Song Ci walked into the mourning hall, greeted by a sea of white, with the smoke from incense and paper money making eyes water.
In the northwest corner of the hall, kneeled a group of female relatives and mourning children, all quite young, with few adult n present.
Song Ci turned her gaze away, feeling an indescribable emotion.
With the downfall of the nation and family, for the clans who surrendered, at least two to three generations won’t amount to much, surviving just to pass on the lineage.
The current Xia family is increasingly weak in inheritance, it’s not an exaggeration to say it’s on the decline, and now with the deaths of a few more people, this already unprosperous clan is further burdened.
Song Ci let out a sigh, stepped forward to receive a stick of incense handed by the host family, held it reverently with three bows, silently wishing in her heart for the next life not to be born into an imperial family, and then placed the incense into the burner.
She then faced the mourning children, with a slight bow of her head to express deep condolences, accepting their kowtows, thus completing her mourning.
As for viewing the remains, that was unnecessary.
She, being an old lady, abstained from doing this, to avoid feeling discomfort, especially since the deceased was not particularly close.
Song Ci raised her head, scanning the female relatives, her gaze sweeping over one woman’s face, causing her eyelid to twitch slightly.
"Madam Dowager, please rest here for a while." Xia Zhe asked his wife to lead her to have tea and rest.
Song Ci followed her, arriving at a side room for guests to sit and drink tea, where several female relatives were quietly conversing, upon seeing Song Ci, they all stood up to greet her.
"Grandmother, I will wait for you outside." Seeing this, Song Lingzhao stopped following her.
Song Ci nodded: "This is the Xia family’s gathering, do not wander around to prevent offending others."
Though Song Lingzhao is straightforward, he is not without manners, knowing his place, he nodded positively, waiting outside in the courtyard.
Song Ci sat down, the few madams inside uttered congratulations, after all, Song Zhicheng had obtained an official position, though a powerless post, it sounds better than nothing.
These are good words, Song Ci smiled faintly: "It’s all due to the imperial grace, not worth ntioning, all for the service of the Great Qing, loyalty to the Emperor. Indeed, being here, you’ll still have to visit those few households of the Zhao family."
Those wise enough would understand Song Ci was shifting the topic, and wouldn’t continue speaking of such felicitations, but soone didn’t get the hint, saying: "Madam Dowager Song truly is fortunate, with four officials from the Song family in place, you are indeed the top in the capital."
Song Ci’s smile faded, asking: "Which household are you from?"
The madam’s smiling face froze slightly.
Nanny Gong looked at the madam, slightly bowed, saying: "Madam Dowager, this is the sister of Madam Bai, Mrs. Xie, the wife of Junior Minister Xie from the Honglu Temple."
So it turned out to be Madam Bai’s sister, no wonder she was so oblivious.
Song Ci said: "So it’s Mrs. Xie, I understand your intention to ingratiate and flatter , hence the unending complints, but there’s no need, considering the current situation, maintain respect for the spirits, after all, a funeral is taking place."
See, how earnest and magnanimous?
Subtlety, forget it, as Mrs. Xie didn’t respond to the obvious topic shift, a direct approach is needed, given her inability to understand nuances.
If she did understand yet still intended to steer the Song family’s narrative, deliberately congratulating them during a funeral, inciting unnecessary resentnt, then subtlety is even more unwarranted.
Mrs. Xie’s face darkened, this old lady, truly shows no courtesy.
"Madam Dowager Song, you’re really here."
User Comments
0 comments from readers