Chapter 645: Preparing to Leave the City, Drunken Daoist
Ye Qianning’s body lay in a crystal coffin filled with ice. Luo Wen, Du Yi, and two guards from the mansion lifted the coffin onto a large carriage.
"A transparent coffin... I’ve never seen one of those before."
"It looks like it’s crafted from crystal. Can you imagine how much silver that must’ve cost?"
"Well, if they didn’t use a crystal coffin full of ice, the body would start to stink in three or four days with how hot it’s been."
"Tsk. A person’s spirit can only be at ease when they’re laid to rest in the earth. All this trouble... it’s quite pitiful to watch."
"Exactly. Dean Chen is just throwing his weight around because he was her master, making all the decisions himself. Being buried in the imperial mausoleum is a huge honor, yet he insists on causing all this trouble. What are his motives? I wonder if General Xiang’s family is even aware of this."
"What’s this about being buried in the imperial mausoleum?"
"You don’t know? I heard the Emperor was going to have Miss Xiang interred in the imperial mausoleum with the rank of Crown Princess Consort. But who would have guessed Dean Chen would refuse? He’d rather renounce his citizenship than let that happen, just so he can take Miss Xiang’s body out of Beili."
"So *that’s* why Dean Chen renounced his citizenship—to stop Miss Xiang from being buried in the imperial mausoleum. I was wondering why the Emperor would forbid a child from being buried in Beili, but this explains it. What could Dean Chen possibly be thinking?"
The onlookers chattered among themselves as they watched the crystal coffin being carried out.
A few plainly dressed, middle-aged men among them mentioned Dean Chen’s renunciation of his Beili citizenship, drawing the attention of the surrounding crowd.
Those who had just been pitying Dean Chen for renouncing his citizenship now thought he was ungrateful upon hearing the reason why.
The royal family wasn’t looking down on them even though the girl was dead; in fact, they allowed her to be interred in the imperial mausoleum as the Crown Princess Consort. The imperial family bestowed such an immense favor, and he just threw it away. Truly ungrateful.
The Zhan family, the Gu family, and the Qian family are all part of this farce, too, acting as if they’re grief-stricken. They brought this on themselves. Who is this pathetic act for?
The once-pitying onlookers now wore expressions of ridicule. They’d rejected such a grand favor—they had only themselves to blame!
Luo Wen finished securing the coffin and walked to the front of the carriage. The murmuring of the crowd reached his ears, and his menacing gaze swept over them, his entire being radiating a dense killing intent.
"Luo Wen, withdraw your killing intent," Dean Chen said as he approached the side of the carriage.
"Dean, they’re..."
"There is no need to argue with them." Dean Chen boarded the carriage.
’Arguing with inconsequential people is utterly meaningless.’
Zhan Yi clenched his fists, his mind as clear as a mirror. ’Few people knew of the imperial edict. For it to spread like this, someone must have intentionally leaked it. Arguing is indeed useless. This is the outcome the Emperor wanted!’
The masters from Lou Mountain Academy stood at the very front, forming two lines to clear a path. Behind them were the carriages of the two Prince Mansions, with Madam Zhan and a group of concubines seated in the carriages further back.
Qian Fanji, Zhan Chi, and Gu Shuo rode on horseback, flanking the carriage that held the coffin. Bringing up the rear was an escort of guards.
The onlooking crowd was amazed. To have the masters of Lou Mountain Academy and two great Prince Mansions leading the procession—in the Capital City, only royalty received such treatment in death.
It had to be said, while the General’s daughter wasn’t entering the imperial mausoleum, this procession was still quite a spectacle.
The carriages proceeded slowly, the streets on their route packed with spectators.
It was a fair distance from the General’s Mansion to the city gates; by the time the sky had fully brightened, the carriages had traveled less than half the way.
Ye Qianning lay surrounded by blocks of ice. From within her pocket dimension, she couldn’t feel the chill at all, which made her wonder if her body was truly dead.
’If my consciousness is this clear, won’t my body be damaged by the ice?’
"Hahaha..."
"Sir, could you please make way?"
"A path... HIC... The path of mortals is gone, but the path to hell... HIC... How about that one...?"
"This old Daoist is completely drunk. Someone, pull him aside."
Before Ye Qianning could make sense of her own situation, the chaotic sounds reached her ears. The man’s voice made her spirit stir—it was the voice of the old man from her dreams.
’He’s here!’