Chapter 2 Funeral Matters

  "Don't be afraid, tell me!" Deng Zixuan's two eyes stared at the maid. "Young master! You... called Deng Zixuan! He is the second young master of the Deng family!" "I'm called Deng Zixuan, and I'm the second young master of the Deng family?" His brain quickly thought back to what had just happened, and it seemed that not long ago, he was someone else. Seeing the maid's terrified face, Deng Zixuan couldn't help but mutter to himself. "Could it be that the young master has even forgotten his own name?" The maid blurted out. "What's your name?" "My name is Xiaohong!" Deng Zixuan pressed on relentlessly.

  "Little Red Girl, don't be afraid. My mind is a bit muddled. Tell me about the Deng family situation?" Deng Zixuan released Little Red's hand. The maid Little Red rubbed her sore arm and stared at Young Master's face as if she was no longer afraid. She then told him everything about the Deng family from start to finish, finally saying: "Young Master, I know you're very upset, we're also upset for you. You just have a bit of a fevered imagination, the doctor said that after a good night's sleep, you'll be fine tomorrow." Little Red tried to comfort Deng Zixuan.

  "Little Red Sister, you're so good!" Deng Zixuan said, and then suddenly hugged Little Red and kissed her cheek. Little Red's body went soft and she knelt on the ground with a pale face, saying: "Young Master, absolutely not! If Madam finds out, she'll think I'm seducing you and will drive me away!" Deng Zixuan helped Little Red up and said: "Don't worry, Madam won't find out. As long as I don't say anything, who would know? But what I ask you, you must also keep secret!" Little Red looked at the young master in confusion, nodding repeatedly, she was a bit dizzy!

  After Xiaohong left, Deng Zixuan opened the food box and ate a delicious meal, then lay down on the hay and fell asleep. He had learned everything he urgently needed to know, and was finally satisfied. The next day's sun would rise as usual, and he didn't care about anything else for now. First, he would rest and recover his energy. After listening to Xiaohong's account, Mrs. Deng felt that her son was not seriously injured. Of course, Xiaohong had concealed the truth, otherwise, Mrs. Deng would have been unable to eat or sleep. At bedtime, Mrs. Deng served the old master and then went to bed early.

  The sky was bright, and Mrs. Deng had the habit of getting up early. She slept on the inner side, and she had to climb over her husband's body to get down. She glanced at her husband and found that his face was pale and somewhat strange, and her heart skipped a beat. She involuntarily stretched out her hand to touch him. Mr. Deng's body had already stiffened, and Mrs. Deng let out a sharp cry and fainted... Deng Zixuan heard the maid's summons and rushed over, arriving at the terrifying mourning hall to find his father lying on a bier, covered with a white cloth, while men and women knelt on the ground crying together.

  A servant led him to kneel down beside his mother, with a white band tied around his waist and a mourning hat on his head. The wailing of his mother and the maidservant was heart-wrenching, while on the other side of his mother, there was also a man who was crying bitterly, accompanied by a woman kneeling beside him, dressed in mourning attire and weeping sorrowfully. It seemed that the man on the right was his elder brother, and the woman next to him must be his sister-in-law.

  His brother and sister-in-law stood in a line with his mother on the other side, while Deng Zixuan leaned forward, trying to catch a glimpse of his sister-in-law's face with the corner of his eye. However, she was wearing a mourning hat and crying softly, making it impossible for him to see her clearly. It wasn't hard to understand why Deng Zixuan had this mindset - after all, his physical body belonged to this family, but his soul had no connection to them whatsoever. The corpse lying in front of him seemed to have nothing to do with him, let alone evoke any feelings. The only stirrings in his heart were a certain fear towards the dead body, and as for sorrow or grief, those thoughts didn't even exist. He was even somewhat resentful that he had just been reborn only to face destruction again.

