Chapter 41 Qingming Festival Memorial Ceremony, the Fox Passes the Test...
It rained yesterday; the ground is damp and the air is fresh.
Lin Xiuzhen placed the incense and candles at the back of the carriage, and a gentle breeze carrying a hint of dampness brushed against her face.
She reached out and touched it; it was damp. She murmured, "It's raining again."
Every year during the Qingming Festival, it's the same: continuous, persistent rain.
But the memorial service for his relatives could not be delayed. Even if it was raining heavily, Zong Suyi would still go.
He looked haggard, clutching the memorial text he had been working on late into the night for the past few days, and slowly stepped onto the carriage.
After waiting for a while, the carriage remained stationary.
Zong Suyi lifted the carriage curtain and urged the driver in a low voice, "Still..." Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a tall and graceful figure walking towards them.
His eyes lit up with surprise, but it quickly dimmed again. "Miss, is there anything you need?"
Zhang Ting came out with an oil-paper umbrella, stepped directly into the carriage, closed the umbrella, and said calmly, "I have received the favor of the Grand Secretary before, and today I will go with you to pay my respects."
Zong Suyi was unaware of her connection with her grandmother, and her heart was heavy. She could only nod blankly.
Just like the last time they rode together, he sat in one corner, and Zhang Ting sat in the other corner.
It seems so close, yet so far away.
He pursed his lips tightly, lowered his eyelids, and concealed the disappointment and bitterness in his eyes.
He turned to look out the window, where snow-white pear blossoms fluttered and danced in the wind, a beautiful sight, but his entire attention was focused on the person beside him.
The carriage moved slowly, making a "crunching" sound as it rolled over the stone slabs.
The carriage was silent; no one spoke.
Zhang Ting rested her hands on her knees, staring blankly at the wooden planks beneath her feet, lost in thought.
Suddenly, she looked up and sighed, breaking the silence of the room: "Are the offerings complete?"
Zong Suyi turned around and was caught off guard by her gentle gaze. Her heart tightened, and she abruptly lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on her dusty, gray sleeves.
He replied quietly, "Du Zaolang's preparations are very thorough."
Zhang Ting slowly withdrew her gaze. "Okay."
Silence fell again in the room.
Zong Suyi glanced at her loosely clasped hands and said softly, "Chili peppers are bad for the spleen and stomach, so it's best for Miss to use them sparingly."
Zhang Ting exclaimed in surprise, "Ah!" and then replied, "Okay." In fact, her diet had remained light and unchanged these days.
An awkward atmosphere filled the car, and a moment felt as long as a year. The two turned their heads away, some looking at the window frame, others glancing at the curtains.
Suddenly, the two turned around at the same time and said in unison:
What did you eat for breakfast?
"How was your breakfast, Miss?"
Their eyes met briefly, then they each looked away.
This time, however, he remained silent.
Zhang Ting leaned against the car wall, closing her eyes to rest.
Zong Suyi stroked the eulogy in his arms, his expression somber.
The carriage came to a stop in silence.
Outside, a light rain was falling. Zhang Ting opened her umbrella and walked ahead, while Zong Suyi carried the memorial text, covering it with her sleeve to prevent it from getting wet. Lin Xiuzhen brought up the rear, carrying a box of incense and candles.
A trail of footprints was left on the muddy dirt road.
The mass grave was personally renovated by Grand Secretary Xu, and it was completely transformed.
The previously exposed remains have all become raised brownish-red mounds of earth. Some graves even have tombstones. Paper banners are erected on the wet ground, and paper money is scattered everywhere. The stench of decay has completely disappeared, and the overgrown weeds have been cleared away. The place is neat and solemn, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that it is an ordinary clan cemetery.
Following the trail of incense, we arrived at a tomb. The tombstone clearly read "Tomb of my friend Zongming Xuan". The tomb was built of stones and was quite grand. Yellow chrysanthemums surrounded the tomb, and various fruits, wine, and pastries were placed there. The ashes of incense, candles, and paper money were mixed with water in the soil.
Lin Xiuzhen opened the box, and the three of them placed the offerings together and lit the incense and candles.
