Deposed Empress General

Chapter 6

Deposed Empress General 6- Separate Ways

The next day, someone came to bring Yang Lianting to South Mountain to pay respects to his ancestors, while Leng Feiyan and Zuo Canglang accompanied him. On their way, they passed by Jinyang City, and everything the three saw, they found novel and new, totally like a rustic rural person, entering the city. Unfortunately they didn't carry any money on them, and so they could only window shop.

Once they left the city, all three of them were startled, a large group of people dressed in ragged clothes gathered outside. At the end of the first month of the year, when the weather was still so frigid, many people were dying. Occasionally, someone would try to enter the city, but would be yelled at loudly by the city guards. In the distance, there was even a row of archers, ready to shoot those who would try breaking in.

The three of them looked at each other, and Leng Feiyan asked their guide, "Why are there so many people gathered here?" The guide was a construction head, that Murong Yan had sent to help Yang Lianting fix his ancestral grave. At this time, his expression was grave as he just shook his head, saying, "It's some refugees, who really couldn't continue surviving, and came here trying to find a living."

Leng Feiyan asked, "Is there somewhere that is suffering from a disaster?" The guide took a look at her, saying, "Missy, you're making a joke, as in this day and age...... who needs a natural disaster to occur for this to happen."

Leng Feiyan was shocked, "There isn't a natural disaster? Then how come they would......" The guide dared to make a passing joke, saying, "Every year, Great Yan continues to make tribute offerings to Western Jing, Tuhe, Hao Country, Ling Zhi, and Shan Rong would invade our borders every year. There is constant warfare, aye......" He sighed, but suddenly recovered his composure, saying, "It's better if we don't talk about the political situation, a few of my brothers are already waiting by gentleman Yang's ancestral tomb, and only need gentleman Yang to take a look over some of the details to make adjustments. Hey, we are the ones that actually helped Tai Chang prince's maternal grandfather fix his tomb before, so we guarantee that you will be satisfied......"

He kept gibbering and jabbering on the horse, and Zuo Canglang just galloped her horse ahead, passing by the refugees that were waiting by the wayside. Their eyes were all very glum, and their lips were all growing white. Hearing the horse gallop, some people opened their eyes wide to take a look, seeming as though they wanted to rise, but ultimately, only moved a bit, before lying back down on the ground.

"Big sister......" a little boy ran over, reaching out with a pair of emaciated and black hands, his two eyes were particularly big, looking with a look full of anticipation at them. Zuo Canglang touched her own waist, and she naturally didn't even have a single coin. The guide said, "Move aside, lest you get whipped."

The little child retreated, depressed. The people who had come for the renovations could be counted as putting in pretty good effort, as the wild grasses that were growing over the graves were already nowhere to be found. Yang Lianting knelt before the tombstones, while Leng Feiyan and Zuo Canglang burned some paper money for him; the previous relationship between them, now, there was only the lonely tomb. Yang Lianting actually couldn't feel any tears, but rather, only just stared at the tombstone.

The sun in early spring, only revealed a small bit of itself, and was quickly covered again; but the sky was a sheet of clear white. The three knelt before the tombstone, the paper money was slowly licked away at by the flame's tongues. On the tombstone, there was only a faint lettering of Yang Gong. Yang Lianting spread open his two arms, hugging the tombstone, and Zuo Canglang lightly patted his shoulder. He finally lifted his head, saying, "I'm fine."

Leng Feiyan said, "That's right, what's there to be sad about. You don't even know for sure if the one inside is even your ancestor." Yang Lianting angrily looked at her, and she couldn't but help loosening her shoulders, "The truth is always not pleasing to the ears."