A grand ceremony is often a form of showing off and a source of envy.
Including funerals.
But it does not include the Fang family.
Before the old man finished speaking, the sound of women sobbing could be heard nearby.
"Is it for fun? Is it for fun?" they shouted.
The old man felt a little puzzled.
Hundreds of people were hired for the funeral, and the scene was so grand, what else could it be but for the fun of watching?
"Someone's dead, why bother watching all the fuss?" a woman said with red eyes.
"In the past, when someone died and there was a funeral, everyone would just watch and have fun." The old man said, spreading his hands.
I find these women unreasonable.
"But this is Young Master Fang." Another woman covered her face and cried.
Although she was not in the funeral procession, her grief was no less than those who were.
"Yes, Master Fang is so young."
"Master Fang is such a nice person."
"Master Fang is so handsome."
More women's voices were heard, each with a sad look on their face.
The early death of a young man and the falling of flowers always make sentimental women feel sympathetic and sad. The old man did not argue with these women, but he did not agree with the sadness either. For an old man like him who has seen so many lives and deaths, he has become numb.
"It's not just Master Fang who is sad because he is young." A man next to him sighed, his expression also somewhat sad, "It's sad that he still can't escape his fate in the end."
Fate.
The old man looked at the funeral procession.
"I originally thought that I wouldn't see the Fang family's funeral so soon." The man said, "The enemy was killed, the disease was cured, and the young master of the Fang family lived a bright and beautiful life. I didn't expect..."
He shook his head when he said this, and seemed reluctant to continue.
Unexpectedly, such a young life would come to an abrupt end. This child, who had been considered dead since the age of five, still could not die of old age and died in his youth.
That curse...seems like it hasn't been broken, it still came true.
Fate.
No one can escape.
No matter how hard you try, it won't work.
This is indeed a sad and hopeless thing.
The old man sighed, his eyes slightly red as he looked at the funeral procession that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.
…
"Young Master is gone, and Deshengchang is gone too."
Shopkeeper Gao choked up as he spoke, looking at the woman who had just dismounted from her horse.
Miss Jun took off her veil. Although her eyes were bright, her face was covered with sand and dust from the constant travel day and night.
"He's gone, what does this have to do with Deshengchang?" she said with a frown.
"Because Deshengchang has no money." Fang Yuxiu's voice said from behind.
Miss Jun walked forward without stopping, saying "oh".
"Deshengchang suffered a loss in business some time ago and went bankrupt, so I rushed to meet a big merchant and got a large sum of money." Fang Yuxiu said slowly as she followed.
"Where's the money?" Miss Jun asked.
"Because the fire burned half of the street." Shopkeeper Gao followed a few steps and said with his head down, "The young master ordered compensation to be given to those families. The houses were rebuilt, the dead were buried, and the injured were taken care of. So a lot of money was spent."
So the money for the operation of the ticket office is not enough again.
"I didn't say I wouldn't lend it to him," Fang Yuxiu said. "He hid it from us and found all the shopkeepers, returned the money, paid off the debts, and settled the bank."
She said this and spread her hands.
"Then he just closed his eyes and passed away. What could we do?"
Miss Jun glanced at her.
"As for the shop managers of Deshengchang, they are gone if they want to. It's normal for me to grab them... not to hire some of them for my own use." Fang Yuxiu said again, spreading her hands.
Miss Jun looked at Manager Gao again.
Shopkeeper Gao lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly.
As they were talking, they had already arrived at the main courtyard. Fang Chengyu had already been buried, but the mourning shed in the courtyard had not yet been removed. Everywhere was covered in white. The maids and servants who came and went were still wiping their eyes and tears, and incense was burning in the mourning hall.
Miss Jun stopped and looked at the mourning hall. The maids beside her had already prepared the futon and handkerchief, waiting for her to cry. After waiting for a while, they saw Miss Jun turn around and walk away.
Fang Yuxiu and shopkeeper Gao did not stop her and watched her stride out the door.
…
The Fang family's ancestral tomb is in Shandong, but since they fell out with Shandong, Old Lady Fang and Old Master Fang built their own tombs in Yangcheng.
Now Fang Chengyu will naturally be buried here.
Looking from the hillside, a large area here is covered in white, with countless filial sons and daughters bowing in worship, and the sounds of drums, music and suona are heart-wrenching.
The young boy who was herding cattle on the hillside was listening to the story with fascination. He didn't even notice when a cow beside him bit the hay ring on his head and chewed it slowly.
“Does it look good?”
A voice said this, and at the same time a hand took the grass ring out of the yellow cow's mouth and patted the cow's head. The yellow cow turned its head slowly to the side without getting angry.
"It looks good." The young man turned around and smiled at Miss Jun who was standing behind him.
Her bright eyes and white teeth are dazzling in the sunlight.
"I planned this funeral myself. I even hired the best craftsman in Shanxi to make the white banners." He said with a bit of pride, and raised his eyebrows, "Isn't it beautiful?"
Miss Jun looked down the hillside.
"What's so beautiful about dead things? If it rains heavily tonight, everything will be gone tomorrow," she said.
"I'm talking about now." The boy smiled, "Now, at this moment, at this instant, it's beautiful enough, why bother about the future."
Miss Jun didn't say anything, and seemed to be absorbed in watching the scene on the hillside.