Zhang Ting placed the umbrella next to the incense and candles to prevent them from getting wet in the rain.
The fine rain, like flower petals, fell gently and softly on people's faces.
Zong Suyi's stray hairs were slightly damp and stuck to his face. He knelt straight on the ground, his clothes stained with mud and water, filthy and disgusting.
He closed his eyes and remembered how his family doted on him when he was at home.
"Xiao Yi, come here quickly to your grandmother, take this jade pendant and play with it."
"You little rascal, you're all sweaty again!"
"I'll have a day off later this month, shall I take you to the western suburbs to see the peach blossoms?"
He lay prostrate on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, but this time no one helped him up.
Drops of water fell suddenly, crashing heavily onto the damp mud.
Zhang Ting gazed at the rain curtain, her eyelashes covered in raindrops. She blinked slightly and suddenly remembered hearing somewhere before that the rain during the Qingming Festival was helping tears find their way home.
She lowered her head and stared at Zong Suyi's reddened eyes, then handed him the handkerchief.
Zong Suyi looked at the handkerchief handed to her, her hand trembling slightly as she took it. Before she could even say thank you, she was pulled up by someone.
His eyes welled up with tears as he stared straight at the person.
Zhang Ting released his grip, glanced at the sky, and said calmly, "There might be a heavy rain later, let's burn the eulogy first."
Zong Suyi lowered his eyelids and said in a hoarse voice, "Okay."
A white ribbon was tied in his hair, fluttering in the wind and swaying coolly onto Zhang Ting's shoulder. She glanced at it only once before turning her head away.
Zong Suyi squatted down and placed the sacrificial text, which was covered with tiny characters, into the iron basin, watching it be burned by the scorching flames and gradually turned to ashes.
"It is said that the entire cemetery was renovated with funds allocated by Grand Secretary Xu himself."
"Presumably, the offerings just now were also prepared by her people."
He glanced at the words on the tombstone and gave a sarcastic sneer, "Ocean's tears, feigned compassion."
If she brought up anything else, the topic would become too sensitive, so Zhang Ting remained silent.
Zong Suyi continued, "I have a close friend who is the eldest grandson of the Xu family."
"But after my family had that incident, he immediately sent someone to deliver a letter severing ties."
Zhang Ting didn't say anything, but squatted down to help him burn the memorial text, and then pulled over gold and silver ingots to burn as well.
He said in a dejected tone, "I was wrong. I should have listened to my mother and stopped associating with him."
After the paper money in Zhang Ting's hand burned out, she gently patted his shoulder in a comforting manner.
After kowtowing to his grandmother and burning paper money, Zong Suyi went to his mother next to him. This time, Zhang Ting only handed him an umbrella and asked Lin Xiuzhen to help carry things, without following him.
Zhang Ting walked out of the tomb and quietly observed everything around her.
With its green hills and clear waters, it's a wonderful place where the wind can be sheltered and energy can be gathered!
I heard that you don't have to pay to bury people here.
......
The Imperial Palace, Funing Hall.
The morning court session had ended, and Emperor Chengtai, still wearing his crown, rested with one hand on the table beside her, her eyes closed, looking relaxed and at ease.
Xu Zhengyue knelt on the ground below the hall, beads of sweat constantly appearing on his forehead. He said with trepidation, "It is my fault for failing in my supervision. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
Emperor Chengtai opened his eyes, threw the memorial in his hand at her, and his old face showed a fierce look. He said hoarsely, "Look, look at this is the Ministry of Works that you are in charge of! The dike that you just oversaw the repair of last year has collapsed again this month!"
Xu Zheng kept kowtowing, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
Emperor Chengtai glanced at her, uninterested. What's the point of dealing with such an inexperienced kitten or puppy?
She closed her eyes again and said calmly, "Isn't your mother the Minister of Personnel? Summon her to answer my questions. I want to ask her how she selected officials, whether it was nepotism."
Xu Zhengyue was also stunned by the tragic state of the Zong family. Fearing that he would implicate his mother, he forgot to think carefully for a moment, crawled forward on his knees, and said with tears in his eyes, "Your Majesty, it is all my fault, and has nothing to do with my mother!"
