Chapter 101

The young couple whispered outside for a while and then prepared to go inside, just in time to run into Yan Pozi coming out with a woman at the courtyard gate.

The woman was about fifty years old, her hair all combed up and twisted into a neat, efficient bun at the back of her head.

"Auntie Tao." Jiang Li greeted her indifferently.

Auntie Tao smiled. "It's been a while. I heard Dalang is now a constable, working under the official; you've finally made it."

After saying this, she turned her gaze to Du Ruo, looking her up and down. "Oh my, this must be Dalang's wife, right? She has the look of someone who brings prosperity to her husband; no wonder Dalang's luck is getting better and better."

"Auntie Tao is too kind," Du Ruo replied politely. "My husband's success today is all due to his own hard work; I dare not take any credit."

Hearing this, Auntie Tao's smile paused slightly, but she quickly returned to normal. "Yes, Dalang is naturally beyond reproach; he has been a diligent and ambitious child since he was young."

As expected of an official's daughter, her words were watertight; she didn't become smug because someone praised her for bringing prosperity, but instead was extremely humble and cautious, maintaining her husband's face in front of outsiders.

Yan Pozi was right; this one was not a pushover.

Auntie Tao withdrew her thoughts and turned to say goodbye to Yan Pozi. "Auntie, I'll be heading back now. Things are already as they are, don't be too sad, you need to take care of your own health."

"I know." Yan Pozi waved at her. "It's dark and the ground is slippery, be careful on your way."

Watching Auntie Tao's back disappear into the twilight, Yan Pozi sighed secretly.

She had long seen that Qin Shi's pregnancy was not right; she had thought Auntie Tao had enough experience to help Qin Shi give birth smoothly, but who knew Qin Shi's foundation was truly too poor. Even with Auntie Tao and Doctor Gu sitting in, they were unable to turn the tide.

It would be one thing if Qin Shi died; at worst, they could just marry another. It was just a pity for her great-grandson who hadn't even been born yet, not even having the chance to take a look at this world...

Yan Pozi was unwilling to accept it, but was helpless.

Therefore, seeing the young couple Jiang Li and Du Ruo when she entered the room made her even more displeased.

"Du woman, the funeral is a man's business, don't add to the chaos here, hurry home." Yan Pozi said with a dark face.

Du Ruo obediently agreed, picked up the straw raincoat and bamboo hat Jiang Li had brought, as well as her own wooden clogs and umbrella, and walked out of the old residence's courtyard gate without looking back.

Anyway, things were already arranged; she just needed to wait at home for Jiang Li's news.

After walking a few steps, she heard two barks; the dog was squatting on the village road ahead waiting for her.

"Tie Dan, when did you come?" Du Ruo put the wooden clogs on the ground and patted the dog's head with her free hand. "How did you know I would come back first?"

The dog picked up the wooden clogs and followed her at a leisurely pace.

*Hmph*, what does Dog Master not know? Just now, you and the male lead were being lovey-dovey under the tree; I heard everything you said.

With Tie Dan's protection, Du Ruo soon arrived home.

Zheng Shi and the younger ones were all so worried they couldn't sleep; they only felt relieved when they saw her return.

Du Ruo gave a rough account of the situation at the First Branch; of course, she didn't mention that Qin Shi wasn't dead, and she couldn't.

The few of them all went back to their rooms to sleep.

Du Ruo, however, did not.

She pushed open the last empty room, the one Mei Ruxi had slept in, cleaned it thoroughly to ensure there was no dust, and then redeemed the full set of tools needed for the cesarean section.

It even included an operating table!

After disinfecting, Du Ruo left the room and locked the door on her way out.

Now, she just had to wait for Jiang Li.

Nearly half of the two hours the system mentioned had passed. Du Ruo was a bit anxious, pacing back and forth in the main room, occasionally looking outside.

Finally, on her ninety-ninth time peeking out, she saw a vigorous figure leap in from over the courtyard wall.

"Husband." Du Ruo hurriedly went to meet him. "How is it? Has she been buried?"

Jiang Li nodded, looking at her with a complex expression.

"Wife, are you sure you've thought this through? Do you really want to dig her up?"

Du Ruo grabbed his arm and pulled him out. "There's no time, we have to hurry, otherwise Cousin-in-law will really be dead!"

Seeing that Du Ruo's mind was made up, Jiang Li didn't say anything more, and the two of them rushed toward the Bone Pavilion under the cover of night.

The dog chased after them from behind.

How could it miss out on such a fun thing as digging up a grave and stealing a corpse? This was much more interesting than going up the mountain to fight a tiger.

The Bone Pavilion was in a forest behind the village. It was fine to go during the day, but at night, with the leaves rustling, the mounds of graves bulging everywhere, and the various strange noises made by small animals, it was particularly scary.

Last time, Jiang Zongbao had been thrown inside for three days and three nights and had nearly been scared out of his mind.

Du Ruo was actually a little scared too; this had nothing to do with whether she believed in ghosts and gods, it was just that the atmosphere was set, and her heart would involuntarily contract.

However, with Jiang Li there, Du Ruo inexplicably felt very safe.

Qin Shi's grave was at the very back of the Bone Pavilion, a small mound of earth, lonely and desolate.

Jiang Li walked to a patch of grass not far away, took out a shovel he had secretly hidden there earlier, and said in a low voice, "Wife, I'll dig it alone, you just watch from the side."

Du Ruo said "Oh."

The night was as cool as water, but not yet to the point where you couldn't see your own hand. She stared nervously at the small mound, waiting for the coffin lid to be revealed.

Just as they were halfway through digging, her skirt was suddenly tugged by something.

Du Ruo's scalp instantly went numb, and she looked down stiffly.

"Tie Dan, why are you scaring me?" She patted her chest, her anger rising. "People scaring people can scare them to death, you know?"

Tie Dan whined at her twice, then raised a paw and pointed toward the entrance of the Bone Pavilion.

Du Ruo frowned, feeling that things weren't simple, so she hurriedly called for Jiang Li to stop and reminded him, "Husband, it seems someone is coming this way."

Jiang Li listened, then hid the shovel, picked up Du Ruo, and with a few spins and leaps, jumped onto a large tree and sat her on a branch.

"Don't move around, be careful not to fall," he whispered, lowering his voice.

Du Ruo's little heart was pounding; she hadn't expected Jiang Li to know *qinggong*, he was too amazing!

But this wasn't the time to focus on that.

Below, the dog didn't know where it had hidden. In the distance, a lantern swayed and drifted over, getting closer and closer.

Then, the voices of two men rang out.

"Father, I heard that ghosts who die in childbirth are the fiercest, I'm a little scared..." one of them said, trembling.

"What's there to be scared of?" The other was much more composed. "The so-called 'grievances have their heads and debts have their masters'; we aren't the ones who killed her, do you think she'll come to us for revenge?"

This voice... it was somewhat familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.