Chapter 287: Chapter 254: Master’s Remains

In front of the mountain shrine.

It has been cleared out.

Mr. Lin had just reordered a new coffin from the county, hired people to carry it here, and was prepared to exhumate the bones from the clay statue inside the mountain shrine for burial.

"Junior brother, are you saying that father’s remains are inside this mountain god statue?"

"Yes, the Huang Family couldn’t get the deeds to our house and land from us, so they dug up Master’s grave, leaving the remains exposed in the wild. Someone took it upon themselves to collect Master’s body and hid it inside the belly of the mountain god statue," Lin Miao explained.

"Then why didn’t he just re-bury father?" Sun Youwei didn’t understand; after all, carrying a corpse to the mountain shrine is no small feat in terms of distance and effort.

"If we bury him again, what if the Huang Family finds out and digs him up again?" Lin Miao replied, "He even replaced Master’s remains with another skeleton so that the Huang Family wouldn’t discover that Master’s remains had been tampered with."

"Then who is this person? We should surely thank him properly," Sun Youwei nodded in agreement.

"First, we need to confirm whether these remains really belong to Master," Lin Miao said, "Even though I’ve seen it, and there indeed is a skeleton inside the statue, we still need to confirm whether it’s Master’s skeleton or not."

"Hmm."

Disturbing the statue to retrieve the remains would inevitably be disrespectful to the mountain god, so Lin Miao personally offered incense and kowtowed, solemnly promising that after this matter, he would restore the shrine and remake the statue in gold.

After the statue was removed from its base.

After it was smashed open.

An unbearable stench permeated the air, and everyone clutched their noses, unable to avoid it, but Lin Miao had spent a large amount of money.

The workers, townspeople from Qingping Town, continued to smash open the statue, revealing a decaying, foul-smelling skeleton inside after covering their noses with cloth.

"These are the clothes father was buried in..." Sun Youwei immediately recognized the outfit her father, Sun Simiao, was dressed in at his burial.

Since Sun Youwei could identify it, so could Lin Miao.

But this alone didn’t prove anything. After all, it wouldn’t be especially difficult to dress a body in someone else’s clothes.

Nevertheless, Lin Miao believed in Qiu Ze’s words, as there was no reason for him to lie about this. It wouldn’t benefit him in any way.

If it were to get close to me, could he have predicted last year that what happened today would occur?

And taking risks offending the Huang Family.

The remains were gently taken out and laid flat on a door plank, which was covered with a grass mat, and Lin Miao, suppressing his disgust towards the awful smell, conducted a simple post-mortem examination of the skeleton.

"Junior brother, is this really father?" Sun Youwei choked out through her tears.

This was indeed a male skeleton, roughly around fifty years old, and the abrasion on the left ankle closely matched that of Sun Simiao.

Moreover, the old injuries on the right wrist and fingers were evident on the bones, something only those close would know.

These findings basically matched, and he had always suspected that Master Sun Simiao’s death after a stroke was suspicious, suspecting someone had poisoned him.

And the poison wasn’t placed in food or drink, because after Master’s stroke, those were things that Senior Sister and he attended to personally.

If someone had tampered with their meals, they should have noticed.

Master was a man of secrets, but he took those secrets to the grave, clearly unwilling to divulge them to him or Senior Sister.

Knowing those secrets might bring danger to them.

This was Lin Miao’s assumption and analysis.

But this skeleton’s slight discoloration already corroborated his suspicion, if Master hadn’t been poisoned, his death post-stroke wouldn’t have occurred so swiftly.

Yet Master would rather die than tell them any secrets, indicating those secrets genuinely posed a danger to him and Senior Sister.

To protect Senior Sister and him, Master was willing to die himself, so this matter would remain a secret from Senior Sister.

The matter of revenge would be his burden to bear.

"Indeed, Senior Sister, this is Master’s skeleton without a doubt," Lin Miao affirmed with a nod.

"Father..." Sun Youwei immediately collapsed to her knees, breaking down in tears.

Professionals would handle the reassembly, moving the skeleton into the coffin, sealing it before transporting it back.

It would first be placed in the central hall of the ancestral shrine.

As for whether they would find auspicious ground for re-burial or transport the coffin along with them back to Dongshan City for burial,

This was a matter Lin Miao specially discussed with Sun Youwei.

Buried in Qingping Town, they might not be able to return every year for tomb-sweeping, but if they moved the remains and buried them near Longchuan Canyon.

They might visit more often in the future.

Of course, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t come back to Qingping Town later; with the Huang Family destroyed, returning would be easy.

"Junior brother, let’s honor father’s last wish and let him be laid to rest here," Sun Youwei said after much consideration.

Although they resided in Dongshan City now, who’s to say their future would always be in Dongshan?

In two years, Lin Miao would leave for Li Jing, and naturally, she would follow him; it was uncertain for how long, nor when they could return; she couldn’t foresee.

