☆、117 The Manchu Han Imperial Feast (IX)
"You're too kind, too kind..." The guard feared she might enthusiastically recommend coffins to him again. He dared not refuse the Imperial Concubine's goodwill, especially since she was Prince An's consort. So he quickly gestured for Chu Chu to step back, saying, "Please wait a moment, Your Highness. This humble servant will open the coffin right away."
"Not yet!"
Chu Chu stopped the guard, ran to fetch the incense burner from the table by the window, lit six sticks of incense, and handed three to the guard.
"The deceased deserves our utmost respect. Since we're disturbing their peace, we must first apologize. Today is Grand Tutor Xue's auspicious day—angering the dead would bring terrible misfortune."
Though the guard had never handled coffin-opening duties before and wasn't particularly superstitious, Chu Chu's solemn and earnest tone made him feel compelled to pay respects. After all, she was Daozong Emperor's woman—showing reverence wouldn't be inappropriate...
After properly offering incense, Chu Chu made the guard thoroughly fumigate himself with Chinese Honey Locust and Atractylodes Smoke before allowing him to pry open the coffin lid.
As the lid was lifted, a pungent odor of mold and decay instantly wafted out. The guard immediately furrowed his brow, but Chu Chu acted as if she smelled nothing at all. She eagerly peered into the coffin and broke into an excited smile, as if suddenly beholding vast fields of blooming flowers. "Wonderful! This coffin has been preserved perfectly!"
The guard couldn't resist glancing inside, only to see a neatly spread satin quilt. The satin had decayed beyond recognition of its original color, now entirely stained brownish-yellow by corpse fluids. Combined with the nauseating smell, the guard—who hadn't even eaten last night's meal—felt his empty stomach churn violently.
He subtly took a step back. "Your Highness, please."
Chu Chu hesitated, pursing her lips. "Brother Guard, could you help remove this quilt?"
"......!"
"Wang Ye dislikes dirt, and I need to find him later."
"...As you wish."
Just as the guard gritted his teeth and approached the coffin, reaching down to grasp one end of the quilt while planning to finish quickly, Chu Chu earnestly reminded him, "Remove it slowly—be careful not to damage the corpse."
The guard stiffened. "...Understood."
With nearly the same tenderness he'd use to undress his own wife, the guard carefully removed three layers of rotting quilts soaked in corpse fluids, finally revealing scattered burial objects and a decomposed body still wrapped head to toe in silk.
Chu Chu had been standing by the coffin, watching intently the entire time. When she caught sight of the burial objects, her face lit up with curiosity. "Brother Guard, may I examine these burial treasures?"
Since they were about to expose the buried person's body entirely, what harm could there be in looking at the burial items...
The guard gently retrieved all the burial objects and placed them on the large tray Chu Chu held out.
Two jade hairpins, two gold hairpins, two gold rings, and assorted porcelain, jade, and silver items—each piece more exquisitely crafted than the last, clearly not belonging to an ordinary commoner's family.
"Your Highness..." The guard's hands reeked of decay, and he was guarding a tightly wrapped ancient corpse. He had no heart to admire these trivial objects commonly seen in the Xue residence. "Shall we... remove this layer?"
Chu Chu, completely absorbed in examining a silver candlestick, didn't even look up. "Remove it!"
"...As you command."The guard turned his head and took several deep breaths, holding one in as he turned back. Summoning all his resolve, he peeled away the silk and clothing shrouding the corpse. The fabric, steeped in corpse fluids and decay, had turned brownish-yellow and clung tightly to the bones, which still retained patches of rotting flesh and skin. The guard nearly exhausted all his inner strength to suppress the urge to vomit. As soon as he finished stripping the upper layer, he swiftly turned away, gasping for air in large breaths.
He had seen grotesque corpses before, but he had never touched one with his own hands...
Chu Chu eagerly leaned in, gripping the edge of the coffin excitedly. "I’ve never seen a corpse over twenty years old decayed only to this extent! Look at this part, and this part... The coffins in the palace really are something!"
The guard replied absentmindedly, "Yes, yes..."
"Ah! What’s this?"
Even if a peony had bloomed inside, the guard wouldn’t have wanted to take another look.
"It seems like some kind of jewelry... Big brother, could you take them out?"
Unfortunately, he couldn’t say no to Wang Ye’s treasured Imperial Concubine...
"Yes..."
His face ashen, the guard turned back. Chu Chu quickly pointed to the area of the corpse’s abdomen, which had decayed into a pool of thick, viscous fluid. "Here, you see? There seem to be four of them, gleaming gold!"
Gritting his teeth and shutting his eyes, the guard reached down, swiftly scooped up the four troublesome objects, and tossed them into the tray Chu Chu held. He then turned away and vomited violently. He had no idea how long he leaned against the wall, retching dryly, before Chu Chu came over and patted his shoulder.
"Guard big brother, are you alright?"
The guard was about to lift his sleeve to wipe his mouth, but halfway through the motion, the intense stench of decay on his clothes sent another wave of nausea through his stomach. Barely holding it back, he weakly replied, "N-no... I’m fine... Does the Imperial Concubine have any further orders?"
"Carry her out to the courtyard. Rinse off all the residue on her bones with clean water, then dig a pit somewhere. Use a mat to carry the bones down and steam them with wine and vinegar. Once they’re steamed, bring them out and place them on clean ground. Just call me when it’s done so I can take a look."
The guard stared wide-eyed at Chu Chu’s calm expression. "Imperial Concubine, this is the Daozong Emperor’s..." He simply couldn’t bring himself to utter the word "beauty" in reference to such a corpse.
"It’s fine," Chu Chu said with a warm smile. "You’ve already burned incense and kowtowed to her earlier—she won’t hold it against you."
The guard took a deep breath. "Yes..."
The guard couldn’t quite recall what he did next. After carrying the steamed bones out of the pit, he simply stood far away, vomiting to his heart’s content, until Chu Chu cheerfully ran over. "Guard big brother, I’ve finished the examination..."
The guard breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had narrowly escaped death, but before he could fully exhale, he heard Chu Chu’s crisp voice add another sentence.
OpenNovel