On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2297 Spending the Night in the Cemetery

The Li family's new grave is located in the southeast corner of the burial mound; the mound is still new.

Several sheets of yellow paper were pressed on top, and unburnt incense and offerings were placed in front of the grave, but they had rolled into the soil and lost their freshness.

Yan Ruyu stood not far away, raising her chin at Yin Ding and Lin Lang: "Let's do it, but be careful."

The silver ingots and the jade pendants responded, digging from the left and right respectively.

Su Shengsheng leaned closer, shrinking back slightly, but her eyes sparkled with excitement—she had never dug up a grave or opened a coffin before, and although she was a little scared, she was mostly curious.

Before long, the black coffin was revealed, covered in mud and exuding a chilling aura.

Silver ingots and precious stones secured the four corners of the coffin lid.

Huo Changhe slowly walked forward, reached out and pressed his hand on the edge of the coffin, his fingertips slightly clenched, and a strange tension welled up in his heart.

He subconsciously looked at Yan Ruyu, fearing that the woman in the coffin might, as the secret guards had said, look exactly like Yan Ruyu.

Yan Ruyu also walked to the coffin, her eyes calm, and simply said, "Open the coffin."

With their combined strength, Yin Ding and Lin Lang lifted the heavy coffin lid, which was slowly opened, releasing a faint smell of decay mixed with the scent of grass and trees.

Huo Changhe's gaze immediately fell on the face of the woman in the coffin.

The moment he saw her clearly, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief—the woman had an ordinary face, and her eyebrows and eyes bore no resemblance to Yan Ruyu.

A glint seemed to flash in Yan Ruyu's eyes as she switched her gaze and bent down to examine the corpse in the coffin closely.

The third daughter-in-law of the Li family had a pale face, her lips were bitten and there were still traces of blood at the corners of her mouth, indicating that she had suffered a great deal of pain before her death.

Yan Ruyu's gaze fell on her abdomen. She raised her hand and gently explored it. Her fingertips could feel the outline of the fetus in her womb. It was obviously much larger than a normal full-term fetus, and the fetal position was off-center, not in the normal delivery position.

She straightened up, her gaze returning to normal, and sighed softly: "It was indeed a case of dying in childbirth. The fetus was too large and the baby was in an abnormal position. This is the most common cause of death in pregnant women during childbirth."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

Looking at the woman in the coffin, Yan Ruyu felt a pang of regret and said softly, "It seems that the whole family was so eager for a son that when they found out it was a boy, they kept trying to nourish him, fearing that the child wouldn't get enough nutrition. As a result, the fetus grew too big and was in the wrong position, which ultimately led to this tragedy."

The wind rustled the yellow paper on the ground, making one sigh involuntarily.

Huo Changhe waved his hand, and Yin Ding and Lin Lang restored the grave to its original state. Yan Ruyu burned paper money again and lit a stick of incense.

After tidying up, the group left the cemetery.

As we walked out of the woods, a flock of birds took flight.

Yan Ruyu turned around and glanced back.

They found another forest, an open space, and camped there.

Yan Ruyu fell asleep and dreamed of Princess Mingzhao again. In her daze, she heard her say something about "pregnant woman", but she couldn't hear clearly what she was saying.

Yan Ruyu woke up with a start, and the moment her consciousness returned, she realized that the spot beside her was already cold.

Faint sunlight filtered through the gaps in the tent's fabric curtains; it was already daylight.

She stepped out of the tent. The embers of last night's campfire remained on the ground. The morning breeze blew through the treetops, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees and a faint smell of earth.

Huo Changhe stood by the campfire, his black casual clothes making him appear even more upright. Yin Ding stood opposite him, and the two were talking in hushed tones.

Linlang had already gotten up and was tidying up the pack tied to the saddle. Su Shengsheng, still wrapped in a blanket, poked his head out of the tent, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

Hearing the noise, Huo Changhe turned around and looked at Yan Ruyu. His cold and hard features softened a little when his gaze fell on her.

He walked up to Yan Ruyu and raised his hand to brush away the stray hairs from his forehead: "Awake? Did you sleep well?"

Yan Ruyu nodded: "It's alright."

What were you talking about just now?

Huo Changhe pointed to the silver ingot: "I was just about to have the silver ingot go to the nearby stream to feed the horses, give them some water, and check the horseshoes."

After a quick breakfast, everyone set off immediately, hoping to reach the next post station before noon.

Upon hearing this, Yin Ding immediately replied, "Your Highness, rest assured, I will go right away."

Yan Ruyu gave him some dry food and water to take with him.

The others quickly washed up, sat down together to eat something, and enjoyed the morning breeze.

Yan Ruyu had little appetite, her gaze fixed on the distant woods.

Huo Changhe noticed her unusual behavior, handed her his water pouch, and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Yan Ruyu took the water pouch, took a sip, and lowered her voice slightly: "After falling asleep last night, I dreamed of Princess Mingzhao again."

Huo Changhe paused, his hand holding the pancake furrowing slightly, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes. He looked up at Yan Ruyu, signaling her to continue.

"Just like last time, the images in my dream were very blurry. I could only vaguely hear her repeatedly mention 'pregnant woman,' but I couldn't hear anything else clearly. When I tried to get closer to see her, the images would blur again."

"After waking up, I felt uneasy. I felt that Mingzhao had encountered some trouble in Chongzhou."

She and Princess Mingzhao had not known each other for long. Although they had been through a lot together, they could not be said to have a particularly deep connection.

These repeated dreams are no coincidence; it must mean that Mingzhao is facing difficulties, which is why she is so restless.

Huo Changhe remained silent for a moment, his brows still furrowed: "It seems we need to hurry on our way."

Originally, I planned to proceed cautiously, but now it seems I can't delay any longer. I need to get to Chongzhou as soon as possible to see Princess Mingzhao and find out what's happening on her end.

Although Mingzhao is intelligent and resilient, the waters of Chongzhou are too deep. The He family is a local family of doctors with deep roots, and it is unknown what forces are involved behind them, making it too dangerous.

The group sat for a while longer, and soon they saw Yin Ding return with his horse, his expression slightly solemn.

Huo Changhe asked in a deep voice, "What's wrong? Has something happened?"

Yin Ding walked up to the group, looked around, and lowered his voice to say, "Your Highness, Your Highness, when I went to the stream to feed the horses and give them water, I noticed that a lot of the grass by the stream had been trampled."

"It's just some grass that I stepped on, what's so special about that?" Su Shengsheng asked curiously.

Yin Ding shook his head and pointed to the grass next to him: "The grass in this forest is all fine, except for the area by the stream leading to the Li Family Village cemetery, where the grass has been trampled into a mess."

It didn't look like it was accidentally trampled by someone in a hurry; it looked like someone had deliberately walked through that patch of grass.

"I think they are men's footprints. I can still see the pattern on the soles of their shoes. They don't look like ordinary farmers' footprints. They look like someone who has practiced martial arts. Their footsteps are very heavy."

Yan Ruyu frowned and suddenly turned her gaze towards the Li family cemetery.

Last night, when I left the Li family cemetery, a flock of birds took flight. At the time, I assumed it was because of them, but now that I think about it…

Her gaze darkened, and she stood up, saying, "Let's go, let's go to the Li family cemetery again!"