The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 398: Tracking
Confucius, the great sage, once said, "When alive, treat them with courtesy; when dead, bury them with courtesy."

Funeral rituals, as the last ritual in life, are closely related to the ancient people's worship of ancestors and gods and ghosts.

The ancients firmly believed that the soul is still there and will protect the living in another form after death. Therefore, they developed a sense of awe for the dead and therefore attached great importance to etiquette, for fear of breaking taboos.

Although Qi was an immigrant country, the majority of its citizens were of Chinese descent, and its folk customs were similar to those of the Qin State on the mainland. In many aspects, it even followed the ancient traditions of China almost intactly.

Funerals are no exception.

When Li Yanliang and his family arrived at Houxi Village at around 4 p.m., his grandfather was already on his deathbed. He was wearing new shrouds and was moved to the main room of the house according to custom.

The house was cleaned inside and out, and all relatives and visitors walked quietly, avoiding noise as much as possible, leaving a quiet environment for the departing elderly so that he could spend the last period of his life peacefully.

Seeing that the portable lamp at his grandfather's feet had not yet been lit, Li Yanliang breathed a sigh of relief, proving that he had not arrived too late and could see the old man for the last time.

"Yanliang, what are you doing?" When his second uncle Li Dejing saw Li Yanliang take out a handful of gold yuan coupons and handed them to him, he immediately refused, "Father is about to pass away, and we sons should take care of it. Why should you, a grandson, spend money?"

"Uncle, don't refuse." Li Yanliang stuffed a stack of gold coins into his uncle's hand and whispered, "My father was the eldest son and should have been filial to grandfather, but he died early due to the war, leaving behind only regrets. Since Yanliang is the eldest grandson, I should be filial to my father and send grandfather off. In this case, let grandfather go with some glory."

"Alas..." Hearing this, Li Dejing looked at Cao Xi and the three children standing behind Li Yanliang and sighed, "Big brother... it's such a pity! If he were still alive and saw how successful you are, he would be so blessed!"

After hearing this, Li Yanliang remained silent.

Less than a year after he was born, his father died in battle overseas, and he was raised by his mother since childhood. To him, his father was just a "noun" and there was no emotional bond at all.

It was only during the Qingming Festival, when he accompanied his mother to the Chang'an Cemetery for Fallen Soldiers to pay homage, that a trace of father-son affection emerged, and it was only imaginary.

Putting aside all the distracting thoughts in his mind, he took his children and walked towards the main room with his wife to see if his dying grandfather had woken up.

When I entered the house, I saw my third uncle Li Deyuan placing a piece of soft cotton wool between my grandfather's mouth and nose to determine whether the elder had died. This is called "Suiquan".

Four cousins ​​of the same generation were kneeling beside my grandfather's bed, each holding his limbs to prevent the dying old man from having convulsions. When they saw Li Yanliang leading his wife and children into the house, they all cast eager glances at him.

In the entire Li family, only this cousin can bring prosperity to the family and become the pride and support of all of them.

"A few days ago, the town doctor examined him and said that your grandfather might die within the next two days..." Li Deyuan saw Cao Xi stretching out his hand to feel the old man's pulse and said softly, "However, the old man is already 74 years old and has no serious illness. It can be considered a rare happy funeral."

During this period, people's life expectancy was relatively short. Living to sixty was considered a long life, and living to seventy was considered a happy funeral.

After taking her husband's pulse, Cao Xi looked up at him and shook her head slightly.

"...Yanliang, you must be tired after traveling all the way here. You can take your wife and children to have a rest. We will take care of them here." Although Li Deyuan is an elder, for some reason, he always feels at a loss and even a little restrained when facing his nephew and niece-in-law.

Li Yanliang nodded, then he and his wife and several children left the main house and walked towards the newly tidied wing room.
-
The next day, before six o'clock, Li Yanliang was awakened by a cousin. With a look of fear on his face, he stammered and told him that several officials from the prefecture and a number of policemen had come to the yard and asked to see him.

Li Yanliang was shocked when he heard this. He immediately put on his military uniform and followed his cousin out of the house.

"Captain Li, I am very worried that you have come to bother me so early in the morning!" Jiang Xihong, the prosecutor in charge of local security in Wenshui Prefecture, smiled and bowed to Li Yanliang.

"It's okay." Li Yanliang waved his hand and glanced at the shoulder badges of several police officers behind him.

Their titles are not low, they should be senior police officers such as the Police Inspector and Police Chief of Wenshui Prefecture.