  Although he was not sad in his heart, the atmosphere around him and his mother's sorrowful crying made his expression also enter a certain atmosphere. Soon, the coffin was carried up, and the body was about to be buried. All the people kneeling on the ground rearranged themselves on both sides. His mother was persuaded to leave, and his elder brother knelt down in front of him on the right side. Deng Zixuan lined up second, with a small boy next to him. The little boy must have been his nephew. Looking at the young body of the little boy, who was also kneeling here, Deng Zixuan felt a sense of sadness and sighs.

  Below her was his sister-in-law. Deng Zixuan took a good look at his sister-in-law's face, which was ordinary in appearance, with small eyes but very white skin. It seemed that the fair skin of women from Suzhou and Hangzhou had something to do with the local water and soil. Since ancient times, it has not been an empty rumor that beautiful women have emerged from these places. Even if a woman's appearance is ordinary, as long as her skin is fair, she is still pleasant to look at. His sister-in-law kept her head down and continued to sob, never looking around. The women of this era adhered to the traditional virtues of women, which were truly commendable.

  Then he observed his elder brother, whose face was slightly dark and had a thick appearance, looking like an honest person. Deng Zixuan suddenly remembered that he didn't know what his own face looked like, so he used his hand to touch his cheek, feeling different from his brother. Thinking about it, it made sense - studying hard in the cold window, shouldering the heavy responsibility of bringing honor to ancestors, he must have a strong scholarly aura. At this moment, his father's body was placed in the coffin, with the lid slanted on top and a seam showing at both ends.

  Deng Zixuan had never seen a real coffin before, only a flat feeling. Now facing the real coffin, he felt a little apprehensive and cautious. The purple-red varnish on the coffin had dulled, losing its bright color, it seemed that the master of the house had prepared the coffin for himself long ago. Yesterday when his father was scolding him, there didn't seem to be any signs of serious illness, this proved that his father's sudden death was either a cerebral hemorrhage or myocardial infarction, Deng Zixuan solidified his judgment.

  The servant girl brought the food box, and everyone hastily finished their meal. Although Deng Zixuan's stomach was growling, when he saw his brother simply eating a little, he could only pretend to follow suit. The mourning hall was decorated with some white and frightening decorations, and it was inevitable that they would look around nervously. "Zixuan!" His brother scolded him in a low, gentle voice, meaning to tell him to behave. Deng Zixuan had no choice but to lower his head and pretend, probably because his brother saw that there were no tear stains on his face and was worried that his brother would have another episode of madness.

  The next program was naturally a condolence, with wave after wave of people coming to pay their respects. There were no relatives among the guests who came, presumably because they were not in this place. Upon closer observation, many of them were ordinary citizens, and there were almost no officials present. The people who came were either Father's business friends or old acquaintances, while another group consisted of neighbors from the surrounding area. As each group arrived, Deng Zi Xuan and his elder brother would kneel down and kowtow, and they had to be sincere. By nearly noon, Deng Zi Xuan's knees were already red and swollen, but he had to grit his teeth and persevere.

  Afternoon, finally no one came, Deng Zixuan stood up to exercise his body. His brother and sister-in-law were standing on the side with a still sad and silent expression. His sister-in-law was also taking care of her little nephew. Deng Zixuan arranged for this little guy to follow him and toss around all morning, but he didn't know how tired he was and was very well-behaved. It seemed that the little guy had realized what had happened. "Big sister is here!" someone suddenly shouted loudly at the door. Deng Zixuan was stunned, knowing that his sister had arrived.

  Because my brother-in-law is the Shanghai Taoist priest, they live very far away. After receiving the news and rushing on the road, they arrived late. Following the house servant's shouting, a young woman with a slightly plump figure appeared, accompanied by a maid, stumbling into the room. "Father, father! Why did you leave like that? Your daughter didn't even have a chance to see you!" The woman wailed and cried loudly on her knees in front of the coffin. A man about 40 years old with a stout build followed behind her, also kneeling on the ground.

