The Concubine Wushuang of Red Mansion

Chapter 263 Funeral
The great master is gone!

Jia Mu didn't come back to her senses for a moment, and after thinking about it carefully, she understood the meaning. She rushed to Jia Lian in three steps and said sternly, "What did you say, say it again!"

Jia Lian shed two tears, her voice was so choked that it was suspicious, and she did not dare to raise her head, "The eldest master is gone. It was Brother Cong's people from the East Mansion who sent the coffins of the eldest master and the eldest wife back. Now we are stopping at Outside the door."

Jia Lian pointed his finger in the direction of the south behind him, and had a thought in his mind. Brother Cong's hand was really beautiful. He finally sent the eldest man to the west. Otherwise, he didn't know how much money he had in the house. Although the old lady I also subsidized some, but the bulk of it still comes from the middle!

Jia Zheng was also stunned. Without waiting for Jia Lian to finish speaking, he walked forward quickly. As soon as he moved, Jia's mother also moved, and the rest of the people also followed. For a moment, the atmosphere in Rongguo Mansion seemed a little... Underneath the weird and sad atmosphere, there are clearly surprises lurking, ready to happen, and some people can't suppress them even if they want to.

Xifeng's heart skipped a beat, and she felt a mixture of sadness and joy. What was sad was that after three years of mourning, she still had no children, and it was too late to get pregnant. What was happy was that the double act of mourning could be completed in one go, instead of having to be divided twice. Otherwise, after six years, when will she have a child?

At the gate, there were two fine willow coffins parked. There were two groups of people escorting the coffins back, Jia Cong's soldiers from the army and the government officials from Longhua County. After the latter handed over to Jia Lian, they received the reward and left. , Kong An and his people were still standing guard.

When Jia Mu came out and saw the two dark coffins, she felt sad for a moment. She pushed away the people supporting her on both sides, rushed forward and shouted, "My son, you want me to be sent away by someone with white hair." Black-haired man, you are such an unfilial and rebellious son!"

Jia Mu only gave birth to three children in her life, Jia She, Jia Zheng and Jia Min. Although Jia Mu did not love Jia Zheng as much as Jia She, her eldest son, she still crawled out of her belly. How could she not die in such a tragic way? sad?
"You should never, absolutely should not, should not have raised an evil person who can neither provide for you in old age nor see you through the end of your life, and yet harm your life like this, my poor son!"

Kong An said from the side, "Old lady, you can't say such things. The eldest master is dead, what does it have to do with the Marquis?"

Jia Mu's crying stopped quickly and she stood up. Her white hair was a little messy in the wind, unable to hide her cruel look. She said angrily, "Who are you? There is no place for you to speak here." share?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone around was shocked. The old lady has rarely lost her temper like this in recent years. She was the daughter of the Marquis Mansion in her early years, and later married into the Rongguo Mansion. She started as a grandson's daughter-in-law, and she has survived until now. He has been married to his grandson and his wife for more than 50 years. He should be more honored as he gets older, but now he is fighting with a servant. Why bother?

Kong An, however, did not shy away. He bowed respectfully to Jia Mu and said, "Old lady, I am with the Marquis and serve in the army. I am not a slave of the two houses. This time I serve the Marquis." I was ordered to carry the coffins of the eldest master and the eldest lady back. If I hadn’t died on the way, I don’t know whether the eldest master and the eldest wife would have the dignity they have today!”

Mother Jia was so angry that she was trembling all over. She pointed at Kong An and cursed, "Even if you serve in the army, you are just a running dog of my Ningguo Mansion. You actually picked up a big dog in front of me. I will teach my son and grandson a lesson. You are an outsider." , what are you talking about?"

Kong An said, "What the old lady said is that I am a running dog, but even if I am a running dog, I am still the running dog of the Marquis! It is true that the old lady scolds the Marquis, but if she wrongly accuses the Marquis, she will attack him randomly. Of course, we lackeys won’t allow it, and neither will the common people in the world!”

"Okay, okay, okay! I'm afraid Jia Cong will let you contradict me like this!" Mother Jia was so angry that she was incoherent.

Kong An frowned deeply and glanced at Jia's mother unwilling to be outdone, "Why would the old lady accuse the Marquis so wrongly? The old lady is in the Jia family, with high seniority and honor, so she should be the first to bear the brunt. Dare I ask who else in these two houses has such ability as the Marquis, such an outstanding disciple?"

Mother Jia sneered, "Second Duke Ning Rong has great blessings and his titles are passed down from generation to generation. If I didn't have children and grandchildren like him, I'd probably live longer..."

