This was an incomplete Spring Festival.
Fang Hengyuan went far away to Beijiang, Zheng Ruqian was delayed outside, Chang Yan was deeply mired in the Imperial City, and Fu Feng lost his life.
The once bustling courtyard was now left with only three siblings, or four if you counted Wang Mingyu who was temporarily staying there, and the unwilling-to-leave Master of Anshui Prefecture.
"They said they will send Fu Feng for burial before leaving," Wang Mingyu said in a low voice, hesitant to continue. "What about Ruqian? Isn't he coming back for the New Year?"
He should have been back before the New Year.
But with his flock, it was understandable he got delayed. If he couldn't make it back, then so be it.
When young, naive and ignorant, one always felt that a reunion must happen every New Year.
When grown up, it became apparent that everyone was busy with their own affairs, and separation was the norm.
As long as they kept each other in their hearts, as long as they worked together to overcome everything, what did physical distance matter?
But thinking Wang Mingyu probably only had this one friend, Xu Mo swallowed back the words on the tip of his tongue. "He will be back very soon. Anyway, Wang family, did Fu Feng leave any instructions?"
Wang Mingyu regained his spirit. "Third Uncle and Wang Haoran are eyeing me like tigers watching prey, but I have all the cards and the keys to the storehouses and granaries. Fu Feng said the Wang family business could fail but not the livelihoods of all the families relying on our shops and farms."
Over the years following his cousin, he had learned quite a bit of business acumen himself. Perhaps he could not expand the Wang family interests, but preserving them would be enough.
"Good. Then you keep control of the Wang family and take good care of Third Uncle and his son." Xu Mo turned his head, his gaze calm but piercing. "When I say 'take good care', I mean they should live well."
He did not deliberately target or torment them out of malice, but would sincerely see to their well-being.
Yet they were the culprits behind Fu Feng's murder!
Wang Mingyu's face was filled with incomprehension, wanting to speak but stopping himself.
Xu Mo laughed heavily. The previously elegant youth had suddenly turned cold and ruthless. "Let them live well - Third Uncle, Wang Haoran, Third Lady Wang, and the Zhou family - let them all live nice lives. I will take revenge for Brother Fu Feng myself and deliver those scumbags to hell personally."
"There is no need to spread news of Fu Feng's death, just say he is recuperating from illness in Fengjing. My teachers will help hush things up."
"But..." Wang Mingyu stammered. "But Wang Yuyao already knows, she will surely pass word to Anshui Prefecture."
"Don't worry about it," Xu Mo rose to his feet. "She will have no time to pass on any messages soon."
While the poison that killed Wang Fu Feng seemed to be administered by Third Uncle and Wang Haoran, Wang Yuyao had merely instigated things from the sidelines. How could the Fang family possibly wash their hands of this?
They had only wanted to ruin Xu Mo but ended up harming an innocent person instead.
They deserved to die.
Moreover, Young Master Fu Feng had fought desperately to expose corruption in the civil service examinations, paving an open path for him. How could he fail to seize this opportunity?
"The Fang family deserves death, Fang Yuan deserves death, Wang Yuyao deserves death..."
Xu Mo murmured as he walked into the courtyard.
It was the eve of the New Year Festival, and the heavy snow could not dampen the joyful spirit. Firecrackers and fireworks filled the air, and the people of Fengjing laughed merrily as they walked past carrying red lanterns, contrasting with the peace and stillness of the small yard.
Master Kong had commissioned a thick and sturdy old coffin, and Young Master Fu Feng now lay inside.
Jiang Sheng and Wen Zhiyun stood guard at the door, staring blankly out at the snow, lost in thought.
Perhaps they were missing their elder brothers.
Xu Mo walked over and ruffled the hair of the two young ones before heading over to stand silently before the coffin, amidst the gently falling snow.
Suddenly the night sky exploded with bursts of dazzling fireworks.
In the noble houses, the spectacle was greatest in the Imperial City, as if heralding an end to the old and the beginning of the new, starting a fresh chapter.
