She fell out after crying at the wrong grave

September 30th is a day of bad luck and blood taboos, with the dragon and the south facing evil. It is a good day for burials and weddings.

It was rare that the sky was not sunny in Kezhou, the northern part of the country.

Thick clouds pressed down over the sky, and the last dead leaves on the branches were driven by the north wind and fell onto the dirt road outside the city. They were trampled into powder and mixed in the sand and dust, ending their lives in loneliness.

The ceremony of offering sacrifices along the road was like a stream of water, and it was carried out outside the city. The mourning tents on both sides were close to each other, and there was no empty space.

The sky was filled with burning paper flowers. The guests who were mourning around him hurriedly reached out their hands to put out the sparks on their robes.

The long procession of the spirit coming out of Zhaohou Mansion surrounded the coffin, bypassed the entire Kezhou city, and headed towards the Heng family's ancestral tomb.

The girl stood at the back of the procession, dressed in heavy mourning clothes, holding a mourning stick in one hand and holding her friend Zhou Saozi, who was already crying, in the other.

There was no time to wipe away the falling tears, which made the corners of the eyes and cheeks red.

Today is the day of the funeral of Zhao Hou, who guards Kezhou.

If you ask me why I am so sad, it is certainly not because of any deep friendship.

A few days ago, Cui Ao and Zhou Saozi were paid to be hired to mourn and dress up. After five taels of silver were paid, Ao was willing to cry from the beginning to the end of the funeral.

"We've finally arrived." Mrs. Zhou wiped her face and straightened her back. "Although we won't get food after noon, at least we're only one step away. Take the money and we'll go to the city to have a drink."

The auspicious time is still a little bit away, I have to gather my strength before crying.

Ah-yi nodded.

Speaking of their profession, it is not well-received. Da Chong ruled the country with benevolence and filial piety as the most important thing, and mourners who sang funeral songs and mourners who cried at funerals were all low-class jobs.

But I earn a lot of money, who can resist money?
Ah-yi had been displaced from the capital to here, and had cried at countless funerals. She relied on this to make a living, so that she would not become a ghost too early.

"I'm going to the front to get some water." She stood up tiredly with a pair of swollen peach eyes, and stuffed the green onion hidden in her sleeve to the other person, indicating that she should put it away.

I can't cry without this green onion.

The Heng family's ancestral tomb had not been visited for a long time, and Zhao Hou was not a filial son or a virtuous grandson, so in order to raise funds for military expenses, he saved the expense of having people keep the tomb.

So when the day came when he was about to be buried in his ancestral tomb, no one offered him any hospitality in such a huge procession.

As a last resort, Ah'ao had to walk to the deserted house and set her sights on the large vat at the door.

Although it was not winter yet, the weather in the remote northern area was already extremely cold. When I lifted the bamboo cover, I saw a thin layer of ice on the water surface, which made my fingertips feel frozen.

Ah'ao was so angry that if she drank this she would be buried with old Marquis Zhao on the spot. She huddled down and covered the bamboo lid again.

Forget it. For the sake of five taels of silver, just bear with it for now.

She was about to turn around and go back when suddenly, a metallic clanging sound came from the air.

When Ah'ao heard the sound, she looked and saw a cold, white sharp blade coming towards her head, just brushing her cheek and flying straight towards the water tank behind her!
With a crisp sound, the water tank broke into pieces on the ground.

Ah's body went limp and she fell to the ground. The cold water mixed with ice quickly soaked through her linen clothes which were not cold-resistant to begin with.

Her head buzzed and all five senses disappeared, and her soul was shaking up and down with this accident.

The long knife was stuck straight into the soil just a palm's distance from her forehead, and half of the blade was covered with sticky, rusty blood.

Sooner or later, you will have to spend the money you earn from dead people on yourself.

Ah'ao trembled all over and thought desolately.

This was followed by a burst of hurried horse hooves sounds.

The man riding the horse in front was also dressed in heavy mourning.

Just as he saw the horse was about to crash into the crowd, he took the reins in his hand and pulled hard, causing the horse to instantly calm down.

The leader, whose surname was Zhao, was standing at the front and almost died under the hooves of the fierce horse.

Mourning clothes are a shapeless piece of cloth, but they don't look bulky on this person. Just looking at his back, his upright figure is not encumbered at all, like the cool and clear bamboo in the forest.

Sitting high on the horse, his calm demeanor far surpassed the group of ugly guys standing behind him.

