Chapter 153 Chapter 153 On New Year’s Day, the government issued an edict to relocate…

The servant who brought the news of the death rushed back to the Ji Mansion on the fifth day of the first lunar month.

At that time, the capital was still in a festive mood - on New Year's Day, the government issued an edict to move the capital to Luoyang, change the name of the year to Kaiping, and grant amnesty to the whole country.

The city was promoted from a secondary capital to a real capital, and the people in the city were overjoyed. The Ji Mansion was also particularly lively because the head of the family, Ji Guangting, was recalled to Beijing a few years ago and it was a rare opportunity for him to celebrate the New Year in the mansion.

The doorman was seeing off a guest who had come to pay New Year's greetings to the Duke of the County. When he saw a man in mourning running towards them, he thought that some scoundrel had the audacity to come to their house and extort money in the New Year, so he turned around and called for someone to stop him.

Unexpectedly, the man shouted hoarsely, "Uncle Lu, it's me! Wu Er!"

One of the servants who stopped him recognized him and said in surprise, "It's really Brother Wu. Didn't you go to Xiazhou with Sanlang? How come..."

Before he finished speaking, everyone present sensed something was wrong and all looked at Wu Er's mourning clothes. Wu Er cried, "Take me in to see the madam! Sanlang is gone!"

The doorman quickly had the man carried in and reported back to the Duke of the County.

The inner house had not received the news yet. Fang Ying and her two sisters-in-law gathered in Li's room to play cards. She lost two games in a row and happened to be in a hurry to go to the bathroom, so she asked Chunmai, the maid in Li's room, to play for her first, while she helped Lichun to go to the bathroom.

It had been over a hundred days since she gave birth to Juro, and she still had frequent urination. After she finished and washed her hands, she came out and heard the young ladies giggling in the east room. She turned around and lifted the curtain, and saw the young sisters, who were huddled together, their faces flushed with laughter.

Fang Ying did not disturb him, lowered the curtain, and was about to go back to play cards when the door opened, the curtain was lifted, and two people came in.

The maid from Li's courtyard was walking in front. When she saw her, she said, "Sixth Lady, Sister Bai has something to report."

Fang Ying stopped and saw Bai Sang's serious expression. She asked, "What's wrong?"

Bai Sang motioned for his wife to step aside a few steps, then leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Someone in the front yard saw Wu Er, who went to Xiazhou with Sanlang. He was dressed in mourning clothes and said that Sanlang was gone."

Fang Ying thought she had heard wrongly: "What?"

"Sanlang is gone, and Wu Er has gone to see the Duke of the County. I think news will come in soon." Bai Sang said quickly.

There are many things to do during the New Year holidays. Although Fang Ying had just given birth, she still started to help Gao with housework in the twelfth lunar month. Bai Sang hurried in to report because he wanted his wives to have an idea of ​​what was going on so that they could step forward and take charge when everyone was in chaos.

Fang Ying took a deep breath and nodded, "Go back and ask Xing Niang to prepare plain clothes for Liu Lang and me."

Bai Sang took her leave immediately. She then asked the maid who had brought Bai Sang in to ask Li to come out and say, "The young ladies want to ask Grandmother to judge the case."

She held Lichun's hand and slowly sat down on the chair against the wall.

Gone? How could such a grown man just disappear like that? There's no news that Xiazhou is in chaos again.

Fang Ying was daydreaming when Li came out from the inner room. She quickly stood up. When the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law met eyes, the smile on Li's face faded.

"What happened?" Li came over and asked.

Fang Ying held her mother-in-law's arm and repeated Bai Sang's words in a low voice. Li was also in disbelief. Just as she was about to ask further questions, voices were heard from the corridor outside. Then the door opened, the maid raised the curtain, and the housekeeper walked in hurriedly.

"Madam, Liuniang, someone from Xiazhou has come to report a death. Sanlang died on the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month in Xiazhou after being forced into a drinking contest."

Before Li could say anything, An's voice came from the inner room: "What? What happened to Sanlang?"

"Sanniang, be careful."

As soon as the maid finished her warning, the floor-to-ceiling screen separating the inside and outside of the house was banged. Fang Ying rushed over and tried to support An, but An shook her hand away and stumbled to the housekeeper, screaming, "Say it again, what happened to Sanlang?"

The housekeeper didn't dare to speak and looked at the lady.

"Help Sanniang sit down first." Li ordered the maid, and she also sat down next to An. Then she asked the housekeeper, "Who came back to announce the death?"

When Mrs. An heard the word "funeral announcement", she was startled and stared at the housekeeper with red eyes.

"Sanlang's long-servant Wu Er is still in the county lord's study, answering questions. Liulang ordered this servant to come in first and report to the lady."

"What else did Liu Lang say?" asked Li.

The housekeeper said, "Liu Lang only gave this instruction to this servant and then sent for the imperial physician."

