As soon as these words were spoken, everyone turned around and saw a man in a blue shirt walking out of the crowd. He was in his forties, with slightly dark skin, a slightly hunched body, a dark face, and looked a little unhealthy.
Some people recognized him and said, "Isn't this the owner of Shengcai Shop on East Street? I heard that the coffin used by the old lady of the Feng family was ordered from his shop."
Shengcai Shop is actually a coffin shop. It is named Shengcai because it is a homonym for good luck. It is the most famous coffin shop in Beijing. The reason why it is famous is that the coffins in Shengcai Shop are made of precious wood and made by experienced craftsmen. The price of coffins is very high. Only dignitaries can afford them. And they must be high-ranking dignitaries. Those with little money cannot order them.
Feng Yuheng almost immediately thought of the new coffin used for the old lady's burial today when she heard people talking about the identity of the person. She didn't know much about wood. She knew that in the 21st century, many private clubs would choose tables and chairs made of precious wood. She also saw some made of golden nanmu. She recognized it, but she never asked about the price. Moreover, even if she asked, it was the price in the 21st century, how could it be compared with the current price.
The man from the coffin shop stood in front of Feng Jinyuan and asked him with a sullen face, "Master Feng said that the old lady asked us to bring the coffin before the funeral, but this morning the clerk said that the Feng family was in a hurry to leave and didn't have the money ready. Normally, our Shengcai shop doesn't sell on credit. Everyone in the capital knows this, and no one sells on credit for the coffins of the deceased. But since we are doing this business, we can't do things that damage our virtue. The old lady is waiting to be buried here, and we can't stop her from loading just because of this money. So Shengcai shop sold this money on credit. Now that Master Feng has returned home, shouldn't we settle the bill?"
While talking to Feng Jinyuan, Feng Yuheng tilted his head and asked Wang Chuan in a low voice: "What was the approximate price of the coffin used for the old lady's burial this morning?"
Wang Chuan pondered for a moment and said, "It's hard for me to be too precise, but I estimate that it will be at least 200 taels, because nothing in Shengcai Shop is cheap, and the starting price is 200 taels."
Huang Quan continued, "Two hundred taels is not enough. The golden nanmu is more valuable, so it will probably cost five hundred taels."
Feng Yuheng's eyebrows knitted together. Five hundred taels was not much. She believed that Feng Jinyuan was indeed filial and wanted the old lady to have a better place to lie after her death. After all, the old lady loved money when she was alive, and she couldn't be too shabby after her death.
But the strange thing is that the account of Feng Mansion is almost empty now. The ladies, concubines and young ladies in each courtyard manage themselves. Except for Han's big belly and needing to supplement, the public treasury has not allocated a penny to others. Even the monthly allowance that used to be sent to Tongshengxuan for her and Zirui every month has not been sent for two months. She knew the situation of Feng Mansion and didn't want to worry about that little money, so she never asked for it.
Feng Jinyuan clearly knew the situation at home, so how could he have the courage to buy such an expensive coffin on credit from the Shengcai Shop?
At this time, Xiangrong came to her side and whispered his opinion: "Second sister, father has made up his mind and wants you to pay for this money, right?"
She remembered that after the old lady passed away, she always felt a little guilty. After all, if she hadn't instigated and condoned the mob to beat the old lady, Jin Zhen wouldn't have had the opportunity to take advantage of her. So, she took 200 taels of silver to the Feng family to hold the funeral.
Later, seeing that the old lady's body was really shabby, Zhao Ma, who was also beaten, forced herself to search the storeroom, but she didn't find many decent things. It was said that they were all sold by Feng Jinyuan. So she paid for the old lady's jewelry and clothes, and also picked out some jade bracelets and jade rings for the old lady to wear. She also contributed some of her usual miscellaneous silver. In terms of silver alone, it was almost three hundred taels.
The Feng family's funeral was so shabby that they probably couldn't even spend fifty taels. Thinking about it this way, if Feng Jinyuan was planning to put the remaining two hundred taels in there just to buy a good coffin for the old lady, then she would be a good person again and make up the remaining few hundred taels, just so that the old lady could continue to enjoy wealth and glory in the underworld, and not come to lean on the window of her princess's mansion on the seventh day, the anniversary, or the seventh day of the seventh month.
As she was thinking this, she heard Feng Jinyuan say, "How could I possibly owe you money for a coffin! The person being buried today is not only my mother, but also the grandmother of our Dashun County Lady Ji'an. County Lady Ji'an is the legitimate daughter of the Feng family, and her grandmother has always treated her very well. That golden nanmu coffin was given to her grandmother by County Lady Ji'an."
When he heard that it was sent by Princess Ji'an, the man in the coffin shop was obviously relieved, and then looked at Feng Yuheng: "I feel relieved if it is sent by the princess." He was afraid that Feng Jin would deny the debt, but he was not afraid that Feng Yuheng would deny it, because Feng Yuheng was a good person and did not need these few hundred taels of silver at all.
Feng Yuheng also gave face and didn't say much to Feng Jinyuan. He just asked the middle-aged man: "How much silver does the coffin cost?"
