The daily life of a concubine's daughter

Chapter 407: Digging Graves

Shi Mingwu knew that she was very busy, so he didn't blame her. He held her hand and said weakly, "It's not even daybreak yet, don't disturb them. Make me something to eat first. My stomach is empty and I'm starving."

Fu Nanjun advised, "Husband, please bear with it for a while. It will be time to take the medicine soon. If you have eaten, how can you take the medicine? I will talk to you."

She tucked the corner of the quilt and whispered softly with tears in her eyes, "The master is being buried today, so Lingyun should go on behalf of your husband. Everyone knows your husband's filial piety, but your husband is seriously ill, and the clan members will not blame you. Besides, Mingmo and the others are here."

Shi Mingwu was not willing to do that. He had not done his job well and had angered his father to death, which was already a very unfilial act. How could he claim to be sick and avoid burying his father?

Shi Mingmo and Shi Lingyun, who came back with him, had both passed away. It was really unacceptable and embarrassing for him to claim to be sick alone.

What's more, he is the eldest son of the Duke of Zhenguo. How can he establish his prestige in front of his clan members if he does not preside over his father's funeral?

The Duke's Mansion had been holding funerals one after another, and he, the backbone, had to step forward. Otherwise, the Duke's Mansion would be ridiculed in the family and its prestige would be greatly reduced.

"I'm well now. I can hold on. Don't worry."

Fu Nanjun advised him again.

The more she persuaded him, the more Shi Mingwu wanted to show his filial piety and the more he wanted to go, and no one could stop him.

So, after daybreak, Shi Mingwu took some medicine and ate three soup dumplings, then he struggled to get out of bed and dragged his sick body to bury the Duke of Zhenguo.

After the funeral, he felt dizzy and light-headed, but he still managed to ask Shi Jizheng, "Uncle, did father leave any last words before he died?"

Shi Jizheng seemed to have aged ten years, and his appearance was almost as good as that of the old Duke who had just passed away. With red eyes, he said, "Just say, remove Zhuzhu from the family tree."

When the family was divided in the capital, Shi Mingzhu was removed from the Shi family tree, but it was not made public.

What the Duke of Zhenguo meant was to make this news public.

After hearing this, Shi Mingwu's eyes went dark and he fell straight down.

Shi Mingzhen was heartbroken and quickly supported him.

Fu Nanjun hugged his two sons tightly and cried, "Please call the doctor, please call the doctor quickly! The prince's illness has not been cured, and he came to the funeral for the eldest master with the illness! Master, Master!"

After Shi Mingwu fell down, he never got up again.

The news that Shi Mingzhu was expelled from the family tree spread throughout the Shi family’s old house and Jinling, and then spread from Jinling.

The third brother Shi Mingzhen and the eighth brother Shi Minghui had a quarrel: "... at least give Zhuzhu a little dignity! To be expelled from the clan, this is such a huge blow to a woman!"

"She was already isolated and helpless, and now she has lost her identity as a daughter of the Shi family. The emperor is punishing her even more recklessly..."

Shen personally beat Shi Mingzhen with a stick, and Shi Jizhen punished Shi Minghui by making him kneel in front of the tomb of the Duke of Zhenguo for two days. Only then was the matter settled.

A few days later, the imperial edict arrived.

Instead of ennobling Shi Mingwu to inherit the title of Duke, the eldest branch of the Shi family was arrested and brought to the capital.

The four seriously ill people, Shi Mingwu, Fu Nanjun, Le Anning and Shi Minghui, were all "invited" to board the carriage to Beijing.

Shi Jizhen was also summoned back to the capital by the emperor, where he pleaded for mercy and mentioned the old tutor of the Fu family. Only then were the grandchildren of the eldest house allowed to stay in Jinling to observe mourning, but they were not allowed to leave the territory of Jinling.

The prefect of Jinling took charge of the Shi family to prevent them from escaping.

Shen, Rong and the rest of the Shi family waited anxiously for news every day.

The scandals committed by the Duke's Mansion in the capital and the northwest spread among the Shi family.

Someone dug up the graves of Shi Jimian, Zheng, and Shi Mingwei, opened the coffins, stole the burial objects in the coffins, and threw the bodies out of the coffins at random.

There were also signs that the graves of the old duke and the old lady had been dug up. Perhaps the old duke's might from killing enemies on the battlefield was still there, so they dug a few times with a shovel and then filled it back up.

The one guarding the ancestral tomb was an old man, and he insisted that he didn't see who robbed the tomb and desecrated the corpse.

Who else could it be?

It's nothing more than the Shi family members who are jealous of the wealth of the Duke's Mansion. They didn't get any benefit from it in the past, but now they see the Duke's Mansion in trouble, and they are afraid that they will be implicated and exterminated because of the things that the Duke's Mansion does, which will cost them their heads. So they deliberately dig up the graves and insult the corpses. It is estimated that tomb robbing is just a by-product.