Li's heart tightened: "But the Duke..."

"I follow Liu Lang's instructions, just in case."

Li finally felt relieved, but when she turned around and looked at An, who had become as stiff as a statue, she couldn't help but sigh.

"I don't believe it." An suddenly said, "Where are Wu and his partner? Ask them to come see me. I don't believe it!"

Li instructed the housekeeper, "When you see Wu Er come out, ask him to come in and see Sanniang." She then discussed with An, "How about having them help you back to your room to wait? Don't scare the children."

The children in the east room had actually heard some unusual noises outside and had now quieted down. If the nanny hadn't stopped them, they would have come out to see what was happening.

When Mrs. An heard about the children, she was slightly startled and two lines of tears fell.

When An bumped into the screen, Gao stood up and followed her out. Seeing her third sister-in-law's plight, she felt very sorry for her. She walked over to her and wiped her tears, saying, "Let me take her back."

An's tears fell, and her mind returned to normal. There were some things that were inconvenient to ask Madam. She supported Gao's hand and stood up, saying sadly, "Thank you, Fifth Sister-in-law. I can go back by myself."

He turned to Li and knelt on the ground with his knees bent. Li hurriedly bent down to help him: "What are you doing? Get up quickly."

An cried, "Madam, Sanlang has been murdered. You and the Duke must take care of us, an orphan and a widow!"

Li said, "Sanlang is the son of the Duke and me. If he were to be murdered, how could we let the perpetrator go? Good boy, get up quickly."

Fang Ying and Gao supported and persuaded An, and she finally stood up, wiped her tears, and was supported by the maid to go back.

Li waited for her to leave, then immediately ordered all the internal and external managers to come and see her. She also asked Fang Ying and Gao to go back and take off their jewelry and change into plain clothes before coming back.

Fang Ying hurried back to the courtyard and heard that Liu Lang had also returned. She quickly entered the room and happened to run into Ji Yanlang who had changed into plain clothes.

"I have to go out for a while. My third brother was an official after all. His sudden death should have been reported to Xiazhou. Although all the government offices are closed, there are always people on duty. I will go and find out how Xiazhou reported it." Ji Yanlang said in one breath and was about to leave.

Fang Ying hurriedly stopped him: "Don't worry, how did Third Uncle die?"

Ji Yanlang rubbed his face and said, "The Xiazhou side has disbanded the Dingnan Army and mixed it with the Imperial Guards. Three Tanguts were killed in the battalion of my third brother. Wu Er said that these three Tanguts were extremely arrogant and disrespectful. They looked down on my third brother who relied on his father's influence and repeatedly provoked him."

He didn't believe that his third brother was as tolerant as Wu Er said, and he even wanted to compete with the other party in martial arts, but the camp didn't allow it, so he had to change it to a drinking contest. However, there was no way to confirm it at the moment, so he could only tell Fang Ying this.

"Wu Er said they had fought once the night before the incident, and Third Brother got very drunk. He felt unwell during the day, complaining of a headache. But the Tanguts challenged Third Brother to another drinking contest and deliberately said things to provoke him. Third Brother couldn't stand it and died."

That day, he was drunk and unconscious again. Wu Er and others carried Ji Yanchang back to their residence, claiming that they had taken good care of him all night. Sanlang did not even call for help. When it was dawn, there was still no movement from Sanlang, so when they went to call for him, they found that he was gone.

"Father was filled with grief and anger, and he wished he could go to Xiazhou himself."

Fang Ying asked, "Third uncle went to Xiazhou, so why did he act so tolerantly?"

Ji Yanlang held her hand. "I don't think so either. It's probably because that cunning servant is afraid of being implicated and is pushing the blame on others. Father was supposed to leave on the eighth day of the first lunar month, but now there's a family funeral, so he has to report to the court for leave. I'm afraid the government will ask about it, and my father's one-sided story about Wu Er won't match the report from Xiazhou..."

"Then go quickly." Fang Ying let go of her hand.

Ji Yanlang nodded and said, "Pack a few more sets of clothes for me. I will take people to welcome the coffin of my third brother tomorrow morning."

Fang Ying agreed, and after he left, she ordered Lichun and others to make two sets of mourning clothes for him. The plain clothes he was wearing now were just for when there was a funeral and he went to pay his respects, and they were not formal mourning clothes.

When Ji Yanchang passed away, Ji Yanlang and his brothers were required to wear mourning clothes. Fang Ying asked them to make their clothes looser so that they could be worn over their cotton robes. She changed into plain clothes herself and took off her gold and jade hairpins. When she hurried back to the main courtyard, she heard that the Duke of the County had returned and was discussing matters with his wife.

Fang Ying went to the wing room and waited with Gao for a long time before Li called them over and ordered them to take down the New Year decorations in all places in the mansion first, and to make hemp mourning clothes as soon as possible. She also ordered the steward to go to the White Horse Temple to invite monks to perform rituals and to inform the relatives of the death.

