After Madam Dou and Madam Xu finished their tributes, the attendant guarding the spirit inserted the three incense sticks and then lit another three.
After waiting for a while and seeing Zhan Feiyu standing in the courtyard with no intention of coming in, he was stunned. He looked to Master Xiang, who was returning the禮, for help.
The attendant mistook Zhan Feiyu for a junior who had come with Madam Dou and Madam Xu. He thought that because of the difference in seniority, it was Zhan Feiyu's turn to pay respects after the elders. He never expected her not to enter.
Master Xiang dared not provoke Zhan Feiyu. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Zhan Feiyu enter with He Nuan.
Seeing this, the attendant quickly handed over the incense in his hand and then re-lit three sticks of incense and handed them to He Nuan. As the funeral music began, Zhan Feiyu and He Nuan paid their respects to the coffin. The servants kneeling and guarding the spirit also quickly returned the礼.
"Ah..." Suddenly, a sharp scream echoed from outside the courtyard.
Zhan Feiyu, who had just straightened up in the mourning hall, was startled. She and He Nuan turned to look outside at the same time. They saw Jiao Lianping, Jiao Lianyu, and others, who had been standing in the courtyard, running towards the northwest corner of the courtyard with expressions of shock.
The corridor was connected to a moon gate, and beyond that was a small garden. To the right of the moon gate, near the corner of the wall, there was a osmanthus tree and a square well.
Normally, the Xiang family servants would draw water from this well to water the flowers. There was a cover on the well, but the Xiang family had been in chaos recently, and many servants had fled with the family's wealth. The remaining household servants were also responsible for the affairs of the mourning hall. Therefore, due to negligence, someone drew water and forgot to put the well cover back on.
When He Nuan and Zhan Feiyu arrived, the well was already surrounded by people, and a guard from the Xiang family had already jumped in. Madam Xu sat on the ground in a daze, her face pale and bloodless, looking thoroughly terrified.
With a splash of water, the guard in the well shouted. The remaining two guards quickly pulled up the hemp rope, which was originally used for drawing water. The wooden bucket was discarded to the side, and what was hanging from the other end of the hemp rope was Madam Dou's body.
"She's dead?" The steward trembled. The young master's coffin was still in the mourning hall, and now another person had died. And she was a female relative of the Qiu family.
Zhan Feiyu had guessed that Jiao Lianyu might make a move against Madam Dou. She had arranged for people to guard here, but she did not expect that Madam Dou still could not be saved.
He Nuan, being a doctor, quickly stepped forward and immediately saw the fatal wound on Madam Dou's neck. Even if she hadn't fallen into the well, this stab to the neck's meridians would have been unrecoverable by any divine being.
Even so, He Nuan still placed a hand on Madam Dou's pulse. After a while, she shook her head at Zhan Feiyu, saying the wound was too deep to be saved.
"Sister-in-law?" Madam Xu was still sitting on the ground, looking at Madam Dou's corpse on the ground with terrified eyes.
Because the guard had rescued her in time, Madam Dou's blood had not yet flowed out. The blood mixed with the well water and flowed all over the ground. It was incredibly horrifying in broad daylight.
Zhan Feiyu withdrew her gaze and asked Jiao Lianping, who was beside her, "What happened?"
"How did this person die?" Jiao Lianping wiped his face fiercely, but he forgot that in addition to the injuries from his fight with Qiu Huaixin, there was also an unhealed whip mark on his face. The pain made Jiao Lianping's expression contorted as he hissed twice. "When you went into the mourning hall to pay respects, they two came over to talk to Qiu Huaixin."
Although the third branch of the Qiu family had committed a crime, Madam Dou and Madam Xu, as female relatives, were innocent. In terms of seniority, they were also elders of Qiu Huaixin.
Qiu Huaixin could guess what Madam Dou and Madam Xu would say without listening. It was nothing more than complaining about poverty and how difficult the third branch was now, hoping that Lord Qiu and Madam Qiu would provide assistance and care.
Jiao Lianping cast a sympathetic glance at the dazed Qiu Huaixin and continued to tell Zhan Feiyu in a low voice, "Although they moved to this corner, I still heard a little. When the engagement was broken off, Madam Qiu promised to write recommendation letters for a few young scholars in the third branch so that they could continue their studies at the academy."
Originally, due to the third branch of the Qiu family's crime of colluding with the enemy and treason, the academy would absolutely not allow them to continue their studies for the sake of its reputation. However, with recommendation letters written by Lord Qiu, it would be different. If they didn't show mercy to the monk, they would show mercy to the Buddha. In this way, if the young scholars of the third branch could not continue their studies, no one would dare to say anything when they participated in the imperial examinations in the future.