"Don't worry, Captain Li. After Patrol Captain Wan sent someone to report yesterday, our Wenshui Prefecture immediately assembled nearly a hundred policemen and soldiers on duty overnight. We have already taken down the ranch and captured all the criminals." Jiang Xihong whispered, "However, in order to avoid suspicion, we only detained the criminals on the spot without conducting any interrogation, waiting for Chang'an to send someone to take over."

Are you kidding? This is a major case involving the assassination of Prince Mingde. I don't know what kind of big shot will be involved. With the qualifications of Wenshui Prefecture, I'm afraid I can't even get close to it. If I don't know what's good for me and interrogate without authorization, and hear something I shouldn't hear, it will ruin my future and even cost me my life.

Now, they had received the warning and arrested the person in advance. No matter how the subsequent situation developed, it was definitely a great achievement. Maybe, they could use this incident to gain the favor of the higher-ups and be promoted to the wealthy coastal areas to seek a bright future.

"Mr. Jiang Tuifu has worked hard." Li Yanliang nodded slightly and said with a smile: "If this matter is accomplished, it will surely be praised by His Majesty."

"Captain Li, may I ask, is this...reliable?" Jiang Xihong still had some doubts in his heart.

What if all this was just lies and fabrication by the rancher? That would be such a bummer and a joke!

"Have you verified the identity and background of the rancher?" Li Yanliang was also unsure and asked softly.

"Inspector Deng, please tell Captain Li about that guy's identity and background." Jiang Xihong turned and instructed a police inspector.

"Yes, Your Excellency." Deng Jingfeng first bowed to Jiang Xihong, then saluted Li Yanliang and said solemnly: "When we sent out the police and militia to arrest the murderer, we retrieved his identity documents for naturalization. From the information, this guy's name is Duan Jinchun, nicknamed Dachun, born in the 1701th year of Shaoning (1717), from Yichuan County, Shaoliang Prefecture, Handong Province (now Maroochy County, Sunshine Coast City). In the 1728th year of Taiping (), he came to Daxing (now Brisbane City) to work, and had worked in many jobs, but they were not for long. In the th year of Taiping, he joined the Qushuiwan Jockey Club and worked as a stable boy until the th year of Taiping ()."

"Later, Duan Jinchun resigned from the Jockey Club due to poor health and went to Paradise Island in the Governor's District of Dongzhou (now Tahiti Island in French Polynesia). He lived on the island for nearly seven years, opened a veterinary clinic, and married a local mixed-race woman with two children. In the fifth year of Yonglong, which was February last year, he returned to Hanzhou from Paradise Island and came to Wenshui Prefecture. He applied for a livestock license, purchased more than 500 cattle and sheep, and founded that small ranch."

"Does Duan Jinchun have any criminal record?" Li Yanliang's eyes suddenly narrowed when he heard that the man had worked as a stable boy at the Qushui Bay Jockey Club.

"Yes." Deng Jingfeng took a document from a police officer next to him, opened it, looked at it carefully, and read it out: "... In June of the 1724th year of Taiping (), Duan Jinchun and others were illegally gambling privately. They were captured by local police and sentenced to ten days of detention and a fine of fifteen yuan. In the st year of Taiping, this person tampered with the race horses to affect the results of the horse race. He was reported and sentenced to fifteen days of detention and a fine of twenty yuan; in the nd year of Taiping, this person was reported five times for tampering with the race horses, but after investigation, no evidence was found and no action was taken. However, he had several fights with others during this period. In the rd year of Taiping, he had several fights with others on the street and was sentenced to imprisonment and a fine. In the th year of Taiping, he was reported several times for manipulating horse races and controlling the results of races, but there was no evidence. ... Well, after he moved to Paradise Island, he did not have any record of committing any crimes. After he came to Wenshui Prefecture, he had two violent conflicts with the ranch occupied by the Cheng family due to disputes over pastures and water sources. The herdsmen he hired were punished with imprisonment and fines. However, when we asked the Cheng family, they admitted that there were more than two violent conflicts between the two families, but they suppressed them and did not report them. "

"What are the identities of the herdsmen hired by Duan Jinchun?" Li Yanliang's eyes twitched after listening to the reading of the documents. Based on this guy's criminal record and the "secret technology" he mastered in tampering with horses, he might be involved in the death of Prince Mingde.

The prince went hunting and fell off his horse for no reason!
"The two herdsmen hired by Duan Jinchun were his wife's brother and an immigrant from the Qin State."

"Has the ranch been searched?"