Emperor Chengtai covered his ear. "Liu Yun, hurry up and kick that person out. It's so noisy."
The head palace maid stepped forward with a smile and replied, "Yes." But her expression changed as she turned around, glancing at Xu Zhengyue with a mocking look, and then waved for two strong guards to drag him out.
Xu Zheng was terrified as the guards grabbed his arms, dragged him out of the hall, and threw him heavily to the ground like a piece of filth.
Liu Yun couldn't help but sigh. This was the eldest daughter of the powerful Grand Secretary, a proper Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, yet even the Emperor despised her for being his dog. Now she had fallen to such a state, worse off than them, who were just servants. Tsk tsk.
She said with a serious expression, "Lord Xu, please go back. His Majesty is magnanimous and did not punish you for your disrespect in front of the emperor. Please do not offend the emperor again next time."
"This servant still needs to instruct the servants to inform Lord Xu of his audience with the Emperor, so I will not see you off further."
Xu Zhengyue got up from the ground, grabbed Liu Yun's clothes, and asked urgently, "Manager Liu, is there any way to turn this matter around?"
Liu Yun sighed, thinking to herself: "I don't know what Grand Secretary Xu was thinking, releasing his daughter to serve as an official without properly educating her."
She didn't want to get entangled with Xu Zhengyue any longer, so she pulled her clothes back, but remembering Xu's methods, she still whispered a reminder to her: "Oh dear, young Master Xu, you should go back first, lest His Majesty really be angry with you."
Xu Zhengyue suddenly realized that His Majesty was not angry when he reprimanded her this time; he just wanted to find a pretext to punish his mother.
She looked up blankly, only to see dark clouds still swirling overhead.
Xu Zheng left dejectedly, while Xu Pin was summoned to the palace with a composed demeanor.
Upon seeing the composed and dignified Grand Secretary Xu, Liu Yun couldn't help but sigh that experience truly matters.
With her smile unchanged, she led Xu Pin inside: "Grand Secretary Xu, please come in."
Xu Pin, with a kind smile on his wrinkled face, nodded upon hearing this, "Thank you for your trouble, Steward Liu."
Emperor Chengtai heard a series of footsteps enter, but didn't even lift his eyelids, saying, "They're here."
Xu Pin slowly lifted his official robe and kowtowed to the emperor, saying, "Your subject Xu Pin greets Your Majesty."
Emperor Chengtai did not urge her to rise, but only said, "Xu Pin, do you know your crime!"
"Your Majesty, I am guilty. I failed to properly educate my son, which led to his disrespect in the palace. This is my fault," Xu Pin replied sincerely.
That old fox!
Knowing that this wasn't what she was criticizing, Emperor Chengtai couldn't bring himself to accuse Xu Zhengyue of failing in his supervision of the Ministry of Works. After all, the river embankment had been collapsing every year, and he hadn't seen anyone offended by it. These words could only frighten the inexperienced Xu Zhengyue.
Emperor Chengtai finally sat up and waved his hand to dismiss the servants.
"Xu Pin, you're quite something, daring to disobey your superiors!"
Xu Pin knelt on the ground and calmly replied, "Your Majesty, I am foolish and ignorant. Please speak frankly."
You still dare to beat around the bush with her!
Emperor Chengtai stood up in anger, a fierce look appearing on his withered face. "I hate betrayal the most. You're collecting the remains of the Zong family. Are you really provoking me?"
Xu Pin raised his aged face and said, "Your Majesty's punishment of corrupt officials is beyond my purview. As for collecting my friend's remains, I have done nothing wrong according to the law."
The word "absolute" in her words immediately diminished Emperor Chengtai's anger, and he sat back on his couch.
In the matter of the imperial clan, Emperor Chengtai ultimately made Xu Pin take the blame. Still concerned about saving face, she simply uttered a single word: "Get out."
Xu Pin kowtowed again, then stood up and staggered out.
This time, we've managed to get past His Majesty; now it's up to us to see if we can salvage our reputation among the court officials and students across the land.
Please save the Xu family.
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