The engagement was conducted at the Qiu family's villa, and Zhan Feiyu was present at the time and knew about it. "Since Madam Qiu promised that day, she will not go back on her word."
After all, the oldest of the third branch of the Qiu family was only thirteen years old. Moreover, in order to suppress the main branch and seize the position of family head, the third branch had strictly disciplined their juniors. Therefore, they not only lacked the dissolute air of noble sons but were also outstanding in both character and learning. Otherwise, Madam Qiu would not have agreed to this condition.
"Yes, Qiu Huaixin also replied, and Madam Xu looked pleased at the time." Jiao Lianping also knew the current situation of the third branch. Although Madam Xu and her two families were adopted, they were prosperous in terms of population. Even though the adult males had been arrested for involvement in the case, the legitimate and illegitimate sons of the three families were still numerous.
As for Madam Dou, she had only one daughter, Qiu Jingyuan, in her later years. Since Madam Xu had received a satisfactory answer, she was naturally overjoyed.
Jiao Lianping subconsciously glanced at the corpse covered with a white cloth on the ground again. The incident happened too suddenly, and he hadn't fully reacted. "She asked Qiu Huaixin's second brother to take Mo Ge'er as a disciple, but Qiu Huaixin sternly refused. Who knew she would suddenly take out scissors and point them at her own neck..."
Lord Qiu had three sons in total. The eldest was Qiu Bingde, who was already a fifth-rank official. Madam Dou also knew that Qiu Bingde would not accept Mo Ge'er as a student. After all, Qiu Bingde would inherit the Qiu family in the future, and he might not even have time to teach his own children, let alone others.
As for Qiu Huaixin, although he was favored in the Qiu family, he was unreliable, neither accomplished in literature nor martial arts. He was only slightly better than Jiao Lianping in reputation, as Qiu Huaixin associated with talented scholars like Jiao Lianyu and Qi Changlin.
However, Qiu Huaixin had not even obtained a scholarly title. Madam Dou had chosen Qiu Wangshu, the second son of the Qiu family. He was definitely the most talented and gifted among the three. He associated with literati and scholars and enjoyed a high reputation among scholars.
Upon hearing this, Zhan Feiyu had already guessed the general situation. "Qiu Huaixin did not agree, so she threatened to kill herself? But she didn't expect it to turn into a real tragedy, losing her own life."
"She was afraid that Qiu Huaixin would rush forward to snatch the scissors, so she kept backing away. She tripped on the well edge and fell headfirst into the water, still clutching the scissors in her hand." Jiao Lianyu wiped his face again at this point, but this time he remembered to do it gently. "It's estimated that the scissors accidentally cut her neck meridians when she fell into the well."
The guard rushed over immediately after hearing the shouts. It had only been about ten seconds. If she hadn't been so unlucky, she wouldn't have died even if she had fallen into the well.
"Who is Mo Ge'er?" Jiao Lianping asked Zhan Feiyu. If it was for Qiu Jingyuan's marriage, Jiao Lianping could understand, but to have Mo Ge'er become a disciple and lose her own life, although it was an accident, with Madam Dou's death, Qiu Jingyuan's future marriage would be even more difficult.
As for Qiu Huaixin, Jiao Lianping couldn't help but feel sympathetic. If today's events were to spread, people would inevitably say that the third young master of the Qiu family had forced his aunt to death. Fortunately, Qiu Huaixin had no intention of entering officialdom, otherwise, his career would have been ruined.
"Madam Xu's illegitimate son, who is only a little over a year old now, should have been adopted by Madam Dou." Zhan Feiyu's answer made Jiao Lianping look stunned, as expected.
It was a baby, and Jiao Lianping had thought that Mo Ge'er was her nephew when Madam Dou threatened to kill herself with scissors.
Since her husband's family was unreliable, she could only seek protection from her maiden family, which was why she wanted Mo Ge'er to become a disciple of Qiu Wangshu, to rely on the master-disciple relationship to get close to the Qiu family.
Jiao Lianping knew with his toes that Qiu Huaixin would refuse on behalf of his second brother. A one-year-old baby probably couldn't even speak, and it would take four or five years for enlightenment.
As for becoming a disciple, unless it was a child prodigy with exceptional talent, like Zhan Feiyu and Qiu Jinyu, who were like the arrival of the God of Literature, ordinary scholars would at least wait until after the academy examination to obtain a scholarly title.
Otherwise, which great scholar would accept you as a disciple? If you haven't even passed the scholarly examinations, claiming how well you read is just empty talk.
Some scholars even became disciples after passing the provincial examination and obtaining the title of Juren. For Qiu Wangshu to accept a one-year-old baby as a disciple was simply a laughing matter.