Chapter 64: The Sky Collapses and the Ground Caves in_1

“Nanny Jiang, help my mother back to Changshou Courtyard! The stewards of each courtyard, help your masters stand up properly. No matter when, our Duke of Zhen Mansion must never lose its backbone. If the sky falls, we will stand to hold it up ourselves! Second Lady, Third Lady, Fourth Lady, come with me to consult about the funeral arrangements for the men of the Bai Clan. Bai Qingyan, Bai Jintong, take care of your Fifth Aunt and have someone take my name card to invite Doctor Huang, Doctor Zhong, and Doctor Liu here! Bai Jinxiu, Bai Jinzhi, Qin Lang, take care of your younger sisters. Lu Ping, immediately send someone on a fast horse to ride back to our ancestral home in Shuoyang to report the Bai family’s mourning. Steward Hao, organize the household staff and prepare for the funeral. The guards, follow Steward Hao’s orders. Anyone who causes trouble at such a critical moment, be they concubines, maids, servants, or anyone else, Steward Hao has the authority to kill them on the spot without reporting to me!”

Mrs. Dong’s voice was steady and swift, without the slightest disorder.

The guards, servants, maids, and maids of the Bai Mansion all answered in unison and quickly got to work.

Mrs. Dong finished arranging the internal affairs of the mansion and turned to the aristocrats still standing at the gate of the Duke of Zhen Mansion. She solemnly bowed and said, “I apologize to everyone. Thank you for accompanying the women of the Bai family in this wind and snow for so long. But with such a major event at hand, I really can’t entertain you with a cup of hot tea! Please forgive us!”

The Bai family was suddenly struck by disaster. The matriarch, Mrs. Dong, straightened her back and methodically arranged the affairs of the mansion, earning everyone’s admiration.

Most of the attendees were juniors who understood that the Bai family was facing a calamity like the sky falling. They returned the bow, expressing their sympathies.

“Please accept my condolences, Lady.”

“Lady, please accept my condolences!”

When Mrs. Dong looked up again, her face was already full of tears.

“Sister! My brother and I will stay and help!” Dong Qingping said to Mrs. Dong with red eyes, “What do we need to do?”

Mrs. Dong straightened herself with difficulty, her voice choked with sobs, “Today is New Year’s Eve. All the men of the Bai family have died. I don’t even know where to find so many coffins.”

Hearing this, Bai Qingyan felt as if a knife had pierced her heart.

Looking at the aristocrats and commoners still gathered at the entrance of the Bai family, she knelt down and bowed deeply, enduring the intense pain in her heart, choking out, “My grandfather, Duke of Zhen’s coffin was prepared early. But we never anticipated that all the men of the Bai family would die for the country. King Xin will bring back their bodies in five days. It’s the New Year, and there’s no time to prepare their coffins. If any of you have suitable coffins at home, I dare to ask for them for the Bai family men to be buried honorably.”

After speaking, she bowed again, and Bai Jinxiu, Bai Jintong, Bai Jinzhi, followed Bai Qingyan’s lead and knelt down too.

The Bai family had loyally sacrificed for the country. How could the people of Jin let heroes be buried without coffins?!

That night, on New Year’s Eve, the entire Dadu City wept. They wept for the fallen heroes, for the loyal courage of the Bai family, and for the Jin Kingdom soon to be without its pillars of defense.

Meanwhile, in Qingming Courtyard, Bai Qingxuan, who had been confined and injured, was shocked upon hearing the news. He grabbed his mother’s wrist, panicking, “What?! They’re all dead?! Grandfather, father… they’re all dead?!”

“Yes! What will we do now?!” the woman responded in a panic. “Tens of thousands of troops have perished in the southern regions. The Emperor is sure to blame this on us! If only we hadn’t returned! If we’re implicated, we could be executed along with our entire household! No… I need to find a way for us to escape!”

Bai Qingxuan, stunned at first, suddenly had a glint in his eyes. He tightened his grip on the woman’s wrist, whispering eerily, “Mother! You said… all the men of the Bai family are dead! Does that mean the title of Duke of Zhen falls to me?!”

The woman’s eyelid twitched, and she swallowed, suppressing her wild joy with fear. “But… I’ve heard it was the Duke’s arrogance in using the army that led to the total defeat. If the Emperor holds us accountable, it will be a huge crime, implicating the entire family. What’s more important, our lives or this title? We should escape first!”

“But what if the Emperor doesn’t blame us?!” Bai Qingxuan’s lips curled into a smile. “Mother! Fortune favors the bold! Think about it… if the Emperor doesn’t blame us, this grand Duke of Zhen Mansion would be ours!”

The woman was deeply tempted by Bai Qingxuan’s suggestion, unable to let go of the immense fortune of the Duke of Zhen Mansion but also terrified for her life, hesitating.

·

On the first day of the New Year.

The Duke of Zhen Mansion, which had been gloomily downcast for two days, began to bustle with activity as the matriarch, Mrs. Dong, took charge. The servants and maids preparing for the funeral were rushing in and out of the side gates.

Before dawn, the busy Steward Hao came to the Eldest Princess’s room. Apart from the Eldest Princess, who was being persuaded to rest due to exhaustion, the Lady of the Duke, Mrs. Dong, Second Lady Liu, Third Lady Li, and Fourth Lady Wang were all present.

There were seventeen young men of the Bai family, along with five sons of the Duke, making a total of twenty-three coffins that couldn’t fit in the main hall of the Bai mansion.

“Set up tents,” Mrs. Dong ordered, her spirits barely holding up, calmly addressing the bewildered Steward Hao, “Place them in the courtyard. Keep the mansion gates wide open! Let the people of Dadu City and the officials in the temple see how miserably the Bai family sacrificed for the Jin Kingdom.”

“Reporting to the Lady, Second Lady, Third Lady, Fourth Lady. Someone from the gatehouse reported that many people have brought coffins outside the mansion!”

Mrs. Dong’s throat tightened, and she stood up, “I’ll go take a look. Three younger sisters, you have worked hard all night. Go and rest! Regain your energy. On the fifth day, we will welcome our husbands and sons home.”

The Fourth Lady started crying again, shaking her head in pain.

·

Hearing the news, Bai Qingyan arrived at almost the same time as Mrs. Dong.

By now, the red lanterns of Bai Mansion had been replaced with white ones, and the red ribbons in the courtyard had been changed to black and white, covered in gloom.

Outside the wide-open gate, people stood in the snow, holding ox carts and horse carts, bringing their best coffins to block the entrance. Some aristocrats had sent people to deliver coffins as well.

An old man, around sixty years old, tugged on an ox cart and cupped his hands towards Mrs. Dong and Bai Qingyan, saying, “Lady, young lady… this old man has brought a good coffin. I don’t know if it’s suitable. Can it be used for the Princely Heir, generals, or young masters in your mansion?”

“Mine is the best coffin! Top quality! Lady, young lady, use my coffin!”

“Mine is good! Mine is good! This is a proper pine coffin, very sturdy!”

“Lady, our family runs a coffin shop! The coffins I brought were all ordered by prominent families before the New Year. I brought them all here! They are made of nanmu. Though not the best nanmu, they are definitely worthy of the young masters of the Bai mansion.”@@novelbin@@

Mrs. Dong and Bai Qingyan stood at the entrance, tears streaming down their faces, bowing to thank the people who were competing to deliver coffins.