With Li Jing over a thousand miles away from Dongshan, visits would be rare, bringing father’s coffin along to Li Jing?

Let him rest eternally in the place he originally wished to be.

In the future, there will still be something to hold on to, at least there will be motivation to return.

Lin Miao respected Sun Youwei’s decision and chose another auspicious day to bury their master once more.

This time it was much more grand; almost all the townspeople came.

Of course, the grave is not as shabby as before; a tomb chamber was specifically renovated, and a tombstone was erected using the highest civilian standards.

The entire process took half a month.

For the subsequent renovation of the Mountain God Temple and rebuilding the medical hut after tearing down the ancestral hall, Lin Miao entrusted the work to Mr. Xie.

He will stay in Qingping Town for a while until these tasks are completed, then return to Dongshan.

...

"Come with me, you and your men staying here have no future, I need manpower." Lin Miao had a good impression of Qiu Ze and wanted to give him an opportunity, as he himself was also in need of personnel.

"I didn’t expect you would have such power, easily wiping out the Huang Family!" Qiu Ze was filled with emotion, thinking Lin Miao was isolated and helpless, no match for the Huang Family, and had strongly advised him to stay away from this place.

Unexpectedly, he could bring in soldiers from Dongshan and directly destroy the Huang Family.

This kind of strength left Qiu Ze stunned.

His men were stuck in such a place, doing businesses without a future and living without a permanent home, which indeed was not a long-term plan.

"What does Mr. Lin need from Mr. Qiu?"

"I have some businesses that need to be managed and protected, but there are few people I can trust," Lin Miao said.

"Does Mr. Lin think he can trust me?"

"At least you understand gratitude, and that makes you better than most people. I can give you my trust," Lin Miao explained.

"I have to discuss with my men; they may not be willing."

"It’s understandable to be reluctant to leave one’s homeland," Lin Miao said. "Think it over and wait for me at the east entrance of the town tomorrow morning."

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes, I have many things to do in Dongshan and cannot stay here any longer."

...

Li Jing·Eastern Palace.

"Your Highness, a message has arrived urgently from Dongshan Prefecture in Lanzhou!" An Eastern Palace attendant hurriedly walked into the Changxin Palace where the Crown Prince lived.

"What’s the matter?"

Crown Prince Zhao Yuanze, around thirty years old, wore a luxurious imperial robe, with a pale, beardless face. Due to his life of ease, his body was slightly plump. He sat in a high position, asking listlessly.

The old emperor had gone to Ganlu Temple to escape the summer heat, leaving him to oversee the government’s affairs, which was both a trust and a hope placed on him.

But the daily heavy government affairs weighed him down, almost suffocating him, and he had to diligently "sow" to produce an heir every day.

As long as he hadn’t fathered an imperial grandson, he couldn’t relax for a single day.

"Pei Jian sent an urgent report from Dongshan Prefecture!" The attendant reported with a bow.

"Present it." Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuanze’s spirit was suddenly lifted, and he immediately gave an order.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Zhao Yuanze opened the letter penned by Pei Jian himself, and upon reading its contents, he abruptly stood up, then solemnly paced back and forth in the hall.

In the urgent report, Pei Jian only detailed how the branch of the Huang Family, exiled to the frontier, secretly forged weapons with ulterior motives.

Obviously, the Huang Family is now like a dog that lost its home; without support, would they dare act like this?

The court gave them a way to survive, yet they still dared to court death like this?

This clearly indicated someone behind the scenes, and Pei Jian didn’t mention who, but how could Zhao Yuanze, who was made Crown Prince at the age of eight, not guess?

Does Pei Jian have evidence?

He must have some, but it’s not conclusive. Even if the evidence were presented, it might have no impact on his good Fifth Brother.

Without heirs, he couldn’t stand firm.

This was why the emperor had favored the third brother in the past and now favored the fifth; after all, he was over thirty with no offspring.

A Crown Prince without descendants, could he prolong the dynasty if he became emperor?

An emperor who sees the state as his family would surely consider this issue; the Crown Prince and an heir are significant matters relating to the state’s succession.

Once the fifth brother reaches adulthood, gets married, and has imperial grandchildren, his position as the Crown Prince would be at its end.

Though he is overseeing the state as Crown Prince now, this power comes from the emperor; at the emperor’s word, it could be withdrawn, just like with the third brother, who did nothing and was confined, living a life worse than death in that run-down palace.

He didn’t want to live such a life; the fifth brother has been malicious from childhood but particularly adept at acting, especially showing obedient and well-behaved in front of the emperor, which was simply nauseating.

In truth, he would rather let the third brother take the throne than the fifth, as at least after the third brother ascends, sibling rivalry wouldn’t happen.

As for the matters caused by the third brother’s mother, Zhao Yuanze knew very well that his lack of offspring over the years was not merely due to Consort Yi’s so-called ’ominous’ methods.

Such serious matters as rebellion, he naturally couldn’t decide alone; he was very aware of how much his father loved the power he held.