
"Second Uncle? Where is Second Uncle?" Ruan Xingzhu knew that she couldn't explain things clearly to these people, so she could only pin her hopes on her husband's brother. The two brothers were the ones in charge of the entire Yang family. Although the patriarch was her husband, Yang Zhenzhong, Yang Juyuan also had great power. The two of them helped each other in the officialdom, and many matters in the family were decided by the two brothers after discussion.
Yang Juyuan was a local official, so his experience was naturally not comparable to that of ordinary family members. Right now, Ruan Xingzhu had some doubts in her heart. She believed that only Second Uncle could stand on her side now.
"Second Master has been keeping watch here for the whole night. He's currently resting in the study," someone immediately answered after hearing her question.
Ruan Xingzhu nodded and turned to walk towards the study. When she was about to reach it, Yang Juyuan had already received the news and came out to welcome her. "Sister-in-law, you're finally back."
Yang Juyuan was about ten years younger than her husband, but he had the calmness of mingling in the officialdom. Coupled with his dignified appearance, Yang Zhenzhong had often praised this capable younger brother of his when he was alive, believing him to be the hope of the family.
"If I had come back a few days earlier, this might not have been the result."
Ruan Xingzhu was also filled with guilt.
"This matter can't be blamed on Madam. It can only be said that this is fate. However, when Big Brother knows that you're back, he will definitely be smiling in the underworld." Yang Juyuan comforted her while inviting her into the study. At the same time, he personally poured a cup of tea for her.
"Right, speaking of which, Sister-in-law has something to ask of you," Ruan Xingzhu suddenly said.
Yang Juyuan sternly replied, "Now that Big Brother has unfortunately passed away, Sister-in-law's matter is my matter. If you have any requests, feel free to tell me. As long as Juyuan can do it, I will definitely not refuse."
Ruan Xingzhu frowned slightly. She felt that his words sounded strange, but she couldn't tell what was strange. In addition, she was in a hurry to open the coffin, so she didn't think too much about it. She continued to say, "I want to open the coffin and take a look at your Big Brother."
Yang Juyuan couldn't help but frown. "Opening the coffin is not a small matter. Why would Sister-in-law have this idea?"
Ruan Xingzhu explained, "I know your Big Brother's personality. Although he is somewhat dull, he is not a reckless person. Even if he was unwilling to accept Wu Xi's appointment, it is unlikely that he would make such an extreme choice as suicide." There was another reason that she didn't say. Although they spent more time apart than together, she knew her husband's affection for her. She knew that he would not be willing to abandon her like this.
Yang Juyuan was shocked. "Sister-in-law, what do you mean?"
Ruan Xingzhu pondered for a moment before saying, "I suspect that your Big Brother did not commit suicide."
"Then who killed him?" Yang Juyuan slammed the table and stood up. Clearly, he was extremely agitated when he suddenly heard this news.
"I only have a suspicion. I'm not very sure, so I need to open the coffin and examine his body." Ruan Xingzhu suddenly thought of something. "Right, I heard that you were the one who buried your Big Brother. Did you notice anything unusual at the time?"
Yang Juyuan shook his head. "I didn't notice anything unusual at the time. Maybe I was too sad at the time and didn't pay attention to anything else."
"Is that so …" Ruan Xingzhu was a little disappointed and began to think.
"But I also feel that Big Brother can't die without knowing why." Yang Juyuan pondered for a moment, then said resolutely, "I support opening the coffin and examining the body."
"That's great, but the people from the Yang family …" Ruan Xingzhu was very experienced. She knew that this matter would be very difficult to handle.
Yang Juyuan also frowned and said, "Those people are indeed a problem. You should know that the people here have always believed that opening the coffin is not a good thing. If we open the coffin publicly, I'm afraid it will cause a huge uproar, and we may not succeed. Why don't we open the coffin and examine the body secretly in the middle of the night? This way, we won't alarm the people in the family and should be able to minimize the impact."
Ruan Xingzhu nodded. "That's good." In fact, she had thought of a similar idea just now, but it was impossible for her to do it alone. Now that she had Yang Juyuan's help, it was naturally different.
"Sister-in-law, I need to make some arrangements first. I need to see how we can send the people on night watch away at night to make some time," Yang Juyuan said.
"Okay, I'll go change into mourning clothes first, then go to the mourning hall to pay my respects to your Big Brother." Ruan Xingzhu revealed a bitter smile and quickly left with a heavy heart.
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