The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

“In this situation, I was surrounded by many men, and they talked even more crazy things. When my children were young, they were sick and we didn’t have money, so I became even more outrageous.”

"Everything is a mirror. Some people can't do anything about me, so they can only curse my children like mad dogs in secret. Later, I went back to them one by one, but the damage caused is irreparable."

“Because she grew up in that kind of environment, she was most averse to marriage, and even somewhat averse to men. Although she has a good personality, it's just an act. I know this child is suffering inside.”

"The last time she saw me, she said she wanted to buy her freedom and come back. She wanted to stay with me and raise her nephew. That was how her life was going to be. She didn't want to live with anyone else."

"She also said that the little money she had saved should be enough for her to redeem herself, and told me to wait for her good news, maybe one day she would give me a surprise."

"This surprise...it breaks my heart."

Since ancient times, it has been a great tragedy for the white-haired to bury the black-haired. Du Mingxian opened her mouth, but the words of advice got stuck in her throat and she couldn't say them.

After everyone had finished crying, Ling Silang and the coachman had already placed Hongguo on the door panel and carried the person into the side room.

The commotion had lasted until the afternoon, and it was getting dark when the woman said to Du Mingxian, "There's an empty room next door. My son and daughter-in-law used to live there. I used to tidy it up. You can tidy it up and move in."

"Okay, sister-in-law, please accept my condolences."

"Okay, you guys go ahead. I want to spend some quality time with Hongguo tonight."

Because the house only had one room, the driver said he could just lay some straw outside and sleep there.

Du Mingxian offered him a place to sleep in the carriage, but he refused and insisted on sleeping on a straw mat outside.

Du Mingxian and Ling Silang entered the house but did not sleep on the kang (a heated brick bed). Instead, they went directly into the space.

"I always felt that it was fate that brought us together. Hongguo was working in the Ming Prince's mansion."

Ling Silang was very surprised. "How could a daughter from a remote mountain village be sold to the Ming Prince's mansion? Have you inquired about it?"

"I didn't dare ask for the specifics. It was the older sister-in-law who was crying so hard that she told me herself. I heard that she has another daughter in the prefectural city. I don't know which prefecture she works in, but it would be easy to find out some information."

Ling Silang also thought it was a good lead, "but we still need to be careful. We just came out and met this woman, and then a body was brought back right after. Everything was so coincidental."

"Yes, I'm worried about that too. We're supposed to be hunters, but if we get caught in someone's trap, it won't be fun."

Ling Silang was also worried about this, saying, "Let's take it one step at a time."

“My sister-in-law wants to go to the prefectural city, and I want to go with her. You can continue with your work. As a county magistrate, you'll likely be watched wherever you go. I'm different; I'm just a prefect's wife. We can bring Chunfeng into the mansion later. She has a similar build to me, so it won't be a problem for her to impersonate me for a few days.”

"Alright, then you can go together. I'll take care of the rest when I get back. I'll leave the coachman with you and have him take you to the prefectural city."

"No, no, you can keep it. I'll just hire a carriage myself. If this is really a trap, I can get away on my own. It's inconvenient to have a driver with me."

"to make."

After discussing various coping strategies in the space, Du Mingxian finally fell into a deep sleep. However, during the night, she could always hear low sobbing and muttering voices.

The next day she got up very early and had a meal with Ling Silang in the space before they went out. Ling Silang even gave the coachman two steamed buns, but as for the woman... Du Mingxian really couldn't give her any.

She did use what she had in the house to make the woman a simple breakfast.

She took the food to the woman's grandson, but the child didn't eat. He just sat there blankly, his expression unreadable, his eyes unfocused.

Du Mingxian sighed softly upon seeing this. If what this woman said was true, then life would truly be difficult. Not only would she have no one to rely on, but she also had a young child at home who needed extra care.

She went to the side room, where the woman was sitting. Hongguo's clothes had obviously been changed. She went up to her and said, "Have something to eat."

The woman moved her eyes and gently shook her head. "I... don't want to eat, I have no appetite." Her voice was particularly hoarse.

"You need to eat something to have the strength. You still have things to arrange. After burying Hongguo, you still need to go to the prefectural city and think about your grandson. There are still many things waiting for you to do."

Perhaps these words touched her, for she slowly tried to stand up, but she was unsteady and her legs went numb.

Du Mingxian hurriedly reached out to support her, "Be careful, let me help you."

"Thank you." The woman said thank you, then thought of something and said, "My husband's surname is Dong. Some people in the village call me a widow, some call me Da Liang's mother, and some call me Dong Shi. I tell people outside that you are my niece. In front of the villagers, you can call me Auntie. When we're not together, don't call me Sister-in-law. You're not much younger than my child, so just call me Dong Shi."

"Then let's call her Auntie."

As long as it wasn't a trap, she still liked the woman's personality.

After the meal, Dong went to find someone to dig up the grave.

In this village, there are specific customs surrounding the digging of graves, whether the deceased died of old age or were young people who died unexpectedly. She went to the family she was on good terms with and asked the man there to run around and take care of the matter for her.

She went straight home.

Du Mingxian asked the coachman to take the carriage to buy some food, and also to buy paper money and other offerings. She had food in her spatial storage, but she really didn't have any items for the ritual.

Several villagers came to persuade Dong Shi during the day. After they finished, they told Du Mingxian to take good care of Dong Shi and then left.

Although they came empty-handed and brought nothing, their verbal concern was already quite commendable.

There are no rules for digging up graves, but there are rules for burial.

Those who die of old age are buried in the morning when the sun is just rising, around eight or nine o'clock. Those who die violently cannot be buried; they must be buried at noon when the sun is at its strongest.

Moreover, those who die of old age can have a coffin, or a space built inside the tomb, which usually takes two to three days, but those who die violently cannot.

If someone dies a violent death, the grave must be dug up on the same day, and the person must be buried on the same day; the grave cannot be left overnight.

Around 1 p.m., a man arrived, covered in sweat and mud. "The Dong family's grave is ready. It's about time to go."

"Thank you," said Madam Dong. The man waved his hand. "I'll go and call a few people over to carry Hongguo over."

When the men from the village came to carry the person away, the coachman happened to return. He had bought a lot of paper money for the dead and scattered it along the road, which Dong Shi was very grateful for.

The villagers were also surprised to see this, but no one said anything. They were slow to buy such things, as people who died violently generally didn't need them, since it was a long walk from the village to the outside world.