Yelv Guza said viciously, "Our Yelv Clan was forced to leave our homeland by Gu Jinghui, so I must let Gu Jinghui taste the bitterness of a shattered family. Remember, find a way to retrieve that Life and Death Document."

Yelv Xianyong hesitated slightly but still said, "There is a saying in Daxing, ’A gentleman can be deceived by honesty.’ The Life and Death Document is in Gu Jinghui’s hands, so it shouldn’t..."

Before he could finish his words, Yelv Guza waved his hand and said, "We provoked first, and Gu is no pushover. If he sets conditions that make things difficult for me, my reputation among the scholars will be even harder to restore."

Those cunning and greedy scholars, who care about reputation and integrity, are the hardest to deal with.

Yelv Xianyong hastily said, "Young Master, your concern is valid. It’s indeed safest to keep it in our hands, but right now it’s impossible to plant any spies in the Dingbei Marquis Mansion. This matter is difficult, but I will do my utmost to obtain it."

Yelv Guza chuckled mysteriously, "If you can set a trap for his beloved woman... wouldn’t that make it easy to retrieve?"

After thinking for a moment, Yelv Xianyong immediately said, "Understood."

Yelv Guza was very generous, "If you need money, just take it. Recently, our clansmen crossed the river to Goryeo to sell ginseng and brought back dozens of carts of gold and silver jewels."

Yelv Xianyong marveled, "Thanks to Young Master for this idea. When the ginseng prices in Daxing rise in the future, we will have plenty of money to spend."

Yelv Guza laughed heartily.

"By then, the whole court’s civil servants will be under my sway. Weaken the military generals, trap the Dingbei Marquis, and Daxing will be at our mercy. Even if I have to be a hostage for thirty years, I am willing. When our Yelv Family establishes a nation, you and I will surely be remembered in history."

Yelv Xianyong looked forward to it with longing.

"The Young Master is right. We should also write history books like the Daxing people, recording the hardships we faced as we opened up new lands in Daxing."

...

The day of the funeral came in a flash.

The night before, all the clansmen and relatives were present, including the Xu Family. They all sat around keeping vigil, unable to sleep through the night.

Although Old Madam Gu was aged, she could endure by sitting with the women in the family, chatting.

Mrs. Xu’s mother, sisters, nieces sat in one corner, not mingling much with others.

Old Madam Gu just instructed people to take good care of the tea and refreshments and asked several times if they needed a night snack, not worrying too much otherwise.

Qin Yuan was busy running around, thankfully accompanied by Mrs. Dai and Gu Baoshu to help entertain the guests.

Mrs. Cui had a headache and couldn’t come, and Qin Wan was pregnant, naturally unable to attend.

The entire mansion was brightly lit, with a constant stream of guests coming to pay respects. Because Marquis Gu was overseeing the Capital Inspection, even officials and their families from the six departments attended.

Fortunately, Qin Yuan had a good memory, and no mistakes were made.

Marquis Gu’s side wasn’t as satisfactory.

Mr. Songshan naturally didn’t show up, and Sixth Master Gu had been in better health recently, but he didn’t socialize much, and most of the visitors were unfamiliar faces.

Luckily, Mr. Xu and Qin Jijiu provided support.

At dawn, when the auspicious time came, eight sturdy young men of the same height, dressed in blue, came in an orderly fashion to carry the coffin.

Today, all the banners and arrangements for the procession were splendidly prepared by Cui Ming and the sewing team, dazzling and extraordinarily dignified.

Brother Kang and Fuguo’er were already dressed, wearing mourning clothes, standing on either side at the front.

Sister Lan was with Gu Baoshu, standing at the back.

The day was very arduous as they had to escort the funeral procession out of the city to the family temple for the spirit to rest.

Because both Marquis Gu and Sixth Master Gu were officials, today’s procedures were all reported to the court, with zero room for deviation.

The Gu Family clansmen were arranged by seniority into two lines, divided by gender.

Men on the left, women on the right.

Following the coffin out of the main gate, they saw under the archway at the entrance, an uncountable number of sedan chairs from the Duke Mansion and Marquis Mansion, forming a densely packed line along the roadside, stretching three to four miles.

The Xu Family people could not participate in the funeral procession, only watching from the outside.

Once the coffin exited the mansion gate, they were to rush to the outskirts to set up an offering.

Unless Mrs. Xu was a chaste and loyal widow, the Gu Mansion could not petition the court for the honor of assisting with the coffin.

Mrs. Xu quietly told her eldest son, "Your aunt’s funeral is held with such grandeur, it’s worth it in this lifetime."

The eldest son said, "Isn’t it all for the sake of the Dingbei Marquis? Even the Prince’s Mansion and Duke Mansion have sent people, and no other officials dare not to come. Look, father is smiling so widely the wrinkles on his face show."

Mrs. Xu said, "Today all the civil and military officials are present, probably even more so than at court. He has to make a good impression."

The eldest son was curious, "Why didn’t the Marchioness’s two scholar relatives come?"

Mrs. Xu sneered, "They’re all scholars, aiming to become civil servants in the future. I suppose they stayed away to avoid suspicion of currying favor. Speaking of scholars, they really do obsess over these things."

The eldest son nodded, "We really don’t understand what the civil servants think. Take Uncle, for example—I find him increasingly puzzling. Publishing poetry collections, painting, and even declaring publicly he’ll mourn for Aunt for three years. Does the Marquis Mansion truly intend to follow the path of a civil servant?"

Mrs. Xu said, "Why bother thinking so much? Just do what your father instructed. Is the offering tent by the roadside set up? Seeing how many people will pay respects on the road, don’t place it too far back to avoid angering your father into scolding someone. Speaking of which, your aunt truly has a grand funeral. Choosing such a fine day, yet she couldn’t see the brighter side and wasted herself to death."

On Qin Yuan’s side, arrangements had already been made to prepare the family temple where the spirit would rest, clearing out accommodations.

She and Gu Baoshu would stay at the family temple for three days, accompanying the women through the ceremonies before returning to the mansion.

As the elder, Old Madam Gu would return on the day of the funeral after escorting the procession to the family temple. The carriages, escorts, and guards were also arranged.

The procession had not walked far when, sure enough, as Mrs. Xu said, there were many offering tents along the way in the city.

The front ones belonged to several Prince Mansions.

Although the Crown Prince didn’t set up a tent, he wore mourning clothes and waited at the roadside with King Jin, offering face to the Dingbei Marquis.

Speaking of which, Mrs. Xu was merely a wife of a small garrison commander, but this small commander was highly valued by the Emperor, held military power, and was now in charge of the Capital Inspection—the only brother of the Dingbei Marquis.

Everyone came today not for Mrs. Xu, nor Sixth Master Gu, but to honor Dingbei Marquis, Marquis Gu.

The grand funeral procession of the Dingbei Marquis Mansion moved impressively forward, with many officials lining the path, and bystanders were not allowed to move at will.

Gu Jinghui received the news and quickly came forward with Gu Jingjun, Gu Jingcheng, and others to greet and pay respects to the Princes, exchanging formalities, before silencing the drums and music, inviting the Princes to proceed first.

After being declined, they returned to follow the procession.

The Crown Prince, sitting in the sedan, peered through the gaps, eyes fixed on the procession of women, remarking softly only when they’d passed, "Indeed, ’a lady in mourning attire is charming.’ But those narrow-heeled shoes, walking like this must be quite tiring."