Green Mountain

In the thin morning mist, two Jiefan Guards on horseback led the way, while four East Garden Craftsmen escorted a hearse through the long street.

The rims were wrapped in iron sheets, and as they rolled across the cobblestone road, they made a rumbling sound, like a drum being dragged across the ground.

The carriage had just turned onto Fuyou Street when it was intercepted by four patrolling Jiefan Guards. They stepped forward to pat over the clothes of the East Garden Craftsmen, confirming they were not concealing weapons, before letting them enter Fuyou Street.

The entire Fuyou Street was hung with mourning banners. Each household had tacitly removed their red lanterns and red door gods, waiting to put them up again on New Year’s Eve.

There were no passersby on the street, only the Qi family servants coming and going, and Mr. Qi’s protégés and former subordinates arriving not for condolence, but to observe the Qi family’s affairs.

On the road, two middle-aged scholars were discussing: "The male members of the Qi family’s eldest line have all left the Imperial Capital, so who will preside over the funeral tomorrow? It should be Old Lord Qi Zhen, among those in the capital, he is the most respected."

The other lowered his voice: "It’s not that simple. Aristocratic families do not judge heroes by official rank, the ancestral temple is the true orthodoxy. If this precedent is set tomorrow, then from now on the Qi family’s ancestral temple will be under Old Lord Qi’s command. The eldest line won’t yield, they will definitely wait for Qi Xianzun to return to the capital."

"Doesn’t that mean the coffin will have to wait another ten days before receiving condolences and offerings?"

"Let’s see if today can produce a result."

At this moment, the East Garden Craftsmen stopped the hearse in front of the Qi Mansion. The white lanterns at the gate of the Qi Mansion had been lit all night. The mansion gate was open, and the interior screen wall was covered with white cloth. A piece of black silk was pinned to the cloth, embroidered with the character "奠" (tribute).

Two Jiefan Guards dismounted, and the Qi family servant jogged down the steps, handing each of them a string of Buddhist Treasures: "Thank you for your hard work, the weather is cold, buy a bowl of hot soup."

They did not refuse, tucking them into their sleeves.

The gatekeeper stepped aside to let them in, leading them forward: "This way, please."

The four East Garden Craftsmen exchanged glances, raised their hands to support the carrying beams under the coffin, and bent over to step up the stone steps one step at a time, the soles of their boots making a dull sound on the stone steps.

The East Garden Craftsmen observed the Qi Mansion as they walked.

Within the Qi Mansion, every eave and wall was hung with plain white mourning banners, extending all the way into the depths of the mansion. The sound of monks chanting sutras came from the front courtyard’s mourning hall, like a thin veil, drifting over the Qi Mansion.

The protégés and former subordinates of the Qi family gathered in small groups in the courtyard, whispering amongst themselves.

Passing through the Hanging Flower Gate at the end, the courtyard opened up, revealing white fabric pavilions to the east and west.

Under the eastern pavilion, eighty-one monks from Yuanjue Temple sat cross-legged on meditation mats, led by the head monk who sat with closed eyes and clasped hands, lips slightly moving. The sound of sutra recitation flowed from under the pavilion, like a tide washing over the courtyard walls.

Under the western pavilion,

Qi Zhaoning, Qi Zhaoyun, and Qi Zhenzhu knelt quietly, wearing mourning clothes with hemp ropes tied around their waists, surrounded by dozens of relatives, including both members of the Qi family proper and distant relatives.

The East Garden Craftsmen carried the coffin straight across the courtyard, taking it into the mourning hall.

In the mourning hall, one hundred and eight Everlasting Lamps were lit, with a mourning bed in the center. Upon the bed lay Mr. Qi, covered with a five-colored gold-thread quilt bestowed by the emperor, his face covered with a piece of plain silk, and a sachet replaced the night before placed at his pillow.

Two Jiefan Guards stood outside the door, and four East Garden Craftsmen guarded the coffin.

At this moment, among the crowd kneeling outside the mourning hall, a middle-aged man spoke loudly: "For this funeral, Old Master Qi Zhen should preside over the ancestral temple, only with him holding the ancestral tablet and standing in the chief position of the mourning altar can it be considered proper. Otherwise, how would outsiders view our Qi family without a distinguished figure at the funeral?"

"This does not follow the rules. With the family head’s passing, the chief position should be held by the eldest line."

"How does it not follow the rules, Qi Xianzun, Qi Xianshu, and Qi Zhenwu all cannot make it tomorrow, Qi Zhaoyun and Qi Zhaoning as women cannot preside, it should be under the temporary control of the most senior elder of our clan to oversee the funeral arrangements, preside over the ceremony, and sit in the ancestral hall."

A woman sneered: "I see you intend to promote him to be our Qi Family Patriarch, so he can control the ancestral temple, set the family rules, rewards, and penalties. In this way, your incompetent offspring can also enter the Imperial Academy. We might as well divide the clan’s public land and the inner treasury, and settle the accounts of your years of embezzlement."

The accused man turned red in the face: "What nonsense are you spouting, besides Qi Zhen, who else is qualified to preside over our Qi family?"

The crowd argued fiercely in front of the altar, and the woman looked to Qi Zhaoyun: "Zhaoyun, what do you think?"

The earlier middle-aged man rebuked: "Why ask a woman? The women of the eldest line, one couldn’t control her husband, allowing him to resign and go to Guyuan; another was infatuated with a salt merchant’s son, nearly ruining the Qi family’s reputation; and another was rejected by Chen Ji, making our Qi family the laughingstock of the Imperial Capital. How can our Qi family’s matters be left to them?"

Qi Zhaoyun said softly, "Keep your voices down, Grandfather can hear you."

The middle-aged man persisted: "The matter of presiding over the funeral must be decided today, how can it be delayed? You women should not interfere, let the uncles of the clan discuss..."

Before he could finish, the voice of a Qi family servant shouted from the main gate: "Prince Fu has arrived!"

Everyone turned to look, just in time to see Prince Fu, dressed in a black official robe, striding through the long mourning banner corridor. Behind Prince Fu were more than twenty followers, including Ministry of Rites officials, Zhou Kuang, and other Royal Palace Guards.

When Prince Fu passed the white fabric pavilion, he paused, looking at Qi Zhaoyun’s reddened eyes, and pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve, extending it to her: "My condolences."