Chapter 209: Second Hanging, Scorpion Tail Hairpin

"Xu Immortal! Someone is hanging themselves at our door!"

One sentence, and it left Xu Qing hard-controlled for a long time.

Hanging themselves at the door of a funeral shop—this person really didn't want to live anymore!

At this time, the sky was not yet bright. Xu Qing opened the door panel and opened the shop door. A cool wind blew, and he looked up to see someone hanging under his eaves.

At this moment, the person was kicking their legs wildly, but the kicking movement was already getting slower and slower. If he had waited a while longer to come out, he might have been able to follow the funeral process and send this person to their funeral directly!

"Since the Xuanyu Immortal saw this person seeking death, why didn't you take action to save them?"

"I already saved them once, but after they fell to the ground, they reconnected the rope and continued to hang themselves." Xuanyu stood on the door pier, blinking its eyes, with strange light flickering in its gaze: "Besides, we are a funeral shop. Where there are dead people, there is business. I think the business delivered to the door is something the Xu Immortal will definitely like..."

Xu Qing agreed deeply: "The Xuanyu Immortal is right. This person is wickedly clever, hanging themselves at someone else's door. If the officials see it when dawn comes, won't it implicate good people too?"

"Moreover, it's hard to persuade a ghost who is supposed to die with kind words, and compassion cannot save a person who is determined to die. Since they want to die, we'll let them."

"The Xu Immortal's words are reasonable."

"Don't say, this person's life is quite tough, they are still struggling."

"They aren't struggling anymore. Xu Immortal, see if they still have breath. If they don't, we can just bury them while no one is around."

"Seems like there's still a breath, wait a bit longer."

The hanging person outside the shop door seemed to hear their conversation, and the legs that were almost out of strength struggled even more violently, as if it were a return of light before death.

However, at this critical moment, the paper-cutting shop next door suddenly sounded the opening of a door.

Wu Zhiyuan, who heard the movement next door, carried an oil lamp, crossed the threshold, and looked toward the Mortuary Service Shop.

I saw that between the two large red lanterns with the words "Welcome" and "Send Off," a long person was hanging on the black lacquer plaque, swaying back and forth in the cold wind!

Wu Zhiyuan's sleepy eyes immediately cleared up.

Oh my!

Whose mourner ran to Brother Xu's door to harm people? I can't ignore this!

On this side, Wu Zhiyuan walked two steps quickly, just wanting to take action, but saw that one of the doors of the shop next door had opened at some point, and inside the threshold, in front of the mourner, stood a person with their sleeves folded, watching as a bystander.

"Brother Xu..."

Without waiting for Wu Zhiyuan to speak a second time, the unmoved figure suddenly moved. I saw him skillfully take down the person hanging in front of the door, and what he said were all comforting words of concern.

"Oh! Brother, are you okay? You say, what's wrong with you, why do you have to seek death? This Great Yong Dynasty is still very beautiful."

Wu Zhiyuan hurriedly came to the front and saw Xu Qing put the person on the ground with a look of concern.

Seeing Wu Zhiyuan come over, Xu Qing said while pinching the person's philtrum: "Look at this person, how pitiful. I don't know what kind of difficult matter they encountered, to run to my door to hang themselves early in the morning..."

Speaking of this, the strength of pinching the philtrum unconsciously became greater.

The person who was almost out of breath was pinched like this and actually came back to life in pain. Isn't that magical?

After a burst of violent coughing and gasping, the hanging person with a bleeding philtrum finally regained their senses.

They opened their bloodshot eyes, looked at Wu Zhiyuan on the side, and then looked at the concerned Shopkeeper Xu.

"You're awake?" Xu Qing's tone was gentle, and he smiled.

"Don't come over!"

It would have been better if Xu Qing hadn't spoken. Hearing Xu Qing speak, the person was so scared they retreated repeatedly, drilling straight into Wu Zhiyuan's arms.

"Brother, don't be afraid. It was Shopkeeper Xu who took action to save you. He is your benefactor."

"Nonsense! I clearly heard a man and a woman talking in front of me just now. They couldn't wait for me to die early." The person looked at the smiling Xu Qing as if they had seen a ghost coming for their life!

"Brother, food can be eaten indiscriminately, but words cannot be spoken indiscriminately. There is no one else in my shop besides me, so where would a woman's voice come from? You must have had hallucinations before you fainted..."

Xu Qing's smile faded, and his expression seemed slightly displeased.

Wu Zhiyuan hurriedly chimed in: "Brother Xu has always been self-respecting. There is no one else in the shop besides him. You must have misheard! If it weren't for Brother Xu saving you, you..."

Lü Jingtian sat up straight, his expression mixed with confusion and trance.

Could it be that he really had auditory hallucinations when he was dying?

"I haven't asked your name yet, brother. Why would you want to do such a foolish thing?"

