Chapter 302
Chapter 302
The Qingming Festival was the most fitting time to pay respects to departed family members.
Most of the Ji Family’s men had died on the battlefield. Mobei was too far from the Capital City, and in this age there was no way to preserve bodies from decay for long, so their remains had been left here. They had also given instructions before their deaths.
Even in death, their bones would rest in Mobei and their souls would stand guard over the frontier.
Only their clothing and personal effects were taken back to the Capital City and buried in cenotaphs.
The remains of every son of the Ji Family who had fallen in battle in Mobei were buried here.
Today was Qingming, and the air hung heavy with a misty drizzle.
All of Mobei City seemed to have been draped in white. People walking through the streets carried bamboo baskets over their arms, filled with spirit money, incense, candles, and little paper figures.
Mobei’s circumstances were unusual, so some of the paper offerings had been folded into horses or weapons such as sabers, swords, and spears.
A site in the countryside outside Mobei City had been set aside specifically for people to burn spirit money and offer incense.
Jiang Yunsui came with Ji Yang and the other women of the Ji Family. Ji Yan’an and the others came as well.
They brought plenty of spirit money, paper gold ingots, incense, candles, and other offerings. After finding a spot, they set everything down and prepared to burn it.
“These are for the soldiers who died in battle in Mobei with no home to return to, many of whose names are no longer remembered.”
There were even Daoist priests performing rites at the site.
People came to burn spirit money here only twice a year, during the Qingming Festival and the Ghost Festival. These soldiers had died defending the realm and its people, so everyone honored them with the utmost sincerity.
It was the first time the women of the Ji Family had ever witnessed such a scene.
For a moment, they were deeply shaken.
Old Madam Ji sighed. “The people here understand gratitude.”
Then she joined those burning spirit money.
When the fires were at their height, a wind suddenly rose in several places. The spirit money, still dotted with glowing embers, was swept into the air.
Countless sparks formed a clockwise vortex and whirled upward.
“Wow!”
Everyone stared in astonishment.
The sight was undeniably eerie, yet no one was afraid. Instead, they watched with radiant smiles.
“They have come to receive the incense offerings.”
“They are collecting their money!”
It was as if the wandering souls had accepted everyone’s heartfelt gifts.
“Th-this…”
The women of the Ji Family shuddered. Could ghosts truly exist in this world?
Ordinarily, everyone was frightened of ghosts.
Yet at that moment, the people burning spirit money seemed delighted rather than afraid.
“Are they not scared?”
This was far too strange.
Jiang Yunsui said, “What is there to be scared of? Even if ghosts are real, these are ghosts who protected us.”
“Sometimes, the ghost one person fears is the loved one another person misses.”
Her words left Old Madam Ji and the Ji women who had lost sons or husbands frozen in place.
“That is true.”
A complicated look filled Old Madam Ji’s eyes as she gazed at the spirit money caught up by the mysterious wind.
“If… if my son and that old man of mine appeared before me now, I would not be afraid either.”
After all, they were the people she had loved most dearly in this world.
Ji Yan’an supported Old Madam Ji by the arm.
“Grandmother, let us go offer incense to Father and Grandfather.”
On a hillside north of Beizhen City stood a burial ground reserved for fallen soldiers. It was also known as the Heroes’ Cemetery.
The Ji Family’s men who had died in battle were buried there as well.
From this place, they could see the lands beyond Beizhen City more clearly.
Those were the very lands they had defended.
Many people had already arrived. Before the graves of their own family members, they wept as they burned spirit money.
The eyes of Old Madam Ji and the others reddened as they read the familiar names carved into the headstones.
They knelt, lit incense, and began burning spirit money.
“Yangyang, come here. This… is your other great-grandfather.”
“Over here is your grandfather, and that one is your father…”
At that moment, even the habitually difficult Second Aunt was kneeling over a headstone, sobbing as though her heart would tear apart.
She wept for her husband and for her son.
“You both left. How are Yangyang and I, grandmother and granddaughter, supposed to live on our own…?”
Jiang Yunsui knelt beside Ji Yan’an and burned spirit money with him, feeding sheet after sheet into the flames.
The mood had grown heavy.
Ji Yan’an looked at the headstones before him, each carved with a name he knew.
“At least you were not taken back to the Capital City.”
Otherwise, once he raised an army in rebellion, that bastard emperor might lash out in desperation and refuse to spare even the Ji Family’s graves.
It was better that they remained here, in the place they had spent their lives defending.
After paying their respects, the women of the Ji Family went straight home.
They had exhausted themselves from crying so hard.
Jiang Yunsui also went to pay her respects to Cook Chen.
Several of the children went with her.
They said, “Back when we were beggars, we came here to eat the offerings too.”
Jiang Yunsui remembered that as well.
“Then burn some extra spirit money for Cook Chen.”
Jiang Yunsui spoke lightly. By now, she had completely emerged from the shadow of Cook Chen’s death.
“Cook Chen, take plenty. I do not know your family’s names, so take some extra. When you find them in the underworld, you can share it with them.”
Jiang Yunsui chattered on for quite a while. As before, she also set out fruit, pastries, and other offerings before heading home with the children and Zuozuo Youyou.
Jiang Yunsui and Ji Yang studied with Old Madam Ji for about half a month.
Then Jiang Yunsui wanted to go out and play.
“Ji Yan’an, let’s take Grandmother to the estate for a visit.”
Ji Yan’an thought about it. Staying home all the time was indeed boring, so he nodded in agreement.
Things in Mobei were running smoothly now, and his workload was a little lighter than before.
After discussing it with Old Madam Ji that day, several carriages set off for the estate early the next morning.
This time, Jiang Yunsui brought Little White along.
It was no exaggeration to say that the instant Little White appeared on the street, it drew the gaze of every passerby.
“What a beautiful horse!”
Little White truly was gorgeous.
Ji Yan’an, riding on its back, attracted plenty of attention too.
Just then, Snow-Treader came walking over.
Snow-Treader was also a white steed. Its coat was not as lustrous as Little White’s, but it was larger, with even more pronounced lines of muscle.
Perhaps it was only Jiang Yunsui’s imagination, but even the way Snow-Treader walked seemed a little affected.
As though putting on a performance, it held its head high and puffed out its chest. Its hooves struck the ground in a rhythmic clop, while its mane flowed gracefully with every step.
Then it drew up beside Little White and walked shoulder to shoulder with the mare.
Ji Yan’an glanced at Snow-Treader, the stubborn white horse that refused to let him ride it.
“Hah… Now you know how to make yourself agreeable.”
Snow-Treader had come here with its herd, so unless Jiang Yunsui needed it, it usually stayed with the other horses.
It had even defeated the other horses in the military camp and gained quite a few new underlings.
It loved being the leader.
No one else could tame it, and since Snow-Treader was Jiang Yunsui’s horse, it was considered to have an owner.
But Jiang Yunsui was young and rarely rode, so Snow-Treader spent most of its time throwing its weight around at the military camp, where someone even delivered its fodder.
It had not visited the Ji Mansion in the city for quite some time.