  Deng Zixuan's first impression of his sister was that she looked very beautiful, and the shoes exposed at the back of her knees were obviously small feet, which made him feel sorry for his sister. Then he observed his brother-in-law kneeling beside his sister, who had a round face, long eyes, and two thin mustaches that were sparse and scattered. Especially on his oily and shiny face, there was a hint of cunning, and the key point was that this brother-in-law was much older than his sister. Deng Zixuan felt somewhat indignant, it was like a beautiful flower inserted into cow dung. At this moment, his mother came out from the back hall, and the two women hugged each other and started crying again.

  In the afternoon, Brother-in-law kept watch in the mourning hall, and Deng Zixuan and his elder brother took a nap, because at night the two brothers would take turns keeping vigil. At dinner time, the maid called Deng Zixuan to wake him up, saying that Madam wanted him to go to her room. Entering Mother's room, he saw his sister and mother sitting separately by the Eight Immortals table. "Zixuan! I've heard about your situation, look at you now, you're much better. Don't blame yourself, Father's passing is not your fault! Since the beginning of the year, Father's body has been poor, that's what he thought......" Sister got up to comfort Deng Zixuan, holding his arm and speaking softly, then choked back tears again.

  Deng Zixuan glanced at his mother, and only then did he get a clear look at her face. Xiaohong had said that his mother was over 40 years old, but the woman in front of him looked like she was in her 60s based on her appearance. It seemed that people aged quickly in this era. According to historical records, the average lifespan of Chinese people in the 19th century was only over 30 years old, so it wasn't surprising that his mother looked like an old lady in her 60s.

  Deng Zixuan didn't know what to say and just nodded. "Zixuan, since you're not feeling well, take care of yourself for the first half of the night! Let Zide take over for the second half of the night, and go to sleep after dinner!" His mother's eyebrows were kind and gentle, and Deng Zixuan suddenly felt a sense of closeness.

  His sister stopped sobbing, her eyes red as she said, "Zixuan, Father is gone. You mustn't get into any trouble, or else Mother won't be able to live on." Deng Zixuan pretended to think deeply and then went downstairs. It was better to keep a low profile and let them think he really was ill, at least for now.

  That night, they kept vigil and burned a long-lasting lamp all night. The next day, a group of monks came to chant sutras, and the sound of chanting Amida Buddha continued until dawn. Accompanying the monks in doing Buddhist rituals and consecration, the coffin was nailed up, and the funeral procession began on its way. After two days of hustle and bustle, Deng Zixuan was exhausted. His elder brother led the way with a spirit banner, Deng Zixuan scattered paper money, behind him were two maids supporting his sister who was sobbing and crying, his mother did not come, she could not bear the scene of burying her daughter. In the funeral procession, there were paper-made pigs, cows, and sheep held up in front of the coffin, dozens of men carried the coffin silently behind them.

  The funeral procession left the concession area and then exited the city gate. It took a good two hours to reach their destination. This was a desolate place, a burial ground with no owner. Along the way, Deng Zi Xuan observed the British and French concession areas, although there were many factories, they were small in scale, which made him somewhat disdainful. Perhaps Deng Zi Xuan didn't know that at this time, the British and French concessions in Shanghai were the most developed industrial area of the Qing Dynasty. How precious this land would become later on, he wouldn't realize until much later. This was understandable, as Deng Zi Xuan came from a highly informatized society to a "backward country" that couldn't even be seen in historical movies, and his huge cultural shock and unacceptable thoughts were not surprising.

  The burial, backfilling and erection of the tombstone were completed in one go. Deng Zixuan first knelt down with his elder brother Zi De to offer incense, followed by his sister and brother-in-law who also came forward to kneel down and offer incense. Throughout the entire process, Deng Zixuan was mechanically following others' instructions, gazing at the newly risen mound and smelling the fragrance of the soil. He let out a long sigh, finally finishing all the commotion. As he looked out into the distance, he saw an old farmer driving his water buffalo to plow his paddy field, it being the season for transplanting rice seedlings in the third month of spring in Jiangnan.

  "Brother! Don't be sad, your sister told me about what happened to you. It's not your fault that the old man passed away!" Deng Zixuan heard this and looked up to see his brother-in-law standing in front of him, with a seemingly caring expression.

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