"Stop making trouble." She said suddenly, lifting her foot slightly.
The boy chuckled and withdrew his hand, loosening the corner of her pleated skirt.
"Are you underestimating yourself by saying that Deshengchang is short of funds and cannot operate?" Miss Jun said while looking down at him.
From those descriptions, it is obvious that he wanted to spend all of Deshengchang's money and make the bank disappear completely.
"Jiuling, Deshengchang, shouldn't have existed." Fang Chengyu stopped laughing and said seriously, "My grandfather, my father, and my grandmother couldn't do this. I'm a ruthless person, so let me put an end to it."
Deshengchang was originally a tool used by the King of Qi to make money and plot rebellion.
The Emperor himself admitted this when he scolded the Empress Dowager.
As for whether Old Master Fang knew about it at the time and how much of the truth Old Madam Fang knew, Miss Jun did not ask the emperor and did not intend to investigate now.
Just as Fang Chengyu said, Deshengchang shouldn't exist, and now it's gone, so leave it at that.
No matter what, since she came here, Deshengchang's money has been under her control and used by her.
"The ticket number doesn't need to exist, so why do you want to pretend to be dead?" Miss Jun looked at him and asked, "Is it because you feel wronged that you want to bury the past like this?"
Wronged.
Just because you have no choice but to be born with the surname Fang, you have to suffer from illness and work hard for the Fang family's business.
"How could that be?" Fang Chengyu said righteously.
Miss Jun looked at him without saying anything.
Fang Chengyu chuckled.
"Well, a little bit." He stretched out his hand and scratched his nose and said, "So I work hard."
Work hard and then ruin it.
"It can't be said to be destroyed. For the Fang family, it is a new life." Fang Chengyu said, "The sisters' bank will be clean from now on. They will do business seriously. Everything starts over again."
He stood up and clapped his hands.
"I'm also reborn." He said, turning to look at Miss Jun, his eyes sparkling. "Jiuling, I have a lot of things I want to do. Do you remember? I read a lot of books at the beginning. At that time, I thought that when I got better, I would go to see the places and customs described in the books, see the landscapes and people that are different from Yangcheng, and more. Do you know what kind of person I actually want to be the most?"
Miss Jun looked at him.
"What?" she asked.
"Blacksmith." Fang Chengyu said.
Miss Jun couldn't help but smile as she looked at his fair and tender face that made all the girls jealous.
"Hey, I'm still strong now." Fang Chengyu said a little aggrievedly, raising his arm, "Touch it."
Miss Jun laughed.
Fang Chengyu was made even more unconvinced by her smile, and he grabbed her hand and pressed it on his arm.
"Look," he said.
Miss Jun patted his arm seriously.
"Yes, very strong," she said.
Fang Chengyu then smiled and let go of her hand.
"Speaking of which, I was indeed ruthless. I gave up everything for my new life and to live the life I wanted." He said, "My second sister must still be scolding me for being heartless. If she had known that I would leave my grandmother and mother to them, she should have given them more money."
Then he looked at Miss Jun again.
"Also, at this time, Jiuling, you shouldn't leave the capital. I should have kept the news a secret."
Now the emperor has just fallen ill, the crown prince's edict is being questioned, and the court is in turmoil.
However, as soon as Miss Jun heard the news, she rushed back to Yangcheng from the capital day and night.
Miss Jun looked at him without saying anything.
Fang Chengyu also looked at her.
"Okay, okay, I don't want to hide the news at all. Even though I know it's not appropriate now and what you have to do is very important, I still want to tell you." He said, "I just want to see if you will put everything aside and come to see me."
Miss Jun looked at him.
"And then?" she said.
Fang Chengyu looked at her.
"I want a hug," he said.
…
At this time, he arranged a grand funeral, causing a great deal of commotion, and at the same time sent the news to the capital as soon as possible.
At this time, she had experienced an attempted assassination in the palace, and by some chance the emperor finally fell ill. The plan had been arduous step by step until now, and it was finally time for the dust to settle.
When he said he was going to die, she pulled away and came without hesitation.
In fact, he could have kept it to himself and instead run to the capital to tell her in person.
In fact, she didn't have to come back at all, because she knew he wouldn't really die, and she also knew that he would completely understand if she didn't go back.
But he said it, and she came back.
They all did the most inappropriate things at the most inappropriate times.
Now that this is done, what next?
And then he wanted a hug?
Miss Jun looked at Fang Chengyu, smiled slightly, took a step in front of him, and reached out to hug him.
Fang Chengyu was taller than her, so she could only hold his waist, and he couldn't lean on her shoulder like a child, but it was more appropriate for her to rest her head on his shoulder.
Looking at the two people hugging each other on the hillside, Gao, the shopkeeper standing not far away, shifted his gaze, but Fang Yuxiu was still watching seriously.
"How stupid," she commented.
I can obviously ask for this hug at a more appropriate time in the future.
Why do you have to do such a meaningless thing at this time?
"However." Fang Yuxiu retracted her gaze and smiled slightly, "If you are too smart and care too much about meaning, life will be really boring."
She turned around and walked slowly on the thick pile of banknotes scattered on the ground.
From this perspective, life is still very interesting. This is also the meaning of why we have to live desperately no matter how hard or difficult it is.
Because it's worth it.