Though the underworld also had various rules, it was unlike the mortal realm.

Whether emperor or commoner, noble or servant, even livestock – as long as they died and came to the underworld, though they still had some connection with the mortal realm, here they were starting anew. Every soul was an independent individual – they didn’t belong to anyone.

The underworld’s rules seemed to favor emperors, nobles, and other wealthy people. After all, these people as soon as they died had large amounts of incense and money coming in. In reality, they also bore more responsibilities.

Why did people who died around the same time as him disappear as soon as they entered the underworld?

Because their sins were deep, they were directly dragged to hell to be punished.

Zhao Changyu prevailed because he had public spirit. This life he had no shame before heaven, earth, or the people. Otherwise, he’d be like his other colleagues, going straight to a three-year hell tour. Even if they burned many sacrificial items for him on earth, it would be useless.

Since the First Emperor severely cracked down on live burial, there was a brief period of compliance among the people, but after the Han, burial with the living quietly rose again among the folk. Especially by the end of Han, even a minor landlord dared use concubines, servants, and maids for burial.

Some were even so deranged as to bury their wives with them.

According to Zhao Changyu’s observations, this still existed now. When wandering the underworld, he had seemingly seen several cases.

Those servants and maids arrived in the underworld together with their masters. After death, people had a very brief period of losing reason and memory, with only instinct remaining.

Those servants and maids died wrongfully. The pain before death tormented them. Even if they didn’t remember how they died, they would instinctively attack the person they were buried with.

Even if they later recovered reason and memory, seeing the master whose soul form they had gnawed until dim, would they still remember hierarchy and not continue?

People were already dead – how many ghosts would care about hierarchy and rules?

He had more than once seen those plump soul forms arrive in the underworld, and before they could recover their memories, be gnawed by a group of ghost souls until only a thin shadow remained.

The ghost officers didn’t intervene, letting them tear and bite. Only after they recovered consciousness would they come forward to break up the fight, and even then not wholeheartedly. Using the ghost officers’ words: “As long as a wisp of soul remains, it’s fine. Even if the soul scatters, it’s not very important. This is the evil they did in life – what they should repay.”

“Of course, those ghost souls who gnaw on souls won’t have it easy either. The mortal realm is the mortal realm, the underworld is the underworld. If they dare to bite after recovering memory, all must be struck by lightning.”

Most ghost souls couldn’t survive the punishment lightning, but he saw many ghost souls didn’t really care about that.

Being able to gnaw to death the master who killed them in life before dying – he saw they were quite happy.

Moreover, ghost souls who engaged in human sacrifice, even if not gnawed, would have this account marked against them – merit slashed, a trip to hell taken.

Forget about having people buried with him to serve him – that was simply inviting ghosts to demand his life.

How could Zhao Changyu not be angry?

Moreover, the Zhao clan had always been lenient and kind. Even their ancestors in the pre-Qin period didn’t have such evil customs. Had Zhao Hu’s brain been filled with shit to bury people with him?

He had even wanted to bury Chengbo, whom Zhao Changyu had left to help Zhao Hanzhang manage family affairs.

Zhao Changyu didn’t have much confidence in Madam Wang’s abilities. No one was more familiar with the many social connections of the Zhao family than Chengbo.

He died urgently with no time to teach Zhao Hanzhang many things. He left Chengbo to her precisely to make up for what he hadn’t had time to teach her. That dog Zhao Hu actually wanted to bury him!

In his rage, even though he knew every dream-giving required payment, he still angrily ran into Zhao Hu’s dream and cursed him thoroughly.

“You’ve always been stupid and dull, never thinking to study. From birth until now you’ve had only one virtue – obedience – yet I never thought that just after I died, you’d lose even this virtue.” Zhao Changyu pointed at his nose and cursed: “Even if you don’t study, you should remember our ancestors’ virtue and keep their teachings. When has our Zhao clan ever had such cruel custom of burying living people?”

When Zhao Changyu cursed to here, remembering that when Zhao Hu proposed the burial, only Zhao Song and his son objected briefly while everyone else sat by and watched, he became even more furious: “The family tradition has been ruined by people like you.”

The Zhao Hu in the dream defended himself: “Human life is like grass. They themselves don’t much care about their own lives. I gave their families money – they were also willing…”

Zhao Changyu was so angry he nearly pushed open his coffin lid: “Shut up! Human life is like grass – is it because human life is originally only worth as much as grass? You think this phrase is talking about them? This phrase is actually cursing us, cursing our incompetence, cursing the declining social morals that made human life like grass!”

Zhao Changyu waved a whip in the dream and whipped Zhao Hu thoroughly: “I’ll teach you not to learn the good but learn the bad. Those people act like dogs – must you also learn from them to be a dog?”

Because he was too angry and whipped too severely, Zhao Hu got scared. His leg cramped and he woke up. Zhao Changyu hadn’t even finished speaking before being bounced back to the underworld.

But Zhao Hu hugged his leg and wailed on the bed: “Pain, pain, pain…”

Servants immediately rushed in. Seeing him holding his calf, they knew he had a cramp. They immediately helped him massage and called for a physician.

After half the night of commotion, after the physician left a prescription and departed, only then did Zhao Hu furrow his brows, very unhappy: “It must be because I’ve been observing mourning and eating vegetarian food recently, so nutrition can’t keep up and I got cramps. Go, have the kitchen stew some big meat – I want to eat it tomorrow morning.”

Sanjin advised in a low voice: “Master, if Fifth Grand Uncle finds out…”

“Then you just need to make sure he doesn’t find out. I’m just eating some meat, not drinking wine and hiring entertainers.”

Sanjin: “Stewing big meat smells too strong. This servant will have the kitchen make you some meat congee to nourish you. Next month the hot mourning period will pass, and then you can eat however you want.”

The current regulations on twenty-seven months of mourning weren’t very strict. One only needed to not eat meat or drink wine during the hot mourning period. After the hot mourning period, the remaining time only required not marrying and not attending banquets.

Back when Zhao Changyu observed mourning for his mother, that’s how he did it. According to current etiquette regulations, cry when supposed to cry, eat vegetarian when supposed to eat vegetarian, kneel when supposed to kneel. The rest of the time live normally, just declining to attend banquets.

Zhao Hu felt Zhao Changyu wasn’t his father, just an elder brother. Being able to eat vegetarian for over two months for him was already very sad. He felt his health was more important, so despite his servants’ dissuasion, he insisted on eating meat.

Sanjin was helpless and could only accept the order.

Only then did Zhao Hu have time to think: “Strange, what nightmare did I just have? Why can’t I remember it at all?”

Wuyin at his side said: “If you can’t remember, it must not be efficacious. Master, just don’t think about it.”

Zhao Hu frowned tightly: “I vaguely dreamed of elder brother. Could it be because I’m preparing burial items for elder brother, elder brother was happy and came to thank me?”

Wuyin: …You just said it was a nightmare.

He ultimately didn’t dare speak this aloud.

Zhao Hu only firmly believed what he thought. Since he couldn’t remember, he decided it was Zhao Changyu coming to his dream to thank him.

“Alas, too bad Sanniang has so many complaints – she won’t allow this and won’t allow that. Otherwise I could send a few more people down to serve elder brother. Then elder brother would thank me even more.”

Wuyin only smiled and nodded, not daring to agree.

As fellow servants, if the lips are gone the teeth will be cold. He actually preferred a master like Sanniang. Grand Uncle’s type…

Wuyin prayed in his heart, hoping he could walk ahead of Grand Uncle.

Though both were death, he still hoped to die his own death rather than be buried.