Chapter 265 The Mourners
It was early morning, just as dawn was breaking.
As a servant, one must get up and take care of household affairs before the master has even gotten up.
As usual, Alai opened the gate of the Wan residence, picked up a broom, and prepared to sweep away the fallen leaves from the night before, keeping the gate clean.
Upon opening the door, one sees several hunched-over elderly people standing at the entrance.
Seeing the door open, they immediately went to Alai and asked with concern, "We heard that Master Wan has passed away?"
Ah Lai paused, looking the elderly people in front of him up and down.
They were dressed in patched clothes, and their temples were gray; they were clearly elderly people from poor families.
Why did these people come to the Wan family's doorstep?
The elderly people seemed to sense Alai's confusion and explained, "We are townspeople near Hefeng Town. In the past, Master Wan provided us with porridge and relief. We heard that Master Wan has passed away, so we wanted to come and pay our respects. Is that alright with us...?"
As the old man spoke, he looked at Alai's clothes, then at his own somewhat dirty and tattered clothes, and felt that his request might be a bit excessive.
The Wan family's mourning hall is such a clean place; how could we allow these filthy people to enter and worship there?
Alai heard Taoran mention yesterday that someone should come to pay respects today, so he should be prepared.
He thought it would be officials or wealthy people, but to his surprise, the first to arrive were these poor people.
He suddenly realized why the young master treated these poor people so well!
Because poor families are more grateful than rich families.
Some wealthy people, like vampires, constantly demand benefits, and once they are no longer of value, they are discarded.
But Alai wasn't the host, so he didn't dare make a decision on his own.
Just then, a voice came from inside.
"Let them in to worship."
Alai turned his head and saw Taoran!
Today, Tao Ran has changed his ways, wearing a plain cloth robe and replacing the hair tie with a wooden hairpin.
Alai was startled by his outfit.
If they were to be draped in burlap, they would look exactly like someone observing mourning for their father's death.
How dare Headmaster Tao dress like that?
Do his elders and wife truly approve?
Tao Ran ignored A Lai's strange behavior and simply instructed, "Anyone who comes to pay their respects these days, regardless of their status, may enter. However, you must also be vigilant and prevent any petty thieves from taking the opportunity to sneak in and steal things from the house!"
Alai nodded hurriedly, "Alai understands!" With that, he led the old man at the door into the Wan residence.
Tao Ran stood at the door for a long time, seemingly troubled by many things, before lifting his robe and entering the courtyard.
Wan Ziyan remained kneeling there, his eyes bruised and stubble even appearing on his chin, making him look several years older overnight.
He saw the people who came to pay their respects and slowly got up.
Perhaps because he had been kneeling for too long, he lost his balance and fell to his knees with a thud.
Just hearing that sound makes you feel pain.
Wan Ziyan merely frowned and rested on the ground for a while before standing up with A Lai's help to return the greetings to those who came to pay their respects.
Tao Ran felt a pang of sadness watching this scene.
He turned and went to the backyard to arrange other things.
In ordinary households, people would notify relatives and friends to come and offer condolences at this time.
However, Master Wan had no relatives or friends, and the only person he was related to at present was Wan Ziyan.
As for friends.
Master Wan had been ill for several years and had hardly made any friends. The only people he could inform were his neighbors.
As for the others, it depends on who remembers Master Wan; some will come to offer their condolences.
From the second day after the mourning hall was set up, people came to pay their respects in an endless stream, all of whom were people who had received favors from Master Wan.
Most of them are villagers from Yunhe County, with a few from wealthy families.
On the fourth day, Master Cao also came to offer his condolences.
Following them, Chen Lizheng, Wang Qizhang, Luo Huzhang, and other local gentry also came to offer their condolences.
Wan Ziyan knelt for several days in a row, looking neither human nor ghost, which startled many people.
Some people comforted him, telling him not to be too upset, that everyone goes through this phase.
For Master Wan, leaving might be a relief, freeing him from the torment of illness.
"Alas, with Master Wan's sudden passing, I'm afraid Brother Ziyan will no longer be able to take up his post in the county!" Master Cao said, glancing back at the mourning hall, his eyes filled with disappointment.
Headman Luo nodded. "There is a law in the court that states one should observe three years of mourning upon the death of one's parents. Although he is not Master Wan's biological son, he was raised by Master Wan, so observing this mourning is inevitable."
"What a pity! Such a talented person as Master Wan has been wasted like this!" Wang Qizhang sighed.
Wan Qiqi listened to the discussion and her expression became complicated.
Perhaps from the very beginning, Wan Ziyan knew that someone had orchestrated the events at the county government office.
He dared to jump in, probably because he was certain about the matter of observing mourning.
With a death in the family, how can one possibly take up a post or become an official?
Wan Qiqi does not approve of the practice of observing three years of mourning.
If it were only a few months, she could accept it, after all, her body and hair were given to her by her parents.
But she doesn't agree with the ancient practice of mourning by giving up everything and just foolishly observing it.
Just then, Wan Qiqi saw Chen Yongnian and Tao Ran walking out, as if some important person had arrived.
She followed them.
"Master, Uncle-Master, you've arrived!" Chen Yongnian bowed to the two people outside the door and ushered them inside.
Tao Ran simply nodded quietly and followed the people inside.
Wan Qiqi noticed that the two of them seemed somewhat surprised.
She remembered that these two people had no connection with the Wan family, so why were they here to offer condolences?
However, given that Master Wan had done many good deeds, it was quite normal for Xue Jiang and Xie Xing to come and offer their condolences.
When Xue Jiang and Xie Xing appeared, Wan Ziyan, as usual, stood up to return their greetings and then returned to his original position and knelt down.
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