Chapter 253: Funeral
Jiang Fei patted Jiang Chenglang on the back and said softly, "Do you already know?"
Jiang Chenglang nodded in her arms, and tears began to flow again, wetting Jiang Fei's clothes.
"Grandma is dead."
"Do you know what death means?" Jiang Fei asked.
Jiang Chenglang nodded and said, "I know. I won't see you again, and I won't get any candy. You'll be buried in the ground and grow into grass next year."
Jiang Fei touched his hair and asked, "Who told you?"
"That's what the clay monkey in the village said," Jiang Chenglang said seriously, "His parents died, and when he went to see them later, they had grown a lot of grass."
"Then do you want to go see her?" Jiang Fei looked down at him and lowered her voice. "If you're scared, you don't have to go."
Jiang Chenglang sniffed and choked, "I think so."
"Okay." Jiang Fei wiped his tears with a handkerchief. "It's too late today. Go to sleep. I'll take you there tomorrow."
The next morning, Jiang Fei took Jiang Chenglang to the Jiang Mansion to pay her respects.
A white banner fluttered in front of the Jiang Mansion, and the servants in the mansion were all dressed in plain clothes, creating a solemn atmosphere.
Jiang Fei led Jiang Chenglang out of the carriage. The mourning hall was set up in the central courtyard of the mansion. Jiang Bingshi, Jiang Chengjin, and people from several other families were kneeling there. Jiang Rulin had also arrived.
"Second sister and Cheng Lang are finally here," Jiang Chengjin pretended to wipe away tears, "Grandmother kept talking about Cheng Lang before she died."
Jiang Fei glanced at him coldly, then walked straight inside with Jiang Chenglang in her hand, "Go kowtow to your grandmother."
Jiang Chenglang kowtowed three times in front of the old lady's coffin, tears dripping onto the mat.
Jiang Fei stood aside, looking at the old lady's peaceful face, feeling mixed emotions.
She was still a member of the Jiang family in name, so since she was already there, she changed into mourning clothes with Jiang Chenglang and followed the elders of the clan in paying their respects.
Around noon, the Wei family also came to pay their respects.
Wei Mingzhen burned incense for the old lady and then expressed his condolences to Jiang Fei. Wei Ciying said nothing, but just glanced at Jiang Fei twice before leaving with the Wei family.
All day long, Jiang Chenglang knelt obediently in front of the coffin and burned paper money. Occasionally, when guests came to pay their respects, he would return the favor.
As the sky gradually darkened, Jiang Fei took the exhausted Jiang Chenglang by the hand and said, "Let's go back and come back tomorrow."
Seeing this, Jiang Chengjin hurried forward and said, "Second sister, according to the rules, you and Cheng Lang should keep vigil for at least three days."
Jiang Fei glanced at him calmly, "Rules are dead, but people are alive. Cheng Lang is young and can't hold on any longer after a whole day. Let's try again tomorrow."
"Second sister, what are you talking about?" Jiang Chengjin hurriedly stopped them. "Grandmother's body is still warm, and it's time for descendants to show filial piety. How can you leave midway? The three-day vigil is a custom passed down from our ancestors. How can you change it just like that?"
When Jiang Chenglang was stopped by him, his tired little face became even more timid, and he shrank behind Jiang Fei.
Jiang Fei protected him by her side, her eyes cold, "I'll say it again, we'll come again tomorrow."
"That won't do!" Jiang Chengjin stiffened his neck, refusing to budge. "If you leave today, it would be disrespectful to Grandma and you would be unfilial. If this gets out, people will criticize you!"
"Then let them poke me, I don't care." Jiang Fei said in a flat tone.
Jiang Chengjin was choked by her stubborn attitude, then changed his expression, "Second sister, that's not the way it should be. Grandmother loved Cheng Lang the most when she was alive. Now that she's gone, Cheng Lang should stay by her coffin for a little longer to show his filial piety. How about this? I've had someone clean up the courtyard where you used to live. You can stay there to save yourself the trouble of running back and forth."
