Song Wenli was furious: "Why are you looking at us?!"
The man lowered his head quickly and said, "The master has asked us to guard the tomb, so we dare not neglect it. We are afraid that something might go wrong and endanger lives. We come here every day and ask the villagers to look after it. But... when someone from the master's family comes to offer sacrifices, we are afraid of offending them, so we ask them to avoid it on purpose."
"What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Song Wenli's face changed. Seeing Tang Ning, Xiao Yan and the others looking up at them, he suddenly became flustered.
"Don't listen to him. The clan only holds sacrifices during festivals, and every time there are many people coming together. How could they hide it from others and touch the graves of their uncles?"
Several other members of the Song family also spoke up to prove their innocence.
"Wen Li is right. We have no grudge against Song Xi. Why would we open their coffins and... why would we do these messed up things..."
Those talisman papers and the dried blood in the coffin were obviously not good things. If there was no deep hatred, who would do such a wicked thing? !
"Yes, except for the annual festivals when we come here with the tribe to worship, we only bring one or two followers when we come here to pay tribute to our elders. We burn some paper money and light incense and leave. We barely even stay overnight. How could we possibly dig up Song Xi's grave?"
Xiao Yan glanced at the panicked Song family members, then lowered his eyes to focus on the two "tombkeepers".
He narrowed his eyes for a moment before asking, "After Madam Rong and the others were buried, did anyone from the Duke's Mansion come to pay their respects?"
Before the man could speak, Xiao Yan added, "It's not just the people from the Duke's Mansion who came. They also brought with them people who look unfamiliar, or people who speak and act differently from ordinary people."
The man was stunned for a moment, as if he had thought of something, and opened his mouth: "Yes, there was one time."
"when?"
"About three or four years ago, the Duke's mansion's master came here with the old lady. At that time, he brought with him several people who looked difficult to get along with. The old lady said that they were old friends of the Second Master and had come to the capital specifically to pay tribute to them. She also told us not to disturb them."
Gu Helian asked anxiously: "Do you recognize those people?"
The grave keeper shook his head and said, "Those are nobles, and they were led here by the old lady and her family. I dare not take a closer look, but the old lady and the master seemed to be very respectful of them."
"After those people went to pay respects to the Second Master and the Second Madam, they left with the First Master not long after. However, the Old Madam said that she missed the Second Master, so she took a few servants from the Duke's Mansion to stay at the ancestral tomb for a while longer, and only left with them after dark."
Another gravekeeper nearby also said in a hurry, "Yes, I remember it rained heavily that night, and there was a strong wind. Several big trees in the village fell down. My brother and I asked the old lady to stay in the village for one night to avoid being unsafe on the way back to the city, but the old lady refused to do so and led the people from the Duke's Mansion back to the capital overnight in the heavy rain."
Tang Ning clenched his hands suddenly.
Old Madam Song has always been arrogant and extravagant, and cannot stand the slightest hardship. In the past, in the Duke's Mansion, she wanted the best in everything, whether it was food, clothing, housing or transportation. She would even have a tantrum if the water for making tea was too hot.
In the midst of a violent storm, knowing that it was dark and the roads were slippery, making driving dangerous, how could she be so anxious to return to Beijing overnight that she wouldn't even take care of her own safety?
The man who had just spoken seemed to have thought of something and clapped his hands suddenly: "Oh, by the way, although my brother and I didn't dare to look closely at the faces of those people, when we sent them away, we heard one of them speak. That person's voice was very thin and a little sharp, just like... just like..."
He thought for a long time before coming up with a description: "It's like pinching the throat, at least it's different from other people. And when he talked to me, he was very bossy. I don't know why he scolded me, but I didn't get angry at that time. Instead, I gave in to him."
Xiao Yan and the other two looked gloomy at almost the same time.
He pinched his throat and spoke in a shrill voice, but Song Hong and the others still respected him and gave in to him...
People in the palace!
