The carriage stopped to the east of the Fu family mansion's main gate. Zhan Feiyu lifted the carriage curtain, and through the county constables nearby, she could clearly see the wailing Fu family women and servants.
As for the Fu family men, they all wore solemn and grim expressions.
It was understandable. Just as they were about to ascend to prosperity, Fu Langhuan was suddenly killed, and the suspect might be the eldest daughter of the Zhou family. The Fu family truly had grievances they couldn't express.
"Aren't you cold?" Inside the carriage, Yin Wuyan was reading a recently received secret letter. He glanced at the little girl peeking out of the carriage window, and a smile flashed in his narrow, cold phoenix eyes. He wondered why he hadn't noticed her penchant for excitement before.
Turning back, Zhan Feiyu smiled and replied, "I have a charcoal brazier and a hand warmer, and A Nuan has wrapped me up like a bear. I'm not cold at all."
He refolded the letter in his hand and then lit it in the charcoal brazier. Yin Wuyan looked at the rosy-cheeked little girl and asked, "Did you see anything?"
"The Fu family doesn't want the autopsy because they don't want to stir up more trouble. Compared to the various powers in Xiangwu County, the Fu family isn't even an ant. Once they stepped in, it's not easy for them to retreat now." Zhan Feiyu glanced again at the Fu family men, who were all looking troubled. Their expressions weren't due to the deceased Fu Langhuan, but rather due to the Fu family's precarious situation.
Seeing the coldness on Zhan Feiyu's fair, tender face, Yin Wuyan suddenly asked, "What is propriety?"
Taken aback for a moment, Zhan Feiyu straightened her body. As stated in the Zuo Zhuan: "Propriety is essential for the state, establishes the altars of soil and grain, orders the people, and benefits future generations."
Propriety is the governance and stabilization of a nation, the order and principles required for the stability of a dynasty. As the sage Confucius said, "It is the great constant of a king." Propriety is the fundamental law and the guiding principle of governing a country.
This leads to the saying, "A nation that is broken, a family that is lost, and people who perish will inevitably lose their propriety." If propriety is lost, it is not far from national ruin.
However, listening to the sounds of mourning and clamor outside the carriage, Zhan Feiyu, who was being questioned, didn't believe the Fu family's affairs could elevate to the level of the state and its altars of soil and grain. Therefore, the height of this propriety needed to be lowered.
Zhan Feiyu's clear voice rang out: Yan Yuan asked about benevolence. The Master said, "To subdue oneself and return to propriety is benevolence. If one can subdue himself and return to propriety for a day, all under heaven will ascribe benevolence to him. Benevolence comes from oneself; can it come from others?"
Yan Yuan said, "May I ask for the details?"
The Master said, "Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; do not move what is contrary to propriety."
"The Fu family, as merchants, dared to harbor ambitions of developing and growing by clinging to the Yang family. However, their actual capabilities did not match their aspirations. Now they are in a dilemma, even facing a situation where they lose everything." Zhan Feiyu felt no sympathy for the Fu family.
Yin Wuyan nodded in agreement, "Propriety is essential for the state, establishes the altars of soil and grain, orders the people, and benefits future generations. To be able to act without punishment, to forgive when subdued, to deal with them according to their virtue, to act according to one's strength, to move with the times, and not to burden future generations, can be called knowing propriety."
To act according to one's strength, to see the situation clearly before acting, and not to burden future generations – this is "propriety." The Fu family failed to do this and thus fell into a perilous situation.
With a sly glint in her eyes, Zhan Feiyu picked up the conversation, "To act with the times, and you will be invincible."
Hearing this, Yin Wuyan's thin lips curved slightly. The little girl was indeed intelligent. Having ambition was not terrifying; which official in the court didn't have ambition? What was terrifying was being like the Fu family, mere clowns. Only by planning before acting can great things be accomplished.
"As the saying goes, victory makes the king, defeat makes the criminal. If you win, you are king and have propriety. If you lose, you are naturally a sinner who will be reviled for eternity. This is impropriety. Ultimately, propriety is determined by the person and the situation." To some extent, Zhan Feiyu did not agree with Confucian propriety. However, since the Great Qing Dynasty and the current Emperor respected propriety, she could only act as a person of propriety.
At the main entrance, Magistrate Zhu's head ached from the incessant crying of the Fu family. He sternly rebuked Master Fu, "Fu Weimin, if your Fu family women continue to wail like this, I will leave now. But if Lord Zhang blames me,哼! Don't say I didn't warn you."
Zhang Minxian was the Tongzhi of Linzhou Prefecture. Rumors were spreading throughout Xiangwu County that the Zhou family's daughter was the murderer. The Zhang family and the Zhou family were desperately hoping the authorities would find the real killer and clear Zhou Shuyao's name.
However, the Fu family obstructed the investigation and prevented the coroner from conducting the autopsy, which was equivalent to offending the Zhang and Zhou families again. Magistrate Zhu couldn't be bothered to waste any more words.
