But from a different perspective, it felt entirely new.
Shen Xiaoyan thought life would continue peacefully like this, perhaps plain, but not dull.
However, her thoughts were too optimistic.
August 15th, the weather finally cooled a bit, and the sun no longer blinded people.
Shen Xiaoyan decided to take the triplets to town today. After all, they had never been out since they were this old; the furthest they had been was the pine forest behind their home.
As she and Zheng Wei were dressing the triplets, Huo Fen ran in, panting.
"What's the rush? Speak slowly," Shen Xiaoyan turned and found Huo Fen's sweaty appearance amusing. Even in the hottest summer, she hadn't been like this. What had happened today?
"Madam, it's bad news." Huo Fen's voice was still urgent.
"What is it?" Seeing her persistent urgency, Shen Xiaoyan grew curious.
"Madam." Huo Fen hesitated, a little worried, then gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and blurted out, "Your mother's grave has been dug up."
"What?" Shen Xiaoyan's hands stopped their task, and she looked at Huo Fen in disbelief.
Had she misheard?
"Say that again," Shen Xiaoyan said.
Seeing Shen Xiaoyan's troubled face, Huo Fen felt both worried and fearful, but she had to speak. So she repeated, "Your mother's grave was discovered this morning, and it had been dug open. It appears it was done last night."
In Baiyun Village, those who passed away were buried in the low hills behind the village.
These low hills were at opposite ends of the village, just like Baiyun Peak was at one end and the village itself at the other.
Shen Xiaoyan's home was at the foot of Baiyun Peak, quite a distance from the back hills.
Over the past two years, Shen Xiaoyan, Zheng Wei, and Shen Xiaoming had visited and paid respects to Zhen Shi during the festivals, and she had even had the grave renovated.
Since August 15th was approaching, they had specifically visited Zhen Shi's grave two days prior when Shen Xiaoming had time off. At that time, Zhen Shi's grave was perfectly fine.
"And also..."
Before Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei could recover from their shock, Huo Fen spoke again hesitantly.
"What else? Tell me," Shen Xiaoyan said, taking a deep breath to calm herself.
"The grave is empty. The coffin was opened, and inside there was no..." Huo Fen's voice trailed off, unable to finish.
Even if she didn't say it, Shen Xiaoyan knew what came next.
That the coffin was empty.
There could be two reasons for the absence of a body in the grave.
One, there was never a body there in the first place.
Two, the body had been stolen.
Shen Xiaoyan steadied her nerves and asked Huo Fen to fetch the wet nurse to look after the triplets. She then left with Zheng Wei.
Huo Fen knew that once Shen Xiaoyan knew, she would definitely go to see for herself. Therefore, before answering, she had already instructed Huo Si to prepare the carriage.
When Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei reached the west courtyard, Huo Si was already waiting by the carriage.
Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei got into the carriage in silence. Huo Si didn't delay, took his place as the driver, and set off.
After leaving the gate, the carriage sped up considerably, heading directly towards the village's back hills.
By the time Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei arrived, a crowd had already gathered at Zhen Shi's grave.
Most of these people were villagers from Baiyun Village who had also come to pay their respects before August 15th. This was why they were present.
It was also because of this that as soon as Zhen Shi's grave was dug open, someone discovered it and informed Shen Xiaoyan.
The people were now gathered in small groups, whispering amongst themselves. When they saw the carriage approaching, they automatically parted to make way.
The carriage stopped, and as Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei stepped down, someone stepped forward to speak.
"Xiao... Su, Shen Xiaoyan." The person speaking stammered slightly, not due to any speech impediment, but out of hesitation, unsure how to address her.
Shen Xiaoyan, who had been looking at the grave, shifted her gaze to the speaker when she heard her name.
Upon seeing him, she realized it was Shen Cheng.
Shen Cheng was wearing a dark blue robe, which looked reasonably clean, but his face was etched with a weariness that could not be concealed.
"Do you need something?" Shen Xiaoyan didn't know what to say to Shen Cheng at the moment and could only ask dryly.
"I... alas, this morning, I was the one who discovered your mother's grave had been dug up," Shen Cheng sighed.
"You... why are you here?" Shen Xiaoyan was somewhat puzzled. According to her original memory, Shen Cheng had never paid respects to Zhen Shi.
Especially now, when she and Shen Xiaoming both knew they weren't Shen Cheng's children, and there was no longer any familial connection between them.
Under these circumstances, why would Shen Cheng come to Zhen Shi's grave so early in the morning?
Or perhaps, Shen Cheng was the one who dug up Zhen Shi's grave, and he was pretending to have discovered it to inform her and clear his name.
Thinking this, Shen Xiaoyan's gaze towards Shen Cheng turned a little cold.
Shen Cheng seemed to sense Shen Xiaoyan's thoughts and gave a wry smile. "I know you suspect me, but why would I do such a thing? It's precisely because you and Shen Xiaoming are not my children that I would still raise you?"
Hearing Shen Cheng say this, Shen Xiaoyan let out a scoff.
Had Shen Cheng raised her and Shen Xiaoming?
It would be more accurate to say that she and Shen Xiaoming had served their family as servants for over ten years.
And Shen Cheng had merely ensured that the two of them didn't starve or freeze to death.
"In the past, I was in the wrong. But I would never allow her to be unsettled even in death, let alone come to dig up her grave."
Shen Cheng didn't continue to explain. After saying this, he turned and looked towards Zhen Shi's grave.
Shen Xiaoyan had only had that fleeting thought. In reality, she also knew that Shen Cheng would not have dug up Zhen Shi's grave.
Even though he and Zhen Shi were not truly husband and wife.
But to Shen Cheng, Zhen Shi was like his spiritual support. Even if he couldn't have her, he was content to see her every day.
If he hated Zhen Shi, then after her death, he should have driven her and Shen Xiaoming away, not kept them at home and ignored them.
"When you discovered it this morning, was it like this?" Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei walked to the side of the grave with Shen Cheng and observed it carefully before asking.
"Yes."
The large stone monument Shen Xiaoyan had erected for Zhen Shi was still standing, and the offerings in front were all in place.
However, the grave mound behind had been dug open, with soil scattered everywhere and messy footprints on top. It was evident that multiple people had dug it together, likely to speed up the process.
The coffin was still in the burial pit, with the lid half-open and not completely detached.
But from the exposed half of the coffin's interior, it was clear that it was empty.
Zheng Wei asked Shen Xiaoyan to stand still. He then hitched up his shirt, tucked it into his waistband, and leaped into the burial pit.
Zheng Wei first walked around the coffin and then knelt down to examine the area where the coffin touched the ground.
After his inspection, he proceeded to push the coffin lid open completely.
With Zheng Wei's effort, the coffin lid was slowly pushed aside, revealing the situation inside the coffin.
The coffin was made of ordinary wood, simply lacquered red.
However, after being buried for over a decade, some of the red paint had peeled off.
Inside the coffin, only a pillow was placed at one end, looking somewhat tattered.