Chapter 377: Even the Rats Are Coming Out
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Whoosh!
A cold wind blew past, and the white candles in the mourning hall were instantly extinguished.
The smoldering incense paper in the brazier was swept away by the cold wind. They spiraled upwards like a fire dragon, scattering fiery sparks everywhere. “Argh!”
The lights in the mourning hall were extinguished, causing the entire mourning hall to fall into darkness. Screams of fear could be heard all around. Those people were almost scared out of their wits.
“Xiao Jin is cruel and killed his father. He is brazen and reckless. 1 can’t die in peace!” An eerie voice rang out from the direction of the coffin. Every word was filled with bitter resentment.
Su Ying stood in place without moving, but her eyes quickly noticed the movements in the darkness.
“Playing tricks.”
Su Ying abruptly raised the flashlight in her hand and shone it in the direction of the roof beam.
The person hiding there didn’t expect Su Ying to discover him. He got a shock and turned around to flee.
Su Ying gave a scornful sneer. “Running away? It’s not that easy.”
The man in black quickly jumped out of the window behind the mourning hall, with Su Ying in hot pursuit.
This man in black must be extremely familiar with the layout of the Imperial Palace. His escape route seemed to have been planned well in advance and his movements were fast and agile.
Su Ying followed closely behind him. She whipped out her laser gun and aimed it at his calf.
Whish!
The man in black’s calf was hit, and his body tumbled and fell to the ground.
“Ugh!”
The man in black gritted his teeth and got up from the ground, intending to continue fleeing. However, just as he got up, Su Ying’s punch smashed into his face.
Upon getting hit by this punch, the black-robed man’s brain went into a daze. Su Ying straightaway clamped his jaw and dislocated it to prevent him from biting the poison pill to commit suicide.
“Oof!”
The man in black was then punched in the stomach and he doubled over in pain on the ground.
Su Ying’s almond-shaped eyes were sinister as she lifted him up from the ground by his lapels. She tore off the mask on his face and saw an unfamiliar face. She didn’t recognize this person.
Su Ying immediately brought him back to the mourning hall. Xiao Jin had already rushed back to the mourning hall after receiving the news. The candles in the mourning hall had been lit again, but Emperor Kangze and the Empress Dowager were still sitting upright in their coffins. No matter how one looked at them, they looked creepy and terrifying.
The concubines and officials were so freaked out that they did not dare to enter. Prince Jiangning was so frightened that he simply knelt outside the mourning hall.
“Emperor Brother, oh Emperor Brother, please rest in peace. Rest in peace. No matter what unhappiness and resentment you have, it’s time to let all matters rest now. Amitabha, Amitabha…”
Xiao Jin stood between the two coffins. He found a thin thread that was as fine as a strand of hair on Emperor Kangze’s body. The entire thread passed under the two bodies’ armpits.
He stretched out his hand and pulled the fine thread off, but he could not break it even with both hands using a slight force.
“Arrange for the Emperor and Empress Dowager to settle down.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
By the time Su Ying returned with the man in black, Xiao Jin had already tidied up the mourning hall.
“All of you look carefully. The strange things just now were all caused by this fellow. Don’t act like you haven’t seen the world. Don’t be so stupid as to be fooled by whatever tricks others set.”
Su Ying threw the man in black to the ground, allowing everyone to see his appearance clearly.
Xiao Jin looked at the man in black and furrowed his brows slightly. When his gaze turned to look at Su Ying, it softened considerably. “Are you alright?”
Su Ying nodded her head. “I’m fine. When I found him just now, he was hiding on the roof beam. The reason the corpses sat up in the coffins was probably his doing.”
Xiao Jin raised the white threads in his hand and said, “This person used the white threads and passed them under the armpits of the Emperor and Empress Dowager to lift them up. There is no such thing as a zombie or a ghost.” Everyone looked at the white threads in Xiao Jin’s hand with some doubt, but when they saw the captured black-robed man, they felt a little more at ease.
