Chapter 83: Xie Daohan

Zhu Xiaoqi had originally been full of blame, but seeing Duan Rong crying until he was a tear-stained mess, overcome with grief, she instantly forgave him...

Infected by the sound of Duan Rong's crying, and recalling Xiao Baijiao's usually gentle and amiable nature, she too could not restrain her emotions for a moment and began to wail along with him...

The mourning hall was instantly submerged in a sea of crying...

Xiao Yu saw the two of them crying like this, with Duan Rong's tears and snot mixed into a mess, and because his breathing was obstructed, he was choking, his face turning deathly pale from holding his breath...

Xiao Yu immediately shouted sternly to the crowd kneeling on the mats on the right side of the mourning hall: "Xiao Ping, Xiao Yun! You two help this person to the Inner Room; if he keeps crying like this, he'll choke himself to death in a moment!"

From the crowd kneeling on the straw mats, two young men immediately emerged, and while offering words of comfort, they pulled Duan Rong away from the front of the coffin and carried him into the Inner Room.

Only after Duan Rong was carried out of the mourning hall did Xiao Yu stroke Zhu Xiaoqi's back to comfort her...

Zhu Xiaoqi managed to stop her crying, though this bout of wailing had left her throat hoarse and her face chapped and stinging. She stopped crying, and seeing that Duan Rong's figure was gone from the mourning hall, she raised her teary eyes and asked Xiao Yu, "Where is that person?"

"I had him carried inside! Crying like that won't bring the younger sister back to life. He'll just end up hurting himself!"

Zhu Xiaoqi wiped her clear nasal mucus and said, "He has a conscience; it wasn't in vain that the Second Miss had feelings for him."

Hearing the subtext in Zhu Xiaoqi's words, Xiao Yu asked, "Who is that person?"

"An Apprentice Escort recruited this year, named Duan Rong..."

Xiao Yu nodded, a strange glint flashing in her eyes. She was naturally intelligent, and seeing Duan Rong in his short-sleeved work clothes, having run to this courtyard to cry, she had basically guessed his identity.

But that he would cry so sorrowfully was something Xiao Yu had not expected.

"It seems that during the time I was away, quite a few things happened..." Xiao Yu thought to herself.

Duan Rong was carried into the Inner Room and placed on a back chair. He sat for a while before he felt his emotions settle, and at this moment, he suddenly discovered an aged hand passing a towel over to him.

Duan Rong took the towel, wiped his face, blew his nose, and looked up to see that the person who had handed him the towel was none other than Xiao Zongting.

Xiao Zongting himself seemed to have aged significantly all of a sudden; his originally graying hair had turned almost completely white, and the vitality in his eyes had dissipated quite a bit...

Duan Rong wanted to comfort him, but all that came out was, "Xiao Lao, please restrain your grief!"

Yet Xiao Zongting felt the emotion in Duan Rong's words, his throat bobbed, and he felt a touch of sentiment in his heart.

Only then did Duan Rong realize he was sitting in Xiao Baijiao's boudoir, but now the person was gone and the room was empty; the image of Xiao Baijiao smiling flashed through his mind...

Looking at Duan Rong's expression, Xiao Zongting suddenly sighed and said, "I can understand that child's feelings. It's a pity she had a hard life; otherwise, it would have been a good match with you."

Xiao Zongting had sensed some clues earlier from Xiao Baijiao's attitude toward Duan Rong. Plus, the fact that the child wanted to see Duan Rong one last time before she passed away made her feelings even more evident.

Seeing him again today, crying like that in front of the mourning hall.

Xiao Zongting truly lamented that fate plays tricks on people!

Duan Rong also sighed deeply and said, "I really should have returned sooner; perhaps I could have seen her one last time."

"You don't need to blame yourself for this! What Baijiao had was a fatal illness; human affairs are impermanent, who can control them?" Xiao Zongting looked at Duan Rong and said, "Go offer some incense in a moment, fulfill the rites, and then be on your way. It's chaotic in this courtyard these two days, and the space is small, so there's no need for everyone to crowd here."

"I will stay here and help," Duan Rong said, raising his head solemnly.

"That child Xiao Yu has already arranged everything. If you had returned yesterday, you could have helped set up the mourning hall. Now it's all women's work, and you can't help much! I'm just idling in this room anyway. Staying in this room too long, seeing the scenery and thinking of the person, it's easy to let your mind wander..." Xiao Zongting said with a dejected expression.

Seeing Xiao Zongting say this, Duan Rong nodded, stood up, and said, "Xiao Lao, then I will go to the front of the spirit to fulfill the rites."

