According to Xin Bi and the others' wishes, as soon as their master wanted to visit the First Madam, they would arrange for a carriage.
However, Ji Zizhao did not emerge from the Xuan Yi Pavilion until evening.
In the dead of night, the streets were eerily silent.
Accompanied by her entourage, Ji Zizhao headed out of the city.
The Ji family's ancestral graveyard was located on a desolate mountain ten li outside the city.
The journey was difficult even during the day, let alone at midnight.
Yet, no matter how arduous the path underfoot, Xin Bi and the others did not complain. All of them silently accompanied Ji Zizhao, following her step by step towards the mountaintop.
The chill wind of February was damp and cool.
The mountain winds at the summit were even more biting.
The torches in Xin Bi's hands illuminated the hillside of the Ji family's ancestral graveyard.
Instantly, the entire mountaintop blazed as if it were daylight.
Ji Zizhao searched from one tombstone to another, finally finding her mother beside her father's.
Tears streamed down her face, unstoppable even when her eyes were shut.
Ji Zizhao crouched down, gently brushing the dust from her mother's tombstone. Gazing at her mother's name on the cold stone, her heart felt heavy, and her throat ached as if being carved by a thousand knives.
Her trip to Luoyi, she had thought, would be a journey from which she would never return.
Instead, it had become a permanent farewell to her mother.
It was her filial impiety, for not being by her mother's side when she needed it most.
It was her filial impiety, for not even seeing her mother's last glance.
Qing Zhu and the others stood behind in silence, their hearts aching as they watched Ji Zizhao weep without end.
The night wind howled, ruffling everyone's hair but failing to disperse the desolate sorrow.
This silence continued for an unknown length of time before Ji Zizhao's hoarse voice finally broke it, "Qing Zhu, excavate the coffin!"
Everyone present was stunned by these words.
Even Xin Bi and Wang Can, who were usually the most hot-tempered, were somewhat bewildered.
Once buried, everything should be settled. Why would one dig up the grave?
Ji Zizhao looked at her mother's tombstone, her gaze dark and resolute, "Qing Zhu, dig!"
Qing Zhu, who had never disobeyed Ji Zizhao's orders, truly picked up the shovel used for filling earth and began to dig into the First Madam's grave, shovelful by shovelful.
Seeing this, Zhang Ji couldn't help but try to persuade her, "I know the eldest daughter misses the First Madam greatly, but since she has already passed, one should not disturb her rest any further."
Ji Zizhao watched the grave soil being churned up by the shovel, her eyes clear of the haze of sorrow, "Resting now would merely bring peace to the guilty. Only by opening my mother's coffin can my mother truly rest in peace."
Zhang Ji: "..."
Not only excavate the grave, but also open the coffin?
Zhang Ji did not understand medicine and therefore could not comprehend Ji Zizhao's intentions.
However, those standing nearby, like Xin Bi and the others, were different.
If they had been unable to understand their master's intentions just moments ago, they now understood them more clearly than ever.
The First Madam of the Ji family had died suddenly. It was rumored that the coffin lid had been kept tightly sealed, and not even the Ji family members had seen her corpse.
Now, their master demanded the grave be dug up and the coffin opened, clearly intending to examine the body.
This way, how the First Madam had truly died would be known at a glance.
Although this method was disrespectful to the deceased, there was truly no better way at the moment.
A gust of cold wind suddenly swept through, carrying with it a strong sense of killing intent.
"Who dares to trespass upon the Ji family's ancestral graveyard!" A familiar voice, accompanied by a familiar figure, appeared in everyone's sight.
Ji Zizhao looked at the figure who landed before them and said softly, "Lian Ju."
Lian Ju was taken aback. Upon clearly seeing the person before her, her killing intent vanished, and she knelt, "Lian Ju pays her respects to Miss."
Ji Zizhao signaled Lian Ju to rise and speak, "Why are you here?"
Lian Ju glanced at the bundle on her back, which contained the remains of the Ji family men. "After returning to the Imperial City, I heard about the Ji family's affairs. I knew that if my lady learned of this, she would first come to pay her respects to the First Madam, so I came to guard this place in advance."
As Lian Ju spoke, she looked up at the lady before her, her eyes red.
But the others present looked at her exhausted and travel-worn appearance.
It seemed Lian Ju had returned some time ago but had been guarding the graveyard alone. Such loyalty truly moved everyone to tears.
Ji Zizhao patted Lian Ju's shoulder, "I have my own plans regarding Mother's affairs. You have worked hard."
Lian Ju shook her head, "It is no hardship to work for Miss."
On the other side, Qing Zhu had already excavated the coffin.
In the not-so-deep grave pit, the thin coffin had changed color.
Seeing the lightweight coffin, Zhang Ji gritted his teeth in anger, "How could the Ji family treat the First Madam like this!"
A thin coffin was the lowest and cheapest among all types of coffins.
The First Madam had borne heirs for the Ji family and labored for half her life, only to end up with this meager coffin?
Ji Zizhao looked at the coffin, her dark eyes revealing no thoughts. After a long while, she said, "Open the coffin."
Upon hearing this, Xin Bi and the others eagerly rolled up their sleeves. Several of them entered the grave pit and soon lifted the coffin lid.
As the torchlight slowly illuminated the inside of the coffin, the First Madam's remains gradually became visible.
A month's time was enough for the First Madam's flesh and blood to disintegrate. Looking into the empty coffin, only a solitary skeleton remained.
Yet, even this skeleton caused everyone present to gasp in unison.
While the other bones of the First Madam were intact, the bones around her skull were utterly shattered beyond recognition.
Among the people present were three of the foremost physicians in the Imperial City, who immediately understood what had happened.
Wang Can was the first to reach out and gently caress and examine the First Madam's skull. After a moment, he said, "The frontal bone is completely shattered. The parietal bone also has cracks, but it is not shattered."
Xin Bi pondered, "This must have been the fatal wound."
Sun Zhi Ting stroked his chin, "It is likely that before her death, her forehead struck something hard, and not just once."
These words were enough to explain everything.
If it had truly been suicide due to excessive grief, even if she had hit her head against a wall, one blow would have been enough.
Such repeated impact...
If it wasn't murder, what else could it be?!
Lian Ju, who was skilled in various killing techniques, choked back a sob, "I fear someone grabbed the First Madam by her hair."
Qing Zhu looked at the First Madam's shattered skull, tears already streaming down her face, "Who could have been so cruel to the First Madam? If this hatred is not avenged, I will not rest in peace!"
In the spring breeze, Ji Zizhao stood in silence, her entire body chillingly devoid of warmth.
Her bloodshot black eyes stared intently at her mother's skeleton in the coffin, her bitten lower lip already bleeding profusely.
Ji Ruyun, Gu Peilan, Ji Renran, Ji Zongyou...
The names, already etched into her memory, surfaced one after another, eventually coalescing into a sharp blade that plunged cruelly into Ji Zizhao's heart.
Good!
Very good!!