Song Tangning refused to budge, the Black Armor Guards watched them covetously, and with Gu Helian eager to take action, the Song family finally gave in.
The Song family opened an ancestral hall, and the fourth master Song with a grim look crossed out the lineage of Song Xi, the second branch of the Duke's Mansion, from the family tree. But when Tang Ning handed Song Tan's letter of severance to the fourth master Song and asked him to look for Song Ru's name as well.
But the fourth master Song said, "She doesn't need it."
Tang Ning's eyes darkened, thinking that he was trying to make things difficult for her.
Who knew that the fourth master Song said: "Song Ru has never been included in the family tree."
"What did you say?" Tang Ning was stunned: "A concubine's daughter should also be included in the family tree..."
"It is indeed the case. Song Ru is a legitimate concubine's daughter. Although I cannot remember her full name, she should be included in the family tree as the daughter of Song Tan, and be listed in the family name order. However..."
The fourth master Song glanced at Tang Ning and said, "It was not glorious for Xue to enter the mansion back then. Although she was a concubine, she died after giving birth to a daughter. Moreover, Song Qin denied it himself and only said..."
"Just say what?"
"They say that Song Ru's birth mother was of a bad origin and was not worthy of being included in the Song family tree."
In fact, what Song Qin said back then was much more unpleasant. He said that Song Ru was nothing but the bastard born of a shameless prostitute, and that she was a stain on the Song family. If all eyes had not been on the Song Mansion and him at the time, he would never have let this bastard live in the world.
A concubine's daughter would only have her surname and generation order recorded in the family tree, which was not as honorable as legitimate children. Song Tan was unwilling, and naturally others would not say much.
Tang Ning looked at the hesitant look on Fourth Master Song's face and knew that what he said was probably embellished. Considering how Song Qin had abused Song Ru without any scruples over the years, how could he have spoken so tactfully?
Tang Ning's face turned cold, and he felt that he was too kind to Song Qin today.
She put away the letter of severance, took a deep breath to suppress the anger in her heart, and said to the person opposite: "Please ask the fourth master Song to send someone to take us to move the grave."
The ancestral hall was open, and the Song family knew that they could not stop Tang Ning tonight. Rather than ending up with a quarrel and making things awkward for each other, it would be better to let her do what she wanted. However, the Song family hated the person who had pestered Song Tang Ning and "forced" her to come here.
The fourth master of the Song family had Tang Ning and the others go to the ancestral tomb of the Song family outside the city, and look for the tomb of Song Xi and his wife, who were buried in the innermost part of the direct branch, without letting any of the Song family members take action.
Canglang led his men and personally carried shovels forward, opened the tombstone, dug up the grave, and saw some black coffins inside.
"Carry it out, be careful."
Cang Lang had a wooden frame set up, and several black-armored guards pulled the coffin tied with ropes out of the soil. When they lifted it to the ground and were about to put it down, Cang Lang, who was following behind, suddenly cried out in surprise and hurriedly stopped them, saying, "Wait a minute, don't let it go!"
He quickly approached the coffin and saw something stuck underneath. When he saw it clearly, his face changed slightly.
Xiao Yan and Tang Ning were standing not far from each other. Xiao Yan looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Master, there is something under this coffin."
Xiao Yan frowned slightly, having a bad feeling in his heart, but before he could stop Tang Ning, she had already walked over there, so he had to quickly catch up.
Gu Helian also walked over curiously, saying, "What is this? Why are you making such a fuss? Could it be that Rong's elder sister has been resurrected..."
His voice suddenly stopped, and his face instantly darkened when he saw what was under the coffin.
Gu Helian took a few steps forward and tore off the talisman paper that had lost its color and was mostly corroded, shouting angrily, "Which bastard did this?!"
Xiao Yan also saw the thing clearly. When he got closer, he discovered that not only on the bottom of the coffin, but also on the edge of the coffin there were some corroded talisman paper fragments, and there were also a few scattered pieces mixed in the soil around the grave that had just been dug up.
He squatted down and felt under the coffin, then took a closer look with his muddy hands. He then walked a few steps around the coffin. When he stopped, his face looked extremely ugly.
