Funeral hall

Tang Feng got up very early the next morning, rubbing his neck which was a little sore from sleeping, and slowly opened his eyes. He saw Zhou Ziliang already changing his clothes. "Why so early?" Tang Feng rubbed his eyes and got up to help Zhou Ziliang straighten his clothes. "I have some things to do at the military camp and need to go there early. You stay home and rest. I've already had the medicine prepared. Don't forget to drink it after you eat." "Okay, okay, I know, I know. Go quickly! Don't keep Brother Chen and the others waiting." After seeing Zhou Ziliang leave, Tang Feng didn't call anyone in to serve him. He dressed, washed up, and sat on the couch to read. He only stopped the servant carrying food past the window when Tang Feng called out, "Go and bring out the food! I'll eat in a bit." "Young master, would you like to eat inside or..."

"Hmm... Bring it here..." Tang Feng placed the book on the table, got up, and went out. "Take it to the pavilion. It's too stuffy being alone in the house." The servant nodded in agreement. With Zhou Ziliang not home, Tang Feng felt extremely bored. Before, when he was at the Tang residence, there were Liu Yiwan and Qin Jiujiu with him, but now he was all alone in the huge mansion, and the servants below were all well-behaved and dared not utter a word. Just as Tang Feng was about to go to the pavilion, he heard the sound of horses' hooves outside the wall. He was overjoyed, thinking that Zhou Ziliang had returned. He quickly got up and went to the gate to greet him. After all, the Zhou residence was in a remote location, not on the main road, so there was rarely the sound of horses' hooves. As soon as he reached the gate, he saw Liu Yiwan riding a horse, wearing mourning clothes, her eyes red. "Young Master..." As soon as Liu Yiwan spoke, tears slid down her cheeks. Tang Feng frowned and tentatively asked, "Why are you dressed like this?" "Young Master... I'm here... to announce a death," Liu Yiwan dismounted and handed Tang Feng a burlap sack. Tang Feng hesitated, unsure what to expect, and didn't take the sack. "Announce a death? A death... For whom are these mourning clothes?"

"Young Master... Master... Master is gone! You must go back now!" Although Liu Yiwan couldn't bear to tell Tang Feng, Tang Zhaonan only had Tang Feng as his child. If he didn't go back, who would handle Tang Zhaonan's funeral arrangements? Upon hearing this, Tang Feng's eyes quickly reddened. He lunged forward and grabbed Liu Yiwan's collar, saying, "Nonsense! My father was always healthy, how could he be gone! What do you mean gone! You're a grown man, don't you know any taboos! Who are you cursing!" Tang Feng shouted with all his might, but Liu Yiwan, with tears in his eyes, looked into Tang Feng's eyes and said, word by word, "Young Master, Master is really gone. This morning when we went to deliver breakfast, we found Master hanging in the ancestral hall..." Tang Feng grabbed Liu Yiwan... The collar of his hand gradually lost its strength, and he stumbled back two steps, barely managing to stand with Liu Yiwan's support. Fighting back tears, he choked out, "You said... Father committed suicide? I don't believe it!" Tang Feng pushed away Liu Yiwan, who was supporting him. "I don't believe it, I cough cough cough cough..." In his haste, the familiar dull pain in his chest returned. He suppressed the discomfort, swallowed the metallic taste in his mouth, and mounted his horse. Liu Yiwan quickly followed, worried that something might happen to Tang Feng.

Tang Feng rode his horse at breakneck speed, ignoring pedestrians and recklessly charging through the crowd. His mind was blank; his usual composure was gone. Reaching the gates of the Tang residence, the white paper lanterns before the entrance stung his eyes. He stumbled off his horse and rushed into the main hall. Seeing the prominent character "奠" (meaning "offering sacrifice") and the black wooden coffin in the center, Tang Feng finally believed Liu Yiwan's words: his father was gone. "Xiao Feng? Xiao Feng!" Qin Jiujiu heard the commotion and, seeing Tang Feng return, wiped away her tears and rushed over. "Xiao Feng... Godfather..." Seeing Tang Feng's lack of response, Qin Jiujiu looked up and saw his empty eyes, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Tang Feng slowly came to his senses upon hearing Qin Jiujiu's voice, turning to look at her. "Sister... Liu Yiwan said that Father... is gone?" Qin Jiujiu nodded, then called to the steward, "Quickly go and change the young master's mourning clothes; the young master has returned." However, Tang Feng did not follow the steward down to change his clothes. Instead, he went straight to the mourning hall, staring at Tang Zhaonan's coffin for a long time. Qin Jiujiu and the others stood at the door, not daring to go in. "Sister, please go out! I want to be alone with Father for a while." Qin Jiujiu cried, her eyes streaked with tears. She wiped her eyes, closed the door, and then turned to instruct the servants to handle the funeral arrangements.

