The little eunuch opened the wooden box. In the box, two military talismans were lying quietly. They were the Beijing garrison military talisman and the three-guard navy military talisman that he had returned to Zhu Di during the day.
Chen Kan pursed his lips and asked calmly: "Does Master Dao Yan have anything else to say?"
"No, Master Daoyan only asked the slave to present this box to the Marquis."
The little eunuch shook his head and handed the wooden box to Chen Kan.
Chen Kan did not immediately reach out to pick it up. After pondering for a moment, Chen Kan said calmly: "Please go back and tell Master Daoyan that I don't want this thing anymore. If Master wants to use it to melt it and make money." , feel free to take it.”
Hearing Chen Kan's answer, the young eunuch showed no surprise on his face.
As if he already knew Chen Kan's choice, he didn't say much, he just closed the wooden box and put it in his arms, saluted Chen Kan, and then left with his entourage.
After watching the little eunuch go away, Chen Kan looked away, shook his head, and returned to the small courtyard.
When Dao Yan picked up the military talisman today and said he was going to use it to cast money, Chen Kan had already anticipated this scene.
Zhu Di would not allow him to give up his job, and Dao Yan would not let him idle.
Therefore, he was not surprised that these two military symbols would appear in front of him again.
However, Chen Kan is not the kind of person who is both responsible and independent.
Since he has handed over the military talisman, he will not take it back again.
There is no need to take it back again.
Military power is no longer a symbol of glory for Chen Kan, but an inexplicable restriction.
With military power in hand, there are too many people staring at him.
This was the case in the Ming Dynasty. Whenever someone had some soldiers, the civil servants would always worry about whether this person would use force to bring chaos to the country. They had to keep an eye on him at all times. If there was any slight movement, The impeachment memorial will fly like snowflakes to the emperor.
The emperor also would not allow one person to be in charge of the same army for too long.
Otherwise, after a long time, even if that person has no different intentions, others will not believe it.
Chen Kan is no exception.
It has been five years since he took charge of 5,000 soldiers of 3,000 people in Beijing in the third year of Yongle.
At the same time, he returned victoriously from his campaign in Nanyang, almost a year has passed since then.
Even after the war ended for so long, Chen Kan still clung to military power. People inside and outside the court had long said that he was greedy for power and worried about his ambitions.
The reason why Chen Kan fought so hard with Zhu Di today was, on the one hand, to express his dissatisfaction to Zhu Di, and on the other hand, he also wanted to take this opportunity to retreat.
If he doesn't take off those things that are too conspicuous on his body, how can Chen Kan do things according to his own wishes?
In the courtyard, the discussion between the Fang clan elders and the Zheng clan elders has not stopped.
Chen Kan didn't bother to pay attention to them again and walked straight into the mourning hall.
In the mourning hall, Fang Xiaoru was no longer around.
Chen Kan knelt down next to Fang Zhongyu and saw that the filial sons had food placed in front of them. Then he remembered that he had not eaten at all today.
Picking up a bowl of rice, Chen Kan began to put the rice into his mouth without saying a word.
...
The night passed quickly, and when a hint of fish belly white appeared on the horizon, Fang Xiaoru came to the mourning hall, sat silently and began to wait.
Chen Kan keenly noticed that Fang Xiaoru's eyes were a little red and swollen.
Sighing secretly, Chen Kan didn't ask any more questions.
Zheng's death was a huge blow to Fang Xiaoru. Chen Kan knew this, but he really couldn't find any words of comfort.
At dawn, the Fang brothers added a little lamp oil to the Changxin lamp under the coffin, and a group of people began to wait silently.
Last night's imperial edict made it very clear that Zheng's funeral would be accepted by the Ministry of Etiquette.
And on August 16th, he set off for his hometown for burial.
Today is August 14th, and there are still two days before the day to return home, but people from the Ministry of Rites will come today.
The group of people didn't wait long. When the sky was slightly bright, the streets outside Fang Mansion began to hear the gentle and plaintive mourning music.
That is elegant music. Only when a person with sufficient social status dies, will there be elegant music to accompany him.
Hearing the sound of mourning and music, everyone in the mourning hall stood up at the same time, and under the leadership of Fang Xiaoru, they went outside the palace gate and began to wait.
The sound of elegant music was getting closer and closer, and the sound of bells, drums, and chimes harmonized. After a while, a huge soul-calling flag appeared at the end of the street.
A group of musicians with their hands tied with white cloth followed.
After that, there was a huge white hearse, which was pulled by four white horses and made a creaking sound.
Behind the carriage were the funerary objects that had been prepared by the Ministry of Rites, including a pair of stone horses, a pair of tomb-suppressing beasts, a pair of stone statues of civil servants and generals, as well as various types of paper bindings and countless funerary vessels.
Its scale is so large that it occupies an entire street.
The team stopped in front of the Fang Mansion. A scarlet-robed official quickly walked out of the team. He cupped his hands towards Fang Xiaoru who came out and said, "I have met Mr. Fang."
Fang Xiaoru bowed his hand in return and said, "Yuan Xiang doesn't need to be polite. I'll ask Yuan Xiang to take care of the next thing for me."
Yuanxiang is the name of the scarlet-robed official, and the visitor is none other than Zheng Sheng, Zheng Yuanxiang, the Minister of Rites.
