Chapter 291: Previous Life Part 3
"Thank you, aunt." Liang Jinghe breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, being able to ask Jiang Muqing to come forward was a solution to his urgent problem.
At this time, Shen Mofeng at the side took the initiative to greet him, "Prince."
He didn't want to pay attention to it, and just hummed indifferently.
Although Shen Mofeng is now a high-ranking official, Liang Jinghe has never been kind to him. Even when they met at court, he pretended not to know him.
Shen Qingxi married into the Rui Wang Mansion as a noblewoman, not to mention his status and position. Even though Shen Mofeng was dissatisfied with him, he did not dare to say much.
With Jiang Muqing's help, the chaos in Prince Rui's Mansion was soon sorted out, and Liang Jinghe's pressure was relieved.
It was at this moment that he suddenly realized that no matter how great his abilities were, no matter how well he managed everything, he would still be powerless at the critical moment.
When the guests left, he looked at the mansion with white silk hanging everywhere and was at a loss for a moment.
His legs seemed to be out of control as he walked slowly towards the mourning hall, where his deceased mother lay.
His eyes were somewhat empty and his heart felt empty.
He and his biological mother were not close since childhood. Because of the close relationship between his parents, his mother was always distant towards him. He was originally indifferent, so his relationship with his mother gradually became distant.
He didn't know when he completely forgot his mother's gentleness and care for him, and only remembered her hatred and resentment towards him.
But she is his biological mother, how could she hate him?
Just as I was about to enter the mourning hall, I suddenly heard Jiang Muqing's voice coming from inside:
"Fourth sister, you were born with a good fortune and lived a proud life, but now you are old and you are killed by your own son. Tell me, is this unfair?"
"Fourth sister, now I know that you all lost. Although Eighth sister married into a wealthy family, she has been tortured by her mother-in-law and still can't give birth to a son. Last year, my brother-in-law took two concubines. I'm afraid she will have a hard time. What about you?
You were the best married woman among us. You lived a seemingly glorious life as the Princess of Rui, but your husband and daughter died, your sons were unfilial, and you died miserably in prison in the end."
"Fourth sister, tell me, did you all lose?"
Liang Jinghe's chest felt like it was being hammered again and again by a heavy object. His face turned pale and he was staggering as if he was about to fall.
"Fourth sister, I toast to you with this cup. Please take care on your way to the afterlife. If there is an afterlife, it would be better for you to be born in an ordinary family, so that you can at least enjoy the happiness of family life."
Liang Jinghe felt as if someone was pinching his neck tightly, and he could hardly breathe in the pain. He clutched his chest tightly, like a dying man trying to grab the only life-saving wood.
Jiang Muqing's words stabbed him in the heart mercilessly. He wanted to say something to refute her loudly, but found that he could not utter a word.
Jiang Muqing, who walked out of the mourning hall, noticed that something was wrong with him and looked a little hesitant. She seemed to want to go up and ask him a few questions, but when her sight touched the mourning clothes on his body, she swallowed back the words and walked past him as if she didn't see him.
"Ninth Aunt..." Liang Jinghe called her with difficulty.
Jiang Muqing didn't even turn her head and interrupted him, saying, "Don't worry. Since I promised you, I won't abandon you halfway. I'm just an ordinary woman. I can't live in your mansion. I'll go back to my own home every day and come back the next morning."
Liang Jinghe felt like he had something stuck in his throat and wanted to say that he didn't mean that, but Jiang Muqing had no intention of talking to him any more. She walked forward step by step and gradually disappeared from his sight.
He stared blankly in the direction she left for a long time, then slowly turned around, lifted his legs that seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and stepped over the threshold.
The mourning hall was filled with silence, with white silk fluttering in the wind and flickering candlelight, illuminating the coffin in the center.
The feeling of being strangled by the throat reappeared in his mind, and he walked tremblingly to the coffin. After a while, he stretched out his hand as if he wanted to push open the lid, but in the end he placed his hand on it.
"Mother..." After an unknown amount of time, a hoarse murmur escaped from his mouth.
The only sound that responded to him was the rustling sound of the fluttering white silk.
"Your Highness, the Princess is looking for you!" A maid came in and reported hesitantly.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if he hadn't heard her words, and asked in a deep voice, "Where is the person guarding the body?"
"Originally, it was Aunt Yunping who was supposed to be keeping vigil, but Aunt Yunping disappeared today, so this person..."
Liang Jinghe's eyes suddenly turned cold: "Could it be that no one was arranged to guard the body?"
"Please calm down, Duke. Madam Shen has already arranged for people to mourn the deceased, but there are not enough people. Some of them have been transferred to the front hall to help welcome guests."
"Ridiculous!" Liang Jinghe suppressed his anger in fear of disturbing the spirit of the deceased. "Immediately send the people in charge of keeping vigil and mourning here. No, no need. Give them twenty strokes of the cane each and deduct two months' salary. Also, tell them that I want the people serving in the main room of Zizhu Courtyard to keep vigil. Do not assign them any other tasks!"
"What are you still standing there for? Go and arrange it immediately!" Seeing that she was still standing there blankly, Liang Jinghe shouted in a low voice.
The maid was frightened, but she still asked, "Then where is the princess..."
"Get out!" He turned around, lifted up the corner of his robe and knelt on the mat.
Soon, his capable subordinate came in, and he whispered, "Send someone to investigate the matter of the princess' miscarriage."
"yes."
…
In this room, Shen Qingxi waited anxiously, but after waiting for a long time, only the maid came back, and all the people in her room were called to the mourning hall to keep vigil.
She was panicked for a moment, and she grabbed the maid and asked, "Where is the prince?"
"The prince is keeping vigil, I'm afraid he won't be here for a while."
She leaned back on the chair and frowned: "Keep vigil...Xiao Huai, do you think he is blaming me?"
"Your Highness, you are worrying too much. We all see how the prince treats you. How could he bear to blame you? Perhaps it is because the old princess passed away suddenly. As a son, he must be sad, so he has no time to care about you."
But that night, she didn't wait for that familiar figure to appear.
On the day of the burial, Liang Jinghe was dressed in mourning. He watched the coffin being buried bit by bit. His pupils shrank and he subconsciously wanted to stop it, but his throat was blocked.
"It's good this way. They have been separated by death for decades, and now they are finally reunited." Heather stood aside holding a wine bottle, muttering.
Nanxing stood beside him until the new grave was erected. Unconsciously, she seemed to see a handsome man appearing and disappearing in the white mist in the distance, and then slowly extending his hand to a young and beautiful woman. As their hands clasped, the white mist became thicker and the green mountains became faintly visible.
"The prince is here to pick up the princess." She said suddenly.
"If he really has a spirit, he should get rid of that disloyal and unfilial thing..." He stopped talking halfway when he saw Liang Jinghe approaching.
"Enough, enough. We are all just paper figures put aside." He picked up the wine bottle, tilted his head back to take a sip, and then poured the remaining half bottle in front of the tombstone.
After pouring the wine, he threw the empty wine jug away and led Nanxing away without saying a word. In the end, he didn't even look at Liang Jinghe again.
Liang Jinghe stared blankly at their departing backs for a long time. Rain gradually began to fall from the sky. He stood in front of the newly built grave, looking at the words "Tomb of the late father Jiang Muyu" on the tombstone, and suddenly two lines of tears fell.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier. He squatted down, covering his face. Water flowed out from between his fingers. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether it was rain or tears.