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.
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!!!
...