"Brother Fu Feng, I am finally the same age as you," the youth murmured, bending down beside the coffin. "You were seventeen, and now I am seventeen too."
"I will avenge you, fulfil your dreams in your stead, and walk the path ahead for you."
"The great roc takes flight with the wind, rising ninety-thousand li."
"Watch me, Brother Fu Feng."
According to old traditions, the deceased had to lie in state for seven days before burial, with weeping and wailing to speed the soul on its way, and family members in sackcloth and ashes to demonstrate filial mourning.
But Fu Feng did not need any of that.
On the first day of the new year, Xu Mo was out roaming the outskirts of the city, selecting a hill to the west.
All relatives and friends changed into plain robes and saw him off silently.
The grave itself was dug by hired laborers, with the coffin transported by the carts of Jiang San and Jiang Si.
Passing through Fengjing, they could still hear the intense debates between scholars over resisting fate, resisting injustice, and resisting the powerful noble clans. The case of corruption in the civil service examinations stirred ever more heated discussion, with public opinion turning against the Fangs once more.
But it was not enough. Nowhere near enough.
The carts stopped at the hill to the west of the city. For the remainder of the journey the coffin would have to be carried up the hill on their shoulders.
All the men present lent their shoulders, except Wen Zhiyun who was pushed aside. Together they hefted up the wooden coffin and lowered it gently into the prepared deep pit.
"Should we bury him now or choose an auspicious time?" Wang Mingyu asked sorrowfully.
Without realizing it, his cousin and friend had become pillars of support, his mainstays.
"Wait a little longer," Xu Mo gazed into the distance.
Though confused, everyone kept silent and waited.
After about the time needed to drink a cup of tea, a black-robed youth came panting up the hill, followed by his sole personal guard and the jade token that proclaimed his imperial prince status.
"Brother Fu Feng," Chang Yan choked back grief. "I didn't even get to see you one last time."
"Fifth Brother," Jiang Sheng's lips quivered in upset and shock. "How did you get out? And how did you know?"
For someone trapped deep in the Imperial City, even seeking an audience was difficult, let alone sending messages.
To slip away from surveillance and rush over here must have cost tremendous effort.
"I asked it of Lord Dou yesterday," Xu Mo lowered his gaze. "Madam Dou snuck into the palace to pass my message and contacted Little Five somehow."
Originally he had not wanted to ask for favors or become beholden.
Clearly he had reached the limits of his endurance to resort to this move.
Having spent considerable time together with Wang Fu Feng in the Wang manor, Chang Yan's personal bond went without saying. At the very least he had to see his friend off on his final journey.
"Now that you're here, let's put his coffin into the ground," Xu Mo sighed lightly.
The snow had ceased, the coffin wiped clean. Together they lifted the coffin, pure and unblemished as its occupant, lowering Young Master Fu Feng gently into his final resting place, covering him with humble dirt.
As the coffin disappeared from sight, the elegant and righteous young master had at last sunk into eternal slumber.
"Go slowly, Young Master!" a Wang servant called out hoarsely, moving everyone to tears.
Some of Anshui's masters and teachers, dabbing their eyes, began shaping the mound over the grave.
There was no tombstone, not even a wooden name plaque could mark the site.
But it did not matter. One day, his friends would erect a brand new engraved monument stone for him.
"Farewell, Fu Feng!"
After laying his friend to rest, Xu Mo did not return to the city. Instead, he led the horse carts back home, sending off Wang Mingyu and the rest.
"Though we set off together, somehow one fewer returned," Master Qian said with red-rimmed eyes. "Xiao Mo, you have my word, I will absolutely keep this secret forever."
"Xu, you can rest assured, I will remain in charge of the Wang household and look after Third Uncle and Wang Haoran well." Wang Mingyu clenched his fist in promise.
In the end, he had not been able to await the return of his friend, departing in solitude.
As the carts gradually disappeared into the distance, Xu Mo finally turned to face the disguised Chang Yan. His gaze was profound, cold and ruthless. "Little Five, I can't endure any longer."
I will endure no more passive waiting.
