Chapter 953 Five More Years (Part 6) Wearing Mourning Clothes Was Ultimately a Show
That night, after finally coaxing Lu Zhu'er to sleep, Li San Niang finally had a moment to sit down and see what news Qiu Xiang had gotten from the Bad Guys.
By the light of the lamp, Li Sanniang looked at the news about Wang Ziheng's death written on a piece of paper rolled up into a scroll.
After looking at it twice, she finally lit the paper roll with a lamp and burned it.
"Sigh," Li Sanniang sighed deeply. She reached out and pinched her forehead before looking up at Qiu Xiang, who was watching her with some concern.
She reached out and patted Qiu Xiang's hand, then said softly, "Don't worry, I'm fine."
It's just a bit of a sigh, who could have imagined that he would bring about his own downfall?
It turned out that the scroll contained the words: the Bad People had sent someone to investigate what Wang Ziheng had done in the twelve hours before he was found dead.
It turned out that there was no conspiracy or trickery involved in Wang Ziheng's death; he simply brought it upon himself.
He ruined his health by using opium too frequently. After Wang Dalang stopped supporting him by buying opium from the black market, he had no choice but to sell the things in his house.
Even if you sell them, there will always be a day when they are all sold out.
Thus, Wang Ziheng used the land deed to mortgage a loan at high interest rates on the black market. But how many times could he satisfy his addiction with so much money?
What can he do when he runs out of money?
After being beaten and threatened by loan sharks, he succumbed to his drug addiction one rainy night and died in a dark corner, like a dead rat in a ditch.
By the time Wang Dalang remembered his younger brother whom he hadn't seen for several days, Wang Ziheng had already been dead for several days.
When they finally found Wang Ziheng's disgusting and gruesome body, Wang Dalang could only fulfill his last responsibility as an elder brother by arranging a funeral for him and finding a place to bury him.
Therefore, when the Wang family went to Li San Niang's house to report the death but found no one there, they went to the academy. This led to the story of Xiao Qi, codenamed Seventy-Seven, taking Lu Zhu'er back to the Li family.
The Wang family arranged the funeral hastily, after all, Prince Heng's body really couldn't be left any longer.
The following day, Li Sanniang, dressed in an official robe, personally rode in a carriage to take Luzhu'er to the Wang family to "mourn and mourn" for Prince Heng.
Wang Dalang had sent someone ahead of time to say that due to the advanced state of decomposition of the body, the funeral should be kept simple and quick.
The body was kept at home for only one day, and the next day it was buried in their family cemetery in the suburbs.
Therefore, it only requires Dewdrop to attend the funeral for two days: today to mourn and tomorrow to move the body for burial.
At this moment, besides the tenth brother who was driving the carriage, Li Sanlang was also sitting on the other side of the carriage shaft.
It was Li Sanniang who specially invited Li Sanlang to come and accompany Luzhuer to the Wang family to attend Prince Heng's funeral over the next two days.
She had long since divorced Prince Heng and held an official position. The Imperial Medical Bureau was also very busy with official duties recently, so she could only come to see Lu Zhu'er off in the morning. She couldn't follow her around all day.
But if only Lu Zhu'er goes to the Wang family, how can Li San Niang herself be at ease?
Among the Li family members, at this time, only Li Sanlang was suitable to go with Luzhu'er.
Moreover, Li Sanlang is gentle and principled, so Li Sanniang can feel much more at ease with him by Luzhu'er's side.
Dewdrop, dressed in all white, looked somber. Li Sanniang held her hand, repeatedly urging her, "...The dead cannot be brought back to life. Don't be too sad. Your mother has prepared medicine for you; take it when you need to..."
"Mother?"
Li San Niang, who was speaking, stopped talking, looked up at Lu Zhu'er who was looking at her, softened her tone and smiled and said to her, "Zhu'er, do you think your mother is too long-winded?"
Okay, Mother won't say anymore. Mother knows you've grown up and can take care of yourself.
Just remember, even your father's funeral is not as important as your own health.
If you need anything, ask your third brother. Your mother will come to pick you up after her shift.
Dewdrop shook her head. "It's not that I find Mother nagging; I know Mother is only doing it for my own good."
However, Mother," Dewdrop looked into Li San Niang's eyes, "I felt very sad yesterday, but when I came up today, thinking about going to Father's funeral, I didn't feel sad at all."
My son thought about it for most of last night, and his only impression of his father was from a few meetings when he was young.
From now on, all I'll see are the memories of going to the Wang family's house every year for festivals and family reunion dinners with my eldest and second uncles. That's it, all of it.
As they were talking, the carriage stopped, and Li Sanlang, who was on the carriage shaft, gently knocked on the door and said to the inside, "Aunt, Dewdrop, we have arrived at the Wang family's place."
Li San Niang had no choice but to grab Lu Zhu'er's hand and say to her in a very fast voice, "Mother knows, Mother understands you."
Your father and I divorced early; you were less than two years old when you came back to the Li family with me.
Over the past ten years, apart from the two regular family reunion dinners at the Wang family table each year, you have had little interaction with him.
Your life includes your grandfather, uncles, elder brothers, and younger brothers. You also have to devote some energy to Mr. Bu Ke and Mr. Xu Sanlang. In the past, there was also your Uncle Fang. Even your mother, my master, and my fellow disciples are enough to keep you busy.
Not to mention, once you enter the academy, you'll meet even more people.
Your life is busy and fulfilling, and you receive all the love you deserve from your father and the elders in your family.
That's why you realize now that you're not actually that sad.
It's alright, Pearl, you know that in your heart.
But these worldly rituals still need to be observed. Go with your third brother. Don't be afraid; your mother will come to pick you up after her shift.
After saying all that, Li San Niang got off the carriage with Lu Zhu'er, and Qiu Xiang and Song Fu Ling followed behind.
Standing at the door, Li San Niang, dressed in an official robe, naturally attracted attention, not to mention that her official robe was crimson, indicating that she was of a high rank.
Now that they've reached the door, and given her official status and the fact that she's only there to put on an act for Lu Zhu'er, Li San Niang is bound to go inside and offer incense.
Regardless of who was right or wrong when she divorced Wang Ziheng, he is now dead;
Moreover, over the years, the Wang family has never been short of the money owed to Luzhu for raising her;
Wang Ziheng stopped bothering Lu Zhu'er's life after that;
That's enough.
It's just a fleeting incense stick performance, nothing more. Why not do it for the sake of the dewdrop?
Wang Dalang, who was standing at the door, saw Li Sanniang and Luzhu'er walking towards him and quickly stepped forward to greet them.
Upon approaching, Li Sanniang led Lu Zhu'er in a bow: "Young Master Wang, although I have no further relationship with Prince Heng, he is still Lu Zhu'er's father. Is it alright for me to offer him a stick of incense?"
Wang Dalang naturally wouldn't say it was bad, so he led Li Sanniang and the others inside.
Granny Wang died a few years ago, and now Wang Dalang's wife, Wang Niangzi, is in charge of managing the household.
Wang Dalang's eldest son is already married, and his wife became pregnant last year.
Standing under the eaves, Madam Wang watched her husband humbly leading the way for Li San Niang, who was dressed in a scarlet official robe, and she suddenly realized what was happening.
Looking at Li San Niang's face, she seemed to see, in a daze, the young wife who had just married into the Wang family more than ten years ago.
More than a decade has passed, and everything has changed beyond recognition.
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