Hearing this, Kong An cupped his hands towards Jia Mu and took two steps back, no longer intending to argue with Jia Mu. Jia Zheng stepped forward to help Jia Mu and gently squeezed Jia Mu's arm. Only then did Jia Mu realize that the title in Rongguo Mansion had long been gone!

Even if there are descendants, there is no title to pass on!
For a moment, a depressed mood spread in Jia Mu's heart. She looked at Jia She's memorial tablet and the dark coffin, and the sadness in her heart was no longer so strong. The future direction of Jia's family was also like a big mountain. It weighed heavily on her heart.

Now, a military captain dared to be so rude to her, and the palace had not let her enter the palace for a long time. The list of banquets in the palace for this year's Winter Solstice has been made, but Rongguo Mansion has not been notified for a long time. Previously, , Jia Mu still held some illusions in her heart. At this moment, she realized belatedly that maybe the palace had been waiting for her to die so that Duke Rong Guo’s property could be taken back. This mansion would soon be It's not from Rongguo Mansion anymore.

Because the North Courtyard where Jia She lived in the past has been sealed, and the seal is still affixed to the door, the coffins of Jia She and Mrs. , it is a violent death; secondly, Jia Mu is still alive, it would be bad if he was carried in and bumped into the old man.

Jia Zheng then discussed whether to send the coffins of the two people to Tiejian Temple for storage, and then ask the monks to carry out the funeral for Jia Shechao. What should be the appropriate way to handle this funeral? Should it be a big one or a small one?
According to Jia Zheng's intention, it would be better to keep things small, but he couldn't say this, and Jia Lian couldn't say it even more.

The stewards of the mansion have already started to get busy according to the custom of holding funerals. The door of the mansion is open, and the lanterns on both sides are shining like daylight. The servants coming and going are not panicking.

Mother Jia was thinking that the Xue family had always lived in Lixiangyuan. If not, it would be a good idea to leave the deceased in Lixiangyuan. She glanced at Mrs. Wang indifferently and saw that Mrs. Wang was also frowning. Having guessed what Mrs. Wang was thinking, she was probably thinking about Yuanchun's marriage. With the incident involving Jia She, the matter of discussing marriage with the Sun family had to be postponed.

Mother Jia knew what Mrs. Wang was thinking, and she wished she could marry Yuanchun within one day. If this was the case, it would probably be another year, and it would simply cost Mrs. Wang her life.

Although Yuanchun also grew up in Jia Mu's house, that happened when he was a child. He was a child with high hopes, but he became a shame to the family. Jia Mu also became much less interested in Yuanchun in the past two years.

With their own thoughts in mind, Jia Mu returned to Rongqing Hall, leaned on the couch, and remained silent for a long time.

Outside, Jia Dairu led Jia Chi, Jia Xiao, Jia Dun and other older clan members. The younger generation are either in the army or going to school, and almost all are not at home. Such a large family has eight rooms in Shenjing, and there are only a few people living there. These few people came and were so neglected that even Jia Zheng couldn't stand it.

After the funeral shed was erected, only a few people came to express their condolences. Xifeng had not yet done anything simple, so with this opportunity, she tried her best, but in the end, it was of no use. She sat in the arms listening to the funeral. The building is in trance.

Ningguo Mansion prepared a memorial ceremony and came over. Hearing that Daiyu did not come, Xifeng snorted softly, "She is lucky!"

Ping'er stood aside and thought about this. The Rongguo Mansion was completely defeated. The second master was such a person. What hope could there be in the future? But the second mistress didn't even have a child by her side. These days were like this. Waiting, there is no hope.

Not long after, a roommate who came to Xi's house quickly crossed the threshold. She looked around and saw that no one was around. She leaned into Xifeng's ear and whispered, "We are usually good friends with our family. No one has come, now only my uncle’s family has sent someone, and then Mr. Shihou’s family has sent a steward, and the rest have not come.”

The in-laws from these two families are all stewards.

Xifeng sighed, looked at Ping'er and said, "I don't know what will happen in the future. Look, no one is coming from Dongfu. Who is not here in the Manshen Jing city?" You guys are all watching!"

"This is something that grandma can't control. In my opinion, you might as well take advantage of these two years to take care of your health and save yourself a lot of trouble!" Ping'er said.

In the Rongxi Hall, Jia Zheng was sitting with the two princes of the clan and his cousins. They were waiting here to welcome guests, but instead they sat on the cold benches.

Jia Dairu could no longer be a teacher in his family school. Although Jia Zheng was in the middle, he still hated Jia Cong, his grandson. He usually couldn't control Jia Cong, but now he had a good opportunity. "After all, he is his biological father." , don’t you plan to come back and take a look?”