Master Fu's expression stiffened. He was dejected, lacking the usual spirited and shrewd demeanor he displayed when doing business and earning money. He didn't dare to offend Magistrate Zhu, a mere seventh-rank official, let alone the two great figures, the Zhang and Zhou families.
"This humble one is terrified. It is truly because my youngest daughter was murdered that the women in the family are overcome with grief. I beg Lord Zhu for your understanding." Bowing and apologizing, Master Fu gave a look to Madam Fu, who was still wailing, and then said coldly, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry and help your mother away."
Seeing this, the Fu family women stopped their crying. They picked up their handkerchiefs, wiped away their tears, and supported the grief-stricken Madam Fu from both sides, offering words of comfort from time to time. After all, the dead could not be brought back to life.
With the departure of the Fu family women, everyone's ears felt much clearer.
"Lord Zhu, this way, please." Master Fu respectfully invited Magistrate Zhu into the house, stepping aside.
"Lord Zhu, who is this young lady?" Master Fu, who was receiving Magistrate Zhu in the main hall, squinted at Zhan Feiyu and Yin Wuyan in the courtyard.
As for He Nuan, she was still dressed as a maid, so Master Fu naturally ignored her.
Magistrate Zhu glared at him impatiently and lowered his voice to warn him, "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask. Whatever Miss Zhan says or does, you are not to interfere. Just cooperate fully."
This little ancestor was from the Imperial Guard. Magistrate Zhu wished he could treat her like a deity.
Fearing that the ill-mannered merchants of the Fu family would offend her, Magistrate Zhu invoked Qiu Zongxi's name to awe the Fu family, saying, "You only need to know that Miss Zhan lives in the Qiu residence and is a junior of Old Master Qiu!"
"Yes, this humble one remembers. Thank you, Lord Zhu, for the reminder." Master Fu, having been in business for many years, had developed a keen eye. Setting aside Zhan Feiyu's background, just looking at Yin Wuyan's noble aura, Master Fu dared not offend him.
Knowing Zhan Feiyu's noble status, Master Fu did not dare to be negligent. He asked a maid to call his eldest daughter-in-law, who would be responsible for accompanying her as a female guest.
Fu Langhuan was just a young girl who hadn't reached her coming-of-age ceremony. She was strangled to death, a violent death. According to Fu family rules, no mourning hall could be set up, nor could she be buried in the Fu family ancestral grave.
However, she was Master Fu's most beloved youngest daughter, and she was killed for the sake of the Fu family. Therefore, a mourning hall was set up in the most secluded northern courtyard of the Fu family.
Fu family relatives and friends sent their women to pay their respects. Currently, Fu Langhuan's sisters-in-law and cousins were keeping vigil.
Madam Qu had a gentle disposition, and after crying for two days, her voice was hoarse. She reminded softly, "Miss, watch your step."
Zhan Feiyu stepped over the threshold, accepted the incense offered by a maid, and bowed to the coffin in the mourning hall. Fu Langhuan might have harbored ambitions of wealth and glory, but in the end, she was just an eleven-year-old girl. The root of all this lay with the Fu family.
Yin Wuyan did not enter the mourning hall but waited in the courtyard.
A cold, handsome, yet noble young man appeared in the back courtyard. The Fu family women were truly surprised, and the younger girls secretly peeked into the courtyard.
"Auntie, that young gentleman looks unfamiliar. May I ask who he is?" The girl speaking through the window was about fifteen or sixteen years old. Although she was wearing white mourning clothes, she had delicate features and a beautiful face, possessing a pure and elegant beauty like a lotus emerging from clear water.
Before the middle-aged woman could speak, a woman about three or four years older next to her sneered and mockingly said, "Langhuan's body is barely cold, and yet Third Sister has the leisure to look at an outsider. Aren't you afraid Langhuan will come to find you at midnight!"
"What nonsense are you talking!" The eldest woman in the room reprimanded sternly.
Fearing that her voice would be heard by Fu Langhuan's sisters-in-law in the mourning hall, or that it would carry into the courtyard, the woman could only lower her voice and say sternly, "Have you all forgotten where we are? Stop babbling. If this reaches your eldest aunt's ears..."
Madam Fu was no pushover. Unlike ordinary women in the inner chambers, the Fu family's business was large. Besides Master Fu's shrewdness, Madam Fu's maternal family was also involved in business, and they were in the prefectural city, providing considerable help to Master Fu.
Now that Madam Fu's most beloved youngest daughter had been tragically killed, the faces of the several young ladies in the room changed, showing fear and unease.
Fortunately, the women in this room were all from the Fu family's third branch, so they were not worried about it leaking out. Otherwise, if they were unlucky, the entire third branch would be implicated.
After Zhan Feiyu paid her respects, the housekeeper soon came to relay Master Fu's message: all the women were to withdraw from the northern courtyard and avoid the area, leaving only a few old women, maids, and young servants.
"Do we really have to conduct the autopsy?" As they walked out of the room, the girls who usually envied Fu Langhuan couldn't help but look back at the mourning hall, their expressions tinged with sadness.
Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, they would be separated by death? Moreover, once the autopsy was performed, Fu Langhuan would not even be able to preserve her chastity in death. Earlier, they heard their elders say that the coffin would be buried next to the Fu family ancestral grave, so with the protection of the Fu family ancestors, there would be no need to worry about Langhuan being bullied by lonely ghosts.
But without her chastity, the elders of the clan would probably not allow the coffin to be buried next to the ancestral grave. This would make her unable to rest in peace even in death.
Third Miss Fu paused. She could only vaguely see a figure through the window earlier. Now, closer, looking at the tall and elegant Yin Wuyan, Third Miss Fu shyly lowered her head. Even in the prefectural city, she had never seen such a handsome and noble young gentleman.
The other young ladies of the Fu family felt the same. This young gentleman stood under a tree, with his back to them. They had only seen his profile earlier, but his handsome profile still stirred their hearts.
What's more, the Fu family was in business, and the girls in the family had good judgment. This young gentleman was dressed in luxurious clothing, with only a jade pendant at his waist. However, judging by the quality of the jade, it was Hetian jade, which was hard to find even with a thousand pieces of gold. He must be a young master from a prominent family in the prefectural city.
As for Zhan Feiyu, who was also standing under the tree beside Yin Wuyan, she was completely ignored by the Fu family girls. If she were a few years older, the Fu family girls might have glanced at her, or even speculated about her relationship with Yin Wuyan.
But a little girl with a three-head-and-three-body stature, short in height, with her hair tied in twin buns – who among these girls, about to come of age or already of age, would deign to cast their gaze upon a mere child?
"Hurry up and go!" The older woman was furious again, only able to glare fiercely at Third Miss Fu and the others. They had forgotten her earlier warning.
Even though they were reluctant, and even though their steps were slow, in the blink of an eye, the group had passed through the moon gate and left the northern courtyard.
"It's not that people look down on merchants, it's truly a lack of propriety!" Zhan Feiyu grumbled impatiently. This was Fu Langhuan's mourning hall, and the Fu family girls were all so ill-mannered. If it were another occasion, wouldn't they pounce like wolves and tigers?
Thinking of this, Zhan Feiyu was one hundred percent certain that Fu Langhuan's dragging Yang Xu into the water in Plum Valley was a premeditated act, judging by the behavior of the Fu family girls.
"They lack benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, only seeking profit." Yin Wuyan's voice was clear and indifferent. He had seen many merchants like the Fu family. For money, they would disregard propriety and rules, and not even be considered human.
Zhan Feiyu nodded in agreement, "So, a gentleman loves wealth but acquires it righteously."
As for Zhan Feiyu herself, she lacked nothing in terms of food, clothing, and daily expenses. However, before she became a disciple and before she knew Yin Wuyan, she might not have eaten gruel diluted with water, but she did practice calligraphy by dipping her brush in water and writing on the desk.
Contentment with poverty was a state of mind, but also a无奈 (helplessness). However, at least Zhan Feiyu could achieve contentment with poverty.
Magistrate Zhu and the constables soon arrived. Because the coffin was to be opened for examination, Magistrate Zhu did not enter the house. After all, even in the icy winter, the body would have a rotten smell after a few days.
Master Fu and the Fu family men also stood in the courtyard. Compared to Fu Langhuan, whose body was to be examined, they showed little grief or sorrow, only wishing to resolve the matter quickly and extricate the Fu family from its precarious situation.
Coroner Tao said he was examining the body, but the actual work was being done by a junior clerk beside him, who looked about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Even the constables guarding the courtyard thought this junior clerk was Tao Cheng, Coroner Tao's nephew, and that Tao Cheng would succeed him as coroner once Coroner Tao retired.
However, only Coroner Tao knew that this person, who bore the exact same face as his nephew Tao Cheng, was arranged by Magistrate Zhu. Coroner Tao dared not ask about this person's identity.
But judging by his skilled movements, Coroner Tao knew that this person must also be a coroner, and he was much better than himself, a mere amateur.
An hour later, the body was tidied up and placed back into the coffin. However, because this was a murder case, and the yamen had not yet found the killer, the body could not be buried for the time being. Fortunately, it was winter. If it were summer, the Fu family would likely have to store the coffin in a charity morgue.
"Reporting to your honor, the autopsy is complete..." Coroner Tao bowed and began to describe the results of the autopsy.
Magistrate Zhu saw that Zhan Feiyu did not speak to stop him, so he did not ask Master Fu and the others to leave. After all, it was Master Fu's daughter who had died, and it was acceptable for them to hear the autopsy results.
"What? Langhuan was poisoned?" The eldest young master of the Fu family exclaimed in shock, forgetting that Magistrate Zhu was present and it was not his place to speak.
Coroner Tao nodded, "Excessive consumption of Gui Cao can cause confusion, even madness. Miss Fu and Miss Zhou both have injuries, which likely led to a conflict influenced by the medicinal properties of Gui Cao."
...