Lü Jingtian smiled bitterly and shook his head, his voice hoarse: "My surname is Lü, my given name is Gao Qin. I was originally a legal advocate. Outsiders all call me Lü Jingtian..."

Wu Zhiyuan felt it sounded familiar. Now, looking carefully by the light of the oil lamp, he discovered that the person who was seeking death was the legal advocate who was soliciting business at the government office entrance a few days ago and wanted to take his family's case.

Lü Jingtian rubbed his neck and sighed: "Talent is envied. When I was in Jingcheng, I was framed by others, and my lifelong reputation was ruined. I had no choice but to return to my hometown in Jinmen to see if I could make a comeback."

"I originally thought that the new County Magistrate who left the capital to take office must be a young person with no experience, so it would be easy for me to make a living with my brush and ink. But who would have thought that the new County Magistrate would be very sharp in judging cases, and he could recite the legal codes better than me? Everyone obeys his judgment, so who would still hire me, a litigation stick, to ask questions in court?"

Xu Qing said unhappily: "Just because of this, you hung yourself at my door? Why didn't you go to the County Magistrate's door?"

Hearing Xu Qing's familiar tone, Lü Jingtian showed a confused expression again. He always felt that the person who couldn't wait for him to hang himself earlier was Shopkeeper Xu.

But he had no evidence.

"I was confused for a moment. The night before last, I drank some wine at Tongyue Restaurant. It happened that a drunkard was pointing fingers, and he could call out the names of everyone he pointed at, except when he pointed at me, he said he didn't recognize me..."

"Sad and sighable. I was so glorious before, but now that I've returned to Jinmen, I've become the most inconspicuous person."

"Look at your lack of ambition!"

Seeing there was no business to be done, Xu Qing's service attitude became visibly worse.

"People move to live, trees move to die. This world isn't without other places besides Jinmen. Why run to my door to hang yourself? Have you ever thought about how I would explain it to the officials when they come by?"

Lü Jingtian didn't speak, and after a long time, he said with a red face: "I heard that the Xu shop on Jingxia Street is good at doing good deeds, and no matter whose family dies, they arrange the funeral properly..."

Is this something a person would say? Even a zombie couldn't say such selfish and cold words.

Wu Zhiyuan was kind-hearted. After helping the person up, he went to serve hot tea, fearing that this person would think of seeking death again.

Xu Qing let them be, sitting on the armchair, spinning the walnuts in his hands.

By the time the sky was slightly bright, Wu Zhiyuan, who had been talking to Lü Jingtian for half a day, suddenly said: "Brother Lü, I see you are well-versed in legal codes and speak properly. If Brother Lü is interested, I happen to be short of a secretary to help me when I go to Pingqi County to take office..."

"Going to Pingqi County to take office?" Lü Jingtian was stunned.

"What are you stunned for? Magistrate Wu has taken a fancy to your talent and wants to give you an opportunity to display it. Why don't you hurry up and kowtow to thank him?" Xu Qing chimed in at the right time. Lü Jingtian had seen Wu Zhiyuan wearing an official uniform at the government office entrance that day, and now hearing this, he was overjoyed.

A failed legal advocate in his forties kowtowed to a young man in his twenties.

Wu Zhiyuan hurriedly helped him up, and the two held each other's wrists and supported each other's arms. The deep gaze made Xu Qing, who was on the side, suck his teeth.

The corpse that was about to be obtained had held hands with someone else, and he had been busy for half a day in vain.

The Bole and the horse that failed to hang itself thanked Xu Qing when they left. If it weren't for his shop, the two wouldn't have had this fate.

Leaving the Mortuary Service Shop, Lü Jingtian recalled Xu Qing's faint gaze, and only felt a chill on the back of his neck.

That look was like looking at a corpse.

"Is this Shopkeeper Xu really as good as the rumors say?"

Lü Jingtian really couldn't help but ask.

Wu Zhiyuan smiled lightly and shook his head: "Brother Xu's goodness, how can mere rumors express it?"

"I can only say, if Brother Xu is not a good person, then there are no good people in this world."

Early the next morning, in the Mortuary Service Shop.

In the same place, with the same person, as soon as Wu Zhiyuan entered the door, he said: "I would like to invite Brother Xu to perform a funeral ritual. I wonder if Brother Xu is free?"

Xu Qing saw that Wu Zhiyuan had no sorrow on his face, so he teased: "Why, is someone hanging themselves again?"

"..."

Seeing Wu Zhiyuan's strange expression, Xu Qing's eyes lit up: "It can't be that Lü Jingtian is hanging himself at your house again, right?"

"That hasn't happened." Wu Zhiyuan smiled helplessly: "It's my wife's sister, my sister-in-law, who hanged herself at home..."

It turned out that ever since Yang Hong was stripped of his official robe and put into prison, Yang Hong's wife, Zhang Yong's eldest daughter Zhang Yao, began to cry and make trouble, wanting Zhang Yong to run around and try to exonerate Yang Hong.

