Chapter 62 is just like the real thing.
Shangguan Jin looked at the scene outside through the window screen.
The entire Duke of Dingguo's mansion was covered in white!
Ever since the news of the Duke of Dingguo's death reached the mansion, she had pretended to faint on the spot and had stayed in her room ever since.
All affairs in the mansion were handled by Madam Shangguan and the people of the inner palace.
She was thinking about whether she should pretend to be weak and go out to see what was wrong.
With a creak, Shangguan Jin quickly lay back down on the bed.
"Miss, it's me!" Dongmai, dressed in white with a white beaded flower in her hair, entered.
Shangguan Jin finally breathed a sigh of relief and sat up.
Dongmai seemed to be in a good mood, although her eyes were swollen, but she had wiped them with scallion juice.
The young lady always regarded herself as the person she trusted most.
Look, besides the young lady, the old lady, the eldest young lady, and the eldest young master, only I know about the Duke's news!
Even the Shangguan government didn't know.
"Miss, I've hidden a box of pastries for you. Please fill your stomach for the next couple of days."
Also, I've washed all these red dates and put them in the inner compartment of the bed.
You can pop one into your mouth whenever you have a spare moment.
As Dongmai spoke, she slipped a small box next to Shangguan Jin's soft pillow.
Shangguan Jin smiled and agreed.
"Madam said she wanted to come and keep you company, but I didn't allow it. I said that Miss would definitely cry if she saw you."
The manor is in such a mess right now, could you please help me sort things out?
That's why the lady didn't come over.
Also, I've sent all the people from the Shangguan family who came to help to the front yard, so no one from your family will be coming for the time being.
"While you were asleep yesterday, someone from the Queen's side came. They just peeked out from the inner room and left," Dongmai continued.
Shangguan Jin thought for a moment, "The Empress sent someone yesterday?"
How could she not know?
Oh, looks like he was sleeping too soundly and didn't hear a sound.
I don't think he was snoring...
"How is the old lady doing?" Shangguan Jin asked in a low voice.
"I've arranged everything. The old lady only fainted after she had eaten her fill."
Later, I also packed a bag of pastries and placed it by the old lady's bedside.
"Oh, it seems that Aunt Qiu noticed something, but she didn't say anything and kept covering for the old lady!" Dongmai said with a grin.
Shangguan Jin said "oh" and then peeked outside again.
It's normal for Qiu's mother to know; that's the old lady's confidante.
The old lady will definitely need Qiu's mother's cooperation to successfully get through these few days.
Otherwise, how could the old lady, with her frail health, endure five days without food or water?
"Is it all done by the Shangguan family and the inner court?" Shangguan Jin asked.
"Hmm! Our steward, Mr. Shen, is just a helper."
Everything else was arranged by the Imperial Household Department.
"To be precise, we only have a few people from our own household; the rest is handled by the inner palace." Dongmai said, pouring Shangguan Jin a cup of tea.
Shangguan Jin drank it all in one gulp.
"Miss, a coffin has been sent over from the inner palace."
It's said that the imperial family personally selected it, and that it's made of some kind of golden nanmu wood, the kind that will keep a corpse from decaying for a thousand years.
I sneaked over to take a look, and it took about twenty people to carry the coffin to the mourning hall.
The coffin was inlaid with gold and jade; it must have been very valuable.
"I wonder if we should dig up this coffin and return it to the imperial family when the Duke suddenly returns," Dongmai muttered to herself.
Shangguan Jin...
Return it to the imperial family? What was Dongmai thinking?!
And this Emperor Xiao Jing is really something!
With only two fake blood-stained clothes, is it really worth using a coffin made of Phoebe zhennan wood?
How can it remain intact for a thousand years, so that the blood-stained clothes will not decay for a thousand years?
But if someone in later generations were to dig it up, could they just wash it and reuse it...?
Shangguan Jin was overthinking things; she felt that Emperor Xiao Jing had gone a bit too far.
This isn't how you show brotherly affection. If you want the world to say how much you value the Duke of Dingguo, you could do something else!
For example, reward them with more gold and silver...
"What are Sister Yao and the others doing?"
"The young lady originally wanted to pretend to faint, but seeing that you and the old lady both fainted, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to faint as well."
Then she could only hide in the house and cry.
I just went to see the young lady; her eyes were all swollen from crying.
Several young men were keeping vigil in front of the mourning hall.
The eldest son was better off; he only cried once and then stopped. Everyone said that the eldest son had the demeanor of the Duke of Dingguo.
Some say the eldest son is being patient; as the heir apparent, he needs to set an example for his younger siblings.
The other two young masters were crying uncontrollably.
The Seventh Prince was also shedding tears beside her. Dongmai diligently performed the duties of her former head maid.
"The Seventh Prince has been with you the whole time?" Shangguan Jin was a little surprised.
"Yes, I've been staying at the mourning hall the whole time, I haven't left."
The lady said that this must have been tacitly approved by the imperial family.
The young masters and the seventh prince have lost a lot of weight in the past two days.
However, the young lady remained silent, not saying a word. "Dongmai replied.
When the youngest, Shen Qingyu, was mentioned, Shangguan Jin sighed.
When the news came back that day, Shen Qingyu simply couldn't believe that her father was gone.
"You're talking nonsense! That's not my father."
My father was a great hero who defended the northern lands of Chongqing, not those two pieces of clothing.
"My father will definitely come back." Shen Qingyu exploded on the spot and almost went up to scratch the messenger.
After being stopped by Dongmai, Shen Qingyu started to make a fuss.
"My father is not dead, you are all liars."
My father said he would take me horseback riding when he came back.
He hadn't even taken me horseback riding yet, how could he have died?
You've all lied to me!
Everyone was crying at the time, and Shen Qingyu started crying too after making a fuss.
She tore the mourning clothes sent by the imperial household in two quick movements, refusing to wear them.
“My father is not dead, I will not wear it! I will beat up anyone who wears it.”
It took Lady Shangguan a long time to coax him before he finally put on his mourning clothes.
After putting on mourning clothes, he stopped speaking.
"How have you been eating these past two days? Has Sister Yu eaten anything?" Shangguan Jin asked hurriedly.
"I ate! I ate quite a lot, more than I've ever eaten before."
"She just sits there in a daze after she finishes eating, without saying a word or crying!" Dongmai said hurriedly.
Shangguan Jin breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that Shen Qingyu was eating.
It's normal that this little girl doesn't know the actual situation and can't quite grasp it at first.
"Keep a close eye on things, and be sure to tell me if anything happens."
"Also, there are a lot of people in the manor these days, so have the steward keep a close eye on things, especially the west wing," Shangguan Jin instructed.
"Yes, Miss, don't worry! I've been keeping an eye on things!"
By the way, Miss, after you and the old lady fainted, the palace sent over several hundred-year-old ginseng roots.
There were other medicinal herbs too, and they all looked good!
"Why don't you stay dizzy for a couple more days?" Dongmai suggested.
Shangguan Jin...
Okay, that's exactly what she was thinking too!
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