C46

"I was going to tell you about this, your father... It's gone! "

"Your Highness, please don't joke with Ling Wan." Dong Ling Wan froze for a moment, then forced a smile.

Xiao Qian didn't say anything. He knew that Dong Ling Wan wouldn't be unable to differentiate between the truth and the falsehood of his words.

"Bring him in."

Xiao Qian called out to the soldiers outside and saw a few men with disheveled hair walking in. When they saw Eastern Lingwan, they knelt down with a thud, as if they had seen a ghost, not daring to raise their heads.

Dong Lingwan knew these people. They were the attendants that went with Dong Haojie.

"Please spare my life, Second Miss."

"Second Miss, please spare us …"

There was no expression on Dong Ling Wan's face, but she looked towards Xiao Qian. Xiao Qian caught her gaze but didn't say anything. He only poured her a cup of tea and told her the whole story.

Dong Ling Wan listened as her gaze turned cold. She suddenly waved her sleeves, sweeping a cup of boiling tea onto the people below. "You …"

Those people had even forgotten to beg for mercy. They were so scared that they didn't even dare to make a sound. They could only crouch on the ground and kowtow to Eastern Ling Wan.

Dong Ling Wan understood the situation now, but she didn't expect that this group of people would actually throw her father's corpse into the unmarked cemetery!

"Eastern Ling Wan." Xiao Qian pulled on her sleeve to prevent her from getting too excited. To lose two family members in less than half a year, that truly wasn't a good feeling!

Thinking about Donghao Jie's illustrious reputation, his benevolent character, and how he ended up like a corpse thrown into the wilderness, how could DongLing Wan, as a child, accept this? Especially since four months had passed, even if the corpses weren't eaten by the birds or beasts, they had already been buried by the corpses beside them. Besides, Dong Haojie contracted an epidemic disease while he was still alive. This disease would become contagious, and it would be impossible to find his corpse again.

Xiao Qian actually admired Dong Haojie. It wasn't because of how wealthy this person was, but because of his courage. When he was young, he had heard rumors about the Dong Clan Head who liked to travel around. However, at that time, he was still young, so he did not understand some things.

If he left hastily, the Dong Clan would suffer a great loss. However, in order for his daughter to not be bullied by the imperial palace, Dong Haojie moved his entire family into the capital. If he acted rashly like this, then the consequences would be obvious; nearly 30% of the Dong Clan's businesses would be affected.

In the family, every child had to sacrifice for the prosperity of the family. Very few people would act like Dong Haojie. It was difficult for a normal person to have such courage.

Dong Haojie had always boasted about himself outside. Of his three children, this girl was the most intelligent and had inherited his true skills. Thinking about it this way, what would Dong Haojie look like? And who could teach a daughter like Eastern Lingwan?

Xiao Qian had originally wanted to find an opportunity to meet this person, but he didn't expect that he would receive the news of his death before he had even seen him.

She didn't react as Xiao Qian expected. There wasn't even a single trace of emotion on her face. She turned around and walked back into her room.

Xiao Qian was worried, so he called her over. Dong Ling Wan turned around and asked in an unusual tone, "Your Highness, can you leave Ling Wan alone?"

Xiao Qian looked at her with a pained expression. "Alright."

Looking at Dong Ling Wan's back, and then looking at the unconcealable concern in Xiao Qian's eyes, Yang Qing decided to have a good talk with Xiao Qian.

"Everyone has their own path. If you break it without permission, there will be a lot of trouble. Do you think that makes sense?"

"What are you trying to say?" Xiao Qian looked at the person in front of him who was playing a charade with him, and was not in the mood to guess the meaning behind his words.

"You're not suitable for her." Yang Zhe didn't want to beat around the bush, so he blurted out those words. Then, he seemed to feel that his words were too straightforward, so he said, "She won't belong to your faction. As long as Patrol Officer Xiao is around, she will never do it. If you can still hold on to it now, stop thinking about her. "

"This King only finds this woman rather interesting and appreciates her talent. It is quite a pity to end it." I have a scale in my heart, so you don't have to worry about me. "

"Better." Yang Zhe didn't believe him, but seeing that he wasn't in the mood to talk to him, Yang Qing had to give up on this idea for now. He turned around and was about to leave, but before he left, he couldn't help but say, "Do your best."

Xiao Qian didn't say anything.

The door to Eastern Ling Wan's room was shut from morning until the evening. The moment the door was opened, Xiao Qian's tall figure blocked all of her view. Eastern Lingwan looked up at him and told him to open the door and let him in.

The two of them simply stood by the door. As the light of the setting sun shone down from the side, the two bodies not far away from each other formed a scene of silence.

"Could Your Highness do a favor for Ling Wan?"

"Go ahead."

"Send Ling Wan to Yanjiang County. Ling Wan wants to hold a funeral for her father."

Xiao Qian was silent for a moment, "Alright. "Then, would you like to have dinner first?"

"Yes."

Since Dong Ling Wan didn't know how to ride a horse, Xiao Qian ordered someone to buy a horse carriage to personally escort her there. Xiao Qian stayed by the side of the carriage the whole way. Dong Ling Wan knew that he was outside, but she didn't make a sound. She merely lifted the carriage's curtain to give him a glance before putting it back down.

Dumpling County was right next to Lianlian County. The unmarked cemetery where the corpse of a young hero had been dumped was only fifty kilometers away. Everyone arrived before noon the next day.

"Your Highness." Hearing Dong Ling Wan's call for help, Xiao Qian turned his head to look at her, a little puzzled. He then heard her say, "This place is very sick, and your highness, your highness, might as well not go near."

"This King can't even come if you come? My body is even more delicate than a girl's? " After Xiao Qian finished speaking, he walked forward himself. It wasn't good for Dong Ling Wan to say anything else, so she didn't speak either.

The cemetery had been a huge pit left behind by a small lake, and the bodies were piled up in a mountain of corpses that stank of rotting flesh. The enormous flies were buzzing everywhere, sometimes hitting people in the face and body. Xiao Qian stood in front of Eastern Ling Wan and shooed away the bugs with his sleeve. Her gentleness and consideration made people not dare to approach her.

Eastern Ling Wan looked at him, puzzled. How did this guy change so much in just half a year? He really was a strange person!

Dong Haojie's cremation was conducted in accordance with the standards of the patriarch a hundred years ago, when the barbarians were still flourishing. The best wutong trees surrounded the entire cemetery, and with Dong Haojie's one person funeral ceremony, it was as if thousands of corpses were being buried together.

The flames were licking higher and higher. On a May day like this, everyone was sweating profusely. Dong Ling Wan lifted her sleeve to wipe the large droplets of water that were either tears or sweat, but Xiao Qian blocked her.

The fire burned for nearly six hours. Since they couldn't identify Dong Haojie's corpse, they didn't need to go through the process of picking up the bones. At the same time, a process was added: Dong Ling Wan picked up a handful of broken jade and sprinkled it into the hole.

When Xiao Qian asked her why she was doing this, Dong Ling Wan calmly replied, "Father believes in ghosts and gods, and also believes in the existence of a spirit soul after death. "There are a lot of spirits in this pit. Father said that even if a jade is able to provide for people, it should be able to provide for a spirit soul. He said that after his death, he would accompany the burial of some more jade stones."

After hearing this, Xiao Qian asked, "Do you believe me?"

She said she didn't believe it.

The soldiers slowly filled up the hole. After performing three kowtows and nine kowtows, Dong Ling Wan followed Xiao Qian back to Black Cloud Mountain.

At night, Xiao Qian stood in front of the fence to accompany Dong Ling Wan to admire the moon …