The two grave keepers knelt on the ground, full of fear: "Sir, we have told you everything we know. We two brothers really didn't know about the coffin. We don't know who made this place like this. Please forgive us..."
The two men kowtowed, fearing that the people in front of them would take their lives.
Xiao Yan said in a deep voice: "Okay, take them back to the capital first."
One of the black-armored guards nearby stepped forward, picked up the two "gravekeepers" and left.
When Xiao Yan turned around and looked to the other side, the people from the Song family were all panicked. Fortunately, Xiao Yan did not treat them the same way he treated those two people. He just looked at the Song family members and spoke coldly.
"What happened tonight, including what they just said, if I hear a single word of it outside, I don't mind sending the young and old of your clan to accompany Song Hong."
Song Wenli shuddered suddenly: "Don't worry, Governor Xiao, we didn't see anything."
The other members of the Song family also nodded with pale faces.
"We didn't see it."
No one dared to take Xiao Yan's words as a joke, because this person could really take someone's life.
Seeing that the Song family understood, Xiao Yan looked away and spoke softly to Tang Ning beside him, "It's not a good idea to stay here for long. Move the remains of Madam Rong and the others into the new coffin first. We can talk about the rest after we return."
There was a shadow in Tang Ning's eyes: "Okay."
The coffin that had been prepared earlier was carried over. Tang Ning stood in front of the coffin and took out the remains of his parents without anyone else's help.
Xiao Yan didn't say anything, just stood quietly in front of her. He took the corpse from her hand and pieced the broken bones together along the joints.
The two corpses gradually returned to their original state and lay neatly in the new coffins, but the black blood that had soaked into the bones could not be wiped off.
Gu Helian watched the two people's actions in silence, feeling uncomfortable and stuffy in his heart.
After the new coffin was covered again, he kicked the abandoned coffin beside him with all his strength, cursed softly, and the coffin slid back into the pit.
"Don't let me know who did it."
That damn bastard!!
When he finds it out, he will kill him!!!
…
On the way back to Beijing, Gu Helian kept cursing. Whenever he thought about the fact that Rong's elder sister's grave had been dug up, he became furious.
"Did you hear what those two people said just now? This matter is most likely related to Song Hong and his mother. If the old woman of the Song family wasn't guilty, why would she return to the capital in such a stormy night?"
"And according to what that person said, most of the people who went with Song Hong were from the palace. But why did they dig up the coffins of Rong's elder sister and others? Xiao Yan, what do you think..."
Gu Helian was just about to ask Xiao Yan something when she suddenly saw him looking up at her.
"Be quiet."
Xiao Yan glanced at Gu Helian coldly and reached out to support the little girl who was leaning on his shoulder.
Tang Ning had her eyes closed, and even though she looked like she was asleep, you could see that her eyelids were red and swollen.
"Xiao Haitang..."
"Don't bother her."
Xiao Yan said in a low voice, and after seeing Gu Helian shut up, he remembered what he had done in a hurry just now.
He pursed his lips tightly and lowered his eyes, revealing a bit of depression.
He knew that Tang Ning had seen through it. The last time she came out of the imperial prison, she pretended to be asleep. He didn't know why at first, but this time she pretended to be asleep again, and he suddenly realized that she might have heard what he said that day.
so...
Is this a rejection?
Xiao Yan lowered his eyes in self-mockery, a gloomy look appeared in his eyes. He didn't want to make things difficult for her. He originally wanted to help the little girl lean against the carriage, but just as he moved, he suddenly felt his left arm tighten.
In the dim carriage, the little girl who seemed to be asleep closed her eyes and held his arm tightly with her hands. Her soft hands pulled his sleeves and her body pressed against his arm.
As if she knew what he wanted to do, her eyelashes trembled slightly and she buried her fair cheek in his shoulder and rubbed it lightly.
Xiao Yan was stunned for a moment, his dark eyes full of surprise.