Chapter 5: Fainting

A gentle breeze blew from the window, and amidst the noise of the crowd, Ying Shi felt an odd sensation in her heart upon hearing his words. She found herself in a dilemma, only able to nod in choked silence.

Liang Yun gazed at Liang Ji's coffin as if contemplating, and after a moment, he suddenly spoke and gave orders to the servants: "Open the coffin."

As soon as his words fell, a few servants wondered if they had heard wrong.

"Open the coffin?"

"Open Third Master's coffin?"

That was the Third Master, the patriarch's younger brother!

The others glanced at the coffin and then at their master's serious face, which showed no hint of humor.

The hall grew quieter, and some relatives hesitated to speak, disapprovingly saying, "Third Uncle's remains have been damaged. Even though they are kept cold, the smell..."

Ying Shi almost couldn't breathe after hearing this.

Everything was developing far differently from what she had imagined, and she was so shocked that she couldn't even make sense of it. How had it come to this? How could her two words have truly led to the opening of the coffin?

Where was the brotherly respect? Was it gone?

Where was the Liang family's dignity? Had it been discarded as well?

There were so many people in the hall, watching closely—were they truly going to witness Liang Ji's remains?

Only then did Ying Shi realize what was happening. Her limbs turned weak. "No... no, I don't want to..."

She quickly explained to Liang Yun, "I acted impulsively when I wanted to see him. Now that the incense has been offered, I feel somewhat better. I was being rash. I should have let him go in peace..."

Perhaps in her past life, she had cried so often that she had mastered the ability to shed tears at will. As she spoke, the tears fell one after another, and those who saw her could not help but feel pity.

"Shun Gong's burial is in two days. If my sister-in-law wishes to see him one last time, she need not mind the others."

Liang Yun's expression remained unchanged as he listened carefully, but his voice carried a hint of compassion.

The remains of his younger brother were too gruesome, and even Liang Yun himself couldn't bear to look at them closely.

But when he saw the young woman, trembling but holding herself together, Liang Yun held back his words of advice.

He thought carefully. A woman who defied societal conventions to marry a spirit tablet must have a certain strength of character.

She was a woman of resilience, unlike others, and would she truly fear a mere corpse?

"Open the coffin," Liang Yun said, his sleeves fluttering in the wind. He held his sorrow in check and spoke in a calm manner.

As the head of the Liang family, his authority was immense. He repeated the command, and the servants, who dared not delay, rushed to the coffin and began to open the lid.

The coffin had been left unsealed at the corners so that ice could be placed inside. Now, the servants lifted a corner of the coffin, and four of them carefully pried open the heavy coffin lid.

The sound of the coffin creaking made Ying Shi's teeth ache, and as the lid lifted slightly, she seemed to catch a glimpse of the bones inside.

In that moment, her heart raced, and she felt as if her chest were about to burst. She cursed Liang Yun for his interference.

How dare he have the coffin opened?

Although it had been more than a month since the body was recovered, calling it a "body" was a stretch—it was more like a skeleton, and even the greatest immortals would be unable to recognize it as Liang Ji's.

But how could she take that risk? What if, by some accident, it wasn't Liang Ji's body and they discovered it wasn't him? Would they find Liang Ji's body and resurrect him, bringing him back into her life?

Ying Shi's thoughts were a chaotic mess, and her face went pale. She almost couldn't stand.

She was afraid, disgusted.

The despair she had felt at the moment of her death in her past life resurfaced, and she was overcome with a wave of nausea.

Was it going to be like last time, where no help came and she was left helpless...?

In a panic, Ying Shi acted quickly, closing her eyes, and cried out, "Shun Gong."

She collapsed, like a withered flower, falling directly onto the half-open coffin lid.

With this fall, the lid that had been lifted was tightly sealed again, firmly and without a gap.

The act, half real and half fake, was so well-executed that there was no turning back. Ying Shi suddenly relaxed, and everything in front of her went dark.

She thought to herself, "This time, I'm probably going to fall hard. I just hope I don't end up with a bloody head."

Even if it wasn't Liang Ji's remains in the coffin, she had no idea whose bones they might be. The souls of the dead had already been disturbed once, and she prayed that her own blood wouldn't be tainted here.

But to her surprise, the expected pain didn't come.

Just as she stumbled toward the coffin and began to fall to the side, Liang Yun's quick reflexes caught her.

No, he didn't just catch her… he caught the back of her neck.

It was midday in April, and the heat of the day had already arrived.

From the earlier commotion, Ying Shi had already broken into a sweat, the damp, sticky feeling of perspiration lingering on the back of her neck and transferring to Liang Yun's palm.

Liang Yun's brows slightly furrowed as he gently held her.

In an instant, the entire room was in an uproar.

"Young mistress!"

"This is bad! The young mistress has fainted from overwhelming grief!"

"Oh heavens, what should we do now?"

"Quick, go fetch the doctor!"

The room erupted in chaos as people scrambled around, running to send messages.

Liang Yun carefully placed Ying Shi against the coffin and, when he pulled his hand away, absentmindedly wiped it across his sleeve, erasing the lingering sweat.

"Everyone, leave and make way. Send for the womenfolk to take care of her."

While everyone was in a daze, they saw the family head, Liang Yun, quickly step out of the room, avoiding the presence of both men and women.

The commotion inside the room quickly spread outside.

"It's said that the Third Young Mistress learned that Third Master will be buried in two days, and despite attempts to stop her, she forced her way in! She clung to his coffin and cried, fainting in the process…"

The news quickly spread, and the women outside could only sigh in sympathy.

People's hearts are made of flesh, and even though many had always adhered to strict traditions, upon hearing what had happened, they couldn't help but feel sorry for her, lamenting how cruel fate had been.

Among the guests who were unaware of the situation, some curious ladies shared details with others. "Everyone knows that the Third Young Mistress and Third Master grew up together. They were supposed to get married. Third Master is nearly twenty and had no concubines in his chambers. He was just waiting to marry the Third Young Mistress. But who could have predicted? Who could have known that Third Master would die, and the Third Young Mistress would marry his spirit tablet instead?"

"Is this true? I never heard this part of the story," the others exclaimed, shocked.

Some of the more straightforward people, after hearing the full story, couldn't help but shed tears. "What kind of cruel fate is this? Why couldn't it have been some cold-hearted man who died? Why did it have to be Liang Ji?"

Everyone sighed in admiration at the Third Young Mistress's loyalty and devotion.

A young woman, determined to marry into the Liang family and to a spirit tablet, and now, fainting from crying—what else could it be but love?

Outside, both the men and women were touched to the point of tears. Even the older ladies secretly wiped their eyes and praised the young woman's steadfastness, turning to the displeased Madam Wei and saying, "Madam, you've raised such a fine daughter-in-law. Such a woman is hard to find in the world."

"The Ruan family certainly lives up to its reputation. They've raised a woman of such virtue. It makes us feel ashamed!"

Madam Wei, hearing the praise, could only respond with forced compliments, "After Ji'er's passing, she was willing to marry in. We will never forget this kindness. I am truly grateful. I have no daughters of my own, and she will be like my own daughter from now on. I will make sure she's never wronged…"

She spoke with the urgency of a loving mother, wiping her tears as she personally went to care for the young mistress, prompting more praise from those around her.