Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 1200 - 612: Going with the Flow
The fourth update, asking for pink tickets.
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Finally, Lady Gu’s body had to be placed in the courtyard.
Lian Shouren and Lady Gu were married for many years, after all, there were some feelings. Lady Chiang, being Lady Gu’s own niece, also had some feelings towards her, as did Lian Jizu. The Lian Manman family, having talked with Old Master Lian, swiftly resolved the issue and also helped send Yingzi away. After that, they went back to their own home. Regarding Lady Gu’s funeral arrangements, they did not leave any words behind.
For Lady Gu’s funeral, they lacked the ability and means to handle it lavishly, and it was even more inappropriate to seek help from Lady Zhang. However, Lady Chiang knew well that Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang were honest and kind-hearted, so she hoped to provide Lady Gu with a more dignified send-off within her capacities.
Even if the arrangements are frugal, two things are indispensable.
The first is clothing.
Lady Gu didn’t have burial clothing, so Lady Chiang took out a set of her slightly nicer clothes, made alterations, and turned them into burial clothes for Lady Gu.
As for the coffin, although Lady Chiang originally had some private savings, she had exhausted them due to the Taicang incident. Lian Shouren and Lian Jizu also didn’t have any money.
Lady Chiang couldn’t appear personally, so she secretly persuaded Lian Shouren and Lian Jizu to plead with Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou, requesting a coffin for Lady Gu.
Old Master Lian thought for a moment, then nodded to Lady Zhou, signaling her to take out the money.
"Bad luck star, debt collector." Lady Zhou was extremely reluctant, cursing under her breath, "Didn’t we agree that she is no longer part of our family? Why care about her? Just give her a mat, roll it up and it’s enough. Not everyone gets a coffin; some people don’t even get a mat. Giving her a mat, she’s not even worthy of it!"
"When a person dies, it’s like a lamp being extinguished." Old Master Lian sighed, "It’s not for her, but for the family’s face."
"What family? She only gave birth to two daughters, who are just like her, bad luck stars, debt collectors." Lady Zhou said unkindly.
"It’s for the face of our Old Lian Family. Even in death, she shouldn’t enter the ancestral tomb. She... after all, took care of Jizu." Old Master Lian reluctantly replied, "Let’s just obscure the eyes of everyone."
In this era, respecting the dead was important. Even if there were grievances in life, they should be put aside at this time.
Lady Zhou eventually took out some money, and Lian Jizu went to town to buy the cheapest thin-paneled coffin, finally putting Lady Gu to rest.
As for the usual requirements for a funeral, such as hanging white banners at the door, informing distant relatives and friends, inviting monks for rituals, hiring music bands, and so on, they were naturally all omitted. The villagers also didn’t come to offer paper condolences.
Since no formalities were observed, there was naturally no saying about how many days to keep the body.
That night, in the courtyard of the old house, a small brazier burned in front of Lady Gu’s coffin.
Lian Shouren, Lian Jizu, Lady Chiang with Da Niuniu, and Lian Duo were by the spirit, circling the small fire, burning a pitiful amount of big paper. This big paper was only bought with the few coins left from purchasing the coffin.
The few people were speaking softly.
"...to be buried tomorrow?" Lian Jizu asked softly.
Lian Shouren sighed. With no one coming to the wake, just a coffin placed there, and nothing else, it could only be buried early. However...
"Even if no one mentions it, Huahua should at least be informed." Lian Shouren said quietly.
"What’s the point of informing? Didn’t you hear what my grandpa said?" Lian Jizu replied.
"That’s the way he said it, but not sending a word, just burying her like this, doesn’t seem right. After all, there are marriage ties..." Lian Shouren said, "This is not like other things."
Lian Jizu said nothing, but his thoughts also shifted. Reporting the death to the Song Family, given their usual practices, they would likely provide some burial money. But reaching out for notification must have Old Master Lian’s consent and get approval from Lian Shouxin’s side. The key is getting Lian Shouxin’s nod.
