Shocking Mountain Moon

Chapter 3 Helpless
Chen's mother was buried halfway up the mountain, together with Chen's father.

The mountain wind is cold, the new grave is desolate, and the paper money burns to ashes that are scattered by the wind.

"Girl, go home." Fangzhou, with red eyes, persuaded the girl kneeling in front of the grave.

Qiu Heng stood up, staggered due to kneeling for too long, and was supported by a pair of hands.

"Thank you, Mother Wang." Qiu Heng thanked the woman who helped her.

Mother Wang looked at the girl who was thanking her softly, and felt something strange in her heart.

The child's eyes were swollen from crying for the past three days, and he looked dazed, but now he seemed to have calmed down.

The people from the village who came to help had long since dispersed. The only people left on the mountain were Mother Wang, Manager Qiu, and the servants and coachmen they brought with them. The group was stopped as soon as they reached the foot of the mountain.

"Ah Heng, where is our Yunxiang?"

Qiu Heng's eyes moved, and she recognized the woman who rushed in front of her - Yunxiang's aunt, Aunt Xiu.

That day, Yunxiang asked her to go pick aromatic herbs. When she went to the pond to wash her hands, as soon as she bent down, Yunxiang pushed her into the pond.

"Yunxiang went out with you, why are you the only one back?" Aunt Xiu asked.

"Yunxiang...didn't go home?" Qiu Heng stared at Aunt Xiu with inquiry in her eyes, and her doubts deepened.

She and Yunxiang had been friends since childhood, and she still couldn't figure out why Yunxiang would hurt her. Yunxiang's disappearance was even more confusing, because she couldn't have pushed her into the water and then jumped in too?
"You haven't come home yet. Tell me where Yunxiang has gone!"

"I do not know."

"I don't know?" Aunt Xiu's tone became excited. "We thought it was not easy for you to lose your parents so quickly that we waited until your mother was buried before asking you. You just said you didn't know and you wanted to get away with it? Tell me, did you harm Yunxiang?"

Mother Wang couldn't stand it any longer: "Sister, please don't say such nonsense. If you slander our daughter, we will report it to the police."

Aunt Xiu was stunned, she sat down on the ground, slapped her thigh and cried: "Oh my God, Yunxiang lost her parents when she was young, her uncle and I raised her with great difficulty, and now she is missing and they still want to send us to see the officials, is there any justice..."

The man who came with Aunt Xiu seemed not to dare to offend anyone, and his tone was much better: "My wife is too sad. She has always treated Yunxiang as her own daughter."

Qiu Heng looked at the couple and understood their real purpose - they had realized that the person who came to pick her up was of extraordinary status and was asking for benefits.

That's it. If he was really worried about Yunxiang, he wouldn't have waited until his mother was buried before asking. In fact, everyone in the village knew how mean Aunt Xiu was to Yunxiang.

Qiu Heng thought about all this and didn't tell anyone about how Yunxiang had harmed her.

If you don't know anything, you will make more mistakes if you talk too much. Yunxiang has a lot of complaints against her uncle and aunt, and it is unlikely that they know what Yunxiang is thinking.

"Our girl is still confused because of the death of her adoptive parents. You two should look for her somewhere else." Manager Qiu spoke politely, but his expression was warning as he put a few pieces of silver into the man's hand.

The man was delighted to get the silver and hurriedly took Aunt Xiu away.

Mother Wang sneered: "So he came here to extort money."

Manager Qiu said indifferently: "Let's go back first and talk about it later."

After entering the Chen family, Manager Qiu said directly: "Sixth Miss, pack up and leave tomorrow."

Qiu Heng immediately heard the strength in the tone.

"I can only leave after my parents pass their 77th day of mourning."

Manager Qiu raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Sixth Miss, the family is looking forward to seeing you. We can't keep the elders waiting for too long."

The girl lowered her eyes and repeated in a low voice: "I can only leave after my parents pass away."