Finally, I asked them to take the children back. "Huaiyun and the other two, take Ying'er over first and let me take care of them for two days."

Fang Ying quickly agreed and took the four sisters out. After leaving the main courtyard, she suddenly remembered and quietly asked Gao, "Why didn't you mention setting up a mourning hall?"

Gao also whispered, "For those who died outside the capital, the coffin cannot be brought into the capital. If a mourning shed is set up, it should be set up outside the city." She paused, then continued, "Perhaps they want to send it directly back to Shu."

Well, since we can't enter the city, we have to return to Shuzhong for burial. Why go all the way around? It's better to go directly back to Shuzhong from Xiazhou.

Fang Ying took the children back and settled them in Hong'er's room first. Hong'er didn't know what had happened and was very happy. Huaiyun, however, vaguely heard that there was a funeral at home and her little face turned pale with fright.

When their uncle passed away, all the children had to wear mourning clothes. Fang Ying slowly told them the truth. Hong Er didn't understand and asked first, "What does passing away mean?"

Fang Ying hugged her daughter and asked her, "Do you remember Daddy said you have an uncle?"

"Well, Daddy said that Uncle went underground."

Fang Ying nodded: "Yes, Third Uncle, like the eldest uncle, also went to the underground."

Hong'er had never met his eldest uncle, but his third uncle had. He asked in confusion, "Didn't the third uncle become an official? Why is he in the underworld again?"

Fang Ying also wanted to know, why did he end up drinking himself to death when he was supposed to be an official?

This question received another answer when Ji Yanlang returned home in the evening.

"The report from Xiazhou stated that the Third Brother had a personal grudge against the Tangut leader, and that the battalion commander had arranged a drinking contest to try to reconcile them. This was the drinking contest the night before that the cunning slave had mentioned. The report also stated that the Third Brother had been drunk unconscious and had been mocked by the Tanguts, and that he was unwilling to accept this, so he privately arranged another drinking contest.

"Father called Wu Er over and told him we'd seen Xiazhou's report and asked him to repeat it. This cunning servant actually said he was loyal and only said that for the sake of Third Brother's reputation."

Ji Yanlang slapped the table lightly and said, "I really shouldn't have teased him that day." Not only did he lose his life, but he also brought shame to the Ji family.

Fang Ying raised her hand and gently stroked his shoulder, advising, "How can you be blamed for this? You only let Third Uncle go because you wanted to do him good." After a pause, she asked, "What about the funeral? How should we handle it?"

"Father told me to welcome the coffin and carry it directly back to Shuzhong for burial. He has asked my fifth brother to write letters to my second and fourth brothers. Once they arrive in Luoyang, I will accompany my third sister-in-law and nephews back to Shuzhong with my fifth brother."

Ji Yanlang sighed softly: "Father is very disappointed. He thought that Third Brother had really changed this time."

"Are you not going to hold the Tanguts accountable?"

"Xiazhou has already dealt with the matter according to military law. The battalion commander has been demoted but retained his position. Several Tanguts have been caned, and the Xiazhou prefect has even allocated a funeral fund. Although father is dissatisfied, he cannot let the Tanguts pay for my third brother's life because of this."

Seeing that it was getting late, Fang Ying didn't ask any more questions. She just told Ji Yanlang not to rush on the road, as it was freezing cold, and he should take care of himself.

Ji Yanlang agreed verbally and went to bed early that night. The next morning, he put on mourning clothes, bid farewell to his parents, led his men out of the city, and rushed to Xiazhou.

An in the mansion fell ill after meeting Wu Er. When Ji Yanchang's biological mother, He Yiniang, heard that Sanlang had passed away, she cried day and night and even became sick from crying. It was not until Ji Yanqing returned home and personally went to comfort He Yiniang twice that she gradually recovered.

Although An was still sick, she had to struggle to get up and set off with her eldest son Huai Chong, concubine's son Huai Shun, and Ji Yanshou and his three brothers to return to Shu to arrange her husband's funeral.

Ji Guangting took a few days off and did not return to his headquarters in Zhenzhou until he had seen them off.

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The author has something to say: "Dutou" is an official position, which is in charge of about 100 soldiers.

Then, brothers, including parents who are not the eldest sons, all wear the mourning clothes of "Qisui without holding a stick" during the mourning period. "Without holding a stick" means not holding a "mourning stick" during the mourning period.

A funeral fund is similar to funeral expenses.

Finally, for those who died outside the city or in a foreign land, their coffins were generally forbidden from entering the city, especially the capital. Unless there was a special decree from the emperor (like Jia Jing in Dream of the Red Chamber), the only option was to set up a mourning shed outside the city, or, as Youshi had initially planned, to place the body directly in a temple. The third child in this article clearly did not qualify.