Chapter 2: Great Sorrow and Great Calamity

  In the ninth month of the fourth year of Wanli, the central plains and the capital city of the Great Ming had their first snow.

  The snow is not heavy, but officials and scholars in the capital immediately wrote poems and essays to praise the auspicious snow and prosperous year. To have such an auspicious sign, it must be due to Your Majesty's wisdom and the wise governance of Prime Minister Zhang.

  These things have nothing to do with Wang Tong running in the snow. A year has passed and he has grown taller, more like a grown-up.

  His family lives in the south of the Imperial City, also known as Nancheng. This is where common people and lower-ranking officials live, and walking around here doesn't give you a sense of the grandeur and wealth of the capital.

  Snowflakes danced, but the weather wasn't very cold. Wang Tong jogged into a store, and the shop assistant saw that a customer had arrived, so he hurried over to greet him and used a brush to sweep the snow off Wang's clothes.

  The shopkeeper and his assistant were polite but didn't have much of a smile on their faces, not because they weren't good at doing business, but because they ran a store that sold incense and sacrificial offerings.

  "Shopkeeper, give me three days' worth of white candles for the funeral, a bundle of incense sticks, and cut twenty sheets of yellow paper... Can you send someone to deliver them?"

  Wang Tong said in a low voice, seeing the half-grown child's eyes red and face full of sorrow, the old shopkeeper and his apprentices naturally knew what had happened, and they quickly nodded in response.

  After returning to Beijing from Macau, Wang Li and his son Wang Tong traveled for almost half a year. The long journey made Wang Li's already frail body even more fragile.

  After returning to the capital, Wang Li went to the Zhenfu Temple to hand over his duties and fell ill after a few days. The imperial physician invited by Wang Tong diagnosed him as incurable, and all three physicians said so. Wang Tong took good care of him for several months, but on the day before the first snowfall, Wang Li finally passed away in bed.

  Wang Tong was overcome with grief and wanted to die. In his previous life, he had been an orphan; in this life, his mother had died early, and now his father was leaving him too - did he have to live the rest of his life alone and without support?

  Although he was nearly forty years old, he was still at a loss when faced with this situation, and all he could do was cry loudly in front of his father's body.

  Mrs. Ma, who still lives next door, heard the commotion and couldn't help but come over to take a look. Although Wang Li is a member of the Imperial Guard, he gets along well with his neighbors, and Mrs. Ma has helped him out quite a bit during his illness.

  Seeing Wang Tong wailing, the woman comforted him for a few words, and the body was placed like this, it's not a big deal, let's get the funeral over with as soon as possible, and rest in peace.

  Life had to go on, and Wang Tong, who was also suppressing his grief, could only follow the advice of his neighbors. Under the guidance of Ma Widow, he prepared all sorts of things such as coffins, mourning clothes, spirit tablets, and funeral banners. The Wang family didn't have many relatives in the capital, so Wang Tong went to the Jin Yiwei Ministry to report the death and inform several old friends of Wang Li's.

  After buying incense in this shop, we will soon welcome guests from all over to pay their respects. There are still some things that need to be arranged at home.

  After Wang Tong paid the silver money, he hurriedly ran home.

  Heavy snow, and it was lunchtime again. The narrow streets were very quiet. Wang Tong ran for a while, but had to slow down his pace.

  Because there were two Jin Yiwei wearing flying fish robes walking in front of him with a swagger, although Wang Tong was also a son of the Jin Yiwei, he never dared to rely on this identity to be arrogant. Wang Li was just a small flag, managing less than ten people under him, and above him were higher officials such as the general flag, hundred households, thousand households, not to mention that there were hidden dragons and crouching tigers at the foot of the emperor, what could this little power amount to?

  Seeing the two Jin Yiwei in front of him, Wang Tong didn't dare to run over, lest he be stopped and questioned by the other party, which would be troublesome.

  Wang Tong, as a son of the Brocade Guard, naturally understood how arrogant these people were. Moreover, his father had died from illness, and he had already lost his reliance.

  When they approached, one of the two turned back and glanced at him. Wang Tong was wearing a woolen hat with a wide brim, his head lowered so that his face couldn't be seen clearly. Moreover, he had slowed down his pace, so he didn't pay attention to it either.

  He was about to pass by, but heard the mention of "Wang Li" in front, and upon hearing his late father's name, Wang Li was suddenly startled, immediately slowing down his pace, and instead followed behind the other person.

  "If I'm dead, then just let me be dead, why bother going through the trouble of holding a memorial service? On a cold snowy day like today, it's really not pleasant!"

  "Liu, don't be angry with this consumptive devil, today Xiaodi is treating you to a drink to warm up your body!"

  "...This King Li is back from the south, I suppose his family's wealth has increased a lot?"

  "Liu said, those who followed him back said, there will be no less than two thousand taels."

  "Hmm, those southern merchants are really willing to spend money."

  "Wang Li is gone, and that son of his is just a good-for-nothing. It's easy to get this silver money back... the Wang family's mansion on the street..."

  Two Jin Yiwei spoke carelessly, but Wang Tong, who followed behind them, felt a chill from the outside that pierced through to his skin and flesh, his whole body cool and refreshing.

  Wang Li stayed in Macau for some time, and the local officials and Sino-foreign merchants all showed respect, indeed accumulating a lot of money to bring back. After returning to Beijing to treat his illness, he spent some, leaving more than 2,100 taels of silver. When Wang Li was dying, he told Wang Tong, "Don't stay in the capital, take this money back to our old home in Jining Prefecture, buy some land and houses, and live a peaceful life." However, it turned out that this money had already been eyed by someone.

  Before they had gone a few steps, the two Jin Yiwei in front of them turned into a wine shop. Wang Tong saw clearly the profile of the man opposite him - that "Liu head" with a pointed mouth and cheekbones, sporting a goatee, thin and gaunt in appearance. The person fawning on his side was tall and sturdy, with a full beard covering his face.

  But what shocked Wang Tong even more was the waist token that Liu Tou had revealed, a black iron waist token. This waist token represented the official rank of the Brocade Guard - General Flag, one general flag set above five small flags, higher than Wang Li's official rank.

  After those two entered the tavern, Wang Tong didn't dare follow them in and instead ran back towards his own home.

  Wang Tong's home was a two-story house facing the street, and most of the houses on this street were various shops, which were quite prosperous, making this house worth some money.

  When he returned home, Wang Tong was already in a state of panic. His family had just suffered a great disaster, and yet there were people who wanted to come and take over his property, not even leaving this mansion for himself, wanting to wipe him out completely.

  What can I do? I'm all alone with no relatives or friends, and I'm only thirteen years old this year. I don't have the ability to cope at all.

  The widow Ma had already asked someone to call the person in charge of the funeral, and the hall of the Wang family was arranged like a mourning hall, waiting for Wang Tong's return. Seeing him walking in with a dazed expression, she couldn't help but ask with concern:

  "Child, Auntie knows you're having a hard time, but there's still a long way to go in life. If you get sick and ruin your body, what will you do..."

  Wang Tong reluctantly nodded and replied:

  "Auntie, I'm fine, if you hadn't come to help this time, I really wouldn't have known what to do."

  He was truly grateful, a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. In this matter, the woman in her 40s helped their family a lot. Wang Li only helped the poor woman speak a fair word at the government office back then.

  A lot has happened in the past six months, and similar episodes have occurred on myself, feeling sentimental.

  Additionally, thank you Shanying 2010 for the reward and all friends for collecting, it's been a long time since I left, thank you for still remembering me.