Jiang Fei's sharp eyes swept across Jiang Chengjin's face. Jiang Chengjin felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze. He subconsciously straightened his back and tried hard to maintain the expression on his face so as not to reveal any flaws.
"No need." Jiang Fei retracted her gaze. "We'll come early tomorrow morning. Don't bother."
Watching the two figures disappear outside the mansion gate, Jiang Chengjin could no longer pretend to be hypocritical. He walked back to the side hall and kicked over the incense table.
"Jiang Rufei is such a difficult woman to deal with."
Zhou Xian came out from the darkness and said, "He is indeed cautious. He didn't even touch the tea."
"That's right," Jiang Chengjin was furious. "She didn't touch any of the snacks prepared in the mansion. They were all brought by her maid. And her two maids were always by her side. She didn't even have a chance to touch them."
"Don't worry," Zhou Xian said confidently, "Your Highness still has a trick up his sleeve."
…
The carriage had not gone far when it was completely dark outside.
Perhaps he was tired, Jiang Chenglang fell asleep leaning on Jiang Fei's legs, his chubby face shaking with the shaking of the carriage.
Wen Zhu lifted a corner of the curtain and came in, lowering his voice to Jiang Fei and said, "Miss, someone is following us. Judging from the noise... there are more people than we thought."
Jiang Fei touched Jiang Chenglang's hair and asked, "Are you sure?"
Wen Zhu frowned, thought for a moment and said, "The secret guards are all nearby, and we are more than enough to deal with a group of people. I just didn't expect so many to come at once. I didn't expect them to dare to make such a big fuss in the capital. We-"
She fell silent before she finished speaking, listened carefully for a moment, and then continued, "Fortunately, it's not far from the palace, so it won't be a problem to make it there."
Jiang Fei had a serious expression on her face. She lifted the curtain and looked ahead.
The night was as dark as ink, the street lights were dim, the weather was freezing cold, and there was not even a single pedestrian at the moment, only the whimpering sound of the wind blowing through the alley.
A place like this is perfect for taking action.
"They won't give us much time," Jiang Fei said quietly, "It's time to start."
As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp "whoosh" sound pierced the night sky, followed by the horse's neighing in pain.
The horse pulling the carriage suddenly stood up and the carriage shook violently. Jiang Fei subconsciously held Jiang Chenglang tightly in her arms and lay on the floor of the carriage.
There was a sound of weapons clashing outside, and it was obvious that the secret guards had already started fighting with the newcomers.
"Jiutao, protect the young lady and hide well!"
Wen Zhu lifted the curtain and got off the carriage. The horse pulling the carriage was already dead. The coachman was holding a knife, and he and Wen Zhu stood on both sides of the carriage to protect it.
The clash of weapons became more and more frequent, and sparks exploded and extinguished in the dark alley.
Wen Zhu glanced at the battle situation and frowned suddenly.
Something is wrong.
It was supposed to be a fight between two groups, but at this moment, amidst the flashes of swords and shadows, there were clearly three completely different forces.
The secret guard chopped down a black-clad man who had no idea where he came from with a single blow, and took advantage of the gap between the fights to approach Wen Zhu. "No, there are three groups of people! Another group showed up from behind. They can't tell the difference, so they kill anyone they see."
The sounds of fighting rang out one after another in the dark alley, and three groups of people were fighting in a mess in the night.
The assassin sent by the eldest prince was the first to notice something was wrong and shouted, "Not good! It seems they have helpers!"
Zhou Xian had his face covered and was caught up in the melee. He saw that several of his men had fallen to the ground.
The shouts and sounds of weapons clashing around were a chaotic mess, and the situation was completely out of control.
But the arrow is already on the string and must be shot.
"Ignore these bastards!" Zhou Xian ordered, "Capture the people in the carriage and finish the job quickly!"
Zhou Xian forced the person in front of him to retreat, took a quick glance when they passed each other, and suddenly realized something was wrong.
The other group of people were neither secret guards nor his men. They were more like gangsters, and they tried to kill Pei Jing's secret guards and their men.
Aren’t these Jiang Rufei’s helpers? How come there is another group of people?
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