The funeral ceremony was lively.
A circle of masters surrounded the area, chanting sutras while striking wooden fish.
It was a service to guide the soul.
They walked around, hearing the mother murmuring softly below: "Eight taels... eight taels... eight taels..."
Mianmian carefully counted.
One ceremony involved ten rounds.
Eighty taels of silver.
Nine days.
Eight times nine is seventy-two, seven hundred and twenty taels of silver.
This spending was truly like flowing water.
Over seven hundred taels of silver converted to father's salary would take more than three years of not eating or drinking.
Their filial piety was admirable.
Living in the capital was not easy.
These ceremonial affairs were much more expensive than in Jingzhou.
There, holding a funeral service for a hundred taels would be quite grand, with many monks chanting sutras.
The monks in the capital had higher wages.
Add to that a year of eternal lamps and various miscellaneous items.
It came to about a thousand taels of silver.
This was just a memorial for the deceased, with no practical use for the living, only providing some spiritual comfort.
Of course, if the organizer approached it with a painful mindset, there would be basically no comfort, as the pain of losing money would overshadow any consolation.
But despite the pain, Qin Luoxia put on a very generous face.
She was very quick and didn't haggle.
She was afraid that if she bargained, she might change her mind.
Zi Congheng watched the monks chanting in circles, feeling somewhat amused inside.
Father didn't like people mumbling near his ears.
He wondered if so many monks chanting together would anger father enough to crawl out of the underworld.
He could also understand Aunt Qin's pain regarding the money.
Aunt Qin was actually a very frugal person in daily life.
There were rarely scenes of waste in the household.
Aunt Qin worked hard to manage the household, and it seemed a large part of the reason was to eliminate waste, rather than truly grasping the big picture from a high vantage point.
He only discovered this after living there for a few days.
Obviously, it wasn't as Mr. Ji had said; Mr. Ji claimed that Madam Qin had great wisdom, but sometimes great wisdom is just a misunderstanding arising from life's little techniques.
But Zi Congheng liked Aunt Qin this way.
There was no great wisdom or innate nobility, just a vivid and interesting person, and being around Aunt Qin gave a sense of complete security.
After completing the first day of the ceremony, they could stay overnight or come back the next day.
Since the distance wasn't far, they chose to return.
...
The master who had earned eighty taels from performing one ceremony was called for questioning.
Mount Tai Temple was famous for its beautiful scenery.
In fact, most people could only see half of Mount Tai Temple's landscape.
So there were always people who came with high expectations but left disappointed, feeling it was overrated.
Actually, it wasn't.
The most beautiful part of Mount Tai Temple had been cordoned off by a mysterious noble.
Even though it was clearly within the temple, they couldn't enter.
It was like hitting a wall with Buddha, going in circles.
But occasionally, people from inside would come out.
Just like now, Jinghui was called for questioning.
"A madam with two children, one boy and one girl. The madam's face is unfamiliar, hasn't been here before. The ceremony is for a man, with his birth date and death date provided."
The paper with the birth and death dates was passed in.
Hui Yun's pupils constricted slightly as she looked at the birth date.
It was the same as the Crown Prince's birthday. When her royal brother the Crown Prince was born that day, he was extremely happy, held a three-day feast, and also gifted her an observatory tower.
That woman didn't look like a noble family's madam, but the child resembled her somewhat. Could it be the Crown Prince's child from a concubine?
The death date was also the day the Crown Prince passed away.
Too many coincidences.
Hui Yun played with the wooden beads in her hand.
At first glance, it was just a piece of wood, light as a feather.
But after rubbing it in her hand for a while, there was a faint fragrance, very subtle but quite pleasant.
Hui Yun had been detached from worldly affairs for a long time, living according to her own preferences. It wasn't as outsiders imagined - not just living with an oil lamp and Buddha, settling for the rest of her life. She had many hobbies, from big ones like rock climbing and bungee jumping (death-defying Master Ancestor) to small ones like beading...
If it was her nephew's child, then the beads being taken away was fine. Otherwise, she quite liked them.
They had scheduled nine days of ceremonies, so they should meet again.
Hui Yun waved her hand, letting Jinghui leave.
Just as he didn't know how he had entered, he suddenly found himself outside.
Jinghui stood in front of the main hall, rubbing his bald head. Well, he might as well go add oil to the eternal lamps. The affairs of the noble were the noble's business; his affairs were his own.
...
In the carriage on the way back.
