All the ancestors in the capital begged me to be a substitute

Chapter 213 As long as you want, I will accompany you

That night, Chu Yan took Shen Lingxi and did not go to Xie's ancestral house, but rested in the private house of Xie's big house.

Xie Zhanghua is the eldest daughter of the big house, and Xie Xun, the former chief assistant, is Xie Zhanghua's biological elder brother.

Since Xie Xun retired, he practiced in the mountains and seldom returned to his home.

The big private house is only taken care of by domestic servants on weekdays, but it is also quiet.

The third wife of Xie's family and the county magistrate of Qixia County were naturally very hospitable when they heard that the prince was here.

They were all sent back by Chu Yan's embroiderer.

Although Xie Zhanghua did not live in this house often when he was young, he still has many precious memories.

Her soul, with Chu Yan and Shen Lingxi, took a stroll around the yard and told a lot of interesting things, which Shen Lingxi conveyed to Chu Yan.

"...Look at this sweet-scented osmanthus tree. When I was a child, it was only as tall as Liulang. There used to be several spring begonias here. During the Flower Festival on the twelfth day of the second lunar month, the sisters in the family tied silk to the flower branches, which is called 'Appreciate red', which means that daughters are as beautiful as flowers. Brothers will hang silk on this sweet-scented osmanthus tree, so that they will be as strong as trees..."

"...Liu Lang in this yard should also remember that one year he went to the imperial mausoleum to pay homage, and passed by Qixia County on his way back to Beijing. The meaning is to use 'tiger' to ward off evil spirits and drive away snakes. He looked at it for fun, so he asked me to draw one for him, and he would slap his teeth and claws at everyone, calling himself a little tiger..."

"...This is Mrs. Bamboo, also known as Qingnu. When I was young, my mother liked to put some fragrant flowers in this bamboo cage, so that the fragrance of the flowers could make my dreams come true and I could sleep well at night. So we also called her Baihua Lady."

"...The lotus in this lotus pond blooms the best. At night, use a small gauze bag to pick up a little tea, put it in the center of the flower, take it out overnight, make tea and drink it, the fragrance is especially good..."

Most of the time, Chu Yan listened calmly to Shen Lingxi's narration.

On the other hand, Shen Lingxi, because of her previous life, has little contact with the customs and customs outside the Yunguo Palace. Even in the past five years, she has been busy burying corpses most of the time. She has contacted more dead than living. Sad things are more important than joy. There are so many, it is rare for someone to chat with her about these interesting things.

Therefore, she listened very seriously and focused. Her clear apricot eyes were always full of curiosity, and she responded very flatteringly:

"really?"

"Haha, so cute."

"Is it still possible?"

She was so interested, Xie Zhanghua himself spoke very enthusiastically, and the two chatted very passionately.

Especially for some Dazhou people, Shen Lingxi would show an unheard of and extremely surprised look on the very common customs and trivial matters that were popular many years ago.

This made Chu Yan, who had been watching her silently, his eyes move slightly, and he was keenly aware of the unusualness.

So, it's time for a late night bedtime.

Chu Yan lay sideways on the bed, in the dark night, staring at Shen Lingxi's unsatisfactory smile, and asked casually, "Is it really so happy to chat with the concubine mother?"

"Yes." Shen Lingxi praised unreservedly, "What the former Crown Princess said sounds very interesting, she must be a person who knows how to live."

"It's just some folk customs and gadgets." Chu Yan asked casually, "You never saw it when you were young?"

Shen Lingxi thought of the highest place she had ever stood on when she was young, which was the altar.The furthest place I've been to is the Shrine.The most spoken word is "Bless you and others".

Even A Niang and the little aunt probably have never heard of these interesting folk stories.

"I've never seen it before." In the dark night, Shen Lingxi recalled her previous life, and the corners of her lips curled up in mockery.

