CH 6

Xiao Duo went to the center and sneered, "These sour scholars are about to make official articles, and in terms of ruthlessness, they are not inferior to Dong Chang."

In the palace, each place has its own function. For example, Qin'an Hall is dedicated to Emperor Zhenwu. At Daoist festivals, Taoist officials in the palace would prepare ritual offerings as usual. The queen and concubine will also come to pay incense and pay their respects, which is similar to a family shrine. Since this was the family's sacred shrine, seeing coffins was common. There were fifty-eight coffins in order in the wide hall, all coffins fir black lacquered.

The cabinet seems to have nothing to do with this Chaotian girl who once lived. They all fold hands and watch. When they saw Xiao Du enter the door, they bowed their hands and called him Master Xiao.

He returned the salute, turned to look at the man in the coffin, turned his face away and asked Wei Cheng, “Why did such a thing happen? I've checked it in the Zhongzheng Hall before. What are you going to say now? Don't understand?"

Wei Cheng hurriedly said, “As the Overseer said. I had checked it carefully according to your instructions before carrying out the burial and once it was confirmed it was transported to the Qin'an Palace. There were also cases where the hanged were still alive and only suspended animation. At first they were shaking and throbbing and when their throats loosened they were able to breathe again halfway."

Xiao Duo frowned, "Fortunately, I haven't sent it to the front yet. If something goes wrong there, I don't know how many people will be summoned to see my joke!"

As he spoke, he carefully examined the face in front of him. She wasn't particularly pretty but seemed a lot more pleasant to look at than when she first saw him. Some people are so weird, they don't seem extraordinary at first glance, but they can wow you at second sight. Bu Yin Lou is such a person. His face shows affection. After being frightened, he stared in amazement. Her pitiful appearance was extremely charming. No wonder King Fu has thought about it for so long.

“What should I do…” He pondered for a moment, “Or just close the coffin and stab the outside. He will die shortly before we leave.”

When he heard those words, the expression on his face collapsed, and he struggled to say, "Master, if we go to the execution grounds again, that too could cause trouble. We have no reason to fix it."

He didn't answer, he turned around and asked the people in the cabinet, "What do you think, gentlemen?"

Dong Chang's work is indeed inhuman, but it is too outrageous to seal the coffins of the living.

To die is to die even if the method of death is different. Xiao Duo sneered in his heart, it is the same death, the means are different, the results are not the same! This writer likes to act and looks disgusting.

"I just heard what the Queen said, and everyone heard it. I think it makes sense. Since she has died once, you shouldn't let people die a second time. If the heavens don't accept her, it's hard to stop her. Isn't it a shame for her Lord of Hell?" He stroked his chin, "Just erase this girl's name from the list."

This time, the cabinet official paused, "It was suggested to have an even number of funerals. But now fifty-eight people have become fifty-seven. What should we do?"

Xiao Duo said, "It doesn't matter. I just came from Chengqian Palace. Concubine Shao and His Majesty the Emperor have a deep relationship. I was late and he had committed suicide by hanging himself from the beam. At this time, Concubine Shao had replaced the phoenix crown and Xia Peinya's dress. After tomorrow's funeral, Palace Zi will enter the Jinshen Hall again. In this way, the number of people remains the same. Concubine Shao's death will fulfill that odd number"

Everyone looked at each other worriedly. When the emperor dies the throne will be vacant. It made sense that the imperial concubine had to fully support King Rong, but she was about to die when Xiao Duo said she had to die. Everyone knows the tricks inside, but it's inappropriate to expose it. This is also a shock, Dong Chang can't deny it at will. 

This eunuch had a good-natured face, and what he was doing was definitely not that noble. Even so what he said was the case even if the country replaced someone to sit in his position, as long as the criticism was still in his hands, no one could do anything to him.

"If that's the case, write down the name!" Scholar Hanlin was holding a list of names and was about to write, but Xiao Duo raised his hand to stop him.

