Chapter 104

After hearing what Lan Yingde said, Yin Tai supported himself and forced himself to stand up for Yun Kai.

Both of her sons had grown up so smoothly. Li Yang was the legitimate heir, while Yun Kai had happily basked in his brother's shadow since childhood. Although exceptionally intelligent from a young age, he had never been educated as a crown prince. The Nine Meng Eighteen Circles appeared submissive, but undercurrents were surging. While Tusi Han was alive, they dared not rebel. Now that he was gone, these people began to plot.

Lan Yingde was right. The most important thing now was not to grieve or cry. With a pack of wolves waiting for him, she couldn't let her son face it alone.

In the mourning hall, Yin Tai and Yun Kai led the Third Young Master and the Grand Young Master to kneel before the bamboo pavilion where the Buddha was chanting. The First Young Mistress, the Third Madam, and the Eighth Madam knelt behind them. The chieftains of each Mengquan and the officials of the yamen knelt in order of status and rank. Lan Yingde was a commoner, and Yueming, though engaged to Yun Kai, had not yet married. Status was paramount at this moment; without proper status, the words would not flow. According to the rules, she and Lan Yingde could only rank behind the officials at the bottom. Kneeling in the courtyard with the gentry under the scorching sun, their faces soon basked in the scorching oil.

The auspicious time calculated by the Buddha had arrived. Everyone stood up and followed the coffins of Han Tusi and Li Yang to the Rebirth Pavilion of the Guanfo Temple to see them off for the last time.

Only direct descendants of the Tusi Mansion and the Grand Buddha of the Guanfo Temple were allowed to be cremated and reborn in the pavilion of the official Buddhist temple. A blazing fire was already burning inside the red brick pavilion. The temple's novice monks lifted the corpse of the Han Tusi, wrapped in white cloth, from the coffin and slowly lowered it into the flames.

Whether the mourners were truly sad or just pretending, there was a burst of crying.

Yunkai watched through tears as the fire consumed his father's body, regretting not taking a closer look at him before the coffin was closed. From then on, his father could only live in his memory. As time went by, he had to work hard to recall his father's voice, appearance, and smile.

And Li Yang, he can no longer remember what his eldest brother looked like as a child! But he will never forget when his father was about to use family discipline, his eldest brother stopped his father and winked at him to run away.

His two closest relatives would be reduced to a handful of ashes. Such a large body would eventually be confined to a foot-long jar, like the Han family's ancestors, placed in the Buddhist hall of the Guanfo Temple.

After the funeral, Yueming did not go home with Lan Yingde. She walked through the aisle lined with hydrangeas that were still in bloom, and then through the winding corridors to Yunkai's courtyard.

Feng Xiaosai was standing guard at the door, looking downcast for some reason. Seeing Yueming come in, his eyes lit up. He hurried over and said, "Miss Yueming, please go and talk to the young master. He hasn't eaten anything all day."

Yueming lifted the curtain and walked in, seeing Yunkai sitting on the floor leaning against the bed, lost in thought. She tiptoed over and sat down beside him, hugging her knees and resting her head on his arm.

Neither of them spoke, simply sitting there in silence. Sunlight streamed in through the carved windows, scattering just inches from their feet. In silence, they watched as the sunlight gradually receded, turning from white to golden and finally fading.

It was getting dark. The maid came in to light the lamp and then quietly left. Yun Kai then asked, "Are you hungry?"

Yueming nodded and then shook her head: "If you're not hungry, then I'm not hungry either."

Yunkai turned to look at her. She hadn't had a good time these past two days. She'd been traveling so long that she hadn't had a chance to rest. She'd been kowtowing during the day, and then had to take care of Yin Tai at night. She'd scratched her eye sockets from not getting enough rest. She'd cried so much, and her face was peeling from the wind and sun.

Having lost loved ones one after another, Yun Kai couldn't bear to see those around him suffer. He stretched out his arms and pulled her into a hug, cursing hoarsely, "What are you doing? I've been very busy lately. I don't have time to care about you if you act sick."

Yueming put her arms around his waist and acted coquettishly: "If you ignore me, who will? My dad said I'm like spilled water, he doesn't want to care about me."

How could Lan Yingde say that? Yun Kai knew Yue Ming didn't know how to comfort herself and could only say nonsense.

Taking advantage of Yueming's inability to see, he wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and said in a serious tone, "Aren't you the most impatient for me to control you? Now you want me to control you? Tell me, what trouble have you gotten into? Murder or arson?"

Yueming grabbed his shirt by the chest and said a little embarrassedly, "I didn't do anything wrong. I just didn't listen to my father and go home. I was afraid that when I got back later, he would lock the door and wouldn't let me in."

Yun Kai stroked her hair and murmured, "Everything is done, why don't you go home?"

Yueming bit her lip and looked at him: "I can't leave you alone at this time."

Yun Kai laughed and said, "Are you afraid that I'll be upset? I'm going to be a chieftain, so what's there for me to be upset about?"

Yueming withdrew from his embrace, held his hand and said, "I'm not afraid that you will be unable to make up your mind. I'm afraid that you will think about it and do something that you will regret."

Yun Kai's smile widened. "Are you afraid I'll go crazy and take my anger out on Mengkan Prefecture, killing those orphans and widows?"

Yueming didn't answer, but just put her face against the back of his hand: "To be honest with you, I'm actually very afraid of the master. When I meet him from a distance, I'm like a mouse seeing a cat. I run away if I can, hide if I can, and only go forward to pay my respects when I really can't run away. I can't remember why I was afraid of the master, but I remember that the master was very good to me. Although he spoke in a rough voice, he never scolded me. And Brother Li Yang, although he told ghost stories to scare me, I don't hate him at all. He always thought of me for any delicious food and fun things. I hate the person who hurt them. I swear, if I meet the person who hurt them, I will shoot him to death."

Yun Kai's eyes warmed up when he heard this. He turned his face away and said calmly, "I've been crying for days. If I cry any more, I'll go blind. Don't mess with me!"

Yueming held his face and turned him back, forehead to forehead, nose to nose. "I won't stop you from seeking revenge. This is what you should do as a son and a brother. But you must take care of yourself. The burden of Yun Xiang now falls on you, and your responsibility is even greater. My father told me that few of the leaders in Mengquan are content. You must quickly cheer up and suppress those who have ulterior motives."

Yun Kai looked at her in surprise: "Haven't you always wanted to go back to Kunming? Now that you can't go back, you won't make trouble with me?"

Yueming stretched out her slender finger and tapped his forehead. "Silly boy, I'll be wherever you are. If you want to be the chieftain, then I'll accompany you in Yunxiang. If you think being a chieftain is boring, then I'll go with you. I like you. No matter if you are the second young master of Yunxiang, the Yun Er of Bangkok, or the new Zhaopianling, as long as you are still my Yunkai, I will always follow you."

This damn girl's sweet talk skills are really good today. I'm afraid she wants to see him faint from crying.

Yun Kai suppressed the sobs in his throat and shouted outside, "Feng Xiaosai, serve the meal."