Jia Zhengdao said, "He has military affairs. It has been said that there is an inheritance, but there is no adoption. For a general like him, the emperor will definitely want to win his love."

"No matter how high the official position is, it can't be bigger than the word filial piety. I, the emperor, would not dare to be unfilial!"

Jia Daixiu knew what Jia Dairu was doing and glanced sideways at him.In the past, Jia Daixiu's grandson also studied in the family school. After one or two years, there was no progress. Jia Daixiu thought that his grandson was not living up to expectations. Only when he entered the academy did he realize how screwed up the family schools were in the past!
Fortunately, Jia Cong did something good. Otherwise, wouldn't all the good seedlings of the Jia family be buried?
When Jia Dairu started talking about Jia Cong, Jia Daixiu was the first to be unhappy, "He is a stepson and Jia Jing is still alive. You ask him to keep filial piety to Jia She? Is this filial piety or unfilial piety?"

The two argued for a while, but Jia Dairu couldn't argue with it, so he shouted, "Over there in Dongfu, it can't be like this. Jia Cong is not here, but his wife is still there. There is no reason why he should not come to mourn! If she dares not to come to mourn, like this Wife, my Jia family would rather not have her!"

Jia Dai Xiuxin said, "It's not up to them to decide whether to do this or not. He didn't say anything at the moment. If Jia Cong was so easy to manipulate, he wouldn't be able to be the Marquis of Ning Guo."

They all remained silent and refused to answer these words.

Jia Rui stood aside. He had just been expelled from the academy. He was expelled from the academy because he was flirting with a very well-born boy in the academy. Even Jia Dairu didn't know about this.

Jia Rui said hurriedly, "Grandpa, I heard that Brother Cong has made great contributions, and the palace has long intended to bring the princess down, but... because of this grandma of the Lin family, there has been no intention."

Jia Dairu said "Yeah" and looked at Jia Daixiu and Jia Zheng. Seeing that both of them lowered their heads and said nothing, he said, "You can't let a child make up his mind on this matter. I think this person from the Lin family is very young." , she can’t have any heirs for a while, and her status is not as noble as that of a princess, so if she is willing to be a child, that would be the best!”

Stop marrying again, how can this be done?

Jia Zheng said, "I don't agree with what you said. Everything always comes first, first served. Besides, Brother Cong's daughter-in-law was brought in by three matchmakers, six hires, and eight sedans from my Jia family. How can I reduce my wife to a concubine? Princess of the I have never heard of it, and the emperor has no clear decree, so I can’t make any assumptions in the future!"

Jia Rui opened his mouth and said, "Although there is no explicit purpose, my nephew heard that Brother Cong went to Liaodong Town this time, and the princess also followed him, and the third girl also went there because of this. What's the reason!"

"Shut up!" Jia Daixiu said angrily, "You are not studying in the academy, why are you back?"

Jia Rui was busy and worried, lowered his head for a long time and then said, "My ex-son had a nightmare, dreaming about the misfortune of his family. He was worried about his grandfather, so he asked his husband for leave to go home!"

Jia Dairu is still alive, so Jia Daixiu will naturally not help him discipline his grandson, but he is very dissatisfied with Jia Rui's sowing trouble. The matter of terminating his wife is of great importance, how can he talk about it?
At the beginning, Jia Cong was his husband. Xiong Bichen, a great scholar of the generation, made the decision to help him marry Lin Ruhai's daughter. Not to mention who Lin Ruhai was, the Jia family now wants to force his daughter to become a concubine!
To blame, we can only blame the Jia family’s military tradition. Over the years, except for Jia Jing, a two-ranked Jinshi, Jia Dairu has read a lot of books. Although he has no fame, he has written a few poems and has a good reputation, which is why he was allowed to sit. The museum cultivates one or two outstanding children for the Jia family. I didn't realize it in the past, but now I realize how short-sighted this person is.

Jia Daixiu reminded, "The two parties also agreed back then that the marriage would not be consummated until Brother Cong's daughter-in-law got married. Brother Cong also agreed to this matter. Now that I have given this reason, it makes no sense. Will Brother Cong agree? ?”

Jia Zheng nodded, "The eldest master and eldest wife just came back today. Brother Cong's daughter-in-law should come over later. The child has always known etiquette and will not do anything that goes against the rules. Brother Cong is away on an expedition. If so, This matter is difficult, I am afraid that people will say that my Jia family has gone too far to deceive others."

Jia Dairu failed to achieve his goal and was very unhappy.

The matter of Rongxi Hall was soon reported to Daiyu.