The middle-aged man said, "Normally it should be sold for 600 taels, but since the princess is paying, you can just give 500 taels. This is only for the wood and the workers' wages. Our shop's share is not profitable."
It suddenly became cheaper by one hundred taels. Feng Jinyuan's eyes turned red again. His second daughter was so prestigious that she could make the owner of the Shengcai Shop lower the price by one hundred taels!
He was exclaiming in amazement, but heard Feng Yuheng say, "No need."
Feng Jinyuan was anxious: "Ah Heng, one hundred taels is also money!"
Feng Yuheng rolled his eyes at him, with a look of disdain on his face, "How can you bargain for something like this? Have you ever heard of anyone going to a coffin shop to bargain for a funeral?"
People were talking about it, "Yeah! Who would bargain for a coffin?"
The middle-aged man hurriedly tried to stop the fight: "No, no, it's not bargaining, I was willing to lower the price myself."
Feng Yuheng still said the same thing: "No need."
Feng Jinyuan snorted, "Okay, it's you who pays the money anyway, you can give as much as you want." After saying that, he raised his foot and was about to enter the courtyard. The goal has been achieved, in front of so many people, she has to pay the money, otherwise she will be criticized.
Seeing Feng Jinyuan walking towards the gate of the mansion with his hands behind his back, Feng Yuheng blinked and suddenly realized something. Her father had no intention of taking out the two hundred taels of silver! He was planning to let her pay six hundred taels herself.
Why?
The mother died, and the son didn't give a penny, but the granddaughter was asked to spend more than a thousand taels of silver notes, jewelry and clothes. What kind of family rule is this?
She called out, "Is Father going back to get the banknotes?"
"Hmm?" Feng Jinyuan stopped and turned to look at her, asking in confusion: "What banknotes do you want? You bought the coffin for your grandmother, why do you want me to take banknotes?"
Feng Yuheng thought that this shameless old man was really trying to cheat. She was furious and asked Cheng Junman in a cold voice, "This princess has spent nearly three hundred taels of silver notes to help with grandma's funeral. How much has it cost as of today?"
Cheng Junman naturally understood what Feng Yuheng meant. When she mentioned this matter, she was furious and said, "Ah Heng, the silver note you gave me was a total of 280 taels. The master only left 80 taels for me, and he took the remaining 200 taels. There are less than 20 taels left of the 80 taels now. I wanted to talk to you about this matter after returning to the mansion after the old lady was buried."
In front of outsiders, Cheng Junman did not call her Princess, because she knew the power of word of mouth. If she called her Princess, there might be rumors in the capital tomorrow that Princess Ji'an relied on her position to look down on the mistress of her family.
Feng Yuheng didn't have time to think about these things, but when he heard that Feng Jinyuan only left eighty taels for the funeral, his anger flared up again.
Feng Jinyuan didn't expect Feng Yuheng to include those banknotes in the calculation, and he didn't expect Cheng Junman to reveal the matter on the spot. He felt a little embarrassed and didn't dare to look Feng Yuheng in the eye.
The middle-aged man from the coffin shop stood there awkwardly, wondering how he should get the money. Shengcai Shop had been open for so long, but this was the first time he had encountered such a thing.
Fortunately, Feng Yuheng didn't want to embarrass the businessman, so she immediately retracted her fierce eyes from staring at Feng Jinyuan, then reached into her bosom and took out six hundred taels of silver notes from her space. "This is the money for the coffin, take it." She handed over the silver note and finally sent the middle-aged man away.
Before leaving, the man looked at Feng Jinyuan with disdain, which made Feng Jinyuan even more embarrassed.
He wanted to go back to the mansion, but it was obvious that Feng Yuheng didn't want to let him go. Some people are shameless when they give themselves face, so there is no need for her to save face for him. Didn't she choose to let her pay for the coffin in front of so many people at the gate of the mansion? Okay, even if she is filial to the old lady, it's nothing. But now it's not so easy to enter the mansion.
Feng Yuheng spoke in a cold voice and threw out a question: "Father took away the two hundred taels of silver notes for grandma's funeral. What did he do with them?"
Feng Jinyuan broke out in a cold sweat and stood there, not knowing whether to leave or not. Especially when Feng Yuheng spoke, he emphasized "holding a funeral for my grandmother", which raised the nature of this matter to a certain level. What should he say?
For a moment, the scene was very awkward.
At this moment, Feng Zirui, who had been standing beside Feng Yuheng without saying anything, suddenly said, "Father may have gone to buy Su embroidery. That day when my sister went to court, I saw my father taking a piece of embroidery out. Zirui recognized it as Su embroidery, and it was very expensive."
Feng Jinyuan was startled, and looked at Zirui in surprise. He never expected that his little action was actually seen by his son. He was a little nervous, and in a panic he made up an excuse: "It's for your grandmother, and it's in the coffin." Then the sadness came up again: "Your grandmother liked Su embroidery when she was alive. No matter how expensive it is, your father has to buy it for you."
These words really moved people, and some women among the onlookers even started to wipe away their tears.
But An, who was standing by, said in confusion: "The embroiderer in my embroidery shop said that the master went to get a piece of Suzhou embroidery two days ago, but did not pay for it."
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