Chapter 339 Past Events
The funeral of Madam Zhou was conducted solemnly and dignifiedly.
She was dressed in plain white mourning clothes as she walked through the mansion that she once knew so well, yet desperately wanted to escape from.
Every pavilion, every flower, every brick and tile here was once part of her nightmares.
She remembered that small, perpetually dark west courtyard.
I also remember that bluestone path leading to the old lady's main room, which seemed to have no end.
Now, walking through it again, my state of mind is completely different.
The weight and humiliation that once suffocated her seemed to have vanished with her past life.
The wind blew, and the white banners under the eaves fluttered in the breeze.
Meng Shilan stopped and looked at the lush sycamore tree in the courtyard.
She thought, perhaps, it wasn't the mansion that had changed.
She herself has changed.
The seven-day funeral was long and oppressive.
On the day of the funeral, the sky was overcast, as if it were also bidding farewell to Madam Zhou.
Fu'er and Xiao Pangxi were also brought over, dressed in tiny mourning clothes, following behind the adults with a bewildered look on their faces.
They did not yet have a clear concept of death.
However, the oppressive atmosphere in the mansion made them unconsciously put away their usual laughter and merriment.
It was half a month later when all this was done.
With the white banners taken down, life seemed to return to normal.
But that courtyard fell into complete silence from then on, with no more solemn wooden fish sounds or lingering sandalwood incense.
Meng Shilan took Fu'er for a walk in the back garden.
Fu'er was no longer as reserved as when she first returned. Holding Meng Shilan's hand, she chattered away.
As she passed a bamboo grove, Fu'er suddenly stopped.
She pointed to the lush bamboo forest, tilted her little face up, and her eyes sparkled.
"Mother, I remember this place!"
Meng Shilan was taken aback. "You remember?"
Fu'er nodded vigorously, "Yes! My nanny used to bring me here to dig for things!"
As she spoke, she mimicked how she used to scratch the ground with her little feet.
"The wet nurse said it's the best-tasting bamboo shoot!"
wet nurse... bamboo shoots...
These two words were like a key, instantly unlocking the floodgates of Meng Shilan's memory.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Yes.
This is the place.
Back then, the wet nurse led Fu'er to dig up the silver buried underneath.
But Fu'er saw through it.
It was here that she found the first sum of money she had used to escape.
That was the money she and her children needed to save their lives.
That was her only hope at the time.
Unexpectedly, after so many years, this little girl Fu'er still remembers.
Meng Shilan felt a mix of emotions.
Just as he was lost in thought, Zhou Congxian's voice came from behind him.
"What are you thinking about? You seem so lost in thought."
He walked over at some point, still carrying some sweat from the training ground.
Meng Shilan snapped out of her daze, looked at him, and suddenly smiled.
"I'm wondering, given the vast and powerful Duke of England's mansion, does Your Highness know that a considerable treasure is buried in the bamboo grove in your backyard?"
Zhou Congxian raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing it.
"Treasure?"
He looked around. He knew this bamboo forest all too well; it was all bamboo.
"What mischief are you up to now?"
Meng Shilan's smile deepened. She pulled Fu'er over and said to Zhou Congxian, "My daughter can be my witness."
She briefly recounted what happened back then.
After listening, Zhou Congxian's smile gradually faded, replaced by deep silence and remorse.
He couldn't imagine the despair she must have felt back then, placing all her and her child's future on the days after she fled.
But he, as her husband, knew nothing about it.
In fact, he was the very culprit who pushed her into that situation.
"Shi Lan, I..."
His Adam's apple bobbed; a thousand words were stuck in his chest.
Meng Shilan shook her head, interrupting him.
"It's all in the past."
Her eyes were clear and open.
"I was just thinking that even you, the young master, probably don't know where the Zhou family's money came from."
The words carried a hint of irony, but they also lessened the heaviness of the situation.
Zhou Congxian looked at her, his eyes swirling with intense emotions.
He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones.
"It won't happen again."
He promised.
"From now on, all the money in our family will be under your control."
Meng Shilan laughed out loud in his arms.
Zhou Congxian is a man of action.
The next day, he ordered Wei Xun and Ji Xiaoman to take several trusted men and dig up the bamboo forest.
When five heavy wooden crates were carried out, and the lids were opened to reveal neatly stacked silver ingots that gleamed dazzlingly in the sunlight, even Zhou Congxian's expression changed slightly.
Unexpectedly, the Duke of England's mansion contained such a large sum of money.
This amount of silver is enough for any ordinary family to live comfortably for ten lifetimes.
Meng Shilan did not inquire about how the silver was ultimately disposed of.
The marriage between Shuang'er and Wei Xun was officially put on the agenda.
Because the family had just held a funeral, everything was kept simple.
However, Meng Shilan used his own savings to prepare a dowry for Shuang'er that was no less than that of any noble lady.
Seeing Shuang'er dressed in her wedding gown, being carefully led by Wei Xun, a man as tall as an iron tower, with a blissful and shy expression on her face, Meng Shilan was genuinely happy for her.
Her sister, who had accompanied her through hell, finally found her own place in the world.
The days seemed to be bathed in the warm sunshine of spring.
Everything is moving in a positive direction and developing in an orderly manner.
Yuzhou.
Prince Cheng's Mansion.
"Bang!"
A fine celadon teacup was smashed to the ground and shattered into pieces.
"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"
Xiao Shu's face was ashen as he pointed at a trusted confidant kneeling on the ground, his anger barely contained.
"What I want are divine weapons that can expand our territory, not these firewood sticks that can't even hit a target!"
Several brand-new muskets lay scattered on the ground.
This is the latest batch he acquired, a total of thirty.
However, after trying it out, I found that there were many problems.
Either the barrel explodes, or the aim is wildly off.
The trusted aide replied tremblingly, "Your Highness, please calm down! News has come from the capital that... that the Ministry of Works has a new supervisor who has made some improvements to the craftsmanship. Perhaps... perhaps they are not yet proficient."
"Improvement?"
Xiao Shu sneered, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes.
"I think someone is deliberately trying to trip me up!"
He pondered for a moment, a flash of fierceness appearing in his eyes.
"Send a few of your most capable men to sneak back to the capital and investigate! Who is behind this sabotage by the Divine Machine Battalion!"
"yes!"
He thought he had done it without anyone noticing.
Little did he know that the men he sent out had fallen into Zhou Congxian's trap the moment they stepped into the capital's territory.
The night was as dark as ink.
An abandoned post station on the outskirts of Beijing.
Several dark figures approached silently, like ghosts.
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