Rong was so frightened that she fell ill, and Shen was so worried that she had several blisters on her mouth. She invited Taoist priests and monks to perform rituals and then buried the bodies.

Fearing that another clan member might do something extreme, Shen simply took her entire family up the mountain and built a few thatched huts next to the old Duke's wife's tomb, where the whole family observed mourning.

*

While in the team escorting Shi's family back to Beijing, Shi Mingwu gradually became exhausted.

He didn't know either. He was just shocked by the bad news and was so angry that he had a high fever. How could he be dying?

He believed that he was not that fragile.

But his heavy body and his eyelids that were gradually closing told him that he was about to die.

Shi Mingwu was unwilling to accept this. How could he be frightened to death? How could he die in such a cowardly way?

If this news reaches the ears of his subordinates, the capital, and Nanjing, how many people will laugh at him?

The people in charge of escorting them were Lord Wu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Eunuch Niu, a eunuch close to the emperor.

The emperor had not yet made a verdict on the case, but Lord Wu and Eunuch Niu were afraid that Shi Mingwu was really dead, so when they passed by a town, they hurriedly asked the best doctor in the town to treat him, removed his shackles, and allowed Fu Nanjun to take close care of him.

The three doctors shook their heads one after another: "Prepare for the funeral, Madam, please accept my condolences."

Fu Nanjun burst into tears. She held Shi Mingwu's hand, sobbed softly, and called out mournfully, "Husband! Husband!"

After the doctor issued the death notice, Shi Mingwu perked up. He wiped the tears from Fu Nanjun's face and asked in a hoarse voice:

"Nanjun, does your injury still hurt?"

Fu Nanjun was puzzled: "My husband, are you confused? Where was I injured?"

Shi Mingwu gently pressed his fingertips on her shoulders, his eyes full of guilt: "Does the whipping I gave you still hurt?"

Fu Nanjun was startled, and then her tears became more fierce. She shook her head repeatedly: "It doesn't hurt anymore! Husband, you have to be well. You are the only one for me and our two children!"

Shi Mingwu's eyes suddenly turned red: "I'm sorry, Nanjun. I thought I was very strong, but I never expected that I couldn't withstand the blows one after another and couldn't hold up the sky for you, Lingyun and Tengyun."

Fu Nanjun shook his head desperately and burst into tears.

Shi Mingwu looked at his wife's thin but still beautiful face affectionately, took two breaths, raised his hand and stroked her face and said: "It's too late to say these things now, it's better for me to die, if I die, maybe the emperor will calm down and let our Shi family go.

It's all my and my father's fault. We indulged Zhuzhu, which led to the Shi family's current situation. The second and third branches were implicated. Only you and Minghui can pay this debt for me and my father."

His grandparents used death to dispel the emperor's doubts and win his sympathy, but unfortunately he and his father's gambler mentality harmed the entire Shi family.

Shi Minghui's legs were broken and his face was disfigured, so he could not do anything. Ultimately, Fu Nanjun had to pay all the debts and bear all the grievances alone.

If the emperor is a cruel person, he will take advantage of the situation to punish the fifth prince and the Shi family for colluding with each other for treason. I am afraid that no one in the Shi family will be left alive.

Shi Mingwu was extremely distressed and held Fu Nanjun's hand tightly: "Nanjun, I don't want to die. I still want to protect you and the children. Nanjun, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... If I can have an afterlife, I will definitely compensate you, Nanjun..."

Fu Nanjun lowered her eyes, turned her head slightly, and tears fell in big drops: "Husband!"

Shi Mingwu's hand, which was on her face, slowly slid down, and the light in his eyes gradually faded.

"Husband—"

Fu Nanjun cried out in grief and immediately fainted.

Eunuch Niu sighed and ordered his men to carry Fu Nanjun to the next room to see a doctor. He then took a step forward, stretched out his hand, and closed Shi Mingwu's eyes, which were still open in death.

Lord Wu sighed, "It was our fault that the prince of Zhenguo died of illness on the way. Now think about how to write a memorial to apologize to the emperor."

He had handled many cases and was cautious, so he bought a thin coffin to put Shi Mingwu in first, and then asked a doctor and a coroner to perform an autopsy separately.

Neither of them found any poison in Shi Mingwu's body, and there was no problem with his taking medicine.

He did die of illness.

Lord Wu and Eunuch Niu looked worried.

This is really the fault of both of them.

The escort team continued on their journey, this time in a more urgent manner than before.

Late at night, Fu Nanjun slowly opened his eyes with a dim look.

The main culprits, Duke Zhenguo and Shi Mingwu, are both dead. The dead are the greatest, and the emperor's anger must have been mostly subsided.

What's more, the Duke of Zhenguo and Shi Mingwu only wanted to rebel and did not really collude with the fifth prince.

I have done everything I can, and now it all depends on fate.

Le Anning is right, it feels so good to be a widow.

Finally, I don’t have to worry all day long.