After a long time, she sighed, "I only hope that for the rest of my life, three meals and four seasons will be warm and interesting, then I will have no regrets in this life."

When the little aunt comes out of the cage, she will tell her these interesting things face to face, and they will live the lives of ordinary people, and they will definitely be happier than in the previous life.

Chu Yan's ink-like eyes slightly rippled because of these words.

He stretched out his hand, lightly held her fingertips, and said in a hoarse voice, "As long as you want, I will be with you."

Shen Lingxi's fingertips trembled imperceptibly, and she closed her eyes silently...

*
In the early morning of the second day, the carriage carrying Chu Yan and Shen Lingxi was surrounded by embroidered envoys and black armored guards, and slowly drove towards the west mountain.

Although Xie Zhangting was not a married woman, she was not perfect when she died. The Xie family buried her on a small hill not too far from the ancestral grave.

The Xie family couldn't see Chu Yan last night, so they came to Xie Zhangting's grave together with the county magistrate early this morning to wait.

Shen Lingxi followed Chu Yan out of the carriage, and saw a large group of people kneeling on the ground, including Qixia county officials.

The first concubine Xie Zhanghua had a deep relationship with her cousin, although she didn't say it on the face, she still had conflicts in her heart about the opening of the coffin for autopsy.

Therefore, as soon as their carriage arrived at Xie Zhangting's grave, Xie Zhanghua saw that his uncles and aunts were there, already full of guilt, he sat beside the grave and silently confessed to Xie Zhangting's tombstone.

Chu Yan had expected such a situation a long time ago, and glanced at Sheng Xie at the side.

Sheng Xie stepped forward and said in a deep voice: "This time, His Highness came here to open the coffin for an autopsy. It was ordered by the emperor to thoroughly investigate the case of the former Crown Princess. Anyone who has nothing to do with it should leave immediately."

The officials of Qixia County did not dare to disobey the Crown Prince's wishes, and when they heard that the matter was related to the death of the former Crown Princess, they made a silent note in their hearts, respectfully kowtowed and bid farewell.

Third Xie Xie Sheng and the third old lady Guo Shi, namely Xie Zhanghua's third uncle and third aunt, and the relatives who stayed behind in the ancestral house with the third room, still knelt down and had no intention of leaving.

Xie Sheng was old, his hair was gray, and his complexion looked healthy.

"Your Highness." He said tremblingly, "When the little girl died, the former Crown Princess personally sent someone to bury the little girl. Now that the little girl has been buried in the earth for more than ten years, why did Your Highness suddenly open the coffin for an autopsy?"

"The first concubine and the daughter have been close since childhood. If she learns about this, she may blame His Highness. Please think twice..."

After all, Xie Sheng had the kindness to nurture the late princess.

Chu Yan walked up to him, stretched out his hand to personally support his arm, and lifted him up, "Don't blame the third uncle, because it was discovered in the palace a few days ago that someone engraved the name of the mother and concubine in the soul lock well, and the emperor ordered him Gu thoroughly investigate this matter. It has something to do with evil sorcery, so I checked the file and found out that my aunt died in a different way back then, and she might have been killed by sorcery, so I came here to investigate."

Xie Sheng's cloudy eyes looked at Chu Yan with tears streaming down his face.

"Your Highness expected it well." He said tremblingly, "The young girl was indeed deceived by the alchemist from Yunjiang, so she died in a foreign country. Press this matter. If His Highness wants to open the coffin for an autopsy now, everyone will know about it, and that would be a violation of the wish of the former Crown Princess..."

As soon as these words came out, Shen Lingxi subconsciously looked at Xie Zhanghua who was floating beside the grave.

Xie Zhanghua raised his head in a daze, looked at the back of the third old master, and then turned his head to look at Shen Lingxi, "Where is this, I never knew about it..."

　Folk customs are all based on real ancient folk customs. The lotus tea comes from "Six Chapters of a Floating Life" written by Shen Fu of the Qing Dynasty.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)