Chapter 2743 Funeral Hall
"let me see."
Li Bushang walked forward and saw clearly that there was a middle-aged woman lying on the bed. She had disheveled hair and tattered clothes. She was so thin that she had almost no flesh on her body. Her face was pale gray and her lips were black.
It seems that there is no life.
He frowned.
The little beggar cried bitterly, holding onto his mother with one hand. He turned to look at Li Bushang and said anxiously, "Master, please help me. How is my mother? Please save her!"
“…”
Li Bushang remained silent and reached out his hand to touch the woman's nose.
Then he looked at the little beggar and said in a deep voice, "Your mother is gone."
"What?!"
When the little beggar heard this, his whole body trembled and he shook his head vigorously, saying, "No, my mother won't die! She said she would take care of me, she won't die!"
Li Bushang had a cold face, grabbed his hand and put it directly in front of her mother's nose.
He said in a deep voice: "Look for yourself."
“…”
"Your mother is gone."
“…”
The child froze there, his little hands trembling as he felt his mother's breath. After a long time, he couldn't feel any breath at all. Then he finally realized that his mother was really gone.
"mother……"
He burst into tears and threw himself on his mother, crying, "Mom! Mom, please don't die. Please don't abandon Xiaoxing, Mom!"
Li Bushang stood beside him, watching the child crying so hard that he couldn't breathe.
But he didn't move.
However, Xie Jiaojiao, who was standing by, felt a little bit sorry for him and was about to step forward to comfort him, but Li Bushang stopped her with a hand.
Xie Jiaojiao looked at him doubtfully, only to see that Li Bushang's expression was cold, yet with a hint of subtle sadness. She said in a deep voice, "Let him cry."
“…”
Xie Jiaojiao didn't know what this meant.
He followed the child again, but the child's mother was dead, and the child was crying like this, but he seemed to have nothing to do with it.
But after he said that, she could only stand aside quietly.
After an unknown amount of time, the little beggar finally stopped crying. He turned around and looked up at Li Bu Shang. His big eyes were red from crying, and his face was covered with tear marks. He sobbed and said, "Master, I, I want to ask you for one more thing."
Li Bushang said, "You say."
The little beggar asked, "Can you give me some money so I can bury my mother?"
Li Bushang said, "I never give money to anyone."
“…”
"I only pay people if they do things for me."
“…”
"You want money from me, just like you used to work for me to get food. However, the money for burying your mother is much more expensive than the cakes you took away."
"I, I know."
The little beggar sniffed, wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve, and said, "I, I can sign a contract to sell myself."
“…”
"I can be your slave. I will do whatever you ask me to do."
“…”
"As long as my mother can be buried properly."
Li Bushang glanced at the cold body on the bed and said, "Okay."
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Soon, people from the Li Mansion came to help the little beggar named "Xiaoxing" with the funeral arrangements.
Although the housekeeper Wang Sheng never quite understood why Li Bushang, the commander of the Jinyiwei, was not worthy of his attention for a mere beggar, and even if he had helped them pass on the message before, a few taels of silver would have been enough as a reward, so why did he come to help them with the funeral?
But, they had no choice but to do as the master ordered.
Soon, a mourning hall was set up in this dilapidated house with walls that were about to collapse and windblown from all sides.
However, their family was so poor that they naturally had no relatives or friends visiting them. Therefore, apart from the monks invited to perform the water and land rituals to chant sutras for the deceased, the mourning hall was still very deserted.
The little beggar named "Xiaoxing" was kneeling beside the thin coffin in mourning clothes, crying and burning paper.
Li Bushang sat aside, looking at the deserted mourning hall.
For some reason, his eyes - which usually seemed to be covered with frost, cold and empty, seemed to contain something at this moment, but it was hard to see clearly.
Before I knew it, it was dark.
Xie Jiaojiao had been by his side the whole time. She turned her head to look at the sky outside and said softly, "Do you want to stay here with him forever?"
Li Bushan said solemnly: "If you want to leave, you can go back."
“…”
Xie Jiaojiao said: "I didn't say I wanted to leave."
After saying that, she didn't say anything else and just sat quietly. The monks chanted scriptures incessantly. Plus, she was a little tired from running around all day, so she started to doze off after sitting for a while.
His head slowly leaned on Li Bushang's shoulder.
“……?”
Li Bushang frowned. He never liked being touched by anyone, and he immediately wanted to shake his shoulders to get rid of her.
But after looking down at her and thinking about it, he decided to endure it.
In this way, the mourning hall lasted for three days.
Except for going back to the Northern Pacification Division to work during the day, Li Bushang would come here at night to watch over Xiaoxing.
And Xie Jiaojiao also stayed with him for three days.
On the third night, just like before, Xiaoxing knelt in mourning in front of the coffin and burned paper. Li Bushang sat beside him and watched him, while Xie Jiaojiao also sat quietly. After sitting for a while, she yawned.
Li Bushang said, "You don't have to come."
Xie Jiaojiao smiled and said, "You are here, I will accompany you."
Li Bushang glanced at her without saying anything, then looked up at the deserted mourning hall.
Although his servants had prepared all the offerings, there was no one coming and going, and it always seemed particularly lonely. Li Bushang murmured, "Life is like this, one comes alone and goes alone."
Xie Jiaojiao said: "This is his mother. She is like this because no one is with her."
“…”
"You are the commander of the Jinyiwei, how can you say such a thing?"
Li Bushang said calmly, "The commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei comes and goes alone, doesn't he?"
Xie Jiaojiao said: "At least, it's different from her."
Li Bushang said: "What's the difference?"
Xie Jiaojiao frowned slightly, feeling a little strange. Why would Li Bushang feel so emotional about the death of a stranger? Just as she was about to ask him, she heard footsteps outside the mourning hall.
It sounds like someone is coming.
The mourning hall has been set up for three days, but no one has come. When I asked Xiaoxing, he said that they have no relatives or friends visiting them on weekdays. How could anyone come at this time?
Li Bushang turned around and saw a man who looked like a servant walking in.
In his hand, he was holding a heavy bag.
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