Tang Feng listened as Qin Jiujiu walked away, then slowly locked the door. The room was eerily quiet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Tang Feng, supporting himself on the floor, slowly knelt down against the coffin, and smiled. "Father... are you resentful of me? Is that why you abandoned me? Resentful that I didn't listen to you? Resentful that I left in a huff? Resentful that I didn't explain things to you?" Tang Feng didn't hear the recollection. The tears he had held back for so long finally burst forth, his voice trembling with sobs. "Father... I was wrong... If I had known that was the last time we would see each other, I would never have argued with you. Father... please get up, don't joke with me... I beg you." Tang Feng pressed his head against the bottom of the coffin and wept uncontrollably. But as his mind gradually calmed down, Tang Feng began to think. His father was healthy and had never seemed to have any suicidal thoughts. Why would he hang himself for no reason? Was he persecuted? Could it be that his own secrets had been exposed and implicated his father? Tang Feng suppressed the excruciating pain in his chest, helped himself up from the coffin, and said word by word before the spirit tablet, "Father, if you really lost your life because of Xiao Feng, Xiao Feng is willing to atone with his death after the Ninth Prince ascends the throne!"

After the morning court session, Emperor Yun noticed that Tang Zhaonan hadn't attended. Although he knew perfectly well what was going on, he feigned ignorance and asked, "Grand Historian Tang didn't come today?" Eunuch Feng sighed inwardly, surprised that his guess had come true. "Your Majesty... the Tang family reported today that Lord Tang hanged himself at home." Emperor Yun feigned shock, covering his face with his hands and saying in a deep voice, "Zhaonan is gone too? Indeed, he and his wife were deeply in love. Now that his son has married into the Marquis's household, he has nothing left to worry about. It's only natural that he followed me to the afterlife. It's just that the people around me... are becoming fewer and fewer. By the way, does Tang Feng still hold any official position in the court?"

"Your Majesty, since the young master of the Tang family resigned from his post at the pawnshop, he has not returned to the court," Eunuch Feng replied, following behind Emperor Yun. "That's truly a pity. Such talent goes unused by the court; isn't that a waste? In a few days, after he finishes handling his father's funeral, I'll summon him to the palace to see me!" Although Emperor Yun had promised Tang Zhaonan that he wouldn't pursue Tang Feng further, he didn't want to let him off so easily. His instigation of the princes vying for the throne and his encouragement of the concubines to compete for favor were all things that struck a nerve with Emperor Yun. Therefore, Emperor Yun summoned Tang Feng to the palace this time only to hear Tang Feng's opinion. If he truly gave up, that would be fine; he could simply find a reason to expel him from Xiling. But if he agreed to take up an official position, it meant he hadn't given up his ambitions, and he would have to be even more wary of him in the future, waiting for the right opportunity to eliminate him completely. Moreover... Li Linglan also wanted to see just how capable Tang Feng was, and how much trouble he could stir up in Xiling. Having been alone on the throne for so long, this would be a way to pass the time.

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Feng hurriedly agreed, "Your Majesty has shown mercy to the young master. This servant will inform him as soon as the mourning period is over."

Meanwhile, Tang Feng's resentment grew stronger. He couldn't understand why his peaceful life had been marred by so much trouble. Staggering out of the hall, he faced the worried Qin Jiujiu and the others. Tang Feng opened his mouth, but the words stuck in his throat. "Give me the mourning clothes... From today onwards, I will keep vigil for my father for three days. No one is allowed to enter." Qin Jiujiu immediately interrupted, "No! The vigil cannot be without incense and candles. Are you trying to kill yourself by keeping vigil for three days straight?" Tang Feng took the mourning clothes from the servant and turned to walk back to the hall, but Qin Jiujiu pulled him back. "Xiao Feng, don't be stubborn. Your godfather doesn't want you to do this..."

“I’m his only son. If I don’t keep vigil for him, who will? Sister, I’ve already wronged Liu Liu, and I don’t want to wrong Father as well. Please don’t stop me.” Tang Feng’s forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his lips were pale. But his eyes were unusually firm. He pushed aside Liu Yiwan, who was blocking his way, tied the white silk ribbon around his forehead, and then said, “Please take care of Father’s funeral arrangements, sister. As for keeping vigil, I can do it alone. There’s no need for anyone else to try to persuade me.”

