Jiang Ling died of illness in the 29th year of Liyuan.

She herself couldn't tell what disease she had, but it was probably cancer or something like that, otherwise why couldn't Zhou Jing'an cure her disease even after searching for famous doctors?

It snowed heavily again last night. The servants in the Zhou Mansion were diligently sweeping the yard. Zhou Xian was walking all the way from his courtyard to Qiyun Pavilion. He was wearing a plain white robe and mourning clothes. He walked hurriedly, with a handsome face. He had grown into a handsome young man of 21 years old.

As he entered the gate of Qiyun Pavilion, Zizhen, who was guarding the porch, saw him walking quickly towards her with red and swollen eyes. "Young Master, please go and talk to him. The Duke has been guarding the house for a whole day and night."

Zhou Xian looked up at her. Her face was haggard, her eyes were red and swollen, and her condition was not much better.

He nodded, gently pushed the door open and walked in.

Ever since Jiang Ling fell ill and was bedridden, Zhou Jing'an has focused almost all his attention on Jiang Ling.

Even for official business, he would never leave the mansion if he could handle it in Qiyun Pavilion. Fortunately, the times were peaceful and prosperous, and he only had ordinary official business to deal with. Feng Yu understood his feelings and tacitly allowed him to focus on the mansion.

Zhou Xian tiptoed into the main room and headed towards the dormitory on the left. Through the pink gauze curtains, he saw a figure sitting beside the bed.

He still remembers how out of control and irritated his father was on the day his mother died.

When would the dignified and steady Duke Xin, the father who was always steady and upright in his heart, become so overwhelmed that he trembled all over.

Just a month ago, he saw his father holding his mother tightly in his arms, tears streaming down his face. He stroked his mother's calm cheek, his eyes red, his voice hoarse and trembling, calling her to wake up.

Through the crystal tears in his eyes, he could feel his father's shoulders slumping a little.

There were many people kneeling in the room. My uncle, aunt, and mother's friends were all sitting or standing, crying sadly. Zizhen, Xiaojia and other servants were kneeling and crying. For a while, the only sounds in the room were crying.

Master Wanran stood outside the gauze curtain. Zhou Xian couldn't see his expression, but he saw his clenched fists, which were faintly white.

Even though the mother had put on a weak smile and told them not to cry too much just a moment ago, no one remembered her instructions at this moment.

From noon to late at night, the snow fell twice and then stopped, but no one left, as if they had cried all their tears away.

In the end, it was the Queen Aunt who shed tears and endured the pain as she had people prepare for the burial, cheering everyone up.

"What's the point of you guarding like this? It's better to let Ling'er rest in peace as soon as possible."

Zhou Xian's eyes were swollen from crying and his legs were numb from kneeling. He wanted to stand up and take charge of the situation. His mother always treated him like a child, so he had to cheer up.

She just staggered to her feet and fell down again, and through her tearful eyes she looked at her father's back as he held her in his arms, motionless.

The tears that should have dried up burst out again.

Seeing his father and him in such a state, the Queen Aunt forced herself to ask the housekeeper to arrange the funeral affairs. She also asked Jiang Shangrong, Qi Wuqing and others to persuade his parents to go back and rest, and sent Zizhen and others to do the work. Until dawn, only his father and he were left in the house.

My mother was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, just like she was sleeping on ordinary days.

Even though she is almost forty years old, she is still gentle and beautiful.

His father lowered his head and stroked her cheek from time to time. Tears fell one by one, but one could still see the pain and affection in his eyes.

His lips were trembling and his voice was hoarse.

He listened attentively, and realized that what he said was: "If you leave, what should I do..."

When Feng Yu saw his father's condition, he assigned him many official duties after his mother's burial, and even sent him on a business trip to Yizhou.

His father's days were filled with busy tasks. He only felt that his father looked much more haggard, but he was still in good spirits. He must have slowly recovered.

But apart from official business, his father would always come to Qiyun Pavilion and do nothing but sit inside.

When he woke up this morning, he heard Uncle Ye Song coming to him and saying that his father had returned from a business trip last night and had gone to Qiyun Pavilion and had not left since. Their attempts to persuade him were useless, so he asked him to go and try to persuade him.

Zhou Xian raised his eyes to look at the figure from behind, his eyes sore.

In fact, his father is now in his early forties, still as tall as a pine tree and as handsome as jade. He even looks a little younger because his mother doesn't like him to grow a beard.

But now, only a month after his mother's death, Zhou Xian felt that his father seemed to have aged ten years.

He lowered his eyes to hide his tears, walked in, glanced at the cold food, turned to look at Zhou Jingan who was sitting beside the bed, and said softly: "Dad, eat something."

Zhou Jing'an looked up as if he had been woken up, looked at him, and said slowly: "Don't you have to go on duty today?"

He came back from a business trip yesterday, and Feng Yu allowed him to rest for two days.

Zhou Xian had won the top spot in this year's imperial examination and was now employed at the Imperial Academy. He shook his head, "I'm taking a day off today."

Zhou Jing'an nodded, then lowered his eyes and stopped talking.

Zhou Xian couldn't help but frown as he saw him lost in memories again.

He had seen him like this more than once in this month.

Every time, his heart was lifted.

He always looked like he was about to do something stupid and go look for his mother.

Zhou Xian's nose felt sore, and he took two steps forward in a panic, kneeling in front of him and grabbing his sleeve. "Dad, eat something, ok?"

His eyes passed over his sleeves and fell on Zhou Xian's face.

Zhou Xian's eyes followed his peach blossom eyes. This scene always reminded him of the expressions and gestures he had shown to Jiang Ling countless times in the past twenty years.

Most of the time when he was coaxing her, he would kneel in front of her, stretch out his hands to hold her in his arms, act coquettishly, or show her a pitiful look to soften her heart and make her smile.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!