“There is no need to record it. This can be considered that she has done her service to His Majesty the Emperor. She will not lie down in the coffin in vain.” Concubine Shun Duan, I think that's pretty good. So let's go!"

He transformed himself into the most just and selfless person in the world. The cabinet scholar was stunned for a long time and hesitated, “Master Xiao, there has never been a living person who was given a posthumous title in ancient times. Look…”

She was a little impatient, frowned and said, "Elder Ge is too stupid to be flexible. Who can put a posthumous title in his mouth and call it? Together with the members of the Daxing Emperor's family, she is called a concubine then it is enough to enter the Tailing tomb to guard the tomb."

Yin Lou had been hanged at the execution ground before. His brain was dull and couldn't turn around. But when they had to order him to die one more time, the conversation sounded a little clearer. Lying in the coffin listening to them come and go. He knew that the person in front of him was the famous Overseer Eunuch Xiao Duo. What a big surprise.

He had not been in the palace for a long time. Many of the eunuchs he saw had been hit on their shoulders and dropped their waists. Because they had been beaten before, they were afraid of the pain and couldn't stretch their legs anymore. Then it would have the effect of bending for the rest of their lives so they could no longer stand straight. 

But this eunuch was different. He was tall and straight, no different from those ministers. If Yin Lou had to tell the difference, he would probably look paler, more handsome, and more robust in manner.

People outside often said that there was no humanity in the Overseer Eunuch who was in charge of the royal seal and that Dong Chang under his leadership was committed to all crimes. Anyone who fell into their hands, skinned and annihilated, would make you regret coming to this world. 

Yin Lou had always thought that Xiao Duo was a vicious person, but when he first saw her in the Zhongzheng Hall, other than an unfamiliar feeling, he didn't feel particularly scared. Maybe the real villain has a hypocritical face instead! But if he was evil, when the cabinet intended to execute him, he saved him in the end and gave him the title. Where is the rumored evil demon? She was only Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva who saved him from suffering!

Not only did he think so, but the people in the cabinet also thought that Superintendent Xiao was a bit strange today. Maybe this Chaotian girl is a distant relative of her family. In this way, there was nothing to worry about, and the Hanlin academics agreed one by one, "Yes, moving the palace and guarding the tomb is according to the regulations, so everything should be done according to Lord Xiao's wishes."

***

Everything was said and done, but there was no movement from the people in the coffin. Cao Chunang hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Lǎo zǔzōng [1] get up. The servants are ready to serve lLao zuzong when you come down from the chest."

Yin Lou was a concubine, and she was automatically given the title Lao zuzong by the eunuchs. What a title!

[1] lǎo zǔzōng (Old ancestor) : Ancestors of the nation / ancestors

Only when his two feet touched the ground did he dare to confirm that he was still alive. It's just that he didn't have the strength in his legs, and trembled slightly when he walked. Looking back at Lin Lie's coffin in the hall, there are many sisters facing each other day and night. They weren't as lucky as him, perhaps they had already crossed the Wangchuan River [2] by now. 

He swallowed and sobbed, mourning those who died early, and secretly lucked out for his own survival. At this time, it is already a great fortune. Better to guard the tomb than to die. After feeling the feeling of suffocation, he immediately felt that he was very happy to be alive.

[2] Wang Chuan River (忘川河) : River of Oblivion. When the dead pass over the NaiHe bridge over the river, Mrs. Meng Po will serve oblivion soup to everyone who passes by. After drinking the soup, we will forget all things in past lives and be ready to reincarnate.

He followed Xiao Duo out of the Qin'an Hall and touched his neck. When he was hanging from the beam, the weight of his entire body was concentrated on the square beam. Now, his throat felt like a stuffed cotton ball and hurt like it was blocked. He wanted to thank her, but he couldn't say anything, so he tugged at the hem of her clothes and reached out to her.

Xiao Duo glanced at him and wrote lightly, "It's a bit of effort for me, and I don't dare to take credit in front of the concubine. But you should really thank that noble man, if you're not entrusted by him to put you down first, I worry that you will become like the women facing the sky now."

