Chapter 114: The Corpse
Yu Yeqing was being obedient enough. Though he hadn't stopped entirely, at least he no longer hooked his leg to lift hers higher, merely cradling it in the crook of his arm, making her calf inevitably sway with his movements.
Let it be, let it be. This was fine too.
Song Hemei passively tilted her neck back, allowing him to kiss down along it. The taste of joy seemed to spread through such acts, doubling the contentment in her heart.
But after it was over, she was a bit tired. Since the last time he had laid bare all his pent-up feelings to her, he had shed his usual restraint. Moreover, he was truly happy today; before she knew it, half the night had passed without end. In the end, she was held in his arms and didn't want to move for a long time.
Song Hemei, being good-natured, cared enough to say, "You still have official business tomorrow; you shouldn't tire yourself too much."
But Yu Yeqing interpreted it differently.
He looked at the person before him, her eyes closed, strength spent, as if she were about to fall asleep at any moment. He let out a helpless chuckle, kissed her on the forehead, and was willing to go along with her words: "Alright, I won't tire you out."
Perhaps it was because they had grown accustomed to each other, the initial shyness of their early acquaintance had faded. Now, lying in his arms with barely any cloth covering her, she didn't think to pull the blanket over herself.
The next morning, Yu Yeqing took his men to the county office to investigate the situation with Northern Wei and also to check the city defenses repaired three years ago. Song Hemei stayed in the inn, looking out the window from her room.
Pingzhou was right next to Changzhou; the goods sold on the streets were the same, nothing special. The only difference was that there were more people from Northern Wei in Pingzhou – some had lived in the city for a long time, others came to do business.
They stayed in Pingzhou for five days. After handling most of the matters, they set off first to Changzhou to pick up some things before heading to the capital.
When they entered Changzhou city, because of the rare danger they had encountered just before leaving last time, Yu Yeqing had a 'once bitten, twice shy' mentality, and wouldn't let her go back to the small courtyard with him. So Song Hemei returned to the Song residence first.
But as soon as the carriage arrived at the gate, her eyes caught the white silk hanging at the entrance. Song Hemei's pupils contracted sharply. She hastily got down from the carriage. The gatekeeper, his head lowered and brows furrowed, saw her and murmured, "Second Miss has returned."
Her heart anxious, she immediately asked, "What happened? Is it Father?"
Father had been bedridden with illness for some time; it was hard not to think the worst.
But the gatekeeper shook his head: "It's the eldest young master. He was carried back yesterday. They say something happened on the road to exile. Because someone had specifically arranged it, he could be sent back intact."
Song Hemei's heart plummeted, her breath caught in her throat. How could it be her elder brother?
She lifted her skirt and hurried toward the inner hall. Before the hall, a coffin had already been placed. Her sister-in-law was kneeling in front, tears falling silently. Her mother sat in an armchair to the side, her face ashen, looking unwell as well.
She slowed her steps, staring at the coffin in the funeral hall, as if in a dream. She staggered forward until she reached it, and then she saw the person inside clearly.
It was indeed her elder brother, thinner than when she had seen him in prison before he left. His face was ashen; he had already breathed his last.
She felt dizzy, her hand bracing against the coffin as she was unable to gather her thoughts for a long time.
It was Mother Song who stepped forward and embraced her first, sobbing and wailing, "Xiao He, your brother is gone…"
Song Hemei's body swayed with her embrace, and the hall pillars before her eyes also swayed. In a daze, she seemed to hear her elder brother as a youth, following behind her with a smile, scolding her not to run around so she wouldn't fall and get hurt, yet when she really fell, he would pick her up, pat off the dust, and comfort her.
She gasped for air. The image of her brother with closed eyes in the coffin alternated with the memory of him smiling at her, making her eyes sting and tears blur her vision. But she turned and hugged her mother back: "What exactly happened? How could he leave in good health and be brought back like this?"
Her mother had no strength left from crying. She quickly helped her mother sit down.
Her mother sobbed, gasping for breath: "The messenger said your brother tried to escape on the road, but accidentally slipped and rolled down a hillside, hitting the back of his head on a rock. The escorts saw it with their own eyes."
Song Hemei's breath caught: "How is that possible? Why would he run?"
Her mother took a sip of tea that was fed to her, then had enough strength to continue. She lowered her voice, her eyes swollen and red from crying.
Her eyes were solemn: "Your father said the same. When they saw him off, they had clearly given instructions and bribed the officials up and down. Lord Yu had also helped. Why would he try to escape? Your father said maybe it was related to the warhorse business from before. Xiao He, who do you think your brother offended?"