Hearing Fang Xiaoru's polite words, Zheng Sheng hurriedly shook his head and said, "This is a matter within the scope of the lower official's duties. Sir Fang, there is no need to be polite."
Fang Xiaoru turned back to the guest sent by the Fang clan in the mansion and ordered: "Serve tea for all your lords."
Fang Xiaoru gave the order, and the courtyard of Fang Mansion became busy instantly.
Seeing this, Zheng Sheng bowed his hand to Fang Xiaoru again and said, "Sir Fang, the Ministry of Industry has sent two hundred craftsmen overnight to rush to Ninghai County to prepare the tomb for Mrs. Ning Guo. The lower official has been ordered to come and give her gifts. Please ask Mr. Fang to inspect the gold album and funeral supplies. If there are no defects, I will send someone to Ninghai County first."
"Good work."
Fang Xiaoru nodded slightly and told Chen Kan and the Fang brothers: "My legs and feet are not conducive to walking. You go and have a look."
The three of them responded and walked towards the funeral supplies behind the hearse.
Zheng's title was the First Lady of Ningguo, and she should be buried as the first wife of a prince, so the hearse was pulled by four white horses.
As for the things buried with the tomb, the things inside the tomb are not that particular. They are just a certain amount of gold and silver porcelain, pottery figurines, jade ornaments, silk cloth and the like.
By the Ming Dynasty, the trend of thick burials was no longer as strong as in ancient times, because everyone knew that thick burials were easy to be visited by tomb thieves.
Therefore, the quantity of these things is not large, just a little of each to complete the etiquette.
On the contrary, the things outside the tomb are more particular.
For example, stone horses, tomb beasts, and stone statues are real status symbols.
When others see these things placed in front of the tomb, they will know the identity of the tomb owner.
Chen Kan and the Fang brothers quickly checked and after confirming that nothing was missing, they came back to resume their duties.
"Teacher, no problem."
Hearing this, Fang Xiaoru nodded and said to Zheng Sheng, "Then let Yuan Xiang send people to deliver the funeral supplies to Ninghai first."
"It's natural."
Zheng Sheng replied to Fang Xiaoru, and quickly waved to the subordinate officials behind him and gave some instructions, and the team quickly divided into two groups.
One wave stayed in Fang Mansion to handle the funeral, while the other wave was responsible for transporting funerary objects out of the city.
The imperial edict was issued, and no one dared to joke about these things, so whether it was the officials staying in the capital, the musicians of Taichang Temple, or the officials responsible for transporting the funerary objects, they were all in high spirits.
The funeral was taken over by the people from the Ministry of Rites, so there was no one else in the Fang Mansion to worry about.
Of course, it is an unavoidable process for a filial son to wear hemp and mourn at the mourning hall, so Chen Kan and the Fang brothers returned to the mourning hall.
In the courtyard, mournful music resounded throughout the sky.
Everyone in the mourning hall couldn't help but feel sad, especially the Fang sisters, who couldn't help crying.
...
August 15th is the Mid-Autumn Festival. This year's Mid-Autumn Festival in the capital is very different from previous years.
Before Zhu Di's imperial edict was issued, except for official figures and neighbors who knew about the death of Fang Xiaoru's first wife, most of the people actually didn't know.
But as the imperial edict was announced to the world, people were no longer able to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival as in previous years.
Therefore, most people spent this year's Mid-Autumn Festival in a relatively depressing atmosphere.
The people just closed their doors and had a reunion dinner at home, and the festival was considered over.
August 16th arrived as scheduled.
Early in the morning, the guests who came to mourn Mrs. Ning Guo almost trampled down the threshold of Fang Mansion.
Among the guests, there were officials from the imperial court and nobles from the Ming Dynasty, but most of them were scholars who came from all directions after hearing the news.
Most of these people came for Fang Xiaoru's reputation, and some came for Chen Kan's face.
Chen Kan was temporarily brought out by Fang Xiaoru to greet the guests.
Welcoming guests, as the name suggests, means standing at the door to welcome guests who come to the Fang Mansion to express their condolences.
Originally, this job was supposed to be the work of the Fang brothers, but there were too many people coming today, so one of the Fang brothers had to stay in the mourning hall, while the other one came out to greet the guests with the officials of the Ministry of Rites.
Chen Kan felt very sad, but he could only stand at the door with a fake smile on his face.
As the morning passed, Chen Kan felt that his face was a little stiff.
The courtyard of Fang Mansion was not big enough to hold many banquets, so they could only set up flowing banquets on the street.
After the guests went to the mourning hall to express their condolences, they went out to eat.
This scene always makes people feel a little sad for no reason.
The dignified official minister's mansion doesn't even have an auditorium to entertain guests. How can we not feel sad?
Finally, the time came to noon, and the guests who came to express their condolences gradually dispersed.
Chen Kan stretched out his hand to rub his stiff face and couldn't help but laugh a few times.
But it was not yet time for him to rest.
Because the warriors sent by the Ministry of Rites to carry the coffin have arrived at Fang Mansion.
When these warriors move the coffin, filial sons like Chen Kan still need to be puppets for the monks sent by the Senglu Division to perform the rituals.
Sometimes he kneels and sometimes gets up, and from time to time he has to follow the coffin twice.
After all this tossing, by the time Zheng's coffin was finally carried into the hearse, it was already afternoon.
