I'm a villain, not a devil

The entire imperial capital was hung with black half-moon flags symbolizing the fall of the royal bloodline. If one stood on a high place and looked from afar, the city had already been dyed in a thick black like ink, which was daunting.

Bai Zhan's body was sealed in a pure gold coffin. According to the imperial custom, a crystal-carved window should have been left near the face for people to pay their respects. However, Bai Zhan's face and body were torn in half, and even the best undertaker could not restore them completely.

In the end, they had no choice but to piece Bai Zhan's body together, trying to keep it as human-like as possible. Of course, the window on his face could not be left behind.

On the day of the burial, the whole city woke up to the sound of low bells before dawn, and the residents hurriedly got up, washed, put on black and white mourning clothes and walked to the streets.

By the way, mourning clothes were not distributed uniformly by the empire, but were made by the residents themselves. Therefore, on the streets of some slums, you can see adults wearing carbon-blackened curtain cloth, while children are wearing things like pillowcases.

It just so happens that I haven’t washed for a long time. After I’m done with mourning clothes, I’ll take them off and wash them together then.

The residents waited on the streets for a long time until the ceremonies in the palace were completed, and it was almost noon.

Accompanied by the ringing of eight and a half bells, the burial ceremony officially began.

The old emperor also changed into mourning clothes, but even so close, no one could see clearly what he looked like now.

Only when that withered, strange right hand touched the coffin did it seem certain that there was a real human being in the mourning clothes.

"My son fought in vain..." The old emperor sighed.

Everyone lowered their heads.

The remaining three princes each held one corner of the coffin, and the old emperor was at the last corner. As the high priest of the Golden Dawn offered a merciful prayer, the four of them lifted the coffin together.

The ministers and nobles knelt aside and lamented.

After leaving Bai Zhan's manor, the three princes and the emperor handed the coffin to the military generals who carried the coffin.

Because Bai Zhan had no descendants to carry the coffin to the burial site, they could only place a scaled-down version of Bai Zhan's usual clothes on a corner of the coffin, as a gift from descendants to their father.

In addition to having no children, Bai Zhan had never been formally married. Concubine Lan, who had been previously destined to be punished, accompanied the coffin as the person in charge. Originally, the person in charge should have been supported by the prince's concubine, but because there was no such person, she had to be replaced by the daughter of a nobleman.

It is said that everyone in the palace searched everywhere, but they only found Bai Zhan's mistress, an ordinary woman of low status, with no good qualities except her face.

Finally, the woman was called over and followed right behind the coffin, wearing a strange boxy outfit.

If someone could see, they would find that the woman did not look sad at all, but only looked desperate and powerless.

As the ceremonial officer held up a miniature version of the divine chariot and placed the imperial prince's emblem representing Bai Zhan's soul into it, the funeral procession moved forward amid the dull sound of bells.

Along the way, whenever the procession passed by, the residents who were attending the funeral on the roadside would kneel down. The adults would wipe their tears and say that this damn world would not allow the pillars of the empire to remain. The children would cry loudly, cursing and asking why this happened.

This is also the tradition of the empire. If you want to go to the moon, you must curse the sky, and cursing the sky is cursing the world.

Fortunately, most people usually complain about this terrible world, so by now, basically everyone has a lot of experience. If outsiders come here, they should be able to learn the unique way of insulting in the imperial capital.

On both sides of the street, the louder the curses, the more things you will gain. When the coffin passes by, the funeral procession will throw moon-shaped cakes to both sides of the street.

This pancake has no taste and is hard, its only feature is that it is large in size and very filling.

Those who curse well can receive seven or eight bread cakes or even more. All they have to do is take them home and hang them on a pole at the highest corner of the roof for a day so that the moon can feel the 'moon's gaze'. The purpose of the tribute will be fulfilled, and the residents who pick up the bread cakes can deal with them in their own way - what better way than to have a good meal?

Although everyone was heartbroken because of the death of the eldest prince, many people who lived miserable lives couldn't stop smiling after wiping their tears.

The gifts for the army on the military anniversary, and the free bread for the prince’s burial... my, that adds up to more than ten days’ worth of food rations.

