At this time, it was the height of summer, and the weather was sweltering. Bai Sheng felt a little apprehensive, afraid that when she saw two highly decomposed corpses later, she wouldn't be able to help but feel nauseous.
After all, they were Lu Ye's parents. Even if Bai Sheng had no feelings for them, she couldn't appear too grief-stricken.
However, when she saw the remains of her inexpensive in-laws, she was shocked.
On the worn-out straw mat, the bodies of the couple lay side by side, showing no signs of decay, only looking withered and emaciated. Their bodies were like skin and flesh pasted directly onto a skeleton, completely turned into mummies.
There were no flies or mosquitoes buzzing around, nor any maggots wriggling on their flesh. Only when the bodies and their surroundings were extremely dry did such an abnormal phenomenon occur.
It made sense. The in-laws hadn't had water for many days; they had saved the little water they had for the children. By the time they died, their blood had likely dried up to the point of not being able to flow. Coupled with the dry and hot weather, and being placed in a makeshift shelter full of cracks, the residual moisture naturally evaporated, eventually turning them into mummies.
"Dad, Mom—" Lu Hua, Lu Yun, and Lu Yu knelt before the bodies, their small frames convulsing with sobs. From this day forward, they were children without parents.
Lu Ye, with red-rimmed eyes and a somber face, tidied his parents' remains.
Lu Ye's mother, Madam An, still possessed beautiful facial contours. Bai Sheng found her appearance in the original owner's memories. Although very thin, she was an unparalleled beauty. It was estimated that no one in the entire Huangsha Village was more beautiful than her.
Lu Ye's father, Lu Dajiang, also had an outstanding appearance, completely different from the other two sons born to Madam Chen.
Considering Madam Chen's hateful attitude towards Lu Dajiang, Bai Sheng suspected that Lu Dajiang was not Madam Chen's biological son. However, Bai Sheng only thought about these speculations in her mind. After all, whether he was biologically related or not, their second branch of the family no longer had any connection with Madam Chen and the others.
A beautiful mother and a handsome father, no wonder Lu Ye and his siblings all looked so good. Especially Lu Ye, he had inherited all the best qualities of his parents.
Lu Ye used all the usable cloth in the house to wrap his parents from head to toe, leaving no gaps. Then, holding one child in each arm, he walked heavily towards the graveyard.
Bai Sheng pulled the sobbing siblings along, following closely behind.
After a simple funeral ceremony, Lu Ye began to fill the grave with sand and stones. But just as he was halfway done, Lu Yun suddenly pointed into the distance and shouted in surprise, "Brother, sister-in-law! Look quickly!"
Lu Ye and Bai Sheng looked up and followed where he was pointing. They saw the clan elder of the Lu family, the clan elder of the Zhang family, the village head, and many villagers, all coming towards them in a grand procession.
When Bai Sheng saw Madam Chen and Lu Dahe following behind the Lu clan elder with smug expressions, a bad premonition immediately struck her. She looked at Lu Ye worriedly. Lu Ye's brow furrowed, and his fists clenched with a cracking sound.
Lu Hua noticed the strange expressions on her brother and sister-in-law's faces. She immediately pulled Lu Yun and Lu Yu to stand by her brother and sister-in-law.
As everyone approached, they stood by the side of the grave pit, peered into it, and then raised their gazes to meet those of Lu Ye and Bai Sheng.
Bai Sheng's sharp eyes swept across the villagers opposite them. They were all thin, with sallow complexions, cracked lips, and hair as dry and yellow as straw.
Starving, without water to drink, everyone looked like hanged ghosts! Instead of uniting to find a way through the hardship, they had the time and leisure to bully the weak for no reason. What a bunch of stupid, incompetent, and useless wretches!
The two sides stood in silent confrontation, a stalemate that lasted for a few seconds, as if each side were gauging the other's potential reactions.
For thousands of years, Huangsha Village had been primarily composed of people from the Li, Zhang, and Lu surnames. Besides the clan elders of the Lu and Zhang families, the village head also served as the clan elder of the Li family.
The three clan elders were advanced in years. Lu Ye bowed to them first and then asked in a clear voice, "Your junior is in the process of burying his parents. The village head and the two clan elders have come suddenly. May I ask the reason?"
The three clan elders looked at each other, and finally, their gazes fell upon the village head.
The village head stroked his white beard, cleared his throat, and said, "Little Ye, we have indeed come today to discuss something with you."
"Please speak, Village Head. If your junior can manage it, there will be no objections!" Lu Ye looked at the village head, his gaze clear and fearless.
The village head glanced at the other two clan elders, as if with some helplessness, and slowly closed his eyelids, saying, "Since your second branch has separated from and disowned Madam Chen, you have left the Lu clan. Therefore, your parents cannot be buried in the Lu clan graveyard."
"Village Head, what you say is incorrect," Clan Elder Zhang said, glancing disdainfully at the village head. "It's not that they cannot be buried in the Lu clan graveyard, but rather that there is no 'burial ground' for their family in all of Huangsha Village!"
How could they say such a thing? It was too much! Bai Sheng was instantly enraged and was about to scold that old man surnamed Zhang as unworthy of being human, but Lu Ye raised his hand to stop her, signaling with his eyes for her not to act rashly.
Lu Hua held her brothers' hands, her palms breaking out in a cold sweat. Lu Yun and Lu Yu's thin faces were filled with anger.
Lu Ye looked at Clan Elder Lu and said coldly, "Grandpa Lu, do you also think so?"
Clan Elder Lu sighed and said, "Little Ye, you were too impulsive when you disowned your clan. You have lost the protection of your kin. Not only do you have no share in the burial ground, but you likely won't even be able to live in this village. Our Huangsha Village cannot accommodate outsiders!"
"Exactly! Uncle, these ungrateful brats should have been kicked out of our village long ago!" Madam Chen stared at Lu Ye and the others, her eyes shooting out malicious light.
"Yes! Since you've left the clan, you should get out!" someone chimed in.
"Scions born of slave whores, what's there to be so proud of, daring to leave the clan, you must be tired of living!" Madam Li Xianglan, the daughter-in-law of Clan Elder Lu, said sarcastically.
Bai Sheng couldn't stand it any longer. She opened her throat and shouted loudly, "Are you all just talking nonsense, afraid that others won't know you have mouths? All of you, listen to sister clearly! The reason my husband broke ties with Madam Chen is because she secretly sold our sister Lu Hua to a brothel! Such a selfish and venomous old woman doesn't deserve to be our grandmother! She is the one who is wrong! Not my husband!"
A slight commotion erupted among the crowd. However, after a moment, someone shouted loudly, "Selling her to a brothel was also to let her live! It's better than starving to death at home!"
Although this was unpleasant to hear, it was a fact acknowledged by many in the drought-stricken and water-scarce Huangsha Village. Many families wanted to sell their money-losing burdens, but they rarely sold them to brothels.
However, selling sons and daughters was something absolutely impossible in Lu Ye's family! Even if their entire family starved to death, they would never sell their children!
Madam Chen glanced at everyone guiltily. Seeing that some people were on her side, she immediately put on a show of wailing, "Oh, you all know how difficult I, Madam Chen, have had it! To let that dead girl Lu Hua live, I just had to... Alas, these days, as you know, I had no choice!"