The Lucky Heiress

Chapter 378: Wei Jinyi is Dead_1

“What’s the rush? Isn’t the second young master back in Huzhou Prefecture? Why are you getting so skittish?” Lady Yun asked.

“The second young master…he met with bandits on the road…unfortunately…unfortunately he…died…” The servant cautiously reported the news, panting for breath.

Upon hearing this, both Lady Yun and Wei Yichen’s faces changed dramatically.

“What did you say? The second young master? Dead?” Wei Yichen stepped forward, grabbing the collar of the servant’s clothes to question him.

“There’s…there’s no mistake. It is the second young master. Guard Jing said so himself!”

“Where is Guard Jing?” Wei Yichen asked.

“He’s injured. He’s in the front yard…”

We Yichen briskly let go of the servant and headed rapidly toward the front yard.

Lady Yun, too, rose urgently and was helped by Cuiping to hasten to the front yard.

In the front yard, Jing Hu was kneeling on the ground, his hair and clothes tattered and dirty.

“Where is Jinyi?” Wei Yichen asked, stepping forward.

Jing Hu slowly turned to what lay behind him.

There lay two stretchers behind him, each covered by a white cloth.

Wei Yichen paused, his movements slowing as he gazed at the stretchers covered by the white cloth. He remained silent for a long while.

It was then that Wei Ruo ran over.

The moment she saw the stretchers, the color drained visibly from Wei Ruo’s face.

Wei Ruo moved toward the stretchers, but when she was two steps away, Wei Yichen stepped in front of her, his arm outstretched to prevent her from getting any closer.

“It might not be Jinyi,” Wei Yichen said to Wei Ruo.

“Let me see!” Wei Ruo insisted.

We Yichen looked at Wei Ruo’s resolute gaze and said, “Let me check first, don’t be hasty.”

Wei Ruo did not heed Wei Yichen. With a forceful push, she pushed past Wei Yichen walked up the the stretchers where she slowly lifted the white cloth.

Underneath lay a frigid corpse covered in multiple knife wounds and now showing signs of decay, making it impossible to identify.

The only hint of the corpse’s identity was the tattered clothing which was recognizable as something Wei Jinyi would usually wear.

The appalling sight of the corpse made all, including Wei Yichen, turn their heads away. For Lady Yun, who had just arrived, it was nearly too much, and she almost fainted.

Wei Ruo did not flinch, rather she examined the corpse closely.

“Ruo, don’t look,” Wei Yichen tried to pull her away. The scene was too cruel.

Wei Ruo did not listen, her gaze remained glued to the corpse as she asked Jing Hu, “Guard Jing, what exactly happened?”

Kneeling on the ground, Jing Hu explained, “I was escorting the second young master to the north. After his arrival in Huzhou Prefecture, we were ambushed by bandits. Despite our desperate resistance, we were hopelessly outnumbered and at a disadvantage. In the end, the three of us were overwhelmed, and both the young master and Xiaobei were killed…”

Assailed by self-blame, Jing Hu continued, “It’s my fault. I failed to protect the second young master! I deserve to die! I should commit suicide as an apology, but I could not let his body be left unattended in a strange place. So I did my utmost to transport his corpse back to Taizhou prefecture. My traveling expenses were exhausted, and I alone had to carry two corpses which slowed me down. It has taken more than ten days for me to return.”

The delay of over ten days combined with the hot weather had resulted in a considerable level of decomposition of the body.

Wei Yichen furrowed his brows, his eyes filled with sorrow, his fists clenched, after a long while he ordered, “Notify our father.”

Wei Yichen immediately sent someone to summon Wei Yilin who was still at school, and called for Xiumei to come and look after Wei Ruo, “Take care of the young lady, don’t let anything happen to her.”

Xiumei nodded, standing by Wei Ruo’s side, her hand firmly grasping Wei Ruo’s.

Xiumei looked at Wei Ruo, seeing her pale face, her gaze still fixed on the unrecognisable corpse.

“Miss, don’t look anymore,” Xiumei nervously tried to pull Wei Ruo away.

“I’m fine. I have seen many dead bodies, I’m not afraid,” Wei Ruo said.

“Miss…”

“I can handle it.”

Xiumei did not know how best to comfort Wei Ruo, so she chose to remain silent and sit with her.

As she looked at the two bodies lying on the ground, Xiumei’s heart ached again and again.

Just half a month ago, these strapping young men were full of life. Now, they were nothing more than two lifeless corpses. She couldn’t bring herself to believe it, let alone Wei Ruo…

About four hours later, Wei Mingting arrived back at the Military Prefecture. There were no urgent matters in the army following a recent victory, so he was able to return more quickly than usual.

Upon seeing the two bodies in the front yard and Jing Hu kneeling on the ground, Wei Mingting’s brows furrowed in distress.

He asked Jing Hu how the incident occurred, and Jing Hu recounted the events, his account identical to what he had previously told Wei Yichen.

After listening to Jing Hu’s recount, Wei Mingting fell into a deep silence for a long while.

After a while, Wei Mingting closed his eyes in sorrow, and ordered, “Get the coffins and burial ground arranged.”

“Father, should we not bring the second brother’s corpse back to the Capital?” asked Wei Yichen.

Their ancestral tombs were in the Capital, and Taizhou prefecture was just a temporary residence.

“There are disastrous events happening all around, and the journey isn’t safe. Rather than suffer the turmoil of transportation, it would be better to bury him here,” Wei Mingting replied.

“But father, the second brother is still part of the Wei family. Leaving him alone here doesn’t seem appropriate. If you are reassigned elsewhere in a few years, he’d be left here alone without anyone to mourn for him on Tomb-Sweeping Day,” Wei Yichen expressed his worries.

“If that is the case, we can reconsider after my reassignment. For now, given the turmoil, less travel would be for the better.”

Wei Mingting then sighed, “Gather everyone in the house, and let’s prepare a proper funeral.”

Wei Yichen remained silent for a long time before he finally nodded his agreement.

The whole Military Prefecture then bustled into action, setting up a funeral hall, covering everything with white cloth, and hanging white lanterns.

When a white dress was brought to Wei Ruo, she spaced out for a moment before slowly reaching out and laying the dress in her hands.

“Miss, according to the customs here, only relatives younger than the second young master can burn joss paper for him. So I’m afraid we’ll have to trouble you tonight,” said the elderly maidservant Zhang, her face full of sorrow as she spoke to Wei Ruo.

Who could have expected the abrupt death of the second young master? He was in the prime of his life, and without leaving anyone to fulfill his last filial duty.

“I understand,” Wei Ruo nodded.

Wei Ruo then returned to her room to change into the dress and followed the elderly maidservant Zhang to the funeral hall.

Behind the coffin in the hall, there was a brazier with three mats placed in front of it. Besides Wei Ruo’s, the other two were intended for Wei Qingwan and Wei Yilin.

Although Wei Qingwan was being punished, she also had to return for this event.

Wei Ruo kneeled down and began to place joss paper in the brazier.

Not long after, Wei Qingwan arrived.

Like Wei Ruo, she had also changed into a white linen dress.

Wei Qingwan knelt down next to Wei Ruo and said, “Sister, what goes around comes around. You schemed to expel me from the house, and now retribution has struck. Your closest friend, the second brother, has met with misfortune.”