Daiyu is changing her clothes. In any case, Jia She is Jia Cong's biological father. No matter how much hatred there was in the past, he is gone. Not only should the proper etiquette be lacking, but more respect should be given. There is no reason for this. A dead man brings tongues wagging.

Zijuan learned what she heard from Daiyu and said angrily, "A sour Confucian who has read a few books and has not even become a scholar has the nerve to teach the children of his clan to read. It's no wonder that after so many years, Not a single person in the Jia family has won the Jinshi!"

Daiyu smiled and said, "How does he qualify for the word 'Confucian'? Go and ask why Uncle Rui is not in the academy. I heard that it is not easy to ask for leave in the academy. If you are worried about your family, half a day is enough. Since he Being able to stay at home for two days must have some hidden secrets!”

Not long after, Jia Ping came and said outside through a screen, "In reply to Madam, the academy sent news earlier that Uncle Rui made a big mistake in the academy and was expelled from the academy."

Daiyu was shocked. Jia Rui was a descendant of the modern sect in Rong Guofu. Jia Dairu was the son of the old Duke Rong Guo. , and the person was excommunicated.

Daiyu asked, "But what mistake did you make if you told me?"

Jia Ping murmured for a long time, refusing to tell whether he should live or die. Seeing this, Daiyu stopped asking and said, "The Marquis is not at home, so we cannot teach these people to pour dirty water on the Marquis' head. It is not convenient for me to come forward. Just think of a way to ask Jia Rui what mistake he made to smear it on the lintel and bring shame to our ancestors!"

Jia Ping had already heard about the dissatisfaction between the Confucian master and the grandson of Jia Dynasty towards the Dongfu. When the Marquis was away, he blamed his wife. He hurriedly said, "I was about to go and tell Mr. Zheng over there about this matter. What happened earlier?" The Marquis has sent word that Master Zheng must be informed about the affairs in the academy and those involving the children of the clan, so I will go right now!"

When Daiyu went to Xifu, she first went to burn some paper money in front of the eldest master and his wife's funeral. After Xifeng heard about it, she hurriedly came to accompany her, and then went to Jia's mother. She was not very good at saying comforting words. They just sat with her, and when dinner time came, Jia's mother left the meal, so Daiyu also stayed.

"How did I hear that the palace was going to surrender the princess to Cong'er? Didn't he tell you about this? What are the rumors about now?" Jia Mu has been a little irritable recently. After dinner, she drank Over tea, she spoke frankly.

In the Rongqing Hall, all the children and their families were present, as well as Aunt Xue and Baochai. After hearing this, Baochai immediately cheered up and sat down, raising his ears for fear of missing a word.

Daiyu glanced around and saw everyone's expressions. She smiled and said, "I don't know where the old lady heard these rumors. If this spreads to the palace and criticizes the princess's marriage, I don't know. What a crime!

The Marquis is now guarding Liaodong, and there used to be the governor of Liaodong who was in charge of the generals. Once the Marquis left, he was appointed as a general as a general without a governor. Even if the emperor trusted the Marquis, how could the civil servants in the court trust him?
Princess Xianning is not inferior to men. In the past, when the Marquis was fighting Japanese pirates in the southeast, she led troops to attack thousands of miles to support Master Xia and the Marquis. This time she went with the Marquis to Liaodong with the intention of supervising the army. .

This must be why people talk about the princess. How unfair it is to the princess! "

Jia Mu and others do not believe this, and Baochai naturally does not believe it either. But as Daiyu said, there is no decree from the palace. If there is criticism, no one can bear the punishment.

Jia Mu said, "Having said that, you still have a lot of wisdom. Your mother is not here, and there is no one in the Lin family to teach you these things, so I can only say a few more words."

Daiyu said, "Thank you, grandma, for being concerned, but there is really no need to worry too much. I know very well what Mr. Marquis is like. He will definitely not do anything that violates etiquette. Grandma, please rest assured!"

After saying that, Daiyu glanced at Baochai from the corner of her eye and saw the way he pursed his lips and snickered, but didn't care.

Here, Jia Ping invited him outside the Rongxi Hall. Jia Zheng hurriedly let him in. As soon as Jia Ping came in, he first saluted the masters of the clan, saw Jia Rui at a glance, and quickly retracted his eyes, and then said to Jia Zheng , "Mr. Zheng, a letter came from Shicai Academy. Because it involves the children of the clan, I was ordered by the Marquis to forward the letter to Master Zheng. The matter will be handled by Master Zheng!"

When Jia Rui heard this, he was struck by thunder, and his face turned completely white.

(End of this chapter)