Manager Qiu's face darkened: "Sixth Miss, please think it over carefully."

The girl simply stopped talking.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Mother Wang hurriedly pulled Steward Qiu out and pleaded in a low voice, "Just as the steward said before, the Sixth Miss just lost her adoptive parents and is feeling very sad..." "Do we really have to wait until her adoptive parents pass the 47th day after their death? Who will take the blame if the old uncle and the old lady blame us?"

Mother Wang lowered her attitude: "The old uncle and the old lady are kind and will definitely understand. The steward should also understand. The most important thing is to bring the sixth girl back safely, don't you think?"

"Heh." Manager Qiu sneered and returned to the city with his entourage.

Yunfeng Village is not far from the city. In the past two days, the people from the Qiu family helped with the funeral during the day and returned to the inn in the city at night, leaving only Mother Wang to live in the Chen family.

Mother Wang couldn't sleep at night. She sighed as she listened to the wind outside the window.

It will probably be difficult for the girl to return to the Earl's Mansion.

The next day, Qiu Heng got up at dawn, washed up, and told Fang Zhou, "When Mother Wang wakes up and asks about me, tell her that I went up the mountain to accompany my parents."

"Don't worry girl."

Qiu Heng went to the house closest to her home.

A boy who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old was walking into the house with firewood in his arms. He caught a glimpse of the girl standing quietly, with the firewood scattered all over the floor.

"Ah Heng, why are you here?" The young man was a little at a loss.

"Brother Xiaoshan, do you know who killed my father?"

The boy named Xiaoshan grew up with Qiuheng and worked as an apprentice in a spice shop in the city last year. On that day, he received the news that his mother was ill and rushed home. He happened to see Chen's father being hit by a galloping horse and flew away. He asked someone to help send Chen's father back.

Facing Qiu Heng's question, the young man unconsciously looked away: "Those people were riding too fast, I couldn't see clearly..."

Qiu Heng's eyelids trembled slightly, and tears rolled down: "After my mother's seventh day of mourning, I will go to the capital. Brother Xiaoshan, if you saw anything, please tell me, I don't want to be confused..."

"Ah Heng, are you really a girl from a wealthy family?" Xiaoshan's expression changed when he heard Qiu Heng say that she was leaving.

“They said yes.”

"If you go to the capital, will you never come back?"

"Ah."

Xiaoshan was stunned for a moment, with a look of struggle on his face, then he reached into his arms, took out something and stuffed it into Qiuheng's hand.

It feels slightly cool to the touch, and it is an exquisitely carved jade pendant.

"That man was riding in the front, and he didn't get off his horse after knocking Uncle Chen away... I recognized Uncle Chen and went to help him, and found this jade pendant that had fallen on the ground..."

Qiu Heng stared at the jade pendant in her hand silently without blinking.

The girl's silence was like a huge rock, weighing heavily on the boy's heart.

Xiao Shan gritted his teeth and spoke in a voice so low that it was almost inaudible: "There was a man who looked like the young master of Fu Hai Lou. He was following at the end... Ah Heng, I've told you everything I know. Don't even think about reporting it to the police. For Uncle Chen and Aunt Chen, your future well-being is more important than anything else..."

At the end, the boy felt a little regretful.

"Brother Xiaoshan, don't worry. I won't report it to the police." Qiu Heng tightly grasped the jade pendant, her eyes slightly red. "So many people from the capital came to pick me up, but they won't let me report it to the police. I'll be satisfied if I can know a little more about the situation on the day my father got into trouble..."

A few days later in the capital, the Yongqing Marquis' Mansion received a letter from Steward Qiu.

Madam Yongqing looked at it and frowned, "It has been confirmed. It is the sixth girl who went missing that year."

Yongqing Bo took a sip of tea and said casually: "It's a good thing to be able to find it back."

"Both her adoptive parents died in a short period of time. I think this girl has a tough life." Lady Yongqing said in a deep voice, with undisguised disdain in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)