A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1010 Sha Yanwen passed away

"What's wrong? Miss, I heard you came to the pawnshop to see me. Is there something you need?" Wu Mingqiang returned at this time. They must have left not long ago, as he set off shortly after them.

"Just now, Fourth Madam sent someone to inform us that Third Brother has passed away." Gui'er said calmly, "Well then, I don't know what the situation is over there. Brother Wu, why don't you go to the Zhao family and ask them how things are going and if they need any help?" Although Gui'er felt sorry that Sha Yanwen had died so young, their relationship was not very close. Besides, she had been in the Marshal's Mansion for so long and had experienced many funerals, big and small. At times like these, the most important thing for wealthy families is to maintain appearances.

Considering that although Sha Yanwen lived in his father-in-law's house, he was not a son-in-law, and that his funeral would probably need to be handled by the fourth concubine, Gui'er decided to send Wu Mingqiang over to check the situation and see if any help was needed. She would lend a hand then, as the deceased should be respected and past grievances should be put aside for the time being.

"Okay, I'll be right there." Wu Mingqiang agreed, went back to his room to change into a black suit, and then drove off.

"Actually, the Third Young Master is quite a nice person. Those of us who grew up in the Marshal's Mansion all know that he was gentle when he was young. The Fourth Concubine has a bad temper, and any servant who offends her will be severely punished. The Third Young Master often covers for the servants and speaks well of them. We, the maids of the Xiang generation, used to play with him when we were young. He would share his good food with us. In this respect, he is much better than Miss Lily. If the other sisters knew that the Third Young Master had died, they would definitely be sad too." Dingxiang murmured from the side.

Gui'er then realized that Dingxiang probably had a deeper affection for the third young master of the Marshal's Mansion than for herself, since they were about the same age and had grown up under the same roof.

“In that case, you can come with me to the mansion for the memorial service. You can offer incense and kowtow to Third Brother, which will fulfill your duty as master and servant,” Gui’er said.

After a while, Wu Mingqiang returned and said, "I went to ask Fourth Madam, and it seems that it's not her family that's handling the funeral, but his father-in-law Zhao's family. I went to the Zhao family, and the steward there initially told me that the Third Young Master had passed away at a young age. There weren't such strict rules, and it seemed that they just planned to find some monks to chant some scriptures for a day or two before the funeral. Later, Master Zhao changed his mind and said that everything would be done according to the proper etiquette. He told me to come back and tell Miss that he would ask her to accept his condolences."

Gui'er frowned. She had a bad feeling. She should have asked Fourth Madam herself. Now it sounded like the madam didn't want to spend money herself, but still wanted to make a grand show, so she deliberately sent Wu Mingqiang to put pressure on the Zhao family.

It's no use thinking about these things now. Besides, Sha Yanwen is dead, so it's good that he gets a grand funeral. Let him be used by the fourth concubine.

She glanced at Wu Mingqiang and said with a wry smile, "I think the Zhao family originally wanted to keep things simple, but for your sake, Brother Wu, they're planning to give Third Brother a more grand funeral. Oh well, we're relatives with Third Brother, so you can keep an eye on things and lend a hand if you need anything. If you need money, just pay from the pawnshop's account."

Wu Mingqiang nodded and said, "Miss, don't worry, I know what to do."

What he didn't say was that even if he had gone to the scene, the Zhao family didn't plan to give Sha Yanwen a grand funeral, even though the fourth concubine offered to pay for it herself.

The reason for the death of Sha Yanwen was simply that it was obvious at a glance that he had died from opium addiction, which would be too shameful if it got out. In any case, the Sha family was no longer the glorious warlord family it once was. Even though Fourth Aunt had boasted many times that Sha Yanyao and Sha Yanxiao were leading troops in battles in the mainland and holding high-ranking government positions, it was still a matter of being far from the emperor's reach.

So, having exhausted all other options, Fourth Concubine thought of Wu Mingqiang. She knew that Wu Mingqiang would definitely not give her face, but Gui'er was different. Judging from Gui'er's willingness to visit Sha Yanwen, she still cared about the friendship they had formed in the Marshal's Mansion.

As expected, when Wu Mingqiang arrived at the Zhao family's house, he saw that the Zhao family had invited a shaman to chant the "Reverse Head Sutra" for the deceased's soul to be delivered to the afterlife. Following this, a "road-opening" ceremony was performed, with a travel ticket bearing the deceased's information written on it placed on the body to facilitate the deceased's soul receiving offerings. A feng shui master was then consulted to determine the auspicious date and time for the encoffining, funeral procession, and burial.

The feng shui master was a smooth-talking, worldly man who had traveled the world for a long time. He actually set the next day as an auspicious day for the funeral and burial, and even bought a ready-made coffin. Wu Mingqiang didn't want to get involved, but he thought that if word got out, people would think that the Sha family had fallen on hard times, and his daughter would also be implicated and looked down upon in social circles.

He went to Master Zhao and said, "Master Zhao, why is my young master's funeral so soon after only two days of mourning? Is your family short of funds? If you don't have enough money, I can contribute some. Back in Jiangcheng, when anyone in the family passed away, it was a grand funeral that caused a sensation throughout the city. I know things will be different in Hong Kong, but we can't rush things. We have to have what we need, otherwise people won't say that the Sha family has lost its glory, but rather that you, Master Zhao, are stingy. That wouldn't be good."

Upon hearing this, Master Zhao was so frightened that his forehead was covered in sweat. He quickly waved his hands and said, "I dare not, I dare not. The Sha family is a wealthy and powerful clan. It is a blessing for the Zhao family to have such a virtuous son-in-law. Just now, it was that master's apprentice who was ignorant and made a wrong calculation. I will ask the feng shui master to calculate it again. I will also order a high-end coffin without nails and prepare a large number of paper replicas of mansions, carriages and horses as burial items, and set up an impressive mourning hall at home."

Wu Mingqiang patted Master Zhao on the shoulder and said, "Our third young master died young, and we have to trouble our elders to worry about him. It is indeed not right, but Master Zhao has been so devoted. Our Sha family will remember your kindness."

"Of course, of course," Master Zhao said hastily.

Wu Mingqiang looked around again, and Master Zhao hurriedly ordered his servants to correct all the shortcomings before he left satisfied.

The next day, when Gui'er went to pay her respects, a rather respectable mourning tent had already been set up. Gui'er offered incense and paid her respects according to etiquette, and then she saw her third sister-in-law, whom she hadn't seen for a long time. The third sister-in-law was wearing mourning clothes and bowing her head, but she was still quite dignified. It was when Gui'er told her to accept her loss that she only frowned slightly, nodded, and said nothing more, without any sadness in her expression.

Gui'er stepped aside and then heard the other guests talking.