But he is definitely not a good person. It is most likely that he was the one who threw the knife just now.

"I didn't know who took the initiative to break the clay pot for me when my son was not around?" The man's voice was not as strong as the wine, and it was full of sarcasm.

Banlang went out to relieve himself, but was too frightened to go out after seeing this scene. He hid in the back room and watched for a long time before he opened the door and sneaked out to help Ah'an up.

Unexpectedly, Ah's body was still limp, and I used all my strength to fail to pull her up.

Wanlang felt a little embarrassed, so he simply found a dry place and sat on the ground with A'ao.

Finally regaining some consciousness, Ah-yi took a closer look at the person who came, "Are you here to attend a funeral? But who would ride such a fast horse to attend a funeral?"

Wanlang was well-informed, and upon seeing this he quietly introduced a few things to A'ao.

"You are new to Kezhou, so you may not understand. The person involved in today's case, the old Marquis of Zhao, Hengqi, has only one legitimate son in his life, named Hengzhi, who is the heir of the Marquis of Zhao and will succeed to the throne as the new Marquis of Zhao."

"The one riding the fast horse in the front is the prince. He is young and unruly, and has always been at odds with his father. These people took the initiative to set a date for the funeral, which has brought shame to him. He must be furious! But these are all high-ranking nobles, and there are many gossips about them. Let's just watch for fun."

It turned out to be his biological son. But his biological son did not show up until the funeral. Ah-yi suddenly realized, and was a little surprised and scared.

What’s scary is that she was lucky enough to escape from the capital early.

When she was in her teens, she submitted many memorials to win over Kezhou, including petitioning to marry her to the prince of Kezhou as a concubine.

At that time, she was not even as tall as the stack of memorial papers. When she heard people talking about "marrying", she cried as if her parents had died, so she was caught and made to stand for a whole day as punishment.

The scorching sky, that hot summer day, and the dress that was soaked with sweat and stuck to her body will be unforgettable for Ah'ao.

But how come I ended up running into this guy after going around in circles?
Ah'ao stared ahead in a daze with a very pessimistic look, as if her life had been as precarious as hanging on the edge of a knife.

"Hengzhi! What do you mean by this!" Seeing this, General Zhao blew his beard and glared, pointing at the prince and started to curse, "You unfilial thing! When your father was alive, you never fulfilled your filial duties for a single day. Now that he has passed away, you are here to make trouble! There is no such a bastard young master as you in Kezhou!"

Hengzhi looked down at this uncle who used to be the crown prince, and found it extremely ironic.

The old marquis died in the bed of a singing girl in a brothel, and it would be embarrassing to tell anyone about it.

He rushed back from the patrol camp overnight, changed his clothes, and began to deal with the dozen or so women left behind by Heng Qi without stopping.

The women cried one after another, and he felt dizzy and had tinnitus.

These people said he was unfilial today, and he admitted it. Heng Qi was a worthless person, and he couldn't expect Heng Qi to be like Yu Shun.

Anyway, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will be crooked too.

But scolding him while coveting the entire Kezhou, that means he is not treating him as a human being. Hengzhi originally did not want to wear mourning clothes, but the clothes underneath were soaked with blood. Bathed in blood, he looked like a ghost crawling out of the underworld, so he had to cover up a little.

On the way back to the city, not only did they avoid several ambushes, but they also killed several desperate stalkers. It was not easy to kill people while also getting injured.

The old Marquis Heng Qi valued the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, and even though he had never met the Marquis's wife for decades, he was still willing to say a few words to his son. If he saw his son killing his way through the bloody funeral procession, I'm afraid the coffin would not be able to hold him down.

"Okay." Hengzhi tightened the reins, his brows drooping, "Since you don't want to pretend anymore, then I won't bother pretending either."

There were deep forests all around. Suddenly, there were a few rustling sounds, and hidden guards in black clothes emerged like mushrooms after a rain, surrounding the white team.

"General Zhao, I call you a general again. From today on, you must make an apology to my father when you see him in the underworld. You didn't want to die in bad luck on the day of a funeral." The long sword slowly slid out of the scabbard at the side of his body. Hengzhi spoke coldly, emphasizing each word, with murderous intent.

"You! How dare you!" He turned out to be a soldier, and his beard was now blowing even higher than his head.

Kezhou was a piece of fat meat, and only without Hengzhi would there be a chance to divide it up. But until today, he finally realized that even if Zhao Hou disliked this son, it would not be the turn of others to sit at the top of Kezhou.

