The eldest son said quietly, "I don't believe it either. There are many families that have children after several years of marriage. I heard that Wang Tanhua was conceived by his mother when she was fifty years old. His father did countless good deeds to get him. He is a great philanthropist in the area. Uncle must think that Father said all this just to get him to withdraw the lawsuit."
The youngest son sighed and said, "I really hope that Uncle can understand sooner and stop doing things that please the enemy and hurt the family. It's just a few tens of thousands of taels of silver, why take it so seriously?"
Lord Xu stamped his foot: "Good son, you've hit the nail on the head. He's been kept in the dark, so of course he doesn't believe it. Why don't you have your cousin find more people to spread the word?"
"What about the lawsuit?"
Lord Xu said, "The lawsuit is not urgent. Let Prince Jin help us find a lawyer. This lawsuit is not something that Marquis Dingbei can fight however he wants."
After discussing the matter, the father and his two sons decided to take advantage of the funeral arrangements at the Marquis of Dingbei's residence to quickly spread the news.
...
Madam Gu's coffin was moved to the mourning hall, and a sutra box was set up in the mansion for monks and Taoist priests to perform rituals.
According to the ritual system, commoners lay in state for three days, scholars for seven days, and officials for fourteen to twenty-one days. However, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau calculated it to be forty-nine days. Therefore, according to the common practice, the coffin of Madam Gu was laid in state for fourteen days, after which it was moved to a side courtyard in the mansion and the funeral was not held until forty-nine days had passed.
Therefore, the Marquis's residence invited monks and Taoist priests to perform a ritual for forty-nine days.
After the funeral, people who had heard the news came to the Marquis's residence in an endless stream.
Although Madam Gu only requested the title of Fifth-Rank Lady, people from the Eastern Palace, the Qi Prince's Mansion, the Qin Prince's Mansion, the Jin Prince's Mansion, the Qishan Prince's Mansion, the Anguo Duke's Mansion, the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion, the Qin Duke's Mansion, and the Mu Duke's Mansion all came to offer their condolences, not to mention the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, and all the officials in the court.
Fortunately, the Gu family members helped with the hospitality, which prevented things from getting chaotic.
Despite having capable assistants like Hongye and Hongmian, Qin Yuan was still quite exhausted. As the old lady Gu was getting on in years, she only spoke with the princess and the wives of dukes and marquises; all other female relatives had to be dealt with by Qin Yuan herself.
Welcoming and seeing off guests is no small matter, not to mention managing the stewards and stewardesses. Qin Yuan also had no time to worry about Lord Gu's affairs. She was busy every day and was so tired that she fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed at night.
A few days later, the number of visitors decreased significantly. It was then that Physician Li brought Xiao Dong to offer condolences and, incidentally, to check the health of Old Madam Gu and the others.
Qiuju came to the front hall to find Qin Yuan: "The old lady took the pulse, and thought that the children are still young and have been busy for several days, crying and bowing all day long. She was afraid that their bodies could not take it, so she said that the madam should take the children to have their pulses taken as well."
Qin Yuan said, "Alright, I'll leave a few people here to keep watch."
Madam Dai came over every day to help entertain the women, and said, "Madam, you can go with peace of mind. There aren't many people coming at this hour, and even if they do, we'll be here for them."
Qin Yuan then led the children to the main room, where Old Madam Gu, Marquis Gu, Sixth Master Gu, and Gu Baozhu were already present.
Xiao Dong stepped forward, first observing her complexion before saying, "Greetings to Madam. How have you been lately?"
Qin Yuan nodded and said, "Thank you for thinking of me, Xiao Dong. I've been busy lately, but I'm doing alright."
Doctor Li glanced at her face, then looked away and continued to take Master Gu's pulse.
After everyone exchanged greetings, Qin Yuan sat down next to Old Madam Gu, while Kang Ge'er and Fu Ge'er mingled with Xiao Dong. With companions, the two children's sorrowful expressions melted away, and they became more lively.
Seeing them huddled together whispering, Old Madam Gu said, "Yuan'er, it's a good thing you're here, otherwise this house would be in complete chaos."
Qin Yuan asked for water to wash her hands, took the grapes that Qiu Ju presented, peeled them for the old lady, and looked up when she heard this, saying, "Mother, you've gone too far. This is all done according to the old customs of the manor, with adjustments made as needed. If I were to do it on my own, that would be absolutely impossible."
Sixth Master Gu immediately replied, "Third Sister-in-law is too modest. Mother is right. Third Sister-in-law has only been in charge of the household for a short time. Even with precedents, it will still take a lot of effort."
Although he doesn't manage affairs, he's not forgetful.
He had experienced the funerals of his father and several brothers, so he knew exactly how well Qin Yuan had handled them.
After saying that, Sixth Master Gu glanced at Gu Jinghui and said, "Although my third brother doesn't say it in public, he must be thinking the same thing."
Qin Yuan didn't look at Lord Gu, and Lord Gu didn't look at Qin Yuan either.
Madam Gu said, "Sixth brother is right. Third brother, don't think these things are simple. This family has hundreds of people, and it's not easy to manage. Not to mention anything else, just take the things of welcoming and sending off guests. Incense, cups and other items all need to be kept in mind and accounted for. Otherwise, even if no one is embezzling money, a funeral will still cost a lot of money. If we are even slightly lax, outsiders will laugh at us."
He glanced quickly at Qin Yuan, then tried his best to hide the bitterness welling up in his heart. He said in a hard voice, "Mother is right. I have never thought it was simple. I have seen how hard my wife has worked these days. I will definitely treat her well in the future."
Sixth Master Gu lowered his eyes, one hand clenched into a fist at his side, his whole body trembling.
My third brother is acting strangely.
In the past, Third Brother would have looked at Third Sister-in-law with tenderness and affection, but he wouldn't be like this now, just saying these nice but meaningless words without showing any affection.
Gu Liuye's mind was in complete turmoil.
Gu Baozhu asked, "Mother, Sixth Sister-in-law doesn't usually socialize much, so why are so many people here to pay their respects?"
Madam Gu said, "You're still young and don't understand. Weddings and funerals are all about social etiquette. Now that your third brother is in power, even princes and dukes have to give him face, not to mention other people."
As she spoke, her expression became somewhat downcast, and she said, "None of your brothers, whom you've never met, have had as lively an event as your sixth sister-in-law's."
Sixth Master Gu hurriedly said, "Mother, things are different now."
Madam Gu forced a smile and said, "Yes, things are different now. I'm saying this for you all. Human relationships are as thin as paper. We just need to make sure we don't make mistakes in etiquette, and we shouldn't be blinded by these empty formalities. When we're down on our luck, even dogs won't pay us any attention, but when we're in power, everyone wants to curry favor with us. You must stay true to yourselves and not get too cocky. You should know that temporary success is nothing; it's difficult to have a peaceful end and for your whole family to be safe. Remember to do good deeds and remember those who have been good to us."
Everyone said, "We've got it."
Doctor Li examined each of their pulses and said, "The masters are all in good health, but the young master and young lady are still young and may not be able to endure abstaining from meat."
Master Gu thanked Doctor Li and asked if there were any taboos. Doctor Li said, "Losing one's mother at a young age is extremely difficult. It's already a miracle that you haven't had nightmares, cried, or had seizures at night. You can take care of yourself slowly over a few days. Just don't be too strict with your diet."
He was just a doctor; he couldn't very well tell the children to eat meat constantly during their mourning period.
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