"I am so disappointed in you!"
Gu Jiu's tone was very serious.
The invisible pressure was coming towards Gu Cheng, making him terrified.
"I am guilty! Please punish me, Your Majesty!"
Gu Jiu bent his fingers and tapped the table lightly, one after another.
The soft knocking sounds fell into Gu Yan's ears, dong dong dong... It was like a heavy hammer hitting his heart.
The fragile heart could not bear the heavy pressure and was about to stop beating.
Finally, Gu Jiu spoke, breaking the suffocating atmosphere.
"I had already ordered him not to leave the house. Yet you took it upon yourself to take him out, even to the banks of the Wei River, with only an old servant guarding him. If I didn't know your character, I would have suspected you and the old man had colluded to stage this drama."
Gu Cheng was stunned. "I am innocent. I would never have conspired with my father. Please understand, Your Majesty."
Gu Jiu was playing with the abacus in her hand. "If it was Gu Gong who took the old man out, I would have every reason to suspect that he had bad intentions. As for you, you don't have the courage or the mind to do that."
Gu Yan let out a long sigh, his clothes were already soaked with sweat.
"But I have to suspect that you have turned a deaf ear to my words." Gu Jiu asked in a stern tone.
Gu Cheng hung his head in dejection. "To be honest, Your Majesty, I saw him lying paralyzed in bed, and he kept clamoring to go out. He was so pitiful. As a son, I couldn't bear it, so I decided to take him out of the palace without authorization. On the way, he insisted on going to Xinmin County, but I denied him. Then he said he wanted to go to the Wei River.
I thought it was so hot, there would be few people by the river, and no one would notice him, so I took the liberty of taking him there. I didn't expect he was so determined to die, and to do so in such a decisive way. This is all my fault, Your Majesty, please punish me!
Gu Jiu hummed and asked, "Did he say anything?"
Gu Cheng was stunned for a moment and quickly replied, "He just said he wanted to go outside and take a look, he didn't say anything else."
"Do you still remember what he didn't say?" Gu Jiu asked again.
Gu Cheng said carefully, "He was very excited to go out. During this period, I refused to go to Xinmin County. He was very desperate, and his eyes were full of hatred, hatred for everyone. Last night, I kept thinking about how he would commit suicide if he went to Xinmin County. Would he jump out of the carriage? If he jumped out and hit someone else's carriage directly, he would probably die on the spot.
With so many people watching in Xinmin County, there's no need to specifically arrange for people to spread rumors; the news will spread throughout the capital in no time. Because of my objection, he may have changed his mind and decided to go to the Wei River. Although the effect will not be as good as in Xinmin County, it will still be possible..."
"It can still disgust people!"
Gu Jiu interrupted Gu Yan lightly.
Gu Zhili's death was a shocking one.
But in Gu Jiu's eyes, his death was actually just to disgust people.
Disgusting to the Gu family, disgusting to her personally.
Forcing one's own father to death is such a big accusation.
No matter whether it is ancient society or modern society, this is a crime that is condemned by everyone.
The dead are the greatest!
Even if the old man who was "forced to death" was an old bastard who disrespected his elders, according to the principle that the dead are the greatest, his children and younger generations will still be cursed.
What Gu Zhili wants is to be cursed.
Let the Gu family and her, the Queen, be cursed by generations to come.
hehe!
Gu Jiu sneered.
Gu Cheng was terrified!
Gu Jiu said to him, "The person is dead, and the next step is to arrange the funeral properly. It's midsummer and the weather is hot, so it's not suitable to keep the body for too long. I think we should keep it for seven days. Invite a group of monks and Taoist priests to perform rituals. It doesn't matter if the scene is a bit lively."
Gu Yan was a little dazed and did not respond immediately.
Gu Jiu stared at him, "Do you have any questions about my arrangements?"
"No, no, no, no." Gu Yan shook his head and waved his hands repeatedly.
Gu Jiu snorted, "Looking at your reaction speed, it's no wonder that the old man caught you. I guess he only yells to get out when you are here."
Gu Yan's face was full of regret.
"Back off!" Gu Jiu waved his hand.
Gu Cheng was shocked, "Your Majesty won't punish me?"
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "You've taken care of the old man all these years. Even if you haven't done anything for him, you've certainly worked hard. You're responsible for his death, but the root of the problem lies with him. He was hell-bent on death, and whether it was jumping out of a car or into a river, he always found an opportunity to do it. I know he hated me in his heart, and he just wanted to disgust me with his own death."
"Your Majesty, you are too kind!"
"Is that too much? Do you think the old man doesn't hate me? Isn't it disgusting that he committed suicide in such an extreme way by jumping into the river?"
"Your humble servant, your humble servant..."
Gu Cheng was just being polite, but he had no idea the Queen would throw the question back. He was at a loss for words and his performance was truly poor.
Gu Jiu laughed and said, "Go back and take good care of the funeral. I will ask the King of Qi to come and attend the funeral."
"Your humble servant obeys your order!"
Gu Yan felt relieved, kowtowed, and stood up to leave.
…
Hu was worried, so she drove to the palace gate and waited.
First, I saw Gu Gong leaving the palace alone, so I stopped him and asked him, and that was it!
When she learned that Gu Yan was left alone in the palace, she was anxious and panicked.
"What should I do? What should I do? Will Her Majesty punish the old man severely? What if Her Majesty asks him to pay for the old man's life? What should I do?"