As dusk approached, Zhou Ziliang returned from the military camp and saw his anxious steward waiting for him at the gate. His brow furrowed, the steward asked, "What happened?" He rushed forward, not helping Zhou Ziliang hold Hongdou's reins, but hurriedly saying, "You're finally back! A letter arrived from the Tang residence today saying that the young master's father has passed away. The young master has already returned to the Tang residence. You should go there quickly! We wanted to tell you sooner... but we couldn't send anyone to the military camp... so we had to wait for you here." Zhou Ziliang tightened the reins, turned his horse around, and asked, "When will he arrive?" "This morning... but don't worry, the young master's expression is very calm; I didn't see anything unusual. You... Young Master?!" Zhou Ziliang knew that the calmer Tang Feng appeared, the more likely he was to act impulsively. It was like that when Qin Liuliu died; he kept everything bottled up inside, taking all the blame upon himself, only to have one problem after another arise. Zhou Ziliang grew increasingly worried about Tang Feng, cracked his whip, and spurred his horse away.

At the Tang residence, Qin Jiujiu, having arranged for the servants, sighed deeply as she looked at the tightly closed main hall. She took out a will written by Master Tang for Tang Feng from her bosom. "Miss Jiu... this letter..." Qin Jiujiu glanced at Liu Yiwan, then shook her head. "This letter was written to Xiao Feng by his godfather, but how could I dare give it to him? I'm afraid he might have written something accusatory, making Xiao Feng even more suspicious. But... could you go and check inside later? I'm so worried because there's no sound from inside. I don't want anything else to happen." "I won't go..." Liu Yiwan looked troubled and immediately refused. "Young Master just ordered that we can't go in. You want me to go and check? Isn't that going against the grain? Wait till Young Master beats me to death!"

"Kill you? Xiao Feng is almost dead, and you still want me to kill you? Can't you just run away?!" Qin Jiujiu was so anxious she was stamping her feet. Tang Feng had been locked in the lobby for a whole day, and it was already dark. He hadn't come out or made a sound, and she was afraid something might have happened to him inside. Liu Yiwan felt a little embarrassed by what she was saying, so she said, "Then I'll go listen in and see what's going on inside."

Tang Feng knelt alone in the mourning hall, listening to the noise outside. Knowing Qin Jiujiu was still worried, he couldn't help but laugh at himself. "Father, am I really such a worry? When you were alive, you worried about me, and now that you're gone, my sister still has to worry about me. I... cough cough cough..." Tang Feng coughed until tears streamed down his face. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and couldn't help but smile bitterly. "How long can I live like this? If it weren't for the hatred in my heart, why would I do this? Father, was I really wrong? But I can't swallow this anger, I can't swallow it! I raised Liu Liu myself, I really can't help it, watching him die without knowing why... cough cough cough..." Tang Feng bent down, his forehead pressed against the cold ground, wanting to cry, his nose stinging, but the tears stuck in his chest. "But... Liu Liu's great revenge is still unavenged, and if your death is really because of me... then what... what can I do, what can I do!"

When Zhou Ziliang entered the Tang residence, he frowned upon seeing the furnishings. He spotted Qin Jiujiu in the crowd and rushed over. "Miss Jiujiu, Xiaofeng..." Qin Jiujiu, seeing Zhou Ziliang, seemed to see a savior. She pulled him towards the main hall, saying, "Go quickly, go and call Xiaofeng out. That child, once he gets angry, no one can control him. He insisted on keeping vigil for his godfather for three days and three nights. You know, the incense can't be extinguished during the vigil. His body can't withstand three days. And he hasn't come out all day today, neither eating nor drinking. How can he endure that?" "Oh, Miss Jiu, don't worry. I'll go check on him. Sometimes when Xiao Feng gets angry, no one can stop him." Zhou Ziliang pushed the wooden door to the lobby and found that Tang Feng had locked it. He gently knocked on the door. "Xiao Feng... Can I come in?" "No, don't come in. I'm fine, don't worry." Zhou Ziliang heard the fatigue and weakness in Tang Feng's voice and became a little anxious. "Xiao Feng! Come out first, we..." "Clang!" A crisp sound from inside the room interrupted Zhou Ziliang's words. "Enough! Let me be alone for a while! Okay..."

Hearing Tang Feng venting his anger inside, Zhou Ziliang sighed and said to Qin Jiujiu, "Miss Jiu, please go and rest. It's getting late. I'll stay here and watch over Xiao Feng."