Mianmian was thinking of writing to her brother, asking him to help bring her dance troupe to the capital. The business scope in the capital was broader. The capital was so big, surely more people died, and there would be more clients needing soul-guiding services.
This market couldn't be missed.
While thinking, she played with her newly acquired bracelet. The color combination was really nice, looking better the more she looked at it.
This grandma seemed to have a bad temper at first, but was actually quite warm-hearted.
She felt like a Capricorn, a bit of a dark horse. (The author is a Capricorn.)
Zi Congheng looked at the beaded bracelet in her hand, especially the lifelike dragon coiled on the gold bead. It must be extremely rare.
For a craftsman to carve two dragons on such a small gold bead was truly a work of exquisite skill.
Mianmian seemed to have no concept of such intricate work.
But these beads were definitely not ordinary.
Even his father probably rarely had such items.
"Where did you get this from?" he asked.
"There was a backyard in the temple with an old grandma stringing beads. I complimented her work, so she gave it to me," Mianmian replied.
"What old grandma?" Zi Congheng suddenly remembered something his father had warned about before, not to go to Mount Tai Temple as it was very strange.
After his father's death, those words had become background noise, and he had forgotten.
He had even arranged his father's funeral ceremony at Mount Tai Temple. Well, well, well, his father must be very excited.
He also recalled a rumor in the capital that Princess Hui Yun might be living in Mount Tai Temple, but Princess Hui Yun had a bad temper. Those who offended Princess Hui Yun never had a good outcome, either death or injury.
Watching Mianmian holding the bracelet, calling "old grandma" this and "old grandma" that.
Zi Congheng could only think that her ancestors must be banging their heads in the underworld to have sent her back.
While others were being wise and discreet, Mianmian was already a hero.
"What did that person look like?" he asked.
"Couldn't see her face, it was all covered up. But she should be a very beautiful grandma, right? Her aura was great, don't you think, Mother?" Mianmian cued her mother.
Mother was lost in thought, not knowing what she was thinking about.
Qin Luoxia was still pondering the moment when she turned around and felt someone lock onto her silhouette, with a hint of killing intent. They still had eight more days of ceremonies at Mount Tai Temple, should she make some preparations?
"Ah, that old lady? She should be quite beautiful," she responded.
Zi Congheng: ...
Well, he wondered if his father was among those banging their heads in the underworld.
...
As the carriage headed back, the sunset appeared.
Bathed in the sunset, it created a unique scenery.
Extremely brilliant.
The whole city was vibrant and lively.
There was a tavern by the roadside.
Meng Qingshe was being treated by the Ninth Prince.
The Ninth Prince asked him what was going on, and Meng Qingshe, being quite sincere with his bird-catching buddy, explained that this was arranged by his old in-law, it might not be true, and told him not to buy it, asking if he didn't already have the answers.
The Ninth Prince glanced at Meng Qingshe, not sure if he was truly foolish or pretending to be.
His answers were just to fool Meng Qingshe.
But wasn't Meng Qingshe's in-law the new favorite of Prime Minister Lu, Chamberlain Ji?
It was said that Prime Minister Lu valued him exceptionally and would promote him sooner or later.
On the first day Chamberlain Ji finished his shift, Prime Minister Lu waited half the night for him.
This important position of Chamberlain was personally appointed by Prime Minister Lu.
This time, it was said that Chamberlain Ji organized everyone to study laws and regulations in detail, which was probably Prime Minister Lu's idea, just put under the new person's name.
This collection of money was likely related to Prime Minister Lu as well.
Prime Minister Lu had a falling out with the Ministry of Revenue last month.
Although one person could buy the key answers for two hundred taels and then share them with others,
everyone in the circle knew better than to be so shortsighted and stingy. If you bought it, Prime Minister Lu might not remember you, but if you didn't buy it, Prime Minister Lu would definitely remember.
Prime Minister Lu was the most petty and narrow-minded person.
So at the banquet, led by the Ninth Prince, a group of people rushed to buy answers from Meng Qingshe.
They also asked Meng Qingshe to record it, with everyone just giving money and not even asking Meng Qingshe to prepare the answers, saying they would share and view them themselves.
Meng Qingshe was dumbfounded at the amount of money he collected. As expected of civil officials, their style was indeed excellent.
Spending their own money, copying the answers themselves, and even registering themselves.
Without anyone urging them, they went upstairs and got to work on their own!!!
...
