Chapter 63 Touching

The Duke of Dingguo's funeral was conducted in a very respectable manner.

Emperor Xiao Jing decreed that the funeral of his sworn brother be handled by the Imperial Household Department and conducted according to the rites for a prince, so it could not be anything less than grand.

All the civil and military officials in the capital came to pay their respects.

Those who lived not far from the capital also hurried to the capital at full speed.

In addition, the Duke of Dingguo had great prestige among the people, and when the people in the capital and its suburbs found out, almost all of them rushed to the Duke of Dingguo's door to kowtow several times.

The people have witnessed the meritorious deeds of those who protected Dayu from the invasion of the Northern Hu.

If we follow the practices of later generations, we can send flowers to express our condolences.

The entrance to the Duke of Dingguo's residence will probably be surrounded by yellow and white chrysanthemums.

Emperor Xiao Jing arrived at the Duke of Dingguo's residence the day before the funeral.

Dressed in plain clothes, his face was filled with sorrow.

Looking at the coffin displayed in the mourning hall, Emperor Xiao Jing touched it and shed many tears.

He shed tears as he rambled on about his friendship with Shen Huaichen.

She spoke while sobbing.

Then the ministers who had come with him also hurriedly knelt down.

On the one hand, they had to persuade Emperor Xiao Jing to restrain his grief and preserve his health, so as to ensure the long-term prosperity of the Great Yu.

On the other hand, they also had to express their admiration for the Duke of Dingguo in different ways, just like...

No matter what you think in your heart, you must look extremely grief-stricken, as if the person who died is the one you love most.

The winter wheat, seen from afar, paled in comparison.

Sigh, these people really have two faces all the time; they're even more interesting than those described in storybooks.

Look how sad she is crying, and she's even wiping her tears with her sleeve? As soon as she wipes them, the tears just keep flowing.

There must have been something smeared on those sleeves! And quite a lot of it!

But it's a bit silly, why not wipe both sleeves? Wiping only one sleeve like that is really inconvenient!

Unfortunately, the young lady can only lie in the room pretending to faint and cannot come out.

Otherwise, Miss would definitely enjoy watching such a grand spectacle.

Emperor Xiao Jing, after sobbing for a while, suddenly punished the Duke of Anguo and the Marquis of Wuding without warning.

The reason is... one of them didn't cry with enough effort; it was all bark and no bite, and there was no sorrowful expression on their face.

The other one dared to have color on his clothes, which was disrespectful to the deceased Duke Dingguo.

"I am still here, yet you dare to be so disrespectful to the Duke of Dingguo."

You have no idea what will happen to you while I'm away!

A bunch of bastards.

As a result, the Duke of Anguo was fined one year's salary, and the Marquis of Wuding was fined three years' salary.

Duke Anguo remained calm about this.

He had already guessed that once the Duke of Dingguo died, Emperor Xiao Jing would definitely find a reason to reprimand him.

Since the Duke of Dingguo has gone missing, shouldn't the Duke of Anguo also bear some responsibility?

Emperor Xiao Jing was probably looking for an outlet for his emotions!

Duke Anguo sincerely accepted Emperor Xiao Jing's punishment.

In his view, any punishment is acceptable as long as it is not dismissal.

You've already lost one of your left and right arms, what's there for him to be unhappy about?

Besides, in such a large mansion as the Duke of Anguo's residence, who would expect to live off that year's salary?

Although Marquis Wuding felt aggrieved, he obediently accepted it.

However, he blamed everything on Lady Wuding.

This woman is utterly useless and only causes trouble. She was fined three years' salary last time because of her antics.

This latest punishment is also because of this woman.

Wasn't that the tassel on the jade pendant prepared by her? Didn't she know she was coming to offer sacrifices? She even chose one with colors.

She is not fit to be a lady of the house at all.

If it weren't for the fact that it's so hard to find a new wife, he would really like to find one.

Forget it, it's been so many years, it's all the same whether we replace them or not. At worst, we can just bring two more smart ones into the mansion.

At the very least, they should help with some housework!

The more Marquis Wuding thought about it, the more convinced he became that he was right.

The officials took turns performing how to wail loudly, and the louder everyone cried, the more distressed Emperor Xiao Jing felt.

However, during the ceremony where the Duke of Anguo offered incense, an unexpected event occurred that Emperor Xiao Jing and his officials all remembered.

Just as An Guo was about to offer incense, a gust of wind suddenly blew it out of his hand...

None of the officials dared to speak, and Emperor Xiao Jing also looked coldly at the Duke of Anguo.

Duke Anguo, however, remained calm, lit incense again, and then said solemnly, "I am grateful to Duke Dingguo for protecting the peace of the border of my Dayu."

The Duke of Jingding had the people at heart and lived a life of integrity.

After a while, the sudden gust of wind disappeared.

This little accident added a touch of the supernatural to the Duke of Ding's funeral.

The day after Emperor Xiao Jing finished his memorial service was the day of his funeral.

It was the height of summer, and the weather was hot.

But on the day of the funeral, the sun was nowhere to be seen; thick clouds completely obscured it.

The temperature also seemed to be a few degrees lower than usual.

After leaving the Duke's mansion, the funeral procession headed towards the outskirts of the capital.

The burial site chosen by the Imperial Household Department was located outside the capital.

The long funeral procession seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.

Almost every household in the capital came out.

Shen Qingjun, dressed in mourning clothes, led his younger brothers slowly ahead.

The Crown Prince, the Prince of Qin, and the Seventh Prince slowly walked forward, supporting the coffin.

The onlookers kept saying, "May the Duke of Dingguo rest in peace."

Many people knelt down and kowtowed to the coffin on the street when they saw it.

The people all know that the Duke of Dingguo spent his life fighting.

The people of the city remained silent, simply watching the funeral procession walk towards the city gate.

Just as the funeral procession reached the entrance, Shen Qingjun suddenly stopped.

Everyone followed his gaze.

On both sides of the city gate, children were kneeling on the ground.

They were of all sizes and heights, and included both boys and girls.

Everyone was wearing mourning clothes they had made themselves, and they also wore mourning headbands.

Upon seeing the coffin of the Duke of Dingguo, the children immediately kowtowed.

"May General Shen rest in peace!"

May Uncle Shen rest in peace!

May the Duke of Dingguo rest in peace!

......

The children's voices continued to rise.

Shen Qingjun recognized them; these children were the orphans raised by the Duke of Dingguo's mansion in the suburbs of the capital.

Shen Qingjun stepped forward and, along with his younger brothers, respectfully bowed to the children who were kowtowing.

No one in the crowd said a word; they just watched the children.

"Go back now! Thank you!"

After Shen Qingjun finished speaking, he continued to stand in the funeral procession and slowly walked forward.

The funeral procession quickly left the city.

The children remained kneeling on the ground, motionless, watching the funeral procession move forward.

The children didn't stand up until the end of the funeral procession was completely out of sight, and they dusted themselves off.

What do we do now?

"Go back and do what you can. When you grow up, you can be like the Duke and go to the battlefield to kill the enemy."

"Yes, just like the Duke, they should go to the battlefield to kill the enemy."

......