Xiao Jin asked Jiang Yang to bring him away for interrogation.
Although there was a reasonable explanation for the matter, the concubines in the Imperial harem were so freaked out that they did not dare to approach the coffins again.
Xiao Jin and Su Ying were the only ones standing beside the coffins now. It was a chance for them to talk to each other.
“Do you recognize that person?” Su Ying asked in a low voice.
“I’ve seen him before. He is the leader of the Emperor’s secret guards.”
“Was he here to avenge his master?”
Xiao Jin frowned slightly. It was a fact that the secret guards were loyal to their masters, but Emperor Kangze was already dead. What good would it do them to take revenge against the future Emperor?
Xiao Jin felt that things might not be that simple.
“You haven’t ascended to the throne yet, but these demons and monsters hiding in the gutters are already jumping out. How interesting.”
“My nephew, are… are you sure that there is no problem?”
As the two of them were talking, Prince Jiangning’s face, which was as big as a basin, suddenly leaned over.
Su Ying had just raised her hand when Xiao Jin held her hand down. He raised his other hand to push Prince Jiangning away.
“Prince Uncle, we’re not deaf. You don’t need to come so close.”
The fatty flesh on Prince Jiangning’s face wobbled. He looked helpless, fat, and pitiful.
“I am afraid!”
“What is Prince Uncle afraid of?”
Prince Jiangning stretched out his hand and pointed in the direction of the coffins. “What if…”
“Prince Uncle didn’t do anything wrong. Are you afraid that the Emperor will come and look for you?” Xiao Jin’s dark eyes were profound.
Prince Jiangning’s eyes almost popped out when he heard that. “No, that’s impossible. There’s absolutely no such thing! I’m going to offer incense for Dowager Mother and the Emperor.”
He wobbled to the front of the brazier with his fat body and knelt down. He began muttering something, but the fear on his face was completely undisguised.
When he leaned over just now, Su Ying could still smell the thick scent of rouge and perfume on his body.
No matter how she looked at him, the fellow was a good-for-nothing who was addicted to alcohol and women.
After Prince Jiangning offered the incense, he ran away without looking back.
A streak of golden light tore through the sky, dispelling the darkness of the night.
It was dawn.
Su Ying yawned and went to the side hall to lie down. While hugging the two soundly sleeping toddlers, she fell asleep.
Over the next few days, nothing else happened. The funeral procession and burial service at the Imperial Tombs went exceptionally smoothly.
“Your Majesty, the concubines in the Imperial harem… How does Your Majesty want to deal with them?” Emperor Kangze’s death was sudden, and there was no rule in the Chu State that mandated that concubines had to be buried with the Emperor. As for how these people should be settled, the decision fell on Xiao Jin’s shoulders.
“Those who have children, let them stay. Those who don’t, let them out of the palace. Those who don’t have a place to go, find a place to settle them down.”
“Yes, your servant will do it now.”
Now that Emperor Kangze was buried, it was time to deal with the matter of Xiao Jin ascending to the throne.
As the Crown Princess Consort and also the future Empress, Su Ying had many things to do.
“Your Highness, take a look at these books and rules of etiquette. In the future, when you become the Empress, it will be different from now.”
Aunt Zhao walked in with a pile of books in her arms. She flipped through them one by one and patiently explained them to Su Ying.
Su Ying looked at the pile of books that was taller than her and felt a very big headache coming on.
“On the day of the ascension, Your Highness must…” Aunt Zhao talked until her mouth was dry but when she turned around, she saw that Su Ying had fallen asleep soundly on the chair.
Aunt Zhao was utterly speechless.
Aunt Zhao slowly closed the book in her hand and pulled the blanket over Su Ying.
She didn’t know why, but she was suddenly filled with anticipation. She was looking forward to seeing what kind of changes such an Empress and such an Emperor would bring to the Chu State..