Huangli County, a certain alley in the northwest, a three-courtyard residence. Lu Zheng and Shen Ying stood hand in hand at the gate of this house.
“Is this your family home?” Lu Zheng asked.
Shen Ying nodded. She looked at the pair of stone horses about a chi long in front of the gate and smiled. “When I was little, I used to ride these stone horses for fun.”
Then she looked up at the spotless lintel and smiled helplessly. “But now it belongs to someone else.”
Over the three-day journey, Shen Ying had prepared herself mentally. She did not dwell on sentiment. Instead, along the way, she pointed out things around them to Lu Zheng, recalling the past.
“Shall we go in and look?” Lu Zheng asked.
Shen Ying nodded expectantly. “Let us go in and see.”
Thus, the two cast an invisibility spell, leaped lightly, and entered the residence.
Seven people lived in the house.
An elderly couple, a young couple, a servant who also served as a page boy, a handyman who also acted as gatekeeper, and a maid who also cooked.
Shen Ying glanced at the elderly couple and shook her head. “I do not recognise them. They are not former neighbours.”
The two did not disturb the family. They simply walked around the courtyards, occasionally pointing at something and saying a few words.
Though it was not a particularly large three-courtyard house, they spent a full two hours exploring until nearly the you hour. When they emerged, Shen Ying’s complexion was visibly brighter.
“Feeling better?” Lu Zheng asked.
Shen Ying nodded firmly and clung tightly to Lu Zheng’s arm.
“Then tonight we rest well. Tomorrow morning, we will offer incense to your father and mother,” Lu Zheng said with a smile, looking back.
“Good!” Shen Ying replied with a smile.
Thus, Shen Ying led Lu Zheng to the largest inn in Huangli County.
Fengyi Inn.
“There is a Phoenix Mountain in the southeast of the county, producing fine timber and stone. Huangli County lives off the mountain and the water, faring quite well. Hence, names often lean towards phoenix,” she explained.
Lu Zheng nodded. He still remembered that in the modern world, his first pot of gold came from phoenix bloodstone produced on Phoenix Mountain. He had sold it as chicken bloodstone for eight million!
…
A peaceful night passed.
Early the next morning, Shen Ying unusually wore a light cyan flowing-cloud green-bamboo lily dress and a emerald bamboo jade hairpin. Without powder or rouge, she faced the day plainly.
Old Huang arrived from the carriage stable where he had lodged, picked up the two, and drove out of the south gate to a branch vein of Phoenix Mountain.
Fengmian Slope.
This was also the largest burial ground in Huangli County.
The Shen family was not a great clan. After Shen Ying’s parents passed away, the few relatives had quickly married her off and sold the Shen family residence.
Thus, Shen Ying’s relations with those relatives were poor. Otherwise, on this return, she would not have been unwilling even to glance at them.
Lu Zheng tacitly avoided the topic, as well as that even worse former husband’s family.
Therefore, though Shen Ying’s parents’ graves were in the Shen ancestral burial ground, they were clearly not well regarded.
Other graves were neatly tended. Some had incense, candles, food offerings, and paper money before the tombstones. But Shen Ying’s parents’ graves had only casually cleared weeds and some drifted paper money.
Shen Ying did not mind. Together with Lu Zheng, she placed black and white banners before the tombstones, set up an incense burner and candles, and offered fruits, meat, and other tributes.
“Father… Mother…”
Gazing at her parents’ names on the tombstone, two lines of clear tears finally fell.
“Your daughter is unfilial. Only today have I come…”
“Your daughter was incapable. In the end, she left only a skeleton in foreign soil. Yet a wisp of divine soul endured. By a stroke of fortune thirty years later, your daughter has soared upwards.”
“See, this is the worthy husband your daughter has found. His name is Lu Zheng, a rare prodigy seen once in a thousand years…”
“Now your daughter has attained a ghostly divine body, achieving longevity. You may rest assured. No one can bully your daughter anymore…”
Shen Ying murmured softly. She did not dwell much on the wrongs of relatives or that former husband’s family. Instead, she spoke at length of her current happiness.
Especially about Lu Zheng, praising him as rare in the world, hard to find, making Lu Zheng quite embarrassed.
But since it was his first time facing Shen Ying’s parents, he could only let her speak and vow to treat Shen Ying well.
…
The two remained at the graves until nearly noon.
All that needed saying had been said.
Shen Ying exhaled deeply. A point of spiritual light flashed at her forehead, manifesting a crystalline pink peach blossom.
The peach blossom vanished in a flash, but Shen Ying’s aura shifted once more.
Her true spirit grew purer. Her cultivation advanced.
“Husband, thank you.”
Shen Ying clung tightly to Lu Zheng. Her peach-blossom eyes shimmered with affection.
Lu Zheng scratched his head awkwardly. “Is this not what I should do? I even feel a bit embarrassed for coming late…”
“Not late. Not late at all.” A smile curved Shen Ying’s lips, blooming like a flower. Her whole being resembled a brilliantly opening resplendent peach blossom.
“For lunch, let us eat at Liufeng Tower,” Shen Ying said with a smile. “It is the largest restaurant in Huangli County. When I was little, we could only go there during festivals.”
“Good!” Lu Zheng agreed readily.
At that moment, footsteps sounded from the woods outside the cemetery, heading towards the Shen ancestral graves.
Lu Zheng and Shen Ying exchanged a glance.
Fengmian Slope was full of scattered graves. Common folk came and went steadily, so though they sensed someone approaching nearby, they had not paid much heed.
Unexpectedly, this time it was people from the Shen family.
Lu Zheng looked at Shen Ying.
Shen Ying shook her head. “Never mind. Better not to meet than… eh?”
Lu Zheng nodded. “Let us see.”
Shen Ying’s eyes flickered. She halted her step to pull Lu Zheng away. Instead, she cast an invisibility spell, concealing them both. They simply stood quietly to one side.
At the same time, two figures emerged from the woods.
One was a scholar in cyan robes, the other a woman in a ru skirt. The scholar appeared refined and elegant. The woman looked clear and gentle.
They too held hands, appearing very much in love.
“Man Zhu, my mother she… eh?”
The scholar had just spoken when he inadvertently spotted Shen Ying’s parents’ graves. His brow furrowed as he let out a soft exclamation.
“Yu Lang, what is it?” Wang Manzhu asked.
Shen Yu did not conceal it. He pointed at the grave arrayed with offerings. “This is the grave of a collateral ancestor from the Shen family. By rights, his line should have died out. How can there be fresh offerings?”
“Is that so?”
Wang Manzhu looked in the direction he pointed and saw the two banners, rising incense smoke, and various tributes.
“Very heartfelt worship. This does not look like a line that has ended. Perhaps Yu Lang remembers wrongly?”
“No chance. I come every year with the elders to worship at the ancestral graves. How could I mistake it?” Shen Yu shook his head.
“Then it is strange. Perhaps the worshippers came to the wrong grave?” Wang Manzhu guessed. “Or maybe they still have descendants alive, just cut off contact before, and now returned?”
Shen Yu shook his head. “I will mention it to Father when I return home. No rush. First, I will take you to meet my mother.”
“Good~” Wang Manzhu smiled slightly, eyes full of anticipation.
