On the return journey from the tomb-sweeping, Mo'er sat outside the carriage with Lu Ying, willingly giving up the space to the clingy engaged couple. Huangfu Lingyao couldn't have asked for more.
He now had a chance to be alone with his soon-to-be wife.
"Wife," he casually asked, "why is it only you who came for the tomb-sweeping?"
Liu Shimei replied, "My brother died young, and the elders naturally couldn't come to sweep the tomb. The others weren't particularly close to him, so they paid their respects at the ancestral hall. That's about it. When I go back later, I'll be staying overnight with my brother tonight."
It was a habit the original host had insisted on for five years.
Every year on April 24th, the original host would stay the night in the ancestral hall. She hadn't let Mo'er come along, insisting on spending the night quietly by herself.