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. The Queen will not punish Third Brother severely, nor will she let him pay with his life."
"How do you know the Queen won't?"
"Sister-in-law has been in the Gu family for so many years. You have witnessed the grudges and hatred between the Queen and the old man. How crazy must the Queen be to let Third Brother pay for the old man's life."
"You're courting death! You're actually talking nonsense at the palace gate, saying that the Empress has gone mad." Hu was so frightened that her face turned pale. She looked around, afraid that someone was staring at them.
Gu Gong looked indifferent. "If my sister-in-law wants to continue waiting for my third brother, then I will go back home first. The guests who are paying their respects should be arriving soon. It's not right for the family to have no one in charge."
Mrs. Hu nodded vaguely. She was worried about Gu Cheng and had no intention or energy to care about anything else.
I don't know how long I waited, but I know the sun was getting higher and higher, and the ice basin inside the carriage was about to melt into water. The temperature inside the carriage was getting hotter and hotter.
Mrs. Hu was wiping the sweat from her forehead, feeling anxious and restless, when she finally saw Gu Cheng walking out of the palace safely.
She didn't care about her dignity and rushed out of the carriage to meet him.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine! Why are you here?" Gu Yan pulled her into the carriage.
"I was worried about you and couldn't sit still at home, so I decided to wait for you at the palace gate."
The couple got into the carriage.
Gu Yan washed his face with the melted ice water in the ice basin and finally washed away the sweat.
"How did it go? Did the queen punish you?" Mrs. Hu asked cautiously.
Gu Cheng shook his head and said with a look of relief, "The Queen, considering my years of hard work, didn't punish me. She only told me to take good care of the old man's funeral. Let the body rest for seven days. We still need to invite monks and Taoist priests to perform a ritual and make it as lively as possible."
Mrs. Hu patted her chest, a look of relief on her face. "Thank God! Thank you, Her Majesty, for your magnanimity in not holding you responsible. I'll have my servant take your name card and ask you to invite the monks and Taoist priests who specialize in performing rituals. Seventy-seven forty-nine monks and Taoist priests, is that enough?"
Gu Cheng thought for a moment, "After all, the old man is the father-in-law of the emperor. We should invite forty-nine monks and Taoist priests. We should prepare more incense, candles, and paper money at home so that there won't be enough. Ask the servants to fold some paper flowers and burn them for the old man."
"It would be great if I could make a few beauties and burn them for the old man. He loved beauties the most when he was alive." Mrs. Hu added.
Gu Cheng nodded repeatedly, "You reminded me, in addition to beauties, we should also make more paper gold ingots."
Mrs. Hu sighed, "The old man loves beauty, money, and power. Should we burn a few sets of paper official uniforms for him?"
"Burn it! In short, make the funeral lively. What you couldn't give to the old man when he was alive, you have to give him after he dies. Otherwise, he will come back and make trouble."
As soon as these words were spoken, Mrs. Hu shuddered and got goosebumps all over her body.
"Don't scare me!" She glared at Gu Yan.
Gu Cheng, however, looked serious and solemnly reminded him, "You must remember that the old man died with hatred in his heart. His resentment has not yet subsided, so we must be on guard."
"A scholar doesn't talk about strange things, supernatural powers, and you are a scholar at heart." Mrs. Hu spat.
Gu Yan smiled bitterly, he was afraid too!
He would probably never forget the old man's hateful look for the rest of his life.
…
The death of the emperor's father-in-law shocked everyone in the capital.
I haven't seen my father-in-law for many years. When I heard the news again, he was dead.
Regardless of whether you have any relatives or friends with the Gu family, you must send a condolence gift when the father-in-law passes away.
It’s not appropriate to send a housekeeper to the house, I have to go there in person.
High-ranking officials, royal relatives, and Beijing officials who followed the trend all came to visit.
For a time, the Gu family's gate was extremely bustling.
The funeral was transformed into a gathering of social interactions and feasting.
The guests were trying to get close to each other.
The guests were trying to establish connections with the Gu family.
The Gu family is trying to establish relationships with the guests...
After going around in circles, it’s all about relationships.
Forty-nine monks and forty-nine Taoists gathered in one courtyard, each occupying half of the area. They did not interfere with each other and each performed their own rituals.
Scriptures are being recited here, and rituals are being performed there.
As the guests entered the courtyard, they were shocked by the scene.
A woman gossiped quietly, "It must cost a lot of money to perform the ritual."
"Inviting so many monks and Taoists will definitely cost several thousand taels."
"This funeral will probably cost twenty or thirty thousand taels."
"Fortunately, the funeral only lasted seven days. If it had been fourteen, the cost would have increased exponentially."
"If I remember correctly, the Gu family hasn't split up yet. With so much money spent on the funeral, aren't you afraid that the two brothers who haven't returned to Beijing will have objections?"
"You mean the Earl of Chengping and General Gu?"
"Exactly!"
"It's precisely because the family hasn't split up that we're spending money lavishly. It's everyone's money anyway, so I don't feel bad about it. Besides, with the Empress as our backer, how can this little bit of money really matter? If the Empress slips a little through her fingers, it'll be more than just this little bit of money."
"The Gu family has the Empress's support, so they must have saved a lot of money over the years. Twenty or thirty thousand taels is too much for us to afford. But for the Gu family, it's just that."
"That makes sense."
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