Why were they clinging to Nan Batian so relentlessly?
Was it to avenge Tara’s family?
No, besides an old lady, Tara’s family had already been wiped out; they had no value to exploit, so the Mulan people wouldn’t bother too much for someone valueless.
Take this funeral, for instance—all the expenses were paid from Tara’s family’s own funds.
Furthermore, through this funeral, Old Arutai had transferred ownership of the three shops owned by Tara’s family to his name, and others had profited too.
It could be said that with Tara dead, all the Mulan people benefitted, and they did not care how Tara’s family was treated.
But it was different when the one prying open the coffin was Nan Batian.
Because he had money, and money meant there were profits to be extorted, so much for "seeking justice for the Tara family."
To put it plainly: Tara’s family are our beloved kin; if you dig up their graves—you have to pay up!
At this point, when Nan Batian actually produced an arrowhead as an excuse, Old Arutai lost it immediately. We hadn’t even squeezed anything out of him yet, thinking, Old Arutai said, "Lord Yelu, this is purely a set-up, and having an arrowhead inside Tara’s coffin is not surprising at all."
"Tara’s ancestors were the Great Khan’s divine archers; Tara himself loved practicing archery. After his death, we threw an arrowhead into his coffin. Is there a problem with that? What can one arrowhead prove?"
Old Arutai spoke up, providing a very reasonable explanation. Indeed, the Mulan people enjoy archery, so throwing an arrowhead in as a burial item, does it violate any laws?
This statement left Nan Batian dumbfounded. Indeed, if the Mulan people placed an arrowhead in the coffin, it really didn’t prove anything!
Old Arutai continued to address Lord Yelu: "Lord Yelu, all of this is just an excuse by these Han people to desecrate our Mulan deceased. My lord, we are all children of Eternal Heaven, descendants of the Gray Wolf and White Deer. You can’t let them bully us!"
"Please, Lord, stand up for us Mulan people."
"Please, Lord, stand up for us Mulan people!"
Old Arutai knew how to stir up the crowd; at this moment he shouted, and all the Mulan people bowed to Lord Yelu, trapping him on the spot.
Lord Yelu couldn’t say much then; their request was entirely reasonable. He couldn’t refuse them.
Thinking, Lord Yelu said, "Nan Batian, do you have anything else to say?"
Nan Batian was stunned, then said, "No, nothing more."
Lord Yelu said, "You think you can escape blame with just an arrowhead? That’s truly ridiculous, since you have nothing else to say!"
Nan Batian wanted to say more, but at that moment, Tang Ziyue tugged at Nan Batian’s clothes. The words Nan Batian was about to force out were swallowed back, with a surprised glance at Tang Ziyue.
Tang Ziyue shook her head.
It was clear that the situation was very unfavorable for him, and Lord Yelu wanted to keep the peace.
Thus, any further quibbling would only leave a bad impression with Lord Yelu, so it was best to say nothing and await Lord Yelu’s judgment. Moreover, just for the grave-digging, Lord Yelu wouldn’t push too hard.
Nan Batian, seeing this, said, "Your subordinate has nothing to say, at your disposal, my lord."
Lord Yelu thought for a moment and said, "Well then, you’ll pay twenty thousand taels of silver, half for the repair of these graves, and half as compensation to the community. Does this sound fair?"
Nan Batian heard this and said, "Agreed."
If money could solve the problem, Nan Batian was willing. But then, suddenly from another side, Old Arutai said, "Lord Yelu, just paying is not enough. I heard earlier today that Nan Batian had also pried open Chen Jiusi’s coffin, then bowed three times before leaving."
"If he can bow to the Han people, why can’t he bow to us Mulan people? We Mulan absolutely cannot let the Han people overshadow us. Today, he must bow three times to our Mulan coffins to settle this matter fully; otherwise, we do not agree."
"We do not agree. Bow!"
A cacophony erupted, truly a surge of emotions!
Seeing this, Lord Yelu slightly furrowed his brows, while Nan Batian’s face turned ashen with anger—bowing again, and this time to the Mulan people? Did I come out today just to bow?
Nan Batian remained silent with a stony face, and Qin Ying, also infuriated, pointed at the Mulan people and said, "Don’t push us too much. We were helping the court find military supplies when digging the graves. We’ve already paid twenty thousand taels of silver, so isn’t that enough? Why should we still have to bow?"
Some of the Mulan people responded, "Why shouldn’t you bow? You bowed when you pried open Chen Jiusi’s coffin, so why not here? No, no!"
"Right, no way. He must bow."
"That Chen Jiusi didn’t ask us for compensation!"
Qin Ying shouted, "Then we don’t pay the money, just bow!"
Nan Batian turned to look at Qin Ying.
But the other side wouldn’t allow it. They shouted, "No, you must pay and bow. If you don’t bow, are you looking down on us Mulan people? Or do you think we are inferior to Chen Jiusi? You can bow to him, so why can’t you bow to us? Do you think we are less worthy than Chen Jiusi?"
"Yes, are we less worthy than Chen Jiusi? He must bow!"
A chorus of voices rang out, and Nan Batian’s face grew even more ashen. Qin Ying was about to lash back verbally when Lord Yelu spoke up, "Hmm, Guild Leader Nan, they are right. I think you should bow to these deceased souls since you have disturbed their peace."