Chapter 686 – Digging a Hole (2/2)

To this small courtyard in the alley of the Northern Military Department, this crabapple tree was very important.

It served the same purpose as he did to the world.

They were both symbols.

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Rebuilding Zhou Prison was a very troublesome project. The Ministry of Works and the capital government had dispatched many laborers and excellent craftsmen.

The work proceeded very smoothly. In just two days, a framework had already been built, but time was still very pressing. The laborers were still engaged in painstaking labor, even after nightfall.

A hole for a tree was dug out at the base of the courtyard's wall. The hole was very deep, and so it could be assumed that any type of crabapple tree would be able to grow very well inside.

When darkness was at its deepest, the laborers and craftsmen finally rested.

No one noticed a figure come to the wall of the courtyard and jump into the hole.

There was a very soft swish like a knife cutting into tofu.

Countless cold lights glimmered from the fingers of that figure, but it was clearly not some sort of weapon.

The earthen walls of the hole truly seemed just like tofu, rustling as they were cut into.

Then, that figure vanished.

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The Xue Estate held a funeral.

The funeral hall was within the estate, not visible from the street. There was only a white flag, and besides this, there was no other change.

There wasn't even any wailing or music. It was truly cold and deserted to the extreme.

There was no music because no musicians dared to take work at the Xue Estate.

There was no wailing because there were no guests coming to pay respects, so whether sincere or feigned, the people within the estate could not remain in profound grief forever.

This was a sight that many people had already predicted.

Xue Xingchuan's remains had been buried by Chen Changsheng.

The Xue Estate's funeral arrangements naturally took on a different meaning as well.

Some people even believed that this was a competition between the Imperial Court and the Orthodoxy, between master and disciple, Shang Xingzhou and Chen Changsheng.

Through this funeral, one could clearly see which way the wind was blowing in the capital and even the entire continent.

From a certain perspective, anyone who was coming to pay respects to Xue Xingchuan was also paying respects to the Divine Empress.

There were certainly people who were still loyal to Tianhai's old government, but who would dare display it?

In the chilly funeral hall, the butler looked at Madam Xue and sadly said, ”It seems…no one else will be coming.”

Let alone the ministers of the court, not even the officers in the army, those old friends, or even the Li Palace showed any reaction.

The only exception was that Linghai Zhiwang and Daoist Siyuan had come in the early morning to pay their respects.

These two Prefects of the Orthodoxy actually had rather ordinary relationships with Xue Xingchuan, but everyone knew that they were the same as Xue Xingchuan, the staunchest supporters of the Tianhai Divine Empress.

Madam Xue looked at the deserted gate of the estate and calmly replied, ”There will be some people that wish to come. Even if it's not convenient for them to come, we have to at least wait.”

Yes, many people in the capital wished to pay respects to Xue Xingchuan. With the friendships they had with Xue Xingchuan, it would be completely unreasonable for them to not come.

But for various reasons, they did not dare come and were thus forced into an extremely difficult position.

Just as Zhou Tong had said, the Xue Estate's holding a funeral was just like digging a hole for these people.

Would they jump or not?

Time slowly passed.

The sun slowly moved across the sky.

The time came.

The Xue Estate was still deserted. Still, no one had come.