Chapter 995 - 993: Raising the Coffin
Words : 1225
Updated : Sep 25th, 2025
Chapter 220 of "The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure" starts with unexpected events: Chapter 995: Chapter 993: Raising the Coffin The two realized this point, and both felt heavy-hearted. Lady... Find out more!
Chapter 995: Chapter 993: Raising the Coffin
The two realized this point, and both felt heavy-hearted.
Lady Qi looked on with pain in her heart. A few days ago, she had already shared with Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin the history of her relationship with the Qi Family.
Expressing that she treats Song Chongjin like a son and Wang Yongzhu like a daughter.
Upon hearing Imperial Doctor Du’s words and seeing the solemn expressions of Song Chongjin and Wang Yongzhu, she instantly cursed Song Hong hundreds of times in her mind.
Then she pulled Wang Yongzhu to her side to comfort her, "Yongzhu, don’t worry about it for now. Tomorrow, move your sister Qi Huan’s grave first. Even if that scoundrel Song Hong has plans, isn’t your master still around? Don’t be afraid, ha~~"
Imperial Doctor Du couldn’t resist rolling his eyes, thinking they truly overestimated him. He was merely a former Director of the Imperial Medical Bureau, while Song Hong was the Emperor’s trusted Duke Weiguo.
What gave his wife such confidence and courage?
Nonetheless, he did not rebut his wife’s words, only advising, "Tomorrow, during the grave relocation, your master and I will wait for you at your estate."
Song Chongjin nodded, indicating he understood.
Looking at the sky, the moon hung in mid-air, and the second watch drum had already sounded outside. The two bid farewell and returned home.
Lying on the heated brick bed, both had lingering thoughts, tossing and turning, and didn’t sleep well.
Because the grave relocation couldn’t occur past noon, when dawn broke, they had only just dozed off when Old Granny Zhang woke them up.
Seeing her daughter and son-in-law emerging with dark circles under their eyes, Old Granny Zhang felt deeply concerned, "Quick, boil two eggs to roll away the tiredness."
Old Madam Ding swiftly cooked the eggs, then brought them, wrapped in a cloth, and rolled them around the eyes, which looked slightly better thereafter.
They filled their stomachs casually, and Yang Zongbao had already arranged for workers who had arrived at the entrance of Song Family Courtyard.
Old Madam Ding and Old Granny Wu carried a basket of buns and a large basin of pickles outside for the workers to eat, as they were going to aid in the grave relocation, digging up graves, and carrying coffins. Their bellies needed to be full.
There were eight workers, all sturdy men with apparent strength.
While these workers were having breakfast, Wang Yongzhu and Old Granny Zhang were packing the items needed for later.
After breakfast, just as the sky started to lighten slightly, everyone hurried to the temple.
Upon reaching the temple, the day had just dawned, and the temple gates were not yet opened.
After knocking for quite a while, a young monk came and opened the door.
Seeing the group with Song Chongjin, he knew they were here for the grave relocation and led them to the back mountain before returning gracefully.
Song Chongjin and his companions did not mind.
They identified Qi Huan’s grave, and first offered incense to Qi Huan, informing her of the relocation to another site.
After incense burning, they recited the incantation for breaking ground. Only then did Song Chongjin proceed to dig the first spade of soil, placing it aside.
Only then did the rest of the workers begin to dig vigorously.
With many hands, progress was swift. Soon, one worker’s shovel seemed to hit something, making a muffled sound.
Everyone exchanged glances, estimating they had reached the coffin, thus they proceeded carefully.
Soon enough, the shape of the coffin was revealed. Almost twenty years passed, yet except for the mud stained on it, the coffin retained its form unchanged.
One person tried forcefully using the shovel to pry the coffin but it wouldn’t budge, only making a grating sound and bringing up dirt and stone chips.
Stone chips? Song Chongjin’s eyes narrowed as he grabbed a shovel and carefully cleared the mud off the coffin, revealing its true form.
Everyone couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise; none had expected there to be a stone coffin beneath the grave.
Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin exchanged a glance, and Song Chongjin finally said solemnly, "Open the coffin!"
As everyone assumed it was a wooden coffin, the tools they brought were not appropriate. After quite a while, they managed to pry open a seam of the stone coffin.
Wang Yongzhu quickly had the workers lift a large black cloth to entirely cover the stone coffin.
Song Chongjin and several other workers slowly and carefully pushed aside the stone coffin’s lid, revealing its contents.
Wang Yongzhu, standing nearby, saw everything clearly.
The coffin was opened, revealing a quilt whose color was already indistinguishable. One end of the quilt exposed thick strands of black hair, while underneath the quilt, there was a slight bulge.
Song Chongjin took a deep breath and gently lifted the quilt, revealing beneath it a skeleton wrapped in tattered clothing, with several accompanying gold and silver burial items beside.
Wang Yongzhu grit her teeth, took out prepared red gloves, wore them, and handed a pair to Song Chongjin. According to custom, the two had to collect Qi Huan’s bones and place them into the prepared coffin.
Since the new grave was quite a distance away, Wang Yongzhu and Song Chongjin had prepared a small coffin. Qi Huan’s bones would be first placed into the small coffin and upon reaching the new site, relocated to the large coffin.
Honestly, although Wang Yongzhu considered herself a successor of socialism, honoring science, she was somewhat frightened by such close contact with skeletons.
However, she understood there was no time for retreat, forcing herself to grit her teeth and descend into the grave.
Time was tight; earlier, they had spent much time opening the coffin. The two hurriedly exchanged a glance and carefully placed the bones into the small coffin.
Fortunately, Song Chongjin seemed to notice Wang Yongzhu’s fear and silently sped up, collecting most of Qi Huan’s bones, especially the skull, which he gently placed in the coffin.
Finally, after checking carefully to ensure nothing was missed, they closed the small coffin and covered it with black cloth.
This stone coffin and its contents were of no use to Song Chongjin, so he randomly covered the remnants and climbed up.
"Close it up! Rebury it!"
These workers were carefully selected by Yang Zongbao, naturally trustworthy, asked no questions, and promptly closed the stone coffin, refilling it with soil to restore it to its original form.
These individuals were highly experienced, not waiting for Song Chongjin and the others to say a word; they had already secured the small coffin, tying it well with wooden poles. Initially, eight persons were meant to carry it, but given its small size and light weight, two persons easily lifted it and quickly headed down the mountain.
They needed to reach the estate before noon to securely inter the coffin.
When Song Chongjin and his companions descended the mountain, two monks sneaked out from the temple’s chamber, glanced around to ensure they were alone, and recited a few Buddha chants before lifting shovels to reopen the newly filled grave.
Suddenly, a noise arose, and a group of fierce guards rushed out from the mountain gate, knocked the two monks aside, and tied them up.
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