Chapter 114: Chapter 69 Mother and Child_1
For several days, Xia Rongrong had been avoiding Lu Tong.
In the past, when Lu Tong was at the medical hall during the day, Xia Rongrong and her servants would follow him to help, but these few days she had stayed in the courtyard, unwilling to come out, and would even walk around to avoid him if they met. This behavior was too obvious. Du Changqing had asked her openly and in secret several times, and was brushed off by Xia Rongrong, who made him think that the two of them had quarreled behind closed doors.
Outside, dark clouds rolled, and Yin Zheng helped Lu Tong move a white porcelain statue of the Bodhisattva into the small Buddhist shrine inside the house.
The Guanyin statue was invited by Lu Tong from a shop on West Street that specialized in incense and candle offerings, where the shop owner claimed it was a blessed item consecrated by a master from Wan’en Temple. Lu Tong saw that the small statue of Guanyin was carved to perfection, and remembered that the bedroom he was staying in had an empty corner in the small Buddhist shrine, just enough to fit this statue. Thus, he spent five taels of silver to bring the porcelain Guanyin home.
After placing the white-robed Guanyin into the shrine, the small Buddhist cabinet no longer seemed as empty as before.
Yin Zheng looked around and unveiled a smile, "The size is just right; it’s just missing a niche. We’ll look for a suitable one when we have the time."
Lu Tong "Hmm"ed in response, then took another look outside at the courtyard, and said, "Let’s go."
It was the afternoon, and the air was surprisingly stuffy. The sky was overcast and gloomy, as if a mountain rain was imminent.
As Du Changqing was napping on the counter in the shop, he lazily lifted his head upon seeing the two of them leave, "Don’t forget to bring an umbrella."
"Got it."
As their figures disappeared outside the medical hall, Xia Rongrong lifted the felt curtain and came out from inside, glancing outside. She asked Du Changqing, "It’s about to rain, where is Doctor Lu going?"
"Scholar Wu from the fish market, his mother passed away." Du Changqing wiped his face.
"They’re going to give funeral money."
...
The fierce wind was violent, causing the white paper lanterns under the eaves to rustle loudly.
In the courtyard, mourning banners and hangings were layered upon one another, and mountains of paper offerings were piled up. The eternal lamp flickered in the dim light, while a heavy black lacquered coffin lay still in the center of the mourning hall.
Wu Youcai, dressed in coarse hemp mourning clothes, was kneeling by a wooden basin in front of the coffin, feeding paper money into the fire.
Mother Wu had passed away a few days before. Blind Man He, who was a fortune teller, had calculated the auspicious time for burial and left. Wu Youcai had no other relatives in Shengjing. Neighbors from West Street had helped with the funeral, keeping vigil for two days and uttering words of consolation before gradually dispersing—everyone had their own life to live.
He kept vigil alone in this place.
His mother’s clothes and bedding had been neatly folded and set aside, waiting for burial. Wu Youcai’s gaze landed on the neatly stacked bundle.
On the bundle were embroidered clumps of golden flowers, each with six petals, like smiling faces.
It was the daylily flower.
As Wu Youcai stared at it, his eyes gradually reddened.
Mother Wu was frugal and rarely bought new clothes; a hemp garment could last her over a decade. Sometimes, when the elbows or knees wore out, she was afraid the patches would look unsightly, so she used discarded threads to embroider flowers over the spots.
Daylilies blossom by the steps, as the traveler journeys to the ends of the earth; the loving mother waits by the door, yet sees no daylily flower.
The daylily flower is the mother’s flower.
Mother...
The tears of the scholar started to roll down.
In this world, the greatest sorrows are death and separation. Even though he had long known that his mother’s life would not be long, when the day came, Wu Youcai still felt it was sudden.
Just the evening before, she had told him she had no appetite these days and wanted to eat green bean rice with cold washed rice to whet her appetite the next day. But at night, when he went to wash her, her body was already cold.
The neighbors who came to give funeral money all advised him that his mother had passed away peacefully, unaware and without pain, a "joyous funeral," and told him not to grieve. Yet, many days had passed, and Wu Youcai still couldn’t let go.
He had not yet achieved high honors in the imperial examinations, had not yet earned a noble title for his mother, and had not even let his mother enjoy a day of fortune or praised her with a single compliment. How could she just leave like this?
No more chances for him.
The yellow paper in his hands was crumpled and wrinkled, and the man sobbed uncontrollably, his figure as lonely as a homeless dog. His tears fell into the brazier, and along with the paper money, turned to ashes.
The wind outside grew stronger.
The long wind whipped up the soul-summoning white banners in the courtyard, and the sky was as gloomy as dusk, with faint thunder weaving through the dark clouds.
Amidst the rustling wind, there was a faint sound of someone knocking on the wooden gate—Wu Youcai was startled.
Who could it be at this time?
The neighbors who had come to help had already gone back, and Official Hu, who cared about him the most, also had a family to look after. The neighbors from West Street, who had some connections, had already given the funeral money, and the Wu family had no other relatives.
As he thought this, he heard the knocking stop outside, followed by the sound of the door being pushed open—"Squeak."
Someone entered through the door.