"No." Deng Jingfeng glanced at Jiang Xihong and said, "The governor has ordered us not to move any items on the ranch without permission. Therefore, the ranch is temporarily sealed by the police and militia stationed there, waiting for the arrival of people from Chang'an Prefecture."

"You did the right thing." Li Yanliang smiled with satisfaction. "Although I cannot make a conclusion yet, I am afraid that the thief is involved in many cases. I am 50% sure that the credit for this matter will go to you all."

When everyone heard this, they immediately smiled knowingly.

Although they did not interrogate the rancher named Duan Jinchun, they checked his criminal record and, in conjunction with the cause of Prince Mingde's death, basically deduced the general outline of the whole incident.

This person was most likely hired by some conspiracy force, and used unknown means to frighten the horse ridden by Prince Mingde, eventually causing him to fall off the horse.

Otherwise, why did this person flee his homeland and hide in the remote Paradise Island less than five days after the prince fell from his horse?

Seven or eight years have passed, and the royal family and the government have not conducted a high-profile investigation or investigation into the fall of Prince Mingde from a horse. Instead, they have severely punished the dozen or so officers of the Imperial Guard who were protecting him at the time. He thought that the incident was done secretly and was treated as an accident, and it disappeared into thin air.

So, he couldn't stand the loneliness anymore and returned to his homeland from the remote Paradise Island.

Perhaps to be on the safe side, he did not choose to settle in Daxing or other coastal cities, but instead came to settle in Wenshui Prefecture, a more remote inland area.

But unexpectedly, when this person had a conflict with other ranches, just to show off his power, he actually blurted out the matter of murdering Prince Mingde.

In his opinion, Wenshui Prefecture is located inland, with a sparse population and a certain degree of information isolation, so no one would take his "nonsense" seriously.

However, despite all his calculations, when the colonel Zhaoxin, who was returning home to visit his relatives, heard about it, he immediately took it seriously and reported it to Wenshui Prefecture.

If the real reason why Prince Mingde fell from his horse was revealed, it would certainly set off a huge political storm in the country, uproot the forces hidden behind it, and affect the future and lives of countless people. However, as the revealers of this case, they would be able to gain the favor and trust of His Majesty the Emperor.

I heard that this Zhaoxin school lieutenant had a close relationship with the royal family. After capturing the thief, he came over to get close to him and build a relationship. Afterwards, if he helped to say a few good words, wouldn't he be able to rise to the top and have a bright future?

"Big brother..."

"Big brother..."

After the officials and police from Wenshui Prefecture left, several cousins ​​who were standing in the corner of the yard moved over timidly and greeted Li Yanliang respectfully.

Wow, this cousin is so powerful that even big shots in the city come to talk to him. He doesn’t have any official authority at all. Instead, he seems like a good friend who has known each other for many years. He chats and laughs happily and seems extremely warm.

Before they knew it, they heard that the Li family was about to hold a funeral for their grandfather, and they all expressed that they would pay their respects and offer their condolences after finishing the matters at hand.

Last night, they also heard their second uncle mention that in order to give their grandfather a grand funeral, this cousin directly took out 500 yuan and called all the men of all ages in the village to come. He also went to the town to invite the Taoist priests from Tushan Temple to perform a ritual to help their grandfather's soul to be reborn.

Look at my cousin's wife again. She is noble and dignified, and exudes a royal aura that makes people dare not look directly at her.

The two nephews and one niece are also very pretty, and they seem to be from two different worlds compared to the wild boys and girls in the family.

This cousin is truly an extraordinary person!
"Brother, I want to go out and work with you..." A cousin who was about seventeen or eighteen years old stood up and said bravely.

"After I finish my work here, I will go overseas to take up my new post." Li Yanliang looked at him with a smile, "So, do you still want to follow me to work?"

"Go overseas?" Li Yankuo hesitated for a moment and subconsciously turned to look at his parents behind him.

"I do!" After seeing his parents nod, he immediately said loudly: "I am willing to follow you to go abroad!"

"It's very dangerous." Li Yanliang glanced at the elders standing under the eaves and said lightly: "There may be war and plague, and people may die."

"I'm not afraid." Li Yankuo said nonchalantly, "Even if I die, it's much better than staying in the village and never making a name for myself."

"Think about it carefully. We can talk about this matter again after the funeral arrangements for my grandfather are completed." When Li Yanliang saw his wife coming out of the side room, he ended the topic and walked towards her.

"Grandpa is gone..."

At this moment, a scream suddenly came from the main room, causing everyone to turn their heads to look.

"Grandpa...is gone!"

Li Yanliang nodded to his wife, turned around and followed his relatives towards the main house.

(End of this chapter)