Unexpectedly, after the eldest prince died, we had a few days of good life for nothing!

However, no matter how much I thought about it, I must not show it. If I were caught, I would have to accompany the eldest prince to enjoy the good life.

Also, pay attention to your neighbors.

Humph, these bastards, they don’t curse hard enough, they don’t cry sincerely, and if they don’t get enough, they will definitely think of getting some from others.

It is not uncommon for offerings hung on the roof to be stolen and consumed on the same day.

There is no difference between the eldest prince and other dead people, at most there are more offerings - doesn't this make people more jealous? !

The funeral procession advanced slowly through the city. The residents who were kneeling on the street quickly stood up to protect the offerings when they could no longer see the end of the procession. If someone looked at them with ill intentions, they would curse loudly.

"This is such a damned world, the Crown Prince is so unlucky! Look at these people, they are all fucking heartless!"

Then they would happily carry the offerings back home, first display them and look at them, and then they could fill their stomachs.

It’s really good, really good!

The funeral procession moved forward and finally arrived at the city gate of Ximen.

After exiting the city gate, walk along the main road for seven or eight kilometers, then turn right into a small road, and you will arrive at the royal cemetery.

I heard that this place was originally a shelter, but something went wrong when it was rising, and only a roof appeared.

The emperor at that time was the grandfather of the current emperor. The late emperor was a pragmatist and thought that it would be a waste to spend manpower and resources to build a royal cemetery since the empire had just started.

The emperor then had an idea and ordered people to transform this shelter, which was mostly underground, into the current royal cemetery.

The team entered the cemetery and the long ceremony began again.

The military naturally stood guard on the periphery, as such a serious activity did not allow for any mistakes.

In addition, according to the rules, the fall of the royal bloodline is a major event, and in order for them to ascend to the White Moon, the burial cemeteries are sacred and inviolable.

In addition to the guards who had been guarding here all the time, the military also dispatched a large number of troops. The entire cemetery was surrounded by water. Not to mention the crazy beasts, even a small insect could not get in and disturb the eternal sleep of the noble bloodline.

The ceremony in the mausoleum was long and complicated. The imperial capital was huge, and it was already dark when we arrived at the mausoleum. Then there was another day and night of ceremony. The residents of the city had all eaten the offerings of the eldest prince, but Bai Zhan here had not yet gone down.

No one had ever dared to break into the cemetery. This day and night was boring enough, so even the soldiers guarding outside the cemetery began to yawn secretly.

"Brother, do you want to eat?"

A guard couldn't help yawning, and then he saw a hand reaching out, holding a piece of bread.

He turned his head and saw a soldier from the military department chewing something with his cheeks bulging.

During the burial ceremony, the guards and military soldiers naturally merged together, and this was the boundary between the two sides.

The guards didn't know the other person, but from his lazy appearance they knew that he was probably a lazy person in the army.

As a fellow soldier, he naturally would not file a complaint, but he still held out his hand to refuse solemnly: "Your Highness's ceremony is in progress, this is not acceptable."

The soldier just smiled after hearing this and handed over some more bread. "We are guarding the gate, but who dares to break in? Moreover, unlike those kings and crimsons, they are just a little tired after walking so far without food or water. We brothers, the high-ranking kings and the low-ranking elites, won't starve to death, but we are all exhausted now, so what's wrong with eating a few breads to fill our stomachs?"

This is the truth. These small soldiers with average strength naturally have physical fitness far superior to ordinary people, but their physical consumption is also huge, and they cannot mobilize the energy in their bodies like the strong ones.

I have been standing for two days and two nights without moving, so I am definitely tired.

A hint of hesitation appeared on the guard's face.

The soldier of the military department struck while the iron was hot and advised: "It's okay, this is the offering of His Majesty. Didn't he love his soldiers like his own sons when he was alive? He couldn't bear to see us being wronged."

"But……"

"It's okay. I've looked. There are only two of us here. The bushes block the view so others can't see it. Besides, I've already eaten several." As he said this, the soldier chewed the bread in his mouth again, indicating that he had finished it a long time ago.

The guard thought the same thing and simply took the pancake and looked around. After finding that no one was paying attention to this corner, he took a few bites and finished the pancake.

