Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 747 - 583 Mourning

"Ugh! Actually, not quite satisfied, it’s only half a bottle." How can a bottle of powder be completely full? Otherwise, when you pull out the stopper, it might spill if it’s too full.

Gu Chengyu nodded, "See the guests out!"

He had already confirmed his suspicions, and these two people were no longer important.

After stepping out of the room, Ming Mo waved his sword at the two, sneering coldly.

"Remember what my master said, otherwise dealing with you is just a minor matter."

The two hurriedly said, "We will definitely remember the master’s words, and we dare not speak more outside."

Ming Mo, satisfied with their trembling appearance, then gave them twenty taels of silver.

"Take it!" This was hush money, already instructed by Gu Chengyu beforehand.

The two were quite surprised to see the silver, but dared not ask, each taking ten taels.

Without mentioning a carriage to take them back, the two quickly left the courtyard through the newly opened gate.

"Little Uncle, my father’s clothes have been changed!" The third son came out of the room and said to Gu Chengyu.

"Father! The cause of the second brother’s death is rather disgraceful. When friends and relatives come, we’ll only claim he suddenly died. Does this seem feasible to you?"

Gu Chengyu recalled that he had not discussed this matter with Mr. Gu yet, but he believed Uncle Gu and Mr. Gu would agree.

Mr. Gu closed his eyes, "Alright! Just do as you said!"

The second son walked into the courtyard, growing increasingly uneasy. Earlier, Gu Chengyu even had the servants slap him twice; was he just beaten for nothing?

Besides, regarding his father’s situation, he hadn’t figured out why he should believe the words of Gu Chengyu and the others?

Who knows if his father took the medicine himself or if it was forced upon him?

His father never liked Gu Chengyu, so how could it be that his father died as soon as Gu Chengyu returned? There must be something fishy.

However, the Gu Family all sided with Gu Chengyu, and even if he opposed, the Gu Family would not listen to him.

Moreover, if the matter were to be blown up, his civil service career would be affected.

When he becomes an official someday, people would just say his father died from overusing a strong aphrodisiac with his concubine - how shameful?

But should this matter just be let go? His father just died in vain? When his father is buried, if he raises any opinions, nobody will care anymore.

The second son focused on Gu Chengyu, considering how he could gain some advantage from this affair.

Although he was reluctant to admit it, Gu Chengyu indeed had skills. Now that Gu Chengyu has become an official, he could benefit from aligning with him.

If this matter is handled well and Gu Chengyu recommends him to the Imperial College for his studies in the future, that would be much better than staying in the county.

The teacher had said, his talents weren’t lacking, just needing diligence and focus on his career, passing the scholar exam was only a matter of time.

Actually, the teacher was quite optimistic about him, and he passed the prefectural exam this time, the teacher even eased up about his daughter’s marriage.

The implication being that if he passed the scholar exam, marrying his daughter wouldn’t be impossible.

Only regretfully, man proposes but God disposes; who would’ve thought his father would die at this critical juncture?

This was a wasted opportunity, and now he’ll have to wait another three years, which made the second son feel troubled about this.

It seemed impossible for him to marry the teacher’s daughter now, what a pity. He had seen the girl once, and she truly was beautiful.

Not long, the Gu Family’s mourning hall was set up.

The sudden death of Gu Chengyi shocked all who knew him; they hadn’t expected he would die so suddenly.

"Third brother, you’ll have to remain calm and composed in grief!" At this moment, Gu Changbai could understand Mr. Gu’s feelings.

Years ago, he also suffered the loss of a young son, sending off a dark-haired son as a gray-haired man, his old bones still alive while his young son had gone too soon.

Mr. Gu wiped the tears from his face; the second son truly hadn’t treated him well in life, making him somewhat dislike this son.

But once a person dies, the past grievances vanish along with the second son’s passing.

Because Chang, the boy, is still young and needs his mother’s care, and he was just crying out for his mother.

Gu Chengyu felt that as Gu Chengyi’s concubine, not letting Wang Yue and Mrs. Li appear would be inappropriate.

Therefore, he had Qingxia and Caiyun supervise Wang Yue and Mrs. Li separately, preventing them from running away.

As for Mrs. Wang, she was merely an insignificant figure, granting her freedom without anyone watching over her.

Mrs. Wang and Gu Chengyi weren’t married, so naturally, she wasn’t considered part of the Gu Family. At this point, whether she stays or leaves, no one cared.

If Mrs. Wang returned to her parents’ house, it would save the Gu Family from dealing with the mess left by Gu Chengyi.

But would Mrs. Wang just leave like that? Certainly not.

She had given her purity to Gu Chengyi, who has now left, leaving her unattended. She had to plan for her future days.

Nevertheless, Mrs. Wang was sensible enough not to loiter stupidly around the Gu Family.

Soon, the women of the family pulled out the white cloth and made mourning clothes for the Gu Family members.

Gu Chengyi was his brother, so Gu Chengyu only needed to observe the primary mourning.

The mourning period would be nine months; the Dayan Dynasty wasn’t very strict about mourning for brothers, thus, Gu Chengyu returned to the capital and continued his official duties.

Just needed to watch his diet a bit, adhering to vegetarianism.

Of course, no one would be that pedantic, it depended on whether one was sincere.

However, mourning for parents or grandparents was very strict; parents were mourned for three years, grandparents for one year.

During this period, even if serving in the court, one must take bereavement leave. Only if the Emperor intervened to retain them, otherwise one had to wait until the period ended, then await a new job from the Ministry of Personnel.

But the original position would have been taken by someone, making finding a suitable position very difficult.

Thus officials dreaded bereavement leave; in aristocratic families, if an elder was even slightly unwell, the younger generations would quickly call upon doctors, even imperial doctors.

Certainly, there was filial piety, but the fear of bereavement leave was real too.

The second son and others donned their mourning clothes, all kneeling at the funeral hall burning paper money, even young Chang, over three years old, knelt at the hall.

The second son cast a glance at Wang Yue kneeling nearby with Chang, his thoughts drifting to the silver coins.

His father left over two thousand taels of silver, if it was divided among the three sons, how much could he get? Probably no more than eight hundred taels.

Even if he was the eldest of the second household, at most, he’d only get a thousand or so taels.

In the future, each year the profits from soap would be divided into three shares for the second household.

This wouldn’t do! Later on, the expenses for studying would only grow.

The social interactions between classmates weren’t a minor sum, and each year’s costs for ink, paper, and books were a sizable expense.

The second son suddenly thought of how during Gu Chengyu’s study days, the Gu Family always prioritized his use of money first.

Now that the third son stopped studying and Chang was still young, he was the only one continuing his studies. No matter what, this silver should let him have a bit more indeed.