So-called running around was nothing more than wanting Zhang Yong and her mother to beg Zhang Wan and Wu Zhiyuan, but Zhang Yong was barely able to protect himself at this time, so how could he have the mood to care about his eldest son-in-law's life or death?

The law is merciless. Yang Hong's case was almost a foregone conclusion. If he dared to plead for mercy, it would be a small matter to be hated by the Wu brothers, but a big matter to be blamed by his superiors.

At that time, Zhang Yao still held a glimmer of hope, thinking that the decree hadn't been issued yet, and whether Yang Hong, this imperial official, would live or die remained to be seen.

However, just yesterday, the Cabinet issued a decree: Zhang Yong failed to discipline properly, listened to slanderous words, ignored the law, and was dismissed from his seventh-rank County Magistrate position in Baisha County and demoted to a commoner.

Yang Hong, entrusted with heavy responsibility, did not think of serving the imperial court, but instead was jealous of the talented, ignored the moral principles, repeatedly framed people, and harmed the loyal...

Sentenced to beheading according to the law!

And the execution supervisor was none other than the Wu brothers—Wu Zhiyuan, who was about to go to Pingqi County to take office, and Wu Wencai, who was about to return to the capital to report on his duties.

The Cabinet decree had been issued, and Yang Hong's case was a foregone conclusion, very difficult to correct. Zhang Yao, knowing she would be ashamed to see people in the future, hanged herself at home.

Xu Qing heard this and was happy in his heart: "This is a good thing! Zhiyuan, why are you pulling a long face?"

"Brother Xu, don't joke with me. In the eyes of outsiders, Zhang Yao is my sister-in-law, my wife's own sister."

Xu Qing looked Wu Zhiyuan up and down and suddenly smiled: "Pulling a long face is fine, as long as you can cry out loud when you are performing the funeral for your sister-in-law!"

"..."

Wu Zhiyuan couldn't help it: "She almost caused my family to be destroyed, it's good enough that I don't scold her, so why would I support her funeral? At most, my wife and my father-in-law will go."

Xu Qing had "admired" Zhang Yao for a long time. Back in the brothel, this young lady of the magistrate's family had often dressed as a man to mess around with those prostitutes, but as for how exactly she messed around, he had never been able to figure it out.

These filthy things of vulgar people were still too advanced for his simple zombie self.

Riding a horse to Baisha County, the mass grave outside the city where Zhang Wan was buried had now become Zhang Yao's dwelling!

After all, for someone like her with damaged morality, even if she wanted to be buried in the Zhang family's ancestral grave, the people in the clan would have to agree.

There was a separate cemetery area in the mass grave, and the old man watching it was the same one who gave the green plaque to Xu Qing and the Zhang family's nanny back then.

The old man heard about the Zhang family's affairs and sighed for a long time.

The simple and kind younger sister faked her death to escape, and the vicious and poisonous elder sister lay in the grave.

"Little Shopkeeper Xu saved the second young lady of the Zhang family back then, and now he has personally buried the eldest young lady of the Zhang family. Is this a predestined fate?"

Hearing the old man sighing, Xu Qing shook his head.

There are not so many coincidences in this world. If it were another family, the grass on the second young lady of the Zhang family's grave would probably be three feet high by now!

"Old man, the reason they invited me over twice is not because of coincidence."

"Why is that?"

"That's because my Xu shop is famous far and near, and no other funeral master can compare to the Xu family's brand, so they invited me over time and again."

Xu Qing said seriously: "If you have any requests in the future, you can also come to Linjiang County to find me. This is my name card..."

"If anyone comes to you to choose a grave site or ask about funeral parlor news in the future, please also say some good words for me."

"..."

The eldest young lady of the Zhang family was successfully shrouded and buried, and there were no other complications. Xu Qing obtained a scorpion-tail hairpin that was pink and moist all over, except for the tail which was black and purple, through the "Duren Sutra" reward.

The method of using the hairpin was extremely simple. Just dip the hairpin tail into wine cups, soup bowls, or various soup utensils to add toxicity to the food and drink.

However, although this hairpin looked poisonous, it couldn't kill anyone; it could only make people suffer from abdominal pain, and after an hour, the pain would gradually disappear.

On the way back to the Mortuary Service Shop, Xu Qing picked up the hairpin and looked at it. There were also two hibiscus flower decorations on it, which looked like an ordinary woman's makeup item.

Combined with the function of the hairpin, Xu Qing couldn't help but laugh out loud.

A poisonous woman's heart is also something that cannot be brought to the table.

As for Zhang Yao's lantern of life before death...

It was just some filthy things that couldn't be brought to the table and weren't worth putting on the table.

Watching those things was no different from watching eunuchs having affairs. Xu Qing only felt it was unsightly and had no viewing value at all.

In the end, he just spent half an hour longer than usual when performing the ritual.

In short, it was very average.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 210 =====