It turned out that he had not only prevented him from dying a second time, but he had prepared for it since the Zhongzheng Hall. Yin Lou guessed that Li Mei Ren must have interceded for him. Yan Sun Lang was the second-in-command of the Superintendent Eunuch. Since Li Mei Ren was with him, if he sold his face and then seduced Xiao Duo, he would escape death. If that was the case, why did he still send her to the gallows? Is it just to get a posthumous title?

Xiao Duo looked at her with a clear, slightly strange expression, "Does the Concubine know who it is?"

Yin Lou nodded and opened his mouth with difficulty, "Is that Eunuch Superintendent Yan?"

Xiao Duo struggled to see, but he knew, "Yan Sun Lang? He did mention it."

Yin Lou narrowed his eyes, and it didn't seem like he meant that, who could it be? He didn't have any friends in the mansion, and he didn't have any deep friendships with other people. Who will give him such kindness?

Cao Chunang took the conversation from the side, "Lao Zuzong guessed wrong. It wasn't Eunuch Yan. He was just Eunuch Silijian. Our overseer was the first person in the world to pay attention to the rules. Who should live and who should die, and never show favoritism. This time even though the Overseer was entrusted by a noble to save you, the Overseer took a great risk himself. If someone from the cabinet finds out, they will charge him with contempt of law." 

He chuckled, "If Lao zuzhong finds out who this noble person is, you must not forget the merits of our Overseer."

To ask for credit, the eunuch is the best at doing such business, and he should thank him properly. But he had nothing now, so he couldn't thank him if he wanted to thank him! He was so embarrassed that he gave his few remaining taels of silver to his maid before "dying". What to do with bare hands! He looked at Xiao Duo and pointed at his heart, declaring that he would never forget his kindness.

His ten fingers were slender, and seemed like they would break with the slightest force when they touched the white cotton cloth. There was satisfaction in his eyes, but his mouth said, "It's nothing. The concubine must not remember. Emperor Daxing will be buried in Jinshen Hall for twenty-seven days. Concubine please go back to rest first and wait for mourning after the funeral. Emperor Daxing and Concubine Shao will enter the underground palace. Concubine will accompany the tomb to pray for blessings. Then business is done."

Yin Lou knew what was going on in the mausoleum. There was a palace in the mausoleum, and there were also eunuchs and maids serving below. The concubines guarding the tomb worshiped the emperor with three sticks of incense a day, and spent the rest of the time reading Buddhist scriptures and copying scriptures, and they would be there for the rest of their lives. In fact, there was no big difference compared to the years in the palace, it was just another place to be imprisoned. The difference was that there was still a chance for them to serve the emperor in the palace. The mausoleum also served the emperor, and the living were very different from the dead. From then on, they suffered such a fate, from a young widow to an old widow with a white head.

Xiao Duo still brought him to the Fifth Institute, and said as he walked, "It's said that you have received a posthumous title just now. So you shouldn't come back here anymore, but because of Emperor Daxing's mourning, things happened in a hurry, so it's not so details. When you return to the palace in the future, this Overseer will naturally take care of you."

Yin Lou did not understand what he meant. He was about to be sent to guard the tomb but why did this Eunuch Overseer say he would return to the palace? Palace concubines who have entered the mausoleum always can't get out. What is the origin of the person who saved him, who can assign the eunuch in his palm, and can decide his whereabouts or stay at will. Yin Lou thought he must be a big man!

He was really curious and wanted to know who she was. Xiao Duo is so smart that he doesn't need to speak at all. She looked at the distant palace roof with her hands behind her back, and said slowly, "Concubine, don't be impatient. Later that honorable person will naturally come to see you." 

He instructed Cao Chunang, "Go to the Shang Palace Bureau to get back the people serving the concubine's personal care, and then go to the imperial hospital to find some medicine to relieve the throat swelling. After a long rest, when His Highness comes at night , The concubine can talk to him."