Su Zhiruan's shoulder injury gradually healed.
Before the ceremony to name her Empress, she took a trip out of the palace to the Burial Mound.
Shen Qi and the Empress Dowager were worried about her being alone in danger, initially wanting to accompany her, but the four children needed looking after, and the Empress Dowager could not leave them; Shen Qi was too busy to manage, so they repeatedly instructed her to be careful and arranged a group of Hidden Guard and servants to accompany her.
The Burial Mound was some distance from the Capital City, and she sat in the carriage for two full hours before arriving.
The area was filled with the stench of decaying corpses; Mei, the former Noble Consort who had recently been beaten to death with clubs, was immediately recognizable to Su Zhiruan; half of her flesh had been gnawed away by wild beasts, her exposed eyeballs creating a ferocious sight.
Su Zhiruan stood there for a while.
