Yelü Guzha said viciously, "Our Yelü clan was forced to leave our homeland by Gu Jinghui. I will make Gu Jinghui taste the bitterness of losing his family and people. Remember, find a way to get that life-or-death contract back."

Yelü Xianyong hesitated for a moment, then said, "There's a saying in Daxing: 'A gentleman can be deceived by his principles.' The life-or-death contract is in Gu Jinghui's hands; he shouldn't..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yelü Guzha waved his hand and said, "We provoked him first. This Gu fellow is no pushover. If he makes demands that put me in a difficult position, my reputation among scholars will be even harder to salvage."

Those cunning, greedy, and reputation-conscious intellectuals are the most difficult to deal with.

Yelü Xianyong hurriedly said, "Young Master's concern is that it is safest to keep it in our own hands, but we can't put a spies in the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion now... This matter is not easy, but your subordinate will do his best to get it."

Yelü Guzha chuckled mysteriously a few times: "If you can set a trap for his beloved woman... wouldn't it be a piece of cake?"

Yelü Xianyong pondered for a moment, then immediately replied, "Your subordinate understands."

Yelü Guzha was very generous: "If you need gold or silver, just take it from the account. Recently, our clansmen crossed the river to Goryeo to sell ginseng, and they have also brought back more than a dozen cartloads of gold and silver jewelry."

Yelü Xianyong exclaimed, "Thanks to the young master for coming up with this idea, once the price of ginseng in Daxing goes up, we will have no shortage of money to spend."

Yelü Guzha laughed heartily.

"At that time, all the civil officials in the court will be under my control, the military generals will be ruined, and the Marquis of Dingbei will be trapped. Daxing will be at our mercy. Even if we are hostages for thirty years, we will be happy. When our Yelü clan establishes a country, you and I will surely be remembered in history."

Yelü Xianyong looked on with longing.

“What the young master says is true. Let’s also learn from the people of Daxing and write history books to record the hardships we faced in leaving our homes and opening up new territory in Daxing.”

...

Before they knew it, the day of the funeral arrived.

The night before, all the relatives and friends of the clan came, including the Xu family. They all sat in a circle to keep vigil and could not sleep all night.

Although Madam Gu was old, she could still get through the time by sitting and talking with the women of the clan.

Xu's mother, sisters, and nieces sat in a corner, not really chatting with anyone.

Madam Gu simply instructed people to take good care of the tea and snacks, and asked a few times if they wanted a late-night snack, but didn't put in much effort.

Qin Yuan was so busy she barely had time to breathe, but fortunately, Dai Shi and Gu Baozhu were there to help her entertain the guests.

Cui was suffering from a headache and could not come, and Qin Wan was pregnant, so naturally she could not come either.

The mansion was brightly lit, and guests came in an endless stream to pay their respects. Because Lord Gu was in charge of the capital inspection, even officials from the Six Ministries and their families came.

Fortunately, Qin Yuan had a good memory and didn't make any mistakes.

Lord Gu's side was a bit lacking.

Mr. Songshan naturally did not show up. Master Gu's health has improved a lot recently, but he does not socialize much, and most of the people who come are unfamiliar faces.

Fortunately, Lord Xu and Chief Minister Qin were there to help.

As dawn broke and the auspicious hour arrived, eight robust men of similar height, dressed in blue robes, walked in neatly to carry the coffin.

All the banners and decorations for today's ceremonial procession were prepared by Cuiming and the staff of the needlework room; they were dazzling and extremely distinguished.

Kang Ge'er and Fu Ge'er had already washed and dressed in mourning clothes, and were standing on either side of the front.

Lan Jie'er followed Gu Baozhu and stood behind.

It was a very tiring day, as they had to escort the funeral procession out of the city to the family temple where the body was to be laid to rest.

Since both Lord Gu and Sixth Master Gu are officials, today's agenda has been submitted to the imperial court and no one dares to overstep their bounds in the slightest.

The Gu clan members were divided into two groups according to seniority and gender.

Men are on the left, women are on the right.

Following the coffin out of the gate, one could see countless sedan chairs of various sizes from the Duke's and Marquis's mansions lined up along the roadside under the archway at the entrance, stretching for more than three or four miles.

The Xu family could not attend the funeral; they could only watch from the outside.

Once the coffin leaves the mansion, they will rush to the outskirts of the city to hold a memorial service.

Unless Xu was a chaste and virtuous woman, the Gu family could petition the court for the grace of escorting their coffin.

Madam Xu whispered to her eldest son, "Your aunt's funeral was so grand; she's certainly lived a worthwhile life."

The eldest son said, "That's all because of the Marquis of Dingbei. Even the Prince's Mansion and the Duke's Mansion sent people, and no other official didn't come. Look at the wrinkles on Father's face, he's all smiling."

Madam Xu said, "Today all the civil and military officials are here, probably more than at the court session. He must make a good impression."

The eldest son asked in surprise, "Why didn't the two relatives of the Lady of the Marquis who were both scholars come?"

Madam Xu snorted dismissively: "They are all scholars who will become civil officials in the future. I guess they didn't come to avoid suspicion and prevent people from thinking they are scheming. If you ask me, these scholars are just being fussy."

The eldest son nodded and said, "We really don't understand what civil officials are thinking. Take my uncle for example, I understand less and less what he's trying to do. He's publishing poetry collections, painting, and even saying in public that he'll observe three years of mourning for my aunt. Does the Marquis's family really intend to follow the path of civil officials in the future?"

Madam Xu said, "Why are we thinking so much? We should just do what your father tells us to do. Have you chosen a mourning tent by the roadside? It looks like there will be quite a few people offering sacrifices along the way. Don't put it too far back, or your father will get upset and scold you. Speaking of which, your aunt really had a grand funeral. On such a good day, she had to be so stubborn and make herself sick."

Qin Yuan has also sent people to clean up the family temple where the body was laid in state and make room for it.

She and Gu Baozhu had to stay at the temple for three days to accompany the women in performing the religious rites before they could return home.

As an elder, Madam Gu was to be escorted to the family temple for the funeral and return on the same day. The carriage, attendants, and guards had all been arranged.

Not far ahead, just as Madam Xu had said, there were many sacrificial tents along the way in the city.

At the very front are the residences of several princes.

Although the Crown Prince did not order anyone to set up a temporary altar, he and the Prince of Jin waited by the roadside in plain clothes, which could be considered as giving face to the Marquis of Dingbei.

To be honest, Madam Xu was just a minor garrison commander's wife, but this minor garrison commander was deeply favored by the emperor, held military power, and was now in charge of the capital inspection of officials throughout the country. He was also the only younger brother of the Marquis of Dingbei.

The people here today are not here to give face to Madam Xu, nor to give face to Master Gu, but to give face to Marquis Gu of Dingbei.

The grand funeral procession of the Marquis of Dingbei proceeded along the way, with many officials standing on both sides, and no one else was allowed to make any move.

Upon receiving the news, Gu Jinghui hurriedly went up with Gu Jingjun, Gu Jingcheng and others to greet the princes. They paid their respects, exchanged pleasantries, and then stopped the music, inviting the princes to go first.

After being refused, they went back and continued walking with the coffin.

The crown prince sat in his sedan chair, peering through the gaps at the procession of women. Once they had all passed, he said softly, "Women want to look pretty, so they wear mourning clothes. It's certainly true. But those embroidered shoes are so narrow; I'm afraid they'll get very tired walking like this."