Early the next morning, someone from the Shouxin Family came and sent the steward Han Zhong to see Old Master Lian. The Old Master was just recovering from a severe illness, and with such an incident, both Lian Shouxin and Wu Lang were worried about his health.
Old Master Lian only told Han Zhong that he was fine, that there was nothing wrong.
After seeing Old Master Lian, Han Zhong came out of the Upper Room East Room and encountered Lian Jizu. Han Zhong had always been very courteous to Lian Jizu, and upon meeting, he proactively greeted him.
Han Zhong seemed to have nothing urgent, so he chatted with Lian Jizu. Seeing Han Zhong’s friendly attitude, Lian Jizu remembered his thoughts from the night before and tried mentioning it to Han Zhong.
"...a display of filial piety..." Han Zhong first sighed, then shook his head, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "We won’t say it as formal notification, just send a simple message. Our master and madam are kind-hearted; not mentioning it clearly, they might just turn a blind eye. Just right, today there’s a trip to the city. Is this Grand Master Jizu personally going?"
Lian Jizu naturally said he would go himself.
Soon, Lian Jizu got on Manman’s Family’s carriage and headed to Jinyang County Town. On the carriage, also sat Wu Lang’s servant, Xiao Fu, reportedly going to the city to deliver messages to the shopkeepers of the Lian’s Department Store and the restaurant, to arrange matters.
The carriage stopped at the Song Family’s gate. The gatekeepers recognized it as the Lian Shouxin’s family carriage and came out to greet it. Lian Jizu was invited in, and Xiao Fu was also invited to have tea.
By noon that day, Lian Jizu returned from the county town. When he came back, it wasn’t on Lian Shouxin’s family carriage; it was the Song Family that dispatched a carriage to bring him back. With him was a steward who visited the Old Master and Lady Zhou in the Upper Room, leaving behind a package of silver, without mentioning what it was intended for.
"...It’s truly unexpected..." Regarding Lady Gu’s death, the steward only said this, presumably knowing some inside details that were inconvenient to disclose.
"...The young mistress was already seriously ill, and being extremely filial, after hearing this news, she fainted on the spot. Adding insult to injury, the medicine she took, though not a mountain of gold and silver, almost went to waste. ...The young mistress looks unwell, and with our master by her side, it’s inconvenient for him to leave."
This steward recounted Lady Huahua’s worsening illness and other phrases before taking his leave from the old house and went to the Shouxin Family, also informing them of Lady Huahua’s critical condition, fearing she might not recover.
Lian Shouxin had gone to help at Lian Shouli’s farmstead, so it was Wu Lang who met with the steward. After hearing what he had to say, Wu Lang expressed no particular opinion, only inquiring about the wellness of Old Madam Song.
That steward conversed a few more words with Wu Lang before taking his leave.
The package of silver from the Song Family was directly locked into a cabinet by Lady Zhou. That afternoon, people were hired from the old house to carry Lady Gu’s coffin to Nanshan and buried her in a random spot far from the Lian Family’s ancestral tomb.
Time quickly turned to Qingming. One evening, the Song Family from the county sent someone to deliver the news that Lady Huahua, who had been ill for a long time, succumbed to her sorrow over Lady Gu’s passing, rendering the medicinal herbs ineffective, and passed away.
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The belated fourth update, apologies for keeping everyone waiting.
Just checked, in March, thanks to everyone’s support, there were 1249 pink tickets; according to Ruoyan’s promise, there are two more bonus Chapters, striving to deliver them in the next couple of days.
Once again, thank you for your support. Honestly, at the beginning of the month, Ruoyan thought you all would abandon me. Your unwavering support has moved Ruoyan and inspired me.
This month, Ruoyan will continue to work hard, update more, write better stories, and I hope you will continue to support me.
On the first day of April, early on asking for pink tickets, asking for your support, to advance on the pink ticket chart! (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