The other party handed it over again, and the two of them simply sat down and started eating the pancakes.

When the stomach was almost full, the guard patted his stomach and said, "I feel much better..."

The soldier picked his teeth and squinted his eyes: "It just doesn't have much taste, it's very hard and a bit stuck in my teeth."

"Hey, brother, this is a sacrifice, there's nothing we can do." Now it was the guards' turn to persuade the other party.

The soldier stretched and turned his head to look, then wondered: "Brother, I have never seen such a scene before. How long will it take?"

The guards guarding the mausoleum naturally knew these rules better. He explained in detail: "The royal bloodline is buried, and this time it is His Highness. The ceremony cannot be short. It will probably take another day. When the artillery fires, His Highness will be buried in the mausoleum."

"It took so long..." The soldier nodded thoughtfully, and then asked, "Brother, the Highness has entered the mausoleum. There should be no one following him, right?"

"How could there not be any?" The guard smiled and pointed at the group of eunuchs at the outermost edge of the funeral procession, "That group of people must follow in."

"Ah? You won't come out?" The soldier was shocked.

The guard shook his head. "Not so many people will be buried with him. The eunuchs will have to pray for His Highness in the outermost chamber of the mausoleum for 297 hours. This is the number of steps our founding ancestor took to reach the White Moon. Of course, the only things left in the chamber are the remaining offerings. He won't starve to death, but these days won't be easy."

As he spoke, he looked around again and whispered, "It's the mistress of the Highness who is really unlucky."

"How to say?"

"I've been here for five years, so I know the rules of the mausoleum... I'm afraid the mistress is the one who was buried with the emperor. Have you seen her clothes? A few years ago, a prince died in his womb. In the end, the concubine's wet nurse was buried with him wearing this dress and never came up again..."

The guards secretly looked around again, and after confirming that no one was around, they lowered their voices even lower: "Although our empire does not have the tradition of burying people with the dead, the royal family..."

The military soldier took a deep breath and said, "I've never heard of this."

The guard sneered, "Where are you going to listen? It's just that we get along well, and I think you're brave and righteous, so I'm telling you something."

As he said this, his interest was piqued, and he continued to reveal the news:

"In fact, many people have entered the mausoleum over the years... I heard my captain say after drinking that the death rate of princes and princesses in the palace has been extremely high over the years... But we can't make such a big fuss when they die, right? We have no choice but to send them here secretly and hold some ceremony."

"hiss……"

"Tsk, think about it, how long has His Majesty been bedridden? And yet he wants to favor his concubine... How can the quality of the fetus in her belly be good?"

"Is this something you can say?"

"It's okay. Others may not know, but those who are related in the Imperial Guards know about it... I have even seen with my own eyes a large number of people being sent in to be buried with the emperor. I heard that it was because a prince could have been born smoothly, but something went wrong with the medical team, and that's what happened..."

After hearing a lot of explosive news, the soldiers in the military were amazed.

The guard was also very interested and whispered, "In our world, nothing is strange... To be honest, there are too many stillborn children sent to the cemetery over the years, as well as those unlucky people who were implicated... At night, the whole underground is rustling. I think those wronged souls are trying to crawl out..."

"Then you aren't afraid?" the soldier asked curiously.

The guards chuckled and said, "What are you afraid of? As long as we don't get close, we won't be affected. And you probably don't know that the guards guarding the mausoleum have been passed down from generation to generation. Over the years, my ancestors have long summed up their experience."

"I see... By the way, we've been chatting for such a long time but I haven't introduced myself yet. What's your name, brother?" asked the military soldier.

The guards flashed the badge on their chests.

"My name is Liu Feng, the twelfth generation descendant of the Liu family's mausoleum guard army. Hehe, when I'm fifty, I'll be able to go out. By then, I'll have the resettlement allowance, and I'll treat you to a drink!"

The soldier smiled and said, "Then I'll be waiting... But there are no military personnel with the surname Liu in the imperial capital."

"How is that possible? My dad and grandpa went out a long time ago and are waiting for me."

"Really? Maybe I just didn't find it... By the way, let me introduce myself. My name is Sean."

"Sean? That's a good name!"