Song Hemei held her mother's hand, understanding what she was hinting at. She answered solemnly, "Alright, I'll find a way to ask Yu Yeqing. If my brother was harmed by villains, I will not let him die in vain."
Beside them, Qiu Wan was still kneeling, weeping silently. But she was no longer accusing her as she had before, blaming the brother's death on her.
Perhaps she deeply understood the principle that a wife's status depends on her husband's. Knowing that her own natal family was not strong and she was now a widow, how could it be easy to remain in the husband's home as a chaste widow? Or perhaps she too wanted to borrow Yu Yeqing's influence to find out who had killed her husband.
But there must still be hatred in her heart – hatred that this sister-in-law had tricked her husband into coming back and sending him to jail, and now what returned was only a corpse.
Probably because of the tangled thoughts in her mind and heart, Qiu Wan choked on a sob, couldn't catch her breath, and fainted straight away.
Song Hemei gasped, quickly wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve, and called out to the outside: "Someone, go fetch a doctor quickly!"
Yu Yeqing didn't arrive until near evening.
Before the gatekeeper showed him in, he had already heard the news on the way to the county office. With his official position and family background, a few carefully chosen words were enough to pry information out of anyone, and no one dared to hide anything.
And now, arriving at the Song residence, apart from the bedridden Old Master Song and Qiu Wan, everyone else was in the funeral hall.
When Song Hemei saw him, she hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. He took her hand and said, "Don't worry, I've already made inquiries. Be at ease."
Hearing his steady tone, Song Hemei felt that the suspended stone in her heart finally began to settle a little.
The family's connections were no longer what they used to be, let alone matters along the exile route. Even if Jilang ran around frantically, he couldn't find anything out.
Her mother, crying until she had no color left; her sister-in-law, who had fainted; and Jilang, who was forcing himself to wait for her to find a solution – all of this gave her no time to weep recklessly for her brother, for the many years of his love and sibling bond.
She bit her lip, holding back her tears, and saw Yu Yeqing make a deep formal bow to her mother.
"I have already investigated. Elder brother's death was indeed an accident, but there was indeed an instigating factor."
He straightened up and raised his hand to swear: "I, Yu Yeqing, swear here that I will find the person behind this, and I will not let elder brother die unjustly."
He didn't go into details, but made his stance clear.
Mother Song knew the gravity of the matter; it was likely that the eldest young master had offended someone not to be trifled with and had earned money he shouldn't have, which had cost him his life.
At this moment, she couldn't care about the term "son-in-law" and just wiped her tears and said, "Good child, with your word, your brother can rest in peace…"
Yu Yeqing offered two sticks of incense. As the night deepened, only Jilang was left to keep vigil at the funeral hall. He first led Song Hemei back to her room.
Having held back her tears for too long, Song Hemei sat down on a round stool in the room, dazed, but couldn't let the tears fall.
Yu Yeqing poured her a cup of water: "If you want to cry, then cry. I'm here."
Song Hemei bit her lip. He stepped forward so she could wrap her arms around his waist: "How could he just die? We were already so careful. He was already sentenced to exile. Why didn't those people let him go? The Song family is just a small household in others' eyes; what secrets could we reveal?"
She pressed closer against his abdomen, finally drawing out her tears: "I thought I would be angry with him for the rest of my life. I thought when he came back, I wouldn't speak to him, and we would just live out our days estranged. But… why did he have to leave so suddenly?"
Yu Yeqing was also grieved by her sorrow.
He stroked her shoulder, wanting to comfort her but not knowing where to start. Besides, when it comes to the death of a close relative, no amount of comfort was of use.
Song Hemei sniffled, then suddenly lifted her head from his embrace: "Why did you swear that oath to my mother? Do you really think you can hide it from me? Anyone involved in the crime of consorting with the enemy is hardly a peaceable character. If you want to seek justice for my brother, won't you be completely offending that person? And you –"
"That doesn't matter."
Yu Yeqing cupped her face, kissed away the tears at the corners of her eyes, then lightly touched her lips.
He rarely managed to come up with a comforting phrase: "Have you forgotten? I have a very powerful birth father. If the sky falls, he can hold it up. Isn't he always claiming to remember my mother? It's time for him to pay something back; he can't just keep making empty promises."
He brushed her cheek with his thumb, his expression serious and earnest: "Seeing you cry makes me very sad too. Can you teach me how to make you feel better?"
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