"Go ahead." Xiao Zongting watched Duan Rong stand up, sighed again, and wiped away the murky tears from the corners of his eyes.

Duan Rong walked out of Xiao Baijiao's boudoir and saw many people sitting in the main hall; some were wearing mourning clothes, some were not, and a few people were in the corner, gathered together chatting and eating melon seeds.

At the door of the Inner Room on the west side opposite, sat a middle-aged woman wearing mourning clothes, looking fierce. Behind her were piles of various items, and a few people were gathered around her, seemingly asking for something.

Duan Rong had no time to look further, so he left the main hall and came to the front of the mourning hall again.

Duan Rong drew three sticks of incense from the incense table, lit them on the candle flame, held them in his hands, bowed three times, and inserted the incense into the incense burner.

Afterward, Duan Rong slowly walked around the coffin to pay his respects to the deceased's remains!

Looking at Xiao Baijiao lying inside, Duan Rong's heart ached again. He turned to the foot of the coffin and suddenly discovered that Xiao Baijiao was also wearing a silver bracelet on her ankle.

Looking at the style, it was exactly the same as Zhu Xiaoqi's. It was just that Zhu Xiaoqi usually wore loose trousers that only reached her ankles to work efficiently, so Duan Rong had seen it long ago, while Xiao Baijiao usually wore water-style dresses; if she weren't lying in the coffin now, Duan Rong probably wouldn't have discovered it.

Duan Rong was slightly puzzled; it seemed Zhu Xiaoqi likely had a deep connection with the Xiaojia, otherwise, how could she be wearing a silver bracelet of the same style as Xiao Baijiao's?

This silver bracelet probably had some history to it...

Thinking this, Duan Rong finished paying his respects to the deceased, then walked up to Xiao Yu and Zhu Xiaoqi and said respectfully, "Please restrain your grief!"

Xiao Yu and Zhu Xiaoqi bowed in return.

At this moment, Duan Rong finally raised his head to look at Xiao Yu. Although Xiao Yu was crying like rain on a pear blossom, she still couldn't hide her heroic spirit. Her sword-like eyebrows, delicate nose, and white teeth against her neck, plus the backdrop of her mourning clothes, added a touch of allure...

In the 200GB hard drive from Duan Rong's past life, there was a document called "The Widow Series." But at this moment, Duan Rong was full of grief and had no other thoughts...

Xiao Yu also looked at Duan Rong at this time. Seeing his dark complexion and the lingering look of sorrow on his face, she couldn't help but feel some goodwill toward him. After all, the younger sister was dead, and there was still someone who missed her so much and cried so sorrowfully. It was clear that the person before her was a man of deep feeling.

Duan Rong finished his rites at the spirit and left to take his leave; he walked out of the courtyard.

Full of sorrow, Duan Rong walked slowly back to the dormitory.

He sat on the dormitory bed, dazed for a while, then suddenly got up and opened the cabinet by the wall. On the top shelf, on top of his folded escort uniform, lay a sachet.

Duan Rong took the sachet, touched the peach blossoms embroidered on it, and sniffed the refreshing fragrance. In a trance, the image of Xiao Baijiao stood before him, smiling faintly at him...

Feeling depressed, Duan Rong put the sachet back into the cabinet and left the dormitory, wanting to walk on the street outside to clear his mind.

When Duan Rong walked near the main gate of the Yuanshun Escort Agency, he suddenly saw that the entrance was crowded with people, noisy and clamorous. Duan Rong immediately quickened his pace, stood behind a group of escorts, and stretched his neck to look out.

He saw Luan Jingfu and his son Luan Bao standing in the center of the main gate, with several escorts standing behind them, blocking the door.

Luan Jingfu stood at the very front, leaning on his mace, while Luan Bao stood behind him, gripping his saber!

Outside the door, opposite Luan Jingfu, stood a team of people, dark and dense, surrounding the entrance, numbering at least fifteen or sixteen.

These people were all wearing the official uniforms of the Ya Men; they were actually Constables from the Xiangu County Ya Men!

The leader of these Constables was a middle-aged man with a weathered face and somewhat sparse hair. Although he was middle-aged, his temples were already slightly gray, and his build was neither fat nor thin. Although he often wore a smile on his face, everyone in the Ya Men knew his methods when interrogating prisoners; calling him a "smiling tiger" was an understatement—he was simply a "smiling Yama."

This person was the Head Constable in charge of the criminal matters of Xiangu County—Xie Daohan.

(End of chapter)