Tang Ning didn't know what happened yet: "Brother, what's wrong?"
Xiao Yan said coldly: "This tomb has been opened."
Tang Ning was stunned for a moment, then her expression changed: "Mother..."
Xiao Yan touched the coffin and looked down at the coffin: "The coffin has been buried for many years, and the edges have begun to rot, but the rivets are still relatively new. Not only has the tomb been opened, but even the coffin has been opened, and it should have happened in recent years..."
He turned his head and said angrily to Cang Lang: "Bring the people from the Song family here!"
The Song family's guides had no idea what was going on. They were carried over by the black-armored guards and thrown to the ground. When they heard that the tomb of Song Xi and his wife had been opened, Song Wenli, who had come to lead the way, had a dazed look on his face.
"How is that possible? After the burial of my uncle, few people from the clan came here except for the New Year and other festivals to pay their respects."
The other members of the Song family were also in a panic.
"Song Xi is a member of the Song clan, a descendant of the Duke's Mansion. We don't even have time to show respect to him, so how could we possibly dig up his grave?
"Yes, you must have made a mistake. They have been dead for so many years. Who is going to dig up the coffins of two dead people?"
They are not crazy. Aren't they afraid of being struck by lightning for digging human graves?
Xiao Yan looked at the Song family members with shocked and panicked faces and knew that they really didn't know about this matter, but the coffin had indeed been dug out by someone.
Moreover, the talisman paper pasted underneath had not yet completely dissolved, and some black things that looked like blood could be vaguely seen on the paper. Even the coffin had been opened.
Xiao Yan asked coldly, "Has anyone come to worship them alone in the past few years?"
Song Wenli panicked: "Many members of the Song family's direct lineage are buried here, as well as deceased ancestors of the Song family. These people have different birthdays and death anniversaries. There must be people who come here alone to pay their respects, but, but they can't possibly dig up my uncle's coffin..."
"The Song family's huge tomb is left unattended?" Xiao Yan interrupted in a deep voice.
Song Wenli was stunned for a moment, then suddenly woke up: "Yes, yes, there are people guarding the tomb."
This place is quite far from the capital, and it is impossible for the Song family to have someone watching them all the time. The powerful families in the capital attach great importance to feng shui, and naturally they are afraid that someone will mess up their ancestral tombs. Most of them will look for people to "guard the tombs" nearby to prevent wild beasts in the mountains from damaging the tombstones and tombstones. They are also afraid that some people with ulterior motives will become greedy.
Song Wenli said quickly, "There is a village about ten miles west of here. We have people from our mansion guarding the tomb there. They come here every day to inspect the surrounding area. In the past, people from the clan who came here to worship would stay there if it was too late."
"Is he from the Song family?"
"They are all the servants of the mansion, and we also hired a few villagers."
Xiao Yan glanced at Gu Helian, and Gu Helian said, "I'll take people over."
Xiao Yan said, "Take them with you."
Gu Helian was no longer as lazy as before. He nodded with a gloomy face, then led a few people and carried Song Wenli and the others away.
Xiao Yan turned his head and looked at Tang Ning, whose face was a little pale: "I don't know what the purpose of the person who opened the coffin is, and I don't know whether he has touched the inside. We have to open it to see if your parents' bodies are damaged." He paused and lowered his voice: "If you are afraid, I will open it."
Tang Ning bit her lip, her palms cold as she stood in front of the coffin. Although she didn't know why someone would disturb the graves of her parents who had passed away many years ago, but...
"I'm not afraid."
She is not afraid of her father and mother.
After hearing this, Xiao Yan didn't say anything else. He just glanced at Canglang. Canglang walked forward with the things. He carefully pried open the coffin, and together with the people around him, pushed the coffin lid upwards.
Hearing the "creaking" sound of the rivets breaking, and seeing the inside of the coffin revealed, Tang Ning pinched his palms tightly, his face becoming increasingly tense.
She was afraid that the bodies of A Niang and the others would be destroyed, and she was afraid to see the mess inside.
The next moment someone held her hand.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here."