The black-clad hidden guards were originally the private soldiers of Marquis Zhao. Seeing how Hengzhi commanded them with ease, I'm afraid they had already changed their ways and become Hengzhi's subordinates.

Judging from his ferocious appearance, he is more than just daring.

General Zhao gritted his teeth and ordered his troops to draw their swords, finally realizing that the battle today was unavoidable.

The huge funeral procession stripped off their white clothes in an instant, revealing their cold weapons.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Ah'ao grabbed her husband and ran away, hiding behind a tree, crouching like a quail, hoping that these old men were blind and could not see them.

Damn it, why are they fighting?

There was nothing wrong with fighting, but what she was worried about was that after seeing what happened today and the fact that the prince was so cruel, would he let them become the innocent souls buried with Marquis Zhao?

Wouldn’t that mean I can’t get the silver?
Soon, the clanging sounds of swords and the tragic sight of blood and flesh flying everywhere broke into her eyes unreasonably.

But it didn't last long.

In late autumn, the sky gets dark early. Ah-yi thought about the countermeasures over and over again. When a gust of wind blew past, the men in black began to clean up the battlefield as if they were picking the right time. Speed ​​is of the essence in war, and it is true.

A man wearing soft armor walked up to Ah'an, pulled up the bloody long knife on the ground, and his eyes fell on these quails.

"Get up, all of you, and follow me!"

When their names were called, several people shuddered. Ah-yi was also affected and shuddered twice. Her legs were so numb that she could hardly squat. When they looked at each other, they were both heroic and ready to die.

With the blade across her body, she was urged to come before Hengzhi.

The prince pretended to be elegant and noble again, sitting in front of his father's tombstone with his long legs bent. He took his knife, tore off a piece of the dead man's clothes at random, and wiped it carelessly.

Wipe it over and over again. Wipe it over and over again.

It was as if the person being dug a pit and buried behind him was not his father, and he didn't care at all.

Ah'an gritted her teeth and watched in fear.

The next moment, Hengzhi flipped the knife in his hand, and her body softened and she knelt on the ground.

"My Lord, please understand! I am only earning a living by crying at funerals. Today, it was this damned General Zhao who hired us here. We didn't see anything! Please be wise and brave, and spare our lives!"

Ah'ao prostrated herself on the ground, put her hands on her forehead, and begged with her whole body trembling.

Mrs. Zhou and several groomsmen behind him were almost stunned.

Afraid of death, these four words are as conspicuous as if engraved on her face.

But what does face mean now? When a person dies, it is like a light going out. She doesn't want to pay for both the money and her life today, and be buried with the old Marquis Zhao.

After a long while, a light laugh was heard from the man at the top.

The irony in this laugh seemed to have trampled on her backbone thousands of times, making it as light as a feather.

"The money has been given, let them go." The prince took out a purse from his arms and threw it to Yun Cheng beside him.

Sniffing the smell of soil on the ground, Ah'ao clenched her teeth and let out a long sigh.

At least you, Hengzhi, are a good person.

After pretending to thank him a few more times, Ah'an quickly got up and prepared to leave the sight of the King of Hell at the fastest speed in her life.

I will never come to Kezhou again in my lifetime! I will pack my things and leave at night!

Ah's heart was screaming like a stone that had stirred up a thousand waves, but before she could feel excited, the voice from the underworld, urging her to die, finally caught up with her.

The cold blade suddenly attacked from behind and crossed A'an's neck.

"You stop."

Do you really have to show off your sharp knife?

Ah'ao stood there frozen like a log, not even a strand of her hair dared to flutter in the wind.

I glanced at the knife from the side and it was so bright that it could reflect a person's shadow.

She closed her eyes in despair.

In the past year or so, everyone who had been chasing her had a knife three fingers wide, but none of them were as bright or as sharp as this one.

If there was any kind words to say at the moment of death, she probably had this one in her mind: Burn more paper for me.

The people around seemed to be frozen, and their eyes were secretly looking over here.

The prince held the knife in one hand and patted the corner of his clothes with the other hand to brush off the dust. Even raw linen cloth looked like silk on him. Clothes are noble because of the person who wears them.

The man stood up and walked closer. His tall figure completely covered Ah'an, who was as small as a rabbit in front of him.

"I didn't tell you to leave, Your Highness?"

Just the last two words made Ah'ao feel cold from head to toe, as if she had been sentenced to death by the King of Hell.

(End of this chapter)