Free Web NovelChapter 19: Chapter 19: A Funeral Procession
"This is..." Ye Lingyue whispered, her voice tinged with a hint of surprise.
Ye Lingrui was walking near her, outside the carriage, and he heard her surprised voice, so he took the time to explain quietly. "Yue’er, it’s a funeral procession."
After that, he closed the curtain on the carriage.
The last scene flashed before her eyes nearly made her grab the curtain and lift it again. However, she held back. The ancient people were still superstitious and they regarded encountering a funeral procession as a sign of inauspiciousness.
It would mean bad luck for their exile party... their journey will be filled with hardship. Everyone in the exile party looked solemn, including the guards.
Commander Leng Hai ordered the guards to make way, his expression incredibly grave. They led the carriages and ox carts away.
Ye Lingyue could feel a jolt. The carriage moved, giving a way to the funeral procession to pass by first. From a distance, the funeral procession was gradually coming closer.
She fell into a deep thought, wondering whether she had hallucinated. She... actually saw Qin Ruichen riding a horse beside the coffin wagon.
The imperial burial grounds were near the outskirts of the Capital, quite a distance away, so it was natural for the funeral procession to use horses.
"Don’t speak, be quiet." Shen Jingyi warned, her face incredibly complicated.
They were already aware whose funeral it was.
Shen Wuqing.
Ye Lingyue pursed her lips, feeling ridiculous she was witnessing her former body going to be buried. Her feeling... was quite indescribable.
But... what confused her the most was Qin Ruichen’s presence. She had caught a glimpse of his unreadable, cold expression. His face was incredibly gloomy.
For the common people, they would think that he was mourning his secondary princess’ death.
Hmph, he is really good at putting on a show! Ye Lingyue inwardly snorted.
Imperial princes like him wouldn’t need to oversee the funeral until the funeral procession arrived in the imperial burial grounds. Only Shen Jinzhi, the Mistress of the Second Prince’s Mansion, was required to do that.
The nobles in the Capital wouldn’t be fooled by this farce, but the commoners would. In their hearts, even with the Shen family falling into ruins, they still appreciated the Grand General’s contributions as the country’s protector.
Even with his family’s crimes, no one could erase this fact. His presence was deeply rooted in their hearts.
This good card people naturally also extend to his daughter, Shen Wuqing. They would think that she was a filial daughter, enduring the hardship in the border with her father since childhood.
"Lan’er!" Shen Jingyi knocked her son’s disobedient hand which was about to lift the carriage’s curtain.
Ye Lanxi shrank back as his mother glared at him fiercely.
Meanwhile, the funeral procession was starting to pass by their exile party. Leng Hai motioned the people to be quiet.
Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look. They subconsciously held back their breath.
Everything seemed to pass by in slow motion.
They could only hear the sounds of horses’ hooves pattering on the road.
In the front, there were guards clearing the roads, followed by some other guards carrying banners. Then, the ritual attendants and the servants in mourning white hemp.
Ye Lingyue could even feel herself holding her breath, and at the same time, she found it such an irony.
In the ancient times, there were still people mourning for her, even if it was fake. She couldn’t help but recall her life in the modern times.
After she died, there was no family to claim her body, so she didn’t know what would happen to it. Given to some research institute to be dissected?
Considering her body state, she shook her head and dispelled the ridiculous thought. Her body should have been bloody beyond recognition.
"Sister... drink." Ye Shaoyin, the twin girl from the third branch, suddenly gave her cup to Ye Lingyue, whispering in a mosquieto-like voice.
Only then did Ye Lingyue realize her back was drenched in sweat. Shen Jingyi looked at her, and her face changed. She urged Ye Lingyue to take the water Ye Shaoyin had offered with the look in her eyes.
Ye Lingyue took the water, gulping it down. She didn’t even feel it until the water moistened her mouth... that her throat already felt so parched.
Her head was also a little dizzy. The space in the carriage never felt so cramped until now.
She took a deep breath, slowly pulling away the cup from her mouth. Then, she was stunned.
The water had changed color... into a faint red color diluted in the remaining water.
A metallic taste filled her mouth.
At the same time, the funeral procession was still ongoing outside. Faintly, Ye Lingyue could feel it when her body in the wagon coffin passed by.
She was breathless, her breath came in short gasps.
It was as if there was an invisible red thread connecting her to that dead body, something similar to karmic threads. As the thought crossed her mind, she felt nauseous.
The sounds of muffled sobs also entered her ears.
Familiar voices...
They were her former personal maids. The voices mingled with the carriage wheels and horse hoofbeats.
Gradually, after what seemed like eternity, the sounds faded away.
"Yue’er, you look so pale!" Shen Jingyi’s panicked voice pulled her out of her daze.
She could feel someone prying the cup forcefully from her numb hand, grabbing her wrist and checking her pulse.
The funeral procession had passed by their exile party, only the rear guards remaining.
"Need... breathe..." she forced out the words.
In a blink of an eye, she was already outside the carriage. It was Ye Lingrui who had pulled her outside, in the fresh air.
She took a few deep breaths like a fish that had been returned into the water, her mind gradually cleared up.
"Breath slowly..." Ye Lingrui’s gentle voice rang in her ears, soothing her.
Once she calmed down enough, she lifted her head to look at the funeral procession that had just passed by.
She met Qin Ruichen’s eyes.
